Shinju thrust his blade straight through Danzo's heart.
Danzo coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.
A few seconds later, this man who had lived in Konoha's shadows for so many years… was dead.
Shinju stood there, his gaze cold as he stared at Danzo's corpse.
That old man… clearly had enough time to trigger the Four Symbols Seal before dying, yet he didn't.
Could it be… he had a last-minute change of heart?
Did he want to leave something behind for the village?
Shinju wondered silently.
But now that Danzo was dead, whatever was on his mind would remain a mystery.
...
Knock knock knock…
The front doors of the Third Hokage's residence were struck repeatedly.
The old man, woken from his sleep, wore a deeply displeased expression.
"Who on earth is it at this hour, disturbing an old man's rest?"
Creak—
The Third Hokage pushed open the wooden door, only to see the pale, lifeless face of his old friend.
"Danzo?!"
The Third Hokage recoiled half a step in shock.
And then he realized—Danzo wasn't breathing. His body was cold…
ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
Dead?!
Root had so many operatives, yet they couldn't even protect one Danzo?!
At that moment, Shinju's face appeared from behind Danzo's body.
"I killed him."
Shinju's tone was calm, almost detached.
The Third Hokage's pupils trembled violently.
After forcing his emotions to settle, he thought back to Danzo's extreme actions over the years.
The Third Hokage knew Shinju possessed terrifying power, but he was not someone who killed without reason.
Quickly, he asked, "What happened?"
Without hesitation, Shinju carried Danzo's corpse inside and explained everything that had transpired tonight in full detail.
The Third Hokage smoked silently, and the further Shinju went, the deeper his frown grew.
He hadn't expected Danzo to do so much behind his back… even regarding Shisui's eyes…
"If what you've said is true, then I'll help you," the Third said gravely.
A Konoha prodigy killing the leader of Root… if this news leaked, it would cause a massive uproar across the entire village.
...
Over the next few days, the village convened multiple high-level meetings.
The discussions revolved around two core issues:
① Whether Shinju was guilty of any crime.
② How to handle Uchiha Shisui's eyes.
Inside the conference room, Fifth Hokage Tsunade sat with the old councilors, listening to their endless debate. The longer she listened, the angrier she became.
"I don't see why we're still discussing this!" she slammed the table. "Danzo attacked Shinju first—Shinju acted in self-defense!"
One of the senior council members stood up.
"But all the surviving Root operatives gave consistent statements claiming Shinju attacked first."
Bang!
Tsunade slammed the table so hard it rattled, rising to her feet with fury blazing in her eyes.
"Those Root ninja are all brainwashed by Danzo! And you want to use their words as evidence?!"
"Shinju's testimony is also just one-sided. Are we supposed to simply take his word for it?" another elder retorted coldly.
Tsunade pointed straight at the gathered councilors, her killing intent palpable.
"You're all senile!"
"Do you even remember how much Shinju has done for this village?"
"During the Chunin Exam invasion, if it weren't for Shinju, do you have any idea how much damage Konoha would've suffered? Have you even calculated it?!"
"Half a month ago, Shinju brought back that massive steel castle and successfully developed chakra conversion technology! Do you idiots even realize how revolutionary this is for the future of the entire shinobi world?!"
"And more importantly, Shinju's power… maybe he wouldn't destroy Konoha outright, but he could easily plunge the village into chaos if he wanted to."
"If he truly wished harm upon Konoha, do you think any of us would even be sitting here having this discussion?!"
Her words left the room in silence.
Everything she said was undeniable.
Before this incident with Danzo, Shinju had been the top candidate for the position of Sixth Hokage—unanimously approved by all the higher-ups.
"Let's focus on the matter at hand," said Konoha elder Koharu coldly. "This isn't about Shinju's contributions."
"So what you're saying is, unless someone from Root comes forward to testify on Shinju's behalf, we can't clear him of suspicion, is that right?" Tsunade countered sharply.
The room fell silent—but their silence was confirmation.
Unless a witness emerged, Shinju would remain under suspicion indefinitely.
Tsunade's expression darkened. She knew this was nearly impossible.
Root operatives had been brainwashed from childhood—utterly loyal to Danzo. They were nothing more than emotionless tools.
"You're not worried that your treatment of him will drive the boy to abandon Konoha entirely? To defect?" Tsunade demanded.
The councilors exchanged uneasy glances.
Finally, one of them stepped forward and voiced the unspoken thought shared by many:
"We will never allow such a dangerous possibility to occur."
"If Shinju shows any signs of rebellion, Konoha will eliminate him immediately."
Tsunade ground her teeth, trembling with fury.
Bang!
The conference table shattered beneath her monstrous strength.
"I'd like to see any of you try!!"
The meeting stalled, deadlocked in tension.
At that moment, the doors to the conference room opened, and Shinju walked in—Sai following closely behind.
"He can testify for me," Shinju said calmly, his eyes sweeping across every elder present.
He gave Sai a light tap on the shoulder.
Sai hesitated briefly but then nodded.
He proceeded to explain everything: how Danzo had been targeting Shinju, how he had been ordered to secretly monitor him, and more.
And then Sai dropped two explosive revelations:
"Danzo-sama once plotted an assassination attempt on the Third Hokage."
"And recently, he also organized an assassination attempt on the Fifth Hokage…"
The room erupted in chaos.
"See?! Now that's the real Danzo, that damned old man!"
Tsunade, feeling vindicated, jabbed a finger at the gathered elders.
Beside her, Shinju put on a wounded expression.
"After everything I've done for Konoha, and yet all of you doubted me…"
"It even sounded like some of you were just discussing how to erase me?"
His gaze sharpened, a glint of icy light flashing within.
An invisible wave of killing intent washed over the council, making several of them shiver involuntarily.
"I was attacked and gravely injured."
"Now I'm being doubted by Konoha's own leadership. Even my poor, fragile heart has been wounded."
"Surely the village owes me… some kind of compensation, right?"
Shinju said this as though it were only natural.
The Third Hokage, sensing his intent, immediately asked, "And what do you believe would be fair compensation?"
Shinju replied with two simple words:
"Shisui's eyes."
The elders glanced at each other.
This boy… had come prepared.
Danzo had died at Shinju's hands—handing Shisui's eyes over to him sounded reasonable.
But Shinju's current power… was already overwhelming.
Overwhelming to the point where almost no one in Konoha could challenge him.
If one day Shinju decided to defect, the village would have no way to stop him.
And if he gained Shisui's eyes on top of everything else…
Shinju would become unrivaled—peerless in ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and senjutsu alike.
An unstoppable force.