The instant Hikaru's words fell, his aura surged to its peak.
He had given Danzō no room to choose.
That was the outcome he and Hiruzen had both accepted after their meeting.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi… Hikaru's feelings toward the old man had become complicated.
Because the resolve Hiruzen had shown was something a sewer rat like Danzō could never hope to match.
Of course, Hikaru and Hiruzen stood on opposite sides. Their positions, their interests, and the grudges carried over from the past had long since guaranteed that.
But if Hikaru truly put himself in Hiruzen's shoes, then things became harder to judge so simply.
A young man had inherited the title of Hokage.
Not through broad support within Konoha, but because Tobirama Senju had pointed at him and named him successor.
He had no real political foundation. No deep well of support.
Below him were the Uchiha, already restless and difficult to control.
There were plenty within the Senju who refused to accept him.
There was also the Uzumaki faction, who might not obey him at all.
And beyond Konoha's borders, Kumogakure was already at war with them, while the signs of a full-scale Shinobi World War were beginning to appear.
If Hikaru were put in that position, how exactly was he supposed to both secure his authority, stabilize the village, and still win the war?
Perhaps overwhelming personal charisma could have united everyone and pushed them toward the same goal.
But the problem was that Hiruzen had not been accepted in the first place.
Without recognition, how was he supposed to lead everyone into war?
The more Hikaru thought about it, the clearer the answer became.
If it had been him, he would have done much the same.
Deploy the army to resist the enemy.
At the same time, squeeze every useful force within the village for all they were worth.
Use the authority of the Hokage to force the Senju onto the battlefield.
Then use war itself to wear down their strength.
Once enough of their power had been bled out, the rest could be dealt with slowly.
There was no denying it—the Senju's decline came down first and foremost to the depletion of their strongest fighters.
The Senju and Uchiha were both war clans. Both were the sort who would risk their lives for achievements and glory.
Using that against them was not difficult.
Keep part of the disobedient leadership behind in Konoha. Send the rest out to die.
After that, the remaining problems could be solved one by one.
As for the Uzumaki, they had never been fully part of Konoha anyway. With Konoha tied down on the front lines, failing to reinforce them in time would be perfectly reasonable.
If they won, then their strength proved worthy of Lady Mito's bloodline.
If they lost, Konoha would simply remember them as heroes who gave everything for the village.
Cruel. Bloody. Real.
But also the most rational course.
After the war, the next step would be to divide the village's power structure, strengthen one's own faction, gather allies, then isolate the major clans one by one before taming them individually.
And as for those who refused to submit?
An "agent in the dark" would handle them.
They could never be allowed to threaten Konoha's stability.
That was the best solution Hikaru could imagine in a situation that desperate, where one stood alone and everything was on the verge of collapse.
And just by coincidence, it was almost exactly what Hiruzen had done after taking power.
The most dangerous thing in this world was empathy—truly putting yourself in someone else's place.
From Hikaru's own standpoint, Hiruzen Sarutobi was absolutely the kind of man who deserved to be called a villain.
But from Hiruzen's standpoint, every one of those choices seemed almost inevitable.
Because there had not really been a better option.
And for all that Hiruzen had grown old, grown soft, and even sent children to the battlefield, there was still one thing Hikaru could not deny:
The old man had always put Konoha first.
That, at least, was worthy of respect.
Hikaru had gone to that meeting intending to squeeze Hiruzen hard as the obvious victor. He had gone fully prepared to carve off a huge chunk of power—specifically, the Medical Department.
What he had not expected was Hiruzen's attitude.
The old man had not seemed like a loser at all.
He had seemed more like an examiner, deeply satisfied with what he had seen.
After meeting with Hikaru, the jōnin, and the clan heads, Hiruzen had kept Hikaru behind alone.
"Your growth has exceeded my expectations," Hiruzen had said calmly. "With you here, I can finally stop worrying about Konoha's future."
At the time, he had already paid an enormous price to barely calm the storm outside.
And yet he had shown neither anger nor discouragement.
Instead, he looked almost gratified.
His tone remained steady.
"Put aside our positions. Put aside our identities. Put aside every reason we have to stand against one another."
"I've realized something."
"You truly are a qualified Hokage candidate."
"Your restraint in the beginning—your rise from weakness to strength, from having no voice at all to standing where you are now—proved your capacity and patience."
"Your performance during the Nine-Tails incident showed your overwhelming power."
"What you've done within the ANBU, and how you've driven its growth, proved your ability."
"The blow you dealt me this time, and the losses you forced on me, showed your methods."
"Your calculations against Orochimaru and Danzō showed your temperament."
"And the design and expansion of that so-called newspaper showed your sharp awareness and unique creativity."
"And besides that… the Uchiha's massive change only happened because you were guiding it from the shadows, wasn't it?"
"Capacity. Strength. Ability. Methods. Temperament. Creativity. Political vision."
"All of those are necessary qualities for a Hokage."
"You're impressive. At such a young age, you already see that far."
"Especially with the Uchiha—you saw their flaws, saw their problems, and thought of ways to fix them."
"That is already the perspective of a Hokage."
"And not only did you see the problem, you acted to solve it."
"You truly are remarkable."
He had paused there, then risen slowly and walked over to Hikaru.
Hiruzen was not a tall man. His body had long since dried out with age.
And yet in that moment, his presence reached its absolute peak.
Within that frail body, the full bearing of the Professor emerged.
"I lost," Hiruzen had said in a powerful, unshakable voice. "I lost this time. But do you know why I'm still glad?"
"I think I know," Hikaru had replied with a nod, then a slight shake of the head. "But I believe Hokage-sama would rather say it himself."
"Yes."
Hiruzen had smiled brilliantly.
"I'm glad because I've found a qualified future Hokage."
"Konoha's Hokage cannot be someone ruled only by kindness. But neither can he be someone driven only by malice."
"He must have methods. Vision. Ability."
"I once favored Minato Namikaze, because he was young, and I believed there was still time for him to learn many things. Even if he was rebellious, I thought I could still guide him."
"But you…"
"Even if the path you walk is completely different from mine…"
"Even if I still firmly believe my road was the correct one…"
"That doesn't stop me from recognizing you."
"In my eyes, you are fully qualified to become Hokage."
Then Hiruzen had paused again, looking deeply at Hikaru before speaking one last time.
"If you couldn't even defeat me… what right would you have to become Hokage?"
…
"Kill him!"
The moment Hikaru's pressure erupted, Danzō barked the order without hesitation.
At that instant, he truly felt betrayed.
Betrayed by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Of course he knew Hikaru had already met with the clan heads and the jōnin. And now that Hikaru was here, the meaning was obvious.
Hiruzen had actually chosen to let this brat kill him.
That was betrayal. Plain and simple.
Naturally, Danzō also considered another possibility—that Hikaru was lying, deliberately trying to drive a wedge between him and Hiruzen.
But whether it was true or not, he could not afford to gamble.
He had to live.
And there was another thing he still could not understand.
What exactly did Hikaru mean when he said he was the one who had let Danzō live this long, and let him rise back to this position?
Was there some hidden truth behind all this—something even Danzō himself didn't know?
Whatever the truth was, one thing was certain:
Senju Hikaru had to die.
There was no point trying to flee.
This brat had Flying Thunder God. There was nowhere Danzō could run.
If he separated himself from the protection of the group, Hikaru would just hunt him down and kill him alone.
In that case, it was better to stay with the main force and kill him here.
Only that offered any real chance of survival.
Hikaru looked at the Root shinobi closing in on him in groups of three and could only shake his head slightly.
Truthfully, he had no goodwill toward these people at all.
But unfortunately, he could not kill them.
That had been part of the consensus he reached with the clan heads.
Who knew how many clan shinobi had been dragged into Root against their will?
Those families still hoped to reclaim their people.
If Hikaru slaughtered them all here, the consequences would be ugly.
Fortunately, he did not find that troublesome in the slightest.
His strength guaranteed that.
As he watched the Root shinobi rush toward him, his figure blurred.
He moved first—
faster than all of them.
"Hm?!"
The Root shinobi before him had long since heard the stories of his speed.
After all, this was a man who used Flying Thunder God.
But hearing legends and facing them were two completely different things.
If given a choice, they wouldn't have wanted to face him at all.
The things Hikaru had once done to Root were too terrifying.
Even though most of these people were newer recruits, there were certain stories every Root shinobi eventually learned.
And besides his brutal conduct toward Root, there was his terrifying strength.
That memory had already sunk deep into every newcomer's bones.
During the Nine-Tails incident, the savage scale of his Wood Release was something none of them could ever forget.
Now, facing him directly, fear had long since taken root in all of them.
But they also knew that if they didn't act, Danzō's curse mark would kill them anyway.
"Bang!"
Hikaru's combat ability far exceeded their expectations.
He had moved later than they did—
and still reached them first.
Then he threw a single punch.
Without giving the Root shinobi any chance to strike first, he sent him flying with one blow.
The man crashed backward into several comrades behind him, knocking them all flat.
At that same moment, Hikaru's eyes lit up with brilliant blue radiance.
"What is that?"
Danzō noticed the change at once, and his heart skipped.
His intelligence reports had contained nothing about this.
In his files, Hikaru was already a monster:
Wood Release.
Flying Thunder God.
That massive summon.
Any one of those three alone was terrifying.
On top of that, he had immense chakra, excellent taijutsu, and Flying Thunder God precise enough that no one could even trace his movement markers.
Dealing with a brat like this was already practically impossible.
He was like the First and Second Hokage fused into one.
Even if he hadn't yet reached their level, he had long since entered a realm beyond common sense.
"And now there's another pair of eyes? What the hell is this brat? Is he even really from the Senju clan?"
Danzō was honestly having trouble processing what he was seeing.
The appearance of those eyes brought with it an indescribable pressure.
He would never believe those eyes were just for show.
There had to be some terrifying power hidden within them.
And for a shinobi, nothing was more dangerous than an unknown ability.
He had to figure out what it was.
"Shinobi exist to sacrifice themselves. Fine—then draw out more information for me."
Danzō abruptly stopped moving.
His eyes remained locked on Hikaru, but he made no move to advance.
He didn't even realize it himself, but the fear and hatred he felt toward Hikaru had already reached an extreme.
Especially now, with unknown variables involved, that fear had only deepened further.
He always talked about shinobi sacrifice when he wanted others to die for him.
But when it came time for him to do the same—
he never could.
…
Faced with a large-scale assault from Root, Hikaru looked utterly relaxed.
With the Jōgan active, he could clearly lock onto every Root shinobi present.
Combined with the spread of his sensory perception, he could track all of their positions and movements at once.
With that kind of real-time information—and Flying Thunder God on top of it—being surrounded meant absolutely nothing.
The only reason he seemed so leisurely was because he was deliberately holding back, worried that if he used too much force, he'd accidentally kill everyone here.
Otherwise, in this cramped underground base, one use of Wood Release would have ended the whole thing instantly.
"Bang!"
When the final Root shinobi from the last squad charging him was casually put down—his movements read by the Jōgan and his attack broken with Flying Thunder God—Hikaru finally turned his gaze toward Danzō.
All around Root Headquarters, shinobi lay sprawled on the floor, writhing in agony and screaming.
Hikaru had indeed avoided killing them.
But not killing them didn't mean he couldn't be ruthless.
To make sure they couldn't keep getting in his way, he had used the fastest and most efficient method possible:
cripple their ability to fight in one blow.
For those on the receiving end, that was a pain beyond words.
And with Hikaru's understanding of the human body—now made even more precise by the Jōgan—
he could strike exactly where he wanted.
He could damage exactly what he intended.
And he could see, instantly and clearly, just how much damage he had done—making sure no one he attacked would still be capable of fighting back.
Casually flicking his hand, Hikaru shifted his gaze to Danzō.
Danzō's expression was ghastly.
Now only two squads—six men total—remained around him.
He had to get out.
"Looks like Danzō-sama doesn't have many tricks left," Hikaru said as he walked forward. His brilliant blue eyes remained fixed on Danzō.
"I really think you should surrender. Any resistance at this point is worthless."
"Brat, don't think you've already won!" Danzō barked, keeping himself hidden as much as possible behind the last Root members.
"I don't believe Hiruzen would kill me. Everything I've done was for Konoha!"
"And you don't dare kill these Root men. That means you still have reservations."
"A shinobi exists to sacrifice himself. Do you really think I won't resort to the harshest means?"
"For Konoha?" Hikaru tilted his head, then laughed. "Do you mean causing trouble for Konoha? Or causing trouble for the Third Hokage so you could benefit?"
"As for your so-called harshest means—in my eyes, that's nothing but the thrashing of a cornered dog."
He paused there.
Of course he understood what Danzō meant.
The "harshest means" was simply blowing up all the Root shinobi around him along with everything else.
Since Hikaru hadn't killed them, unlike the way he had once dealt with Root before, Danzō had naturally realized something.
But no matter how Danzō struggled, it was meaningless.
Hikaru had never intended to let him go.
With a ripple of chakra, Hikaru vanished.
Before Danzō could even react, he was sent flying by a single punch.
But in the instant he was blown back, Danzō completed a one-handed seal.
A violent surge of chakra burst from his body.
"Oh? Fast reaction."
Hikaru's Jōgan flickered.
He had already seen through Danzō's movement, so he activated Flying Thunder God again without hesitation and arrived instantly at Danzō's concealed position.
"You—!"
Hidden there, Danzō was in the middle of forming seals.
But before he could finish, Hikaru was already upon him.
"Bang!"
No fancy flourish.
Hikaru drove a kick hard into Danzō's abdomen.
Danzō was blasted backward once more.
Still, he was an old veteran.
Even with his strength in decline, his experience remained.
Suppressing the agony inside his body and forcing his chakra flow into balance, he completed the technique while flying backward.
"So. You really won't kill them? Fine, then I'll help you with that. Let's see what good it does you when they're all dead!"
Danzō launched his desperate counterattack with near-madness.
That made Hikaru narrow his eyes slightly.
The old bastard intended to bring the whole place down.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Now that he had seen through Danzō's plan, there was no way Hikaru would allow it.
They completed their jutsu almost at the same time.
As a massive wooden wall burst from the ground and rose in front of him, the cannonball-like blasts of wind slammed into it and went no farther.
They could not penetrate the barrier.
Nor could they reach the weak points of this underground ANBU facility.
"Boom!"
Just then, another explosion reached Hikaru's ears.
Through the Jōgan, he saw that Danzō and the last few Root men had blasted open an escape route.
They were already fleeing through it.
And even in retreat, they had left behind a large pile of explosive tags.
So that was the plan.
Collapse the entire underground base with one blast.
Cruel, but entirely in character.
Still, it changed nothing.
…
"Boom!"
With another deafening roar echoing through Konoha, flocks of birds were startled from sleep and shot up into the sky.
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen stood silently with a group of shinobi, watching from afar.
At that moment, all of them desperately wanted to know what was happening down there.
But none of them could go.
They weren't Hikaru.
They didn't have Flying Thunder God.
And since Hikaru had personally said he would handle it, none of them could interfere.
Even though some of the clan heirs trapped inside Root belonged to their own families, all they could do now was wait.
And endure.
Waiting was torture.
Especially when they had no information at all.
"Hokage-sama… is everything alright?" After a long silence, Aburame Shibi finally couldn't help asking.
In truth, he was the quiet sort.
But this sort of waiting was simply unbearable.
"Everything will be fine," Hiruzen sighed. "You've all seen Hikaru's strength. I honestly can't think of a reason he'd fail."
Once he said that, he went quiet again.
The truth was, his heart was in agony.
He was the one who had agreed Danzō must die.
He was the one who had agreed that Hikaru should handle it personally, rather than letting the clan heads storm in together.
If Hikaru went alone, certain things could still remain hidden.
Experimental records. Data. The filth that should never see the light.
But if the clan heads and merchants had gone in themselves—
the consequences would have been unimaginable.
And beyond that…
Danzō had once been his comrade.
Even though that man had long since become something twisted and monstrous, Hiruzen still remembered what they once were.
Now he himself had signed off on that man's death.
The pain of that decision was unspeakable.
Yet no matter how painful it was, he knew it had to be done.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Hiruzen noticed a group suddenly charging up from underground in the distance and rushing toward the Hokage Building.
The sight made him frown at once.
Because he had already recognized Danzō among them.
"That damn brat, what is he doing? How did he let Danzō get out?"
Hiruzen's thoughts were a mess.
Part of him felt relieved that Danzō was still alive.
Another part was furious that he still was.
But the next moment, he calmed down.
And all he could do was sigh.
…
"There! Just ahead!"
Danzō gritted his teeth and endured the searing pain tearing through his body as he sprinted toward the Hokage Building.
He refused to believe it.
He absolutely refused to believe Hiruzen would really kill him.
Of course, he knew it was possible.
But at this point, he had nowhere else to go.
Senju Hikaru's combat ability had utterly numbed his scalp with fear.
The only thing he could still do was make it to Hiruzen.
"Bang!"
With a sharp cracking sound, the last three Root shinobi at his side were sent flying.
And Hikaru appeared before him once more.
"Where exactly are you planning to go, Danzō-sama?" Hikaru asked calmly.
That tone was as mild as ever.
But it froze Danzō to the bone.
"You're betraying Konoha! Have you thought about the consequences of attacking me?" Danzō snarled through clenched teeth.
"Can you represent Konoha?" Hikaru tilted his head slightly, then shook it. "I told you already, Danzō-sama. You only had one ending. Do you remember?"
Danzō didn't answer.
He just gave a cold snort and lunged.
His right fist shot toward Hikaru's abdomen.
If he couldn't escape, then he would fight.
They were already this close to the Hokage Building.
As long as he caused enough commotion, someone would definitely notice.
Against that punch, Hikaru neither dodged nor retreated.
Only at the very last moment, just before impact, did he raise a hand.
His right hand caught Danzō's fist cleanly.
At the same time, his left hand drew a kunai.
Blue chakra flashed across its edge, and he flicked it sharply to the side.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Hidden nearby, another Danzō formed seals rapidly and unleashed a powerful gale.
But the attack had only just been released when the chakra-coated kunai pierced straight through it.
At the same instant, Hikaru vanished again.
Flying Thunder God carried him directly in front of Danzō.
He caught the kunai he had thrown—and slashed it viciously across Danzō's chest.
Blood sprayed.
A long wound opened across Danzō's torso.
Whether by intention or by whim, Hikaru did not stab through the old man's heart.
And when Danzō stumbled back, Hikaru didn't pursue him.
He simply stood there, watching with mild amusement.
"Nicely done," he said. "A good combination of Shadow Clone and Substitution."
Hikaru looked at the blood-soaked Danzō and casually shook the blood from the kunai.
"Unfortunately, you still don't understand me well enough."
"Whether it's through sensory perception or these eyes, I can see through everything you do."
"You already lost your chance."
"What exactly are your eyes?" Danzō's breathing was heavy now.
Hikaru had struck him several times already. Bones and internal organs alike had taken damage.
And now that chakra-coated slash across his chest was pouring blood far too heavily to stop.
Yet even so, he still wanted one thing:
information.
He still wanted to leave.
He still wanted Hiruzen to save him.
"Normally, I like granting a dead man's final question," Hikaru said with a smile. "But this time, I don't feel like answering."
"Then die with your regrets."
"You want to kill me? Then you'll pay a price too!" Danzō smeared a hand across the blood on his chest, then formed seals rapidly. "Summoning Technique!"
With a burst of smoke, the silhouette of a huge creature began to emerge.
But before that enormous being could fully appear, a vast wave of chakra swept out.
Then, amid a shrill cry, the smoke dispersed—
and both the giant Baku and the nearby Danzō were bound fast by thick wooden branches.
The branches furiously devoured their chakra.
Even a giant summon like the Baku couldn't withstand that drain.
And no matter how hard it struggled, it could not break free.
"I told you already," Hikaru said, looking calmly at Danzō, "your only ending is death."
He began forming seals—
slowly.
Deliberately.
A tremendous swell of chakra surged through his body.
"You once said everything you did was for Konoha."
"Well then, Danzō-sama… you should remember one of the Third Hokage's sayings."
"Wherever the leaves dance, there the fire burns. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village and let new leaves bud."
Hikaru paused there.
His hand seals were complete.
The chakra inside him roared.
"I've always liked that line."
"Because it speaks not only of the Senju's Wood Release…"
"But of the Uchiha's Fire Release as well."
"If Danzō-sama truly is willing to give everything for Konoha, then let's see Konoha's essence one last time."
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
A colossal fire dragon roared out and surged into the wooden bindings.
The flames spread instantly across the branches.
Against the black night sky, the blaze burned with dazzling brilliance.
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