Night was as thick as ink, wrapping Konoha in darkness.
But the silence did not last long. A low, murderous rumble rose from deep beneath the earth, as if a sleeping beast were awakening.
Below Hokage Rock, a silent flood was gathering and advancing. Danzo walked at the front. Every strike of his cane against the ground echoed heavily and firmly, like the funeral bell of an old era.
Behind him stood nearly half of Konoha's finest strength.
Hyūga Sakusei's Byakugan was cold and imposing, while Hiashi beside him wore a tense expression.
Nara Shikaku's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, with none of his usual laziness remaining. Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza stood beside him like his right and left hands. The famous Ino Shika Cho trio needed no words to understand one another.
Aburame Shibi was surrounded by a cloud of tiny insects that buzzed with an unsettling hum.
Kurama Sōun's fingers trembled with excitement. Behind him stood representatives of many small and medium clans, along with influential Jonin whose faces were filled with dissatisfaction toward those in power.
Further behind were Root's elite ninjas and the elite members selected from each clan. They marched in perfect step, their eyes cold, forming an unstoppable steel torrent.
This was no ordinary night operation.
This was forcing the ruler to step down.
This was a coup.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The heavy footsteps shattered the false peace of the night like war drums beating in the hearts of every awakened villager.
Lights lit up one household after another. Windows were pushed open, revealing countless confused and horrified faces.
"My God... aren't those... the heads of the great clans?"
"Where are they going? The Hokage Building?!"
"Lord Danzo is leading them... T... This is a military revolt?!"
"Look! Lord Hyūga, Lord Nara... They're all there!"
"What happened? Has the enemy invaded?"
"..."
Unease, fear, and speculation spread through the streets and rooftops like a plague.
Some children burst into tears, only to have their mouths covered as adults hurriedly dragged them back inside.
Ninjas from some of the smaller clans rushed out in panic. When they saw the massive force before them, their legs nearly gave out, and they could only follow from a distance with pounding hearts.
ANBU patrol squads tried to step forward and question them, but the cold killing intent gathered around the procession forced them back again and again. Their warnings were drowned out by the advancing footsteps, making them sound powerless.
The entire village of Konoha seemed to have been thrown into boiling oil, erupting into chaos in an instant.
The air was filled with the suffocating feeling of an approaching storm.
The torrent reached the Hokage Building without any resistance.
The ANBU guards standing before the building felt as though they were facing a great enemy. Even the hands they used to form hand seals trembled slightly.
"Stop! Lord Danzo! Clan Heads! Why are you bringing so many people to force your way into the Hokage Building in the middle of the night?!"
The captain shouted as bravely as he could, though his voice carried an almost unnoticeable hoarseness.
Danzo stopped walking. His lone eye, as cold as frozen steel, swept over the guards.
"Why are we here?"
His hoarse voice exploded through the silent night like thunder.
"To save this village before it is dragged into the abyss by an incompetent and senile Hokage. Stand aside!"
"Without Lord Hokage's orders, no one may..."
The captain still tried to stand his ground.
"Lord Hokage?"
Hyūga Sakusei stepped forward. Veins bulged around his Byakugan, making his authority unmistakable.
"He is the biggest problem! Stand aside, or you will be treated as his accomplices!"
The overwhelming pressure from the powerful figures behind him turned the guards deathly pale. Cold sweat covered their foreheads. Under the silent oppression, they finally stepped aside in humiliation.
Boom!!!
The heavy door to the Hokage's office, the symbol of Konoha's highest authority, was blasted open by overwhelming force.
Wood fragments flew everywhere as the twisted door slammed into the inner wall with a painful groan.
Inside the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was staring blankly at a scroll analyzing public opinion. The ember in his pipe had long since gone out.
The deafening crash startled him to his feet. His teacup tipped over, and warm tea spilled across the scroll, quickly staining it.
When he saw the crowd forcing its way inside, especially the familiar yet strangely unfamiliar Danzo at their head, followed by Konoha's pillars and core strength, the wrinkles on Hiruzen's face seemed to deepen tenfold in an instant.
His pupils shrank from overwhelming shock. His lips trembled, yet no words came out.
The shock was quickly replaced by overwhelming rage and the agony of betrayal.
"D... Danzo!!!"
Hiruzen's voice became hoarse with fury as he slammed both hands onto the desk.
"What... What are you trying to do?! Are you rebelling?! Bringing all these clans here to force the Hokage to step down, do you know what crime this is?! Do you want to drag Konoha into a civil war with no return?!"
His furious roar echoed through the spacious office, yet it seemed to strike an invisible wall before bouncing back from the silent and icy collective will standing before him, making him appear isolated and almost ridiculous.
Danzo slowly stepped forward. The sound of his cane striking the floor echoed between every heartbeat.
"Rebellion? Civil war?"
His voice was completely devoid of emotion as his lone eye remained fixed on Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, open those eyes blinded by power and take a good look! The one dragging Konoha toward destruction is you!"
He suddenly raised his hand and pointed straight at Hiruzen, his voice rising sharply like a sword leaving its sheath.
"It is you, Hiruzen Sarutobi! You have governed poorly. You have become old and senile!
"For your own selfish interests, you feared Uchiha Chiya's overwhelming achievements. You manipulated politics, spread old rumors about Uchiha Madara throughout the village, stirred fear, created division, and suppressed the hero who ended the war!
"You drove away loyal heroes, made the villagers suspicious, and plunged the village into internal turmoil!
"Which part of your actions deserves the title of Hokage?!
"Which part of them honors the Will of Fire entrusted to us by the First Hokage and the Second Hokage?!
"You are Konoha's greatest sinner!"
Every accusation struck Hiruzen's heart like thunder and left everyone secretly listening outside completely shaken.
"You're lying!!"
Hiruzen trembled with rage. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his face turned crimson.
"Everything I did was for Konoha! The Uchiha's power must be balanced!
"That was my teacher's wisdom! Namikaze Minato is bright and pure. He is the best successor to the Will of Fire! I..."
"Balanced? Successor?"
Nara Shikaku interrupted him calmly, though his voice was sharper than ever before.
"Third Hokage, is your idea of balance suppressing heroes by spreading fear and rumors?
"Didn't you choose Minato precisely because, as Elder Danzo said, he had no political foundation and would be easy to control, allowing your faction to continue ruling?
"Search your own heart. How much of this was truly for the village, and how much was because you refused to let go of your own power and your fear of losing it?"
Those words pierced straight into the deepest secret Hiruzen had never wanted to admit.
"Shikaku! Even you..."
Hiruzen stared at the Jonin Commander whom he had personally promoted.
"Third Hokage, you have disappointed us."
Yamanaka Inoichi said with sorrow.
Akimichi Choza let out a heavy snort, making his position perfectly clear.
Hyūga Sakusei watched him coldly with his Byakugan.
"The Hyūga Clan will never support a Hokage who maintains his rule through such despicable methods.
"You have abandoned justice and no longer deserve to lead."
Kurama Sōun was even more emotional, tears streaming down his face.
"It chills our hearts! Lord Chiya saved the village from disaster, yet he was slandered and suppressed!
"If we allow you to remain in office, what justice will Konoha have left?!
"Please step down!"
"Third Hokage, please step down!"
"For Konoha! Step down!"
"Step down!"
"..."
The furious shouts of the clan representatives and Jonin crashed toward Hiruzen like a tidal wave, threatening to drown him completely.
Outside the office, the gathered crowd erupted in shock and uproar.
Clearly, Danzo's accusations and the voices of the others had deeply resonated with everyone.
Hiruzen stood alone behind his desk, surrounded by former subordinates, comrades, and juniors glaring and shouting at him.
His entire body felt cold. Even his blood seemed frozen.
He searched desperately for someone who still supported him, but every face he saw was filled only with indifference, anger, or disappointment.
The overwhelming loneliness of being abandoned by everyone washed over him like freezing water.
But he refused to accept it.
He could not fall here.
"Enough! All of you, shut up!"
He roared hysterically, trying to drown out everyone else with sheer volume.
"You've all been deceived by the Uchiha! Danzo is using every one of you!
"You don't understand! Maintaining balance requires methods! It requires..."
"It requires shameless lies and despicable schemes?!"
Danzo suddenly stepped forward, his voice as cold as a wind from the underworld, completely overpowering Hiruzen's desperate roar.
"Look at yourself now, Hiruzen Sarutobi!
"You're like a gambler who has lost everything but refuses to leave the table!
"You're like a pitiful old man clinging desperately to power!
"Where is your Will of Fire? Where is your desire to protect the village? They have all become fear and madness over losing your authority!"
Extreme contempt shone in Danzo's lone eye as he raised his hand and pointed directly at Hiruzen, delivering his final judgment.
"You are no longer worthy of standing in this position!
"You are no longer worthy of staining the name of Hokage!
"Today, all the clans of Konoha, acting according to the will of Konoha itself, have unanimously decided...
"To remove you, the incompetent and dishonorable Hokage!"
"Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"Please step down!"
Danzo practically roared those final words.
Each syllable struck Hiruzen's heart like a giant hammer and echoed deep into the souls of everyone witnessing the scene.
Hiruzen staggered backward, crashing heavily into the filing cabinet behind him.
His face turned as pale as paper. His lips trembled violently, yet no meaningful words could escape.
He looked around.
All he saw were cold walls and even colder eyes.
He had lost.
Completely.
He had not lost to strength.
He had lost to the people's hearts, to the unstoppable tide of history, and to his own twisted obsession.
His anger, excuses, and unwillingness all turned into blood that he could neither spit out nor swallow, leaving him unable to breathe as darkness clouded his vision.
His spirit seemed to leave him completely. His once straight back visibly bent as he swayed on the verge of collapse.
Two Root members silently stepped forward and supported his limp body.
This time, he did not resist at all.
His empty eyes had completely lost their light as he stared blankly ahead, looking at Danzo and at those who had once faithfully obeyed him.
Danzo waved his hand without emotion.
The two men understood immediately.
Supporting the former Hokage as though carrying a walking corpse, they slowly led him toward the door.
The people lining the hallway remained silent as death.
They automatically moved aside, creating a narrow path.
Every eye followed the old man who seemed to have aged twenty years in a single moment.
There was shock, mixed emotions, pity, satisfaction, but above all, the feeling that history itself had finally reached its conclusion.
Just like that, beneath countless watching eyes, stripped of all dignity, he was quietly escorted out of the Hokage Building that had symbolized his life's glory and authority.
When his figure disappeared into the darkness at the end of the hallway, it felt as though an entire era had disappeared with him.
The office fell into complete silence.
Danzo slowly turned around. His lone eye swept across everyone present before he spoke in a deep voice that echoed through the silent room.
"From this moment onward, a provisional Supreme Council made up of representatives from Konoha's clans and Jonin will temporarily assume the Hokage's authority, stabilize the situation, maintain the village's operations, and immediately begin preparations...
"For the election of the Fourth Hokage."
His gaze lingered for a long moment before settling on the direction of the Uchiha Clan compound beyond the window.
The night grew even darker.
Konoha would not sleep tonight.
The old king had fallen from his throne.
A new era always revealed itself beneath nights filled with political schemes and uncertainty.
This time...
At least no blood had been spilled.
That alone was already a tremendous success.
...
The commotion coming from the Hokage Building spread through the village like a giant stone thrown into a still lake. Even through countless buildings, the noise reached ANBU Headquarters.
Hatake Sakumo was reviewing documents in a secret room when the unusual disturbance caused his writing hand to stop.
His figure silently melted into the shadows.
The next moment, he stood at the highest observation point of the headquarters.
Behind his mask, his sharp eyes pierced through the darkness and locked onto the enormous crowd gathered before the Hokage Building.
Leading them...
Danzo.
Behind him stood the Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Aburame...
Except for the Uchiha Clan, nearly every major clan in Konoha had come out in full force.
Even from this distance, their united determination could be felt.
'A coup...'
Shock flashed across Sakumo's eyes.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind.
He knew Danzo's ambition and his desire for the Hokage's seat, along with the ruthless methods he was willing to use.
Was this a carefully planned seizure of power?
Looking at all those clan representatives behind him...
Danzo's personal influence alone could never have gathered so many people.
Had Danzo truly given up his desire to become Hokage?
If that were true...
Then Konoha's entire power structure was undergoing a complete transformation.
They had chosen this exact moment to act.
That meant they believed the Third Hokage's downfall was inevitable, and that they had found someone far stronger and more worthy to support.
Hiruzen's recent actions had indeed lost him the people's trust.
Yet seeing him overthrown in this way still left Sakumo sighing inwardly.
An era was ending in the cruelest possible manner.
After tonight, regardless of the outcome, Konoha would face a massive upheaval.
The transfer of power.
The reshuffling of every faction.
The chain reaction that might follow.
Everything was uncertain.
The ANBU existed to protect Konoha and obey the Hokage.
But now the Hokage himself was under siege.
What should he do?
Should he lead the ANBU to defend the Third Hokage?
Or should he remain where he was and observe?
If he intervened, he would become the enemy of nearly half of Konoha's clans, inevitably triggering civil war.
If he stayed still, it would be the same as accepting the coup.
Within a single breath, Sakumo weighed every possibility.
The shock in his eyes disappeared.
It became solemn.
Then completely resolute.
He saw Danzo's ruthless determination.
He saw the united choice of the great clans.
He also saw the unavoidable decline of the Third Hokage.
Intervening now would benefit no one.
Furthermore, most of the ANBU under his command were elite members from those very clans.
How could he order them to fight their own families?
It would never work.
Doing so would only drag the ANBU and all of Konoha into an even bloodier civil war, causing meaningless sacrifices and weakening the village itself.
The ANBU's greatest duty was to protect Konoha as a whole.
Not a single individual.
Then, during this period where the old Hokage had fallen and the new one had yet to rise...
What mattered most?
Stability.
And...
The next person truly capable of leading Konoha into a stronger future.
A figure immediately appeared in his mind.
Black hair.
Black eyes.
Always calm.
Possessing immeasurable strength and courage.
Uchiha Chiya.
He had ended the war.
Captured two Kage.
Recruited Orochimaru.
Ignored every attempt to suppress him.
Quietly changed the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village.
His reputation.
His strength.
His character.
Every one of them qualified him to become Hokage.
More importantly...
Had Danzo and the great clans acted tonight because of the Uchiha?
Or perhaps...
Had they already silently chosen Uchiha Chiya as the center of the new era?
Whatever the truth might be...
Uchiha Chiya's decision would determine Konoha's future.
He had to know about this immediately.
And he had to know the ANBU's position.
Or at least...
Hatake Sakumo's position.
Having made up his mind, Sakumo no longer hesitated.
His figure vanished from the observation point like a ghost before reappearing in the secret room.
"Blue Wolf!"
He called out quietly.
An ANBU wearing a wolf mask instantly appeared and knelt on one knee.
It was one of Sakumo's most trusted subordinates.
"Commander!"
Sakumo's eyes were sharp as lightning.
"The Hokage Building has changed. Elder Danzo has led the great clans to force the Third Hokage to step down. The situation can no longer be reversed."
Blue Wolf's body shook slightly before immediately calming down as he waited for further orders.
Sakumo continued, every word carrying immense weight.
"You will personally and secretly go to the Uchiha Clan compound at once and request a meeting with Clan Head Uchiha Chiya.
"Report everything that has happened here exactly as it occurred.
"And tell him..."
Sakumo paused briefly.
Behind his mask, his eyes shone with complicated yet unwavering determination.
"Tell him that ANBU Commander Hatake Sakumo already knows everything.
"The ANBU will continue fulfilling its duty by maintaining order throughout the village and preventing further chaos.
"Sakumo...
"Looks forward to Konoha welcoming a Hokage who truly has the support of everyone, one who can lead the village toward an even stronger future."
Those words were an unmistakable declaration of support.
Especially at such a sensitive time.
"Understood!"
Blue Wolf nodded heavily without a single question.
He understood the importance and danger of this mission.
He also understood how much determination his commander had needed to make this decision.
"Be discreet. Go immediately and return as quickly as possible."
"Yes!"
Blue Wolf vanished like a leopard disappearing into the darkness.
He raced silently toward the Uchiha Clan compound at the fastest possible speed.
Silence returned to the secret room.
Hatake Sakumo stood there alone, listening to the distant commotion from the Hokage Building as it gradually died down.
His heart remained restless.
He knew he had just made a decision that might change Konoha's future.
He had placed his trust in Uchiha Chiya.
Not only to repay a debt of gratitude.
But also...
For Konoha's future.
He believed that only that man could stabilize the village after tonight.
Only he could lead Konoha into a stronger era.
"Chiya... the rest is up to you."
He murmured softly.
His gaze seemed to pass through countless walls, toward the young clan leader who was about to stand at the very peak of power.
Within the darkness, an invisible message carrying the ANBU Commander's determination and expectations sped toward the Uchiha Clan compound.
Konoha's night of political change had quietly turned to a new page.