Hokage Office.
Looking at the golden-red sun inside the crystal ball—the explosion that had completely erased the Root base—
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura both fell into a long, suffocating silence.
After a long while, Hiruzen slowly exhaled.
"Tailed Beast Ball."
"An S-rank secret technique exclusive to Tailed Beasts… the ultimate attack of a perfect Jinchūriki."
"Uzumaki Lock… he's growing far too fast."
If he hadn't confirmed it repeatedly, Hiruzen would have believed the one he was watching was the Nine-Tails itself.
He had seen perfect Jinchūriki before—Yagura of the Hidden Mist and Killer Bee of Kumogakure.
But none of them wielded such catastrophic power with such casual ease.
Beside him, Danzo's face was dark enough to drip ink.
A third of his forces.
Gone.
Years of accumulated manpower and resources—erased in a single blast.
And Sai, the most promising young shinobi he had personally cultivated, was now being dragged around like livestock by Lock.
Fortunately, several of the Hokage's direct ANBU had also been captured.
Lock clearly understood someone had set him up.
Which meant… There would soon be a conflict worth watching.
Even knowing that, Danzo's anger refused to settle.
He crushed the desk corner beneath his hand and glared at Hiruzen.
"Is this the result you wanted, Hiruzen?"
"Four Special Jonin, elite Jonin, over two hundred Chunin—the backbone of the village—and countless Genin!"
"All slaughtered by our own weapon under your so-called Will of Fire!"
"Is this your righteousness?!"
The more he spoke, the harsher his tone became.
"And the Jinchūriki must be punished and compensation given!"
"Otherwise, I will unite the advisors and impeach you!"
He already had a blood feud with Lock.
If reconciliation was impossible, then destroying the relationship between Lock and Hiruzen was the better move.
Force punishment.
Create division.
And the violent personality clearly disliked Hiruzen already.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
Truthfully, he had only intended Lock to eliminate some Root elites as intimidation.
He never expected Lock to massacre everyone.
Not even an ant survived.
Worse still—
Naruto hadn't stopped him.
After all the indoctrination about the Will of Fire, Naruto allowed the slaughter of village shinobi.
Even the ANBU Hiruzen sent were now tied together like animals.
After a moment, Hiruzen spoke coldly.
"I will restore your position as Hokage Advisor."
"Root funding will also resume."
"And your surviving subordinate will be released."
He paused, eyes sharp.
"Is this compensation sufficient?"
"Hmph. Far from enough."
Danzo sneered.
"You raised a Jinchūriki with no loyalty to the village."
"I demand he be handed to Root for secondary education."
After witnessing Lock's strength, Danzo wanted the Nine-Tails even more.
If he obtained the Jinchūriki… and used that eye…
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
"A Jinchūriki now comparable to us in strength—and you believe you can control him?"
Danzo smiled faintly.
"That is not your concern."
"My Root will handle him better than a hypocritical Hokage ever could."
Hiruzen's suspicion deepened.
Had Danzo succeeded with Hashirama cells again?
Or had his Sharingan research progressed to controlling Tailed Beasts?
Regardless, Hiruzen rejected him immediately.
"The Jinchūriki will remain under my authority."
Just as the words fell—
A voice sounded from outside.
"Arrangements for me?"
"Would the Third Hokage care to explain?"
Crash!
The office door opened.
Lock walked in, dragging a line of injured shinobi bound together by chakra threads.
A bright smile rested on his face.
Only his eyes didn't smile at all.
"Yo, old dog Danzo. Didn't catch you in your nest."
Seeing Danzo's dark expression, Lock widened his grin exaggeratedly.
"How've you been lately? Still bleeding back there?"
"You bastard—shut up!"
Danzo instantly lost composure.
Being insulted was tolerable.
But the humiliation from two weeks ago—the kick and the injury—was unforgettable.
Suppressing his rage, he spoke coldly.
Assaulting leadership. Killing comrades. Destroying village facilities."
"Uzumaki Lock, explain yourself."
"Otherwise, the Hokage will purge rogue shinobi behaviour."
"Explanation?"
Lock laughed.
"Root colluding with rogue ninja, attempting assassination of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, kidnapping my teammates, and trying to recreate the Nine-Tails incident thirteen years ago."
"How about that explanation?"
"What nonsense!"
Danzo nearly choked with fury.
This blame-shifting was even worse than Hiruzen's politics.
And how did Lock know about Orochimaru?
"My Root has always acted with integrity!"
Lock ignored him and turned toward Hiruzen.
"What does Hokage-sama believe?"
"Surely you're not saying your own ANBU kidnapped my teammates to frame this old dog?"
Hiruzen stared at Lock for a long moment before answering.
"You are correct that Root had internal problems."
"But this matter has nothing to do with Danzo. The base contained traitors."
"Bullshit!" Danzo roared.
"There are no traitors in Root!"
The two had rewritten reality in seconds—and he was the scapegoat.
His members bore the Cursed Tongue Seal.
If they were traitors, what did that make him?
"Got a problem, old dog?" Lock smiled violently.
"I said—my Root—"
Before Danzo could finish—
Lock vanished.
Golden-red chakra flashed.
Slap!
The sound echoed through the office.
Two bloody molars spun through the air as Danzo's head snapped sideways, disbelief frozen across his face.
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