Chapter 49:The Death of Danzo Shimura
The bamboo curtain of the hot spring inn on the commercial street was lifted by a sudden gust of wind. Amid the rising steam, two Shimura elders were leisurely enjoying their massages.
Uchiha Kusuri's kunai pressed silently against the back of the masseur's neck. A single glance made the man collapse limply to the ground.
"Shimura Takeshi, Shimura Tadayoshi, you two have committed crimes. The Police Force invites you to have a cup of tea."
The older Shimura Takeshi was about to form seals, but he found his fingers no longer obeyed him. At some point, his chakra pathways had been sealed.
The younger Shimura Tadayoshi tried to leap up, but iron chains suddenly wrapped around his ankles, slamming him heavily onto the hot spring stones and splashing a large spray of water.
"Uchiha! Are you trying to rebel?!" Shimura Takeshi roared, but he was knocked unconscious by a hand chop from Uchiha Kusuri.
When the two Shimura clan elders, wrapped only in bathrobes, were dragged out of the hot spring inn, Uchiha Sanpō was leaning against the cherry blossom tree outside the door.
He reached out and plucked a cherry blossom, speaking softly: "Don't worry, you'll soon be able to see Danzō Shimura."
It was now 7 PM. The villagers of Konoha had just finished dinner and had nothing to do.
Seeing many people running toward Konoha Square, they began to join in. Soon, several thousand people had gathered in the square.
In the center of the square, the two bound Shimura elders were sweating profusely as they were tied to wooden stakes.
Suddenly, more than a dozen Root ninjas flashed out from various directions.
The crowd parted to create a path. Danzō Shimura's figure slowly appeared, his cane striking the ground heavily.
"Uchiha! Release them immediately!"
Uchiha Sanpō stood on the high platform, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Danzō Shimura, you old dog actually came in person? This is… exactly what I wanted."
Danzō, angered by such rudeness, raised his left hand and shouted: "Do it!"
In an instant, more than a dozen Root members charged toward the two Shimura elders.
Uchiha Sanpō gave a hand signal. Uchiha Shisui's Three Tomoe Sharingan began to spin. Danzō's single eye lost focus for a few seconds—he had fallen under Shisui's Sharingan genjutsu.
Uchiha Sanpō used the Body Flicker Technique. A flash of cold light passed.
Danzō's right arm was severed at the shoulder, blood spraying onto the sandy ground of the square.
Immediately after, his fingers directly plunged into the bandaged right eye and forcibly gouged out the still-spinning Three Tomoe Sharingan.
"AAAHHH!!!" Danzō's scream startled birds within a hundred-meter radius into flight.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just arrived, witnessed this scene. The pipe in his hand fell to the ground with a "clack."
His voice boomed like muffled thunder: "Uchiha Sanpō! Release Advisor Danzō immediately!"
Twelve Anbu simultaneously drew their weapons. The cold glint of kunai formed a unified line.
The villagers at the edge of the square began to stir. A few timid ones had already shrunk back.
Uchiha Sanpō unhurriedly placed his long blade against Danzō's neck. The edge had already drawn a thin line of blood.
Seeing this, Uchiha Ukon and the Police Force members began distributing flyers. The flyers listed Danzō Shimura's crimes, Root's training process, and the names of children who had joined Root over the years.
Crime 1: The department under Danzō Shimura's responsibility was the "Anbu Training Department," abbreviated as Root. Most members were war orphans. They were forcibly recruited into Root at ages 5-6 and had to master basic assassination techniques before age 10. The elimination rate was as high as 90%.
According to Police Force investigations, a total of 1,432 war orphans were forcibly sent into Root, resulting in over 1,300 children dying during Root training.
Root Training Process:
To make Root members emotionless, upon graduation they must personally kill a comrade or family member.
Those who survive will have the Tongue Root Seal implanted, preventing them from revealing any information about Root. Defying orders results in death by the curse seal's backlash.
20 hours of high-intensity daily training, including: a. Endless assassination drills: Before graduation, students must ambush each other. Serious injuries are the norm. b. Poison resistance tests: Students are forced to ingest deadly poisons and must concoct antidotes themselves. Failure means death. c. Starvation survival: One week without food, surviving only by stealing or eating comrades' corpses.
Once a student is eliminated, they become a test subject for Root's human experiments. The mortality rate approaches 100%.
Crime 2: To steal kekkei genkai from Konoha clans, they captured Konoha villagers for human experiments. To steal the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and forbidden techniques, they assassinated several Uchiha jōnin.
Evidence: Danzō Shimura's right arm was transplanted with Hashirama cells and several Three Tomoe Sharingan. Beneath the bandages on his right eye, there is also a transplanted Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Crime 3: Inciting war. During the Second Great Ninja War, the arrogant Danzō Shimura went to Amegakure and provoked Hanzō of the Salamander, only to be wounded on his right arm and blinded in his right eye. Seeing how weak Konoha's elders were, Hanzō declared war on Konoha, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Konoha ninjas.
The thousands of Konoha villagers watching the scene saw Danzō's crimes and began shouting: "Danzō Shimura deserves to die! Kill him! Kill him!"
Danzō Shimura deserves to die! Kill him! Kill him!
Seeing that the villagers' emotions had been stirred, Uchiha Sanpō suddenly raised his voice, his words spreading across the entire square: "Do you know why Danzō Shimura committed so many evil deeds yet no one dared to expose him? Because the person shielding him is none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
With that, the tip of his long blade pointed straight at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The square instantly exploded. Hiruzen Sarutobi felt cold sweat run down his back.
Several clan leaders at the edge of the crowd exchanged meaningful glances.
Hiruzen Sarutobi forced himself to stay calm and shouted: "Absurd! When have I ever shielded Danzō? I had no knowledge of his actions."
Uchiha Sanpō sneered: "Root's official name is the Anbu Training Department, and Anbu is directly under the Hokage. Root's funding was also approved with your signature as Hokage. Now you tell us you knew nothing about Root!"
He grabbed Danzō's bloody severed arm and displayed the part embedded with Sharingan to the crowd: "Where did these eyes come from? And how did this arm transplanted with Hashirama cells come to be?!"
A white-haired old woman suddenly rushed out from the crowd. Her trembling finger almost poked Hiruzen Sarutobi in the face: "The day my grandson was taken away, I clearly saw it was Anbu who took him!"
An old farmer wearing a straw hat trembled as he took a flyer. Muddy tears dripped onto the paper: "My grandson… said he was going to participate in Anbu selection… and then he never came back… So he was already gone…"
Root used children for human experiments
In the crowd, heart-wrenching cries suddenly erupted: "That's my little Ryōta! His name is on the list!"
When they read the part about "surviving by eating comrades' corpses," a burly man suddenly threw the kitchen knife in his hand toward the platform. It sank deeply into Danzō Shimura's thigh.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips trembled. As he looked around, all he saw were eyes filled with anger and betrayal.
Even the most loyal Anbu had lowered their weapons.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly sounded much older: "I… I didn't know about these…"
Danzō Shimura, enduring the pain, suddenly burst into laughter: "Evil Uchiha! Everything has nothing to do with Hiruzen. Everything this old man did was for Konoha!"
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sanpō erupted with intense killing intent. He swung his long blade forcefully, creating a sharp whistling sound through the air.
Danzō Shimura's head flew high into the sky. Blood gushed from his neck.
His eyes were filled with disbelief. He… was actually going to die…
Early access to upcoming chapters is available on Patreon.
Support the translator and binge ahead! patreon.com/arthursink Means a lot – thank you! ✍️