Sarutobi Hiruzen's Fury

The Hyuga Branch Family jonin's eyes flashed with greed. He had never found success within his clan, and as a branch family member, he truly needed a dazzling achievement to prove himself.

The jonin from the Inuzuka Clan and the jonin from the Akimichi Clan likewise brightened.

They had the same ambition.

After hearing Asuma's analysis, even the Inuzuka jonin, who had been considering retreat, began to stir with excitement.

Only Kurenai Yuhi secretly worried about Ingetsu. She wanted to ask him face-to-face why he was doing this.

"Everyone, relax. There are at most a dozen or so Uchiha in their group. Don't worry. I have a backup plan."

Asuma smiled confidently.

After hearing this,

the other jonin's worries vanished completely.

Kurenai Yuhi's concern grew even stronger. She had to go with them this time. Even if she couldn't save Ingetsu, she couldn't let him be humiliated to death.

She felt nothing for Danzo.

She had even less goodwill toward ANBU and the Root Organization.

If those people died, so be it.

She simply didn't believe

that Ingetsu would betray the village.

The five of them turned into black shadows and vanished into the night as the two jonin from the Hyuga Branch Family and Inuzuka Clan began their search.

Deep into the night, midnight arrived, and the liveliest, most prosperous district in Leaf Village gradually began to quiet down.

Hokage Building.

Main entrance.

Two rows of ANBU's finest stood fully equipped and ready to depart. Their backs were straight, ninja blades strapped behind them, and animal masks covering their faces, giving them an intensely murderous air.

Judging solely by their presence, these ANBU elites were even more formidable than the ANBU Vanguard Unit.

Under the night sky, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura paced back and forth, waiting for the vanguard unit to send back a report.

Like Danzo, the two of them were Hokage Assistants and Advisors, possessing both bearing and authority.

But at this moment, the solemnity and unease on their faces were etched deeply into their aged features and grew more pronounced by the second.

"Why hasn't any news come back yet..."

Mitokado Homura's expression was gloomy, his brow creased with worry.

Utatane Koharu consoled him:

"Don't panic. The Uchiha Clan must be wiped out tonight, whether they want it or not. If they don't want to die, we can help them preserve their dignity!"

Mitokado Homura mused, "Bring Hiruzen out. It's probably about time. We should go clean up the aftermath."

They had played crucial roles in the Uchiha Clan Massacre Operation proposed by Danzo, and both had strongly supported the plan.

Since the Uchiha had thoughts of rebellion,

those thoughts had to be strangled in the cradle.

They had no ability to resolve the long-standing conflict between Leaf Village and the Uchiha, so they would resolve the Uchiha.

At that moment, an injured ANBU appeared from the distance with a Body Flicker Technique and dropped into a half-crouch before the two Hokage Assistants.

When Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura saw how battered he was, they immediately felt uneasy. The situation seemed to have exceeded their expectations.

Had the Uchiha Clan risen up in resistance?

The two Hokage Assistants' expressions darkened.

The ANBU hurriedly recounted everything that had happened at the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Upon hearing this,

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura's pupils suddenly widened. Their entire bodies trembled, and the unease on their faces transformed into shock and disbelief.

Their faces turned ashen, as though they had eaten a dead rat, and they hurried side by side toward the Hokage Office.

The Uchiha Clan had been wiped out as planned.

But Danzo was dead, and the Root Organization and ANBU Vanguard Unit had suffered devastating losses!!

"Senior, what happened?"

Within the ANBU formation, Yamato whispered to the fox-faced ANBU beside him.

Kakashi said bluntly, "I couldn't hear clearly. Anyway..."

Crack--

Inside the brightly lit Hokage Office, the sound of a cup smashing onto the floor suddenly rang out, followed immediately by Sarutobi Hiruzen's furious roar.

The ANBU members and the others trembled.

How long had it been since their kind-faced Third Hokage had flown into such a rage?

Something major must have happened to the village.

Kakashi immediately fell silent.

Yamato didn't dare ask anything else.

Uchiha Clan Grounds forest.

A large number of ANBU once again infiltrated this area, which had just experienced a brief clash.

At the head was Sarutobi Hiruzen. His aged face was gloomy, a Hokage Cloak draped over his shoulders and snapping in the wind as he strode into the forest at the front.

The two Hokage Advisors and elite ANBU hurried after him, while some ANBU members took up elevated positions around the area.

Smelling the blood permeating the air, solemnity appeared in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. His fists, held behind his back, clenched tightly as he casually swept his gaze over the bodies on the ground.

He immediately deduced what had most likely happened: the ANBU Vanguard Unit had carelessly entered the forest and been ambushed by the Root Organization.

The Root Organization had suffered losses exceeding eighty percent!

The ANBU Vanguard Unit had lost more than half its members this time!

"That old bastard Danzo really did deserve to die!!" A weight of anger lodged in Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest, impossible to expel or swallow. He then waved his hand and ordered, "Carry away all the wounded and recover the bodies!"

The ANBU captains nodded one after another and began cleaning up the scene with their subordinates. This was ANBU's daily work: kill, clean up, and burn!

As the Hokage's personal guards, Kakashi and Yamato did not need to leave his side.

Seeing the devastation,

Kakashi and Yamato sighed repeatedly in their hearts.

Leaf Village had suffered devastating losses in this operation. Just these dead elite Root and ANBU members alone would take who knew how many years to train again.

Sarutobi Hiruzen entered the depths of the forest with a dark expression. There, everyone saw the giant tree.

The two Hokage Advisors froze before a hollow in the tree, staring at the familiar aged face embedded inside it.

"Dan... Danzo..."

Mitokado Homura adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. The wrinkles on his forehead twisted into a knot as he hurried to the hollow, placed a finger beneath Danzo's nose, then pressed it against the artery in his neck.

A moment later,

Mitokado Homura lowered his head and turned around, his expression gloomy as he shook his head, signaling that Danzo had lost all signs of life.

Utatane Koharu approached with a grave expression and took several medical instruments from a storage scroll to examine Danzo's vital signs.

She had always been skilled in Medical Ninjutsu. In her youth, she had belonged to the elite guard unit under the Second Hokage and served as a Medical Ninja.

The electronic medical instruments showed no response whatsoever.

Utatane Koharu's heart sank completely. She shook her head and said, "There are no vital signs whatsoever. Biologically speaking, he's dead."

Danzo's death would have a tremendous impact on Leaf Village.

First, the intelligence department would be rocked to its foundations. Those sleeper agents scattered outside Leaf Village might not be recoverable.

Second, with Root gone, Leaf Village had effectively lost the sharp blade that kept its internal forces in check.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Overcome with rage, he felt a sweetness rise in his throat and forcibly swallowed the blood that had reached his mouth before personally stepping forward to examine Danzo.

Looking at the familiar old face in the hollow,

Sarutobi Hiruzen fixed his gaze on the hilt of the ninja blade driven precisely into Danzo's heart.

That was an Uchiha ninja blade.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's thoughts grew chaotic, as though countless Exploding Tags had detonated inside his mind.

Had Danzo lived all these years for nothing?

He couldn't even deal with an ordinary Uchiha, and before dying, he had caused such devastating losses to Root and ANBU.

He really deserved to die!

"Danzo was really killed by that Uchiha Ingetsu."

Sarutobi Hiruzen pulled the ninja blade from the tree. No longer able to suppress his rage, he spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back several steps.

"Hiruzen!!"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura immediately rushed forward to support him and steady his body.

"Don't worry about me. Have someone take his body back. The Wood Release byproducts on him contain the First's cells."

Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his aged eyes, threw the ninja blade to the ground, and forcibly straightened himself. Looking toward the Uchiha Clan Grounds, he continued:

"Go to the Uchiha Clan Grounds first!"

The full moon sank in the west.

The night gave way to dawn.

In the primeval forest of No. 007 Abandoned Training Ground, eighty li northwest of Leaf Village,

Ingetsu led the group onward toward the northwest.

With Chakra circulating through their bodies, they covered in just two hours the distance that an ordinary army in Ingetsu's previous life would have needed a full day to march on foot.

No one spoke along the way.

It was only when they passed a ruined camp that a young Uchiha carrying Tamao suddenly cried out:

"Captain Yinyue, Tamao has passed out!!"

Ingetsu stopped and looked back. Suddenly, words appeared in his mind:

Side Mission: Heal Teammate

Options:

1. Heal teammate.

Reward: Green Medicine.