Konoha F4 Trembling in Fear

Konoha Hospital.

"Hemostatic Forceps, quickly!"

"Prepare to suture the wound!"

The medical ninjas in white coats were drenched in sweat. Even with their foreheads soaked through, they did not dare slow their movements in the slightest.

Because the person they were treating had a special identity.

The darkness of the shinobi world.

Danzo!

Ordinarily, unrelated personnel were not allowed into a place as important as an operating room.

But this time was different.

Nearly ten masked Root members had surrounded the operating room so tightly that not even water could pass through. Wearing standardized gear and carrying ninja swords on their backs, they stood cold and rigid like machines.

Under that pressure, the medical ninjas performing the surgery did not dare slack off in the slightest.

They feared that, the next second, Root's ninja swords would fall upon them.

"Sir... there is something we must inform you of..."

The lead medical ninja swallowed nervously and looked tremblingly at Danzo, who lay on the operating table.

The Shadowless Lamp's pale light shone over the man's injured face, making his already vicious features look even more sinister and terrifying.

"What is it?"

Danzo spoke darkly.

His left eye was severely injured and had almost completely lost its vision. The Sharingan in his right eye socket was wrapped in thick bandages, leaving him unable to see anything as well.

At that moment, he could only perceive the outside world through touch and hearing.

"Your left eyeball... needs to be removed..."

The medical ninja's voice trembled slightly.

The other medical ninjas around him did not even dare breathe.

Most of them had heard of the man before them. The Root buried deep underground had stained its hands with who knew how much blood.

Amid their fear, they could not help but feel a trace of curiosity.

Just what kind of terrifying enemy could injure this man so badly...

But that was not something they needed to consider now.

If they failed to satisfy this man, their fate would be miserable.

"What do you mean? Are you saying Lord Danzo will become a blind man?"

"Bastards! You can't even treat him—what use are you?"

The medical ninjas trembled under Root's intimidation, but Danzo's eyeball had been completely destroyed. There was simply no possibility of repairing it.

Although Danzo's expression did not change as he listened to his subordinates' rebukes, the fingers gripping the bed board turned white from the force.

He was blind.

Completely blind!

After losing his right eye in the war more than a decade ago, now he had lost his left eye as well! Although it could be transplanted.

That humiliation! The humiliation of being toyed with, mocked, and tortured! It had already been deeply branded into his body!

How long had it been, how long since he had felt...

Such humiliation!

Namikaze Mirai, this old man will never rest until one of us is dead!!!

Hokage Office.

Unlike usual, the atmosphere in the Hokage Office was exceptionally heavy today.

In the deathly oppression, the seemingly frozen air made Utatane Koharu and the others feel as though they could barely breathe.

"He is stronger than he was three years ago."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice carried a hint of dryness.

After Namikaze Mirai left, he had dispatched Anbu to investigate that battlefield. The intelligence they brought back made his heart tremble.

Ten Root members. Five of them were jonin, while the other five were special jonin proficient in Sealing Jutsu.

And yet such a formidable force...

Had been completely wiped out!

Not a single corpse remained intact!

The best-preserved one had more than half of his body blasted into minced meat, leaving only a small section of his torso.

What terrified Sarutobi Hiruzen most was this:

After doing all that, Namikaze Mirai did not even have a speck of dust on his clothes. They were spotless, as good as new.

It was as though he had done it casually.

Without expending any effort at all.

Three years ago, he might have been able to achieve this much, but never so easily! What had happened over the past three years for his strength to improve so drastically? "Hiruzen, how is Danzo?"

Utatane Koharu asked anxiously.

The moment she and Mitokado Homura learned of the incident, they had rushed to the Hokage Office in a panic.

They still did not know Danzo's current condition.

They only knew that he had suffered serious injuries and was receiving treatment at Konoha Hospital.

"His left eyeball has completely died. It has no value for treatment and can only be removed."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was extremely complicated as he said this.

On one hand, he was furious at Danzo's recklessness.

If Danzo had not stubbornly insisted on having his way, things would never have reached this point.

On the other hand, both of Danzo's eyes were now blind.

He had already worn a bandage over one eye, and now the other had been wrapped as well.

From the bridge of his nose upward, his entire face was covered in thick bandages.

Fortunately, through Root's tireless efforts, they had still found a suitable transplant donor.

A certain civilian's eyeball was compatible with Danzo.

After receiving a round of Will of Fire instruction from Root, that civilian had been deeply moved. He sighed over Danzo's devoted service to Konoha and was willing to offer up his own eyeball.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could only turn a blind eye to this.

After all, if he did not turn a blind eye, Danzo would have to keep his eyes shut forever.

"That Namikaze Mirai! He is Minato's younger brother, at least—how could he strike so viciously?!"

After hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Homura spoke indignantly.

Even when Namikaze Minato had been Hokage, he had never committed such an excessive act.

Namikaze Mirai's actions showed that he had no regard for them whatsoever!

"The urgent matter is not Danzo's injuries, but how to deal with Namikaze Mirai."

Utatane Koharu's expression was grim.

"That man's personality is completely different from Minato's. Now that Minato and Kushina are both dead, if he truly starts causing trouble, it will be a problem."

With two fingers supporting his forehead and the index finger of his other hand rubbing his temple, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt as though his head were splitting apart, as if a chopstick had been stabbed into it and viciously stirred around.

The moment Namikaze Mirai returned, so many things had fallen into chaos.

"He has always believed that I mistreated Naruto. But in all honesty, I did everything I could for Minato's orphan, and I never shortchanged him on living expenses."

"As for Minato's inheritance, the village needed to be rebuilt. Using that portion of the inheritance for the village—if Minato knew in the afterlife, he should be comforted by it!"

"I simply never expected him to bear a grudge against me because of it."

The three fell silent once more.

The Hokage's office grew quiet.

Back when Namikaze Mirai had not disappeared three years ago, he had often used Minato's influence to suppress them.

The relationship between Namikaze Mirai and Minato

was like that between Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The difference was that, as actual brothers, Minato and Mirai had been far closer.

Conversations like, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!" or "Danzo, I'm the Hokage!" had never occurred between the two of them.

Nor had the door to the Hokage's office needed replacing so often.

When news came that Namikaze Mirai had disappeared, they had all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Without that troublesome younger brother, Minato might not have been their match in the struggle for power.

But unexpectedly, the Nine-Tails Attack erupted just a few months later.

Minato was gone as well.

"Knowing Danzo as I do, once he recovers, he may not let this go."

"Hiruzen, be prepared."

"A storm is coming."

Utatane Koharu said earnestly.