"Lord Hokage, the casualty report for the Root Base has been completed."
"Over seventy percent were killed. The Root Base has been completely destroyed, and key sections such as the laboratories and storage rooms suffered severe damage as well."
In the Hokage Office, the Anbu holding the report continued his account.
With every sentence he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face grew a shade paler.
By the end, he was almost bloodless, his back hunched as though he had aged more than ten years.
Danzo was dead.
Root had also been destroyed.
With such devastating losses, even if he wanted to rebuild it, there was almost no chance of making it happen.
Danzo, his right-hand man, had died in such absurd and ridiculous fashion.
The Shimura Clan had searched the ruins for a long time before finding a few scraps of Danzo's flesh and hair. They wrapped them in the clothes he had worn in life and buried them.
Barely, it could be considered a grave.
Even now, Sarutobi Hiruzen could not understand it.
Why had Danzo targeted Naruto? Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, seated nearby, wore equally bloodless and grim expressions on their aged faces.
To their left was Danzo's seat.
In the past, the four of them had discussed every major matter here.
But now, only three of the four remained.
Danzo's seat was now completely empty.
"Lord Hokage, there is one more matter that must be reported to you."
The Anbu's voice turned solemn.
"We discovered a ninja capable of using Wood Style within Root's ruins."
"What?!"
The moment he finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen's breath caught. His eyes widened as he stared at the Anbu, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
"Wood Style? Are you certain it was Wood Style?"
His breathing grew heated.
Wood Style—that was the