The Death of Danzo

Hiruzen Sarutobi's roar thundered across the square, his voice laced with fury, grief, and the despair of being crushed by reality.

The Kage-level aura he had kept restrained now erupted, sweeping across the entire plaza.

The air in the square grew stifling, suffocating everyone present.

Shimura Danzō smiled.

Faced with Hiruzen's murderous intent that threatened to tear everything apart, he showed no sign of resistance.

He straightened his spine and met his old friend's gaze.

In that one-eyed gaze, there was no malice, no scheming—only the calm of one who had seen through it all.

"Do it, Hiruzen."

"We've fought each other our whole lives, schemed against each other our whole lives."

"To die by your hand in the end... I suppose it's not unjust."

"It's just a pity... I won't live to see the day Konoha truly stands at the peak of the shinobi world."

The bloodshot veins in Hiruzen's eyes grew more pronounced.

"Shut up!!"

He roared, his form vanishing from where he stood.

The next moment, he appeared before Danzō, his weathered hand transformed into a claw, driving straight for Danzō's heart!

This strike held no mercy.

Thud!

The claw pierced through flesh and blood.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl in that instant.

Hiruzen could clearly feel the heart beneath his fingertips, pounding violently.

Warm to the touch.

Just as warm as sixty years ago, when the two of them had shared a single rice ball on the battlefield.

Danzō's body trembled violently, blood gushing from his mouth in great torrents.

He didn't look down at his wound. Instead, with the last of his strength, he raised a hand and gently patted the arm Hiruzen had driven into him.

The motion was light, like a soothing gesture.

"Hiruzen..."

"Beware... this Daimyo..."

"He is more evil... than the Uchiha..."

Before he could finish, the light in his eyes faded completely.

His arm fell limp.

Shimura Danzō, the Darkness of Konoha, leader of Root, a man who had stood alongside the Third Hokage for an era.

Had died—by his own ambition.

Killed by the hand of his closest friend, his lifelong rival.

Hiruzen slowly withdrew his hand.

Blood dripped from his fingers, splattering against the cold stone floor in tiny crimson blossoms.

He stared blankly at Danzō's corpse, tears already streaking down his cheeks.

He stood there, motionless, letting the wind tousle his hair.

Looking closely, more than half of his hair had turned white.

The Shinobi Hero, in that moment, seemed to have aged twenty years.

The clamor around them did not break the silence here.

Konoha's shinobi watched the scene, their expressions complex.

Sorrow, anger, confusion, and a strange, unspoken relief.

Minato Namikaze's fists were clenched so tight his nails dug deep into his palms.

Hiruzen's desolate silhouette pierced his heart.

But he understood more clearly than anyone—from the moment Danzō's rebellion began, this ending had already been sealed.

On the high platform.

Chiba Ran took in the entire scene, his face betraying no emotion.

As if what had died was merely an annoying insect, not a Council Elder of Konoha.

He turned his gaze to the Four Nations Delegation seated in the viewing stands, clearly reading the expressions on their faces.

Seeing the Daimyo look their way, they all lowered their heads.

The envoy from the Land of Lightning had long lost his mocking expression; his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

The envoy from the Land of Earth no longer stroked his beard; his hands were hidden in his sleeves, trembling slightly.

In the eyes of the envoy from the Land of Wind, beyond shock, there was mostly fear.

The envoy from the Land of Water was equally terrified, not daring to meet his gaze.

Mei Terumi, her delicate frame trembling lightly.

She looked at the young Daimyo on the high platform, far too young for his position, and for the first time felt what true fear was.

The cruelty and bloodshed of the Bloody Mist Village were visible slaughter and tyranny.

But the silent schemes of the man before her were invisible.

Without shedding a drop of blood, he had lured them into a trap, making the two titans of Konoha tear each other apart, turning the Shinobi Hero, who shook the ninja world, into a pitiful wretch who killed his own friend with his own hands, in front of the entire world.

Such methods, such a nature...

She suddenly felt that whether it was Kirigakure or the Rebel Army she and Genji had formed, it was all like a child's game.

Immature!

Chiba Ran was very satisfied with their reactions.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Kill one to warn a hundred, intimidate all directions.

He slowly raised his hand, and his voice rang out again, not loud, but clearly reaching every corner of the square.

"Aono Saku."

"Your subordinate is here."

That Hidden Guard Leader, wearing a pure black mask, appeared silently behind him, kneeling on one knee.

"Clear the battlefield, collect the civilians' remains, give them a proper burial, and compensate those with families!"

"All traitors, hang their corpses at the city gate for three days of public display."

"As for the masterminds..."

Chiba Ran's gaze fell on Saionji Takashi and Chiba Xiu, who had already collapsed into a limp, terrified mess.

Compared to Chiba Xiu, Saionji Takashi still had some backbone.

Though his legs trembled, he stubbornly refused to collapse, instead glaring with hatred.

"Saionji Takashi, behead him and display his head, exterminate his three clans!"

"Chiba Xiu, cripple his limbs, cut out his tongue, and imprison him in the water dungeon."

"Let him live well, let him watch closely how my Land of Fire grows stronger day by day."

"Yes!" Aono Saku accepted the order, waving his hand to have the two taken away.

"Chiba Ran, you'll die a miserable death, you... ugh..."

When his fate was pronounced, Saionji Takashi cursed out loud, but a Hidden Guard punched him in the mouth, sending blood and teeth flying.

Chiba Xiu trembled violently, extreme terror erupting in his eyes, his throat making hoarse sounds, but he couldn't even utter a plea for mercy.

Paying no attention to the barking of a dying old dog, he shifted his gaze to the Konoha camp, to Minato Namikaze.

"Fourth Hokage."

Minato Namikaze's heart tightened, and he instinctively straightened his body, "Lord Daimyo."

"The Third is tired. Take him back to rest."

Chiba Ran's tone was very flat.

"I don't want to see Konoha's internal strife a second time."

"I hope you will remember this."

A reprimand, without any regard for the other's status.

Having gone through a series of events, Minato Namikaze bowed and said, "Yes, I will obey Lord Daimyo's command."

At this moment, the era of the Daimyo had begun.

Chiba Ran nodded in satisfaction.

He no longer looked at anyone, turned, and slowly walked back to the center of the high platform.

He extended both hands and solemnly lifted the National Stone, symbolizing the highest authority of the Land of Fire.

Sunlight spilled down, and the intricate flame patterns on the National Stone seemed to come alive, blazing fiercely in his palm.

He raised the National Stone high.

Facing the myriad people.

Facing the world.

"The grand ceremony, is concluded!"

As the Chief Ceremonial Officer's shout rang out, the tens of thousands of people in the square fell into a brief, dead silence, then erupted into cheers like a crashing tsunami.

"Long live the Daimyo!!"

"Long live the Land of Fire!!"

They might not understand politics or schemes.

But they had seen with their own eyes that the Daimyo had crushed the rebellion with lightning force and safeguarded their peace.

That was enough.

Amid the deafening cheers, a pale blue light screen, visible only to him, slowly unfurled before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Main Quest: Lord of the Land of Fire (Phase Two) — Completed!]

[Quest Evaluation: Perfect (With the force of thunder, under the gaze of the multitudes, you swept away internal and external enemies, established the Daimyo's supreme authority, and cowed all petty villains from afar.)]

[Quest rewards being distributed...]

[Congratulations, host. You have received the reward: Economic Policy Sandbox!]