Danzo's Doom

Danzo had no time to care about his slain subordinates. He could feel the intense killing intent Kawafune held toward him.

He no longer tried to explain himself. He tossed out a smoke bomb and swiftly fled.

When the smoke cleared, Danzo was already dozens of meters away.

"Such a petty trick, and you dare show off before an expert?"

Kawafune muttered coldly with disdain, then caught up in a single Body Flicker.

Danzo had to die today.

The Hatake Clan's Samurai were still locked in battle with the Uchiha, yet forget casualties—no one had even been injured.

They had controlled the scale perfectly. The casualty-free drill had been a great success.

As for the Root ninja, they had already scattered. Under Sakumo and his wife's combined assault, they were slaughtered until their ranks collapsed.

Danzo only wanted to return to the village. As long as he reached the Hokage Building—no, as long as he reached anywhere guarded by Anbu—

He could save his own life.

He had already pushed his speed to the limit, yet he still could not shake Kawafune behind him.

The distance between them was even closing.

"Hatake Kawafune, why must you hound me so relentlessly?"

"I will no longer interfere with your hospital. Spare me."

Danzo looked back, gritting his teeth as he spoke bitterly. He truly had no intention of targeting the hospital again.

Yet his feet continued darting through the trees without slowing.

"You said the same thing last time at my house. You will not get another chance."

Lightning-nature Chakra suddenly erupted from Kawafune's entire body, and his speed rose sharply once more.

In an instant, he caught up from behind. Only then did Danzo understand that this had merely been a game of cat and mouse.

Unfortunately, he was the mouse.

Kawafune's sword flashed like lightning, carving a brilliant streak of white through the air as it shot toward Danzo's neck.

Sensing the bone-piercing chill, Danzo bit his finger and slammed it against a tree trunk. "Summoning Jutsu."

His hands rapidly formed seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Wave."

Smoke rose, then his vision cleared again.

Kawafune's sword had been blocked by a massive summoned beast with an elephant trunk and tusks. It was Danzo's summon, Baku.

The Eight-Faced Han Sword sliced its long trunk cleanly in half.

Baku let out a pained roar, then inhaled violently, unleashing an overwhelmingly powerful suction from its mouth.

Kawafune was dragged toward its jaws, while Danzo's Wind Release attack had already reached him.

"Excellent teamwork. You are not completely useless after all."

Not only was Kawafune unflustered, he even had the leisure to mock Danzo.

Lightning-nature Chakra began spreading toward the tip of the Chakra-wreathed Eight-Faced Han Sword in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, it had extended beyond Baku's entire length.

Kawafune raised it high and brought it down on Baku in a single slash.

Baku shrieked miserably. Along with Danzo's Wind Release, it was cleaved to nothing and dissolved into smoke, its fate unknown.

Seeing that he was no match for Kawafune, Danzo could only flee again.

All he could think was, Faster. I need to be faster.

Joy appeared in his eyes when he caught sight of the Hokage Building in the distance.

But then he heard a cold voice behind him, followed by a burst of searing pain.

"Goodbye, Danzo. Do not oppose me in your next life."

Kawafune's sword pierced out through his back, chilling his heart to the core. One strike killed him.

With unwillingness, reluctance, and hatred for Kawafune in his eyes, Danzo fell to the ground.

A deafening crash rang out. A generation's Pot Kage had died his sinful death before he even got the chance to assume the title.

Kawafune remained expressionless. With a flick of his right hand, the blood flew from his sword, and the blade vanished.

He walked over to Danzo's corpse and carefully sensed it once more, confirming that there was no mistake.

Without a Sharingan to perform Izanagi, Danzo was dead beyond any doubt.

Kawafune had no intention of touching Danzo's body. This matter could not possibly be concealed.

He turned and left with a carefree air, heading for the hospital construction site.

By the time he arrived, the conflict had already subsided, because every Root member on the battlefield was dead.

The killing intent around Sakumo had yet to fade, and he radiated an intimidating presence.

Nayuki and Ghost Mastiff stood far away from him.

The Uchiha clansmen and the Hatake Clan's Samurai stood clearly separated.

Tsunade was speaking with the Uchiha Clan Head, while Utatane Koharu had joined the conversation as well.

"Danzo attempted to assassinate Koharu Advisor and weaken the Third Hokage's power. This Konoha traitor has already been executed."

Kawafune walked over and immediately pinned a massive charge on Danzo. With the man dead, Utatane Koharu had no choice but to stand on his side now.

Everyone wore a different expression.

Sakumo was neither surprised nor pleased. He had wanted to kill Danzo to vent his anger last time.

Nayuki did not care about that. She was still soothing the frightened Ghost Mastiff.

Tsunade also looked as though it were only natural.

The Uchiha Clan Head was shocked at first, then quickly calmed down. He had considered the possibility, but he had not expected Kawafune to be so decisive.

"You killed Danzo?"

On one hand, Utatane Koharu found it unbelievable. Danzo was a ninja who had survived the First Shinobi World War, and his strength was still at its peak.

There was not the slightest sign of exhaustion from a great battle on Kawafune's body, giving her a direct understanding of his strength.

On the other hand, she had not expected Kawafune to be so bold. No matter what, Danzo was still the Third Hokage's fellow disciple, yet Kawafune had simply killed him.

She regretted agreeing to come with Tsunade ten thousand times over. She had ended up taking the blame for Kawafune.

"Yes. If the Third Hokage asks, there is no need to put in a good word for me."

"Maintaining the village's peace and stability is simply part of my duty."

Kawafune acted magnanimous, perfectly embodying the essence of shamelessness.

If Utatane Koharu had not known she could not beat him, she would have sprayed him in the face with curses.

Taking someone's money meant handling their troubles. Now, there was no other way.

"...I will return to see the Third Hokage."

Utatane Koharu steeled herself and left alone.

"Koharu Advisor, take care. When the hospital officially opens, I will have to trouble you to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony."

Kawafune called after her, but Utatane Koharu clearly had no energy left to deal with him and pretended not to hear.

"So this was why you paid to hire Koharu Advisor as vice director?"

Only now did Tsunade realize it. What far-sighted planning.

"Otherwise, do you think my money blows in on the wind? Did you think everyone was like you, and I was just dying for you to spend it?"

Kawafune was still in the mood to tease Tsunade.

"Sooner or later, I will spend you into bankruptcy."

Tsunade snorted and said no more.

"Hatake Kawafune, this is where we part ways."

"I hope you do not forget what you promised me."

Seeing that the situation had been settled, the Uchiha Clan Head did not linger any longer.

He led his clansmen away, uncertain whether cooperating with this little fox had been the right decision.

"Uchiha Fugaku, I think highly of you."

Kawafune suddenly called out from behind him. Fugaku looked back at him but did not respond.

He assumed Kawafune was humiliating him as a defeated opponent.

Little did he know that Kawafune's gaze had already reached far into the future.

The Uchiha Clan was a clan burdened by a curse. The more precious what they lost, the stronger their power became.

Their individualism found it difficult to blend with Konoha's collectivism, but was that a sin?

As a transmigrator, Kawafune suddenly wanted to know what Konoha would look like if the Uchiha Clan truly integrated into the village.

Fugaku, Obito, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke—those few Mangekyo Sharingan alone could probably suppress an entire region.

He would treat it as a bit of amusement along life's road. Kawafune intended to help Fugaku, that pitiful man.