Moonlight hung like solidified mercury, heavy over the eaves of the Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage had been standing before the office's floor-to-ceiling windows for a long time. The light from his pipe flickered, casting dancing shadows across the deeply lined old face beneath his Hokage hat.
He gazed into the distant darkness. The Uchiha District remained utterly silent.
That was a good thing. It meant everything was under control and nothing unexpected had happened.
But he still didn't dare let his guard down, afraid that the next moment might bring a tremendous explosion and a blinding blaze that shot into the sky.
In the shadows behind him, Anbu stood hidden, motionless and silent as lifeless statues.
But he knew that at a single word from him, these loyal guards could be sent in as reinforcements at any time to suppress any potential rebellion.
"Alas!"
The Third Hokage sighed heavily, his heart full of helplessness and pain.
This wasn't what I wanted!
Why had things ended up like this?
What a pity. Itachi was a shinobi with the potential to become Hokage. He loved Konoha and was utterly loyal to the village, yet from now on, he could only live as a rogue ninja.
He took several more puffs from his pipe, his heart growing even heavier with sorrow.
Time passed second by second. The moon slowly rose in the east, then gradually sank in the west, while all of Konoha remained peaceful and quiet.
"Whoosh!"
An Anbu suddenly appeared with the Body Flicker Technique and knelt on one knee to report:
"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha Clan has been wiped out."
"Phew..." Everyone let out a breath in unison. The oppressive atmosphere in the air immediately broke, and the mood in the office became much lighter.
The Third Hokage's worried heart finally settled. He sighed heavily, tapped his pipe against his hand, and asked with a frown:
"Are you certain?"
"Uh..." The Anbu shinobi hesitated, but still reported truthfully, "After counting the bodies, we confirmed that all known members of the Uchiha Clan are dead, except for Uchiha An's family."
"However, we found blood belonging to four people in Uchiha An's home. Judging by the amount of blood lost, all four should be dead as well, but someone took their bodies."
"Someone took the bodies?" The Third Hokage was taken aback. "Was it Itachi?"
"We can't determine that yet. Also..." The Anbu quickly glanced up at the Third Hokage. "Uchiha Sasuke is dead, too."
"What?" The Third Hokage was so shocked he nearly dropped his pipe. "How is that possible? How could Itachi kill his beloved younger brother?"
"What's so impossible about it?" a gloomy voice said from outside the door. "He's an evil Uchiha, too! He could kill his parents and his entire clan. What's one more younger brother?"
The Third Hokage turned around and saw Danzo enter, his face dark, leaning on his cane with his body wrapped in bandages.
Tonight was a crucial moment in the extermination of the Uchiha. Of course he had to be there to oversee the operation and make sure no one escaped. Now, he had returned as well.
"Hmph!" Anger flashed in the Third Hokage's eyes as he looked at the reckless Elder of Konoha, his displeasure growing.
Things with the Uchiha Clan hadn't needed to come to this. It was all because this bastard had stirred up trouble and sown discord, leading to the situation they were in now.
If they hadn't been friends for so many years, and if Danzo and Root weren't still useful, he would have had him cut into a thousand pieces long ago for everything he'd done!
"Sasuke was just a child. He knew nothing. Why did you have to kill him?"
"All Itachi ever thought about was his younger brother. He was afraid that after he left, Sasuke would be bullied in the village."
"I personally promised Itachi that I'd take care of his younger brother after he left."
"Sasuke was Itachi's connection to the village. Now you've killed him. How could Itachi not hate you? How can we expect him to remain loyal to Konoha?"
"I didn't kill Sasuke!" Danzo shouted, his face dark.
Faced with his old friend's unreasonable accusations, Danzo's one visible eye was full of anger.
"By the time we got there, Sasuke was already dead!"
"Itachi clearly did it himself, so he could sever all ties with Konoha and avoid leaving a weakness in the village!"
"Always thinking about his younger brother?"
"He played us all!"
"He was obviously just pretending to fool us!"
When Danzo thought about how he'd always believed he had Itachi wrapped around his finger, only to discover that he was the one who'd been played, he grew so ashamed and angry that he trembled all over.
"Impossible!" The Third Hokage knew all too well how Danzo habitually shifted the blame. Seeing him refuse to take responsibility again only made him angrier.
He struck the table hard with his pipe and roared:
"Danzo, don't think that just because you rule Root with an iron fist, no one knows what you've done!"
"I know better than anyone what kind of person Itachi is!"
"He would never do something like this!"
"Itachi is loyal to Konoha. There's no doubt about that!"
"What do you mean, no doubt?" Danzo looked exasperated. "He's an evil Uchiha. He can't be trusted!"
"If he were truly loyal, he should have left Sasuke behind as a hostage for the village!"
"If he were truly loyal, he shouldn't have taken Fugaku's eyes!"
"Those evil eyes evolve most easily when stimulated by life and death!"
"Now that the entire family has been wiped out, Fugaku's eyes may well have become the legendary Mangekyo!"
"You've read the village's intelligence reports, too. You should know what it means that Itachi took those eyes!"
"Fugaku's eyes?" This new intelligence caught the Third Hokage off guard. He instinctively looked toward the Anbu who had reported the news.
The Anbu gave a wry smile. "I hadn't had a chance to report it before Elder Danzo arrived."
The Third Hokage fell silent. The political creature in him once again gained the upper hand.
He silently put his pipe in his mouth, took a long puff, and slowly exhaled.
After a long while, he finally spoke:
"Fugaku's eyes are only a possibility. After all, in all these years, we've hardly seen anyone awaken the Mangekyo."
"And the disappearance of Uchiha An's family is suspicious, too."
"Perhaps they aren't dead. Perhaps someone rescued them."
"Post a Bounty Notice and declare Uchiha An a rogue ninja. The charge is... murdering a fellow villager, Uchiha Sasuke!"
Danzo had known the Third Hokage for so many years that he understood his ways inside and out. As soon as he heard this, he knew the Third Hokage still suspected him of killing Sasuke. He was simply pinning the blame on the missing Uchiha An to keep Uchiha Itachi, who was still out there, from losing faith in the village.
"Hmph!"
"What we need to do now isn't worry about whether a nobody like Uchiha An is alive or dead. We need to seize the time and capture Uchiha Itachi before he can assimilate Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, then take Fugaku's eyes back!"
At the thought that he, too, could possess a Mangekyo—and gain Wood Style from First Hokage's Cells balanced by the Mangekyo's Yin Release—Danzo trembled with excitement. He kept urging the Third Hokage, trying to persuade him to give the order.
But the Third Hokage showed him no consideration and only shook his head. When Danzo's pestering wore him down, he began slapping the table, resorting to his tried-and-true way of dealing with him.
"Danzo!"
"I'm the Hokage!"
"I won't let you make a move against Uchiha Itachi!"
Seeing the prize about to slip from his grasp, Danzo trembled with anger.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
He struck the ground hard with his cane, turned away in fury, and slammed the door behind him.
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