"No..." Naruto cried out and charged forward. But he hadn't even mastered the Three-Body Technique yet, and his biggest trump card was still locked away. He was completely helpless.
An sidestepped Naruto's punch, casually struck the back of his neck, and knocked him unconscious. Then he raised his butcher's knife again.
A short while later, the ground was strewn with corpses, looking just like the Uchiha District on the Night of the Massacre.
"Heh heh... Hahaha..."
An covered his forehead with one hand and threw his head back, laughing wildly. It sounded more like sobbing, and his eyes had completely transformed into Mangekyo, blood red.
That was it!
That was how revenge should be!
Hey, Third Hokage, let's put it all on the scales and see!
On one side, your grandson. On the other, your old friend. Let's see which matters more to you!
After his wild laughter, An felt hollow inside. He didn't feel the slightest bit of satisfaction.
He gently touched the scroll against his chest, the one sealing his parents' and younger brother's corpses. After a moment of silence, he picked Naruto up and leaped off toward the Land of Rain.
Hey, Nagato, haven't you always wanted to collect the Tailed Beasts?
Well, I've brought you a present. Are you ready to receive it?
And Itachi, you bastard, I'm coming for you!
The sun set and the moon rose; the stars wheeled across the sky.
A few hours later, someone finally discovered the disturbance.
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had disappeared, and the Third Hokage's grandson had been killed. This was an extremely serious matter!
Before long, Konoha's powerful figures had gathered at the scene.
"Morino Ibiki, I'm counting on you."
Morino Ibiki hurriedly bowed. "Please rest assured, Hokage-sama. I'll find out which village's enemy dared to target us!"
The Third Hokage said no more. His face dark, he waved Morino Ibiki away, then puffed on his pipe, exhaling clouds of smoke one after another.
Morino Ibiki needed some time to extract the victims' memories, so Mitokado Homura was the first to speak up:
"Whoever did this, it was an act of provocation against Konoha!"
"They dared to target the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That's practically a declaration of war against Konoha!"
"This time, Konoha will not back down!"
Everyone voiced their agreement.
"Exactly. The enemy village must have learned about the Uchiha clan's destruction and assumed our strength had taken a major hit. Otherwise, they wouldn't dare provoke us like this!"
"We can't let the other villages look down on us. If we do, the Fourth Shinobi World War could break out at any moment!"
Shimura Danzō added in a sinister tone:
"Hiruzen, I told you long ago that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should be kept firmly under the village's control. You shouldn't have let him roam around outside so freely."
"Once we get the Jinchuriki back, he must be placed under Root's supervision!"
The Third Hokage was already irritated enough, and now his old friend was adding fuel to the fire. His anger flared at once.
He glared at Danzō, gripping his pipe so tightly it creaked, and snapped in a low voice:
"Danzō!"
"This is no time for you to fight for power!"
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki isn't yours to meddle with. You'd better remember that!"
While the two argued, Morino Ibiki finished examining the victims' memories and returned to report:
"Hokage-sama, there was only one culprit. He was dressed like an Anbu. First, he forged the Hokage-sama's orders and assigned missions to Konohamaru and the others, luring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki out of the village. Then he launched a surprise attack, abducted him, and killed the others."
"The culprit looked exactly like Kakashi, and, well..." He hesitated, flicked a quick glance at Danzō, then lowered his head and continued, "The culprit also said, 'The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should be kept firmly under the village's control. You shouldn't let him roam around outside so freely.'"
Well, well!
At that, everyone instinctively turned to look at Danzō.
His words were still ringing in their ears!
But everyone only glanced at him before turning away again, pretending they hadn't heard a thing.
Now it was Danzō's turn to be dumbfounded. He angrily thumped his cane against the ground and glared as he cursed:
"This is a frame-up!"
"This was definitely done by another village!"
No one said a word. They just lowered their heads and stared at the ants.
Things in this village were complicated!
A frame-up was one thing, but what if... it was true?
"Danzō stays. The rest of you are dismissed!" the Third Hokage ordered coolly.
"Whoosh!" In almost an instant, everyone had vanished.
A wise man didn't stand beneath a crumbling wall. The matter that came next wasn't something they were qualified to overhear.
All they needed to do was wait for the Hokage-sama to decide how to handle it.
"Hiruzen, you can't possibly be so easily manipulated, can you?" Danzō glared at the Third Hokage, his eyes full of indignation and resentment.
"Hmph!" The Third Hokage snorted. He drew deeply on his pipe, then slowly exhaled. White smoke curled like a long dragon, swirling thickly around his face and obscuring his expression.
"Danzō, I know you too well!"
"I know exactly what you're capable of doing to achieve your aims!"
"I've indulged you all these years, but this time you've gone too far!"
"Konohamaru is just a child. How could you bring yourself to do that to him?"
The Third Hokage's eyes were reddening, but the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was still more important than his own grandson.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and at last he revealed something of a shinobi leader's fearsome bearing.
"Danzō, you'd better hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, quietly and honestly. Otherwise, I won't let you off so easily this time!"
Now it was Danzō's turn to panic. He hurriedly explained:
"Hiruzen, you know me!"
"If I'd done something like this, I'd have disguised myself as a shinobi from another village. Why would I send Root to do it directly, then disguise the culprit as Kakashi? Would I really want to make sure everyone recognized him?"
"Hmph!" The Third Hokage grew even angrier. "You've always been narrow-minded and held a deep grudge against anyone who betrayed you."
"Last time you tried to assassinate me, Kakashi betrayed you in the middle of the mission, and you lost your chance to become Hokage for good. How could you not hate him?"
"Everyone knows the culprit must have been impersonating Kakashi, but we still have to investigate and review the matter properly. If you interfere again, we might see another Hatake Sakumo incident!"
What did it mean to have a reputation?
This was what having a reputation meant!
Danzō was left speechless. He wanted to explain, but even he felt his own arguments were weak and unconvincing.
The truth was, this had gone so perfectly in his favor that it was something he wanted to do, but had never acted on.
Could one of my subordinates have guessed what I wanted and taken the initiative to solve the problem for me?
Seeing Danzō fall silent, his eyes shifting uneasily, the Third Hokage grew even angrier. He waved over an Anbu and ordered:
"Deliver my command. Effective immediately, Elder Shimura Danzō is to remain confined to his residence and forbidden from going out."
"And have..." He hesitated, then finally chose someone clever for the task. "Have Nara Shikaku lead a search of Root. Make sure he brings back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
"Yes!" The Anbu saluted and vanished with a Body Flicker.
Seeing that the Third Hokage had made up his mind, Danzō knew the situation was beyond saving. He stopped wasting his breath, slammed his cane down, and turned to leave, calling out bitterly:
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
The Third Hokage watched Danzō disappear into the distance, his gaze deep and inscrutable. He said nothing, only continuing to puff on his pipe. No one knew what was going through his mind.
Before you continue