The lights in the Hokage's office had remained on all night. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair with his back to the door, facing the window that overlooked most of Konoha.
He neither dealt with the mountain of accumulated documents nor rested. He simply sat there without moving, like a statue.
Outside the window, the pitch-black night gradually faded, giving way to the faint light of dawn.
As the first ray of sunlight appeared, it illuminated Hiruzen Sarutobi's bloodshot, exhaustion-filled eyes.
A new day had begun, but all he felt was heaviness.
"Third-sama." An Anbu silently dropped to one knee behind him and reported in a low voice, "The notices have been posted on the bulletin boards in the more remote parts of the village, as instructed."
The Third's personal Anbu had followed Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders, posting the notices in several relatively inconspicuous locations around the village, seemingly in an attempt to lessen their impact.
Though everyone knew it was futile, nothing more than self-deception, Hiruzen Sarutobi had still issued those orders.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not turn around. He merely nodded ever so slightly, his voice dry and hoarse. "Understood. You may leave."
Compared to that carefully worded notice issued in the name of Konoha's upper leadership, which attempted to minimize the repercussions—
The shocking events at the training ground last night, along with all the details that had spread afterward, had already swept through every corner of Konoha like the wind.
Sure enough, as the sun rose higher, the streets and alleys began to fill with hushed yet barely restrained excited discussions.
Whether villagers or shinobi, everyone had their own points to discuss.
"Did you hear? The leader of that 'Root,' Shimura Danzō... is dead!"
"More than dead! He was personally taken down by that Uchiha descendant, Second Pillar!"