Sasuke Arrives, The Truth of the Clan Annihilation

The rain fell in dense sheets, dyeing the world a dim gray-blue.

Shimura Danzō stood inside a long-abandoned supply outpost. Beneath the bandages on his right arm, the burning pulse of ten Sharingan throbbed faintly. His face was darker than usual, and the one exposed eye held no trace of emotion, like a stagnant pool.

The intelligence had been confirmed.

The man calling himself Uchiha Madara had not been ambushed and killed by Root's elite squad as Danzō had expected. On the contrary, it had been a trap from beginning to end. Yamanaka Fū, Aburame Torune, Aburame Ryoma—three trusted subordinates he had cultivated for years—along with twelve of Root's most elite combat personnel, had all perished.

The entire force had been wiped out.

Danzō lightly tapped his cane against the ground, producing a dull thud.

He felt neither anger nor sorrow. To Root, death had never been an accident; it was the only end. But the loss of this force meant that the leverage he already held so precariously among Konoha's upper ranks had been severely reduced. That old stubborn fool Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead, but Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were no pushovers. Once they noticed that his strength had been diminished, their stance in the council of elders would surely become even more aggressive.

More troublesome still, he was now the Hokage—even if only the acting Hokage. Yet with his elite forces all but gone, both his personal safety and the power his faction derived from the deterrence of those elites had suffered. Neither was something he could tolerate.

He needed time. He needed to relocate his remaining personnel. He needed to return to Konoha and rearrange his forces.

"Pass down the order," Danzō said without turning around.

Several figures silently emerged from the darkness. They were the