The Death of Shimura Danzō

The instant he saw Wood Release, one name sprang to Shimura Danzō's mind: Orochimaru.

At that moment, Shimura Danzō was still lost in thought.

But Obito Uchiha paid no attention to any of that. A wooden spike emerged from his palm and shot toward Shimura Danzō.

Although he had sustained injuries in several places, Shimura Danzō still had some skill. He might not have measured up to a Hokage, but he was still far stronger than an ordinary elite jonin.

He formed Hand Seals and spat out several Vacuum Blasts, dodging the wooden spike Obito Uchiha had fired at him at the same time.

"Wood Release—where did you get it?"

By then, Shimura Danzō had devoted all his attention to Wood Release.

He had always yearned for the special jutsu of the God of Shinobi.

Obito Uchiha didn't answer. He let the Vacuum Blasts pass through his phantom-like body and walked toward Shimura Danzō, one step at a time.

Seeing this, Shimura Danzō couldn't help frowning. "If you want Rin Nohara to stay like this forever, then by all means, keep attacking."

Hearing Rin's name, Obito Uchiha finally came back to his senses.

"What do you mean?"

Obito Uchiha asked coldly.

"Exactly what I said. Impure World Reincarnation is a very special forbidden jutsu. Only the caster can undo it."

"Although I didn't order anyone to awaken Rin Nohara's consciousness, the Impure World Reincarnation ritual has already been completed. And the only person who could undo the jutsu has been killed by you."

Shimura Danzō was feeling very pleased with himself. From the moment Rin Nohara had been successfully reincarnated, he had already won.

But the next words from Obito Uchiha made the smile on Shimura Danzō's face freeze.

"Black Zetsu, can the Human Path's ability be used... used on Rin?"

Obito Uchiha asked Black Zetsu. No matter what, he wasn't going to let Shimura Danzō leave alive today.

"It can!"

With that answer, Shimura Danzō's life was finally coming to an end.

Even though Shimura Danzō used every trick at his disposal against Obito Uchiha's Kamui, it was all in vain.

And Obito Uchiha didn't seem in any hurry to kill him. Instead, he kept inflicting all kinds of wounds on Shimura Danzō, each one difficult to heal.

"Obito Uchiha, don't get cocky. Even if you can undo Impure World Reincarnation, I still have..."

With his life nearing its end, Shimura Danzō tried to threaten him. But a wooden spike had already pierced his chest...

With no Sharingan left to fuel Izanagi, Shimura Danzō used all his remaining strength to perform the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing.

In the end, however, it only sealed his own body.

One day after Shimura Danzō's death...

"What? Danzō is dead? Hiruzen Sarutobi thinks I did it???"

Uchiha Ensei had just finished a cloning experiment when he ran into Shisui Uchiha, who told him the shocking news.

"Wasn't it you?"

"But... who else could have killed him in Konoha?"

Seeing Uchiha Ensei's reaction, Shisui Uchiha began to doubt his own judgment.

The sudden turn of events dampened Uchiha Ensei's previously good mood.

"Are you sure Danzō is really dead? Could it be some kind of fake-death trick? And where's the body? When exactly did he die?"

Uchiha Ensei asked, while also trying to figure out who had killed Danzō.

Danzō might have been a bit of a pushover, but he could still fight a Mangekyo user for a while. He wasn't weak.

Setting aside those members of the Otsutsuki Clan, there were only a few people in the entire Shinobi World who could kill Shimura Danzō in Konoha without anyone noticing...

Orochimaru, or Obito Uchiha.

"The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals on the Root shinobi have been undone, so we can confirm Danzō is dead. He was killed in an abandoned Laboratory in the Root Base. He died a day ago, and the Root Base was attacked a day and a half ago. The Root shinobi suffered heavy casualties."

Shisui Uchiha told Uchiha Ensei everything he knew. At such a critical moment, he naturally didn't want the village and the clan to come into conflict.

Although Uchiha Ensei had told him the truth about the relationship between the village and the Uchiha Clan, Shisui Uchiha still hoped they could find a better way forward.

"It was probably Obito Uchiha. Only Space-Time Ninjutsu could make it so easy to sneak in."

Orochimaru was also a possibility. He had close ties to Danzō and knew a great deal about the Root. But under normal circumstances, Orochimaru shouldn't have targeted Danzō at this point.

So Obito Uchiha was still the most likely culprit.

"If it had been me, the commotion would've been much bigger."

"And besides, have you forgotten how old I am? I may have enough strength, but I don't know that many jutsu."

"I could kill Danzō, but killing him without anyone noticing would be impossible."

"Enough. Don't bother me with trivial matters. I've got things to do."

Uchiha Ensei offered a brief defense. Whether Shisui Uchiha believed him or not, and whatever Hiruzen Sarutobi might do, he turned back toward his bedroom and went to catch up on sleep.

He hadn't had a proper rest in ages. It had taken him a long time to isolate and extract the two special kinds of cells he'd collected, especially Hashirama Cells.

The next day, not long after Uchiha Ensei woke up, he was summoned to a meeting.

It was a jonin meeting in Konoha.

Though he was only ten, as an elder of the Uchiha Clan, he still had to attend important matters concerning Konoha.

Many of the jonin attending the meeting stared at him curiously.

Even in the world of shinobi, a jonin around ten years old was the stuff of legend.

"After examining the memories of the corpse, we've reached a conclusion. The person who killed Elder Danzō was Obito Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha Clan who went missing during the Third Great Ninja War."

At the jonin meeting, Hiruzen Sarutobi announced Shimura Danzō's death and named the culprit.

There was no way to hide the news of Shimura Danzō's death, nor could they afford to. They not only had to make it public, but also had to show Konoha's resolve.

So, in his capacity as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi issued the Uchiha Clan an S-rank mission: hunt down the missing-nin, Obito Uchiha.

Hearing Obito Uchiha's name again, Kakashi couldn't help reaching up to touch his right eye.

Kakashi had learned about Obito's situation soon after the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

At the time, Kakashi had found it hard to believe. But later, when he discovered that his right eye really was a Mangekyo Sharingan, he had finally accepted the truth.

After training, he had already learned to use the eye successfully.

"Lord Hokage, I request to join the mission to hunt down the missing-nin."