Danzo's Death (2)

At the border of the Land of Earth, Taiichi looked at the Taiseki sphere not far away, but showed no intention of approaching it.

After waiting for a long time without any movement, Taiichi became somewhat puzzled. Could it really be the end of it?

He created a Shadow Clone and, under its resentful gaze, ordered it to step forward and examine him.

But just as the Shadow Clone approached the stone sphere, a huge black sphere suddenly expanded out, instantly enveloping the Shadow Clone. Then it contracted violently, swallowing everything completely, leaving only a spherical crater.

Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing said Taiichi the old cunning fellow wouldn't die so easily; he must still have a trick up his sleeve.

He created another Shadow Clone and had it check again. After confirming that there were no more traps, Taiichi stepped forward himself.

On the massive rocky hemisphere, a circular hole stood out starkly. Taiichi looked at the scene and knew that there was no need to fake it; it was clearly a scene of someone being attacked and killed by Iwagakure.

It's a bit of a pity that the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing swallowed everything up, otherwise Taiichi would have loved to see what loot he could find on Danzo.

But it doesn't matter. Taiichi was in an extremely happy mood. The number one enemy hidden in his heart had finally been eliminated today. Taiichi had never felt so relaxed.

Danzo Danzo's death, many things in Konoha's future will change. Orochimaru's defection, the Uchiha clan Uchiha Clan Massacre —he was involved in almost every major event that will affect Konoha's future.

But starting today, all of this will take a completely different and unknown turn.

Taiichi sheathed his Short Sword and, instead of using Flying Thunder God to leave immediately, used Body Flicker Retreat towards the Land of Earth.

He wouldn't underestimate Konoha's Scout ninjas. Danzo's death would surely cause a sensation, and the ninjas sent to Scout the cause of his death would definitely be the experts in this field in the village.

Even the slightest carelessness will allow them to find clues.

They traveled for over an hour, using Earth Clone multiple times to confuse their tracks, and even took a bath in a small town before finally using Flying Thunder God to return to the Konoha Camp in a densely populated area.

At this moment, in the Konoha Camp, Taiichi's multiple Shadow Clone were busy in the Medical Camp. With their figures moving around and the busy crowd, no one noticed when Taiichi's main body appeared in the crowd and when one of Taiichi's clones disappeared.

Taiichi himself easily blended into the atmosphere of treating the wounded; there was simply too many people to save.

According to preliminary statistics, of the original more than 1,000 ninjas in the Camp, nearly 500 died in this sneak attack, more than 200 were seriously injured, and almost everyone else was wounded.

The entire Western Camp was completely destroyed, so Danzo truly deserved to die.

What Taiichi needs to do now is to stabilize the injuries of these seriously wounded soldiers as soon as possible, because the Camp is about to be moved. If it is delayed any longer, they will not be able to leave even if they want to, once Iwagakure has assembled its troops.

As the saying goes, what you fear most is what will happen. Just as Taiichi was preparing to seize the time to continue his treatment, Mimura Hamaki arrived at the Medical Camp.

He went directly to one of Taiichi's Shadow Clone and explained that he had come to find Taiichi's main body.

The Shadow Clone pointed him in the right direction, so he continued to focus on his healing work.

Mimura Hamaki had walked up behind Taiichi, ignored Taiichi's ongoing treatment and said directly, "Taiichi- kun, what's the situation here? We need to evacuate immediately, or it will be too late."

The light in Taiichi's hands suddenly brightened several notches. A minute later, he withdrew his hands and turned to look at Mimura Hamaki. "So fast? There are still half of the seriously injured here who haven't been treated. If we move them now, there's basically no hope of saving them."

Although the words were light, the content was very heavy. Looking at the many companions lying on makeshift stretchers in the field, Mimura Hamaki felt extremely sad.

But it's too late now; the later they leave, the greater the chance of being caught by Iwagakure.

"Taiichi- kun, is there no other way?"

Taiichi looked at the people around him, their hopeful eyes, and sighed inwardly. He checked his own condition and the remaining Chakra in the Yin Seal, and silently estimated that perhaps it would be enough.

"I'll give it a try."

Taiichi arrived at an open space, bit his finger, and began to Hand Seals.

The sequence of Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei Summoning Jutsu.

From within the white smoke, a Katsuyu over five meters tall appeared in the spot.

"Taiichi, it's been a long time! You've never been able to communicate with me to this extent before!" The Katsuyu's gentle voice rang out in the room.

As everyone looked up at this colossal structure, a glimmer of hope rose in their eyes once more.

"Katsuyu, please split apart! I need to treat all the seriously injured ninjas present."

Taiichi's words not only shocked everyone present, but even the Katsuyu was quite surprised.

"Taiichi, this will put a lot of strain on you, and it seems your Chakra isn't enough!"

Taiichi didn't say much, silently releasing the Yin Seal, his entire body filled with immense Chakra. Two tentacles extended from the top of the Katsuyu's head, staring at Taiichi moment, before finally splitting apart without uttering a word.

Small Katsuyu, each about half a meter long, split off from the large Katsuyu and crawled straight towards the heavily injured and immobile Konoha Ninja.

Immediately after the last Katsuyu was in place, the remaining Katsuyu, about a meter long, crawled onto Taiichi's back.

Taiichi also sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and quickly transformed his Chakra into Yang Release Chakra, which was then transmitted to the Katsuyu on his back. After passing through the slug, the chakra was distributed to each of the seriously injured people.

While treating so many ninjas at the same time, Taiichi felt that the Chakra within the Sealing Space was like a dam that had been opened, with the water level decreasing at a visible rate.

More and more sweat was pouring from his forehead, a sign that not only was his Chakra being depleted, but also that his energy was about to run out.

Finally, after half an hour, when the Chakra in the Yin Seal was completely depleted and his own Chakra was also half exhausted, the treatment was finally over.

He swayed as he straightened up, and a hand supported Taiichi from behind. Turning around, he saw that it was Nonō.

Taiichi shook his head slightly at her, indicating that he was alright, then turned to Mimura Hamaki, "It's alright, their injuries have stabilized, they can be moved now."

Mimura Hamaki gave him a deep look, bowed deeply to him, and immediately turned back to organize the troop retreat.

Taiichi finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against Nonō's chest, feeling the long-lost warmth, and remained silent for a long time.

"This was truly dangerous! If it weren't for Taiichi's heroic act, who knows how many of us would be alive today!"

After a long silence, Nonō sighed softly. This wasn't because she was being sentimental, but because it was the truth. If Taiichi hadn't stopped the Han's rampage in time, it would have been quite good if two or three out of ten of the Konoha Ninja on the Western Front had returned.

"It's all Danzo's incompetence. As the Commander, he was the first to flee, and he even took the Root members with him. He deserves to die a hundred times over."

Taiichi said bitterly that he would not tell anyone about Danzo's death, and even to Nonō, he would keep this secret buried in his heart.

Nonō was slightly surprised to hear this. She had only just learned that Danzo had made such a move. As a result, Danzo's future days would probably be difficult. If he had been able to hold on Taiichi longer and wait for Taichi to arrive, even if he had been defeated, it would have been better.

After all, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, but abandoning one's comrades and running away is a serious crime.

While Nonō was still pondering the aftermath of Danzo's escape, everyone in the Camp finally made preparations. The ninjas Scout and keep Scout, each fulfilling their duties, and the team quickly retreated towards the Land of Grass.

"Commander Mimura, have you reported the situation here to the village?"

The unexpected question startled Mimura Hamaki, and his face quickly fell.

Well, so much time has passed and they haven't even reported to the village yet. They'll need the village's support later, otherwise how will these remnants of the army withstand Iwagakure's subsequent attacks?

"Quickly write a report, and I'll send you back to the village using the Flying Thunder God Technique."

"Yes, yes, Taiichi, wait for me a moment, I'll go write it right away." After saying that, Mimura Hamaki rushed out without looking back, leaving Taiichi shaking his head helplessly.

This was originally something Danzo and his Advisory Group should have been doing, but unfortunately they were all gone, and in the chaos, everyone neglected the important task of reporting.

Fortunately, Taiichi was here, and thanks to the Flying Thunder God Technique, the delay wouldn't be too long. Otherwise, if Konoha hadn't made a move by the time the team retreated to the Land of Grass, they would have had to temporarily abandon the interests of the Land of Grass.

In less than half an hour, an urgent military report was completed. To ensure the report's authenticity, Mimura Hamaki had all the Jonin in the team sign it, so that the higher-ups wouldn't waste time due to any doubts.

Taiichi quickly glanced through the scroll and decisively signed his name on it.

This scene moved Mimura Hamaki. After all, what was recorded in the scroll was not a glorious thing. Taiichi signed his name and took responsibility for it. As someone who came to rescue, he had no reason to do so.

"Taiichi, you—"

"No need to say more, Commander Mimura, I was just doing my part."

Taiichi put away the scroll and waved to everyone.

"I'll go ahead first, and I'll come back immediately as soon as there's any news from the village."

After saying that, he disappeared from the spot.

It was only around 3 a. m. when Taiichi appeared at his home in Konoha, and the entire Konoha was peaceful.

Taiichi didn't waste any time. He spread his wings and flew straight towards the Hokage Building. However, from a distance, Taiichi discovered that the Hokage Building was also completely dark.

It seems the previous battle went too smoothly; the Hokage-sama no longer needs to work overtime or stay overnight in his office.

He turned his wings and flew in a different direction toward the Sarutobi Clan Compound. He recognized the Third Hokage's house, and since no one was in the office, he would go directly to his home to find him.

Such an urgent battle report could not be delayed for even a moment; it had to be delivered to the Hokage immediately, even if the Hokage was in the process of creating a human.

Taiichi's figure descended from the sky, landing directly in the courtyard outside Hiruzen Sarutobi's bedroom.

Body Flicker, four masked members of the Anbu appeared, wielding Kunai, and surrounded Taiichi in a swastika pattern.

"Who dares to trespass on the Hokage-sama's residence?" The leader of the Cat-faced Anbu shouted, both to warn the intruder and to alert the Hokage inside.

If they hadn't seen the intruder remain motionless after landing, they would have already made their move.

"Taichi Matsushita, I have an urgent military report to give to the Hokage-sama regarding the Western Front."

Taiichi also shouted loudly, dispelling the hostility of the Anbu while explaining his purpose.

"It's Taiichi. Wait a moment, I'll be right out." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice came from inside the house.

There was no annoyance at being woken up, nor a trace of impatience; his composure and strength revealed the demeanor of a Hokage.

Less than a minute later, the door opened from the inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked out wearing a robe.

He waved for the four Anbu still surrounding Taiichi to step back, and said to Taiichi, "What's going on with the Western Front? Why are you here delivering intelligence?"

Taiichi didn't say much, and directly took out a scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi the scroll, unfolded it, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the handwriting. This report was not written by Danzo. He quickly read through the contents of the scroll.

I feel terrible. Danzo, how could he do such a thing?

"Taiichi, is what's in the scroll true?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, still clinging to a sliver of hope.

Taiichi nodded, "These are all my personal experiences, they are true!"

"Immediately, summon the two elders to the Hokage Building for a meeting." Hiruzen Sarutobi directly ordered the Anbu, then turned to Taiichi, "Taiichi, you go to the Hokage Building too, and explain the details again later!"

"Yes." Taiichi accepted the order, and seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had nothing more to say, he turned around and climbed over the wall to leave the Hokage's house.

In less than half an hour, the Hokage Building, which had been completely dark, became brightly lit.

Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura were all in place.

Taiichi is telling everyone everything he knows, from receiving a plea for help from Nonō, to repelling the Rock Ninja attacking the Medical Camp, to supporting the western front, driving away the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, and finally discovering that Danzo has already led the Root members to evacuate ahead of time.

He recounted everything in detail, without adding a single subjective opinion.

The office fell silent as Mimura Hamaki's report, combined with Taiichi's dictation, was reeling from the sudden and devastating news.

But everyone understood that Danzo was completely finished this time. Forget about the Elders' Council; if he returned, all that awaited him was retribution. As for the final outcome, it all depended on what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking.

The three people present were all cunning old foxes. From Taiichi's account, they knew Danzo's thoughts: he simply believed that things had come to this point, the Camp was already in ruins, and he wanted to preserve his own strength first.

But reality is often ironic; Taiichi's arrival resolved the Camp's crisis, but it pushed Danzo into the abyss.

"Hiruzen, the most urgent matter is to resolve the issue of supporting the Western Front. We can discuss the Danzo when Danzo returns," Utatane Koharu said, smoothing things over and reminding everyone what was most pressing at the moment.

Taiichi watched silently from the side, and clearly saw that the Third Hokage's expression relaxed for a moment after Utatane Koharu spoke.

Alas, the Third Kazekage has grown old; he is no longer the Shinobi Hero he once was.