"This... this is?!"
Lowering his head to look at the lightning blade that had suddenly burst from his chest and sliced through his entire body, Danzo reflexively began activating the Sharingan embedded in his arm.
"Hmph, Izanagi again..."
"Looks like wiping out the Uchiha Clan got you quite a few Sharingan."
A faintly mocking voice drifted through the dark underground world. A ninja with pale, tousled hair, amber eyes, and a black ninja kimono slowly stepped out from behind Danzo's chair.
"Ya-kushi-Hane..."
Struggling to turn his head toward the ninja emerging from behind him, Danzo spat out the other man's name through gritted teeth in the final moments before activating Izanagi. Although Hane's appearance had changed greatly over the years, Danzo would never forget that face even if it turned to ash.
"You recognized me so quickly?"
The Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear shooting from his hand dissipated into flashes of lightning. A hint of ridicule appeared on Hane's face. "Looks like you must think about me a lot..."
"But then again..."
"Konoha is being attacked outside, yet you're hiding here and refusing to go out. Is that really all right?"
Watching Danzo's corpse gradually vanish before reappearing once more, the mockery on Hane's face deepened. "Don't tell me this is also your so-called way of protecting Konoha?"
"Hmph, someone who has already left Konoha could never understand..."
"Letting withered leaves fall so new ones can grow—perhaps that is also a way of protecting the great tree that is Konoha?"
Facing Hane's taunts, the reappeared Danzo fixed his single left eye on Hane. He would never forget how much torment and humiliation this man had brought him.
More than six years had passed. It was not only Hane whose appearance had changed, but Danzo as well. His once-black hair had