Itachi Uchiha!

Konoha.

Senju Compound.

"Thank you, Lord Chiba, for saving me."

Fugaku Uchiha struggled to his feet.

Without bothering to dust himself off, he turned directly toward Chiba.

The once lofty clan head now bent his straight back.

Chiba accepted the bow without hesitation.

He was worthy of Fugaku Uchiha's respect.

Because if he had not intervened, Fugaku would have died at Danzo's hands.

Elsewhere.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood not far away.

Looking at the utterly empty crater, he seemed to have aged ten years.

Danzo was dead.

Shimura Danzō, who had fought him for half his life, had died without even leaving ashes behind.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's aged face was filled with grief.

A few cloudy old tears even squeezed from his eyes.

But what was in his heart?

Sarutobi Hiruzen had actually breathed a deep sigh of relief.

That bastard Danzo had finally shown some backbone before dying.

He had only thought of dragging Fugaku Uchiha down with him and had no time to expose him, the Hokage.

All those rotten debts hidden in Konoha's shadows.

Those bloody deals that could never see the light.

Those filthy schemes aimed at the Uchiha Clan.

They were all buried underground along with Danzo's death.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's glorious image had been completely preserved.

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around with unsteady steps.

He staggered forward two steps, as if he might collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura hurried over.

One on each side, they firmly supported Konoha's highest authority.

"Hiruzen, my condolences."

Utatane Koharu consoled him softly.

Mitokado Homura sighed as well, casting a wary glance at Chiba in the distance.

Chiba could not be bothered with those three old actors.

He swept his gaze around.

The heads of the major ninja clans and the elite shinobi all held their breaths.

Not a single one dared meet Chiba's eyes.

That was the deterrence brought by absolute power.

"The show's over. Disperse."

Chiba waved his hand as though driving away a flock of insignificant flies.

Then.

He turned and walked toward the newly laid stone path.

Under everyone's watchful eyes.

Chiba entered the Senju Compound he had rebuilt with Wood Style.

The heavy wooden gates slammed shut with a bang, completely cutting off all outside prying.

Hokage Office.

The strong smell of tobacco stung the nose.

The doors and windows were all tightly shut.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in the broad Hokage Chair, puffing on his pipe one drag after another.

The atmosphere in the room was oppressive to the extreme.

"Hiruzen!"

"What the hell are you thinking?"

"Senju Qianye publicly executed a Konoha elder today. That's open rebellion against the village!"

"He's too great a threat. We have to restrain him!"

Utatane Koharu stood before the desk and slammed both hands down on it.

"Koharu is right."

"His Wood Style is far too dangerous. That is the First Hokage's power!"

"If we don't control him, Konoha's balance will be completely destroyed!"

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and echoed her words.

"Bang!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly smashed his pipe against the desk.

Sparks flew everywhere.

He abruptly raised his head and glared furiously at his longtime companions.

"Restrain him?"

"Tell me, how exactly are we supposed to restrain him?"

"With your mouths?"

"Which one of you is going to deal with that hundreds-of-meters-tall Wood Golem?"

"The Anbu? Root?"

"Or are you two old fossils going yourselves?"

Utatane Koharu was forced back a step by his rebuke.

Her mouth opened, but not a single word came out.

That Wood Golem that had risen from the earth had not merely destroyed the old buildings of the Senju Compound.

It had also shattered the pride of people like them in the upper ranks.

That was overwhelming power!

Before absolute strength, every scheme and trick looked pale and ridiculous.

"But..."

"We can't just watch him place himself above the Hokage."

Mitokado Homura swallowed.

Fine beads of sweat seeped across his forehead.

"He is, after all, from the Senju Clan."

"There are too many people in this village who remember the First Hokage's kindness!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh.

That was the most fatal point.

Chiba did not merely have the bigger fist; he occupied Konoha's most fundamental moral high ground!

Justice was on his side!

Once Chiba raised his arms and called out.

Those wavering civilian shinobi in the village would absolutely flock to him!

The office fell silent again.

Only the heavy breathing of the three could be heard.

"Hiruzen."

"Chiba is Tsunade's disciple."

"He is hostile toward us, but he should still have some respect for Tsunade."

"Call Tsunade back to the village immediately and have her restrain that monster!"

After a long while.

Mitokado Homura gritted his teeth and made a suggestion.

"Restrain him?"

"What kind of person do you think Tsunade is?"

"If she comes back, do you think she'll help us or her only disciple?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a cold laugh.

He looked at Mitokado Homura as though he were an idiot.

Mitokado Homura was left speechless.

With Tsunade's temper, if she learned of the filthy things the village had done over the years, it would be a blessing if she did not tear down the Hokage Building.

"However..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up the pipe from the desk again and tapped out the ashes against its edge.

"Treat a dead horse like a live one."

"Draft an urgent letter in the Hokage's name and send it out tonight to find Tsunade."

"Even if she only returns to serve as a buffer, that's better than letting Chiba go completely mad."

Mitokado Homura breathed a sigh of relief.

He hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Having achieved their goal, the two advisors did not dare provoke Sarutobi Hiruzen any further and turned to leave the office.

The doors closed again.

The exhaustion on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face vanished in an instant.

It was replaced by.

An exceptionally cold resolve.

He rang a hidden bell beneath the desk.

"Whoosh!"

Three Anbu wearing animal masks appeared before the desk in an instant.

"Lord Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was icy.

"Immediately mobilize all elite Anbu and surround Root's underground base!"

"Seize every file and scroll!"

"Especially the laboratory records involving the First Hokage Cells and Uchiha Sharingan!"

"Destroy them all!"

"Under no circumstances can anyone, especially Senju Qianye, see those things!"

The Anbu captain shuddered all over.

He immediately lowered his head and accepted the order.

"Yes!"

The three Anbu vanished into afterimages.

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned against the back of his chair and looked toward the darkening sky beyond the window.

Danzo was dead.

This black pot had to be permanently nailed onto Danzo's coffin lid.

He would never allow even a drop of filth to splash onto his pristine white Hokage Cloak!

At the same time.

Uchiha Clan compound.

Shisui pushed open his front door in a daze.

Like an empty shell that had lost its soul, he walked straight into the inner room.

Thud.

He dropped to his knees before Kagami Uchiha's memorial portrait, and tears suddenly burst from his eyes.

The Will of Fire he had taken such pride in.

The peace between the village and clan that he had longed for day and night.

Had been torn to pieces today!

The arms of Danzo had been embedded with the eyes of his clansmen.

And in Danzo's eye socket was even the Mangekyo of his ancestor, Kagami!

That had been the elder he admired most!

The village's higher-ups had actually treated the Uchiha Clan's eyes as consumable items!

Was this what they called comrades?

Was this what they called bonds that allowed people to entrust their backs to one another?

Shisui clutched his hair, a suppressed beastlike wail rising from his throat.

"Brother Shisui..."

A young voice sounded from the hallway.

The young Itachi Uchiha stood there quietly.

His gaze was far deeper than that of children his age.

There was no fear.

Only a thirst for answers that did not belong to someone his age.

"What happened?"

Itachi walked into the room.

He knelt beside Shisui.

Shisui looked at Itachi.

This was his most beloved younger brother, and also the genius he believed understood the Will of Fire best.

But now.

Shisui did not know how to begin.

He gave a miserable smile, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

Yet he slowly began to speak, recounting what had happened that day.

From Chiba's Wood Style.

To the armful of Sharingan on Danzo.

And then to the Mangekyo that belonged solely to Kagami Uchiha.

Itachi listened quietly.

He neither interrupted nor showed any intense reaction.

But as Shisui spoke.

Something within Itachi's clear black-and-white eyes was rapidly collapsing.

The village?

The higher-ups?

To protect some people, they could freely strip others of their organs and lives?

Was this the price of peace?