Dead Dog Before the Hokage Tower, Hidden Leaf Under Changing Skies

Continuing from the previous article.

Naruto casually tossed the black scroll to Sasuke, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Since they like to pull these dirty tricks behind the scenes so much, let's take down their lair and flip the table."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a muffled explosion suddenly erupted above the basement. Immediately afterward, a piercing air raid siren blared throughout the ruins of Hidden Leaf.

"What's going on?" Kakashi frowned.

The Tsunade beside Anbu knelt on one knee, his voice urgent. "Fifth Hokage! Root's elite unit, codenamed 'A,' has led four hundred men to seal off the Hokage Building! They've activated the Four Violet Flames Formation, connected to the communications tower, and are forcibly taking over the Konoha Military Police Force!"

Tsunade's face instantly darkened.

Ground.

At the main Hokage Tower, four purple Chakra light curtains shot straight into the sky, completely encasing the dilapidated building.

Wearing a tanuki mask, the Root leader "Kō" led a dark mass of Root members wielding short swords, blocking the steps below. The blades gleamed coldly, pointing directly at the dozen or so Hokage- affiliated Anbu guarding the main entrance.

Tsunade, draped in her tattered Hokage Haori, strode out of the door, coldly surveying the scene below. Shizune stood protectively in front of her, trembling with rage.

"The old man is hiding underground like a coward, sending you bunch of shameful dogs out to bark like madmen?" Tsunade scoffed. "The enemy has just left, and you're already in a hurry to grab positions?"

"Fifth Hokage, your command was seriously flawed, leading to a devastating blow to Hidden Leaf." A stepped forward, his voice flat and monotone, like a pre-programmed machine. "The village needs stability, it needs a Hokage who won't be held hostage by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Hand over the administrative keys, and Lord Danzo will lead Hidden Leaf back to its peak."

Tsunade laughed angrily, "He's not worthy?"

"The archives and communications tower are under our control. No one can get in from the outside, and orders can't be issued from the inside." A slowly drew his Ninja Blade, the tip pointing directly at Tsunade. "You have no choice."

Three kilometers outside the barrier, a ruined tower stands.

Shikamaru squatted atop the broken stone statue, holding up binoculars and a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru rubbed his temples.

"That old Danzo is trying to take advantage of the chaos! Why didn't he seal off the shelter as well?" Choji clenched his fists.

"Because he doesn't dare to provoke public anger; he only wants administrative power." Shikamaru put down his binoculars, his eyes sharp. "This isn't about protecting the village; this is about seizing the seal. He wants to use information asymmetry to create a fait accompli."

"How do we fight?" Ino's hands had already formed the hand seals for the Mind Body Switch Technique.

"Strike the snake at its vital point, cut off its limbs." Shikamaru spat out the tobacco dust in his mouth. "They've taken control of the communications tower? Then pull the plug on their internet. Not enough manpower? Borrow some troops!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen pure white figures appeared around Shikamaru like ghosts.

The one leading the group was none other than Neji Hyuga. He had removed his Forehead Protector, and where the "Caged Bird" Cursed Seal had once been, only a patch of smooth skin remained.

Accompanying him were forty-three elite members of the Hyuga Branch Family who had just been forced by Naruto to have Hiashi break the Cursed Seal.

"Naruto instructed that anyone who dares to touch his territory should be beaten to death." Neji's eyes bulged with veins, and his pure white pupils gleamed with a chilling light in the night. "The Hyuga Branch Family is willing to be the sword that cleans up the trash."

"That's great." Shikamaru's lips curled into a smile. "Northwest Communications Tower, Southeast Archives. I don't want to see a single Root standing within two minutes."

"One minute is enough." Before Neji could finish speaking, all forty-three pairs of Byakugan opened wide.

The next second, a shrill scream suddenly rang out from both sides of the Hidden Leaf ruins. Freed from the Cursed Seal, the branch family's Taijutsu was like a tiger among sheep, each Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm strike precisely severing the Chakra meridians of the Root members.

Physically disconnecting the internet is both efficient and deadly.

In front of the Hokage Building, inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.

A, knife in hand, was still waiting for the "takeover complete" signal from the outer communications tower.

But what he was met with was a deafening bang that shattered his eardrums.

"Boom!"

The seemingly indestructible Four Violet Flames Formation barrier suddenly exploded at the top, creating a terrifying hole ten meters in diameter. The raging golden Chakra, like a materialized meteorite, crashed heavily into the center of the Root army.

The earth cracked, and the shockwave sent dozens of elite Root flying through the air, crashing into stone pillars and spitting out blood.

As the smoke cleared, Naruto Uzumaki stepped onto the shattered stone slab, the dazzling Pure Yang Chakra stinging everyone's eyes.

"So you're handing over administrative power?" Naruto grabbed a bloody, mangled object and slammed it down at A's feet like a bag of stinking garbage.

It was a mutilated body with its right arm completely shredded, its legs strangely bent, and its right eye socket sunken deep.

The people at the Root looked closely and instantly felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

"Dan... Danzo?!" Jia's perpetually poker face finally cracked. His eyes, hidden beneath the mask, widened like saucers, and his hand gripping the sword trembled uncontrollably.

The entire hall fell silent.

The Root loyalists, who were shouting "Danzo will lead Hidden Leaf back to its peak" just a second ago, now had their faith crumble when they saw their leader lying on the ground, barely breathing and like a lump of mud.

The extreme contrast was like a slap in the face to every member of the Root.

"What did you just say the village needed?" Naruto approached Kakashi from above, his fierce aura, far exceeding that of Kage Level, growing heavier with each step he took.

A instinctively stepped back, his throat tightening, and even the courage to raise his knife was completely crushed by those purple-gold eyes.

"Naruto, don't kill them all. Leave some alive for interrogation," Tsunade shouted from the steps.

"Interrogation my ass, the evidence is all here." Naruto sneered, pulling out a black scroll stained with dried blood from his ninja tool pouch.

He Hand Seals with one hand and slapped the surface of the scroll with his palm.

"Buzz--"

The array patterns on the scroll were forcibly activated by the Pure Yang Chakra, and a huge Chakra projection map instantly unfolded in mid-air. On the sea where the Land of Lightning and the Water Country meet, a dazzling blood-red Sharingan symbol flashed wildly.

The ancient code beside them was simultaneously translated by Shikamaru from the outside using Ino's communication Ninjutsu, and broadcast directly over the entire plaza:

"The container for the Divine Tree has been found; the transaction will take place on Turtle Island. --Obito Uchiha."

The moment he said that, the entire room erupted in uproar.

"The leader of the Akatsuki?" Shizune covered her mouth.

"Foreign enemies are slaughtering our civilians on the front lines, while your master is making deals with the enemy leader underground." Naruto pointed at Danzo on the ground, his voice like thunder striking everyone's hearts. "He's using Hidden Leaf's top-secret information as leverage to become Hokage himself."

Naruto suddenly drew the Flying Thunder God Kunai from his waist and planted it on the stone slab beneath his feet. Golden Chakra transformed into tangible ripples that swept across the entire area.

"This is not seizing power, this is treason."

He surveyed the group of Root elites around him, their Root trembling as they gripped their swords, and a chilling smile spread across his face, "I, Naruto Uzumaki, hereby declare: From this day forward, I will set the rules for Hidden Leaf."

"The old cancer will be eradicated today."

"Lay down your weapons and go to the severe punishment chamber to confess your crimes. Or..." Nine Adamantine Sealing Chains, as thick as an adult's arm, suddenly shot out from behind Naruto, like nine golden dragons ready to devour him. "Die."

Despair.

Faced with absolute power and irrefutable evidence of treason, the brainwashing system that Root had cultivated for decades was completely shattered.

Clang.

It's unclear who was the first to let go, Ninja Blade fell onto the stone slab. Immediately afterward, like dominoes falling, a series of clanging and clattering sounds filled the air.

Hundreds of elite Root knelt down in unison, their will to fight gone.

Just when the outcome seemed certain.

The person kneeling at the front, Jia, suddenly began to convulse violently.

"Something's wrong!" Sasuke's Sharingan instantly detected the anomaly. "His Chakra is undergoing a qualitative change!"

A scratched his neck in agony as his mask shattered. Half of his face swelled rapidly, sprouting nauseating white spores, and his right eye turned an eerie pure black in an instant.

That is absolutely not the state that humans should be in.

"I see... This body can barely convey a sentence..." A's mouth opened and closed uncontrollably, emitting an extremely cold and somewhat sticky voice.

Black Zetsu!

Naruto's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and lightning crackled at his fingertips as he prepared to strike through his opponent's heart.

"Naruto Uzumaki ..." Kabuto (Black Zetsu) stared intently at him, a chilling smile curving his lips. "Did you think the deal on Turtle Island was just for those two crippled Tailed Beast?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto paused.

"The roots of the Divine Tree have already caught the scent of the Ten-Tails' shell... Your Yang Release cannot save that world..."

Before the words were even finished, A's body deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon, and his face, half covered in white spores, instantly turned into a pool of foul-smelling, eerie blood, completely losing its life.

Only that black scroll was now faintly emitting Six Paths Level Chakra fluctuation that even a Perfect Sage Body would feel chilling to.

Sasuke stepped forward, staring at the pool of blood, his brow furrowed. "He's been parasitized? Just how many of these monsters are there in Konoha High Command?"

"No matter how many there are, I'll kill them as soon as they show themselves." Naruto grabbed the black scroll that still exuded a chilling aura and turned to look at the ruins in the distance.

On the horizon, the first rays of dawn are piercing through the thick clouds.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke." Naruto tossed his Hokage Haori robes behind him, his eyes burning with a fierce fighting spirit. "Notify Shikamaru to prepare strategic supplies. Tomorrow morning, target: Turtle Island in the Land of Lightning."

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked.

"Go and uproot that damn tree."