A Pledge of Loyalty

Sasuke quickly ran off to fetch a broom and dustpan, forcefully squeezing Mikoto aside. "Mother, I'll clean up."

Mikoto stepped aside anxiously, staring fixedly as Sasuke swept the shattered bowls and plates from the floor into the dustpan, lost in thought.

Outside the Hokage Building.

Takuya waited calmly for the Ino–Shika–Cho and the Hyuga Clan to return.

They had been gone for over half an hour. It was about time they came back.

Their numbers and strength completely overwhelmed the opposition. Wiping out the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans would not take long.

Takuya gazed at the brightly lit long street ahead, his eyes dark and distant.

The area around the Hokage Building was pitch-black, as though it and that long street belonged to two different worlds.

Night had fallen. That brat Uchiha Obito might already have infiltrated Konoha.

He had no reconnaissance-type ocular jutsu and could not locate Uchiha Obito, so he still had to wait for the Hyuga Clan to return.

He knew where Obito was supposed to appear.

The small forest in the Uchiha compound. According to the original story, he would wait there for Itachi to meet up with him before helping Uchiha Itachi purge the Uchiha Clan.

But now, Uchiha Itachi had had his eyes dug out, his Chakra sealed, and been thrown into Naka Shrine. Uchiha Obito did not know that, so he should still be waiting for Itachi in the small forest according to the original plan.

Still, it was possible that Madara—Obito—had infiltrated Konoha early, discovered what he was doing, and changed plans on the fly.

Perhaps he was somewhere nearby, secretly watching him?

Takuya slowly swept his gaze around but detected nothing unusual.

He lightly snapped his fingers and fell into thought.

The Konoha F4 faction led by Sarutobi Hiruzen had now been eliminated. The Sarutobi and Shimura Clans were being exterminated. The Sarutobi Clan had also secretly trained shinobi elsewhere, but there was no rush; none of them were particularly strong, and they were scattered far and wide.

The great clans had all pledged themselves to him. Their participation in destroying the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans was their pledge of loyalty.

Of the obstacles before him, eight out of ten had already been removed.

Only Uchiha Obito and Danzo's Root remained.

He had to wait for the Hyuga Clan to help pinpoint Uchiha Obito's location, so there was no rushing that. As for Danzo's Root... he did not have enough manpower at the moment. The Root base was right there; the monk might run, but the temple would not. There was no need to hurry.

At that thought, Takuya let out a long breath and smiled faintly.

Once he dealt with those final two threats, today would be a complete success.

Come to think of it, if everything he had experienced were written into a novel, he would count as the chosen one.

He had transmigrated into the Naruto world less than half a day ago, and he was already about to become the Fifth Hokage.

By comparison, in the Naruto fanfics he had read in his previous life, some protagonists transmigrated into the Naruto world and miserably began as cannon fodder. While despising the Third Hokage, they still had to play along with him and make deals with a tiger.

Unlike him. He had simply killed the Third Hokage and usurped the position.

Heh. Takuya smiled smugly.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted and settled on a certain spot.

A figure emerged from the shadows.

The clan members standing behind him like two guardian statues also noticed the person in the darkness and immediately shone their flashlights over.

The newcomer wore a long black robe, a Konoha forehead protector, and dark sunglasses.

It was the classic attire of the Aburame Clan.

Takuya studied him curiously. At first, he thought the man was an Aburame clansman returning to report that the Shimura Clan had been dealt with, but when he noticed the bloodstains on the boxes in the man's hands, he began to doubt his identity.

Then something occurred to him, and his heart stirred. Could it be...?

His eyes brightened as he guessed the visitor's identity, a smile tugging at his lips. Speak of the devil.

While Takuya sized up Aburame Ryoma, Aburame Ryoma was also observing him.

Looking at the smiling Uchiha Fugaku seated in his chair, Aburame Ryoma found it difficult to connect him with the weak Uchiha Fugaku from his memories—the man who had killed the Third Hokage and Lord Danzo today.

The last time he had seen Uchiha Fugaku had been on Nine-Tails Night, when Lord Danzo led Root shinobi to the Uchiha compound and prevented the Uchiha Clan from leaving.

At the time, he had stood behind Lord Danzo and watched him hold the line alone against a thousand men, berating Uchiha Fugaku until his face turned red and he did not dare offer a word of rebuttal.

On the way here, he had wondered whether the Root shinobi had made a mistake. Perhaps Uchiha Fugaku had not truly killed Lord Danzo?

But now that he stood here, looking at Uchiha Fugaku with that faint smile on his lips, he knew there was no mistake.

His entire bearing was completely different from that night.

If he had to describe it, it was as though confidence had seeped into his bones.

Aburame Ryoma took a deep breath, bent at the waist from far away, and respectfully shuffled forward.

Before he even reached Takuya, he fell to the ground in a prostration and called out respectfully, "Aburame Ryoma greets Lord Uchiha Fugaku."

"What is in those boxes?"

Takuya asked with interest.

Aburame Ryoma replied, "In answer to my lord, they contain two loyal hounds of the traitor Danzo. I have executed them."

As he spoke, he respectfully raised the two boxes.

Before Takuya could say anything, the Uchiha clansman beside him hurried over, quick to read the situation.

This man had happened to stand beside Fugaku on Nine-Tails Night and recognized the black-robed man as someone who had stood behind Danzo. He showed him no courtesy, snorting as he snatched the boxes from his hands and returned to the clan head's side.

"Open them and take a look."

Uchiha Kō hurriedly opened the boxes and inspected them carefully. "Clan head, they are indeed two heads."

After confirming that there were no traps in the boxes, he presented them to the clan head.

Takuya glanced at them. They were two unfamiliar heads, and he had no interest in looking any longer. He waved a hand, and Uchiha Kō promptly took them away.

Takuya looked thoughtfully at Aburame Ryoma. "So, what is this about?"

Aburame Ryoma respectfully bowed his head to the ground. "My lord, the traitor Danzo used the Tongue-Curse-Shadow Seal to ensure the loyalty of Root shinobi. He beat or berated his subordinates, and in serious cases even executed them. In truth, most Root shinobi had no loyalty to Danzo. After Danzo died, the Tongue-Curse-Shadow Seal also vanished.

"I have followed Danzo since I was young and earned his deep trust. Including these two, there were twenty-nine people in Root who were truly loyal to Danzo. I have killed them all."

Aburame Ryoma took a deep breath. "Most of the rest were coerced, or became Danzo's accomplices only because of various circumstances. I hope, my lord, that you can spare their lives. Though their hands are stained with blood, they did it for the village as well... I ask for your wise judgment, my lord."

After saying that, Aburame Ryoma heavily struck his forehead against the ground.

A trace of surprise flashed through Takuya's eyes. He had not expected Aburame Ryoma, who had barely any presence in the original story, to do something so commendable.