By the time the reinforcements arrived, Fugaku had already left. He dispelled his three Shadow Clones and headed toward the Land of the Moon.
Framing Danzo once was enough to make his life miserable for a while. Those ANBU shinobi were all trusted subordinates of the Hokage.
Each of them had probably passed through round after round of selection. Every death would pain the Third Hokage for some time.
The more of them died, the wider the rift between the Third Hokage and Danzo would grow. All of it would lay the groundwork for getting rid of Danzo later.
While they waited for reinforcements, the patrol team sent two shinobi to Konoha to report the details to the Hokage.
In Konoha, the Hokage was inspecting construction around the village and checking its progress.
A shinobi appeared beside him and said quietly, "Hokage, Patrol Ninja received a distress signal in a forest in the Land of Fire.
"Nine ANBU members were found dead at the scene. The killer was nowhere to be found."
The Third Hokage's heart jolted. "Understood. You may go."
The news sent his thoughts racing. The nine-person squad could only be the shinobi he had sent to destroy Danzo's Secret Base.
Before he knew it, he was frowning.
"Someone come here."
An ANBU member appeared before him.
"Take an ANBU squad and bring the bodies from the forest to the Intelligence Department. Notify me afterward."
"Yes."
A little over ten minutes later, twelve figures set out straight for the scene.
Fugaku sped through the forest, a flicker of anticipation stirring in him over what would happen in the village next.
At the scene, another patrol team arrived after receiving the distress signal.
"Captain Ozawa, what happened?"
"Nine ANBU members were ambushed and killed. The fight was over by