By the time the Lord Third arrived at Root, the explosions had stopped.
Only thick smoke remained, billowing into the sky.
Nearly half of Root's once-lavish headquarters had been reduced to ruins.
Fire had ravaged the place, leaving scorched wreckage everywhere.
The Lord Third's heart sank at the sight.
The worst of the collapse was where his old friend Danzo had been.
"Danzo..."
Twenty or thirty Anbu had gathered outside Root.
Every Anbu still in Konoha was there.
Obito, freshly changed into his gear, had slipped into their ranks.
The real culprit was among them.
At the Lord Third's direction, the Anbu present split into two groups.
One was sent to patrol the area and search for any attackers who might have fled.
The other would follow him into Root to find out what had happened.
Obito had the good fortune to land in the second group, and he felt a little thrill.
Returning openly to the scene of the crime as an investigator...
...really did get the adrenaline pumping!
The group pressed deeper into Root.
The advance Anbu team scouting the way doubled back to report to Hiruzen.
"Lord Third, the danger has passed."
At those words, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickened his pace.
He bounded ahead, hurrying deeper inside.
Before long, he came upon a group of Root ninja who looked grief-stricken.
Beyond them lay the wreckage of Danzo's office, now almost unrecognizable.
"What happened here?!"
The Lord Third's voice was low, seething with rage.
Among the crowd, Obito clicked his tongue to himself.
It seemed the Lord Third really was quite close to Danzo.
If he found out Obito had killed Danzo, he might just dare to... get pinned to the ground by Obito on the spot.
A Root member spoke in a grief-stricken voice.
"Someone deliberately launched a