Deadlock!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's roar exploded through the passage, making the torch flames whip wildly. He bit his finger, raced through hand seals, and slammed a palm against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

Bang!

Black summoning runes burst across the floor, spreading in every direction like a spiderweb. When the smoke cleared, a towering figure stood before them.

It was a giant ape.

Over two meters tall, it was covered in snow-white fur. Its heavily muscled arms hung to its knees, and its broad hands gripped an Adamantine Staff taller than a man.

Its eyes were scarlet, its pupils roiling with the same fury as its master's.

Enma!

The Third Hokage's contracted summon possessed a body as hard as diamond. He could take a blow from the Kusanagi Sword without a scratch.

During the Shinobi World Wars, he had fought beside Hiruzen Sarutobi and slain countless enemies, earning a reputation as the "strongest summon."

Enma's gaze swept the passage: Danzo opposite him, Root ninja at Danzo's back, ANBU ready to fight, and Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu with faces dark as thunder.

He understood at once. His Adamantine Staff struck the floor, gouging a deep pit and sending stone chips flying.

"Finally, Hiruzen! You're going after that bastard Danzo!"

His voice rumbled like thunder, thick with undisguised killing intent.

Danzo had no intention of waiting for death, either.

A fierce glint flashed through his one eye. He raised his right hand, bit his finger, and slapped his palm against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

Bang!

Smoke erupted, and a massive beast appeared before Danzo.

It was larger even than Enma, resembling a giant elephant with exposed tusks. Dark gray scales covered its body, and its swinging trunk stirred a howling wind.

Its tusks curved like twin blades, gleaming a sickly white in the torchlight.

Baku!

Danzo's contracted summon was a ferocious beast known for devouring anything.

When it opened its enormous mouth, it could generate a tremendous suction that dragged in everything ahead of it... ninja, Ninjutsu, even an entire mountain... and swallowed it whole!

The two great summons faced each other in the narrow passage.

Adamantine Staff against tusks. An indestructible body against an all-devouring maw.

Enma glanced coldly at Baku and curled his lip. "Done pretending, Danzo?"

Baku swung its trunk and gave a low bellow. Its scales rose one by one, ready to lunge and tear into its foe.

ANBU against Root, the Third Hokage against Shimura Danzō, Enma against Baku... three confrontations, with three waves of killing intent clashing in the air.

Torchlight leaped wildly between the opposing sides, twisting their shadows on the walls into countless hideous monsters.

At that hair-trigger moment... Mitokado Homura charged forward.

The elderly adviser moved with an agility that belied his age. He darted in, spread his arms, and wrapped them tightly around Hiruzen Sarutobi's waist.

"Calm down!"

Homura's voice was shrill and urgent, his words coming like a barrage.

"Hiruzen, you have to stay calm! If fighting starts, Konoha is finished! For the sake of the bigger picture, for Konoha, you have to hold back!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi went rigid.

"Think about it!"

Homura's voice trembled, but he drove every word home.

"How strong is Root? How strong is ANBU? If they fight here, no matter who wins, Konoha will lose at least half its elite ninja!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's fists clenched until his knuckles creaked.

"And don't forget!" Homura added, lowering his voice to a near whisper that struck Hiruzen Sarutobi like thunder. "The Uchiha are watching... waiting for their chance!"

The Uchiha!

Those words hit Hiruzen Sarutobi like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.

Even through his rage over his son's death, a trace of clarity finally returned to his hate-reddened eyes.

The Uchiha Clan!

Uchiha Yongye!

Only yesterday, that lawless madman had forced him to remove Danzo as an elder adviser in front of everyone. Today, he had beaten his other son, Asuma, so badly that he was gravely injured.

Countless scarlet Sharingan within the Uchiha Clan were watching the Konoha High Command from the darkness, waiting for them to show a weakness.

If ANBU and Root fought now and crippled each other, who would be happiest?

The Uchiha! Uchiha Yongye!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's chest heaved, and a low, guttural growl escaped his throat.

He neither dismissed Enma nor ordered ANBU to stand down, but he took no further step forward. He could not let this go. He did not believe Danzo's explanation. But he was even less willing to let the Uchiha profit while they destroyed each other.

At the same time, Utatane Koharu moved.

She flashed in front of Danzo and spread her arms, placing herself squarely between the two sides.

She did not grab Danzo as Homura had grabbed Hiruzen. As a woman, it would have been awkward.

But where she stood cut off Danzo's direct line of attack on ANBU.

"Danzo! Have you lost your mind?"

Koharu's voice was sharp and fierce, full of exasperation.

"If you're so capable, go get revenge on Uchiha Yongye!"

The words struck Danzo's rawest nerve like a knife, making him ache with fury!

"Uchiha Yongye beat you! Uchiha Yongye killed your subordinates! Uchiha Yongye forced Hiruzen to strip you of your post!"

Koharu's voice rose with every sentence, each one faster than the last.

"Uchiha Yongye is your enemy, not Hiruzen! Why are you taking it out on him?"

Danzo's one eye twitched.

His fingers clamped around his cane until his knuckles bulged. The half of his face beneath the bandages twisted grotesquely, and the taste of blood seemed to flood his mouth again!

The injustice of it.

The sheer, crushing injustice!

He knew he had been framed. He knew he had not killed Shinnosuke.

He knew the real killer had set all this up to make the Konoha High Command tear itself apart.

But he could not say it. What could he tell them? That he had just met with Orochimaru? That he and a rogue ninja had plotted a coup? That would only get him killed faster.

Danzo gritted his teeth and raised a hand, signaling the Root ninja behind him not to make a move.

He also knew that if a fight truly broke out, he and Root would lose.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a veteran Shinobi Hero, Enma was the strongest summon with a body as hard as diamond, and ANBU's elite far outnumbered Root's.

He could deal Konoha a devastating blow, but he and Root would be the first to die.

And then the real killer would be laughing his head off.

Danzo drew a deep breath, raised his hand, and struck his chest hard.

The gesture was solemn, almost ceremonial. In his uncovered eye swirled an earnestness bordering on devotion.

"Hiruzen."

His voice was hoarse and heavy, every word seeming to come from the marrow of his bones.

"I had nothing to do with Shinnosuke's death!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing. He only stared coldly at Danzo, as though watching a condemned prisoner make his final plea.

Danzo went on, his tone growing more solemn.

"Yes, I wanted revenge on you. You stripped me of my post in front of everyone. You compromised with the Uchiha. You humiliated me!

I hate you. I admit it. But I never once thought of killing Shinnosuke."

He paused, a complicated look crossing his eye.

"I watched that boy grow up. I may be ruthless, but I wouldn't kill someone I've known since he was a child."

"The killer is someone else! It may well be one of those damned Uchiha!

Don't forget, their Sharingan are best at copying other people's unique Ninjutsu that don't rely on a bloodline!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment before he spoke. His voice was hoarse and cold, each word an interrogation aimed at a hardened criminal.

"Then where were you just now?"

Danzo opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

That damned question had brought everything to a deadlock!