A black carriage raced through the streets of Konoha.
Inside, Shimura Danzō wore a grim expression, his lone eye fixed on the swaying curtain.
He had lost his temper at the underground base earlier, but once he calmed down, little panic remained.
The capture of those four elite assassins had indeed caught him off guard.
But he was not worried about them revealing Root's secrets.
Every ninja who joined Root had the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal inscribed on their tongue.
The moment they tried to divulge even a scrap of information about Root, their bodies would become paralyzed, leaving them unable to speak.
What truly infuriated Danzo was that the operation had not only failed to eliminate Chikage, but had also left four prisoners alive.
That stretch of remote wilderness along the border should have been the perfect place to dispose of Uchiha Chikage.
Instead, they had failed to kill him and alerted him to the danger.
After this ambush, that slippery Chikage would surely be on his guard.
Finding another opportunity to eliminate him would be much harder now.
Worse still, the four Root elites' equipment, their route, and their border contacts could all become leads in an investigation.
Just thinking about the losses made Danzo wince.
The carriage stopped in front of the Hokage Building.
Danzo climbed out with his cane. As soon as he looked up, he saw the gathering in the plaza.
Uchiha Fugaku and Yashiro had brought dozens of Military Police Force members, who surrounded a battered carriage.
Villagers crowded around to watch, pointing at the carriage and commenting among themselves.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was already standing on the building's steps, a pipe in his hand and a dark expression on his face.
Chikage stood beside the carriage, holding a handful of bamboo skewers