Danzo's death! Konoha's Root was no more!

An old fox who had survived for decades in the darkness of the shinobi world, Shimura Danzō displayed an astonishing obsession in the final moments of his life.

"It's not over... I haven't lost yet!!"

Just as Ryūjin Jakka's golden inferno, seemingly capable of burning away the void itself, was about to swallow him, torrents of black ink erupted from Danzo's already mangled chest.

This ink was no ordinary substance, but a "black hole" formed from densely compressed chakra and cursed seals. The instant it touched the air, it began spinning wildly, forming a sphere capable of devouring light.

Reverse Four Symbols Seal activated!

"Chiya Uchiha! For Konoha's sake, you must die!!"

Danzo let out one last, savage roar. Even in death, he would drag this Uchiha demon down to hell with him! He believed this was an ultimate killing technique that could seal away space itself. At this distance, no one could escape!

An immense suction erupted instantly, forcibly dragging the burning rocks, distorted air, and even the flames unleashed by Ryūjin Jakka toward the black sphere.

Chiya's clothes snapped in the wind, and his body pitched forward as though beyond his control.

An ordinary Kage-level fighter might truly have met their end in this suicidal attack.

But Chiya was no ordinary man.

He looked at the hideous old face flickering in and out of view amid the black ink. There was not the slightest panic in his Mangekyō Sharingan, only a glint of icy mockery.

"For Konoha's sake?"

"Danzo, even at the very end, are you still hiding your incompetence behind that revolting excuse?"

Chiya snorted coldly. Rather than pulling back his Zanpakuto, he thrust it farther forward.

"Too slow!"

Shhk-!

One second before the Reverse Four Symbols Seal could fully form and seal everything around it into the underworld, a streak of golden light pierced the black sphere first.

It was the tip of Ryūjin Jakka!

There was no flourish, only absolute speed and strength. The scorching blade pierced Danzo's heart, instantly burning that violently beating organ, pumping out the last of his life force, into charcoal!

"Urgh... ah..."

Danzo's roar cut off abruptly.

He lowered his head in disbelief and stared at the blade buried in his chest.

Why?

Why did the sealing jutsu stop?

The formula had already activated. Just another tenth of a second, and I could have sealed this brat away...

"Are you wondering why your jutsu failed?"

As though seeing through Danzo's final confusion, Chiya leaned toward his ear and whispered like a demon:

"Because there's a power in this world faster and more overwhelming than your sealing jutsu."

"And that is-Plunder!"

[Ding! The host is delivering a fatal blow to the target!]

[Plunder mechanism activated with priority! Forcibly interrupting the flow of chakra within the target!]

The system's notifications rang out in Chiya's mind. This was the power of a rule more absolute than any ninjutsu.

The instant Chiya pierced Danzo's heart, the system's overpowering plunder mechanism had already declared Danzo "dead." And once he was declared dead, how could a corpse continue maintaining a sealing jutsu?

The wildly spinning black ink stuttered like a machine that had lost power, then rapidly dissipated into the air.

The light began fading from Danzo's eyes.

He looked at the young Uchiha before him, at those crimson Mangekyō Sharingan, and the last shred of hope in his heart shattered completely.

I lost.

I lost utterly and completely.

Not only had he failed to kill his opponent, he could not even take him down with him.

He, Shimura Danzō, Konoha's Root, disciple of the Second Hokage, a ruthless titan who had dominated the shinobi world for a lifetime, was dying like a dog at the hands of the Uchiha he despised most.

"Konoha... my Konoha..."

Danzo reached out with what remained of his left hand, as though trying to seize a Hokage's hat that did not exist in the empty air.

"Stop dreaming."

Chiya coldly interrupted his dying fantasy and gave Ryūjin Jakka a sharp shake.

Boom!

Violent flames surged from the blade into Danzo's body.

"Konoha's darkness ends here."

"Go to hell and repent before the Uchiha you murdered, and all those countless innocent souls!"

"Cremation: Scorching Hell!"

Whoosh-!!!

This time, it was no longer localized heat, but utter destruction.

Danzo's body instantly became an enormous fireball. His bones, muscles, organs, and even his brain, filled with schemes and calculations, were reduced to the finest dust by that extreme heat.

He did not even have time to scream.

The "Darkness of the Shinobi," whose name had terrified the entire shinobi world, vanished completely from existence, leaving not even bones behind!

Only the enormous crater in the ground and the lingering scorched smell in the air bore witness to the brutal battle that had taken place.

Chiya sheathed his blade.

The towering walls of fire created by Flame Barrier slowly dissipated at their master's will.

The world seemed to fall silent at that moment.

But this was merely the calm before the storm.

Because in Chiya's mind, the system's celebratory feast had only just begun!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully killing Konoha's S-rank missing-nin (false), leader of Root-Shimura Danzō!]

[This kill was enough to alter the course of shinobi world history! System assessment: perfect!]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Activating Plunder skill... critical plunder! Massive loot explosion!]

A cascade of golden system notifications flooded Chiya's vision like a waterfall, their dazzling light even more brilliant than Ryūjin Jakka.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Wood Release Cells (perfect fusion version)!] (These are Hashirama cells purified by the system, with all rejection responses and corrosive properties removed. After fusion, the host will gain the Senju Clan's oceanic vitality!)

(Effect 1: automatically repairs all hidden injuries and defects in the host's body, including eyesight damage caused by the Mangekyō Sharingan!)

(Effect 2: unlocks limb regeneration. As long as the heart and brain remain intact, the body can rapidly regenerate!)

(Effect 3: increases chakra reserves to-super Kage level!)

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Mangekyō Sharingan: Kotoamatsukami (right eye)!]

(Derived from Shisui Uchiha's eye of supreme genjutsu. The system has extracted the essence of its ocular power and merged it directly into the host's right eye!)

(Effect: completes the host's ocular power, greatly increasing genjutsu resistance and casting strength. The host can expend a large amount of ocular power to activate Kotoamatsukami and alter another's will! Cooldown is also greatly reduced!)

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Wind Release Proficiency (grandmaster level)!]

(Danzo's lifelong mastery of Wind Release now belongs entirely to the host. Your understanding of wind has reached the pinnacle of the shinobi world!)

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a special item: Root Secret Scroll (containing a list of all Konoha's undercover spies and records of illicit dealings)!]

"Holy shit..."

Even the normally composed Chiya could not help swearing at the sight of this outrageously lavish reward list.

Amazing!

This was fucking amazing!

This wasn't just killing a boss. This was looting Konoha's entire stockpile!

Before Chiya could recover from his shock, an unprecedented surge of immense energy appeared within his body out of nowhere.

It was green energy.

Brimming with vitality and the power of creation.

Like a spring suddenly welling up in a parched desert, it instantly flowed through every part of Chiya's body.

Sss...

Chiya could clearly hear the cells in his body cheering with joy.

After forcibly awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan and repeatedly unleashing Susanoo and Ryūjin Jakka's major attacks in such a short time, Chiya had already severely overtaxed his body. His chakra pathways ached faintly, his eyes were painfully sore, and blurry black spots had begun appearing at the edges of his vision.

But now, as the energy of these "perfect Wood Release Cells" washed through him, every negative condition vanished instantly!

The soreness disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented coolness and clarity.

The stabbing pain in his chakra pathways disappeared, replaced by a torrent of chakra surging ceaselessly like mighty rivers.

"Phew..."

Chiya let out a long breath of stale air. It emerged faintly white, as though even the impurities within his body had been expelled.

He clenched his fists.

His knuckles cracked.

An indescribable sense of strength welled up within him. If he had previously been a sharp but fragile glass blade, he was now a peerless divine weapon forged from the hardest alloy!

Indestructible, endlessly renewing!

"So this is... the power of Hashirama cells?"

Chiya lowered his head and looked at his palms.

His skin had become clearer and tougher. Even the calluses from years of holding a sword had peeled away, replaced by fresh skin as soft as a baby's, yet the explosive strength within it had increased severalfold.

More importantly, he could feel a fundamental change in his eyes.

The once-restless ocular power of his Mangekyō had become remarkably docile under the gentle nourishment of the Wood Release Cells.

Yin and yang in harmony!

The Uchiha's power, yin, and the Senju's power, yang, achieved perfect balance at that moment, seemingly nurturing the beginnings of a more advanced ocular jutsu-the Rinnegan!

"Danzo, oh, Danzo. That 'perfect fusion' you dreamed of attaining ended up benefiting me instead."

A mocking smile curled Chiya's lips.

That old man had turned his arm into a monster exhibit, yet never truly mastered this power before his death. Instead, it had turned against him, making him look like a clown.

And I started at max level!

"Wind Release..."

With a thought, Chiya raised a finger.

Whoosh!

A tiny but exceedingly sharp vortex instantly formed at his fingertip.

No hand seals, no charging up.

His control over wind now answered his every whim. With this grandmaster-level Wind Release paired with Ryūjin Jakka's explosive flames...

"Wind feeds the flames, and fire borrows the wind's might."

"From now on, even gods might not be able to withstand my attacks."

Chiya dispersed the wind at his fingertip and surveyed his surroundings again.

The Root Base had become a utterly silent ruin.

Root, which had once struck terror into Konoha ninja, the organization lurking in darkness and proclaiming itself Konoha's guardian, had been uprooted tonight by him alone!

Every elite, every operative willing to die, and even their arrogant leader had been reduced to ashes.

From this day on, Konoha's Root was no more!

"Is it over?"

Chiya looked around at the rock walls still glowing red from the heat and shook his head.

"No, not yet."

His gaze pierced the thick layers of stone, as though he could see the village above, caught in its blood-soaked night.

Uchiha Itachi was still there.

So was Obito Uchiha.

And that indecisive Third Hokage, along with the senior officials eyeing the Uchiha Clan like predators.

Having drawn his blade and begun killing, there was no reason to stop halfway.

Chiya straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and slid Ryūjin Jakka into the sheath at his waist.

He slowly walked toward the blasted-open exit leading to the surface.

With every step, his presence grew stronger.

By the time he reached the exit, his killing intent had completely withdrawn, replaced by an unfathomable majesty as deep as an abyss.

He raised his head and looked at the blood-red moon above.

"The rats underground have been cleared out."

"Next, it's time to head aboveground and settle the score with those so-called 'big shots.'"

Chiya's figure flashed, and he vanished from the spot.

Only the deathly silent ruins remained, bearing mute witness to the end of an old era and the birth of a new king.

At that very moment.

Konoha, the Uchiha Clan Compound.

The slaughter continued. Though the screams had grown considerably fewer, the stench of blood in the air had become even stronger.

Atop a utility pole, the man who had just slaughtered his own lover-Uchiha Itachi-suddenly clutched his chest as though sensing something.

An inexplicable pang of dread brought a flicker of astonishment to his expressionless face.

He abruptly turned toward a certain part of Konoha.

It was... the direction of the Root Base.

"What's happening?"

"Why... has Lord Danzo's chakra signature... disappeared?"

Not just Danzo's, but the cold, murky chakra signatures of dozens of Root elites had all vanished completely in an instant!

As though some terrifying monster had swallowed them whole in a single bite.

"Did something go wrong?"

The space beside him warped, and "Tobi" (Obito), wearing the Spiral Mask, appeared out of thin air, his tone tinged with amusement and surprise.

"Itachi, it looks like someone rewrote tonight's script without asking."

A dangerous gleam flashed in Obito's single exposed eye.

"That old bastard Danzo seems to have been killed."

Itachi's pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.

Danzo was dead?

Danzo, that cunning old fox with countless Sharingan and Izanagi, had actually been killed in his own stronghold?

How was that possible!

Who in Konoha besides the Third Hokage could pull that off?

No, even the Third Hokage couldn't have wiped out all of Root so quickly without making a sound!

"Who could it be?" A hint of emotion finally crept into Itachi's voice.

Obito shrugged, his gaze turning toward the smoke billowing into the sky.

"I'm curious too."

"But the feel of that chakra..."

Obito narrowed his eye, his tone turning sinister. "It's full of brutality, searing heat, and a... familiarity that I find utterly revolting."

"Let's go, Itachi."

"It looks like we need to meet this 'unexpected surprise.'"

"If we don't eliminate this wild card, I'm afraid tonight's clan massacre won't get its perfect curtain call."