A sweeping victory, secrets seized

"Cut off his hand."

The moment Sasuke spoke, Fugaku's blade was already out.

Takehara Shin's right hand fell to the ground, black mark and all. Sealing flames writhed across the severed palm before Shikaku's shadow forced it into a sealing barrel.

Takehara Shin doubled over in agony. Yamada Naoto planted a foot on his shoulder. "Still laughing?"

Inoichi pressed a hand to Takehara Shin's head. "He's stalling. Someone at the Second Vault is waiting for feedback from the seal."

Sasuke tucked the route map inside his clothes. "We're leaving the village."

The Third Hokage reached the entrance to the Old Granary just as the Konoha Military Police Force dragged Takehara Shin out.

"Sasuke, the Cultivation Pod involves Hashirama cells. It must be sealed under the Hokage Building's custody."

Sasuke stopped. "A Defense Line Map just left the Hokage Building Underground."

A vein twitched at the Third Hokage's temple. "I've already ordered an internal ANBU investigation."

"Finish investigating before you come asking."

Kakashi stepped between them. "Lord Hokage, the Second Vault may self-destruct. Arguing over jurisdiction now will delay our response."

The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi. "You're going with them too?"

"I'm there to maintain the ANBU records."

Sasuke turned to Yamada Naoto. "Take Takehara Shin back to the dungeon. Don't let him die. Fugaku, assemble the Uchiha elites. Hiashi, bring the Byakugan team. Shikaku, stay in the village and take charge of the ledgers. Inoichi, keep recording Takehara Shin's memories until there's nothing left in his head."

Inoichi wasted no words. "The Yamanaka Clan will handle it."

The Third Hokage was about to speak again when angry shouts suddenly rose from the square.

Several captured former Root operatives were being marched through the street, the gold notes and poisoned needles found on them hanging from their bodies. Civilians crowded the roadside. Without the police holding them back, they would have beaten the prisoners to death.

Sasuke looked at the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, the village needs you here to calm everyone down. I'll handle the Second Vault."

The words stung.

But the Third Hokage had no grounds to stop him.

Outside the Northwest Abandoned Mine, the sky had darkened.

The Hyuga Byakugan Squad scouted ahead. Neji crouched at the half-collapsed mine entrance. "There's an underground watercourse. The seals follow the water. Three entrances, only one safe route."

Fugaku looked at Sasuke. "Could Danzo be inside?"

"If he dares show up, he'll save us a trip."

Kakashi examined the markings on the mine wall. "Orochimaru's work, with another layer of Root seals added afterward. Someone's been maintaining this place for a long time."

Hiashi's voice was cold. "Danzo certainly has plenty of private vaults."

Sasuke raised a hand. "Don't touch the main entrance. Neji, lead us in through the watercourse."

The mine tunnels were damp, the sealing lamps casting a bluish glow.

When they reached the second underground level, mechanisms rattled ahead. More than a dozen Wood Release Experiment Puppets emerged from the walls, their bodies bristling with black sealing needles.

Fugaku drew his blade. "Leave them to me."

Sasuke kept moving. "Kakashi, left. Hiashi, right. Neji, find the Sealing Core."

The puppets charged. Wooden arms smashed into the tunnel walls, sending rubble raining down. Fugaku severed the first puppet's neck with one slash, Kakashi's Lightning Blade pierced the second one's chest, and Hiashi's Gentle Fist sealed their chakra nodes.

Neji called from behind them, "The core is in the water channel in the floor!"

Sasuke drew the Kusanagi Sword, sending lightning down its blade and into the channel. Black smoke billowed from the Sealing Core. The puppets' movements faltered, and the Uchiha elites seized the opening to press forward in force.

Kakashi looked at the channel. "If we'd used the main entrance, the puppets would have held us up until the Self-Destruct Talisman triggered."

"Danzo likes his contingencies."

Sasuke stepped over a fallen puppet. "But he always assumes everyone else will follow his script."

An old Root insignia was carved into the iron door on the third underground level. Beside it was a palm-shaped recess, its edges stained with dried blood.

Neji swept it with his Byakugan. "It requires Danzo's chakra."

Fugaku frowned. "We don't have that."

Sasuke took out a Sealing Box.

Inside lay Danzo's severed right arm, embedded with Sharingan.

Kakashi glanced at him. "You even brought that?"

"Evidence can open doors too."

Sasuke pressed the severed arm into the palm recess.

The seals inside the iron door lit up, then quickly dimmed. A crack opened between the doors, releasing cold air that smelled of medicinal fluid.

Hiashi raised a hand. "Wait. Someone's inside."

Everyone stopped.

Soft footsteps sounded behind the door.

An old ninja in Root gray emerged, his hair grizzled and a detonating tag clutched in his hand.

"Back off. One more step and I'll destroy the Cultivation Pod."

Fugaku raised the point of his blade. "Who are you?"

The old ninja's eyes were cloudy. "Root custodian, Kishimoto Masashi. Lord Danzo ordered me to guard this place."

Sasuke looked at the tag in his hand. "Danzo has already been declared a traitor throughout the entire Shinobi World."

Kishimoto Masashi's mouth twitched. "Root doesn't care about reputation."

"Does Root not care about family either?"

Kishimoto Masashi's fingers froze.

Sasuke took a list from his sleeve. "Kishimoto Masashi. Wife died young. Son, Kishimoto Ryota, killed at the border three years ago. Root withheld his death benefits. I have the ledgers. Granddaughter, Kishimoto Akina, currently lives on East Street and washes cloth for an apothecary to survive."

Kishimoto Masashi's face twitched. "You investigated me?"

"Danzo withheld your granddaughter's benefits and still made you guard his vault."

Sasuke tossed the list at his feet. "If you want to blow this place up, keep being loyal to him. After you die, your granddaughter will receive a notice saying you were executed for aiding treason."

Kishimoto Masashi's hand trembled around the detonating tag.

Fugaku did not advance.

Kakashi's fingers had already closed around a kunai.

Kishimoto Masashi stared at the list, his eyes reddening. "Lord Danzo said the benefits had been paid."

"He also said selling our defense lines was for Konoha's sake."

Sasuke raised a hand, and the ledgers Yamada Naoto had brought were passed to him. "See for yourself."

Kishimoto Masashi took the ledgers and turned to his son's name.

The entry was clear: the death benefits had been transferred to Root's Special Expenses Fund.

Kishimoto Masashi clenched his teeth so hard they grated. The detonating tag in his hand slowly lowered.

"The Cultivation Pod is inside. The Self-Destruct Talisman is connected to the watercourse. You have to cut the third pipe on the left first."

Neji's Byakugan flared. "He's telling the truth."

Sasuke walked over and took the detonating tag from Kishimoto Masashi's hand. "The police will pay your granddaughter the benefits she's owed. As for you, you'll return to the village to stand trial."

Kishimoto Masashi lowered his head. "I accept."

The iron doors opened fully.

A massive apparatus stood in the center of the dormant chamber, green culture fluid gently swaying inside its glass tank. The scroll racks beside it were packed with experimental records, every cover bearing Root's insignia.

Fugaku approached, saw a scroll's title, and his expression changed. "Hashirama Cells Fusion Formula."

Kakashi opened another scroll. "Rejection records, transplant fatality lists... A lot of people died here."

Hiashi discovered a sealed cabinet nearby. "There's Byakugan Experiment Data too."

Sasuke walked up to the apparatus.

The plate beneath the glass tank read: High-Concentration Culture Fluid, Final Stabilization Chamber.

He pressed a hand to the control console. The vitality within the medicinal fluid radiated through the glass, so heavy it tightened his chest.

Neji pointed at the base of the apparatus. "The Self-Destruct Talisman is still pulsing."

Sasuke withdrew his hand. "Remove them."

Kakashi and Neji went to work together. Hiashi tracked the seal pathways with his Byakugan while Fugaku guarded the entrance. Kneeling by the wall, Kishimoto Masashi explained the location of every hidden catch.

A quarter of an hour later, the Self-Destruct Talisman was secured in an iron box.

Fugaku breathed out in relief. "Everything's intact."

ANBU footsteps sounded outside.

A Dog-Masked ANBU operative appeared at the entrance with a squad. "Lord Hokage's orders. ANBU will take custody of all materials related to Hashirama cells."

Kakashi stepped in front of the doorway. "Written orders."

The Dog Face handed over a scroll.

Kakashi opened it and glanced over it. "No countersignatures from the Council of Elders."

The Dog Face's expression soured. "These are direct orders from the Hokage."

Sasuke walked out from beside the apparatus, holding a dossier bearing Danzo's old seal. "These are a traitor's illicit assets, seized under the police's lead investigation. If ANBU forces its way in, I'll arrest you as accomplices."

The Dog Face gritted his teeth. "Sasuke Uchiha, you dare hoard even the First Hokage's legacy?"

"Say that again."

Fugaku drew his blade half an inch.

The Hyuga Byakugan Squad turned toward them too.

None of the ANBU behind Dog Face took another step.

Sasuke raised a hand. Lightning struck three inches in front of Dog Face's feet, splitting a black scar across the rocky floor.

"Go back and tell the Third Hokage that the Cultivation Pod, formula, and ledgers will all be sealed in the Konoha Military Police Force Evidence Repository. Anyone who wants access can bring countersigned orders."

Dog Face withdrew.

Kakashi watched them leave. "Lord Hokage won't be sleeping tonight."

Sasuke closed the dossier. "Whether he sleeps is none of my concern."

The materials were transported to the Uchiha Clan Compound overnight.

In an underground chamber, Fugaku guarded the door himself. Kakashi stayed to maintain the ANBU records, while Hiashi led the Byakugan team in checking the seals. Inoichi brought additional memories from Takehara Shin, confirming that Danzo knew about the Second Vault but had not yet obtained the Cultivation Pod.

Sasuke sat at the laboratory bench, reading through the formula scrolls one by one.

Danzo's research was brutal, with a horrifying pile of death records. But the Final Cultivation Pod's data was complete. The points where rejection occurred were marked, and the stabilizing fluid's proportions were there too.

Fugaku stood at the door. "Sasuke, this is too dangerous."

"That's what makes it valuable."

"You want to use it on yourself?"

Sasuke looked up. "Uchiha eyes need stronger bodies. I won't throw away a path Danzo uncovered by experimenting on people until they died."

Fugaku was silent for a long time. "I'll guard the door. If you lose control, I'll stop the operation."

Sasuke placed a revised formula into the sealing slot. "Fine."

Kakashi leaned against the wall. "We'll need a medical ninja."

"The Hokage Building can't know the details."

Hiashi spoke. "The Hyuga can provide chakra-point sealing support to keep your chakra from running wild."

Inoichi looked at the small transplant apparatus. "The Yamanaka Clan can monitor your mental fluctuations. But Sasuke, if something goes wrong, no one can decide for you whether to stop."

Sasuke lay down on the operating table and rolled his sleeve up to his shoulder.

"I'll wake up on my own."

Culture fluid was drawn into a thin tube, and the sealing lamps lit up one after another.

The moment the needle pierced his skin, Fugaku's hand settled on his sword hilt. Hiashi pushed his Byakugan to its limit, Kakashi watched the chakra flow with his Sharingan, and Inoichi held a hand above Sasuke's forehead.

The first drop of Hashirama cell culture fluid entered his bloodstream.

Beneath the skin of Sasuke's arm, blue-green lines crept along his chakra pathways.

Fugaku's expression changed. "Stop?"

Sasuke opened his eyes, the two tomoe spinning faster and faster.

"Keep going."

The next instant, every sealing lamp beside the operating table turned red. Neji shouted from outside the door.

"Clan head, the Wood Release chakra is devouring the Sharingan's ocular power!"

Kakashi's Sharingan changed color too. "Sasuke, your eyes... They've gained a third tomoe!"