"Welcome back to the village, rebel leader Shimura Danzō."
Danzo pinched the blood-stained wooden tag, his thumb smearing the line of text until it blurred, and though wooden splinters pierced his skin, he did not let go.
The Root death squad members behind him all knelt, none daring to raise their heads.
"Sasuke knows about the Owl Nest."
A Root ninja crouched on the ground, his mask pressed against the muddy water, his throat dry. "Lord Danzo, should we change route?"
Danzo tossed the wooden tag into the brazier, the flames swallowing the bloody characters, and he lifted the forged Daimyō's Residence Envoy order, his single eye beneath the bandages staring into the depths of the secret passage.
"Change route?"
He let out a laugh, his cane tapping the ground. "If he could truly kill me, he would have sealed all the exits long ago."
The Root ninja said in a low voice, "Yet this wooden tag indicates that his spy is inside the secret fortress."
"Then let the spy bring my orders back."
Danzo unfolded the special order, the Black Mark and the Hokage Seal pressing down on the exact same spot. "Sasuke Uchiha took advantage of the chaos to coerce the Daimyō's Residence Envoy, illegally seized the Hokage Seal, and colluded with Sunagakure to instigate a civil rebellion, a crime equivalent to treason."
The death squad members raised their heads in unison.
Danzo raised the special order over his head. "Root acts under the Daimyō's Secret Order to take over Konoha defense, execute Sasuke Uchiha, and rescue the held hostage Hiruzen Sarutobi."
A death squad member wearing a crow mask knelt and crawled forward. "What if the Third Hokage publicly denies the secret order?"
Danzo's cane fell onto his shoulder, fine cracks appearing on the crow mask.
"Sarutobi