Main world.
Konoha Year Twenty-Two, spring.
Konoha, in front of the Hokage Building.
The first morning light stretched the Hokage Building's shadow long. Danzo stood below the steps, his black combat uniform covered in blood-not his, but that of the Anbu guards who had fallen at the building's entrance. Behind him, eight hundred Root Ninja were locked in fierce combat with the Hokage Building's Anbu elites. The clang of colliding ninja blades, the shriek of kunai cutting through the air, and the roar of exploding explosive tags mingled into a symphony of the apocalypse.
Danzo raised his head and gazed at the top floor of the Hokage Building. There lay the Hokage Office. There lay what he wanted.
"This was never what I wanted!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield, carrying an emotion suppressed for far too long, bordering on madness.
"I never intended to have Root attack Konoha! Our fathers ended the chaotic Warring States Period together, but Tobirama Senju betrayed me, betrayed everything I've done for Konoha! He trampled on his own original ideals!"
His clenched fists crackled.
"Konoha has only one chance to grow strong. Hiruzen Sarutobi is a mediocre caretaker-he can't seize that chance! Only I can make Konoha greater! Only I can save the great ninja clans from their suffering and lead Konoha to unprecedented prosperity and glory."
No one answered him. Only the sounds of battle echoed before the Hokage Building.
In front of the Hokage Building, the fierce battle between the Anbu elites and Root elites continued.
An Anbu Jonin drove his ninja blade into a Root Chunin's chest, sending blood gushing out. The Root Chunin did not fall. Gritting his teeth, he plunged the kunai in his hand into the Anbu Jonin's abdomen. Both fell at the same time, their blood pooling