The Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was wrapped in a violent gale, propelling it faster and harder than before.
The canyon's cliff walls became like the sides of a furnace.
It hit after and landed before.
White Demon's wind-fire combination technique collided with T and G's wind-water combo just before reaching them.
Far away, Uzumaki Genchō looked through his binoculars and saw the entire river glowing from the firelight—a luminous streak burning across the land.
He sighed, "Fox's fire style is incredible! Even the Uchiha or Sarutobi clans rarely produce fire jutsu users of that level."
Uzumaki Kaichō added, "It's clearly not just fire release. That kind of rapid, far-reaching light—it has to be a combination of wind and fire."
Yūka was secretly elated. Fox has become even stronger…
T maintained his Great Breakthrough jutsu, his view completely blocked by the raging hurricane vortex.
He and G had been partners for years—their wind-water combo had slain countless enemies of Root.
But this time… the opponent's mastery of wind and fire was startling.
Powerful—very powerful.
As he continued exhaling the jutsu, a chill ran down T's spine.
He glanced over his shoulder.
There—right behind him—stood a figure wearing the White Demon mask!
Yako had used Water Flicker to suddenly appear behind them.
He formed a single seal and launched another Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Between water body flicker and single-seal ninjutsu, he effectively surrounded the pair on both ends of the river.
Saying "You two are surrounded" was no exaggeration.
At this moment, the legacy of Hanzō the Salamander—the so-called "Demi-God"—seemed even more awe-inspiring.
'No wonder the Young Sannin survived only by his mercy…'
The blazing inferno still roared ahead of T. Now fire came from behind too.
"No—!"
T, a master of Wind Style from the Shimura clan, still had grand ambitions: to lead Root, surpass ANBU, defeat Yellow Dog, and rise to become the next clan head.
How could he die here?
But the flames came too fast.
In a flash, they engulfed him.
His future collapsed in fire before a mysterious assassin.
The vortex stilled. The fire went out.
Yako frowned—only one charred corpse floated on the water.
"Hmph… all that big talk from T, and he died this easily?"
"G's the quiet one, but his water release was decent. Typical of a Root operative…"
His own figure vanished as well.
A hundred meters away, G—half his body burned—was desperately swimming underwater.
Fear filled his eyes.
Who was this Fire Style master attacking them?
Before he could react, a sharp pain bloomed in the back of his head.
Someone had caught up—in the water—and stabbed a kunai straight into his skull.
How… how is he this fast underwater…?
G's vision dimmed. His thoughts faded into the darkness as he sank.
Yako waved goodbye from afar to Yūka and the others.
Then, with a reverse summoning from the stone panda, he returned to the izakaya's underground hideout.
Another peaceful, thyroid-soothing day.
Days later, downstream from the battleground…
A Root ninja called out, "Found them! Lord Danzo!"
The second body was recovered. Alongside the first, they were laid before Danzo.
Four Root ninja had spent days locating these corpses.
Shinobi of Root weren't like ANBU cannon fodder.
Root only had ten members—well, nine now.
"G" didn't count. He was a special case, working with Orochimaru as a collaborator—not a loyal subordinate.
Among the nine "T," was one of the top-ranked.
Their deaths were a severe loss for Root—irreplaceable.
Danzo remained silent for a long time.
"…K," he finally said, "can you recover any intel from their brains?"
K replied, "Apologies, my lord. One had their brain completely burned. The other had a kunai lodged through it. There's nothing left."
Both deaths were brutal.
Just like Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yuu, they had fallen to a Fire Style master.
Even G, a Water Release jōnin, had failed to withstand it.
Danzo lowered his eyes, silent.
Behind the Konoha Memorial Stone, two new tombstones were erected.
One bore the name: Shimura Kude.
Not far from it stood another: Shimura Tan.
An old woman, hair gone white, knelt at Kude's grave and cried for a long time.
She wept until she passed out, then woke, then wept again, until her vision blurred as if she had gone blind.
She staggered to her feet, stumbling over chairs and stones, and blindly found her way back to the Shimura compound.
All she could see was a single point of light—the clan head's house: Danzo's residence.
Danzo noticed her strange gait immediately, and realized her eyes were damaged.
Bruises covered her calves—evidence of a painful journey home.
"Danzo… big brother…"
Her voice cracked. The rims of her eyes turned red—the kind of red that comes when no more tears will fall.
"My husband—your brother—died in the ANBU."
"My youngest son, Tan, died in the Land of Grass."
"My eldest son, Kude, died in Root."
"How many more have to die?"
"How many Shimura must die before it's enough?"
"Why can't we be like other clans—enjoying peace when there's no war?"
"You're already the ANBU Commander… already in the village leadership… How high do you have to climb?"
"…Do you really want to be Hokage?"
"Silence!" Danzo barked.
His eyes—those pale, empty irises—shrank to pinpoints as he glared at the woman.
But in the next moment, he relented.
This was one of the rare times Danzo had lost an argument.
What could he possibly say to her now?
What did she even have left to lose?
His voice softened:
"…Don't talk like that, sister-in-law. The sacrifices of the Shimura clan… are all for the sake of Konoha."
She laughed bitterly.
"All for Konoha, huh…?"
K entered silently, catching her before she collapsed.
He pressed a hand against the back of her head and looked to Danzo.
Danzo nodded.
K's fingers tightened.
—
From that night forward, the Shimura clan had a madwoman.
A mother who, after losing both sons, had gone mute and catatonic.
That night, Danzo found it difficult to concentrate even when reading his scrolls.
Eventually, he raised his hand.
K appeared again.
"K," he said coldly, "tell Orochimaru: from now on, no more Shimura shinobi in his experiments.
Even if it's to help him match with my cells—no more."
—
Half an hour later, K returned.
"Danzo-sama, A said he can agree—but he needs more test subjects. All the war captives have been used up."
"Then go get more," Danzo said. "There are plenty of civilians in the Land of Fire."
K replied, "I told him that—but he says civilians without chakra are worlds apart from chakra-wielding shinobi. He needs real shinobi."
Danzo fell into deep thought.
"Go to the Land of Rain, the Land of Waterfalls… catch rogue ninjas if you must."
K left.
Danzo thought for a long while.
Then, he turned and walked toward the Hokage Tower.