Bang!
The two bundles burst open in mid-air. Instead of falling, their contents remained suspended in the sky for a moment, held by some unseen power, forcing everyone below to witness the gruesome display. Two severed heads, their eyes wide and unseeing, stared blankly down at the village.
"Oh my god… Is that… it can't be…" "No, that's impossible! How could this have happened?!"
A wave of disbelief and horror washed over the assembled Anbu. They were the elite shinobi of Konoha, trained to face death without flinching, but this sight sent a tremor of shock through their ranks. They recognized those faces instantly. It was their commander, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and his wife.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke was more than just the leader of the Hokage's personal Anbu guard. He was the eldest son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the heir to the Sarutobi clan. He was a man known for his strength and for possessing the same cunning as his father.
The position he held once belonged to a true hero famous throughout the Shinobi World: Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha. But years ago, a single failed mission had been twisted and used to drive that hero into the abyss. In the shadows, many whispered that Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the man who took Sakumo's place, was the architect of his downfall.
The whispers were true. Shinnosuke was his father's son in every way. Concepts like honor, the Will of Fire, and loyalty to the village meant nothing to him. Only power and personal gain mattered. It was this shared philosophy that allowed Hiruzen to tolerate Shimura Danzo's dark ambitions for so long. And it was why Shinnosuke, knowing full well that the White Fang was innocent, had shown no mercy in destroying him.
But now, in a cruel twist of fate, his own dark deeds had finally come back to claim him.
…
Pfft!
Down below, a choked sound escaped the Third Hokage's lips. He didn't scream or shout. Instead, a spray of blood erupted from his mouth as he stumbled back, his face draining of all color. In that single, horrific moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to age decades. The formidable spark in his eyes vanished, leaving only the empty gaze of a broken old man.
Why? Why did this happen?
An overwhelming sense of powerlessness crushed him. He had two sons. The younger, Asuma, was a good-for-nothing in his eyes, but his eldest, Shinnosuke, had shown promise. Of course, much of that "promise" was built on the power and influence that came with being the Hokage's son, but to Hiruzen, it had been enough. Shinnosuke was the heir who could have carried on his legacy, perhaps even becoming Hokage himself one day.
And now he was gone.
What made the pain even more unbearable was the head of his daughter-in-law beside his son's. He had received secret word just weeks ago—she was pregnant. That was his grandson, the future of his clan. And now… they were all gone. Everything was gone. All of them were dead.
…
"So… this is the power of the divine being Tsukihiko and his Twelve Divine Moons. Truly extraordinary."
Hidden deep beneath Konoha in the dark, sewer-like corridors of the Root organization, Shimura Danzo watched the entire scene unfold on his monitors. A cruel smile spread across his bandaged face. As he had always believed, anything that brought misery to Hiruzen Sarutobi brought him twice the joy.
If it weren't for that despicable man, the Hokage's hat should have been his. But Hiruzen, with his terrifying cunning, had not only snatched the title away but had also used him for decades. The departure of the Sannin, the quiet extinction of the Senju clan, the current plot to destroy the Uchiha—Hiruzen was connected to it all. Yet, in the eyes of the world, it was always Shimura Danzo who was the villain.
Danzo knew the truth. He had carried the blame for years, but simply knowing was not enough. The problem was that Hiruzen's power was too deeply entrenched in Konoha. Even with the strength Danzo had gathered in Root, he knew it wasn't enough to overthrow him. Even if he managed to eliminate Hiruzen, the Hokage's seat wouldn't necessarily fall to him.
And more importantly, Hiruzen still had his sons. While Asuma was a disappointment, Shinnosuke was dangerously capable. The man had orchestrated the death of the White Fang, a master shinobi who even the Sannin struggled against. Shinnosuke had used shameless, underhanded tactics to push a great hero to his death.
But now, that same ruthlessness had come back to haunt him.
"Heh heh. Your eldest son is dead, and your younger son is worthless," Danzo rasped to the screen, watching Hiruzen's despair with immense satisfaction. "Sarutobi, I wonder… what will you do now?"
As he savored the moment, his eyes caught movement on another monitor, which displayed a live feed from a dark alley in the village.
"Hmm? What's this?"
He leaned closer, his single eye widening in surprise. "That's… Kakashi Hatake. And… Sarutobi Asuma!"
Danzo knew both men well, but he never imagined they would be in conflict. What he saw next made him freeze. In a flash of movement, Kakashi severed Asuma's limbs and then cleanly decapitated him.
Sarutobi Asuma… dead!
In a single night, both of Hiruzen Sarutobi's sons, the capable Shinnosuke and the disappointing Asuma, had been eliminated. The cunning Shimura Danzo shot up from his chair, a strange, cracking sound coming from his throat. He had suppressed his hatred for so long that he had almost forgotten how to smile. A low chuckle escaped his lips, then another, building into a roaring, unhinged laugh that echoed through the darkness of his underground base.
"Hahaha… HAHAHAHA! Oh, Sarutobi… to lose your sons in your old age! What a joyous, joyous occasion!"
In that moment, Danzo felt like he had finally, truly won.
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