At this moment, inside the Hokage's office—
Hiruzen Sarutobi paced back and forth restlessly, puffing nonstop on his pipe.
One bowl after another was burned through, until the entire room was thick with smoke, the sharp, choking smell growing heavier by the second.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, both frowning.
"Hiruzen, calm down," Koharu said.
Hiruzen clenched his fist tightly.
"Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down?!"
"At this very moment, Uchiha Qianyu and Danzo are fighting to the death!"
"Before the result is known, how can my heart be at ease?!"
"This is a matter of life and death!"
Homura shook his head.
"It's not that critical. Danzo may not necessarily lose."
"And even if he does, Uchiha Qianyu cannot possibly emerge unscathed."
"Danzo reanimated a force comparable to an entire army using Edo Tensei."
Koharu nodded in agreement.
"That's right."
"So many elite shinobi attacking together, plus Danzo himself and the remnants of Root."
"No matter how strong Uchiha Qianyu is, he cannot handle all of that perfectly."
Hiruzen said coldly,
"I've received reports—Hatake Kakashi and members of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans have already left the village."
"They're clearly going to take part in the battle."
"Kakashi that bastard… he's openly defying my orders now."
Homura sighed.
"Even so, Kakashi only has seven or eight subordinates."
"The main forces of Ino–Shika–Chō are still on the battlefield."
"With just these people, they won't be able to change much."
"Besides, didn't you send the Anbu—like Tenzo—to gather intelligence?"
"We'll know the situation soon enough."
A cold glint flashed through Koharu's eyes.
"Hiruzen, instead of sitting here worrying…"
"Why not take advantage of the opportunity?"
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.
"You mean… strike the Uchiha clan while Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Qianyu are both absent?"
"That's not impossible," Koharu said calmly.
Homura's expression changed immediately.
"This… isn't that too dangerous?"
"What's dangerous about it?" Koharu retorted.
"Is there a better opportunity than this?"
Hiruzen fell silent.
After a long while, he shook his head.
"No."
Koharu frowned. "Why?"
Hiruzen said in a deep voice,
"The Uchiha clan may be vulnerable right now, but even if we slaughter them all, it would only treat the symptoms, not the root."
"Uchiha Fugaku isn't the key."
"The real key… is Uchiha Qianyu."
"If he returns alive and finds the Uchiha clan wiped out, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"And Uchiha Qianyu definitely left contingencies behind."
"According to Anbu intelligence, he left someone at the Police Force Headquarters."
"Most likely… a shadow clone."
Koharu's eyes widened.
She hadn't expected it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi… was afraid.
Afraid of that man—Uchiha Qianyu.
Just a single shadow clone was enough to make Hiruzen hesitate, to keep him from acting rashly.
But that fear wasn't unreasonable.
Uchiha Qianyu's strength was growing at an incomprehensible rate.
Who knew how powerful he had already become?
Homura nodded.
"Hiruzen is right. We can't act too hastily."
"Moreover, slaughtering the remaining Uchiha clan members while their leaders are absent…"
"It would be impossible to justify—to the other clans, or to the shinobi world."
"There's no legitimate cause."
Just as the three were steeped in anxiety—
Two Anbu shinobi suddenly appeared at the doorway.
"Hokage-sama!"
Hiruzen's body jolted violently, his pipe nearly slipping from his hand.
"What's the situation?"
"Speak!"
One of the Anbu trembled as he spoke.
"D–Danzo-sama… he has already…"
"Already what?!" Hiruzen roared.
"He was killed by Uchiha Qianyu!"
"What?!"
The three old foxes all went pale at once, the blood draining from their faces.
"How… how could this happen…?"
"What about Danzo's Edo Tensei army?!"
The Anbu stammered,
"Completely wiped out by Uchiha Qianyu!"
"He awakened the power of Susanoo!"
"The reanimated shinobi couldn't even display their former strength—under Susanoo, they were utterly helpless!"
"Danzo-sama had transplanted the First Hokage's Wood Release arm, five Sharingan, and even mastered the Uchiha forbidden technique Izanagi, but… but still…"
"He was completely overwhelmed and killed by Uchiha Qianyu!"
"The remaining Root members were eliminated as well—by Hatake Kakashi, Akimichi Sidong, and Uchiha Qianyu himself."
"Root… no longer exists in any meaningful sense."
Bang!
Hiruzen collapsed into his chair, eyes vacant, as the fire in his pipe slowly died out.
"Danzo… is dead…"
In a way, Shimura Danzo had betrayed him.
And yet—
Hearing this news, Hiruzen still couldn't stop himself from trembling.
Their relationship was too complex to describe in simple terms.
Koharu and Homura were equally shocked—
But they managed to stay composed.
"Hiruzen, Danzo dying at Uchiha Qianyu's hands wasn't impossible…"
"But we never imagined such a crushing defeat…"
"He's dead… and Root is gone…"
Koharu hurriedly asked,
"What about Uchiha Qianyu himself?"
"Susanoo is not a power one can control without paying a terrible price!"
"After slaughtering so many enemies, he must have suffered severe backlash!"
The two Anbu exchanged looks.
"He… appears to be unharmed."
"There's no sign of Mangekyō degradation."
"Let alone blindness."
"What?!"
This time, the three of them fell into true despair.
Homura was drenched in cold sweat.
"So… sacrificing Danzo and the entire Root organization…"
"That man is still…"
"Completely unscathed?!"
The Anbu remained silent.
Their silence was an answer in itself.
Koharu finally felt real urgency.
"It seems… we still vastly underestimated him."
The Hokage's office fell into absolute silence.
After a long time—
Hiruzen finally recovered, relit his pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"Where is Uchiha Qianyu now?"
"He's returning to Konoha."
"Hiruzen… what do we do?"
Hiruzen's expression was filled with heavy resolve.
"Immediately summon everyone."
"Hold a Hokage Council meeting."
"Announce the complete liquidation of Danzo and Root."
Koharu and Homura immediately understood and nodded.
"Understood."
At the same time—
Elsewhere.
Inside Qianyu's mind, a long-delayed system notification finally sounded.
[You have successfully freed "Pot Shadow" Shimura Danzo from his fate of eternal blame.]
[Great Good Deed achieved! Gained 2,000 Merit Points!]
[Host Mangekyō Sharingan ocular power has reached 10,000 points!]
[Host has successfully awakened—]
[Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!]
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