Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado had once again gathered—but this time, it was not Hiruzen sitting in the Hokage's chair.
It was Tsunade.
"Tsunade, are you saying the ANBU is going to wipe out Root?"
"That's right. If they're willing to surrender, Konoha will accept them. But if they insist on resisting to the end, then I see no reason to keep them alive."
Tsunade's voice was cold and unyielding.
The very existence of Root was an affront to both logic and moral principle—an insult to the intelligence and ethics of Konoha. As for what Danzo had done, she would never permit someone like him to continue living.
This man must die.
"But with Kyoichi and Minato both currently away, making a move on Danzo now, wouldn't that…"
The Third Hokage trailed off mid-sentence.
A thought had suddenly struck him.
During the Uchiha incident, the ANBU had mobilized incredibly fast—almost the moment the unrest began, they were already assembled and ready to act.
That kind of speed could only mean one thing: it had been premeditated.
He fell silent for a while.
So...
There were things going on behind the scenes he wasn't aware of.
Not that it was unexpected. He was no longer the Hokage, and he hadn't been involved in village affairs for some time. Naturally, he wasn't privy to many developments. But judging from this situation, there was a good chance—
Kyoichi had already returned to the village.
Perhaps...
This wasn't even Tsunade's idea at all.
After all, she wouldn't normally pay this kind of attention to Root.
This had to be Kyoichi's idea.
Only someone like Kanda Kyoichi, who had command of the ANBU, would care so deeply about the continued existence of Root. But...
The next moment...
Tsunade tossed a scroll onto the table.
"I knew you three wouldn't agree so easily, so I've already written out the reasons in detail. Have a look. If you're still opposed after reading it—well, too bad. I'm the Hokage now!"
Tsunade stood with one hand on her hip and the other braced against the desk.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu remained silent. Tsunade had made her stance perfectly clear. She wasn't seeking their approval—she was simply informing them of her decision.
To be honest...
Who didn't have their own temper?
And right now, they truly didn't feel like...
Hmm?
"Danzo actually dared to go that far?!"
Koharu Utatane was clearly incensed. Even if the victims were just orphans, they were still citizens of the Land of Fire.
And what's more…
He endorsed these kinds of experiments…
"That damn Orochimaru,"
Homura Mitokado had just started to speak, but Tsunade's cold gaze cut him off.
Tsunade said flatly,
"Elder Mitokado, Orochimaru definitely crossed the line—so we've stripped him of all authority. Even in the lab, he's under surveillance from your people. For someone who contributed to two Great Wars, his current situation isn't far off from imprisonment, wouldn't you say?"
"I…"
Homura was momentarily speechless.
It was true…
Orochimaru had been surprisingly compliant lately. He'd remained in the lab and accepted the fact that his research was under the heaviest surveillance in the village—yet never voiced any objections.
Take your punishment standing.
Orochimaru didn't care about others' opinions, but he wasn't blind to the fact that his work had crossed moral lines. Still, as for whether he felt any guilt or sought redemption…
Not really.
That's why Tsunade felt no sympathy for him.
But that didn't mean Homura could just shift the blame entirely onto Orochimaru to deflect heat away from Danzo.
So when Homura tried, Tsunade cut him down.
He had nothing more to say.
"Tsunade, since you've made up your minds, then go ahead,"
said the Third Hokage with a long sigh.
"Danzo has done a lot over the years. Some of it may have benefited Konoha, but there's no denying much of it crossed the line. I shoulder a great deal of responsibility here too."
"As you should."
Tsunade nodded curtly, with zero intention of comforting him.
If the Third Hokage hadn't allowed it, how could Danzo have gotten away with all this?
"Ugh…" Sarutobi's eye twitched.
This woman…
Forget it…
Tsunade's anger was understandable. This whole mess had been dumped on her by her predecessor.
After venting, Tsunade did feel a bit better.
She said,
"I called the three of you here mainly to ask that you all stay unified on this Danzo matter. Don't make things harder for me—or for Kyoichi."
"He deserves to die,"
she added, reaffirming her stance.
Sarutobi and Homura nodded silently. With all the damning evidence against Danzo, it was difficult to defend him anymore.
Besides…
Times had changed.
Tsunade was now in charge of Konoha. It was her leadership that mattered, and her decision regarding Danzo wasn't wrong—just… unusually ruthless by their standards.
But then again…
It wasn't her who was close to Danzo.
At long last, Koharu, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke up.
"Since you've already decided, we won't oppose it. We're angry too—Danzo went as far as targeting the orphanage. But I'd like to ask about the lingering issues with Root."
"Don't worry," said Tsunade. "Danzo's main hold over the Root team was the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. I confirmed with Kushina—once the caster dies, the curse is automatically lifted."
In Tsunade's mind…
Koharu was turning out to be the most reasonable of the three!
She wasn't clinging to Danzo—she was focused on the aftermath.
"What about their mental state?"
Koharu had read Tsunade's psychology theories and thought they made sense. Given the brutal training Root operatives underwent, psychological damage was inevitable.
Could these people…
Still function as normal shinobi?
"Those who can and want to return to normal life can go back to being regular ninja. Those who don't can remain in the ANBU. After all, wasn't Root originally just a subdivision of ANBU training?"
Tsunade couldn't help glancing at the Third Hokage.
Danzo had, under the pretense of establishing an "ANBU training division," formed the Root team—consuming 17 ANBU slots but secretly expanding to dozens of operatives.
And the Third had turned a blind eye the entire time.
Honestly…
Tsunade didn't even know how to roast this properly, so today she had no warm words for this so-called "sensei."
---
When Kyoichi returned to the ANBU HQ with Danzo in custody, he heard from the ANBU about Tsunade's "three-person verbal smackdown" and found himself a little impressed.
As expected of Tsunade-hime!
Say it like it is—that's her shinobi way.
Kyoichi could imagine it now—
The expression of helplessness on the Third's face that day.
Hiruzen was, indeed, helpless.
He had warned Danzo many times not to stir up trouble after his retirement. He knew Kyoichi well. But apparently, he hadn't known Danzo as well as he thought.
That man was never one to let go easily.
---
Now…
Danzo was locked in ANBU prison.
The Yamanaka clan was tasked with extracting his memories—non-invasively, of course.
Yamanaka Inoichi only had to scratch the surface…
And he was shocked.
That old bastard—there was nothing he wouldn't do!
He'd continued experiments on Hashirama's cells in secret, long after the Third had given up on them. Not only that—he had even roped in Orochimaru to continue the research, offering subjects and funding.
No wonder Orochimaru had access to Hashirama cells!
And that wasn't all—
Root's training methods.
Pitting orphans against each other in deadly contests. This psychological poison was as cruel as the experiments themselves. The methods he used to force some orphans into Root were beyond depraved.
After reviewing just a portion of the memories, Yamanaka Inoichi's fists clenched in anger.
As someone from a clan background, he hadn't shared much empathy with orphans or commoners—but even he couldn't stomach what Danzo had done.
How was this any different from a beast?
Disgusted, he sighed and said,
"Our Yamanaka clan members in Root were all transferred from ANBU. They just had to obey orders and were never subjected to this training. I never knew Danzo had such a separate training facility."
"He wouldn't dare treat your clan's members that way,"
Kyoichi nodded.
Danzo had always been selective with his cruelty—
He reserved his harshest methods for orphans and commoners.
People from the Aburame or Yamanaka clans?
They were treated like prized assets in Root.
Aside from tormenting the weak, Danzo's memories also contained various insights and schemes about family jutsu—especially the Uchiha's Sharingan.
If not for the contrast with Kyoichi, people might just say Danzo was "ruthless."
But...
What did Kyoichi do?
Transparency.
In the Research Division and ANBU, where clan secrets might be involved, he invited the major families to jointly supervise. Everything was done as fairly and openly as possible.
Put side-by-side—
Danzo's true nature was plain for all to see.
"For Root to have grown to this scale, the Yamanaka clan bears some responsibility,"
Inoichi said solemnly,
"We must sincerely apologize to the victims. It won't help the dead—but at least we can make life a little better for the orphans left behind by the war."
"That's entirely your choice, Elder. ANBU won't pressure you."
"Isn't your trading caravan already working with the orphanage? I mean—we'll fund it, and you can have Morita Shin help manage things,"
Inoichi offered.
The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans all had their own businesses, and none of them lacked money. They each had their strengths in the shinobi world as well.
In fact—
In Konoha, aside from the Uchiha and Hyūga, the Ino-Shika-Chō alliance was the most powerful group.
Inoichi's words could be taken as representing all three families.
Kyoichi paused briefly, then nodded.
"I'll have ANBU supervise Morita Shin's side."
"Thank you,"
Inoichi bowed deeply.
Kyoichi just gave a small shake of the head.
This was a good deed for the people. In the shinobi world, money didn't matter so much. If Morita Shin could honestly provide opportunities for orphans to become shinobi, then so be it.
If he got greedy...
What else would he gain but money?
So…
Unless he was completely stupid, with his current position as caravan leader, Morita Shin wouldn't try to skim anything—especially since he was already a well-off businessman himself.
"So, how do you plan to deal with Danzo?"
"He dies. And I want the entire village to witness his crimes."
Kyoichi's voice was calm and cold.
He wouldn't slander Danzo.
The truth of what Danzo had done was already enough for him to deserve death a dozen times over.
Inoichi hesitated.
Kyoichi knew what he was thinking—how such a death would be disgraceful.
But…
That was exactly what he wanted.
Danzo didn't deserve a dignified end.
Darkness of Konoha? Guardian of the shadows?
He would strip that façade bare—for all of Konoha to see exactly what lay beneath.
Was he really protecting the village…
Or just feeding his own ambition?
***************************
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