Danzo sat in the cold, damp silence of his hidden bunker, his one visible eye narrowed in concentration, reviewing surveillance reports delivered by his most trusted, deep-cover operatives.
Minato's leash was tight, infuriatingly so. Official ANBU watched his residence, tracked his overt movements, restricted his access to council meetings and mission assignments. The failed Yuki/Uchiha abduction had cost him dearly in political capital, forcing him further into the shadows.
But Minato underestimated the depth of Root. Decades of cultivating loyalty, embedding agents, establishing hidden pathways – they couldn't be dismantled overnight. He still received information. He still had loyalists ready to act.
A Root operative flickered into existence before him, kneeling silently. "Danzo-sama. Report."
"Shisui Uchiha met with the Hokage again yesterday evening," the operative reported tonelessly. "Increased ANBU presence noted around the Uchiha district, but subtle. Shisui's own movements indicate preparation for a significant action coinciding with the Uchiha clan assembly tomorrow night."
Danzo tapped his finger. Kotoamatsukami. Shisui intended to use it on Fugaku, undoubtedly with Minato's reluctant approval, to quell the coup non-violently.
Predictable. Sentimental.
Foolish.
It wouldn't solve the underlying problem, merely postpone it. And it wasted the potential of Shisui's eyes, eyes that rightfully belonged to someone with the vision and resolve to truly protect Konoha from the weakness within and the threats without.
Eyes he needed.
Minato thought he had Danzo caged. He was wrong. Surveillance could be misdirected. Minato's focus was divided – Akatsuki, the Jinchuriki brat, reconstruction, managing the Uchiha... Danzo needed only one opportunity, one lapse in vigilance.
"The target remains Shisui Uchiha," Danzo stated coldly. "Objective: acquisition of both Mangekyō Sharingan. Maximum prejudice against Shisui himself is authorized if capture proves impossible, but the eyes must be secured. Minimize collateral damage and Konoha ANBU engagement. Plausible deniability is paramount – make it appear as an internal Uchiha struggle or an attack by unknown rogue elements if necessary."
He looked at the operative. "Operative 'Karasu' (Crow - a different one from Kakashi's team designation), you will lead the acquisition team. Use the toxin specialists. Incapacitation first, extraction second. Move tonight, during the deepest point of the watch rotation overlaps near his residence. Minato's ANBU are good, but they have patterns."
"Hai, Danzo-sama," the operative acknowledged, bowing low.
"Do not fail," Danzo added, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Konoha's future depends on strength, not sentiment. Those eyes are key to that strength."
The operative vanished. Danzo closed his eye again, patience settling over him.
Soon.
Soon he would have the power to truly shape Konoha's destiny, free from the naive constraints of leaders like Hiruzen or the flashy sentimentality of Minato. The Will of Fire required darkness to sustain its roots.
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Shisui moved like a whisper through the Uchiha district's shadowed rooftops, the familiar path towards Fugaku's residence feeling unnaturally charged tonight. The air hung thick with unspoken tension, the usual quiet replaced by a taut expectancy. The clan meeting was only hours away.
He had finalized his plan with Hokage-sama: infiltrate Fugaku's home, subtly apply Kotoamatsukami just before the clan leader left for the Naka Shrine, shifting his resolve against the coup. Risky, manipulative, but necessary to prevent bloodshed. Minato-sama had agreed, albeit reluctantly, seeing it as the least damaging option compared to civil war.
He extended his senses, scanning for the discreet ANBU patrols Minato had assigned to watch the district – allies tonight, hopefully unseen witnesses if things went wrong. He also searched for anything else, any hint of Danzo's interference.
He felt nothing overt, only the usual simmering Uchiha chakra signatures and the low thrum of village life beyond the compound walls. Perhaps his fears about Danzo were unfounded this time. Perhaps Minato's containment efforts had truly neutered the old war hawk.
He dropped silently into the meticulously maintained garden behind Fugaku's residence, landing softly on moss-covered stones near a decorative pond. The area seemed clear. He suppressed his chakra to the barest minimum, preparing to bypass the basic perimeter seals Fugaku would undoubtedly have in place. He took a step towards the engawa...
Trap!
The world exploded In sudden, coordinated violence. Chakra flared from multiple hidden positions simultaneously – the roofline opposite, the dense ornamental bushes, even from beneath the decorative stones he stood near! Root operatives, porcelain masks gleaming dully in the ambient light filtering from the house, erupted from concealment.
Senbon laced with paralytic agents hissed through the air from three directions. Shisui reacted instantly, activating his Sharingan, the world snapping into sharp focus, predicting trajectories. He twisted, dodged, using his Body Flicker in short, contained bursts to evade the poisoned needles.
One grazed his arm, a numbing coldness spreading instantly.
Two operatives lunged, aiming for immobilization, their movements swift, disciplined, clearly trained to counter high-speed opponents. Shisui parried a kunai thrust, kicked off the ground to avoid a leg sweep, but the poison was already working, slowing his reactions fractionally, making his limbs feel heavy.
More senbon rained down. Another found its mark, embedding itself shallowly in his thigh. His speed faltered noticeably now. He grit his teeth against the encroaching paralysis.
From the shadows near the house, the lead operative, 'Karasu', emerged, his chakra signature cold and focused. Danzo's man. Shisui recognized the specific mask design from intelligence reports.
"Uchiha Shisui," Karasu stated tonelessly. "By order of Danzo-sama, your eyes are forfeit for the security of Konoha."
Danzo! The old bastard had moved after all, defying the Hokage's restrictions. Shisui felt a surge of cold fury mixed with rising panic. He couldn't let Danzo get Kotoamatsukami. He focused his remaining chakra, pushing past the numbness, pouring it into his Mangekyō Sharingan. He wouldn't use Kotoamatsukami offensively here – it wouldn't stop all of them, and its cooldown was too long. He needed defense.
"Susanoo!"
The spectral green ribcage erupted around him, raw chakra flaring outwards, blasting the closest Root operatives back. It was incomplete, flickering under the effects of the poison and his rapidly dwindling chakra, but it offered a momentary shield.
The Root operatives paused, surprised by the sudden manifestation of the legendary defense. Karasu narrowed his eyes behind his mask. "Resorting to that? Futile. Drain his chakra! Secure the eyes!"
They pressed the attack again, launching kunai with explosive tags, trying to overwhelm the fragile Susanoo. Shisui struggled to maintain it, the poison making his vision swim, his chakra draining at an alarming rate. He knew he couldn't hold it. He couldn't escape.
But the flare of Susanoo's chakra hadn't gone unnoticed.
Suddenly, multiple new chakra signatures appeared at the edge of the garden – Konoha ANBU, Minato's loyalists, alerted by the massive chakra spike. They engaged the Root operatives instantly.
"Root traitors!" one of the Konoha ANBU, wearing a Boar mask, yelled. "In the name of the Hokage, stand down!"
The Root operatives, realizing their cover was blown and facing official ANBU intervention, hesitated for only a second. Their orders were clear, secure the eyes, plausible deniability if possible, but eliminate the target if necessary. Now, faced with Konoha ANBU, their mission shifted.
"Eliminate Shisui! Retrieve the eyes!" Karasu commanded his remaining subordinates, while he himself moved to engage the arriving Konoha ANBU, buying time.
Shisui felt his Susanoo falter, the poison reaching critical levels. He saw a Root operative lunging towards him, kunai aimed at his remaining eye socket. He closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable...
Flash.
A brilliant yellow light erupted beside him. Minato Namikaze stood there, his blue eyes blazing with cold fury, a tagged kunai already spinning in his hand. He had sensed the Susanoo flare, the clash of ANBU signatures, and teleported instantly using a seal likely placed on one of his loyal operatives patrolling nearby.
"Danzo!" Minato's voice was dangerously quiet, but resonated with absolute authority. He deflected the Root operative's kunai aimed at Shisui with contemptuous ease. "You dare move against a Konoha shinobi under my protection, in my village?"
The Root operatives froze, clearly recognizing the Fourth Hokage and the impossible speed of his arrival. Karasu, locked in combat with the Boar-masked ANBU, cursed silently. The operation was a catastrophic failure.
"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi Hatake appeared beside Minato a moment later, his Sharingan blazing, having been part of the responding ANBU patrol. He took in the scene – Shisui collapsing, Root operatives, Minato radiating killing intent – and immediately understood the gravity.
"ANBU!" Minato commanded sharply. "Secure these Root operatives! Use lethal force if necessary! Danzo has committed treason!"
The Konoha ANBU engaged the remaining Root agents with renewed ferocity, while Minato flashed directly in front of the Root captain, Karasu. Karasu tried to react, but Minato was simply too fast. A Rasengan, formed instantly, slammed into the operative's chest before he could even complete a hand seal. The impact sent him flying backwards, crashing through the garden fence, unconscious or dead.
Minato turned his icy gaze back towards the remaining Root operatives, who, seeing their captain fall and facing overwhelming odds, attempted a tactical retreat, trying to melt back into the shadows. Minato wouldn't allow it. Yellow flashes filled the garden as he intercepted them one by one, disabling them with precise strikes or binding seals, leaving them incapacitated for ANBU capture.
Within seconds, the fight was over. Several Root operatives lay dead or unconscious, bound securely by Konoha ANBU. Kakashi was already kneeling beside Shisui, performing a quick medical scan.
"Sensei!" Kakashi reported urgently. "He's alive, but barely! Potent neurotoxin, fast-acting. And..." Kakashi hesitated, looking up with wide, horrified eyes, "...Sensei, his right eye... it's gone!"
Minato swore under his breath, appearing beside Kakashi instantly. He saw the empty, bloody socket where Shisui's right eye had been. Danzo's primary objective.
"Damn him!" Minato clenched his fists, raw fury radiating from him. "He still got one." He quickly assessed Shisui's condition. "The poison is severe. Kakashi, stabilize him as best you can! Get him to the hospital, secure wing, my personal authorization! No one sees him without my direct permission! Go!"
Kakashi nodded grimly, carefully lifting his Uchiha comrade and vanishing in a swirl of leaves towards the hospital.
Minato turned to the senior Boar-masked ANBU. "Secure this area. Take the prisoners to Ibiki in T&I. I want them interrogated immediately, bypass standard procedure if necessary. Find out everything they know about Danzo's orders, his network, his current location."
"Hai, Hokage-sama!"
Minato looked towards the main Uchiha compound, then towards the Hokage Tower. The Uchiha clan meeting would be starting soon. The coup attempt might still happen if Fugaku wasn't stopped. But now... now he had proof. Danzo's treachery, his attack on Shisui, his theft of a Mangekyō Sharingan – this changed everything.
He flashed away, appearing moments later in Hiruzen Sarutobi's private study. The Third Hokage looked up from his pipe, sensing the urgency, the sheer killing intent radiating from his successor.
"Minato? What is it?"
"Danzo moved," Minato stated, his voice tight with fury. "He ambushed Shisui Uchiha outside Fugaku's residence minutes ago. Tried to steal his eyes."
Hiruzen's pipe clattered from his trembling hand. "Shisui... is he...?"
"Alive," Minato confirmed grimly. "Barely. Poisoned. And Danzo succeeded in taking his right eye. Kakashi intercepted the Root team attempting to retrieve the body and secured Shisui, but the eye is lost to Danzo for now."
Hiruzen sagged, grief and anger warring on his aged face. "Danzo... after everything... he still..."
"He committed treason, sensei," Minato stated coldly. "He attacked a Konoha Jonin, attempted theft of a clan's Kekkei Genkai, operated outside his authority using a proscribed organization, directly defying my orders. There is no more room for political maneuvering, no more benefit of the doubt."
He looked at Hiruzen, his blue eyes like chips of ice. "Root must be purged. Now. Tonight. Before Danzo can use Shisui's eye, before he can rally his remaining forces or escape the village."
Hiruzen looked shocked, then slowly nodded, the weight of decades of compromise finally giving way to grim necessity. "You are right, Minato. The infection must be cut out. Completely."
"Gather the most loyal ANBU," Minato ordered. "Those completely untouched by Root influence. Alert Jiraiya-sensei if he's in the village. You and I, sensei... we lead the assault on Root headquarters personally. Tonight, Danzo Shimura answers for his crimes."
Minato turned, gazing towards the hidden entrances to the Root complex deep beneath Konoha, his expression hardening into the implacable resolve of the Yellow Flash preparing to eradicate a cancer from within his own village.
The Uchiha coup might be averted by circumstance, but a different, perhaps equally bloody, internal conflict was about to erupt in the heart of Konoha. The night was far from over.