Under the moonlight, the area in front of Haruto's shop looked like a battlefield filled with corpses.
Haruto's figure stood alone in the moonlight, exuding an air of indifference.
"Izanagi? What a hassle!" Brushing off the non-existent dust on his clothes, Haruto turned and walked back toward his shop.
Behind him, Danzo lay dead, his lone eye wide open in disbelief.
On his right arm, three Sharingans remained open, their eerie red glow spinning even in death.
"He almost used the Four Symbols Seal!" Haruto muttered, shaking his head.
Danzo was truly ruthless. The moment he realized he couldn't win, he was ready to die together with me—without even exhausting all his Izanagi uses!
"Good thing I have the Air Dance Technique, or that seal might've been a problem."
Haruto took one last glance at the corpses littering the ground. "Trash!" he sneered before stepping into his shop and shutting the door behind him.
As for the cleanup? Someone else would take care of it.
Hokage's Office
Sarutobi Hiruzen was deep into paperwork when a masked Anbu suddenly appeared beside him, whispering something into his ear.
"What?!"
Sarutobi nearly choked on his pipe, eyes widening in shock as he looked at the Anbu.
The masked shinobi nodded solemnly.
"Let's go!"
Without even putting down his pipe, Sarutobi leaped from the window, moving toward Haruto's shop with urgency.
Upon arrival, the sight before him made his breath hitch.
The scene was a massacre. Root ninjas lay lifeless across the ground, their bodies charred and broken.
A team of Anbu operatives had already arrived and were working silently to dispose of the corpses.
"Hokage-sama," the lead Anbu greeted him as he landed.
"It's been confirmed—the dead are all Root members. And inside..." The Anbu hesitated.
"What is it?" Sarutobi pressed, sensing something was terribly wrong.
"...Danzo-sama's body was found among them."
Sarutobi inhaled sharply.
Danzo... is dead?!
Although he had braced himself for bad news, the weight of the words still sent shockwaves through his mind.
Danzo was a formidable ninja—his equal in many ways. He wouldn't have fallen so easily, especially with an entire Root squad backing him.
Sarutobi's gaze hardened. "Take me to him."
The Anbu nodded and led the way to a secluded corner, where Danzo's body lay beneath a white cloth.
Sarutobi stared at the covered corpse, exhaling deeply.
Though he and Danzo often clashed in ideology, they had once been comrades—disciples of the Second Hokage, survivors of the warring era. The bond between them was complicated, shaped by years of struggle.
Still, despite their differences, Sarutobi had never wished for this.
Taking a deep breath, he bent down and lifted the cloth.
Then immediately dropped it, face paling.
For a moment, he said nothing.
He just stared, stunned, as if his mind refused to process what he had seen.
The Anbu members shifted uncomfortably, waiting for their leader to speak.
Slowly, Sarutobi turned to them. "Who else knows about this?"
"No one beyond us," the lead Anbu assured him.
"The first to discover Danzo-sama's body was another Anbu operative. He never left the scene and used our emergency protocol to inform us directly. We ensured the information didn't spread."
Sarutobi exhaled in relief. "Good. That was the right call."
Still unsettled, he turned back to Danzo's body.
For the second time, he lifted the cloth—this time bracing himself.
Beneath the fabric, three blood-red Sharingans spun in Danzo's eye socket.
And worse…
His right arm was covered in even more Sharingans, each sealed shut but unmistakable.
Sarutobi clenched his pipe so hard it almost cracked.
Now he understood.
Danzo's obsession with the Uchiha Clan… his schemes… his hatred…
It was all because of this.
His corpse was undeniable proof of his crimes.
Sarutobi's face darkened. This wasn't just about Danzo anymore.
This was a political disaster waiting to explode.
Because if this information got out…
Uchiha Itachi would know.
And if Itachi knew, the Akatsuki would know.
If the Akatsuki learned the truth—that Konoha's leadership had played a direct role in the fall of the Uchiha Clan…
Konoha wouldn't just have a rogue S-rank shinobi seeking revenge.
They would have an entire shadow army coming for them who's priority unknown.
A war Konoha couldn't win.
Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his fists, his mind racing.
Danzo, you fool. Even in death, you're dragging us into chaos!
Still, another thought gnawed at him.
How did Danzo die?
There were very few people in Konoha capable of killing Danzo, especially with all his Sharingans and Izanagi.
His gaze drifted to the darkened shop in front of him.
The Golden Egg Shop.
Haruto.
Sarutobi had heard reports from Asuma and Kakashi about the mysterious shopkeeper and his strange abilities.
Could he really be this powerful?
Sarutobi rubbed his temples. This was bad.
Danzo had gone after Haruto, probably trying to take the golden eggs by force… and had been obliterated.
And now, Haruto had every reason to be hostile toward Konoha.
Sarutobi bit down on his pipe, feeling the weight of the village on his shoulders.
He couldn't afford another enemy.
Not now. Not when the storm was already coming.
"Clean this up," Sarutobi ordered. "Not a single trace left behind."
The Anbu bowed and got to work, removing bodies and erasing evidence of the battle.
Sarutobi turned toward Haruto's shop, staring at the closed door.
He wanted to talk to him now, to explain, to try and smooth things over…
But his gut told him not to disturb that man tonight.
A single misstep could lead to disaster.
Sighing, Sarutobi shook his head. "We'll visit in the morning."
With that, he vanished into the night, leaving behind only the lingering tension of what was to come.
End of the Chapter.
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