Chapter 74: Vanishing Shadows and Blood-Stained Dawn
Konoha Village,
Hokage Building, Central District—
"What's going on? What the hell is Danzo doing? Don't tell me the extermination mission still isn't over?"
Bang!!
With a furious slap on the table, Koharu Utatane's aged face turned cold. Her voice was low and sharp.
"It's already dawn. Why hasn't he returned yet?"
"If I knew it'd take this long, I should've just gone back to bed last night…" Homura Mitokado added, his expression equally grim.
"If Danzo doesn't give us a proper explanation this time," Homura said coldly, "things won't be so simple."
"I already dispatched the Anbu to investigate…"
As the two advisors grumbled, Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Third Hokage—stretched lazily and spoke in a meaningful tone,
"After the Uchiha clan was wiped out, Danzo must be busy collecting Sharingan…"
Yet even as he spoke, a flash of irritation flickered in Hiruzen's eyes.
After all, as Hokage, he knew more than he let on—including Danzo's secret dealings with Orochimaru.
"I hope that's all it is…" Koharu muttered.
The three of them fell into silence, sitting gloomily, unaware of the storm already engulfing the village.
From beginning to end, none of them—neither Hiruzen, Koharu, nor Homura—ever imagined the Uchiha extermination would fail. Even less did they consider that Shimura Danzo might already be dead.
Because in their minds, the extermination plan was foolproof.
It had to succeed.
Suddenly—
A breathless Anbu agent burst into the office, his expression panicked and disbelieving.
"Hokage-sama! Something's wrong!"
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked, frowning. He assumed Danzo was pulling another stunt and felt his patience wearing thin.
"Danzo-sama, Uchiha Itachi, all the elite Root operatives, and even the Uchiha clan… they're all missing!"
"What?"
The Third Hokage blinked in shock.
The Anbu's voice trembled. "We're investigating now… but there are no clues."
"Gone…?"
Hiruzen's face went blank.
Danzo went out to annihilate the Uchiha. So how… how did he vanish with them?
What game was Danzo playing?
"Could it be…?" Homura's face paled as a terrifying thought entered his mind. "Could Danzo have defected—taking the Uchiha's wealth and Sharingan with him?"
"That's… absurd…" Koharu muttered, but her voice was unsteady.
Could Danzo really have betrayed them all?
Was this entire plan a con?
Suddenly—
Another desperate voice echoed from the hall.
"Hokage-sama! Something happened to the Sarutobi clan!"
"Huh?"
Everyone turned as a shinobi from the Sarutobi clan stumbled in, clutching a black box. His face was drained of blood.
Hiruzen felt a chill run through his body. "What happened to the Sarutobi clan?"
"They're… dead… all of them are dead…"
The young ninja was visibly shaking, cold sweat pouring down his face.
"What do you mean, dead!?" Hiruzen bellowed.
"All the shinobi of the Sarutobi clan… were killed."
Bang!!
The words hit like thunder.
Hiruzen slammed the table again, his face twisted in disbelief.
"What did you just say!?"
"I… I'm sorry… but it's true…" the shinobi said, voice cracking with fear. "They were all killed last night… not a single sign of struggle. All with a single sword strike…"
Clang!
The Third Hokage's pipe slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground. Cold sweat poured down his face.
The entire Sarutobi clan, slaughtered. No struggle. No survivors.
It was like a nightmare.
"What?! The Sarutobi clan was wiped out too!?"
Koharu and Homura were dumbfounded. Their mouths hung open as the reality sank in.
This wasn't just the failure of an operation—this was an outright calamity.
Someone had exterminated the Sarutobi clan.
"This can't be real…" Hiruzen muttered, his vision spinning. His mind blanked out.
Who could possibly carry out such a silent, deadly massacre in a single night?
And why… just as they were exterminating the Uchiha?
"Investigate! I want the entire Anbu deployed!" Hiruzen growled at last, gripping the edge of his desk. "Find out who did this, now!"
"Hokage-sama…" the Sarutobi shinobi whispered, holding out the black box. "This was found on the grounds of the Sarutobi compound…"
"What is it?"
Hiruzen snatched the box and hurled it against the wall in fury.
Bang—
The black box struck the wall and popped open from the force.
Click…
Something rolled out.
The room fell deathly silent.
As the contents of the box hit the floor, Hiruzen's face froze.
Koharu turned pale as a ghost.
Homura stood there, stunned, utterly speechless.
Inside the box…
Was a single object, and its message was crystal clear.
(Sorry for the late upload. It seems I messed up the timer 😅)
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