The Mist. The Cloud. The Sand. The Stone—
All four great villages declared war at the same time.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen desperately searched his own memories, wondering if he had committed some unforgivable sin.
Otherwise…
What right did he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, have to make four villages—who hated one another like sworn enemies—actually unite and declare war on Konoha together?!
Calm down.
I have to calm down.
The Hokage couldn't panic—couldn't lose control—
Especially not in front of over a thousand Konoha shinobi.
If even the Hokage panicked, it would spark chaos on the spot.
Hiruzen took several deep breaths in a row, barely forcing his blood pressure down.
But his heart only beat faster. Veins bulged on his forehead. His vision blurred at the edges.
He gritted his teeth through the dizziness, grabbed Koharu Utatane beside him, and rasped in a low, hoarse voice:
"Koharu… Homura… go… go get Danzo."
"Hiruzen, you have to hold on!"
Koharu also understood this wasn't the time for power struggles. She immediately turned to move—
But at that moment, another ANBU appeared.
Ignoring the unrest below, the ANBU leaned in and reported urgently:
"Hokage-sama, urgent news from Kumogakure!"
Can I… not hear it?
Hiruzen had a bad feeling this would not be good.
But with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Namikaze Minato, and Uchiha Sogetsu—Konoha's remaining top-tier combat power—he couldn't help but worry.
He forced himself to ask:
"What is it?"
"Namikaze Minato has been successfully rescued," the ANBU said. "He is currently returning to Konoha with Uzumaki Kushina."
Hiruzen let out a huge breath, relief washing over him.
"Good… good…"
It was the first genuinely good piece of news he'd heard in what felt like forever—he even felt his blood pressure ease a little.
Then he remembered something and asked quickly:
"Right—what about Uchiha Sogetsu?"
The ANBU's head dropped.
When he spoke again, his voice shook.
"Hokage-sama… Uchiha Sogetsu killed the Third Raikage alone in Kumogakure. The reported cause of death is bisection at the waist. Sogetsu's current whereabouts are unknown."
BOOM—!
Hiruzen felt as if lightning had struck his skull.
His mind went completely blank.
The blood pressure that had just eased surged straight back up, slamming into his temples.
He stared in disbelief, shock mixed with doubt.
"Y-you… what did you just say?"
"Reporting to Hokage-sama…"
The ANBU swallowed hard and repeated it through clenched teeth:
"Uchiha Sogetsu killed the Third Raikage alone in Kumogakure. The Raikage died by bisection at the waist. Sogetsu's whereabouts are unknown!"
"…He killed the Third Raikage?"
Hiruzen's eyes went unfocused, as if he'd lost the ability to see.
His mouth twitched into a meaningless smile.
"He killed the Raikage…? Hahaha… he killed the Raikage…"
"H-Hiruzen?"
Koharu's face turned pale. Something was clearly wrong.
"He killed the Raikage—!"
Hiruzen's veins bulged violently. A metallic sweetness surged up his throat.
His vision turned red—
And he spat a spray of blood.
The world spun. Weightlessness swallowed him.
He toppled backward.
Thud!
A heavy impact echoed.
The Third Hokage—on the platform in front of families, shinobi, and civilians—collapsed in full view of everyone.
Koharu was stunned. The scene was beyond anything she had imagined. She didn't even have time to catch him—
Or rather, she simply couldn't react.
She could only watch as Hiruzen's head slammed into the steps, and he rolled—clumsily—down from the speaking platform.
"Hiruzen!"
"Hokage-sama?!"
"Hokage-sama!"
The crowd ignited instantly.
The Hokage—normally respected, powerful, the very pillar holding them upright—
had just fallen off the platform in public.
That image shook every genin and chūnin present, and even the civilians.
People shouted and surged forward—
But ANBU blocked them back, allowing only a few jōnin to approach.
"Hiruzen! Hiruzen!"
Koharu ran down in short frantic steps, cradling him and shouting:
"Wake up! Hang on! You can't—this isn't the time—!"
Four great villages had declared war.
Konoha absolutely could not collapse internally now.
If the Hokage fell, it would be a catastrophic blow—before fighting even began, it would slice away Konoha's confidence.
Hiruzen knew his own condition.
Konoha could not lose its Hokage.
Ever since… his time with Danzo, his body had already been weakening. And now, two consecutive shocks had nearly burst his heart.
At this critical moment, someone had to stand up.
Minato wasn't in the village. Orochimaru couldn't be trusted with the village's fate. Jiraiya and Tsunade were away. And Uchiha Sogetsu… could not be placed in a position of authority.
In only a few seconds, Hiruzen ran through every name—
And realized, bitterly, that he had no choice left.
He forced one last breath, grabbed Koharu with a death grip, and glared up at her.
"Go… go invite Danzo."
"Let him… act as Hokage temporarily."
After those words, his head tilted—
And he passed out.
Koharu froze for half a second, then sucked in a deep breath.
She couldn't hesitate anymore.
They had to stabilize the situation immediately.
She looked at Hiruzen's trusted subordinate and barked:
"Linjiao—you heard Hiruzen's order, didn't you?"
"…Yes, Adviser-sama."
"Then what are you waiting for? Go!"
"And the rest of you—protect Hiruzen and get him to the hospital!"
Linjiao arrived at Root's headquarters with a heavy heart.
In the darkness, an alluring figure sat within the shadows. Her voice was lazy, almost teasing.
"Aren't you Hiruzen's man? Why are you here? What do you want?"
After a long silence, Linjiao gritted his teeth and dropped to one knee.
"By the Hokage's order… we invite Danzo-sama to temporarily assume the Hokage's authority."
Danzo froze for a full half minute before his brain seemed to process the words.
"Y-you… what did you say? What happened? Speak!"
Linjiao reported truthfully, recounting everything from the plaza.
"Hokage-sama received word that the four great villages declared war on Konoha… and that Uchiha Sogetsu killed the Third Raikage. In shock, the Hokage collapsed and lost consciousness."
"Before fully passing out, for the sake of Konoha's overall stability, he appointed you to temporarily act as Hokage."
Acting Hokage.
Just four words—
Yet they set a fire roaring through Danzo's heart.
"…Good. I understand."
She forced her voice into calm.
"You can go. I'll be there… shortly."
Linjiao withdrew in silence.
In the darkness—
Danzo's lips rose higher and higher.
Her low chuckle grew into laughter… then into wild, shaking, uncontrollable cackling.
"Hahahaha…"
"Finally."
"Finally!"
"Finally… it's my turn, Hiruzen!"
That beautiful face twisted under the violent swing of emotion, becoming uncanny—almost grotesque.
Aburame Ryoma stepped out quietly.
His tone was flat, but the words were clear:
"Congratulations, Danzo-sama. With this… Root's power can expand again."
"This time…"
Danzo's eyes gleamed.
"I'm taking back everything I lost."
Ryoma knelt respectfully, head lowered.
But at the corner of his mouth, a strange smile flickered.
The bigger Root becomes… the better.
Danzo was a part of Root—
But she would never realize that the Root she created… had long since stopped belonging to her.
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