Danzō stood before the shattered stone table.
He looked at the subordinate kneeling on the ground.
He looked at the bodies of his subordinates still pinned to the walls and floor, at the blood covering the ground, at the shattered night pearls...
His chest rose and fell violently.
Something surged in his throat.
Like magma. Like fire. Like rage he had suppressed for far too long, with nowhere left to vent it.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
It splashed across the broken stone table, across the kneeling subordinate, and across the bandages wrapped around his own right hand.
Danzō's body swayed.
He had to brace himself against the wall to keep from falling.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the floor.
It mixed with the blood of his subordinates.
His eye remained fixed on the direction where Teizawa had disappeared...
Something seemed to shatter deep within it.
The Root ninja kneeling on the ground lifted his head, about to say something.
Danzō slapped him across the face.
He used his full strength.
With a sharp crack, the sound of a neck bone snapping was especially clear in the silence.
The ninja's body collapsed limply.
His mask broke into several pieces, revealing the young face beneath.
His eyes were still open, filled with terror.
Danzō looked at the corpse in silence.
His chest was still heaving violently.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and fell onto that young face.
He withdrew his hand and looked at his trembling fingers, at the blood spattered across them...
He could no longer tell whether it was his own or his subordinate's.
"Useless..." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping together. "All of you are useless..."
No one answered him.
In the entire secret chamber, he was the only one still standing.
He slowly sat back down in his chair.
The chair gave an ear-piercing creak, as if it might collapse at any moment.
He leaned against the backrest and closed his eyes.
His temples throbbed.
That experimental data...
The Wood Release experimental data. The Sharingan transplant records. Root's member list. The contact methods for spies planted in the various ninja villages. Those research materials that could never be exposed to the light...
All gone.
That young man had not only blocked his door and killed his people.
He had emptied out his entire foundation.
Danzō's fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
The rhythm was scattered.
None of his usual steadiness remained.
A long time passed.
He opened his eye.
There was no longer any anger in that left eye.
Only deep, ice-cold killing intent remained.
But it was not directed at Teizawa.
It was directed at himself.
He had underestimated that young man far too much.
He had thought Teizawa was merely a lucky brat. He had thought Teizawa relied only on Magnet Release to run rampant. He had thought Teizawa would not dare lay hands on him within Konoha's territory.
He had been wrong.
That young man not only dared to make a move, he dared to kill.
The reason he had not killed all of Danzō's subordinates, the reason he had not killed Danzō himself, was not because he did not dare.
It was because he disdained to.
Those intelligence files were the true killing blow.
Danzō closed his eye.
He leaned against the backrest without moving.
Like a dead tree. Like a corpse.
Inside the underground base, the stench of blood grew thicker and thicker...
...
When Teizawa emerged from underground, the moon had already begun to sink westward.
A faint pale light had appeared along the horizon.
He stood at the edge of the Forest of Death, lowered his head, and looked at the sealing scroll in his hand. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
This thing was heavy.
Inside it was Danzō's decades of hard work.
Wood Release experimental data, Sharingan transplant records, Root's member list, spy contact methods...
And those human experiment records that could never see the light of day.
If even a fraction of it leaked out, that old bastard would have more than enough trouble to choke on.
Since Teizawa had dared to rob Danzō so openly, he naturally was not afraid of retaliation.
Of course, he was not afraid of Konoha holding him accountable either.
I robbed Danzō. What does that have to do with Konoha?
Danzō was an elder of Konoha and the leader of Root.
But he did not represent Konoha.
It was not as if Konoha's higher-ups were unaware of his filthy dealings.
They had simply turned a blind eye.
Now that Teizawa had dug up all that dirt, who would dare speak for Danzō?
As for Danzō reporting him?
Teizawa let out a cold laugh.
Was he going to tell the Hokage that his files contained records of human experiments?
That they contained proof he had harmed ninja from his own village?
Would he dare say that?
Once those things were exposed, the first person finished would be Danzō himself.
Danzō had spent his entire life hiding in the dark and plotting against others. What he feared most was being dragged into the light.
So he could only swallow his teeth along with the blood.
He had to pretend nothing had happened.
Teizawa tucked the scroll into his clothes and headed toward Konoha.
Directly attacking Danzō might truly cause a conflict with Konoha.
But what if Danzō defected?
Then it would be different.
A defecting elder. A criminal with countless crimes to his name.
Who would stand up for him then?
And the information in Teizawa's hands would be the last straw that crushed Danzō.
Of course...
Something this useful could not be wasted.
He had already thought it through.
He would sell these things to Tsunade.
Not for money, but for a favor.
Tsunade's attitude toward Danzō had always been delicate.
She knew Danzō was scheming in the dark. She knew he was gathering strength. She knew he coveted the Hokage's seat.
But she could not move against him.
No evidence. No reason. Not enough support.
Now, she had evidence.
These documents were enough for her to uproot Danzō from Konoha completely.
The corners of Teizawa's mouth lifted slightly.
He imagined Tsunade's expression when she received these documents.
Shock, anger, and a trace of relief as a burden finally lifted.
And after that?
Would she be grateful to him?
Would she see him in a new light?
Would she...
Maybe he could convince Tsunade to spend another night with him.
He remembered the way she had blushed that night, the haze in her eyes.
He remembered her trembling in his arms.
He remembered the sounds that escaped her after being suppressed for far too long...
There were still many positions they had not tried.
He licked his lips.
Then he sped up and rushed toward the inn.
The lights in the inn were still on.
He slipped in through the window. His shadow clone was leaning against the headboard, reading.
When it saw him return, it nodded and dissolved into a cloud of sand and earth.
Teizawa put the scroll away.
He lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Not hurried, not slow. The rhythm carried a trace of hesitation.
Teizawa opened his eyes.
He glanced at the color of the sky outside the window.
The moon had already sunk westward, and a faint pale light had appeared along the horizon.
At this hour, who would come?
"Who is it?" he asked.
Outside the door, there was a moment of silence.
"It's me."
A cool, clear voice sounded, lowered as if she were afraid someone might hear.
Teizawa froze for a moment.
That voice...
Samui.
His heart stirred.
Had Samui brought Karui with her?
Had she actually agreed to the condition he had casually mentioned during the day?
Teizawa flipped out of bed and walked to the door.
He pulled it open.
Standing outside were two women, illuminated by the faint dawn light.
One black.
One white.
(End of Chapter)
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