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Kagaya and Karin wandered the streets of Konoha, ceaselessly searching for Danzo's location.
Due to the tailed beasts' rampage, Konoha had dispatched numerous shinobi to continuously evacuate villagers from the streets, urging them to stay as far away as possible from the direction of the Forest of Death. Kagaya and Karin, who seemed to be looking for something, naturally attracted the attention of these shinobi tasked with evacuation.
They ran up to ask Kagaya what they were doing, but Kagaya and Karin simply ignored them, continuing their search for Danzo.
The turmoil had already begun. As long as Kagaya intended to find Danzo, he had to keep moving outside, while these shinobi wanted them to stay put. This was clearly impossible.
These shinobi didn't resort to lethal force against Kagaya and Karin, so after casually knocking a few unconscious, Kagaya paid them no further mind and continued searching with Karin.
However, even after searching for a long time, they still hadn't found Danzo.
A cold sneer involuntarily formed on Kagaya's lips. He truly hadn't expected Danzo to remain in hiding, even with such a major disturbance unfolding in Konoha. He had originally thought Danzo would spring into action immediately. It seemed now he had overestimated the man.
Thinking about it carefully, this guy Danzo, despite constantly preaching about acting for Konoha's sake, never once stepped forward during the village's moments of crisis.
First, before the Second Hokage's death, the Second had asked the then Third Hokage and Danzo who would stay behind as a decoy to cover the others' escape. At that moment, many dared not speak up, as being the decoy was essentially a suicide mission.
However, the Third Hokage answered without hesitation, while Danzo hesitated.
Although Danzo's mere hesitation already put him ahead of others who likely never even considered stepping forward, the fact remained: Danzo ultimately did not step forward.
After that, there was the Nine-Tails incident. At that time, Danzo's Root operatives were evacuating villagers and did not participate in the battle. That was understandable.
But didn't the Third Hokage's Anbu also evacuate villagers? They did! Yet the Third still personally rushed to the front lines without a second thought. And Danzo? His Root forces were evacuating villagers, and he himself seemed immobilized, firmly entrenched in the rear, waiting for the Third to return.
Of course, one could argue that the evacuation effort needed a leader on-site. That was plausible. But regardless, this was the second time Danzo did not step forward. That was a fact.
Then came Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan.
During this great upheaval, even Genin like Naruto found the courage to rise up and fight back. Yet only Danzo seemed to vanish from the face of the earth, with no trace of him seen from beginning to end.
Next was Pain's invasion of Konoha.
This time was even more outrageous. Pain flipped Konoha upside down, and Danzo still dared not show himself.
During every major crisis of foreign invasion that Konoha faced, Danzo was nowhere to be seen. No matter the reasons, no matter the excuses, this was unacceptable.
Even if Danzo truly was willing to "strive for Konoha to the point of exhaustion," it was useless. If you can't stand up in crucial moments, all your lofty slogans are worthless.
It was like a group of bandits invading a village. One person in the village, who potentially had the power to drive the bandits away, stubbornly hides, not daring to show his face. Then, once the bandits leave, this guy pops out again, pounding his chest, constantly telling the village chief, "Everything I did was for the village! My heart is dedicated to the village! I did nothing wrong!"
Would that earn forgiveness? Would that cleanse his record? Would that make him a great guy? Is that called "having no choice"?
Utterly ridiculous! Judging whether a person is good or evil isn't about their thoughts, but their actions.
In Kagaya's view, all of Danzo's actions, in relation to Konoha, had elements of both good and evil. But ultimately, Danzo's deeds leaned far more towards evil than good!
When foreign enemies invade, he's meek and submissive, not daring to appear. When it's internal conflict within the village, he strikes with heavy fists, first exterminating the Uchiha, then later killing the Third Hokage.
Thinking about it now, at this moment, Kagaya also counted as a "foreign enemy," right? Now that he, a foreign enemy, was invading Konoha, was it not Danzo's standard operating procedure to not dare show himself?
But this time was different. This time, Kagaya would absolutely not let him hide away again. In truth, Kagaya had considered whether he should leave Danzo alive, to be dealt with by Sasuke for revenge in the future. But Sasuke killing Danzo would have to wait three or four years.
Three years was too long. Four years was too long. Kagaya couldn't wait, and he couldn't afford to wait! He would seize the day!
With a heavy kick, Kagaya sent the door flying open and looked at the person inside the room.
"Well, Danzo, long time no see. How long do you plan to keep hiding? It's time to pay your debts!"
A twisted expression paired with crimson pupils. At this moment, Kagaya resembled a malevolent spirit.
He truly hadn't expected this. After all this time, he'd thought that upon seeing Danzo, he could at least maintain his composure. But the moment he saw that old face, violent hatred surged uncontrollably to the surface. The Sharingan activated subconsciously, flashing with an unprecedented red light.
He had initially wanted to talk with Danzo, but upon meeting him face to face, Kagaya knew—there was nothing to discuss! His current self only wanted to kill this old bastard!
Kagaya reached up and pulled down the white cloth covering his face, revealing his contorted features.
"Do you remember me?! Danzo!!! Your vengeful spirit has come to collect his debt!!!"
There was simply no way to suppress it. Memories of the past flooded his mind, hatred continuously battering against Kagaya's consciousness.
Calm? No, that was gone. Facing the murderer of his father, the mastermind behind the extermination of his clan, the man who personally destroyed everything that gave his life meaning—how was he, Uchiha Kagaya, supposed to remain calm?!
At this moment, Kagaya even felt the impulse to destroy Konoha itself. He wanted to see what kind of beautiful sight it would be when a look of utter despair appeared on Danzo's face.
Danzo's eyes widened as he stared at Kagaya in the doorway. While Kagaya's face had changed considerably now, his stature taller, making him look more like a youth of sixteen or seventeen, Danzo still recognized him. There was no other reason; in this world, a Uchiha who harbored such immense hatred for him was likely only this one.
"Uchiha Kagaya. This old man did not expect you to appear at this moment, and to appear before me, no less."
BAM!
The instant Danzo finished speaking, a powerful punch smashed squarely into his face, sending his entire body flying. He crashed through the wall of the room and tumbled out into the street.
Danzo was instantly terrified.
What the hell? That brat, did he just move? When did he attack?!
Still airborne, before he could even stabilize himself, a foot slammed into his abdomen.
Urk!
The force of the kick made Danzo retch violently.
Kagaya's Sharingan fixed on Danzo. "Let's talk while we fight. For me, standing still and simply conversing with you is torture every second. Besides, I have nothing to say to you."
With that, Kagaya charged at Danzo once more.
He didn't want to wait a single second longer. He had only one thought now: slaughter him!!
A kunai appeared in his hand. Putting his full power into it, the next instant, the kunai plunged directly into Danzo's skull. Kagaya even twisted it.
"Comfortable?"
Karin watched Kagaya from a distance, her heart trembling with fear. She didn't understand why Kagaya's change was so drastic. Before finding the man named Danzo, Kagaya had been as usual, maintaining his rationality, continuously thinking about where Danzo might be.
But after finding Danzo, the moment he kicked the door open, in Karin's sensory perception, Kagaya's chakra had become wild and frenzied. All his chakra instantly turned cold, so cold it made Karin shiver uncontrollably. Cold, madness, violence—that was Kagaya's true state now.
Kagaya... what's happened to you?