Konoha. Hokage's office.
Akatora and Tujiu stood with heads bowed. In front of them, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura all wore grim expressions.
The death of an old comrade had hit them hard. None of them had expected that after one defeat, Danzo would end up dead with so little explanation.
"Who knew about Danzo's withdrawal?" Hiruzen asked, voice steady but cold. "Did he share his route with anyone?"
Akatora understood immediately. The Hokage was looking for a traitor inside Root.
"No one," he answered flatly, slipping back into his usual Root demeanor. "Danzo left with Terai. The withdrawal order came through Terai. None of us knew their route, and Terai is dead."
"What about Terai's body? What did the Intelligence Division find?"
" Yamanaka clan operative went through his mind. Not much useful information. He confirmed the attacker was an Iwa ninja who ambushed Danzo from hiding. Terai died protecting him. The fight was too short for anything else."
Hiruzen turned to the two advisors. "Anything you want to ask?"
Both shook their heads. The information was too thin. On the surface it looked like Iwa, but their instincts told them it wasn't that simple.
"Akatora, take two Root squads and pull one team each from Intelligence and Interrogation. Go back to the site where Danzo died. I want every detail uncovered."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Also, recall every Root operative to the base. No one leaves until further orders."
Akatora and Tujiu exchanged a glance. They understood. Hiruzen was taking control. With Danzo gone, Root couldn't function on its own. They would have to wait for new leadership.
"We understand."
"Good. Get to work."
Once the two Root members left, only Hiruzen and the two elders remained.
Homura finally spoke, voice heavy. "Danzo… just like that."
He seemed more affected than expected. "Hiruzen, we have to avenge him. He died for Konoha."
Hiruzen gave him a sideways look. They still didn't even know for certain who killed Danzo, yet Homura was already pushing for revenge and legacy.
"Danzo won't have died for nothing," Hiruzen said. "Anyone who kills a Konoha shinobi will pay in blood."
He shifted the topic. "The more urgent problem is Root itself. We're short on manpower everywhere. Without a leader, Root can't do its job. What do you think we should do?"
This was what really bothered him. A huge portion of Konoha's intelligence, assassinations, surveillance, and black-ops research came through Root. Without someone steering it, everything would fall into chaos during wartime.
Koharu spoke first. She had no interest in taking on that mess. "Root was created to support ANBU. Why not fold it back under ANBU and put it directly under the Hokage's control?"
If Hiruzen were even ten years younger, he might have done exactly that. But he was old now. He was already thinking about his successor and his legacy. He didn't want Root's dirty work staining his final years in the light.
He wanted Root to continue operating in the shadows without forcing him to carry its sins himself.
He looked at Homura.
Homura thought for a long time before speaking carefully. "I could oversee it temporarily… until we find someone suitable."
It was the classic move—grab the power while pretending to be reluctant.
Hiruzen pretended to consider it, then nodded. "Fine. But wait two days. Once Akatora's team returns and we have a clear picture of what happened to Danzo, you can take over."
"No problem."
Homura didn't even realize he was smiling.
While Konoha's leadership argued over Danzo's corpse, the western front exploded back into heavy fighting.
With fresh reinforcements pouring in, Higashi finally had the numbers to overwhelm Taiichi's earlier advantage. Every day brought brutal clashes. Taiichi spent his time either trading blows with Iwa jonin on the front lines or rushing back to the medical tents to keep the wounded alive.
That was still Leaf's biggest edge. Thanks to Taiichi, the only Leaf shinobi dying were the ones killed outright in battle. No one was bleeding out in the hospital anymore.
It gave the Leaf forces the grit to keep holding the line even when they were outnumbered nearly two to one.
But it came at a cost. With the Yin Seal empty, Taiichi had already burned through four attribute points in just two days to maintain that level of chakra output.
The arrival of the second wave of reinforcements finally gave him some breathing room. For the first time in days, he could start refilling the Yin Seal instead of draining it.
While Iwa hammered the western front, news of their successful night raid on the Leaf camp had already spread across the entire ninja world.
And just like vultures, the other villages moved in to take advantage.
On the northern front, A and Killer B returned to the battlefield with a vengeance. Their combined power was still terrifying.
Orochimaru held for one day before he was forced to give ground, trading space for time and trying to minimize casualties.
It was the right call. Once the western front stabilized, Taiichi used Flying Thunder God to appear on the northern front within hours.
A and Killer B hadn't expected him. The last they heard, he was supposed to be stuck fighting Iwa.
This time Orochimaru didn't run. He met them head-on, even when blood was running down his face.
Just when A and Killer B thought they finally had him, Taiichi appeared beside Orochimaru.
Four golden chains shot out from Taiichi's back and wrapped around the half-transformed Killer B before he could react.
Inside Killer B's mind, the Eight-Tails screamed in alarm. "B! Break those chains! Now! They're sealing chains!"
B struggled, but the more he fought, the tighter they wrapped. His strength was draining fast.
"Let me take over!" the Eight-Tails roared, seizing control. Massive chakra surged through B's body. The chains groaned and started to give.
Taiichi clicked his tongue in frustration. Four chains weren't enough. With five he could have held the Eight-Tails down. With six he could have suppressed it completely.
But he didn't have the chakra for more.
He stopped trying to restrain it. Golden flames ignited along his short blade, stretching the edge to two meters. He swung straight at the Eight-Tails' eye.
Blood sprayed. A scream shook the battlefield.
The Eight-Tails went berserk. The chains snapped one after another, dissolving into sparks.
Taiichi and even A immediately backed off. A rampaging tailed beast didn't care who it killed.
The Eight-Tails' right eye was ruined—shredded and still burning with golden flames. Even its insane regeneration couldn't fix that. The beast would be half-blind from now on.
Its single red eye locked onto Taiichi. A Tailed Beast Bomb began forming in its mouth.
Taiichi knew this was his chance. Killer B wasn't in control anymore. The Eight-Tails had taken over completely.
He spread his chakra wings and shot toward the densest cluster of Cloud forces. The Eight-Tails turned with him, tracking him across the sky.
A shouted in horror as the Tailed Beast Bomb launched.
Taiichi vanished with Flying Thunder God at the last second.
The explosion tore through the Cloud ranks. Over a hundred Cloud ninja died instantly.
"Retreat! Scatter! Get the hell out of here!" A roared.
He understood exactly what Taiichi was doing—using the rampaging Eight-Tails as a weapon against Cloud's own people.
Taiichi kept flying, leading the blind, furious Eight-Tails on a bloody tour through Cloud's formations. Every time the beast fired another Tailed Beast Bomb or simply charged, more Cloud shinobi were crushed or vaporized.
A finally caught up, landing on the Eight-Tails' head and slapping it across the face with everything he had.
The blow actually worked. Killer B snapped back to his senses.
"Big bro, I—"
"Shut up and move," A snapped. "Taiichi got stronger again. We're leaving."
Killer B looked around. Most of the surviving Cloud forces had already scattered. If they stayed any longer, they really wouldn't make it out.
The Eight-Tails launched itself into the sky and vanished into the distance.
Taiichi landed beside Orochimaru.
It was the first time he had seen the Sannin in person since that night. Orochimaru looked like hell—face swollen, nose bleeding, clearly having taken a beating while holding off A and Killer B alone.
"Need me to heal you, Orochimaru-sama?"
Orochimaru gave him a long, resentful look.