Chapter 014: Aftermath

Hiruzen stayed in his now quiet office, the familiar taste of his pipe offering no comfort. The bad feeling he couldn't shake gnawed at him, and his intuition rarely failed him. Trusting it, he swiftly donned his grey combat attire and immediately set out after Danzo, following his traces, accompanied by a squadron of Anbu.

As they neared the outskirts of the village, the sounds and shockwaves of battle reached their ears. Explosions and the rumble of combat echoed through the air, and a cloud of dust rose from the distance. Hiruzen knew that such a battle would have alarmed the ninjas and clans in the village.

Pausing momentarily, Hiruzen ordered some of the Anbu to encircle a wide perimeter to keep any intruders away. As he continued towards the source of the commotion, he couldn't help but curse Danzo in his mind. Despite Danzo's cold and calculative personality, he still retained a hotheadedness and a strong desire to prove himself. It was a trait that often led to reckless decisions.

Upon arriving at the scene, Hiruzen's heart sank. He saw the corpses of the Root operatives surrounding the area. In the midst of the carnage stood Mirai, his expression cold and resolute as he raised his sword over Danzo. Hiruzen's voice broke through the chaos, desperate and filled with anguish.

"Namikaze Mirai, what do you want to do!?"

…

The sudden angry sound interrupted Danzo's tense nerves and the air that was almost solidifying.

Hiruzen leading the Anbu had arrived.

The group of people stopped behind Danzo, tensed their minds, and stared at Mirai.

Some Anbu had even taken out their kunai and swords. They seemed to be surrounding him, making plans to fight.

"Third Hokage sent out the Root to kill a ninja inside the village. How should we settle this account?"

The sword was not withdrawn, but pressed against Danzo's left eye.

The sharp aura made Danzo's eye membrane feel a stinging sensation.

Hiruzen looked at the bloody battlefield behind Mirai, feeling deep uneasiness in his heart.

Danzo, that bastard, had caused great trouble again!

Just as he guessed, Mirai was even stronger than three years ago.

No one knows his limits.

"Shimura Danzo acted recklessly and disregarded the village's rules. In the name of the Hokage, I order that he shall be promptly removed from the position of Hokage Assistant as a punishment."

Hiruzen stared at Mirai, took a breath, and suppressed the anger in his heart.

"I don't know if this kind of punishment will satisfy you."

The beast known as Namikaze Mirai was already on the verge of exploding, and if they really anger him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Many incidents from the Third Great Ninja War had proven this.

Hiruzen scolded Danzo almost to death in his heart.

This idiot had obviously been reminded by him countless times!

If Mirai was really so easy to deal with, why didn't Hiruzen himself it himself? How can he be so stupid!

Now that things had reached this point, he could only make a compromise first.

First he had to cool off Mirai's rage.

Sure enough, after hearing Hiruzen's words, the coldness in Mirai's eyes dissipated a little.

Just when Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.

*Slice*

"Ahhhhh!!! My eyes!"

A line of blood splashed.

Danzo covered his left eye and fell to his knees, wailing in pain with a ferocious face. Dark red blood seeped out from between his fingers, quickly staining his entire palm red.

"You!"

Hiruzen clenched his fists, and there seemed to be deep anger burning in his eyes.

He had already given in.

But Mirai still...

"Consider this eye the price for your rude words earlier."

"Danzo! How are you?"

Hiruzen nervously helped Danzo up, but the latter moved his palm away tremblingly.

"Hiruzen, I can't see...!"

Three bloody slashes stretched from the nose to the temple, and the middle one happened to completely cover the left eye.

Mirai had attacked three times at his remaining eye making Danzo's face more hideous.

"Summon the medical unit!"

Hiruzen looked at his side and roared at an Anbu. Hiruzen, with his eyes still blazing with a mix of anger and sorrow, took a moment to steady himself. His voice, when he spoke, was laced with a hard edge that brooked no argument. "Namikaze Mirai, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of an elder, and the unauthorized use of deadly force within the village, all while being in presence of the Hokage."

Mirai, surrounded by the elite Anbu squad, remained calm, his own chakra subdued but still potent. He smiled sarcastically upon hearing Hiruzen.

"You always were good at playing both sides, Hokage-sama. Just now you removed him from his position and now you want to arrest me on such charges?" He remarked dryly.

Ignoring the tense reactions from the Anbu, Mirai lowered himself and grabbed Danzo's head from his hair, examining it closely, "It has become even uglier, no wonder he is not looked at with any favor." He commented with cold detachment.

"You… Ughh!"

Danzo groaned due to the pain caused by Mirai's attack. He was not even capable of stopping Mirai from disrespecting him like that.

The Anbu tensed at his actions but held their positions as Mirai turned his attention to Danzo's right eye, usually hidden under bandages. Involuntarily, his eyebrows rose in surprise as he saw the fading Sharingan, its light now extinguished. The implications of Danzo possessing a Sharingan — and what it meant for his abilities — ran through his mind. He chose not to mention Danzo's resurrection technique, deciding that he would inquire about it later.

Hiruzen's gaze sharpened, noticing Mirai's reaction, "What is it, Mirai?" He growled.

Hearing Hiruzen's question, Mirai didn't reply but pointed at Danzo's right eye. Hiruzen's face twisted in anger at the blatant disrespect. Only for his eyes to fall on the part which was always bandaged, the part that Danzo had never revealed despite Hiruzen's persistent questions.

The bandages had loosened in the throw, partially revealing the now lifeless Sharingan. Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "A Sharingan… How?"

Seeing Hiruzen's shocked expression, Mirai replied calmly, "Despite all the shady dealings and conspiracies you concocted together. Danzo had still kept some things to himself, forgetting all ethics and morals, delusional that everything he had done was for the sake and benefit of the village. What do you think would happen once the word spreads of Danzo plundering the kekkei genkai of the founding clans of Konoha?"

Mirai's words only served to anger Hiruzen even more deeply. He soon found himself unable to do anything. He understood that if he tried to arrest Mirai due to today's incidents, then he and Danzo would be dragged down with him, not to mention, Mirai won't just take a punishment without retaliating.

Seeing Hiruzen's silence, Mirai left calmly ignoring the angry but silent Hiruzen, the nervous Anbu and the groaning Danzo.

No one tried to stop him after that. Soon, his figure, illuminated by moonlight, disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving Hiruzen thinking about his following actions.

…

As Mirai returned home, he followed the familiar path, his mind busy counting his obstacles. With the Uchiha allied with him and tormenting Danzo and Hiruzen, a sense of satisfaction mingled with the weight of what lay ahead.

He knew that Danzo had secretly leaked the knowledge that Naruto was the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and he believed Hiruzen had used Naruto's isolation, loneliness, and the hatred directed at him to manipulate and raise him as he saw fit. Killing Danzo was easy for Mirai, but he still held back that for now. He wanted a good future for his nephew, for that staying in Konoha was a must. Though that doesn't mean that he was letting them go, but rather there were still preparations to make before he took things completely in his hands.

Danzo had been generally disliked by all of Konoha's clans for his forced recruitment tactics and was relatively anonymous among the ordinary ninjas and villagers, operating in Hiruzen's shadow. However, killing him directly at that time was a different matter. It would cause internal strife and lead to questions about his qualifications if he took power by force. The best outcome would be to unite various factions whose interests and well-being were threatened by Hiruzen's rule, and directly usurp him, making him abstain. For that Danzo who was a thorn in everyone's eyes, still had value.

Mirai was also considering exposing Danzo and Root's deeds and operations. This would directly harm Hiruzen's reputation and diminish his credibility, as Danzo had been his direct subordinate, an elder granted power by him who had misused that power for decades. The only thought was how to utilize the information to gain the maximum returns.

As he approached his home, Mirai's thoughts turned to his allies. The Uchiha clan, who had suffered much under Hiruzen's rule, could be powerful allies in the political maneuvering to come. The Hyuga clan, with their own grievances, might also be swayed to his side. Even the Aburame and Akimichi clans had reasons to distrust the current regime.

*****

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