Chapter 50: Game Begins

Danzo was dead.

Somehow, word of this had already reached the ears of the retired Third Hokage.

By Year 48 of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already in his fifties.

He had survived the First, Second, and Third Shinobi Wars without dying.

In the world of shinobi, living past fifty was considered old.

Upon learning of his old friend Danzo's death, Hiruzen was deeply troubled.

Danzo had practically been his childhood companion.

They were both students of the Second Hokage, fighting side by side through countless battles.

Even after Hiruzen became Hokage, he had willingly granted Danzo control over Root—A special division within Anbu.

In fact, he had rarely questioned Danzo's actions at all.

Even when Danzo crossed the line, Hiruzen had simply turned a blind eye.

And yet—this close friend of his was now dead.

But more than Danzo's death, what truly worried him was—who would control Root now?

Once someone had tasted power, letting go wasn't easy.

Hiruzen had retired only because the next generation had produced exceptional talents.

Konoha's White Fang.

The Yellow Flash.

The Three Sannin.

And the most beloved among them—Namikaze Minato—was his own student's disciple.

He was getting old.

Konoha needed new blood to keep its power strong.

And at the time, Hiruzen had been right to step down.

But when Minato died, and Hiruzen returned as Hokage, his leadership quickly became a disgrace.

The Hidden Cloud kidnapped the Hyuga princess.

Instead of punishing them, he sacrificed her uncle to keep the peace.

He endlessly suppressed the Uchiha Clan, forcing them into rebellion—then wiped them out entirely, creating the avenger, Sasuke Uchiha.

How ironic.

Konoha had been founded by the Senju and Uchiha Clans together—Yet now, both clans had nearly gone extinct.

Meanwhile, other families thrived—like parasites, feeding off the remains of these once-great lineages.

Before Konoha existed, the world had been in the Warring States era.

Back then, the Uchiha and Senju were unmatched, standing above all others.

Despite their endless battles, they still overshadowed every other clan.

In Year 60 of Konoha—when the main story began—Hiruzen finally died during the Konoha Crush.

By then, he had lived to almost seventy years old.

Seventy!

In modern society, people retired at sixty.

Seventy was ancient—at that age, many would already be bedridden, plagued by illness.

Yet even at seventy, during the Konoha Crush, Hiruzen still possessed Kage-level strength.

He fought against Orochimaru.

He sealed away the First and Second Hokage.

And even in his final moments, he crippled Orochimaru by sealing away his arms.

---

Root Base

Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at Root's hidden base, flanked by two Anbu.

But someone was already there.

Orochimaru.

Namikaze Minato.

Uchiha Fugaku.

And several high-ranking officials of Konoha.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

"What's going on here? What happened?"

Mitokado Homura's face was grim.

"Danzo seems to have disappeared, and… a lot of unpleasant things were left behind here."

Then, Homura turned his gaze toward Uchiha Fugaku.

It was clear that this "unpleasant" matter had something to do with the Uchiha clan.

"Fugaku, why are you here? Root's affairs don't seem to fall under the jurisdiction of the Police Force."

Fugaku's expression was icy.

"The Police Force is responsible for Konoha's security. There was an intense battle here, and this location is within Konoha's territory. I believe we have the right to investigate, don't we… former Hokage?"

He emphasized "former" heavily, making his meaning unmistakable.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had retired.

Technically, the Uchiha clan no longer had to report anything to him.

And now, with the current Hokage, Namikaze Minato, standing right there, they had even less reason to acknowledge Hiruzen's authority.

Hiruzen sighed.

During his time in power, he had relentlessly suppressed the Uchiha clan—there was no way they'd treat him kindly now.

"Minato, what happened here?"

In the end, he had no choice but to ask the most handsome person in the group.

Never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that it was his beloved student who had eliminated his dear friend Danzo.

Minato let out a helpless sigh and put on a perfect performance.

"Third Hokage, take a look for yourself. I only just found out about Root's situation as well."

His expression was that of someone who genuinely knew nothing.

Orochimaru remained cold and emotionless, his face betraying nothing.

The high-ranking officials of Konoha entered Root's base.

It was Root's laboratory.

Blood.

Eyes.

Hashirama's cells.

Twitching test subjects.

Severed limbs.

No one present was foolish.

They all understood what this meant.

This was a line that Konoha could not cross.

Fugaku's expression darkened as he stared at the Sharingan floating in the storage tanks.

"All these experiments were conducted under Danzo's orders. The evidence is right here—these records show Danzo's direct involvement."

"Root may operate independently from the Hokage's command, but what Danzo has done violates Konoha's laws. Worse, he has turned his blade against his own comrades. Third Hokage—did you know about this?"

Minato's gaze toward Hiruzen was filled with suspicion.

So were the expressions of the other high-ranking officials.

They had heard rumors about Root experimenting with Hashirama's cells.

But they had never imagined it involved human experimentation—or that Danzo had targeted his own allies.

This was something that could never be forgiven.

And worst of all—Minato had caught them red-handed.

At this moment, could Hiruzen possibly admit that he had turned a blind eye on purpose?

"My apologies, Minato. I was unaware of this. I never imagined Danzo would do something so monstrous… I will give you an explanation for this. As for Danzo…"

When it came time to sell out a friend, Hiruzen did not hesitate.

Minato nodded, graciously giving the Third Hokage some face.

"Danzo seems to have disappeared. I suspect he is already dead. There are clear signs of battle here. Based on the traces, there was Wind Release—likely Danzo's—and also… Wood Release."

The moment Wood Release was mentioned, everyone's expression changed.

But no one spoke.

Minato continued,

"The one who fought Danzo was clearly stronger than him. The opponent took down all of Root's shinobi almost instantly, then battled Danzo directly, forcing him to use Wood Release."

He glanced at the Hashirama cells in the lab and paused, as if giving everyone a moment to process what that meant.

"According to the surviving Root members, they didn't see anything clearly. They lost consciousness immediately, and by the time they woke up, the battle was over. They searched for a long time but couldn't find Danzo. That's when they reported to me."

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