The director stepped into darkness for the sake of the children.
Kabuto stepped into darkness for the sake of the director.
That mutual devotion—supporting one another through adversity, sacrificing themselves for each other—touched something soft in the hearts of countless viewers.
"They were doing it for each other…"
"This Kabuto… he was such a sensible kid."
"Director Nono is too kind. Even trapped in darkness herself, she only thought about the children."
Time on the Heavenly Screen began to accelerate.
The scenes shifted rapidly—
Young Kabuto undergoing harsh, almost brutal training in Root. Falling again and again. Rising again and again. His gaze growing firmer each time.
He matured, carrying out secret and dangerous missions.
Blood staining his face. Wounds marking his body. Moving through the shadows with tired, hollow eyes.
Then—
The rhythm of the screen slowed abruptly.
That ominous figure—symbol of conspiracy and tragedy—appeared once more.
Shimura Danzo.
He stood alone in a dimly lit room, holding what appeared to be two documents or photographs. His single visible eye glinted with cold calculation.
The faint curve at his lips was enough to send chills down one's spine.
No words were spoken at first. Yet the sense of impending catastrophe—of malice carefully brewing—was palpable through the screen.
"It's coming!"
"Danzo's up to something again!"
"I knew it! The warmer the buildup, the crueler the knife that follows!"
"Please… don't do this. Don't hurt the director and Kabuto!"
Anxious cries and desperate pleas echoed throughout the shinobi world.
Everyone sensed it—
What Danzo was about to do would shatter the fragile warmth they had clung to, casting Yakushi Nono and Yakushi Kabuto into an abyss without return.
Then Danzo's voice rang out clearly from the screen—cold, merciless.
"Yakushi Nono and Yakushi Kabuto possess too many of Root's secrets. For Konoha's absolute security, they must be eliminated."
"Assign Yakushi Nono a mission to eliminate a rogue ninja. Expose Kabuto. Drive him to that location."
The words detonated like a volcano long on the verge of eruption.
"DANZO, YOU BEAST!"
"You blackmail them into becoming spies, then decide they know too much and need to die?! You inhuman bastard!"
'For Konoha'? Don't make me laugh! You're nothing but an executioner! A conspirator!"
"Using them and then silencing them? Forcing mother and son to kill each other? Are you even human?!"
"Konoha! Is this what your village stands for?!"
Across the shinobi world, outrage erupted like a tidal wave.
The fury was fiercer than ever before.
Because this time, Danzo had crossed the most basic boundary of humanity.
He was not merely killing a woman who sacrificed herself for children—
He was orchestrating a scenario in which the child who loved her most would be the one to carry it out.
Outside Orochimaru's Secret Base
"Danzo——!!!"
A scream tore from Kabuto's throat, filled with unbearable anguish, fury, and despair.
The calm, gentle mask he had worn shattered completely. His eyes burned red as he stared at the image of Danzo issuing the order.
Even Karin—who usually treated life and death with casual indifference—fell silent.
She looked at the screen, at the inevitable and cruel reunion unfolding… then glanced at Kabuto beside her, who seemed on the verge of madness.
For the first time, a complicated expression crossed her small face.
Her own mother had also gone somewhere for her sake.
And had died.
Karin clicked her tongue softly and muttered, "Disgusting. If I ever run into him, I'll kill him."
Somewhere in the Shadows
The real Shimura Danzo watched from concealment.
When the screen displayed the order he had once given, his brow tightened. Even the bandages over his right eye seemed to twitch faintly.
Eliminating Yakushi Nono. Manipulating Kabuto… Yes. I did that.
He acknowledged it coldly.
To prevent Root's secrets from leaking, he had designed the mission. He had made certain adjustments so neither would know the truth.
However—
Presented so dramatically by the Heavenly Screen, he had undoubtedly become public enemy number one.
Troublesome…
His expression darkened, though not with regret. Only irritation that his plans had been disrupted and his position further complicated.
What he considered now was not repentance—but strategy.
How to endure the coming storm.
How to retreat deeper into the shadows.
How to wait for the next opportunity.
Because in Danzo's heart, the ambition still burned—
To return to Konoha.
To seize power.
An almost baffling level of confidence.
The Heavenly Screen continued.
Kabuto was exposed. Injured. Forced into hiding.
Then—
An ambush.
No dialogue. No hesitation.
Steel clashed in a flash of lightning-fast movement. Efficient. Lethal. Stripped of emotion.
A pure duel between Root operatives—the most refined killing techniques honed in darkness.
One figure staggered backward.
Collapsed.
Moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the face of the fallen.
Yakushi Nono.
Her life fading, yet her features still gentle.
Standing before her—
Kabuto.
But the instant he saw her pale face clearly, it was as if an invisible hammer struck him with crushing force.
"D-Director…?"
The cold mask shattered entirely.
In its place surged confusion. Shock. And then a tidal wave of terror and unbearable pain.
He threw himself to her side, fumbling to activate medical ninjutsu—trying to stop the bleeding, trying to pull back the life slipping through his fingers.
"Director! Director, hold on! I—I'll save you! How could it be you?! Why is it you?!"
His voice cracked under the weight of panic.
But Nono was already fading.
She struggled to open her eyes. Her vision blurred. She looked at the white-haired young man before her—broken, sobbing—
A stranger.
Her lips trembled. Gathering the last of her strength, she whispered weakly—yet clearly.
A question that pierced Kabuto's heart like an icicle.
"You… are… who…?"
The words echoed through the Heavenly Screen, reaching every corner of the shinobi world.
"Who am I…? Director… asked me… who I am…?"
On the screen, Kabuto froze.
Every motion stopped.
Every sob. Every plea.
Shattered by that single question.
He knelt in the pool of blood.
Before him lay the woman he regarded as his mother, the person for whom he had given everything—
And in her final moment…
She did not recognize him.
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