Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed not to hear the resentful murmurs around him.
Standing beside the Adamantine Staff*(Enma in staff form), his gaze swept coldly over the wounded remnants of the various factions. His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly across the battlefield, filled with unquestionable authority.
"There is no need to continue this meaningless slaughter. Whether the Devil Fruit truly lies within this cave remains uncertain. Wasting lives here would be unwise."
The words sounded righteous enough—but everyone listening cursed inwardly.
Unwise?
After that Five-Style Combo Technique of yours just now? How many did that kill?
Now you're saying there's no need for slaughter?
And you dare speak of wasting lives?
The one who wasted the most lives was you!
Anger boiled—but no one dared shout it aloud.
Before them stood Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, once hailed in his prime as the "Professor," master of all five basic nature transformations, his strength unfathomable. Behind him stood dozens of Konoha's elite, radiating killing intent.
The survivors measured their own worth—and wisely swallowed their curses.
Power dictated reality. That terrifying clearing technique was warning enough. Anyone who stepped out of line might be the next crater.
This was precisely the effect Hiruzen wanted.
Seeing the battlefield temporarily subdued, no longer on the verge of erupting into mass conflict, he gave a faint nod.
Time was short. He had no patience to argue with rabble.
No one could guarantee that someone hadn't already slipped inside.
"We will investigate within. The rest of you—do as you will."
With that final statement, Hiruzen ignored the wounded and furious survivors. He gave a slight wave of his hand.
"Move."
The Konoha shinobi filed into the cave in disciplined formation, vanishing swiftly into the darkness.
Outside, those left behind exchanged looks filled with resentment and humiliation—but even more so with helplessness under overwhelming power.
"Damn it… Konoha's too overbearing!"
"What now? Just let them take the lead?"
"Unless you want to fight the Third Hokage yourself?"
After a brief silence and low muttering, greed ultimately triumphed over fear.
The temptation of the Devil Fruit was too great—great enough to momentarily eclipse the memory of bloodshed.
"Let's go! We're going in too!"
"Right! The cave must be huge—they might not even find it!"
"Move! Hurry!"
Someone shouted first. The survivors surged forward once more.
Shinobi, rogue ninja, samurai—different identities, different allegiances. Yet for this single objective, they temporarily set aside their hostility, rushing chaotically toward the cave entrance, afraid of arriving too late to claim even scraps.
Farther away, deep within the forest's shadows, several pairs of eyes observed everything in silence.
"Danzō… I didn't expect you to have aged so much, Hiruzen."
Shimura Danzō muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and dry, as if long unused—or thick with suppressed resentment.
"It seems… your days in Konoha haven't been easy either."
Not easy?
Of course not.
But at least Hiruzen still stood in the sunlight as the former Hokage. At least he could step forward openly for Konoha.
And him?
Shimura Danzō—once the darkness of Konoha, leader of Root—now reduced to a hunted rogue ninja. Branded a traitor by the very village he had protected his entire life. Forced to skulk like a rat in the gutter.
No matter how dissatisfied Hiruzen had once been with him, he would have disciplined him, sidelined him—but never… labeled him a missing-nin.
"If I were still among Konoha's leadership…"
Bitterness surged in Danzō's chest.
He could have mobilized more of Root's elite. He could have joined this contest openly under the banner of "assisting the former Hokage" or "securing strategic resources for Konoha."
Instead, he was left with only a handful of followers, hiding in shadows like vermin, searching for the slimmest chance to snatch prey from a tiger's jaws.
"Tsunade… you've gone too far," he muttered darkly. "For Konoha's sake, I can't allow you to continue like this. Surely others in the village are dissatisfied as well."
As for Jiraiya?
It wasn't that Danzō looked down on him…
He forcibly suppressed the agitation rising within him. His single visible eye narrowed, regaining its calculating calm.
"No rush…"
He knew Hiruzen well.
That man possessed an almost obsessive sense of responsibility toward Konoha—along with a certain moral fastidiousness.
The Devil Fruit? Hiruzen would never consume it himself.
He would seize it. Control it. Study it. Possibly even seal it away.
But he would never personally use such an uncertain and dangerous power.
At most, he would entrust it to someone he deemed absolutely loyal to Konoha's will.
"Which means… I still have an opportunity."
A cold, silent smile curved Danzō's lips.
Hiruzen obtaining the fruit would only be the first step.
How it was stored. How it was researched. How it was used.
There was far too much room for maneuver within that process.
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