Chapter 11

"Danzo" Hiruzen continued, his gaze fixed firmly on his old friend. "will show us what he has hidden beneath those bandages."

Hiruzen smiled faded. The warmth he had worn like a mask was gone, replaced by something cold and unrelenting. Hiashi felt it immediately, a knot tightening in his gut.

Hiashi's mind snapped to attention, instincts honed by years of training roaring to life. His sharp eyes darted to Danzo, whose reaction was subtle but telling. For the briefest moment, his eye widened. Then his expression shifted—realization, acceptance, and finally, the steely mask of a man readying for war. It was the same look Danzo had worn years ago, giving orders that left blood on others' hands for the supposed good of Konoha.

"Hiruzen, how dare you!" Koharu's voice cut through the tension like the snap of a brittle branch. Her hands slammed onto the table as she stood, trembling with outrage. "His scars! Do you intend to humiliate Danzo in front of everyone?"

Nobody paid her attention. Hiashi barely registered her words. His focus was on Danzo, the Hokage and the other Clan Heads. Tsume, snarling. Shikaku, sitting eerily still. Frozen for a moment before a strange light dawned in his sharp eyes. A realization. And then—Hiashi caught the faintest shift in Shikaku's lips, the curve of an ugly, a very ugly knowing smile that made his stomach twist. What was going on? And what had the Nara figured out?

"I too," Shikaku said, his voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of grim finality, "would be interested to see what lies beneath those bandages, Councilor."

The words landed like a shuriken thrown in silence. Danzo's head tilted just slightly, his one visible eye boring into Shikaku for a moment before returning to Hiruzen. His voice, when it came, was a low drawl, tinged with something that made the hairs on Hiashi's neck prickle.

"So, it comes to this, Hiruzen. You are not as weak as I thought - but surprisingly less intelligent."

The room shifted. No one moved, but the atmosphere became suffocating. Years of battlefield instinct, honed in war and shadowed in blood, screamed at Hiashi that something terrible was about to happen. He wasn't alone. Around the room, others tensed, their fingers twitching toward weapons, their breathing slowing as though they were preparing to dive into deep water.

"Councilor Danzo," Ibiki's voice rang out, cold as iron. The normally unflappable head of T&I barely kept his fury contained, his jaw tight, his scarred face set like stone. "The Hokage has ordered you to remove your bandages."

Many Clan Head became even more nervous. Ibiki? Showing anger? The thought sent a jolt of unease through Hiashi. If even Morino Ibiki couldn't keep his emotions in check, then whatever Danzo had done must be worse than anything he had imagined.

As Ibiki spoke, the ANBU commander stationed behind Hiruzen, Cat, unsheathed her blade with a whisper of steel. The sound seemed to ripple through the room like a warning bell. The clan heads, one by one, began to rise from their seats. Not in unison, but with an unnerving slowness, as though afraid that standing too quickly might shatter the fragile tension holding the room together.

"What is happening here?" The trembling voice of the Kurama clan head broke the silence, her frail figure rising with visible effort. She clutched the edge of the table for support, her wide eyes darting between Danzo and Hiruzen.

No one answered her. All eyes were locked on the two last men still seated—the Hokage and Danzo.

"You're making a mistake, Hiruzen," Danzo said, his voice steady, unwavering. His eye was locked on the Hokage as if nothing else in the room mattered. The words carried no plea, no regret—only the cold certainty of a man who believed his actions were above reproach. "Everything I did, I did for Konoha."

Hiruzen didn't respond immediately. He simply stared, the lines on his face deepening as if he were weighing something far heavier than the words Danzo had offered. The room held its collective breath, the air thickening with an unspoken awareness that whatever came next would leave no one untouched.

"When you partnered with Orochimaru," Hiruzen began, his voice quiet but sharp, "was that for the good of the village? When you sabotaged the Academy, undermining the very foundation of our future, was that for Konoha as well?"

Hiashi stiffened in his seat as the Hokage's chakra began to unfurl like a storm rolling across a battlefield. It wasn't just the power—it was the weight of it, pressing against every nerve, every instinct, as though the room itself were being pulled into Hiruzen's growing fury.

"When you fed information to Orochimaru every month, helping him evade capture," Hiruzen continued, his voice rising slightly, "was that too for the good of the village? And when you helped him escape Konoha after his crimes were revealed—did you believe that was what Konoha needed?"

Gasps rippled through the room, disbelief spreading like wildfire among the clan heads. Hiashi's hand twitched at his side, his well-trained body reacting instinctively to the threat he felt building. The tension was almost unbearable, yet the Hokage wasn't done.

"When you tried to have me assassinated," Hiruzen said, his tone turning cold and unrelenting, "was that for Konoha? Or when you refused my order to disband Root and kept abducting children, brainwashing them into weapons that served you, not your Kage, not Konoha—did that serve the village?"

The chakra in the room grew heavier still, coiling like a serpent preparing to strike. Hiashi felt a bead of sweat slide down his temple, his normally pristine composure cracking under the oppressive force radiating from the Hokage.

"Danzo," Koharu whispered, her voice trembling, "why aren't you saying anything?"

Danzo ignored her. His eyes never left Hiruzen. Everybody knew what that silence meant. "When you orchestrated the Uchiha Massacre, manipulating Itachi into murdering his entire family—was that, too, for Konoha?"

The silence that followed was suffocating. Every person in the room froze, the enormity of the accusation hitting like a blade. Hiashi's breath caught, his mind racing. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had been the Uchiha…but…it could have…He gulped. The Hyuga…But why? Why?

"When you abducted clan children—Aburama,Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Kurama, to cite only a few—and subjected them to experiments, leaving many to die in agony," Hiruzen said, his voice now a weapon, "was that also for the good of the village?"

Danzo's face had turned ashen, but his gaze didn't waver. He looked almost skeletal under the weight of the Hokage's accusations, but when he finally spoke, his voice was as steady as ever.

"Yes, Hiruzen. Yes," he said simply. "It was."

The words were a spark to dry tinder.

"Gatsuga!"

Tsume's feral roar ignited the chaos, her spinning Gatsuga tearing through the air with wild, destructive force. Her ninken flanked her, jaws snapping, their claws carving the ground as they closed in. Danzo moved, not with hesitation, but with the precision of a man who had danced with death a thousand times.

His hand flashed, unleashing a Vacuum Wave. The blast was a hurricane in miniature, ripping apart the air itself and smashing into Tsume's attack. She and her ninken were thrown back, slamming into the walls with bone-crunching force, debris raining down around them.

Shikaku's shadows surged forward like snakes, their black tendrils weaving through the wreckage to trap Danzo in place. Simultaneously, Choza Akimichi expanded to his full, towering size, his massive fist crashing down to pin the war hawk. Inoichi's chakra threads shimmered as they lashed out, aiming for Danzo's mind. The trio moved with military precision honed over decades.

But Danzo was faster. With a flicker, he vanished, reappearing between the clan heads in a blur of motion. His kunai slashed across Shikaku's chest, the shadow master barely dodging a fatal blow. Danzo twisted, launching a Vacuum Sphere point-blank into Choza's ribs. The force of the concentrated wind tore into flesh and sent the giant staggering, blood splattering the ruined floor. Inoichi flinched, clutching his head as his mental assault was disrupted by a burst of Danzo's oppressive chakra.

Hiashi Hyūga darted forward, his Byakugan blazing as he unleashed Hakkeshō Hyaku Ni Jūhachi Shō. His palms struck with machine-like precision, each blow aimed at shutting down Danzo's chakra network. But Danzo countered with an unnatural fluidity, his right arm snapping up to block. Hiashi's eyes widened in shock as the bandages around Danzo's arm unraveled, revealing the grotesque truth beneath.

Eyes. Dozens of them. Sharingan embedded in flesh, blinking in horrifying synchronicity, each one alive and radiating malice. The arm pulsed with chakra, dark veins twisting across the flesh like living parasites. The sight froze the room for half a heartbeat—a half-second too long.

Hiashi was furious and horrified. So, that was why he engineered the Uchiha massacre. "Fuck", he swore for the first time of his life. It really could have been the Hyuga. The old man needed to die. In pain.

But Danzo's counterattack was merciless. His arm swung, the Sharingan flaring as a wave of genjutsu rippled outward. Hiashi staggered, his vision warping as his Byakugan momentarily failed. What ? Danzo took the opening, slamming his Vacuum Blade-coated kunai into Hiashi's side. Blood sprayed, the Hyūga clan head collapsing with a gasp as the sharp wind chakra cut into him.

Shikaku's shadows surged again, this time twisting to encase Danzo's legs. But the old man's body shimmered and vanished. An instant later, he was behind Shikaku, slashing a kunai across the Nara's arm. Blood flowed, and Shikaku crumpled to one knee, his shadows faltering. Danzo's hand glowed faintly as one of the Sharingan in his arm went dark—Izanagi. He had rewritten his death into victory.

Choza roared, his massive form barreling forward in a desperate charge. The floor cracked under his weight as he swung a tree-trunk-sized arm at Danzo. But Danzo vanished again, reappearing above him. His Vacuum Wave crashed into Choza's exposed back, the wind cutting through flesh like blades. The Akimichi fell, the ground trembling beneath him.

Inoichi screamed, his mind recoiling as Danzo's sharingan-based genjutsu overwhelmed his mental threads. The Yamanaka staggered, blood leaking from his nose as he collapsed to one knee. Tsume, bloodied and furious, leapt into the fray again, her ninken lunging with fangs bared. But Danzo's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough erupted outward, a violent gale scattering them like leaves in a storm. Tsume slammed into the ceiling, her body crumpling to the ground with a sickening thud.

The room was chaos incarnate. Papers whirled in frantic spirals, chairs lay shattered, and the walls were gouged deep, revealing splintered wood and cracked stone beneath. Smoke hung in the air, laced with the acrid tang of chakra discharge. Aburame insects buzzed with an almost nervous intensity, their sound piercing the oppressive stillness that had fallen in the wake of the storm. Hiashi, clutching his side, his Byakugan still active, tried to process the carnage before him.

Had it truly taken Shimura Danzo mere seconds to dismantle five clan heads and two ANBU operatives? The realization sent a chill down his spine, but it was nothing compared to the sight before him. Danzo stood bare-chested, a grotesque amalgamation of flesh. His right arm was a pulsating horror, riddled with embedded Sharingan, each one blinking in sick, unholy rhythm. The arm flexed unnaturally, its veins bulging and dark as they pulsed with stolen power. The sight of the abomination was enough to make Hiashi's stomach churn, the malevolent energy radiating from Danzo clawing at his senses.

Hiashi staggered upright, his Byakugan focusing on the corrupted chakra flowing through Danzo's arm. Pain flared through his side, but his pride refused to let him stay down. He gritted his teeth, ready to force himself back into the fray.

"Stand down," came a calm, firm voice that cut through the chaos like the edge of a blade. Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone wasn't loud, but it carried an authority that was undeniable.

It stilled the room.

Hiashi collapsed back onto the ground, the weight of those words striking harder than any jutsu. His body screamed in pain, his pride bristled, but all he could manage was a single, exhausted curse. "Fuck."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward, his presence commanding. Clad in his full battle armor, the Third Hokage looked every inch the legend whispered of in wartime tales. The dark plates of his armor gleamed faintly in the dim light, their edges etched with scars of past battles. In his hands, Enma, the adamantine staff, extended and hummed with latent energy. Hiruzen's face, lined with age, was calm, yet his eyes burned with a fierce, unyielding fire. His chakra flared, golden and immense, filling the room with an oppressive aura that made even seasoned shinobi blink in awe.

"Danzo is my mistake," Hiruzen said. "This is my fight."

Ibiki made a move toward Danzo, his hand twitching toward a handseal. "No," Hiruzen snapped, his voice cutting like steel. "Stand down. I am Konoha's Kage, and it is time I remind everyone why I was chosen for this title—and you were not."

Danzo's expression twisted into a scowl. "I will kill you, Hiruzen," he growled. "And I will take that hat." With a sharp movement, Danzo formed seals, his chakra spiking. The Baku, his monstrous summon, began to materialize—but before it could fully emerge, Hiruzen slammed the end of Enma's staff into the ground.

The Hokage flickered forward, Enma spinning with deadly precision. The adamantine staff crashed down, shattering the floor beneath Danzo, who twisted with inhuman speed, his wind-infused kunai slashing upward. Sparks and chakra burst outward, the impact cracking the already crumbling walls of the amphitheater. Without hesitation, Danzo retaliated, thrusting his hand forward to release a Vacuum Wave. The slicing wind tore through everything in its path, obliterating chairs and tables, forcing Hiruzen to leap back.

The Hokage didn't pause, his hands a blur of seals as he summoned Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet. A serpent of flames roared toward Danzo, engulfing him in a searing inferno that consumed the room. Hiashi's Byakugan caught the flicker of Danzo's chakra moments before his form reappeared behind Hiruzen. The Sharingan on his grotesque arm pulsed as he drove a kunai toward the Hokage's back.

Hiruzen spun Enma in an arc, deflecting the strike and slamming the staff into Danzo's ribs. The force sent the war hawk skidding across the floor, leaving a smear of blood in his wake. Danzo's body flickered and vanished again, only for him to materialize unharmed, his arm glowing ominously. Izanagi. Another Sharingan eye on his arm closed, and the fight resumed.

Danzo leapt to higher ground, slamming his hand to the ground. Smoke erupted as Baku, his monstrous summon, appeared, its maw opening wide. The suction was immediate, dragging debris, weapons, and even stray chunks of the crumbling amphitheater toward its gaping jaws. Hiruzen anchored himself with Enma, digging into the floor as he countered with Earth Release: Earth Wall. The barrier rose, splintering as it collided with the relentless pull of the summon.

Seizing the moment, Hiruzen flickered above Baku, unleashing Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Strike. The crackling serpent of electricity coiled around the summon, exploding in a flash of light. Baku howled as it was forced back, dissolving into smoke. But Danzo was already moving, releasing a barrage of Vacuum Spheres. The air bullets ripped through Hiruzen's clones, tearing the battlefield apart. One grazed the Hokage, ripping through his armor and sending blood spraying across the ruins.

Hiashi watched in horror as the two titans clashed, their movements blurring with speed. And to say he had been arrogant enough to think he could be named Kage. Danzo unleashed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, a massive gale that hurled debris and rubble toward Hiruzen. The Hokage countered with Water Dragon Bullet, the torrent of water crashing into the wind, creating an explosion of steam that obscured the battlefield.

Through the haze, Danzo struck again, appearing behind Hiruzen. His wind-chakra-coated kunai slashed downward, but Hiruzen substituted with a piece of rubble. The real Hokage emerged from the steam, Enma extending mid-swing, slamming into Danzo's shoulder with a sickening crack. Blood splattered across the broken floor, but Danzo's body shimmered and reappeared unscathed.

The amphitheater couldn't withstand their battle. The remaining columns collapsed as their jutsu carved through the foundation. Flames from earlier attacks licked at the debris, while water pooled and sizzled against molten stone. The floor gave way entirely, the fighters plunging into the ruins below. Dust and smoke filled the air, choking the battlefield, but the clash of steel and chakra still roared through the chaos.

As the wreckage settled, faint silhouettes appeared through the haze—ANBU operatives, their masks gleaming like specters in the gloom. They surrounded the ruins in silent ranks, their stillness a sharp contrast to the carnage, waiting and watching, probably under orders to let the titans clash unimpeded.

Hiruzen emerged from the wreckage, blood streaking his armor. He raised Enma, now glowing with chakra, and smashed it downward as Danzo charged. The staff splintered the ground, sending a shockwave through the ruins that staggered even the watching ANBU. Danzo flipped, his Sharingan arm pulsing as he released another Vacuum Blade, the slicing wind cutting deep into Hiruzen's side. The Hokage winced but retaliated instantly, unleashing Earth Release: Mud Flow River. The ground beneath Danzo turned to sludge, dragging him down as Hiruzen followed up with Fire Release, igniting the mud into a roaring inferno.

Danzo erupted from the flames, his body glowing with chakra as Izanagi rewrote his reality once more. Another Sharingan eye closed, leaving his arm visibly withered. But he pressed forward, releasing a storm of wind-charged kunai that tore through Hiruzen's defenses. One kunai struck true, slicing across the Hokage's forearm, sending a spurt of blood onto the rubble.

The fight reached a fever pitch. Danzo summoned Baku again, the beast charging through the ruins, its massive trunk swiping at Hiruzen. The Hokage leapt atop the creature, Enma extending as he drove the staff through its head. Baku howled, its body dissolving into smoke again, but the distraction gave Danzo an opening. He struck, his kunai aiming for Hiruzen's chest.

Enma spun in a blur, intercepting the blade. Hiruzen twisted, slamming the staff into Danzo's stomach and following up with Lightning Dragon Strike. The electricity surged through Danzo, his body convulsing before collapsing. But again, he flickered, reappearing moments later, his Sharingan arm dimmer and his breathing labored.

Hiashi watched in disbelief as Danzo lunged, his movements now sluggish, each step leaving a trail of blood on the rubble-strewn ground. His wind-chakra blade trembled in his hand, the once-unstoppable war hawk now a shadow of his former self. His grotesque arm, riddled with lifeless Sharingan, hung limp at his side. The power that had kept him alive through so many deaths was now exhausted.

Danzo stumbled, falling to his knees in front of Hiruzen. His voice was rasping, desperate, each word dripping with defiance and regret. "Hiruzen… everything… was for Konoha… I did what you couldn't… I made the sacrifices you refused… for the village… for its future…"

Hiruzen, his armor cracked and bloodied, stood tall above him, Enma in his hands. His face was unreadable, his eyes burning with a fire that no one dared meet. He raised the staff, its adamantine edges gleaming in the dim light of the ruined amphitheater.

"You betrayed everything this village stands for," Hiruzen said, his voice as cold and unyielding as stone. He stepped closer, his chakra radiating like an unstoppable tide. "Konoha doesn't need a shadow like you. It needs a light."

Danzo's lips moved, perhaps to plead again, but Hiruzen cut him off with a single, resolute strike. Enma extended, piercing Danzo's chest with a sickening crunch. The war hawk's body jerked, blood spilling from his mouth as the blade drove deep, pinning him to the broken ground. His eyes widened, a final flicker of life fading as his head slumped forward.

"Your darkness ends here," Hiruzen said quietly, his voice carrying through the silence that followed.

Dust hung in the air, swirling around the remains of the battlefield. The ANBU, the clan heads, and the councilors stood frozen, their faces pale, their breaths caught in their throats. No one moved, no one spoke. Even the air itself seemed to hold its breath.

Hiashi, still clutching his wounded side, could only stare.

In the ruins of the amphitheater, only Hiruzen remained standing, a solitary figure radiating power and judgment, the silent witness to his own victory.

The God of Shinobis.

Thanks for reading.
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Chapter 16 tomorrow on my P. atr-eo.n.