Danzō was in a very awkward situation.

  If he could use ah jutsu, he would have already used it to dig himself a hole to hide in.

  But thanks to the deterrent force he had established over the years, no one dared to openly disrespect him in the absence of solid evidence. However, the tension in the air was making him unfortable.

  He had always been the one making others feel this way, after all.

  When he saw Orochimaru actually surrender without resistance, he khe man to no good.

  Still, he wasn't particurly worried that the Snake Sannin would betray him. Orochimaru abandoning his role as a Konoha ninja would only make him more reliant on him.

  Moreover, Danzō didn't feel that he had done anything wrong. Even though he had desecrated the First Hokage's remains, it was all for the vilge, wasn't it?

  The fact that this pn had even reached fruition indicated that he wasn't the only ohinking this way.

  Therefore, he ighe surrounding ninjas, brushed off their stares, and observed quietly, exuding fidence.

  His upright demeanor was enough to shake the resolve of those who doubted him.

  After all, how could someone who had once served as the Hokage's advisor stoop so low as to desecrate the founder of the vilge?

  When Orochimaru was escorted back to the main square, he was greeted by this exact se.

  He couldn't help but find it amusing.

  "Your face says it all, sensei. Did you really expeything different?"

  Even at this point, these people were still deluding themselves. That said, Danzō was indeed a valuable asset—not someoo be wasted at this juncture.

  "Orochimaru." Hiruzen didn't even know where to begin.

  After so many years as Hokage, this was the first time he felt truly at a loss. Even he couldn't five himself for what had happened.

  In the end, all the words he wao say turned into a sigh.

  Jiraiya and Tsuood silently by his side.

  "Sandaime-sama..." Minato wao offer words of fort but couldn't find the right ones. He decided it was better to stick to business.

  Turning to Orochimaru, he asked, "There's no way you did this alone. Who supported you?"

  "Minato, don't uimate me," Orochimaru replied.

  Hearing this, the gathered ninja s grew visibly angrier. While anger was the dominaion, there was also a trace of fear.

  After all, who among them didn't have aral graves?

  This matter couldn't be handled carelessly. If it wasn't addressed properly, they might as well all switch careers to gravekeepers.

  Knowing that no immediate answers would be forthing, Minato waved his hand, signaling the jonin to take Orochimaru away.

  "Sandaime-sama, I suggest we temporarily suspend all missions outside the vilge. What do you think?"

  "That's prudent... though the eic impact..." Hirzuen paused, weighing the options.

  "Better than risking further is," Minato added quietly.

  Given the gravity of the situation, no one would be able to focus on their work unless it was thhly resolved.

  As for his old friend, while Hiruzen could somewhat guess his iions, he hadn't expected things to go this far.

  The sheer audacity was mind-boggling.

  Feeling weighed down, he didn't have the energy to fully sider the long-term sequences of this i.

  Time simply didn't permit it.

  "Disperse aurn to your posts," Hirzuen instructed.

  The word of the former Hokage still carried weight. While suspis about Danzō lingered, no one doubted Hiruzen.

  Besides, it had already been a long day. At least Orochimaru had been captured.

  Trusting his iy, the ninja s withdrew their suspi of Danzō. After bowing respectfully to Minato and Hirzuen, they departed.

  Hirzuen and Minato exged bitter smiles. The gesture was signifit, but they had no choice but to accept it.

  While Hirzuen took it in stride, Minato began to questioher he had acted too hastily.

  He hadn't anticipated that people would be bold enough to go this far.

  The Uchiha also sheathed their ons. Uhe leadership of Yaku, they bowed to the two Hokage before departing. Masashi was among them.

  "The vilge won't fet this easily," Yaku murmured as they walked.

  "No, but they'll pretend to, if needed," Masashi replied quietly. Just like they pretended not to notice the Uchiha's isotion.

  The day's twists and turns had been exhausting. Minato's decisiveness had forced the situation to escate far beyond its inal i.

  Fortunately, things were still under trol.

  Back at the Uchiha pound, the members resumed their daily routines—some went to work, others teo their personal affairs.

  At home, Masashi sank into the sofa, refleg on the day's events.

  The one who suffered the most was undoubtedly Anko. Once a promising student of one of the Sannin, her future now looked bleak.

  When he left, he saw her trailing pitifully behind Minato. All the ninjas associated with Orochimaru would soon face simir predits.

  But there was no choice. This wasn't a situation that allowed for pleasantries. Everyone was fighting tooth and nail.

  Even someone as powerful as Madara had abandoned his ideals in the face of hopeless despair, res to the most extreme measures.

  Life was tough for everyone. No oarted out wanting to be the vilin.

  ---

  Father and Mother didn't retur; I might as well cook something for them.

  With that thought, Masashi got up, ged out of his gear, ao the kit.

  Though he spent most of his time training or earning money, he was surprisingly skilled in household matters. His Sharingan activated with a subtle red glow as he surveyed the kit.

  Life was the foundation of everything; without it, nothing else mattered.

  He formed a cross seal, and three shadow es materialized in puffs of smoke, each taking their position i.

  The inal Masashi pced his marked kunai at strategic points: he stove, by the cutting board, and beside the sink. With the Flying Thunder God, he could move instantly between stations, ensuring nothing would burn or overcook.

  One e began preparing the sukiyaki, his Sharingan trag the exaent the meat o be turned for perfect caramelization.

  Another worked on the omelette rolls, using a precise water jutsu to maintain the perfect temperature beh the pan.

  The third hahe teriyaki eel, while Masashi himself prepared the potato sad.

  A subtle flicker of chakra, and he appeared instantly by the stove, catg an egg mid-flip. His Sharingan tracked the heat patterns in the pan, showing him exactly when to rotate eagredient.

  A thin yer of ice crystals formed around his fingers as he reguted the temperature of the goods with precise chakra trol.

  The Third Hokage would probably ugh if he saw me using S-rank teiques for cooking, he thought wryly as he fshed between stations, his es w in perfect synization.

  But efficy was efficy, whether in battle or i.

  Live well. Laugh when you want to. Curse when you o.

  Be cheeky if it suits you. If you like someone, pursue them.

  When life feels overwhelming, drink the night away with close friends.

  And above all, cherish your parents.

  Having ed up, he surveyed his handiwork. The pantry had been well-stocked with fresh ingredients, thanks to his parents.

  Noerfect meal y prepared: sukiyaki for three with meat seared to perfe, spring onioe rolls with golden-brown edges rolled with precision, teriyaki eel rice gzed to a mirror shine, and a potato sad chilled to the ideal temperature with his ice manipution.

  His es disappeared in puffs of smoke as he deactivated his Sharingan.

  Just as he finished ing up, his parents returned.

  "Masashi, you're back?" his father called out, setting down his test notebook of equipment mainteheories.

  "The shop was quiet today," he tinued as they settled in. "People are worried."

  "They're saying strahings about the s..." his mother added hesitantly.

  "Let's eat while it's still warm," Masashi said gently. "You must be hungry after work. The worries wait until after dinner."

  "Oh, speaking of warm..." His father leaned over the dishes with sudden i, pulling out his notebook. "The way you've seared this meat—there's something different about the teique. Have you been experimenting with my garliethod?"

  "Dear," his mother interrupted softly, adding more vegetables to their bowls. "Let us eat in peace."

  Masashi had always been self-reliant, rarely causing his parents any worry. In fact, they wouldn't have known how to intervene even if they wao.

  After all, they weren't ninjas themselves.

  Despite ing from a ninja family, they were well aware of how difficult the profession was.

  Family lineage might be a resource for ninjas, but it wasn't decisive.

  In the era of nations and vilges, there wasn't much differeween ninjas from on families and those from s—at least at the genin and in levels. The advantages of being from a ly became signifit at the jonin level.

  Masashi had made them proud by being a jonin at such a young age, earning the reition of the .

  This brought his parents joy, though it also gave rise to worries they kept to themselves.

  In this timeline, he felt fortuo have these moments. In the previous timeline, he hadn't even had the ce to see his parents.

  And in his inal life, he hadn't been able to properly care for them before his untimely departure.

  Life may have differed across timelines, but his desire to cherish his parents remained unged.

  They spent quality time together until his parents went to bed.

  Masashi theuro his room to rest.

  The calm before the storm was best spent at home.

  Starting tomorrow, the storm engulfing Konoha would st a long time, and as a jonin of the Uchiha , he would iably be drawn into it.

  ---

  This winter in Konoha was bound to be especially harsh.

  "They used our children... our own children!" A woman's cry pierced the air, eg through the streets.

  Behind her, a growing crowd of vilgers moved toward the Hokage's office, their faces twisted with grief and rage.

  Even before the season arrived, the chill had already set into the hearts of its ninja. The revetion that Orochimaru had been dug experiments using cells from the First Hokage's remains caused an uproar.

  After his failed escape, he was imprisoned in an ANBU facility.

  His followers were in a state of panic. But while they merely lived in fear, Root was ht paralyzed.

  There was no way to cover up their involvement. Laboratory after boratory—every single one—was located in Root's base.

  A ck of ht? Impossible. That excuse wouldn't fool anyone.

  More angry families of victims besieged the Hokage's office, and not a single ANBU dared front the enraged mob. Even among the ANBU, there was a shared sense of e, as many of them came from ordinary families within Konoha. They empathized deeply with the victims.

  "My son volunteered for a mission. A mission! And you turned him into..."

  "Stand back, please. The Hokage is—" an ANBU ninja started.

  "The Hokage? Where was he when this was happening?" A civilian father pushed forward.

  The Sarutobi , usually known for their leadership in times of crisis, was stunned into silence.

  Orochimaru, the beloved disciple of the Third Hokage. Danzō, former Hokage advisor and lifelong ally of Hiruzen, from the Shimura .

  Faced with this sdal, all the Sarutobi members could muster was a collective cry of "What the hell?!"

  For aire month, chaned in Konoha.

  The Uchiha and Hyūga s were tasked with sealing off the vilge. Other s worked alongside jonin squads in rotating shifts to arrest suspects around the clock.

  Anyone firmed to have been involved in the sdal was immediately arrested. Danzō narrowly escaped impriso due to his meticulous preparation of false dots, which deyed solid proof of his involvement.

  heless, he ced under house arrest, forbidden to leave his residence.

  Root members, both official and unofficial, were suspended and subjected to iigation, with the Yamanaka overseeing the process.

  For a month, Yamanaka ninjas didn't dare step outside without a ration pill on hand, given their workload.

  This "purge" resulted in hundreds of former Konoha ninjas being stripped of their status.

  Most were executed ht; a small number were spared but left in fates worse thah. Some administrative ninjas were implicated for facilitating illegal funding.

  They once distributed funds; now Konoha distributed their lives.

  This wasn't merely an Orochimaru fa or Danzō fa. The perpetrators were extreme militarists and doves alike.

  "Even the peace advocates?" a in whispered during aion. "How could they..."

  "Power corrupts in different ways," his senior responded. "Sometimes the self-righteous are the most dangerous."

  But shock gave way to swift execution.

  One by ohe pieces fell, leaving only Danzō and Root for the final reing.

  Their unique positio they had to be dealt with st, but their fate was iable. Once exposed, there was no room fotiation—only an ht frontation.

  By then, the cold wave from the north had hit the Land of Fire, marking the arrival of winter. Yet the killing i in Konoha was far colder.

  After a month of arrests and trials, the initial uainty among the ninja s had ture. Danzō, though a ninja by birth, was now seen as the greatest threat by all.

  The vilgers and low-ranking ninjas remained furious. Until a promi head rolled, their ahreateo e the entire vilge.

  Thus, the public trial of Danzō and Root enced.

  For Danzō, this was a war he had never experienced—a battle for survival with no tools of manipution at his disposal.

  Under house arrest for a month, he was cut off entirely from the outside world, with ninja s ensuring no room for maneuver.

  When he was finally allowed to step outside, it was only to stand trial. He was the defendant. All his strategies amouo nothing. Stripped of intelligend resources, he was no different from an ordinary old man.

  His power never equaled that of Hiruzen. The month of relentless iigation had eroded any lingering aura of invincibility.

  Because his sins were undeniable.

  Wheepped into the sunlight, a chill hit him deep in his bones. He reized the sensation—it was the bitter taste of defeat.

  Danzō had overestimated his influend uimated the power of unity among grassroots ninjas and vilgers. He had also uimated the ninja s—a tiger, no matter how long ed, remained a tiger.

  Danzō might have been the "root" of Konoha, but with the tree stripped bare and the ke frozehe root had rotted.

  As he arrived at the Hokage's office, all eyes turo him. There were no pleasantries, no pity, and ation.

  "We have gathered evidence spanning decades," Minato said. "The scope of these crimes extends beyond what any of us imagined."

  Danzō's crimes had been fully doted. Evidence firmed that he was the mastermind behind everything. Orochimaru was merely an aplice.

  Had the sdal remained within a small circle, he could have shifted bme onto Orochimaru.

  But he faced Minato.

  He shared orait with Danzō: an unshakable resolve to achieve his goals once decided. Minato, however, cked Danzō's ruthlessness, fav decisiveness instead.

  In their first and only frontation, Minato prevailed.

  From Masashi's perspective, this was the best oute. A former Hokage advisor should die by the Hokage's judgment. . Final. As it should be.

  At the trial, Danzō sat in silence. He did not respond to the victims' families, even when fronted by ordinary vilgers.

  A mother stepped forward, holding a small shoe. "This was all we found of him," she cried. "Just this. Not even a body to bury."

  Danzō's expression remained unged.

  When his turn came to speak, he posed a single question to Minato. "Could you have doer than me?"

  "The darkness you created would have destroyed Konoha." Minato's reply was resolute.

  Danzō sneered and looked to Hiruzen.

  The two old rades exged a long, silent gnce. Decades of shared history, battles, and diverging paths passed between them.

  Nothing was said.

  Minato rose from his seat. "I have reached my decision." His voice, though quiet, carried to every er. The crowd fell silent, even the grieving parents stilling their sobs.

  "Root will cease to exist," he paused. "Its structure will be dismantled, its members absorbed into ANBU where they will answer directly to the Hokage's office."

  "Each member's fate will be decided based on their individual as. There will be no b pardons."

  His gaze finally settled on Danzō. "As for you... Your crimes against Konoha and its people demah."

  Some leaned forward, anticipating a swift execution.

  "However, in aowledgment of your years of service, you will be granted one final dignity." He straighteo his full height. "You may end your life by your own hand, in your home, as a ninja of Konoha."

  The silehat followed was absolute. Danzō's face remained impassive.

  "This is my verdict." Minato's tone hardened. "It is final."

  A er death than he deserves, Yaku thought. But perhaps that's what makes us different from him.

  Danzō's death was the only way to restore peace to Konoha. His sole sotion was the ce to end things himself.

  ---

  That night, Hiruzen, apanied by ANBU, brought a jug of sake to Danzō's heavily monitored home.

  "Sandaime-sama, we'll be right outside," an ANBU whispered.

  Ihe room arse, lit only by a single mp. Danzō sat in traditional clothing. The bandages on his right eye and arm had been removed—there was no need for secrets anymore.

  "O drink?" Hiruzen's voice was steady as he poured sake for both of them.

  Danzō took the cup, studying the clear liquid. "After all these years, you still bring the cheap stuff."

  They drank in silewo old shinobi who had walked different paths for the same vilge.

  The sake burned, but her showed it.

  "Hiruzen." Danzō's voice was quieter now. "The world isn't as kind as you believe it to be."

  "And not as dark as you feared, old friend."

  How many nights did we spend like this, pnning Konoha's future? Hiruzen watched his oldest friend's fa the mplight.

  Danzō's hand moved to his tanto, pced carefully beside him. His grip tightened on the handle as he looked at his oldest friend, his only friend. "Perhaps. But remember—there will always be those who must walk in shadows so others stay in the light."

  "Watch the borders to the north. When spring es..."

  He didn't finish. In one swift motion, he drove the bde deep into his abdomen, from left tht. A sharp grunt escaped his lips—not from pain, but from the force of the thrust. Blood immediately soaked through his white clothing.

  "For Konoha," he gasped, blood trig from the er of his mouth. His eyes fixed on Hiruzen as he pulled the bde sideways.

  Not a scream, not a whimper—only a final, shuddering breath as he maintained perfect seiza position until the very end.

  His body slumped forward, the tanto still gripped in his hand. Even ih, his face remained posed, at peace with his chosen end.

  Hiruzen sat there until dawn, keeping vigil over the body of a man who had loved Konoha too much, in all the wrong ways.

  By dawn, he emerged to annouhe news. "Danzō has taken his own life."