Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Meanwhile, outside Konoha—

The Third Hokage, leading his squad personally, glanced subtly toward Hiashi Hyūga walking among the group and gave him a slight signal with his eyes.

Hiashi immediately understood.

His Byakugan activated silently.

Then he deliberately slowed down slightly and moved subtly toward the rear of the group while continuously monitoring the Root operative who had been tailing them ever since they left the village.

The spy remained completely unaware.

He cautiously focused entirely on observing the Third Hokage ahead.

Then—

At the next bend in the path—

The entire squad suddenly stopped simultaneously.

"Ugh!"

The Root operative hadn't even reacted yet.

Before suspicion could even fully form in his mind, a violent pain suddenly exploded across his back, forcing a muffled grunt from his mouth.

The impact instantly shattered his balance.

Stars filled his vision.

Byakugan blazing, Hiashi Hyūga appeared directly behind him without hesitation.

His palms instantly unfolded into Gentle Fist strikes.

A simplified Eight Trigrams sequence accurately struck the operative's chakra points, disrupting his chakra flow completely.

Once his chakra control collapsed, the Root operative helplessly fell from the tree branch.

At the exact instant he hit the ground—

Another Jōnin nearby had already completed his hand seals.

"Mind Body Switch Technique!"

Simultaneously—

Nara Shikaku's shadow stretched out instantly.

"Shadow Possession Technique."

The moment Inoichi Yamanaka seized control of the operative's consciousness, Shikaku's shadow immediately restrained the body entirely.

The coordination between the two techniques was practically flawless.

Even Root's most elite spy had absolutely no room to resist.

He hadn't even fully realized what happened before his body, chakra, and consciousness were completely subdued.

"Keep him restrained."

The Third Hokage looked down toward the captured Root operative.

After confirming his identity, the last traces of hesitation within Hiruzen's eyes finally disappeared.

"Root likely possesses methods to confirm whether their operatives are alive."

"They may even monitor their physical conditions remotely."

"So no matter what, do not allow him any opportunity to transmit information."

Then the Third Hokage turned toward the gathered elite Jōnin around him.

"Shikaku."

"According to Hiashi's observations, there were at least five additional Root watchers hidden along our route."

"There are probably more further ahead."

"I'll leave those to you and Inoichi."

"As for the rest…"

Hiruzen's expression hardened.

"Return to the village with me."

"And don't allow a single Root operative to transmit information along the way."

"Yes!"

The gathered Jōnin instantly acknowledged the order.

Watching the Third Hokage depart together with the others, Shikaku and Inoichi exchanged smiles.

As old battlefield partners, operations like this were already second nature to them.

More importantly—

Both felt genuine satisfaction at the Third Hokage finally making a decisive choice for once instead of endlessly retreating.

"Don't look so happy."

Hiashi dropped down from the trees while preparing to follow after Hiruzen.

"Even if we're eliminating hidden dangers, they're still fellow Konoha shinobi."

"Not exactly something worth celebrating."

"You're one to talk."

Shikaku casually teased him.

"Just make sure you stay close to the Hokage-sama."

"I know."

Although nobody said it aloud, everyone understood the true danger perfectly.

Right now—

The only thing they truly feared—

Was Danzō's possession of Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.

A dōjutsu capable of rewriting another person's will was simply too dangerous.

They absolutely had to prevent Danzō from desperately using it as a final gamble.

And among everyone present, the most suitable person to counter such an ability was naturally a Byakugan wielder.

Thus, Hiashi Hyūga absolutely needed to remain beside the Third Hokage at all times.

No matter how disappointed they had once felt toward Hiruzen—

At this moment, the people standing here remained Konoha's true pillars.

As long as Konoha moved toward a better future, they would naturally do everything within their power to support it.

After all—

They were the heroic generation of Konoha shinobi who once spread Konoha's name throughout the ninja world beneath the leadership of the "Professor," Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

Meanwhile, the captured Root operative trembled painfully beneath the Shadow Possession.

Yet despite hearing and seeing everything, he could no longer do anything at all.

Shikaku casually glanced toward him.

Then he manipulated the shadow to forcefully twist the operative's head toward a thick tree trunk nearby.

The man could only stare endlessly at the bark before him.

Night fell.

Danzō arrived before the Memorial Stone together with several trusted subordinates.

Completely ignoring the monument commemorating Konoha's fallen heroes, he walked directly toward the location where Shisui Uchiha had recently been buried.

"Dig it up."

"Yes."

A subordinate skilled in Earth Release immediately formed hand seals without hesitation.

Completely disregarding the sacred significance of the burial grounds, he used Earth Release to directly raise the buried coffin upward from beneath the soil.

Still—

While using the technique, he couldn't help feeling slightly confused.

The soil moved too easily.

But considering the burial happened only recently, he ultimately dismissed the suspicion.

Watching the coffin rise from the ground before him, countless thoughts surged through Danzō's mind.

Truthfully—

When news of Shisui's death first reached Konoha, the person most shocked—and simultaneously most delighted—had probably been Danzō himself.

Shocked because Shisui had truly escaped Konoha and operated secretly all these years without Danzō ever noticing.

Yet—

The man still died.

And before dying, he actually accomplished something beneficial to Konoha without directly harming Danzō himself.

That was precisely what pleased Danzō most.

However—

Afterward, Hiruzen completely blocked Danzō from approaching the body.

The Third Hokage even ordered the decryption and sealing teams not to allow Danzō or Root to participate in any investigations involving Shisui whatsoever.

Combined with recent events…

How could Danzō fail to realize Hiruzen intended to gradually push him completely out of Konoha's decision-making core?

Ridiculous.

Without me, could Hiruzen truly have ruled Konoha so peacefully all these years?

Could Konoha have prospered so smoothly?

Danzō's heart filled with mockery.

"Take it away."

At Danzō's signal, a masked young man carrying a scroll case silently stepped forward.

He unrolled a blank sealing scroll and quickly formed hand seals.

"Sealing Technique: Enter the Painting."

The coffin immediately began trembling violently.

Even the sealing specialist himself looked strained, sweat already forming across his forehead.

Still—

Before long, the coffin transformed into a stream of light and disappeared directly into the scroll.

After sealing the coffin completely, the young man rolled up the scroll and respectfully handed it toward Danzō.

Danzō accepted it and slipped it inside his sleeve.

Then he immediately turned and departed.

He could no longer suppress his eagerness to uncover exactly what information remained hidden within Uchiha Shisui's corpse.

And more importantly—

His eyes.

"Earth Release…"

After Danzō left, the sealing specialist and the others began carefully restoring the disturbed burial site.

Soon afterward, they vanished as well.

It became as though nothing had ever happened there.

Yet everything Danzō did…

Had already been perfectly reflected inside the crystal ball within the Hokage's office.

The Telescope Technique.

As long as one knew the target's chakra, observing them became possible.

At this moment, the crystal ball displayed every movement Danzō made up until the point he disappeared inside the barrier surrounding his secret Root headquarters.

A long, heavy sigh escaped the Third Hokage.

Then he slowly looked up toward the two advisors he had temporarily summoned.

Ignoring their ugly expressions completely, Hiruzen rose to his feet.

"Come."

"Let's personally see exactly what Danzō intends to do."

This time—

The Third Hokage did not wear his ceremonial robes.

Instead—

He wore battle armor.

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