Late at night, inside the Hokage Tower.
"Why would he do this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi could not make sense of it.
He had finally found the evidence.
The one spreading those rumors throughout the village was none other than Danzo Shimura.
The thods were simply too familiar.
At first, he had been completely baffled, and the Anbu had never even considered the possibility that Root was responsible.
But the style was unmistakable.
Unable to ignore his suspicions, he ordered a discreet investigation.
The results confird it.
It was Root.
"It can't be the Uchiha."
"And the Hyuga? That clan has long since lost all ambition."
"The Ino-Shika-Cho? Or one of the other clans?"
Hiruzen's mood darkened further.
The only reason he could think of for Danzo to do sothing like this was simple:
Danzo wanted the Hokage's seat.
There was no other explanation.
But even then, this wasn't enough to make Danzo Hokage.
Unless soone else was backing him.
The civilians were an important part of the village, yes.
But the title of Hokage could only be secured with the support of the major clans.
When Hiruzen had first taken office, he stabilized the situation not only because the Senju Clan honored the Second Hokage's decision, but because the Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, and Yamanaka Clan stood behind him.
Otherwise, neither the Uchiha Clan nor the Hyuga Clan would have allowed a man with no reputation to assu the position.
Hiruzen exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
His chest felt unbearably heavy.
Danzo had always been his most obedient dog.
Yes, there had always been a possibility that the dog might bite back.
But he never imagined the animal would be willing to destroy the very bowl it ate from.
And without knowing who else was backing Danzo, Hiruzen couldn't even retaliate properly.
Unlike the Fourth Mizukage, he didn't have the nerve to turn Konoha into another Bloody Mist.
Konoha was far too complicated to control through pure terror.
But before he could dwell on it further, an urgent report arrived.
The Scroll of Seals vault had been breached.
"So the Scroll of Seals is in there?"
Uzumaki Shuji stood beside Danzo, who was acting as his guide.
"Yes, Master."
"The Scroll of Seals is on the third floor."
"Five Anbu guard it continuously, and the room is protected by barriers."
"There are also around ten more Anbu stationed below to watch for intruders."
Danzo answered respectfully.
This Danzo was only a shadow clone.
His real body was occupied with other matters.
To Uzumaki Shuji, stealing the Scroll of Seals was hardly a difficult task.
"That's enough."
"You may leave."
"Begin your operation in three minutes."
Uzumaki Shuji gave the order.
Danzo's mission tonight was to assassinate Hiruzen.
Over the past month, he had quietly assembled a group of Root operatives whose faces had been deliberately destroyed.
They had no records in Konoha's system.
Officially, they did not exist.
Root operatives had no loyalty to Konoha or the Will of Fire.
They obeyed Danzo.
And since Danzo obeyed Uzumaki Shuji, they would attack even the Hokage without hesitation.
"Yes, Master."
Danzo dispelled the clone, which vanished in a puff of smoke.
Uzumaki Shuji cracked his neck.
"Then let the ga begin."
With a burst of smoke, he transford into the appearance of Gilgash once more.
Then he activated Kelen's Dagger.
In an instant, he appeared atop a building not far from the Hokage Tower.
Boom!
A massive golden chain speared through the roof.
Standing atop the Chain of Heaven, Uzumaki Shuji descended slowly into the room below.
The Anbu guards attacked imdiately.
But the mont they approached, they were bound by the chains.
Kunai and shuriken flew toward him, only to be deflected by more chains erging around his body.
"Illusion Technique: Sharingan."
The Chain of Heaven managed to restrain only two of the guards.
The remaining three darted through the room at high speed, searching for an opening.
Uzumaki Shuji gave them none.
Using Uzumaki Shuji's Mangekyō Sharingan, he cast genjutsu.
Two hundred mana points per target.
All three were incapacitated instantly.
"The effect is excellent."
"Just a bit mana-intensive."
He glanced at the nearly one thousand mana points he had just expended.
In large-scale battles, the Chain of Heaven was still far more efficient.
Uzumaki Shuji leapt down from the chain and landed on the floor.
Then he tightened the chains.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Agonized screams filled the room as the guards' arms and legs were crushed.
He did not kill them.
Not out of rcy.
But because wounded shinobi would consu Konoha's manpower and dical resources.
That ant fewer enemies for him to face later.
"So this is it."
"When Naruto stole this in canon, there's no way Hiruzen didn't know."
The room was covered in densely layered seals arranged around the scroll like a ritual altar.
Uzumaki Shuji could clearly sense the massive chakra flowing through the barrier.
Touching it carelessly would trigger both an attack and an alarm.
But he remained perfectly calm.
He drew Rule Breaker.
With the ornate dagger in hand, he gently thrust forward.
The barrier shattered.
Then he placed the dagger against the Scroll of Seals itself.
As expected, the scroll carried another layer of sealing.
Rule Breaker activated and dissolved it as well.
After testing it several more tis and sensing no further reaction, Uzumaki Shuji finally stored the Scroll of Seals within the Gate of Babylon.
"Acquired treasure: Scroll of Seals."
"Effect rged with Ninjutsu Collection."
The system notification echoed in his mind.
And Uzumaki Shuji's smile widened.
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