The first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds in the morning mist before the Konoha Main Gate.
The Chunin guard suddenly tightened his grip on his kunai.
"What… what is that?"
On the horizon, a long black dragon was slowly crawling towards the village.
As the distance closed, the 'clack' of tal stretchers colliding beca clearer, mixed with suppressed sobs.
"Open the gate!" Yakumi's hoarse roar cut through the morning mist.
When the first stretcher passed through the gate, the villagers watching collectively gasped.
On the stretcher was a boy who looked only seven or eight years old, with a look of terror still frozen on his pale face. There was a diamond-shaped wound on his throat, clearly caused by a kunai unique to Kirigakure. There were 884 similar bodies, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Move! Everyone move!" Yakumi left bloody footprints with every step.
The bodies on the stretchers were not covered with sheets, allowing those around to clearly see the children's wounds.
When the procession reached the comrcial street, a woman holding a baby suddenly rushed out of the crowd.
"Takeshi! That's Takeshi!"
She frantically lunged at stretcher number 147. The child on the stretcher had a charred hole in his left chest, clearly pierced by a Fire Release Ninjutsu. The woman's trembling fingers traced the child's stiff cheek.
"He just turned eight not long ago…"
The woman's wailing suddenly stopped, and she collapsed like a broken puppet beside the stretcher.
...
At noon, the Ninja Academy's training ground beca an open-air morgue.
When the last body was placed on the Ninja Academy training ground, the ground was densely covered with children's bodies.
The surrounding parents were sobbing uncontrollably.
A one-ard ninja knelt before body number 326, his trembling hand opening a blood-stained diary. The date on the last page was three days ago, scrawled crookedly.
"Another comrade died today. I'm scared. Papa, I want to go ho so badly."
Blood suddenly gushed from the one-ard ninja's single eye, and he frantically tore at his hair.
"My son is only nine! Nine!"
...
The protest in front of the Hokage building had escalated into a riot.
Stones, rotten vegetable leaves, and rotten eggs continuously smashed against the building. The fifth-floor glass finally couldn't withstand the impact and shattered into dust with a 'crash'.
A streak of blood appeared on Koharu's right cheek from a shard. Her trembling fingers wiped the blood from her face.
"This… this is too crazy…"
"Hiruzen! Get out here!"
"Murderer!"
"Give back my daughter's life!"
The angry crowd surrounded the Hokage building, making it impenetrable. So Anbu, seeing the situation, had already slipped away.
Homura wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "We must take imdiate action."
His words were interrupted by a loud bang. The Hokage building's main door was smashed open, and hundreds of villagers rushed in. Leading them was the one-ard Chunin who had lost his son.
Hatred burned in the Chunin's single eye. "Where is he? Where is that old man who ordered the children to their deaths?"
Since the Hokage Office had been destroyed by the angry villagers, Hiruzen and the others could only hide in the underground office.
Hiruzen sat alone in the darkness. On the desk was a frad photo of him with his three students.
Jiraiya's hearty smile, Orochimaru's gloomy gaze, Tsunade's proud expression.
"Hiruzen, what are you still hesitating for? The Uchiha are instigating this unrest."
Danzo erged from the shadows, the bandage over his right eye particularly glaring.
Hiruzen slowly looked up and said, "Those children… I…"
Danzo slamd his hand on the table amd said, "Weakness! Now is not the ti for remorse. The Root is ready, all you need to do is give the order."
Hiruzen suddenly stood up, the weariness in his eyes replaced by determination. "No, I will bear the mistakes I have made myself."
He took off his Hokage hat and gently placed it on the table. "Tomorrow, I will publicly announce my resignation as Hokage."
Danzo's single eye narrowed slightly. "Are you crazy? Abdicating now plays right into the Uchiha's hands."
Hiruzen looked at the moonlight outside the window and said, "Perhaps, but this is the only way to quell their anger."
Suddenly, a female Anbu flashed out. She whispered a few words to Hiruzen.
Seeing Hiruzen nod, the female Anbu waved her hand, and three Anbu instantly flashed out, surrounding Danzo.
"Hiruzen, what are you trying to do?"
Hiruzen's voice was hoarse beyond recognition. "Danzo, soone needs to take responsibility for this. It's just a small sacrifice for you, nothing will happen to you."
Danzo and Hiruzen had grown up together, and he instantly guessed what Hiruzen intended to do.
"Hiruzen, you can't do this."
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Hearing these words, Danzo seed to lose all his strength.
"Hiruzen, you will regret it."
Seeing this, four Anbu moved in unison, grabbed Danzo, and forcibly covered his mouth.
A notice was posted on the Hokage bulletin board.
Regarding the early graduation and sending children to the Kirigakure battlefield, these were all proposed and executed by Danzo. Due to the special circumstances, the Hokage building is specifically releasing the minutes of that day's eting.
Attendees: Third Hokage, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura
Topic: Kirigakure Invasion Response Plan
Incident: November 4th, three thousand Kirigakure ninjas have breached the southern coastal defense line and are advancing into the Land of Fire's interior.
Koharu proposed, "The front line is in critical condition, reinforcents must be sent imdiately."
Homura pushed up his glasses and said, "But the regular forces are all on Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure fronts."
Danzo's single eye glead in the shadows as he said, "Drawing over 1,000 people from Konoha's ninja clans, and then selecting 2,000 children from the Ninja Academy should be enough."
Hiruzen's hand suddenly trembled, and his pipe clattered onto the desk.
"Danzo, are you crazy? Those children can't even perform the Three Basic Jutsu."
Danzo sneered, "Foolish, pedantic, Hiruzen. Compassion does not command troops. We need people to hold them back. If we let these Kirigakure ninjas advance unchecked, the consequences are unimaginable."
Hiruzen angrily rebuked, "Danzo, children are the village's future, how can you do such a thing?!"
Danzo expressionlessly said, "Since you don't dare to do it, then let . I will bear all responsibility."
After speaking, Danzo slamd the door and left.
Upon hearing that early graduation was Danzo's doing, the angry villagers, unable to find him, began to loot and smash the Shimura clan's shops.
More than a dozen mbers of the Shimura clan were even beaten to death in the street, scaring many Shimura clan mbers so much that they dared not leave their clan grounds.
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