The office was quiet when the Anbu captain finally arrived. Hiruzen sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, the smoke curling slowly toward the ceiling. The captain bowed low, his mask hiding any emotion, but the tension in his shoulders was obvious.
"Well," Hiruzen said, voice heavy with expectation, "tell what you've found."
The Anbu hesitated for a brief mont before answering. "Hokage-sama… after a full week of searching, we have found nothing."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "Nothing? You searched the base thoroughly?"
"Yes," the captain replied firmly. "We scoured what was left. Every tunnel, every chamber, every passage. Nothing remained except ash and rubble. No bodies. No weapons. No scrolls. Not a single trace, not even corpses.
We do know that there was a big battle there, seeing how much destruction happened, and this wasn't just fire that caused it. However, besides that and so powerful chakra residue which we can't trace, there was nothing."
Hiruzen leaned back, exhaling smoke. "What of the surrounding area? The forests? The rivers? Were there any survivors? Any Root shinobi who might have lived? Surely sothing must have been left behind."
The captain shook his head. "We expanded the search far beyond the site. The Inuzuka hounds found no trails, no scents. If there were any, they were long masked away by soone.
It didn't help that a river is nearby, so it's much easier to hide one's scent.
The Abura insects did find chakra residue, however for so reason they couldn't trace it. The residue remained up to a certain area and then just vanished, like soone put up a barrier to block and filter out anything from entering that area from outside, and anything from leaving from inside.
As for the Hyūga, their Byakugan swept the terrain for miles—again, nothing. As for Root survivors, we couldn't find any." said the Anbu, not knowing that Sukuna was ready for everything. He wasn't only late to join the battle against Danzo because he was lazy—he also made sure to eliminate Root shinobi who weren't in the base and knew about Danzo kidnapping Kiyomi.
Because if the Hokage got inside their minds and found that Kiyomi was kidnapped and now freed, he would definitely connect the dots that this had sothing to do with the Uchiha clan.
"Whoever did this left no traces. Like he knew exactly what ways we could track him and made counterasures just for us. Whoever did this, Hokage-sama, erased every sign of themselves."
The old man's brows furrowed. His fingers tapped against his desk. "That is… troubling. Very troubling."
Another Anbu, standing at the side, spoke up. "So among us suspected the Uchiha. Their clan's movents were carefully watched this week. But there is no evidence to tie them to this destruction. They knew nothing of Root's location, let alone how to destroy it so thoroughly."
Hiruzen closed his eyes for a mont, then opened them. "If not the Uchiha… then who?"
The captain answered grimly. "Two nas remain on our list, as Hokage-sama and the advisors assud."
"Orochimaru… and Itachi Uchiha," Hiruzen completed the sentence.
The office fell silent.
Hiruzen's pipe paused midair. "…Orochimaru," he muttered. The na tasted bitter in his mouth. "He has the skill, the ambition, and the resources to carry out such a strike. But what would he gain from destroying Root? Danzo was his ally once."
Hell, Hiruzen didn't have any proof, but knowing his old friend, Danzo must definitely still have had connections with Orochimaru to so degree.
So why would Orochimaru do this, unless Danzo did sothing to him first?
The captain nodded. "That is why Itachi Uchiha is the other possibility. He knew of Root. He knew of Danzo. He also had the strength to carry out such an attack, and the… motives, perhaps."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened. "You believe Itachi would massacre Root on his own? Without leaving even a whisper behind?"
"We cannot say for certain," the captain admitted. "But he is one of the very few who could."
The Third Hokage had a hard ti believing this line of thinking, though. Itachi willingly killed half of his own clan for the village, so why would he now attack Danzo and risk throwing the village into panic when that was the one thing he wished to avoid from the start?
However, it was also undeniable that Itachi had the biggest motive to act against Danzo.
'Was Itachi compromised?' Hiruzen didn't know. Unlike in canon, this ti around what Itachi did had nothing to do with him. It was all Danzo—after all, the massacre happened an entire year earlier this ti around.
He wasn't sure what Itachi was now—an enemy or an ally?
A third Anbu finally spoke, voice calm but edged with unease. "There is… another possibility, Hokage-sama. That Elder Shimura himself staged this."
Hiruzen's gaze snapped toward him. "Explain."
Hiruzen didn't wish to think it was his old friend who did this, however, as Hokage he had to take all prospects into consideration.
The masked shinobi bowed. "It is possible he faked his death, destroyed Root himself, and vanished with everything inside. The chance is slim… but it exists. As for why, we can't say."
The Hokage leaned forward, pipe forgotten now. His expression was grave. "Orochimaru, Itachi, or Danzo himself. None of these are good answers." He let out a long sigh. "Continue your search. Discreetly. If Danzo still lives, he will show himself in ti. And if it was Orochimaru or Itachi…"
He trailed off, his voice heavy. "…then the Leaf is in greater danger than we imagined."
The Anbu bowed in unison. "Understood, Hokage-sama."
…
After a week of the village-wide lockdown, Sukuna was finally free to return to his usual training. He hadn't stepped out much during that ti after the Mangetsu inccident, instead spending his days inside, scribbling seals, testing talismans, and experinting with genjutsu tricks on his own.
As for going to Kiri and see how things plays around, heh... what that has to do with him. He'll has to be a fool to enter into hornet's nest with no reason by only his curiosity to relished.
He curbed his adventurous spirit for a week or so. Why take risks when the entire village was looking for the culprit behind Root's destruction?
However, that didn't an he wasn't sneaking around in the village. In fact, he was closely monitoring the aftermath of his actions.
He was slightly on edge, seeing how many Uchiha participated in the Root invasion and how many mouths there were that could reveal the truth.
While nothing would point to him directly, it could cost the Uchiha clan. But nothing happened, to his surprise.
Izumi and the other Uchiha mbers were surely tight-lipped.
Now, after a week-long absence, his body craved movent, and his hands itched for a real fight, so he woke up early, deciding to get to the training ground before anyone else, like he usually did alongside Lee.
Even Naruto didn't arrive as early as both he and Lee.
But to his surprise, when he arrived, the place wasn't empty.
There, standing in the clearing, was Sasuke. The boy was already drenched in sweat, his movents sharp and controlled as he went through his katas one by one. His breathing was steady, his eyes focused, his body moving with the precision of soone who had been at it for a while already.
Sukuna raised a brow. "Well, look at that. Duck-kun out here before ? Didn't think you had it in you."
Sasuke didn't stop. He only glanced at Sukuna for a mont, gave a short nod of acknowledgent followed by his trademark glare at that nickna, then went right back into his forms as if nothing else mattered.
A grin spread across Sukuna's face. He could tell imdiately—this was the result of their last talk. The boy wasn't sulking or burning himself out recklessly anymore. He was grinding, pushing himself in a way that made sense.
Sukuna could feel that sothing inside Sasuke had changed. He looked healthy for once. Gone were the dark circles under his eyes. He looked fresh—and was that a grin on his face?
"Miracles do happen, I guess…" Sukuna wondered to himself.
Not long after, Lee bounded into the clearing like he always did, expecting to find the grounds empty except for Sukuna. But his eyes widened when he saw Sasuke already working.
"Yosh! Sasuke-kun, already training before ?! Incredible!" Lee shouted, fists clenched with excitent. His energy doubled instantly. "Then I must work even harder!"
Sasuke ignored the noise, sticking to his steady rhythm.
Sukuna smirked. Seeing Sasuke quietly but seriously throwing himself into the grind lit a fire in him too. He stretched his arms, cracking his neck. "Tch. I was about to skip normal training today, directly jumping into fighting—my body's been itching for so action—but I guess I'll start with so warmup after all."
The training ground, usually quiet in the early hours, was now buzzing with determination—three kids, each fueled in their own way, ready to outwork the others.
xxx
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