Darkness gradually swallowed the sky.
A bright moon hung high among the stars, hazy and dreamlike, like a fleeting illusion that could disappear at any mont.
"Who's there?"
Inside a secluded alley, Sarutobi Asuma stood against the wall, quietly relieving himself.
Suddenly—
An icy chill crawled up his spine like a blade pressed against the back of his neck, causing his entire body to freeze instantly.
That presence felt like the descent of the Grim Reaper itself. As though death had arrived carrying a scythe, ready to harvest his life.
Before Asuma could even react, a cold sensation brushed across his throat.
His pupils shrank violently.
"Gh—"
He instinctively grabbed his neck, disbelief filling his eyes.
The warmth rapidly spreading across his palm made his heartbeat explode into panic.
Blood.
He knew imdiately—
The mont he opened his mouth, blood would gush out uncontrollably, and he would die on the spot.
Within his fading vision, a dark figure slowly erged from the shadows.
When Asuma saw the three swords hanging from the man's waist, hatred instantly surfaced in his eyes.
He did not understand.
Why had this person attacked him?
And from the very beginning, it had been a killing blow.
No chance to react or resist. Not even a chance to ask why before death arrived.
The shadow disappeared once more.
Asuma did not even dare move.
He remained leaning against the wall, trembling as blood slowly drained from his body. His vision dimd little by little until all signs of life vanished completely.
Even in death, his pants remained unfastened.
And until the very end—
He never once saw the true face of the man who killed him.
Above the alley railings, Zoro crouched silently atop the highest point, his black cloak fluttering beneath the enormous full moon behind him.
Observation Haki spread outward to its absolute limit.
Within his blood-red eyes, the three-tomoe Sharingan rotated endlessly.
At that mont, he looked less like a shinobi and more like a god of death walking through the night.
Tonight—
He was Konoha's Grim Reaper.
With the Sharingan's terrifying perception enhancing every movent around him, Zoro vanished from the railing in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was already standing behind an ANBU patrol squad like a phantom erging from the darkness itself.
These ANBU were all loyal hounds of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
During his two years undercover inside ANBU, Zoro had already morized which mbers were absolutely loyal to Hiruzen.
As for Danzo…
Zoro naturally possessed thods capable of killing him.
But unless sothing unexpected happened, that old bastard likely possessed the Uchiha Clan's forbidden technique—
Izanagi.
Once a direct battle started, there was no guarantee Danzo could be killed instantly.
And the mont combat erupted, it would inevitably alert all of Konoha.
The current Zoro was still not powerful enough to stand against the entire village openly.
So if he wanted to eliminate Danzo, he first needed an incident massive enough to draw all of Konoha's attention elsewhere.
Naturally—
The Nine-Tails beca his ideal choice.
Unfortunately, Uzumaki Kushina was currently away from the village on a mission.
Otherwise, Zoro would have triggered the Nine-Tails Incident imdiately and used the resulting chaos to personally cut down Danzo.
No need to rush, that old dog could survive a few more days.
The mont Kushina returned to Konoha—His plan would officially begin.
"Who's there?!"
Several ANBU instantly reacted to the disturbance.
But by the ti they noticed him—
Death had already arrived.
A cold flash of steel swept through the darkness like a river of moonlight cascading from the heavens.
The ANBU instinctively grabbed their throats in horror.
At the exact mont they turned around—
Zoro had already finished drawing his blade.
His katana slid smoothly back into its sheath.
Behind him, the three ANBU suddenly froze in place.
Then countless lines of blood violently erupted across their bodies.
One after another, they collapsed lifelessly onto the ground, forever buried beneath the darkness of that night.
That night beca an on of disaster.
A night that plunged both Root and ANBU into terror.
Years later, the villagers would give it a na—
The Night of the Blood Shadow.
Because once you saw that figure resembling the Grim Reaper—
Your soul already belonged to the underworld.
As for who first spread that rumor afterward…
That beca a mystery nobody could ever confirm.
The following morning, inside the Hokage's office—
At dawn, just as the first light of day appeared over Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped into his office and imdiately saw several ANBU kneeling before him on one knee.
"What happened?"
Hiruzen's brows twitched slightly.
The mont he saw their posture, an unpleasant feeling imdiately rose in his heart.
Nobody knelt in apology unless sothing serious had happened.
"My apologies, Lord Hokage. We have failed. In a single night, Konoha lost dozens of elite shinobi."
The instant those words fell—
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed sharply.
A terrifying pressure unconsciously spread from his body.
"Explain clearly."
"We were unable to determine the exact wounds on the corpses. Nearly all evidence was destroyed by the killer through cremation. However, we can confirm one thing…"
The ANBU hesitated briefly before continuing.
"Every victim was killed instantly in a single strike. None of them even had ti to cry out."
Silence filled the office.
After a long mont, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Provide compensation funds to the families of the fallen."
"As for ANBU patrols… suspend them temporarily."
"But Lord Hokage…" one ANBU asked cautiously, "if patrols are suspended, what about the killer?"
Hiruzen's expression remained dark and cold.
"I will personally assign soone to handle this matter."
"If there is nothing else, you may leave."
The killer had acted far too carefully.
Even the corpses had been burned to conceal the cause of death.
Which ant this likely was not the work of another hidden village.
"Lord Hokage… there is still one more matter."
An ANBU spoke again, his voice noticeably restrained.
"Hm? What now?"
Hiruzen's tone already carried obvious impatience.
Anyone would be furious after receiving such news first thing in the morning.
"Among the deceased… was Young Master Asuma."
The mont those words fell—Hiruzen's expression instantly beca incomparably ugly.
The surrounding atmosphere grew suffocating.
An ANBU quietly carried a corpse into the room.
As the white cloth covering it was lifted away, a pale and familiar face appeared before Hiruzen's eyes.
"Asuma…"
Hiruzen slowly reached out and touched his son's cold face.
The muscles on his aging face twitched uncontrollably.
Who could truly understand the pain of an old man losing his son?
The agony of a white-haired parent burying their black-haired child?
Even the surrounding ANBU could clearly feel the terrifying rage hidden beneath Hiruzen's calm exterior.
This ti, their Hokage was genuinely furious.
anwhile, Zoro had already quietly returned to the Uchiha Clan compound alone.
If he knew the expression Hiruzen was making right now, he probably would have enjoyed it for quite so ti.
But this was rely the beginning of his revenge.
Now, Zoro had already secretly made up his mind to seize control of the entire Uchiha Clan.
That's right.
His return to the clan was never simply about coming ho. He intended to place the entire Uchiha Clan beneath his authority.
And now, the clan assembly was about to begin. After years of quietly building influence within the clan, many Uchiha had already begun standing firmly on his side.
All he needed was for Konoha's higher-ups to further alienate the Uchiha Clan.
Then, during the clan assembly, he could formally challenge for the position of Clan Head.
And so—
The future Nine-Tails Incident would beco the very first step in Zoro's rise to power as the leader of the Uchiha Clan.
***
Advance chapters available on P@trè0n (Aki_sensei). Appreciate the support!
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