There was a heavy silence after Danzo's venomous warning. A silence that felt heavier than the crater he lay in. Then Yoru's voice cut through, calm and almost casual.
"You must think you're the only smart and capable person in this world, don't you?"
There was no malice in his tone, not even dry amusement, it was like he was stating a simple fact. Yet, in his presence, that detachment made the words sting all the more.
Danzo turned his head slightly, blood dripping from his temple, but he didn't speak.
Yoru crouched beside the crater's edge, peering down at the broken elder as if he were inspecting a curiosity rather than a man.
"I've never understood where you got your confidence from. Was it delusion? Arrogance?" He paused, then tilted his head. "Do you really believe Lord Tobirama didn't name you as the Third because you didn't raise your hand fast enough?"
Hiruzen's eyes flickered. That detail hadn't been public knowledge.
Only their team knew what really happened on the battlefield that day, the Second Hokage's final moments, his last order, his choice. Hiruzen had never spoken of it. Neither had Danzo and neither had anybody else on their team.
So how did Yoru know?
The ANBU commander continued, voice still level, as if he hadn't just thrown a knife into the middle of history.
"The truth is, Lord Tobirama saw your hunger for power long before anyone else. It was written across your face even back then. He knew what would happen if someone like you ever got the seat."
Yoru's voice hardened slightly, just enough to register. "That's why he chose Sarutobi. Not because of timing. Not because of chance. But because, frankly, you were unfit."
Danzo's hands twitched against the dirt. Whether from rage or pain, it wasn't clear.
"He took you on as a student hoping he could temper that ambition. Guide it. Shape it into something useful for the village. But he died too early, and you." he gestured vaguely, "You became this."
He stood, brushing off his knee.
Then he turned his head toward Hiruzen.
"And you."
The Hokage didn't move.
"You let him run free. Because of guilt. Because you always thought you stole something from him on that battlefield. You didn't. He simply wasn't chosen, and that's what led us here."
Yoru's voice lowered, heavy now, for the first time.
"So stop feeling guilty, Sarutobi. And clean up your mess before more of the village pays for it."
He took a breath, preparing to leave.
But then Hiruzen finally asked, softly, almost too quietly to hear.
"…Who are you, really?"
Yoru paused.
He didn't turn back. Didn't move for a few seconds. Then, with a voice that carried through the quiet ruins of the forest, he replied.
"I am the guardian of the Leaf."
There was no pride in the way he said it. Only conviction. "And I'll protect the village till my last breath. Even if it means, manipulating the king."
And with that, he flickered away.
Hiruzen stood alone in silence for a long moment, watching the spot where the ANBU commander had vanished.
Shikaku, who had remained quiet until now, exhaled thoughtfully and rubbed the back of his neck.
'The king, huh…' he thought. Then a ghost of a smile touched his lips. 'Maybe I'll ask Shikamaru who he thinks the king is. Doubt he'd get it right now, but one day…'
He trailed off and turned to the Hokage. "Should I pass word to seal the borders?"
Hiruzen glanced once more at Danzo, who lay silent and still, his good eye swollen and dull with fury and exhaustion.
The old Hokage thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Not yet."
Shikaku nodded and flickered away, vanishing into the trees like the others.
Only Hiruzen and Danzo remained and the air had grown still again.
Hiruzen let go of his composure as Hokage. His shoulders sagged and his gaze softened.
He stepped toward the crater and sat down beside it, his back resting against a tree root worn smooth with age. A breath later, he lay down completely, eyes turned upward toward the shifting clouds above.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then, softly, Hiruzen broke the silence. "There's something I don't understand, Danzo…"
His voice was tired, lined with something more than age. "Why are you so determined to stand against him? Against Sensei's grandson?"
He paused, as if trying to make sense of his own thoughts. "Your relationship with Sayaka was never hostile. If anything, I remember you treated her with something bordering on acceptance. So why… why such hatred for young Ren?"
Danzo let out a low chuckle. A dry, hollow sound that scraped the air like gravel.
He stirred in the crater, sitting up with a wince. Blood still clung to his lip, but his voice had grown steadier.
"You're naive if you think this was ever one-sided, Sarutobi."
He pulled himself to his feet with the help of his cane, standing unsteadily as he looked down at his old friend.
"From the moment that brat was born, Yoru began maneuvering to make sure we'd become enemies. He made sure I'd always be painted as the villain in that boy's story."
His jaw tightened. "Everyone thinks Sayaka died because I blocked her path to Tsunade. Because I held back aid. But the truth is…"
He looked off into the forest, the weight of years darkening his eyes. "I sent Root to clear the path to the Sand front. I gave the order to open the corridor to Tsunade. But the ANBU squad assigned to carry Sayaka attacked my men, without warning, without identification. They weren't supposed to be there in those numbers. And every last Root operative I sent… died."
He laughed suddenly, a bitter, broken thing. It echoed between the trees like dry leaves rattling in the wind.
"And I was there. I saw it."
The laughter deepened, as if the memory clawed at him from the inside.
"She survived. Even after all that, she survived. Sayaka gave birth to that cursed child. The Butterfly Sage arrived and saved the infant. Sayaka was still alive, however barely."
Danzo's voice dropped into a growl. His hand trembled on his cane.
"And then he came. That bastard Yoru."
The tone shifted, darkened as it became seething and conspiratorial.
"He changed everything. That bastard twisted everything, it was as if he twisted the damned reality itself. He manipulated the Butterfly Sage. Spun a perfect lie and in the end…"
He looked straight at Hiruzen, a mad glint in his eye. "…he dealt the final blow to Sayaka himself."
Hiruzen froze.
His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. His mind reeled. Yoru?
That… that couldn't be.
Could it?
He whispered the question, half in disbelief. "…Why didn't you tell me?"
Danzo snorted. He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned slightly toward the deeper woods, staring off into the shade where the sun no longer touched the ground.
"You all think I'm the threat." He chuckled again. "Fine. I'll be the villain. I 'am' the villain. But what about him?"
He jabbed his cane into the earth. "Do you truly believe he'll live once that boy learns what really happened?"
He laughed again, louder and unhinged. "No! The moment Ren learns the truth, he'll kill him without hesitation. And I'll make sure he finds out."
With that, Danzo vanished into the darkness of the forest, disappearing without a trace.
Hiruzen remained still, staring up at the leaves above.
His expression was unreadable.
Thoughts churned through his mind like storm clouds behind calm eyes. He exhaled softly, like a man trying to breathe against the weight of memory.
"Manipulating reality…" he whispered to himself.
And with a flicker of chakra, he too vanished.
The clearing returned to silence and a gentle breeze rolled through the forest.
From the canopy above, a single butterfly floated down in slow spirals, landing on a thick branch before fluttering deeper into the woods.
It glided through the shadows, weaving past leaves and bark, until it reached a grove so dense that sunlight barely pierced through.
There, beneath the trees, sat a boy leaning casually against the bark, licking the edge of a butterscotch ice cream.
The butterfly landed silently on his shoulder.
The boy didn't even glance at it.
He just smiled faintly, and took another bite.
~~~
Yoru's office
In the ANBU Commander's office a few trusted individuals waited for the man himself to arrive.
Utakata leaned back against his chair, arms crossed, face calm as always. Fugaku sat opposite him with a slight frown, deep in thought. Shikaku looked half-asleep at first glance, but his fingers tapped slowly against the armrest of his chair.
Meanwhile, Ren had made himself at home, sitting cross-legged on top of Yoru's desk, spinning a kunai lazily between his fingers. He was listening to a recap of what had happened after his dramatic exit from the council hall.
The moment the part about Koharu's humiliation came up, Ren cackled and wheezed like a delighted child.
"Oh man," he said between laughs, "I should've stayed just for that. I would've paid to see her face. Sensei, you really knocked it out of the park."
Utakata gave a faint smile, saying nothing.
At that moment, Yoru flickered into the room, his presence as sharp and silent as ever. Ren immediately perked up with a grin.
"Oh, boss-man! There you are. So? How is my performance? Am I award-worthy or what?"
Yoru sat down behind his desk, ignoring the antics as usual. His gaze landed on Utakata.
"Good work with Koharu," he said simply.
From the side, Shikaku hummed in agreement and finally opened his eyes fully. "With how she was treated today, and knowing her temperament, she's probably scrambling for survival right about now."
He tapped his fingers again, this time with a bit more rhythm.
"She's too proud to apologize outright. She'll go to the Hokage first. But based on his attitude in the council hall, she won't get much help there."
Ren stopped spinning the kunai and grinned, already knowing where this was going.
"So, she'll crawl to Danzo next."
Shikaku nodded. "Exactly. And if she does, we'll finally see how desperate she really is. Going to Danzo also means that he won't be alone, there would be a way to track his doings."
Fugaku crossed his arms. "How much strength does Danzo still have?"
Ren answered before anyone else could. "Well, technically I said I rounded up all the root operatives, but I left a few bases untouched."
Fugaku's brows furrowed. "Why?"
Ren's voice was light. "Wouldn't be any fun if he died too quickly."
Fugaku's expression turned sharper, but before he could say anything, Shikaku jumped in again.
"He's not wrong. Even if you ignore the 'fun' part, the third wouldn't let Danzo die, not yet. When Ren punched him earlier, the old man nearly lost it. If Ren had taken it any further… we'd probably be dealing with a rampaging Third Hokage right now."
Fugaku shook his head. "I'm not talking about Hiruzen. I'm asking why leave Danzo any room to move?"
This time, Yoru answered. "Because a cornered and resourceless Danzo is more dangerous than a cornered one with scraps of power."
He leaned forward slightly. "If we left him with nothing, he'd vanish completely. And if Danzo disappears… we'd lose track of him. He knows too many secrets and it'd be a disaster."
Fugaku listened and slowly nodded. It made sense. Painfully so.
A heavy silence settled over the group again until Ren broke it, as usual.
"So," he said, still sitting the table, stretching his arms behind his head, "who's going to visit old man Homura?"
There wasn't even a pause and all four of them answered in perfect sync.
"You."
Ren pouted slightly as he stretched out across Yoru's desk like a lazy cat. "Tch. I don't wanna. Talking to old people is too much trouble."
He very deliberately emphasized the word old, his eyes drifting across everyone else in the room, making sure to include Yoru, Utakata, Shikaku, and even Fugaku in the accusation.
None of them reacted. There wasn't even a twitch.
That annoyed Ren more than anything. "You guys are no fun," he muttered, dragging himself off the desk. "Fine, I'll go talk to him. He's slightly less annoying than his other half. But don't expect me to grovel."
With that, he hopped down and strolled out the door, hands in his pockets, humming something mildly disrespectful under his breath.
Once he was gone, Fugaku broke the silence. "Are we really letting him handle this alone?"
Yoru didn't look up from his paperwork. "That's exactly why it'll work. If any of us go, there's a risk Homura puts up a wall. But Ren… he doesn't play by the rules, and Homura knows it. That unpredictability gives us at least an eighty percent chance of success."
Fugaku gave a small grunt of acknowledgment and stood. Utakata followed silently. Shikaku yawned, stretched like a sloth, then flickered out too.
Yoru remained seated, flipping to the next file without pause.
After a while there was a knock on his door. He looked up and set aside the file he was reviewing.
"Come in."
The door creaked open. A young Uchiha stepped in, messy black hair, a tanto strapped neatly across his back, standard clan attire worn with the effortless ease.
Yoru spoke, "Shisui. Met with Itachi?"
Shisui nodded, offering a small smile. "Yes, Commander. I came straight here afterward."
Yoru leaned back slightly, "In a few days, I want you to speak with Lord Hiruzen. Bring up the Uchiha elders. Let him know there's still talk of a coup, as there definitely will be. Offer to monitor things personally."
Shisui paused only briefly before giving a slow nod.
"Understood."
The room fell quiet again, filled only by the quiet shuffle of paper. Then Yoru asked, almost idly.
"Are your eyes ready?"
Shisui's expression faltered for the briefest moment.
"Not yet. A few more months, at most."
Yoru nodded again, as if confirming a calculation in his head. Then waved his hand once. "That's all. Go."
Shisui gave a short bow and turned, disappearing silently through the doorway.
The room was silent again. Only the rustle of documents remained, and the steady, controlled breathing of the man who had quietly ensured the Leaf's survival for decades, alone at his desk once more.
~
{3 days break, going on a trip baby}
~~~~~
{Oh man, wth happened in this chapter. I was so giddy while writing this chapter that there was a constant grin on my face.
So, what do you guys think, did Yoru really do what Danzo said, or was it just another one of Danzo's trick. It'll all become clear eventually, till then, sit back and wait, and if you can't then comment what you might think would happen.}
{If you want, you can support me on pat-reon}
{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else}
{280 Stones = Extra chapter}
{STONES!!!!}