Boom! Boom! Boom!
A heavy pounding echoed through the stillness of the Sarutobi compound late at night.
Inside the residence of Sarutobi Taro, the clan's chief elder, the gatekeeper jolted awake from his drowsiness. Still half-asleep, he shouted irritably,
"Who the hell is knocking at this hour?!"
A cold, commanding voice came from outside the gate.
"Open up. This is Anbu. We are conducting a raid."
The servant frowned, clearly displeased, and reluctantly unlatched the gate.
Snap!
The wooden doors creaked open, revealing a squad of masked Anbu led by Hatake Kakashi. The servant squinted at them with disdain, waving dismissively.
"Go away! It's the middle of the night—do you idiots have any idea how badly you're disturbing my master's rest?" he barked impatiently. "If you have business, return tomorrow morning!"
His attitude was dripping with arrogance.
For years, the Sarutobi clan had enjoyed unchecked power. Although Minato was officially the Fourth Hokage, everyone within the clan knew he had been rendered powerless under the shadow of Hiruzen. Because of that, even a lowly servant dared to look down on Anbu and treat them with contempt.
But before the servant could spout another insult—
Bang!
Kakashi moved like lightning, slapping the man to the ground with a single strike. Without sparing him a glance, he raised his hand.
"Search the premises," he ordered coldly.
"Yes, Captain!"
The Anbu operatives surged forward, disappearing into the compound like shadows.
---
Inside, Sarutobi Taro's butler, alarmed by the noise, rushed out. His eyes widened in horror as he saw masked shinobi storming the elder's home.
"You—! Do you know whose residence this is?!" he screamed, pointing a trembling finger at Kakashi.
But before his rant could continue, Kakashi's form flickered.
Swish!
The butler's eyes widened as a blur flashed past him.
Crash!
He was sent flying, his body smashing into the garden's rockery with a sickening thud. Groaning in agony, he wailed like a slaughtered pig.
"Ouugh! Master! Please come quickly! The Anbu are murdering us!"
---
Sarutobi Taro himself staggered out at last, hair disheveled, his robe half-tied, and his face red with rage.
"Presumptuous!" he thundered, adjusting his waistband with one hand as he pointed at Kakashi with the other.
"How dare you—mere lackeys of the Fourth Hokage—barge into my house in the middle of the night! You are nothing but dogs raised by Minato! And you dare offend me? Even if Hiruzen himself were here, he would still need to show me respect!"
His booming voice was filled with self-importance, his arrogance unchecked.
But before he could finish—
Swish!
Kakashi vanished from sight.
Sarutobi Taro, a veteran jōnin, instantly sensed danger. His pupils shrank, and a chill shot down his spine.
"Not good—"
Bang!
Too late. Kakashi reappeared right before him and drove a merciless kick into his chest. With his hands still tucked casually in his pockets, Kakashi pinned Taro to the ground. His boot pressed harshly into the elder's spine.
Crack!
"P-Puah!"
A sickening sound echoed. Taro coughed up blood, his limbs convulsing. His spine had snapped under the pressure. In an instant, the once-dignified clan elder was reduced to a cripple, paralyzed from the waist down.
"You… damn brat!" Taro spat, his voice full of hatred. "How dare you humiliate me like this! I'll make sure Lord Hiruzen punishes you—he'll have you tied up like a dog and forced to kneel before my gates until you beg for forgiveness!"
Rage and humiliation twisted his features. He had always been arrogant, accustomed to luxury and reverence. Never had he suffered such disgrace. In that moment, his hatred for Kakashi burned hotter than fire.
But Kakashi's cold gaze did not waver.
"Oh?" he said lightly. "Thank you for the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind."
---
Taro's face paled. He suddenly realized the danger he was in.
"You… what do you think you're doing? I'm the great elder of the Sarutobi clan!" His voice wavered with both anger and fear. "If you harm me, even Minato won't be able to save you!"
Kakashi didn't bother replying. He pressed harder with his boot, silencing the elder's curses.
Half an hour later, the Anbu operatives returned, carrying scrolls and ledgers. One of them knelt before Kakashi.
"Captain," he reported grimly, "after a full search, we've confirmed the illegal assets hidden in Sarutobi Taro's residence. The total is… six hundred million ryō."
The operative's tone carried both shock and anger.
Six hundred million ryō.
That was more than just corruption—it was a mountain of stolen wealth.
To put it in perspective: a D-rank mission paid between five to fifty thousand ryō. Even a jōnin completing an S-rank mission would rarely earn more than one or two million. Six hundred million was an astronomical sum, enough to fund a small nation.
In fact, the bounty placed on Hiruzen himself in the black market once stood at only three hundred million. And yet, this single elder had amassed double that amount through embezzlement and crime.
The implications were staggering.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Get a rope. Put it around his neck. Drag him to the next house."
The color drained from Taro's face. His bravado crumbled into panic.
"N-no! You can't do this to me! I am the Sarutobi clan's great elder! If you humiliate me like this, Lord Hiruzen will—!"
But before he could finish, the rope was already tightened around his throat.
"Ghhk—! Guuhh—!"
He writhed weakly, choking on dust as he was dragged across the ground. With his broken spine and numb limbs, he was powerless to resist.
His cries of indignation turned to pitiful wheezes as the Anbu dragged him mercilessly away.
---
The purge did not stop there.
That same night, Kakashi led the Anbu to arrest every Sarutobi clan member implicated in the investigation.
At the same time, the Uchiha Police Force launched their raids. Under the leadership of Fugaku, Yashiro, Tetsuka, and Shisui, they stormed into the compounds of the other great clans. Those who resisted were swiftly subdued. Limbs were broken on the spot, crippling the offenders to prevent further rebellion.
For hours, the village was alive with the sounds of arrests, shouts, and clashes.
By dawn, it was over.
The four major clans had fallen.
The results of the investigation were staggering.
The Sarutobi clan alone was involved in embezzlement and illegal assets totaling over 4 billion ryō.
The Mitokado and Utane clans followed, each with around 2 billion ryō worth of corruption exposed.
The Shimura clan, shockingly, had less than 300 million ryō—pitiful compared to the others.
Kakashi was momentarily speechless when he saw the numbers.
Danzo's cruelty was laid bare. The man had sacrificed everything for power, training the young of his clan into Root operatives and leaving his family destitute. No wonder the Shimura clan collapsed after his death in the original timeline.
By contrast, the Sarutobi clan had grown fat and arrogant, their coffers overflowing. They even had the resources to form their own private army during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The truth was now clear. Danzo's selfishness destroyed his clan, while Hiruzen's weakness allowed his clan's elders to leech off his authority, justifying their greed by claiming they had secured his position as Hokage.
---
Later that night, Kakashi turned to Fugaku.
"Chief Fugaku, the members of the Sarutobi clan involved in this case will be handed over to you and the Police Force. Lord Minato requires convictions delivered as quickly as possible to calm public opinion. Would you be willing to work with Chief Yamanaka overnight to extract confessions?"
Fugaku's stern features softened into a rare smile.
"Hahaha, Captain Kakashi, leave it to me. With Inoichi's cooperation, we'll dig out the truth behind every coin of corruption. I promise you—by tomorrow morning, the Hokage will have every confession he needs."
Though Fugaku usually concealed his emotions behind a mask of stoicism, tonight was different. The arrest of the Sarutobi clan had finally brought justice to years of grievances. For the first time in a long while, his heart felt light.
Kakashi chuckled softly. "Good. With you in charge, I can rest easy."
With that, he dismissed his men. "Come on, everyone. You've worked hard tonight. I'll treat the squad to a hot meal—my treat. You've earned it."
The Anbu brightened, their fatigue momentarily forgotten. They had risked their lives, faced resistance, and uncovered staggering corruption. A night like this deserved to be remembered.
And so, while the leaders prepared to interrogate the arrested elders through the night, Kakashi led his loyal team into the quiet streets of Konoha, the first rays of dawn breaking over a village forever changed.
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