Chapter 221: The Council of Fear
Deep beneath the earth, far from the cacophony of battle, the air was thick with the scent of damp soil, antiseptic, and human fear. The Konoha sanctuary, a sprawling network of tunnels and chambers, was packed to capacity. Civilians huddled together, their faces pale and drawn, while the constant, low moans of the wounded provided a grim soundtrack. Medical-nin moved with efficient urgency, their green-glowing hands stemming bleeding and mending broken bones. There was a grim order to the chaos; this was not the first time Konoha had faced annihilation, and a tragic routine had been etched into its people's souls. Even children, wide-eyed and silent, helped by fetching water or holding bandages, their innocence momentarily shelved by the reality of survival.
From a slightly elevated alcove reserved for dignitaries, a voice, sharp and laced with bitter venom, cut through the murmurs. "To think the architects of this destruction are mere boys from the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Ren and Uchiha Sasuke. Danzo was right all along."
All eyes turned to the speaker: Koharu Utatane, one of Konoha's elder advisors. Her face, a web of wrinkles, was set in a mask of righteous indignation.
"Hiruzen should never have been so lenient," she continued, her voice gaining volume, echoing in the cavern. "He allowed sentiment to override reason. He left these vipers in our nest, and now we are all paying the price for his weakness and that woman's foolish kindness!"
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd nearest to her. A man with a bandaged arm spat on the ground. "After everything the village did for them? We sheltered them, trained them. This is how they repay us? Ungrateful wretches! They deserve a traitor's death!"
Homura Mitokado, the other elder, sighed wearily. He placed a calming hand on Koharu's arm, his own aged frame seeming to carry the weight of decades of such crises. "Koharu, that is enough. Hindsight offers perfect vision, but the past is written. The situation with Uchiha Itachi was... complex. He held a sword to the village's throat. Had we moved against his brothers, he would have delivered every one of our secrets to Iwa or Kumo. We would have been carved up by our enemies before we could even blink."
"Complex? It was a failure of will!" Koharu retorted, pulling her arm away. "The Uchiha bloodline is cursed with rebellion. Itachi himself should have been purged along with the rest! We could have ended the Uchiha line, cleansed this stain from our history, and none of this would be happening! In the end, Danzo's operatives were simply incompetent, allowing Itachi to escape."
Homura's gaze was stern. "Do not speak of genocide so lightly, not here, not surrounded by the people we are sworn to protect. What's done is done. We must trust in Tsunade now. Our role is to ensure order here and wait for news."
Koharu fell into a sullen silence, her lips pressed into a thin, white line. The political battle was lost, for now.
It was at that moment a figure emerged from the shadows of a tunnel entrance. He moved with the silent, fluid grace of a predator, his animal mask and standard Anbu armor doing little to conceal his unique, rigid posture. He was not Tsunade's Anbu. He was one of Danzo's.
He appeared before the two elders in an instant, kneeling. "Honored Advisors. I bear an urgent report."
The anxiety in his voice was unmistakable, a discordant note that made both Koharu and Homura straighten. They exchanged a glance, a lifetime of shared experience telling them that the news was grave.
"You are one of Danzo's Root," Koharu stated, her voice regaining its authoritative edge. "Has he sent you? Does he have a strategy to counter this threat?"
The Root agent's head remained bowed. "I am of the Root, my lady. But I was not sent by Lord Danzo. I am here because... Lord Danzo is... dead."
The word landed in the silence between them like a physical blow.
"What?" Koharu's sharp intake of breath was audible. Homura's hand, resting on his knee, clenched into a frail fist.
"How is this possible?" Homura demanded, his calm facade cracking. "Explain yourself!"
The agent's voice was a monotone, trained to relay catastrophe without emotion. "Lord Danzo was killed in combat by Uchiha Sasuke. The rebel has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and wields its power with terrifying proficiency. Accompanied by two powerful shinobi from his 'Team Hawk,' they engaged our forces. While we were occupied with his comrades, Uchiha Sasuke confronted Lord Danzo directly. In the ensuing duel... our leader fell."
The news was staggering. Danzo, their contemporary, a man of immense power, influence, and paranoia, cut down by a boy they still, in their hearts, thought of as a recently-graduated genin. A profound, personal sense of loss warred with a chilling, strategic dread.
"And the Root?" Koharu asked, her mind already shifting to the practical implications. "You have dozens of elite operatives! How could you allow this?"
"The strength of Team Eagle was severely underestimated," the agent replied. "We were hard-pressed to contain the other two. When Uchiha Sasuke joined the fray, the tactical situation became untenable. Our field commander ordered a tactical withdrawal to preserve our strength and report."
Homura closed his eyes, a wave of grief and fury passing over his features. "Danzo..." he whispered.
Koharu, however, had no time for mourning. Her eyes blazed with a cold fire. "These Uchiha brats... they are a plague! They cannot be allowed to leave Konoha alive. If they escape today, they will return tomorrow, stronger and more vengeful. This ends now." She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a commanding hiss. "You will return to your commander. You are to mobilize every remaining Root operative. Every last one. Your new mission is to hunt down and exterminate the Uchiha remnants. Is that clear?"
The Root agent did not hesitate. In the absence of Danzo, the authority of the village council was absolute. "Understood. The Root will comply."
With a final bow, the agent vanished back into the shadows, his mission clear. In the heart of the sanctuary, surrounded by the terrified and the wounded, the two oldest shinobi in Konoha had just unleashed their final, most ruthless weapon, setting the stage for a hunt that would determine the village's future.
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