Uchiha Douhuan raised his blade, deflecting the strike aimed at him. His eyes flicked to the kunai in Aburame Ryōma's hand, and a cold chuckle escaped his lips.
"A special glass kunai? Unfortunately… useless."
With a flick of his wrist, the suspended shuriken around him shot forward like bullets, forcing Ryōma to scatter. The Aburame elder dissolved into a swarm of insects, reforming some distance away.
But Douhuan was already upon him. Lightning surged across his body, his speed blinding. Sword strikes poured down like a storm, every slash searing with electricity.
Ryōma struggled to keep up. He was no close-quarters fighter; each time he slipped into his insect form to retreat, another swarm of his carefully cultivated bugs was annihilated in a burst of lightning. Within minutes, he was cornered, his movements frantic.
Just as Douhuan's blade descended for the final strike, his vision dimmed.
"Using a mind-transfer jutsu against a Mangekyō Sharingan? You're begging to die!"
In his inner world, Douhuan's Mangekyō flared crimson. Yamanaka Fū, hidden in the shadows, coughed blood and collapsed from the backlash of his failed technique.
"Take that one alive," Douhuan ordered coolly, pointing toward Fū. With another strike, he forced Ryōma's insect form back into human shape.
"You little parasite-keeper…" Lightning arced from his sword as he drove it into Ryōma's back. "Your time is over."
In an instant, the Aburame was nothing more than a charred corpse.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Inahori and Zaitō had already secured Fū, his body limp, completely crippled by his own failed jutsu.
"Zaitō," Douhuan commanded, "deliver him to the clan's interrogation chamber. Keep him alive. Inahori, report to the Hokage: say we encountered violent resistance from Root remnants and were forced to act. All insurgents have been eliminated."
"Yes!" Both shinobi bowed and departed in opposite directions.
Douhuan, however, turned alone toward the Root's underground base.
—
The Root stronghold was already chaos. Shinobi rushed him from every corner, but none lasted longer than a single stroke. Bodies piled up as he carved his way from the entrance to the innermost chamber. Within minutes, dozens lay lifeless in his wake.
At last, he stepped into Danzō's office. Ashes covered the floor—the remnants of burned scrolls and records.
Douhuan smirked. "Efficient, aren't they? Saves me the trouble of tidying up."
From a sealing scroll, he drew several documents, tossing them into the air before incinerating them with a single fireball. Half-burned fragments fluttered down, and as they landed, he summoned a wave of water to douse the flames. Lifting the charred remnants, he sifted through them carefully.
—
By the time Inahori returned with reinforcements, the Third Hokage had dispatched ANBU to investigate. Leading them was a familiar figure in a porcelain mask—white hair spilling from its edge.
Douhuan's eyes narrowed knowingly. "Kakashi-senpai."
Hatake Kakashi said nothing. His gaze swept across the corpses. Though his face was hidden, the tightness in his posture betrayed unease. These were still Konoha shinobi. Whatever Danzō had done, a path of redemption had existed—until Douhuan had slaughtered them all.
"When I arrived, they were already burning Danzō's evidence," Douhuan explained smoothly, stepping closer. "Fortunately, I was able to salvage some fragments."
He held out a half-scorched document. Kakashi glanced at it—and froze.
The names scrawled there struck like knives: Hatake Sakumo. Kishida Keisuke. Arima Noriya. Tōyama Ryōta.
Beside each, a single word in harsh ink: Silenced.
Kakashi's pupils shrank behind the mask. His father's doomed mission… the betrayal that had shattered his life.
Douhuan rolled the parchment and tucked it away. "Since you're here, I'll leave the cleanup to you." He clapped Kakashi's shoulder almost companionably, sighing. "A shame. They were villagers too, once. But Danzō's poison ran too deep."
He turned to leave. "Inahori, come. We're done here."
"Wait." Kakashi's voice cut through the silence.
Douhuan paused at the doorway, looking back with a warm smile. "Yes, Kakashi-senpai?"
"…Nothing," Kakashi murmured after a long hesitation.
"Then please give my regards to Lord Hokage." Douhuan stepped out, then turned once more, his smile disarmingly gentle. "Oh, and… if you have time, do visit the Uchiha compound. Grandma Miori's health has been poor. She often asks about you."
And with that, he was gone.
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