"Guy, don't chase them!" Kakashi Hatake called out, stopping Might Guy, who was about to give chase. He added in a deep voice, "You take Sasuke to the hospital first. He might be suffering from severe mental trauma!"
"Alright!"
"Let me go," Kurenai Yuhi offered, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had only recently been promoted to Jonin and had been completely useless in the battle, unable to even block Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki's escape.
Based on her own observations, Kurenai suspected Sasuke had suffered a mental breakdown from a genjutsu attack, which was why she volunteered to take him.
After Kurenai left with Sasuke, the three remaining men gathered around Danzo's body on the ground. Asuma Sarutobi frowned. "Lord Danzo was a high-ranking official in the village," he said in a low voice. "Should we notify the council elders?"
"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "First, go get Ibiki Morino. While Lord Danzo's body is still warm, we need to see if we can extract the intelligence he was responsible for, to prevent any loss of information for the village."
Asuma Sarutobi was silent.
Might Guy's mind wasn't the sharpest, but he chose to trust his friend. "Then I'll go to the Interrogation Unit to get Ibiki Morino. I'll have him bring people over to handle this!"
"Okay."
After Guy left, Kakashi examined Danzo's body, noting the missing right arm and right eye. He seemed to understand something. Kakashi knew quite a bit, after all. He was aware that Danzo Shimura had once experimented with the First Hokage's cells.
His right arm was likely transplanted with those cells, which would explain why Itachi Uchiha sealed and took it away. As for Danzo's right eye, it was clearly a Sharingan from an Uchiha, which Itachi had also gouged out.
Asuma Sarutobi looked down at Danzo's body, reminded of his own father who had died at Orochimaru's hands. "I never thought Lord Danzo would also die at the hands of a rogue ninja," he murmured.
Kakashi, as if sensing his thoughts, said softly, "He was a powerful ninja. To prevent him from being revived and controlled by Orochimaru, we must dispose of his body after Ibiki Morino obtains the intelligence from it."
"...Right." Asuma understood Kakashi's reasoning. During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru had not only killed the Third Hokage but had also reanimated him using the Impure World Reincarnation right in front of everyone, using him as a weapon. The event had left a deep impact on Konoha's ninja.
While weaker ninjas without access to high-level intelligence might be allowed a proper burial, it was different for high-ranking officials like Danzo Shimura. He was powerful and possessed many of Konoha's secrets. His body had to be disposed of completely. No risks could be taken.
It was likely that when Danzo was "buried," the only thing in his coffin would be the ninja sword he carried.
Asuma knelt down and, with Kakashi, turned over Danzo's body. "Kakashi," he asked quietly, "why would Itachi Uchiha and that Mist Village monster infiltrate Konoha to kill Lord Danzo? Do you have any guesses?"
"Before the Chunin Exams, Anko reported that Itachi and the Mist Village monster, Kisame Hoshigaki, had infiltrated Konoha. They clashed with Naruto and Sasuke and then retreated," Kakashi recalled, thinking for a moment. "During the exams, they intercepted Orochimaru. Now that I think about it, they must have been lurking near Konoha all along."
"After Jiraiya and Naruto left the village, they probably thought Konoha's defenses were weaker, so they broke in to find what they were looking for. Lord Danzo must have had information that Itachi wanted, right?"
No matter how much they discussed it, they would have to wait for Ibiki Morino to probe the secrets hidden within Danzo's mind.
When Konoha's two elder advisors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, learned of Danzo's death, they were filled with sorrow. First Hiruzen Sarutobi, and now Danzo Shimura. The two friends from their youth had both died at the hands of rogue ninjas.
Initially, they were reluctant to allow the Interrogation Unit to extract information from Danzo's body. However, after Kakashi mentioned the threat of Itachi Uchiha, they were persuaded.
No one could have expected just how many secrets were hidden within Danzo's mind.
The darkness of Konoha was about to be uncovered. One by one, the charges appeared before them.
First, while serving as the Hokage's advisor, Danzo Shimura secretly stripped the ANBU of its authority and manpower to strengthen his private unit, Root. This was basically irrefutable. As a former ANBU captain, Kakashi himself had been approached and tempted by Danzo.
Second, he recruited war orphans on a large scale to fill Root's ranks and secretly coerced an orphanage director and another spy in the village to fight to the death. Kakashi finally understood why Kabuto Yakushi had been lurking in the village as Orochimaru's spy and had attacked Sasuke during the Chunin Exams.
Third, Danzo sent men to attack the Land of Earth during negotiations between the Stone Village and Konoha, provoking the continuation of the Great Ninja War. He also interfered in the internal affairs of the Rain Village to win allies for Konoha. This, at least, couldn't be said to be entirely wrong.
Fourth, on the night of the Nine-Tails Rampage, Danzo ordered all Root members to stand down and not provide support. Even the Aburame clan was coerced by him. When this news came out, Kakashi's expression became indescribable, and for a moment, he himself came under suspicion.
Fifth, he conspired to assassinate the Third Hokage to seize the position of Hokage. Kakashi had once been tempted by Danzo, but before the plan could be set in motion, Hiruzen Sarutobi had intervened, using the opportunity to dismantle Danzo's conspiracy. The suspicion on Kakashi was cleared.
Sixth, he collaborated with Orochimaru to capture innocent ninjas for human experiments and coveted the village's kekkei genkai, even sending people to assassinate Kakashi Hatake.
Seventh, after learning that the Uchiha clan was about to rebel, Danzo Shimura used Itachi Uchiha's weakness to force him to slaughter his entire clan.
Eighth, he ambushed Team 7 twice. The second time, he collaborated with Orochimaru in an attempt to control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Ninth, he participated in the Konoha Crush plan.
The rage of Homura and Koharu upon learning this was immense, but even Ibiki Morino, who was extracting the information, was at a loss. Every secret he pulled from Danzo's mind revealed dark deeds, large and small, too numerous to count—things like killing intelligence ninjas and using enemies to strike at his own village's ninja.
Because it was a corpse, Ibiki could only obtain a fraction of the information, but it was already shocking enough. The interrogation captain himself was terrified. He had thought the darkness hidden within Konoha's own interrogation unit was deep enough, but he never imagined that the village's former Hokage advisor was even worse.
"What happened here must absolutely not be known by a fifth person!" Homura Mitokado ordered, looking at Ibiki and Kakashi. "A former Hokage's advisor committed so many crimes. It would make the village's ninjas lose all trust in their leaders!"
Koharu Utatane naturally agreed. "Konoha has just gone through a major turmoil. If our enemies found out about this, it would cause a lot of trouble."
Ibiki considered himself lucky. Homura and Koharu were soft-hearted; they weren't like Danzo, who would kill innocent comrades without a second thought. Kakashi, as a pillar of the village, was safe. But he, the interrogation captain, might have had to "commit suicide."
Despite the danger, Kakashi, now aware of these secrets, spoke up. "We can't hide this. At the very least, we can't hide it from the new Hokage. The intelligence about Itachi Uchiha, especially, must be told to the soon-to-be-appointed Fifth Hokage!"
"I hope Jiraiya and the others hurry back," Koharu Utatane said, pondering for a moment before nodding. "The village must have a Hokage in charge now."
Previously, Koharu and Homura had considered that if both Tsunade and Jiraiya refused the position, they would forcibly put Kakashi Hatake in charge. Now, it seemed Kakashi was still not quite ready.
-----
Bonus:
Danzo Shimura: Just how much do you hate me?
Kakashi Hatake: This is all for Konoha.
Danzo Shimura: ...
Kakashi Hatake: What's wrong? Is that reason not good enough?
Danzo Shimura: What you're really saying is you don't want me to have a proper burial. They don't get it, but I do.
Kakashi Hatake: You misunderstand me. I'm really doing this for Konoha.
Danzo Shimura: Why are you so hypocritical?
Kakashi Hatake: Didn't I learn it from you?