Inside the crimson prison of the Four Red Yang Formation, panic finally broke through pride.
"Damn it!" Sarutobi Hiruzen snarled under his breath.
His gaze flicked toward Danzō.
"How did you leave so much evidence behind?" he demanded, fury replacing the calm grandfatherly tone he once wore so effortlessly.
Danzō's face darkened.
"You dare blame me?" he hissed quietly. "You approved every move. You signed every order."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
"You were the one who handled the shadows. Why were there so many loose ends?"
It was easier to blame Danzō than to accept the truth: their system had rotted from within.
ANBU had failed.
Root had grown reckless.
And Ryuji had been patient.
Danzō felt something close to despair for the first time in decades.
"You were quite satisfied when we discussed these plans," he muttered bitterly. "Now that we're exposed, you pretend your hands are clean?"
"There's no point arguing," he snapped. "We need a solution."
But Hiruzen could see it clearly now.
No Nara envoys.
No Ino–Shika–Chō reinforcement.
No Hyūga.
No Uchiha.
Not even subtle support from minor clans.
The barrier sealed them in.
ANBU encircled them.
The Sarutobi and Shimura shinobi, once proud, looked painfully outmatched against elite operatives.
Hiruzen's strength, though respectable, was no longer that of his prime.
And the two clans together were nowhere near strong enough to break a formation of this level.
"Ryuji!" Hiruzen shouted, forcing authority into his voice. "Are you truly planning to slaughter them all?"
"I am the Third Hokage!"
It was a desperate appeal.
Ryuji simply shrugged.
"You think too highly of yourself."
His voice carried across the barrier without effort.
"This isn't about me."
He gestured outward, toward the roar rising beyond the red wall.
"Listen."
The sound reached them clearly now.
Footsteps.
Shouting.
Thousands of voices swelling together.
"Down with the Third Hokage!"
"Execute Shimura Danzō!"
"Justice for the Senju!"
Hiruzen's face drained of color.
His carefully crafted image—decades of paternal warmth and "Will of Fire"—was collapsing in real time.
Beside him, Danzō's expression twisted darker still.
Why is it always me? he thought bitterly.
Why was he the one being screamed at for execution?
Hiruzen sensed the fracture forming between them.
He placed a hand on Danzō's shoulder.
A gesture of solidarity.
They could not afford division now.
Danzō steadied himself.
Then his eyes hardened.
"Hiruzen," he said in a low voice, "there is only one path left."
Hiruzen knew before he asked.
"…Which is?"
"Kill Ryuji," Danzō replied without hesitation.
"Seize the narrative back."
"If he dies here, we declare him the traitor. We claim he fabricated everything."
Hiruzen's breath hitched.
The roar of the crowd pressed against his ears.
And when his eyes lifted to Ryuji—standing calmly in the Hokage robe he once wore—
Something inside him snapped.
"Very well," Hiruzen said.
"Do it."
He raised his hand.
"Sarutobi clan—prepare for combat!"
Danzō barked immediately:
"Shimura clan—follow me!"
The shift was sudden.
The accused now tried to posture as defenders of tradition.
"The Fourth Hokage has betrayed the village!" Danzō shouted.
"Arrest him!"
The two clans surged forward, forming ranks as if righteousness could be summoned by volume.
For a moment, it almost looked convincing.
But Ryuji didn't move.
He simply lowered his hand.
ANBU moved first.
Masks blurred.
Steel flashed.
Water surged into the shape of a roaring dragon as a Water Release specialist unleashed a crushing attack. Lightning crackled from the opposite flank, slicing through defensive lines.
The Sarutobi and Shimura shinobi faltered immediately.
They were numerous.
But ANBU were elite.
Within seconds, formation discipline collapsed.
Screams pierced the air.
"Retreat!"
"Fall back!"
Some turned to flee.
Ryuji's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Run," he called coldly. "It only makes you die faster."
The rout became inevitable.
Bodies fell.
Weapons scattered.
Panic overtook pride.
Hiruzen and Danzō watched their clans crumble in real time.
Minato and Sakumo stepped closer—subtle but unmistakable.
Guarding.
Waiting.
There would be no interference.
Ryuji's gaze settled on Danzō.
Calm.
Almost curious.
"Well?" Ryuji asked lightly.
"What will you try next, Danzō?"
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