Dawn broke.
The morning sun cast its light over Konoha, and the resident living closest to Root slowly opened his eyes.
He wasn't awakened by the sunlight—
But by a strange smell.
A smell that seemed to be… blood.
After getting up, he followed the scent, and to his shock, discovered that it was coming from Root.
Not only that—
The once tightly sealed gate had completely collapsed.
"What… what happened here?"
A sense of unease surged through him. At that moment, he suddenly recalled that the previous night, while sleeping, he had felt a faint tremor, almost like an earthquake. He hadn't paid it any mind at the time—
But now, it seemed that had been the sound of this gate collapsing.
—
The news quickly reached the Hokage's office.
Upon hearing the report, the Third Hokage personally led the ANBU along with several Jonin to Root.
But when they arrived—
Everyone was stunned.
The thick smell of blood spread under the morning light, and the entire Root base was drenched in it. Broken corpses lay scattered everywhere, turning the place into something resembling a living hell.
What frightened them even more was that—
From the entrance all the way inside, although blood stained the ground and corpses were everywhere, there were no clear signs of battle.
It was as if these elite Root shinobi had been slaughtered effortlessly.
A shockwave rippled through Konoha.
"My god… what exactly happened here?"
Even the ever-optimistic Might Guy felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the gruesome scene.
"This looks like a one-sided massacre… but how is that possible? This is Root!"
Kakashi's heart trembled. He had been here before, when he rescued Yamato, and he knew just how heavily guarded and difficult this place was to infiltrate.
Yet—
Overnight, Root had been wiped out, and no one had noticed anything.
The scale of this—
Was comparable to the Uchiha clan massacre.
Perhaps even worse.
The Uchiha had been caught off guard when Itachi struck, but Root was different. This place was always on high alert, and Kakashi knew that better than anyone.
And yet now—
Root was gone.
"This… feels like hell."
One of the ANBU couldn't help but speak, unable to suppress his shock.
They continued deeper.
Corpses were everywhere.
The silence inside Root was suffocating.
"Not a single member survived…?"
The Hokage's expression turned extremely serious as he carefully examined everything along the way.
But no matter how much he looked—
He couldn't determine what had caused this.
If it had been an invasion, with Danzo present, there should have been a massive disturbance. And to kill this many people, one or two attackers wouldn't be enough.
This was Root.
If it wasn't an invasion—
Then who had done this?
The Third Hokage's thoughts were in chaos. Strange disasters had been happening frequently lately, and now even Root had suffered total annihilation.
"Lord Hokage, Danzo's body has been found at the lowest level!"
An ANBU operative appeared before him and reported.
"What?! Danzo is dead too?"
The Hokage froze, shock filling his eyes.
He knew Danzo's strength very well—
Yet he had died without a sound?
Anyone capable of killing Danzo would have no difficulty killing him either.
Soon—
The Hokage and the others arrived at the location.
The sight—
Was horrific.
Danzo, once powerful and feared throughout Konoha, was now pinned to the ground. Every bone in his body had been shattered, and only by his clothing could they identify him.
"Lord Hokage… look at his right arm."
An ANBU member, after briefly feeling pity, suddenly noticed something.
"…Sharingan?"
The Third Hokage was stunned.
"So many… he implanted this many Sharingan into his own body? How was he even controlling them?"
He had never imagined that Danzo had secretly done such things.
"No one is to speak of this."
The Hokage's voice turned stern.
"Yes!"
The shinobi responded immediately.
"The matter of Root must not be spread. Investigate this in secret. We must find the culprit."
"Yes!"
"Dismissed. ANBU will remain to handle Root. The rest of you return to your duties."
"Understood!"
—
After leaving Root—
The Third Hokage's face was filled with worry. He had never encountered anything so incomprehensible.
Behind Root's destruction lay a mystery he could not grasp, but one thing was certain—
This must not be made public.
—
Elsewhere.
Kakashi and Might Guy walked together.
"Kakashi, what do you think about this?"
"It's strange."
Kakashi's voice was calm, but serious.
"Logically speaking… it should be man-made."
"Man-made?"
Guy's pupils tightened.
"If that's true… then how strong would that person have to be?"
"In theory, to wipe out Root like this, one would need strength dozens of times greater than the Hokage."
Kakashi paused slightly.
"And that's just theory."
"Does someone like that even exist?"
"Who knows…"
Kakashi sighed softly.
"The Hokage has already issued a gag order. Let's not discuss it further."
Although he spoke calmly, a deep concern lingered in his eyes.
—
Meanwhile.
Inside the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage sat with his hands clasped, supporting his head, lost in thought.
The destruction of Root had shaken him deeply, and Danzo's death weighed heavily on his heart.
At that moment—
A knock sounded at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
The door creaked open.
A figure stepped inside.
Raiden.
"Raiden? What brings you here?"
The Hokage asked instinctively.
"I'm here to apply for the special recruitment ninja position."
"You told me to come today."
Raiden smiled.
Now that he had achieved perfect control over his strength—
He was confident that nothing would go wrong.