Inside Treatment Room One, the Shadow Clone disguised as a Root operative continued walking toward Danzo.
It didn’t move particularly quickly.
Just fast enough to avoid making the old man suspicious.
And to prevent Danzo from identifying the disguise through his voice, the clone remained completely silent.
Danzo might be arrogant— but he wasn’t stupid enough to forget what his own subordinates sounded like.
“What else is it?”
When the Root operative failed to leave, Danzo’s visible eye settled on him again.
Something about the man felt slightly off.
Still, Danzo merely became more alert.
It never occurred to him that one of his own Root operatives might actually be preparing to attack him.
These were elites he had personally cultivated.
More importantly, every Root member was bound by sealing techniques designed to prevent betrayal.
For one of them to turn against him was practically impossible.
And judging by the man’s behavior, he clearly wanted to approach and report something sensitive.
His silence simply suggested the information wasn’t suitable to be spoken from across the room.
When the Shadow Clone reached a point roughly three meters away, it dropped to one knee.
Danzo’s remaining suspicion disappeared.
Now he was simply waiting for the report.
The Shadow Clone looked up.
The corner of its mouth rose.
Then— it vanished.
Body Flicker.
Koji’s Body Flicker carried the Silence trait.
Danzo’s eye had still been fixed on the kneeling figure, so when the clone suddenly disappeared without producing even the slightest sound, the old man froze for a fraction of a second.
Not even a full second.
But that was enough.
The Shadow Clone appeared directly behind him.
And immediately burned through nearly all of the ninety percent of Koji’s chakra it had been given.
One sealing formula after another slammed onto Danzo’s body.
Black markings spread rapidly across his back.
Danzo reacted the instant he understood what was happening.
The man in front of him wasn’t one of his Root operatives.
And whoever he was— he had come specifically for Danzo.
Danzo valued his life far too much to simply sit there and die.
He still intended to become Hokage.
There was no way he was going to meet such a humiliating end inside a hospital treatment room.
His right arm was still fully sealed.
That meant the Sharingan embedded within it couldn’t be used immediately.
Which left only one possible way to reverse the situation.
The right eye hidden beneath his bandages.
The eye he had just used to cast Kotoamatsukami.
It was unfortunate…
but there was no time to care about that now.
Danzo immediately tried to mobilize his chakra.
If he could activate Izanagi, he could rewrite the reality of this attack.
The entire decision took only an instant.
But just as Danzo convinced himself that he could still turn everything around— the Shadow Clone’s right hand plunged straight into his bandaged eye.
Danzo’s body went rigid.
Then he felt it.
The eye that had constantly consumed his chakra— was gone.
Agonizing pain exploded through his skull.
But the seals wrapped around his body prevented him from even screaming.
Not that screaming had ever been Danzo’s style.
An eye rested in its palm.
A Mangekyō Sharingan.
Shisui Uchiha’s right eye.
The clone deliberately altered its voice before speaking.
The result was low and hoarse.
“A Sharingan from the Uchiha clan.”
It examined the eye with apparent surprise.
“What an unexpected bonus.”
Danzo’s remaining left eye widened.
The intruder continued.
“If the eye you keep hidden beneath those bandages is an Uchiha Sharingan…”
Its gaze shifted toward Danzo’s sealed arm.
“Then I’m guessing that right arm of yours is hiding something valuable too.”
Blue lightning gathered.
A blade of condensed Lightning-nature chakra formed.
Danzo had only enough time to understand what was coming.
The lightning blade fell.
His entire right arm was severed.
No— not merely the arm.
The cut tore through the shoulder as well.
Blood immediately flooded the treatment room.
The metallic stench spread through the air.
It would only take a few seconds before someone outside noticed.
Fortunately, the treatment room contained plenty of bottles, containers, and nutrient solutions.
The Shadow Clone grabbed a suitable container, rinsed it quickly with nutrient solution, and placed Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan inside.
Then it produced a scroll.
Danzo’s severed right arm was sealed away.
So was the container holding the eye.
Danzo watched the entire process helplessly.
At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear this supposed Kumogakure infiltrator into pieces.
Danzo wasn’t an idiot.
He knew about the murdered ANBU operative.
He knew about the Sealing Corps break-in.
And because he knew those things— the humiliation was almost unbearable.
A Kumogakure infiltrator had apparently been hiding inside Konoha for nearly a year.
And Hiruzen’s ANBU still hadn’t found him.
What exactly are those useless bastards doing?!
The Shadow Clone finished sealing away its prizes.
Then another lightning blade formed in its hand.
A smile appeared on its face.
Danzo suddenly felt a chill.
There was no way this attacker had known in advance exactly what was hidden under his bandages.
Which meant— the man’s original target hadn’t been the Sharingan.
Or the arm.
The infiltrator had come here specifically for Danzo himself.
Danzo finally tried to retreat.
Based on the strength this supposed Kumogakure infiltrator had demonstrated, even if Danzo somehow broke free of the seals now…
he wasn’t confident he could win.
For the first time, a trace of regret appeared in his heart.
He shouldn’t have used Kotoamatsukami earlier.
If he still had access to it— he wouldn’t be this helpless.
What Danzo didn’t know was that the Shadow Clone barely had any chakra left.
From the very beginning, Koji had never planned to kill him.
A Danzo missing his right arm and Shisui’s eye was far more valuable alive.
He was an exceptional research subject.
And more importantly—
Konoha Hospital’s strongest medical ninja was currently Koji.
If Danzo died here…
how was Koji supposed to openly study what remained of him?
The lightning blade moved toward Danzo.
Before it could reach him— several kunai tore through the air.
The Shadow Clone immediately dodged.
But the purpose of the attack had never been to hit it.
The kunai forced Koji’s clone away from Danzo.
Root reinforcements had arrived.
“There’s an assassin!”
A shout echoed through Konoha Hospital.
One of Danzo’s subordinates had smelled the blood and rushed over to investigate.
The moment he saw his master mutilated inside the treatment room, he immediately alerted the others.
The Shadow Clone looked toward the Root operative.
“What a loyal little dog.”
Then its eyes returned to Danzo.
Specifically— his throat.
Danzo noticed.
And for the first time since the ambush began, genuine panic appeared in his eye.
If that lightning blade struck his neck now…
without the Sharingan— he would absolutely die.
The blade fell again.
Blood sprayed.
But it wasn’t Danzo’s.
The Root operative who had thrown the kunai had placed himself between them.
“Damn it.”
Footsteps were already approaching from every direction.
The Shadow Clone cursed and tried to advance again.
The injured Root operative simply used his own body to block the path.
There wasn’t enough time left.
The clone glared at Danzo.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
Its voice remained deliberately distorted.
“The next time we meet, I’ll take your miserable life.”
Then it vanished with Body Flicker.
The Shadow Clone appeared in the corridor.
Root operatives were approaching from both directions.
Without hesitation, it smashed through a nearby window and leapt outside.
Another silent Body Flicker— and it disappeared.
“After him!”
Several Root ninja immediately gave chase.
Their failure to protect Danzo was already disgraceful.
If they allowed the attacker to escape as well…
they might as well kill themselves in apology.
Elsewhere in Konoha Hospital—
Koji had just left the scheduling room and entered the restroom.
He calmly took out a scroll.
Then— he activated the Summoning Jutsu.