The sudden appearance of a kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Technique formula made it obvious who had arrived nearby.
Only this time, the technique failed.
With Oboro at his side, the anti-ninjutsu field wasn’t just for show.
Kei casually kicked the kunai away and sighed inwardly.
People always said that the Yellow Flash of Konoha, famed throughout the shinobi world for his speed, somehow always arrived at the critical moment.
In Kei’s opinion, that saying was completely wrong.
If he had to describe Minato Namikaze, it would be this: The man survives entirely on his good looks and has absolutely no sense of timing.
Whenever he should show up, he was nowhere to be found.
Whenever he shouldn’t appear, he suddenly arrived out of nowhere.
If Minato had shown up just a little earlier—while Kei and Danzō were still locked in their standoff—he could have given both sides an excuse to back down gracefully.
Everyone would have been grateful to him, and countless innocent lives would have been spared.
But instead…
He arrived just a moment too late.
Staring at the irritating kunai, Kei silently cursed, One day, Minato Namikaze…
your whole family is going to meet a miserable end.
Who asked you to stick your nose into this?
Some people simply had every reason to die.
A world as murky as this had no place for people as idealistic as they were.
Especially when they always appeared at the worst possible moment.
Kei ignored the fallen kunai as though nothing had happened.
Bodies already littered the ground.
Now was the time to reap the rewards.
Why should Minato get involved now?
If he let Minato enter the scene at this point, wouldn’t he be the world’s biggest fool?
Ignoring the possibility that Minato might appear at any moment, Kei looked back at Danzō.
“Then, Danzō-sama…” “I’ll give you three sentences.” “Convince me not to kill you.” Seeing the Flying Thunder God Technique formula fail, the hope that had briefly rekindled in Danzō’s heart vanished once more.
If the kunai had reached this place, Minato couldn’t be far away.
Yet Kei hadn’t shown the slightest intention of stopping.
It was obvious now.
Minato’s arrival wouldn’t change anything.
There would be no peaceful resolution.
What Danzō didn’t know, however, was that Kei had never intended to kill him in the first place.
It wasn’t that Danzō couldn’t die.
It was simply that if he died now…
Everything Root possessed would immediately become the Hokage’s property.
Root’s decades of accumulated resources would never fall into Kei’s hands.
Hiruzen, who understood Root better than anyone else, would undoubtedly seize control of the organization immediately.
That would simply amount to strengthening his enemy.
Kei had no interest in doing something that benefited someone else while gaining nothing himself.
Especially not something that actively harmed his own interests.
Keeping Danzō alive, on the other hand, had far greater value.
He could extort him.
Force concessions from him.
Obtain leverage that could be used to bleed him dry in the future.
A living Danzō…
Was the best kind of Danzō.
As long as he remained alive, he’d continue causing endless trouble for Hiruzen.
Who else could play that role?
Homura Mitokado?
Koharu Utatane?
Those two?
Without Danzō taking the lead, the pair were little more than irritating old politicians.
Compared to Danzō, they were practically harmless.
Thinking it over…
What better opponent could Kei hope for?
So Danzō had to live.
Provided, of course…
That he paid enough.
And so…
The extortion began.
Silence.
The deathly silence that only a battlefield full of corpses could produce.
From the moment Kei seized complete control of the conversation…
Danzō’s arrogance finally disappeared.
He had never considered himself particularly intelligent.
The reason he’d survived this long wasn’t brilliance…
It was persistence.
Whenever faced with a difficult decision, he would repeatedly think it through with the limited wisdom he possessed until he found an answer.
Years of smooth success had made him arrogant.
But now…
Standing on the brink of death…
That arrogance finally faded.
And with it, he rediscovered his greatest strength.
He remained silent.
Thinking.
Considering every possible outcome.
If reality wasn’t unfolding according to his own expectations…
Then perhaps it was following Kei’s.
Time continued to pass.
Kei showed no impatience whatsoever.
At last, Danzō understood.
Kei truly didn’t care whether he was stalling.
Which meant Minato Namikaze posed no threat to him at all.
It made sense.
Everyone claimed Minato was the Hokage’s chosen successor.
But that had never been officially announced.
People simply assumed it because Hiruzen had never denied the rumors.
In the end…
It was nothing more than an unspoken understanding.
An unwritten rule.
Nothing official.
Strip away that reputation…
And Minato was still just a Konoha jōnin.
Konoha had hundreds—perhaps thousands—of jōnin.
Minato was simply one of the very best among them.
Nothing more.
Since Kei was confident enough to ignore Minato entirely…
Continuing to stall would only make Danzō appear pathetic.
Finally…
He decided which cards to play.
His turn had come.
First card.
A test.
“Kei…” “Killing someone of my status will bring you consequences beyond your imagination.” Danzō never expected a single sentence to eliminate Kei’s killing intent.
Even in a game of shogi…
No one opened by sacrificing their king.
One probed first.
Kei looked disappointed.
Disappointed that Danzō still failed to appreciate the situation.
He truly feared Danzō wouldn’t even be able to offer one convincing reason to spare his life.
If that happened…
Would Kei have to invent an excuse himself?
That would be humiliating.
Absolutely unacceptable.
Perhaps…
Some people were simply destined to die.
Kei’s expression grew colder.
“That’s one.” His voice sounded like the countdown to an execution.
Danzō immediately panicked.
“I’ll hand over everything!” “All of Root’s ninjutsu.” “Every personnel file.” “Every intelligence archive Root has collected over the years.” Watching Danzō’s frantic expression, Kei was delighted inside.
As expected…
The old man was terrified of death.
A little pressure was all it took for him to start surrendering everything.
Nicely done, Kei praised himself inwardly.
But…
It wasn’t enough.
Truthfully, Danzō had already offered enough to satisfy Kei’s original expectations.
Yet…
If Danzō was willing to surrender so much after only the first warning…
Then these clearly weren’t his final bargaining chips.
There was still room to squeeze more out of him.
Kei maintained his impassive expression.
“That’s two.” Inside, he was already celebrating.
Outside, he remained completely expressionless.
He continued applying pressure.
Then…
To Kei’s surprise…
Danzō moved.
Dragging his battered body forward, he suddenly attacked.
Not Kei.
His own subordinates.
The few surviving Root shinobi were already gravely wounded.
Bound by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, they were utterly incapable of resisting Danzō.
Like lambs awaiting slaughter…
They stood motionless as Danzō personally killed every one of them.
Even Kei was briefly stunned.
He made no move to stop him.
Instead, he watched silently.
After killing his remaining subordinates…
Danzō formed a hand seal.
The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal activated.
Even in death, every Root member present was rendered immune to postmortem information-gathering techniques.
Only then did Danzō smile.
A grim…
Almost relieved smile.
“Then…” “I’ll tell you my greatest secret.” “Kei…” “Back then…” “It wasn’t the Second Hokage who stayed behind to cover our escape.” “It was…” “We abandoned the Second Hokage…” “…and escaped with our own lives.” Kei’s eyes widened.
“…What?!”
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