In Naruto With Pocket Hunting

[P.O.V – Third Person]

While Danzo did not seem willing to surrender without a fight, Sakumo, who had been silent, saw a familiar face among the dead, naked children amidst the debris and water.

Exactly 1 year and two months ago, Sakumo vividly remembers when the Hanazono couple died on a mission during an ambush by the Sand ninjas.

This couple were close friends of his, attending the Ninja Academy together. And he almost became the godfather of their son, Sora Hanazono.

Initially, out of respect and affection he felt for the couple, after hearing the news of their death, Sakumo thought of adopting Sora. But when he arrived at the orphanage, Sora had disappeared.

It was said that he ran away during the night.

But thinking about it, why would a mere 5-year-old child run away?

At the time, he thought Sora had tried to return to his home, unable to believe his parents had died – longing for them. However, seeing him there, lying as if he were just another corpse, part of a macabre scene, Sakumo became furious.

"Boom!"

Sakumo's chakra began vibrating violently.

The ground trembled under the intense pressure of his chakra as he grabbed his tantō (a short sword), causing a white aura to appear, gentle but threatening.

"Danzo...!"

Hiruzen looked at him, surprised.

Why would someone as kind as Sakumo suddenly speak with such rage and fury?

Even Danzo was startled when he looked in Sakumo's direction.

Sakumo's strength was well-known. He was at a level widely believed to be classified as Kage-level.

"Sakumo, calm down!"

Hiruzen's voice did not reach him.

Sakumo moved. At first, he started running while holding his tantō surrounded by white chakra backward. At this point, his figure had already turned into a white blur.

Danzo, who had become his prey, still managed to act with some composure and caution, grabbing a kunai and, from his mouth, also using Kenjutsu, creating a white and green chakra aura, extending to the length of a medium sword, constantly serpentine.

It was clear that, although skilled in Kenjutsu, compared to Sakumo, who managed to envelop his tantō without causing ripples, Danzo was less proficient in this regard.

Even in this situation, Danzo said as he jumped backward, landing atop one of the cryogenic capsules where a child of no more than 10 years old still seemed alive: "Sakumo, you are too kind and foolish."

The reason he said this was that, the instant he landed on the cryogenic capsule, Sakumo stopped just a few meters away, watching him while trying to contain his rage.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Suddenly, several ninja stars and a kunai among them were launched toward Danzo.

Danzo maintained his confident posture. He grabbed one of the ninja stars mid-air and hurled it against the kunai, deflecting it to the right. Then he quickly jumped, letting the ninja stars pass below him. The kunai, struck by the star, changed direction and lodged into the wall, sticking firmly.

As he landed again atop the cryogenic capsule, the structure vibrated slightly. Danzo displayed confidence, while Sakumo's expression grew increasingly serious. Nawaki, however, was smiling.

Even without giving direct attention to Nawaki, Danzo never completely lost sight of him, observing him from the corner of his eye. When he realized that Nawaki had disappeared, he assumed he had teleported to the kunai lodged in the wall. However, when he looked there, he was shocked not to see him.

"I'm here, baka~."

"Bang!"

A palm surrounded by chakra struck directly at Danzo's spine, causing him to double over in pain as his body was hurled forward, in Sakumo's direction.

"Urghhh!"

"Whoosh!"

Spinning uncontrollably in the air, Danzo attempted to stabilize himself using his wind manipulation technique, but there was no time. Before he could react, Sakumo was already in front of him.

"Yes, you're right," Sakumo admitted coldly. "But you're far too confident for someone so weak."

Sakumo rarely belittled anyone, but when he did, his words struck directly at the adversary's pride.

Danzo's expression shifted from pain to extreme rage.

'Weak? Did you just say that I, Danzo Shimura, am weak?!'

Danzo's mind spiraled into frenzy, losing all his usual composure.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

However, he grew confused upon losing sight of Sakumo and even more bewildered when he felt the absence of his right arm.

"Bang!"

Falling into the rubble, his body dragged through the debris, only stopping when his head collided with a thick pillar. Danzo felt dizzy and disoriented.

The confusion faded as a searing pain hit him.

When he looked at his arm—or rather, the stump where his arm had been, now missing a large portion and gushing blood like an open faucet—he panicked.

His eye darted wildly as his open mouth gasped, releasing muffled sounds of pain. Desperately, he searched for something with his gaze until he stopped in Hiruzen's direction. Extending his only remaining hand, Danzo pleaded:

"Hiruzen, please, help me!"

Though he tried to appear strong, deep down he was just a fearful man, terrified at the thought of dying—especially without achieving his goal of one day becoming Hokage.

As he begged for help, hatred and envy hid in his one visible eye.

'Why is it me going through this?' he wondered. 'All because, on that day, I hesitated a little longer to answer? Why does everything good happen to Hiruzen and not to me?'

Yet he knew. Just like him, Hiruzen had also been afraid at that moment. The difference was that Hiruzen believed in Tobirama, trusting that their sensei would never truly sacrifice one of them, that it was all a test. This realization left Danzo even more bitter.

"Danzo, the best thing I can do for you now is to kill you," Hiruzen said slowly with a sigh.

Danzo understood almost immediately after years of knowing Hiruzen. Hiruzen intended to kill him here and somehow clear his name.

Whether it was to grant him an honorable death or not, Hiruzen summoned Enma, and as he transformed into a staff, Hiruzen aimed at Danzo's head—more specifically, Danzo's covered eye.

"No!!!"

Danzo let out a loud scream before being struck.

If it had been anywhere else, he could have used Izanagi, but did it have to be here of all places? Did Hiruzen already know that too?