THE EVIL OF UCHIHA BYAKUYA

Sarutobi Hiruzen was confident in his plan. So much so that when an urgent message arrived, he barely glanced at it. In his mind, the outcome was predetermined — Uchiha Byakuya was either dead or gravely injured, surrounded by Sand Ninja. There was no urgency to confirm a result he was sure of.

With a calm demeanor, Hiruzen handed the scroll to Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. "You two read it first. You'll want to celebrate this," he said, taking a relaxed puff from his pipe, certain of their success.

However, as soon as the two elders unsealed the scroll and read its contents, their faces twisted in horror.

"What!? This can't be real!"

"Impossible!"

Startled, they rose to their feet in panic.

"What's gotten into you?" Hiruzen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even if it's good news, there's no need to overreact."

"Sarutobi, just read the scroll… This isn't victory — it's disaster!" Koharu shouted.

"We're finished if this is true!" Homura added, pale and trembling.

Frowning, Hiruzen took the scroll, still expecting a report of Byakuya's downfall. But as his eyes moved down the lines of Nara Shikaku's encoded script, his pipe cracked in his tightening grip.

"What… What is this…?"

The report was astonishing.

Not only had Byakuya survived the Sand's ambush — he had annihilated it.

What's more, after repelling the attack, he led the Uchiha clan into Wind Country and launched a counteroffensive straight at Sunagakure itself. According to Shikaku's report, Byakuya deployed a complete Susanoo, obliterated key defenses, and by now, the entire village had fallen under his control.

"This can't be right... The entire Sand Village… conquered by one clan?" Hiruzen murmured in disbelief. "Has the Uchiha grown that powerful…?"

Koharu and Homura were frantic.

"What do we do now!? If Byakuya returns to the village with this momentum—!"

"He'll be hailed as a hero! And we'll be the ones held responsible for treating him like a criminal!"

They were right to panic. With the Uchiha clan's prestige at its peak, and Byakuya having just taken down one of the Five Great Nations' villages, his return would turn public opinion sharply in his favor.

Hiruzen took a breath, trying to regain control of the situation.

"Calm down. We still have options. We cannot let him return to Konoha. If he does, he'll control not just the Uchiha — but the entire village's fate."

"Yes! We need to stop him before he crosses the border!"

"Bring Danzo," Hiruzen ordered grimly. "We'll need the full strength of Root."

A short while later, Danzo entered the war council. His one visible eye narrowed as he read the room.

"What's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Read this." Hiruzen handed over the scroll.

Danzo read it silently. Then, his fingers tightened around the edges.

"Is this information confirmed?"

"It came from Nara Shikaku," Hiruzen replied. "It can't be false."

Danzo's face darkened. "So... Byakuya not only survived, he's now in control of Sunagakure... And the entire Uchiha clan is unified behind him?"

"Yes."

Danzo looked up. "Then we have only one option. He cannot be allowed to return to the Land of Fire alive."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew solemn.

He instinctively reached for his pipe to take a calming puff—only to realize that, in his earlier agitation, it had snapped in half.

"Damn Uchiha Byakuya... damn Uchiha…" he muttered, his voice low with frustration.

"How can their power have grown this strong…"

Danzo stood nearby, his own face contorted in anger.

"Hiruzen, now is not the time for outrage."

"We must act before it's too late. What's the status of the Wood Release project?"

"The experiments have produced a viable result," Danzo replied with a grim nod.

"There's one subject who has successfully adapted to the cells of the First Hokage. He's not at Hashirama's level, but he's stable enough to enter battle."

Backed by Hiruzen's authorization, Danzo had been conducting unethical experiments using the First Hokage's cells, hoping to recreate the legendary Wood Release.

Dozens had perished—most unable to withstand the cellular rejection. But now, at last, a survivor had emerged.

Danzo had originally intended to keep this success a secret, using the test subject as a personal weapon for Root.

But the fall of Sunagakure to Byakuya and the Uchiha clan had changed everything.

He knew now was not the time to hoard power.

"Excellent," Hiruzen said, a flicker of relief breaking through his grim facade.

"With Wood Release, we finally have a chance. Just as Hashirama once stopped Madara, so too can we stop Byakuya."

Although Byakuya's mastery of the Sharingan—and now, Susanoo—made him resemble Madara himself, Hiruzen believed that history could be rewritten.

Danzo stepped forward. "What are your orders?"

"All Root forces must be deployed," Hiruzen commanded.

"Intercept Byakuya before he returns to Konoha. He must not set foot in the village."

He turned to the other clan heads in the room.

"The Sarutobi clan will assist Root."

"Our Mito clan will join as well," said one elder.

"And the Tenshin clan," added another.

All of them understood: if they allowed Byakuya to return, the current power structure of Konoha would be shattered.

This wasn't just about politics anymore. It was survival.

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