Aftermath

Hiruzen stayed in his now quiet office, the familiar taste of his pipe offering no comfort. The bad feeling he couldn't shake gnawed at him, and his intuition rarely failed him. Trusting it, he swiftly donned his grey combat attire and immediately set out after Danzo, following his traces, accompanied by a squadron of ANBU.

As they neared the outskirts of the village, the sounds and shockwaves of battle reached their ears. Explosions and the rumble of combat echoed through the air, and a cloud of dust rose from the distance. Hiruzen knew that such a battle would have alarmed the ninjas and clans in the village.

Pausing momentarily, Hiruzen ordered some of the ANBU to encircle a wide perimeter to keep any intruders away. As he continued towards the source of the commotion, he couldn't help but curse Danzo in his mind. Despite Danzo's cold and calculative personality, he still retained a hotheadedness and a strong desire to prove himself. It was a trait that often led to reckless decisions.

Upon arriving at the scene, Hiruzen's heart sank. He saw the corpses of the Root operatives surrounding the area. In the midst of the carnage stood Mirai, his expression cold and resolute as he raised his sword over Danzo. Hiruzen's voice broke through the chaos, desperate and filled with anguish.

"No!" He shouted, speeding towards them.

But it was too late.

The sword completed its descent, severing Danzo's head. Hiruzen could only watch, shocked and frozen in place, as Danzo's head fell to the ground. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and Hiruzen was transported back to their boyhood friendship, memories flashing before his eyes—training together, laughing, and sharing dreams of the future atop the Hokage rock.

Hiruzen's eyes traced the outline of Danzo's headless body, lingering on the gruesome wounds and the lifeless face sprawled on the ground. An unprecedented rage surged through him, a fury he had felt only once before when Kagami died, his body brought back without eyes.

His body trembled uncontrollably as his chakra exploded outward, creating visible cracks in the ground beneath him. The air around him seemed to pulse with his intense, barely-contained anger. His eyes, usually calm and wise, now burned with a mixture of sorrow and fury.

The ANBU operatives, sensing the escalating tension, swiftly caught up with their leader and immediately surrounded Mirai, their swords drawn and ready. Their masks concealed their expressions, but their stance and the aura of their chakra made their intent clear, any sudden movement from Mirai would be met with lethal force.

Hiruzen, his eyes still blazing with a mix of anger and sorrow, took a moment to steady himself. His voice, when he spoke, was laced with a hard edge that brooked no argument. "Mirai Namikaze, you are under arrest for the murder of an elder, and the unauthorized use of deadly force within the village."

Mirai, surrounded by the elite ANBU squad, remained calm, his own chakra subdued but still potent. He smiled sarcastically upon seeing Hiruzen, a glint of accusation in his eyes, as if suggesting that Hiruzen knew of the trap beforehand.

"You always were good at playing both sides, Lord Hokage." He remarked dryly.

Ignoring the tense reactions from the ANBU, Mirai lowered himself and grabbed Danzo's head from his hair, examining it closely. "Still ugly, even in death." He commented with cold detachment.

The ANBU tensed at his actions but held their positions as Mirai turned his attention to Danzo's right eye, usually hidden under bandages. Involuntarily, his eyebrows rose in surprise as he saw the fading Sharingan, its light now extinguished. The implications of Danzo possessing a Sharingan—and what it meant for his abilities—ran through his mind. He chose not to mention Danzo's resurrection technique, deciding that he would inquire about it later.

Hiruzen's gaze sharpened, noticing Mirai's reaction. "What is it, Mirai?" He demanded, his voice hard.

Hearing Hiruzen's question, Mirai didn't reply but threw Danzo's head at him. Hiruzen hurried to catch it, his face twisted in anger at the blatant disrespect. Only for his eyes to fall on the part which was always bandaged, the part that Danzo had never revealed despite Hiruzen's persistent questions.

The bandages had loosened in the throw, partially revealing the now lifeless Sharingan. Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "A Sharingan… How?" He murmured, the implications of Danzo possessing such a powerful and forbidden dōjutsu slowly dawning on him.

Seeing Hiruzen's shocked expression, Mirai replied calmly. "Despite all the shady dealings and conspiracies you concocted together. Danzo had still kept some things to himself, forgetting all ethics and morals, delusional that everything he had done was for the sake and benefit of the village."

Mirai's words only served to hurt Hiruzen even more deeply. He soon found himself lamenting. Why did his old friend of many years become like this? Why would he go so far for power? Is it because he have not fulfilled his responsibility as his comrade?

His thoughts soon turned self-deprecating. "I hadn't only failed my students but also my friend."

Mirai regarded him calmly, thinking that maybe Hiruzen, in his youth, had that fire in him. But now, with his old age, he had become tired, gullible, rigid and easily influenced, lowering himself for the sake of peace, giving favors to many, and seeking his own agenda and profit.

Seeing Hiruzen's slumped shoulders, Mirai withdrew Mercury silently. It flowed through his sleeves, forming a thin, compacted armor usually hidden under his clothes. He then began to walk slowly out of the clearing among the tense stares of the ANBU. As he passed by Hiruzen, he calmly said, "I have corrected one of the many mistakes you made in your life today. You're welcome."

No one tried to stop him after that. Soon, his figure, illuminated by moonlight, disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving Hiruzen fighting his regrets. The Hokage stood there, surrounded by the remnants of a brutal battle, the weight of his failures pressing down on him.

Hiruzen looked up at the sky, the moon casting a pale light over the forest. "Danzo." He whispered, "What have we become?" His eyes traced the path Mirai had taken, his mind filled with memories of his old friend and the choices that led them to this moment.

…

As Mirai returned home, he followed the familiar path, his mind busy counting his obstacles. With the Uchiha allied with him and Danzo's death, a sense of satisfaction mingled with the weight of what lay ahead.

He knew that Danzo had secretly leaked the knowledge that Naruto was the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and he believed Hiruzen had used Naruto's isolation, loneliness, and the hatred directed at him to manipulate and raise him as he saw fit. Killing Danzo had been easy for Mirai, a straightforward task devoid of complications, save for the chasm it created between him and the Third Hokage.

Danzo had been generally disliked by all of Konoha's clans for his forced recruitment tactics and was relatively anonymous among the ordinary ninjas and villagers, operating in Hiruzen's shadow. However, killing Hiruzen directly was a different matter. It would cause internal strife and lead to questions about his qualifications if he took power by force. The best outcome would be to unite various factions whose interests and well-being were threatened by Hiruzen's rule, and directly usurp him, making him abstain.

Mirai also considered exposing Danzo and Root's deeds and operations. This would directly harm Hiruzen's reputation and diminish his credibility, as Danzo had been his direct subordinate, an elder granted power by him who had misused that power.

As he approached his home, Mirai's thoughts turned to his allies. The Uchiha clan, who had suffered much under Hiruzen's rule, could be powerful allies in the political maneuvering to come. The Hyuga clan, with their own grievances, might also be swayed to his side. Even the Aburame and Akimichi clans had reasons to distrust the current regime.