Chapter 351: The Betrayal from Shimura Danzō!

It was a moonless, windy night.

In a forest outside the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha, dozens of figures concealed beneath cloaks stood silently in the shadows, waiting.

Tomorrow was the day of Shimura Danzō's public execution. Tonight was their final chance to rescue him!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, several deafening explosions erupted in the distance. Towering flames illuminated the night sky above Konoha!

A moment later, the Uchiha Clan Compound, which had fallen into silence, suddenly erupted into commotion. One Uchiha shinobi after another shot out of the compound as afterimages, rushing toward the site of the explosions.

Although the Konoha Military Police Force had already undergone restructuring, most of the members of the new force were still Uchiha. Therefore, whenever trouble broke out in the village, the Uchiha were inevitably required to dispatch shinobi to the scene.

And with some Uchiha having joined the ANBU while others had departed for Sunagakure, the defenses of the Uchiha Clan Compound were now weaker than they had ever been!

"Move!"

After waiting a while and estimating that the Uchiha shinobi had gone far enough, one of the figures in the forest immediately gave the order and charged toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.

The dozens of figures in the forest moved as well.

Once they emerged from the shadows, their identities became clear. Every one of them was wearing the distinctive patterned mask of Root!

These "Root shinobi" had a very precise objective, and they seemed to be extremely familiar with the layout of the Uchiha Clan Compound. Without wasting any time, they arrived in front of the old Konoha Military Police headquarters.

"Who goes there?!"

Although the Uchiha Clan Compound was poorly defended at the moment, after the old Konoha Military Police headquarters had ceased to serve its original purpose, the Uchiha Clan had converted it into an administrative building for handling internal clan affairs. It was still guarded by shinobi at all times.

Thus, the moment the Root shinobi approached, they were discovered!

"Squads One, Three, and Four, hold them off. Squads Two, Five, and Six, secure the surrounding area and be ready to provide support. Everyone else, follow me underground!"

Seeing that only a dozen or so Uchiha shinobi were guarding the old Military Police headquarters, the Root leader waved his hand and ordered several squads to hold them back.

After leaving additional men behind to provide support, he led the remaining shinobi toward the underground prison beneath the old Konoha Military Police headquarters.

Perhaps because most of the Uchiha clan's elite had been deployed elsewhere, the Root shinobi encountered almost no serious resistance along the way. Before long, they had fought their way to the deepest part of the underground prison.

"Found him!"

The Root leader swept his gaze across the prison and quickly spotted Shimura Danzō, who was bound tightly inside his cell.

"Lord Danzō, we've come to rescue you!"

The Root leader shouted and immediately rushed into the cell to release Shimura Danzō from his restraints.

"Who are you?"

Rather than cooperating as expected, the rescued Shimura Danzō simply stood there after being freed, frowning as he questioned the Root leader.

Danzō was certain that these people were absolutely not his Root shinobi!

Although they were all dressed like Root operatives, their presence was far too powerful. They were all either chūnin or jōnin. Given how severely depleted Root had become, Danzō knew there was no way it could still muster a force of such strength!

"Lord Danzō, this isn't the place to talk. How about we get outside first, and then I'll explain?"

The Root leader paid no attention to Danzō's doubts. Instead, he secretly gave Danzō a hand signal while urging him to leave.

A strange glint flashed through Danzō's eyes, but he said nothing more and followed the group out of the prison.

They encountered no further resistance on the way. Everything went smoothly, and soon they reached the lobby on the first floor of the old Konoha Military Police headquarters.

But the Root leader suddenly felt a jolt of unease and stopped in his tracks.

Something was wrong!

"What is it?"

Protected in the center of the group, Shimura Danzō acted as though he had noticed nothing and asked the question.

"Something feels wrong. Everything has gone far too smoothly, and it's far too quiet!" the Root leader explained. "When we came in, we left six squads behind to deal with the guards and provide support. But it's simply too quiet now!"

"Even if all the guards had already been dealt with, someone should still be guarding the entrances and exits!"

"But there isn't a single person here!"

Danzō remained perfectly calm and said, "There's no point in overthinking it here. Why don't we go outside and see what's happening for ourselves?"

"Everyone, stay alert! Let's go!"

The Root leader knew that the longer they delayed, the worse their situation would become. He quickly made up his mind and took the lead toward the exit.

However, the moment the group reached the doorway, every one of them instinctively stopped.

Beads of sweat as large as beans appeared on their foreheads!

"Yo… Yondaime!"

The Root leader's throat went dry. His voice trembled as he stared at the figure standing not far outside the old Konoha Military Police headquarters.

The intimidation of the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, needed no explanation. Moreover, standing behind Minato was a group of ANBU shinobi with unmistakable features—some with scarlet eyes, some with pure white eyes, some accompanied by dogs, and others sporting distinctive pineapple-shaped hair.

To be honest, as a special force that operated from the shadows, ANBU shinobi were supposed to conceal their identities. Yet this particular group had features distinctive enough to identify them at a glance. Namikaze Minato was probably the first to make such a display of them!

"Senior Danzō, are these all Root shinobi under your command?"

A faint smile rested on Namikaze Minato's lips as his gaze completely bypassed the Root leader and fell directly upon Shimura Danzō, who was surrounded by the others.

Ever since the last time they had encountered Danzō in the prison, the Uchiha and Namikaze Minato had remained on guard against him. The surveillance around Danzō had never been relaxed during these past few days.

So when the disturbance broke out in the village tonight, Minato immediately thought of Danzō. The ANBU shinobi assigned to keep watch over Danzō also came to report that the Uchiha Clan Compound was under attack.

Minato simply went with the situation and laid this trap, intending to capture all of Root's remaining forces in one stroke!

"No."

Danzō shook his head and said, "Root in its current state doesn't have the ability to assemble a force of elite shinobi like this. These people were sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado!"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was stunned!

The "Root shinobi" who had come to rescue Danzō all stared at him in disbelief. None of them had expected Danzō to sell them out just like that!

After recovering from his initial surprise, a sharp glint flashed through Minato's eyes.

Danzō had just handed him the perfect weapon to use against his political opponents!