Unsurprisingly, the kunai crackling with electricity in Renchi Furuyama's hand pierced straight through Moth's heart.
"It's over…"
The moment those three words—it's over—surfaced in Renchi's mind, he immediately realized something was off.
The Moth in front of him… was an Insect Clone.
And the insects that made up the clone were now swarming toward him.
At this moment, Renchi Furuyama had become the "flame" in the age-old phrase moths drawn to the flame.
Tiny moths launched themselves at him one after another, only to be zapped mid-air by the electric sparks dancing across his body.
Turns out, sensing danger, Moth had used a swarm of smaller insects to obscure Renchi's vision. While hidden, he left behind the Insect Clone and fled rapidly in the opposite direction.
But Moth hadn't gotten far. In mere moments, Renchi, who had already destroyed the Insect Clone, spotted him.
"Ssshhh…"
With a flash, Renchi bolted in pursuit of the fleeing Moth.
Realizing that his clone had been destroyed, Moth sprinted desperately toward Root's hidden base.
He didn't dare look back. He pushed his body beyond its limits, wishing he had two more legs just to put more distance between himself and death.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his neck.
A streak of azure lightning zipped past him—and vanished from sight.
Though his body kept running forward, that was only inertia. Moth's consciousness had already departed, vanishing into the silence of the Pure Land.
Thud.
His corpse collapsed violently to the ground.
The wound on his neck—cleanly severed carotid artery—was identical to the one on Octospike.
Just seconds later, on the very same rooftop where Octospike had fallen, HiyūUchiha arrived.
At the sight of the corpse, a flicker of alarm danced in his eyes. He quickly scanned the area, tensing as he stood beside the body.
Hiyū recognized the corpse as a member of Konoha's ANBU, but he didn't know Octospike belonged to Danzo Shimura's Root division.
"Shssh, shssh, shssh…"
Soon, other shinobi appeared around Hiyū, many from the Uchiha Clan.
He gave a crisp command:
"Fan out and sweep the area. The enemy is proficient in Lightning Release."
"Also, notify Lord Third immediately."
At the same time, Hiyū discreetly used hand signals to instruct another Uchiha to summon the clan head.
"Understood."
The newly arrived shinobi quickly dispersed to carry out their orders.
Meanwhile, Veigar Koshima, still wide awake, sensed the faint disturbances outside.
Unaware that a murder had just occurred on the rooftop of his own home, he remained alert.
Fortunately, his decision to take shelter at Minato Namikaze's house had paid off.
He not only evaded Danzo's Root operatives—but also escaped Renchi Furuyama's vengeance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been drifting off to sleep next to his wife, was jolted awake by an urgent message from ANBU.
When he heard what had happened, his sleep vanished instantly. He rushed out the door.
Moments before Sarutobi arrived at the scene, Minato Namikaze had already appeared.
Upon realizing the incident had taken place near Veigar's home, Minato's expression darkened—then relaxed.
He recalled that Veigar wasn't home tonight.
Upon examining the scorched terrain left by Lightning Release: False Darkness, Minato narrowed down the assailant's origin.
His first suspect: Renchi Furuyama of the Hidden Cloud.
Sarutobi arrived just in time to receive an intelligence report.
But when he saw the corpses of Dove and Octospike, his face turned grim.
One name surfaced coldly in his heart:
"Root. Danzo."
Soon after, Tomou Uchiha, the Uchiha clan head, arrived. Though a step behind Sarutobi, he had already been informed by his clansmen.
Seeing the gathered shinobi, Tomou approached Sarutobi and said:
"Lord Third. Tonight's incident reflects my failure as head of the Konoha Police Force. We will devote all our resources to apprehending the perpetrator."
Tomou's seasoned diplomacy, honed over years of political dueling with Hiruzen, showed clearly.
By taking responsibility upfront, he left no opening for Sarutobi to criticize the Police Force.
Even more cleverly, Tomou drew a line in the sand—the Police Force would hunt the killer, but their role ended there.
Sarutobi, who had considered many outcomes already, heard the unspoken message.
"Then I leave it to you," he replied calmly.
"Make sure the culprit is found."
His voice was neutral. His expression—like still water—revealed nothing.
"Yes, sir," Tomou answered, equally composed.
Elsewhere, it was impossible to keep such disturbances from reaching Danzo Shimura.
The moment he learned that three of his operatives had been eliminated, his fury exploded.
To Danzo, sacrifices were acceptable—as long as they weren't him, or his Root assets.
Unless… the objective was something worthy—like becoming Hokage.
But this time, he'd merely sent Dove with two others to retrieve Veigar.
Not only did they fail, Dove lost his life.
For Danzo, failure without gain was unacceptable.
And once he learned the enemy had used high-level Lightning Release, his orders were immediate:
"Leave only essential personnel at Root HQ.
Everyone else—track the Cloud shinobi.
Surveil them. Wait for orders."
"No one leaves the village—not a single Cloud shinobi—without my explicit command."
His voice boomed like a dragon's roar.
A chilling edge, like a demon whispering from the abyss, undercut every word.
His nearby Root operatives, normally silent shadows, responded in perfect unison:
"Yes, sir!"
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