"Quick, bring Itachi here immediately!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up—this was the best news he had heard all day.
The other clan heads turned with surprised looks.
The ANBU looked troubled. Recalling Itachi's condition, he had wanted to explain, but seeing the urgency on the faces of the Hokage and the elders present, he could only nod heavily.
Reports from the Valley of Judgment had already been delivered by the remaining forces stationed at the northwestern border.
Over ten thousand disposable troops—completely annihilated.
Hiashi Hyuga and Itachi—missing.
That piece of intel, which had come just before Iwagakure declared war on Konoha, had detonated like a bomb in the minds of Hiruzen and Konoha's upper echelon.
Ten Uchiha—not including Uchiha Mikoto—were expected to stand against over ten thousand ninja?
Once Iwa declared war, Konoha's leadership was forced to shift its attention to the front lines.
And then came one disaster after another.
Konoha was completely caught off guard.
But now, with Itachi having made it back safely, it was very likely that the one he was protecting—Hiashi Hyuga—had also survived. For Hiruzen, and for Konoha, this was undeniably good news.
Hiruzen cast a glance toward the Hyuga clan's seating area, his aged gaze sweeping over the three Hyuga elders.
Ever since Hiashi had led the charge against the Uchiha, these three elders had represented the clan in village affairs.
At the center sat the Hyuga Elder Akagi—an elderly man a full ten years older than Hiruzen, with a full head of white hair.
The three Hyuga elders now stared silently and expectantly at the council room's doors.
A long moment passed.
Then—an announcement from outside:
"Lord Hokage, Itachi has arrived."
"Let him in—immediately!" Hiruzen commanded in a low, tense voice.
The doors to the council chamber opened.
Two ANBU entered, carrying a stretcher. Behind them followed a battered jōnin from the Sarutobi clan. Hiruzen and the other clan leaders' pupils shrank in shock.
Lying motionless on the stretcher was a black-haired ninja. His face was deathly pale, barely clinging to life.
His eyes and body were wrapped in layers of bandages, his features hard to distinguish.
The only identifying mark was the tattered remains of an Uchiha clan uniform—stained with dried blood and filth.
"Is this... Uchiha Itachi?" Hiruzen asked in alarm, his voice sharp.
The leading ANBU answered gravely:
"Without a doubt, Lord Hokage. This is also the commanding officer who returned from the northwest border forces—he urgently wishes to speak with you and the others."
Saying this, the ANBU motioned toward the battered Sarutobi jōnin behind him.
"Lord Third..." the Sarutobi jōnin looked grief-stricken and was about to speak when Hiruzen raised a hand to stop him.
He quickly strode to the stretcher, undoing the bandages on Itachi's face until his identity could be confirmed. Hiruzen froze, stunned.
On the stretcher, hearing the familiar voice, Itachi weakly opened his mouth and whispered: "Lord… Third…"
Without hesitation, Hiruzen reached out and gripped Itachi's right hand, patting it firmly as he said in a deep voice:
Itachi gave a faint nod.
Hiruzen turned sharply. "Summon a medical ninja squad immediately—start treatment on Itachi now!"
The two ANBU gently placed the stretcher down on the floor of the conference room, then quickly left to summon the medical ninja team waiting outside.
Silence hung in the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly released Itachi's hand, then, along with the other clan heads, turned their eyes toward the jōnin from the Sarutobi clan.
"Explain why the northwest border fell so quickly," Hiruzen said coldly, his voice carrying a dangerous edge.
The Sarutobi commander looked grief-stricken.
"There was a hidden trap laid in what should've been our most defensible location. Someone concealed the corpse of Aburame Torune inside it.
By the time we discovered the body, it was too late—the poisonous insects had already spread. We lost more than half the unit."
Hiruzen pressed a hand to his temple, a faint headache setting in. He sighed heavily and stepped back to sink into his seat.
In the Aburame clan's section, the sunglasses-wearing Aburame Shibi lowered his head in deep thought.
If Torune's corpse was exposed on the battlefield with its protective suit removed, the insects inside could reproduce uncontrollably. That would create a poison cloud on par with their forbidden technique, the Jar of Toxins.
Such a method could indeed annihilate an unprepared ninja army.
Hiruzen muttered, his voice distant.
Shock flashed across the faces of the clan heads.
After Danzo's death, the remaining loyalists of Root had left the village. Hiruzen had known about this but hadn't stopped them—his hope was that they'd increase the chances of wiping out the Uchiha.
What he didn't expect… was that this would plant the seed of disaster that led to the loss of the entire northwestern border.
"Tell us… about Itachi."
Hiruzen rubbed his forehead with one hand, his thumb pressing against his temple.
"We found Itachi while retreating. He was half-buried in a mud pit… both eyes gone, his body covered in non-lethal injuries. It looked like someone had just tossed him aside."
The commander's tone was bitter.
"His eyes are gone?!"
Hiruzen's face twitched, his entire body tensing like he'd been struck by lightning—but strangely, in a way, he felt some relief.
The other clan leaders' scalps went numb as they all stood up and looked toward the still-healing Uchiha Itachi.
Previously, Hiruzen had strongly recommended Itachi as the new leader of Root. None of the clan heads objected—because of his eyes.
But now… Itachi had lost them.
An Uchiha without the Sharingan was like a beast without claws.
Hyuga Akamatsu, the Hyuga clan's eldest elder, could no longer stay silent. He abruptly rose to his feet.
With a sharp flick of his brown robes, his Byakugan locked onto the Sarutobi jōnin.
His voice was like a temple bell, ringing throughout the conference room and bringing everyone's spiraling thoughts back to earth.
"…I'm sorry. We only found Itachi at the scene. Not a single Hyuga was discovered," the commander replied grimly.
A chilling silence fell over the room.
If the one protecting Hiashi had been left in this state—his eyes stolen, body broken—what were the chances that Hiashi and the other Hyuga had survived?
Even though everyone here had mentally prepared for the worst when they received news of the border's collapse… they had still been holding on for confirmation.
"…Clan Head Hyuga… is dead…"
Itachi's weak voice suddenly pierced the stillness.
It was like a hammer blow to the heart. The clan heads all turned toward him with grim, complicated expressions.
Even the ANBU standing beside Itachi and the medical nin around him could feel the suffocating pressure radiating from the room's high-ranking elders. Their breathing grew tight under the weight of it.
Elder Akamatsu of the Hyuga let out a long sigh, though there was no fiery outburst from him.
At this point, the death of Hiashi came as no surprise.
Hiruzen sat motionless in his chair like a statue, his expression unreadable.
"Lord Hokage… summon Jiraiya back. Otherwise, no one will be able to stop Onoki," Shikaku Nara finally spoke up after a long silence.
"…Jiraiya is dead too," Itachi said again.
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