Double-transformation: I, Sakura Haruno! Will crush the pirates!

Wiping the rain off her face, Sakura sat down at the entrance of the Uchiha clan compound, waiting for her distinguished guest to arrive.

Before long, Shimura Danzo arrived with the Root ninjas.

What came into view was the Uchiha Guard Corps, now a giant crater, and a field of ninjas who had lost all will to fight.

With so many Sharingan eyes right in front of him, Shimura Danzo gritted his teeth and ordered, "All of you, charge! Suppress the Uchiha rebellion!"

"Stop! Can't you see they've lost all will to fight?"

Sakura, leaning against the entrance of the clan's territory, took a few deep breaths and raised her hand, unleashing a flash of sword light.

Clang——!

A blue flying slash swept through the rain, accompanied by a sharp buzzing sound, carving a huge crater in the ground as a dividing line.

The Root ninjas who had originally wanted to move forward also retreated to the back of the line after this attack, watching the frail girl covered in wounds warily.

"Sakura Haruno! Are you going to betray Konoha?!"

Shimura Danzo, leaning on his cane, walked to the front of the pit and confronted Haruno Sakura.

"Oh my god, did I hear that right? You can represent Konoha now? Just because you became Hokage doesn't mean you can represent Konoha?"

Sakura's delicate face was filled with a wicked expression, and her emerald eyes were full of mockery.

This adorable little girl's words struck a nerve with Danzo Shimura, leaving the Hokage's assistant looking embarrassed.

"you...."

Shimura Danzo's face turned sinister as he raised his hand to touch his bound arms.

Suddenly, a violent explosion rang out behind him.

Everyone turned to look, and saw the giant Susanoo kick a large hole in the village's barrier.

Then, dozens of Uchiha figures leaped over the large hole and headed out of the village.

Danzo Shimura broke out in a cold sweat as the image of the man in red armor who threatened the Shimura clan with a blue giant hundreds of meters tall when he was six years old resurfaced in his long-dormant memory.

"Hahahaha, does he want to leave behind some deterrent before he leaves, that Uchiha Itachi guy?"

Sakura Haruno covered her stomach with her hand and burst into laughter.

After a long while, Sakura Haruno, having finished laughing, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and casually glanced at Danzo Shimura.

"Are we still going to take action against the Uchiha clan? Who knows, maybe another ninja village will suddenly have an additional branch of Uchiha bloodline in the future~"

"When you face the Sharingan on the battlefield, you'd better think carefully about what you did today, Hokage 'Assistant'?"

As Sakura mocked him, Danzo Shimura's regret and resentment grew stronger.

He was just one step too slow back then, just one step too slow, and that's how he missed out on becoming Hokage.

If he could become Hokage, how could this girl dare to treat him like this?

Now, because Hiruzen was a step too slow, these unstable factors of the Uchiha clan gave birth to a second Madara Uchiha, causing the opportunity to destroy the Uchiha clan to be lost.

Teacher! You've misjudged me. I'm clearly the one most suitable to become Hokage!

"No, from the moment you were slow, it was destined that you were not suitable to become Hokage!"

Sakura's Observation Haki detected Danzo's regret and she made a sarcastic remark.

"Kagura's Mind's Eye?"

Danzo Shimura's expression changed as he tried to suppress his emotions.

But the more they suppressed it, the more the resentment in their hearts seemed to be nourished, growing and spreading unchecked.

"A person like you, who is so immersed in darkness, never has time to understand the unparalleled power of a soul that yearns for light."

"Light? You mean the Uchiha? That cursed clan, born with a cursed power?"

Danzo Shimura, as if grasping at a straw, launched a frenzied attack on Sakura.

Sakura shook her head as she looked at the man who was feigning composure but was actually hysterical.

"The power of the Uchiha is not a curse. If you nurture it with your heart and soul, you will reap roses; if you nurture it with hatred, you will be rewarded with thorns."

"Shimura Danzo, someone like you wouldn't understand these things."

"So, cling to your roots and your unrealistic fantasies and drown in the darkness."

Sakura regained some strength, stood up listlessly, and prepared to leave.

"You deserve to die for insulting Root and Lord Danzo!"

The ninja from the Root clan, whose master had been humiliated and whose lord had died, drew his kunai and charged straight at Sakura Haruno.

Facing the Root ninja rushing towards her at high speed, Sakura Haruno calmly turned around and looked at him.

Whoosh! Clang—!

Dozens of black iron pots were thrown out, knocking the Root ninjas to the ground. Uncle Uchiha Tessho led a group of civilians to the scene!

The Uchiha clan's civilians, women, and children stood up, fully alert and on guard against the executioners who wanted to destroy their homeland.

Sakura Haruno stood in the crowd, raised her palm, and drew a small circle on it towards Danzo Shimura.

That expression seemed to say...

See? This is the power you'll never get.

Chapter 28 Punishment and Reward

Danzo Shimura led his Root ninjas away in a sorry state.

It wasn't because he was kind-hearted, but because Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the scene with his ANBU.

The Uchiha Jonin who did not defect were detained by the Anbu and taken to the Anbu prison, while Sakura was summoned to the Hokage Building conference room.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, both in a bad mood, pushed open the meeting room door, and a delicious aroma of food wafted into their nostrils.

Following the direction of the aroma, they saw a girl sitting at the conference table, enjoying her meal.

In front of her was a pile of various kinds of meat patties and fruits, which were being devoured at an extremely high rate.

"This is quite a disturbance, Hiruzen. What exactly is going on?"

Koharu, pretending not to see Sakura Haruno, went straight to the conference table and sat down.

"There was a minor disturbance, and some Uchiha members defected."

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Sakura Haruno wolf down her food with a kind expression, but he was secretly distressed about his wallet.

—He doesn't look very robust, how can he eat so much?

"What's going on? Where are the Anbu? Where are the Root? What are they doing?"

Upon hearing that someone from the Uchiha clan had defected, Mitokado Homura's spirits lifted, and he sat up straight.

"Hmph, ask that genius sitting there for details, ask her what good deed she's done!"

The meeting room door opened, and Shimura Danzo, who had rushed in, leaned on his cane and made a resentful accusation to Haruno Sakura.

It was rare to hear such words from this heartless old friend, and Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were stunned.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had witnessed the entire situation from beginning to end, burst into laughter, his face full of smugness.

Sakura Haruno's actions were authorized by him from the beginning, because of the analysis report she submitted.

Losing such a powerful force as the Uchiha clan would be a tremendous waste for Konoha, whose talent pool is dwindling.

From the perspective of Hiruzen Sarutobi's ruling party, they certainly did not want such an outcome to occur.

Using the analysis report, Sakura proposed a plan to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

That is, to instigate an internal conflict within the Uchiha clan within a controllable range, splitting them into extremist and non-extremist factions, and then deal with them according to the choices of the extremist faction, in order to avoid the destruction and loss of a large number of combat forces.

The plan was approved by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and executed by Sakura, Itachi Uchiha, and Fugaku Uchiha.

This was made possible by the dedication of Fugaku Uchiha, whose attention to detail was so precise that it even extended to the exact time of his own death.

"The three advisors are still unaware of the situation. Sakura, please report it to them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi grew increasingly pleased with Sakura Haruno.

With a clean background, formidable strength, and a brilliant mind, perhaps if I persevere for a few more years, I can help this child shoulder the future of Konoha...

"We orchestrated tonight's events, and in the end, to avoid bloodshed, Itachi Uchiha led the extremists in a defection. That's all."

Sakura shoveled all the food into her mouth, swallowed it forcefully with a gulp.

The air was thick with the unpleasant smell of perfunctory service, making the three Hokage advisors gasp for breath.

The long silence left Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura utterly bewildered.

Finally, this confusion morphed into a chorus of angry shouts: "Explain yourself clearly!!!"

Helpless, Sakura had no choice but to explain the entire plan in detail again. After finishing, she burped and slumped into her chair.

"So you're saying you let those rogue ninjas go, right? I think that's correct, isn't it, Sakura Haruno?"

Danzo Shimura lightly tapped the bandaged hand with his intact hand and sneered.

Sensing that Shimura Danzo was about to cause trouble, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and was about to speak, but Danzo beat him to it this time.

—My turn, Hiruzen!

"According to the rules of Konoha's Special Assassination Tactics Unit, hunting down rogue ninja is your duty, isn't it?"

"Knowing that Itachi Uchiha had betrayed you, you not only failed to pursue him but also obstructed me. This is a serious dereliction of duty."

Danzo Shimura stood up, leaning on his cane with one hand, and looked down at Sakura Haruno.

The dark side is the dark side, and the rules are the rules. Over the years, the consensus that everyone has become accustomed to is not something that can be easily shaken.

Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi's endorsement, Sakura's actions still undeniably violated the rules.

Within the rules, manipulating a young ninja who makes a mistake is precisely what Shimura Danzo excels at.

"For a ninja like you who violates the rules of the Anbu, I think it is necessary to send you to Root for Anbu ninja training!"

Shimura Danzo glanced at the three people behind him and used his access to the Anbu training base to snatch them away.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado drank tea, adopting an indifferent attitude towards the power struggle between Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi bit his pipe hard, his brows furrowed.

The atmosphere at the scene grew increasingly tense, but it was broken by the girl's clear voice the next second.

"No need. Since I've made a mistake, I'm prepared to take responsibility for it."

Sakura Haruno casually patted her round belly as the food quickly digested and helped her recover from her injuries.

"Therefore, I hereby resign from my position as Hokage and hope that he will remove me from the Anbu."

After speaking, the girl stood up, put her hands behind her back, and playfully turned her head to the side.

He gave Shimura Danzo a provocative smile.

"Speaking of which, the Root organization shouldn't be so short-handed that they need to forcibly conscript an 'ordinary' villager from Konoha, right?"

Click!

Danzo Shimura's cane cracked from being squeezed so hard it made a sharp sound.

Once he realized what had happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly assessed the situation.

"Alright, the punishment for Hana, the ANBU ninja, is to strip her of her ANBU status and revoke all ANBU benefits!"

"Furthermore, as a reward for an ordinary Konoha resident who prevented a riot, she is now permitted to learn a forbidden technique from the Book of Seals."

"As for the trial of the Uchiha clan, it will be handled with the assistance of the two Hokage advisors. That's all!"

Faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's blatant favoritism, Danzo Shimura's initial smugness turned into a stiffness.

Koharu and Homura were already used to the outcome of the two brothers' struggle, so they simply stood up and left the office.

"Hiruzen, aren't you worried that by indulging her like this, you'll end up raising another one of the Legendary Sannin?"

"Oh? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this one day!"