Chapter 173 - Cap 160: New Era

Tsunade took one last look at Danzo before he left the scene.

". . ." - Danzo was silent as he sighed with regret.

"Danzo, damn you!" was heard in the crowd.

"Son of a bitch, give me back my son!" - exclaimed another woman.

"My wife! Give me back my wife!" - roared a man.

The cries of the people began to echo in the area as more and more villagers gathered in the place. It did not matter if they were civilians or shinobi, they were all looking with hatred at the man responsible for all their losses.

The Anbu did everything they could to stop the angry villagers.

"Don't stop us!" roared one man - "We want justice!"

"Justice!" roared the others, but they retreated when they felt a cold aura coming from the shattered Hokage mansion.

Slowly the people retreated as the footsteps became more and more evident, only for the silhouette of a wounded Hiruzen to appear beside his wife after a few seconds.

". . ." - Danzo gave his old friend a neutral look as a faint smile appeared on his face.

Biwako gave her husband a look, then looked at his old friend.

"Biwako-sama..." - said Yugao with her Anbu mask still on.

"I know..." - nodded the older woman as she let the purple-haired Anbu lead the way.

"Danzo..." - said Hiruzen in a cold voice and an apathetic look, one that the villagers had not seen, at least not the young ones.

"Hiruzen..." - replied the old war hawk as he looked his ex-friend straight in the eye - "The winner is the king and the loser is a petty thief"

"No, Danzo... I'm not a king, I'm just an old man who lost almost everything because he couldn't separate affection with work..." - replied Hiruzen as he walked towards Danzo - "I could have done many things to prevent this... but I always thought that as a friend and a loyal man to Konoha, you would never do anything to hurt the foundations of the village... but now I see that I was wrong in the worst possible way..."

". . ." - Danzo didn't answer him, just gave him a little smile that soon turned to laughter. This was the Hiruzen he remembered, firm, neutral and unsympathetic, he was the leader he could follow while becoming his shadow... but... it was too late for both of them.

"So many dead people... so many shinobis loyal to Konoha killed by their own brothers..." - Hiruzen muttered as his gaze grew darker and darker - "So many innocent civilians underneath all the rubble of their former homes..."

The people around began to weep as they looked even more hatefully at the man responsible.

"Tell me... was it worth it?" - Hiruzen asked coolly as he stared into the eyes of his former partner and rival.

"None of that matters..." - Danzo replied - "I was defeated, my rebellion failed and now I'm at your mercy..."

"Right... your answer doesn't matter..." - murmured the Sandaime - "But... I just wanted to see if I could at least find some guilt in your words... I wanted to see if you regretted taking so many innocents with you..."

"All of them were necessary sacrifices for the good of Konoha" - answered Danzo, only to be answered with booing, shouting and threats.

"It is a pity..." - Hiruzen muttered as he shook his head - "Kurama-dono... is there any way his punishment can be eternal?"

"Hmm... I know of one or two ways," answered Kurama as he created a clone and sent it off to find a Shinigami no Kamen - "The first is the simplest, to make the Shinigami destroy Danzo's soul... and the second is to make the Shinigami devour half of his soul and torture it for all eternity while the other half travels through hell to receive its deserved punishment"

The surrounding people trembled at the mention of the god of death but Hiruzen didn't flinch - "What is the advantage and disadvantage of the two?"

"The first option is a definitive end, his soul completely destroyed, it means that he will not be able to reincarnate or be forgiven for his sins" - answered Kurama normally - "The second option is much more sadistic, with half of the soul in the shinigami's stomach and therefore unable to be purified, the half in hell cannot be forgiven no matter how long it takes, making his punishment eternal"

Danzo shuddered at the second choice as he begged Hiruzen to kill him for good. He could handle the pain for a few minutes but not the eternal punishment.

"I've made up my mind... Danzo... I condemn you to disappear eternally" - answered Hiruzen - "Your body will be cremated, your ashes will be sealed in a rock and thrown into the sea while your head will be placed outside the walls of Konoha as a constant reminder of the greatest traitor of all time..."

". . ." - Danzo didn't say anything else, he just kept quiet while people celebrated his punishment.

* * * * *

The days passed and the day of Danzo's end had come.

All the people of Konoha had prepared for the presence of the Shinigami so that they could see the end of the bastard who had ruined so much of their lives.

Danzo was dragged like a dog to the podium where Kurama and Hiruzen stood, who gave him only a neutral glance.

"Any last words?" - Hiruzen asked.

"Yes... take Konoha to the top..." - said Danzo as a serene expression appeared on his face.

"Kurama-dono... do it..." - said Hiruzen as he watched a familiar silhouette appear behind Kurama as soon as he put on his mask.

The people around him trembled at the grotesque appearance but quickly calmed down because the Shinigami was not coming for them.

The summoned being slowly looked around neutrally but quickly showed a bored expression so he concentrated completely on the target he was coming for.

When Kurama put the mask on, the shinigami knew at once of his d.e.s.i.r.e and as a collector of souls, he found no problem giving one of the ultimate punishments to a sinner like the man before him. Slowly, the shinigami reached out with his gray hands to Danzo's body and pulled out his soul.

Danzo felt life slowly fade from his body as he saw a blue silhouette that appeared to be made of chakra.

"I recommend that you close your eyes because this will not be pretty," Kurama said as he looked around. "The destruction of a soul by the shinigami is not a good thing to see, nor is it a spectacle, but one of the wildest and most sadistic deeds one can witness"

". . ." - those present quickly closed their eyes because they felt the redhead was telling the truth, though some kept them open out of curiosity.

"You have been warned..." - Kurama muttered as he shook his head. "You can do it. shinigami-sama."

A sadistic smile appeared on the shinigami's face as his tantou (small Japanese knife) fell to the ground, only to take Danzo's soul and rip it apart with its sharp teeth.

"!" - the presenters who had their eyes open, quickly closed them to the grotesqueness of it all as Danzo's cries of pain, anguish and mercy echoed through the area.

The Shinigami seemed to be enjoying tearing apart Danzo's soul little by little while spitting out the rest because he knew that if he devoured the pieces of the soul, then it would reform within him.

"ARGH!" - Danzo couldn't describe the pain he was feeling right now as he watched the shinigami do his job of torturing him.

* * * * *

It took 15 minutes of anguished screaming for everything to be completely silent.

The villagers opened their eyes slowly, only to notice how Danzo was kneeling on the ground with his eyes empty and no trace of the shinigami.

The mask of Kurama had been shattered and the fragments had turned to dust that flew with the wind as a neutral look appeared on his face.

Hiruzen glanced at one of the shinobis to finish the job of cutting off Danzo's head and incinerating his body, then watched his citizens - "Inhabitants of Konoha I'm going to make an important announcement..."

The villagers watched as one shinobi took Danzo's decapitated head and walked out of the village, while another burned the traitor's body and gathered his ashes.

"I... I apologize for all the mistakes I made... as a leader, I let all this get out of control, a sin that cannot be forgiven even if years pass after my death..." - said old Sandaime - "That's why I've decided it's time for me to leave my post and pass the torch on to the next generation"

"Hiruzen-sama, you can't do that!" - exclaimed the villagers. The Sandaime was the only thing that held the current Konoha together.

"Do not fear my beloved villagers, I will not leave yet" - answered Hiruzen as Kakashi walked to the podium - "He will be my successor, Hatake Kakashi, the man who led the resistance before the forces of Danzo, as well as the man who was in charge of the situation after the destruction..."

"I will teach him everything he needs to know, and until I see that he is ready, I will not withdraw..." - continued the Sandaime - "Long live Konoha!"

"Long live Konoha," exclaimed those present as they watched the silver-haired man because his presence meant one thing, a new era for Konoha.