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  Koharu's breaths came in shalled gasps as she watched him rise and turn away, his cloak billowing as he vanished into the shadows.

  The eerie silehat followed was soon broken by the distant rustle of movement—snarls, the low rumble of predators lurking nearby. The st remnants of hope slipped away as the gleaming eyes of wolves and other wild creatures appeared in the darkness, ing toward her prone body.

  As the first set of fangs sank into her skin, Koharu's final scream pierced the night, carryierror a into the air above the dark forest.

  ----

  Two days had passed since Koharu's absence became more than a minor worry. The breeze over Konoha carried an air of unease as if nature itself sehat a deep-rooted force had shifted.

  Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, stood on the veranda of the Hokage Residence, his mind preoccupied with the newly delivered letter from the Fire Daimyo.

  The message was curt, but its implications were ominous: Koharu Utatane had failed to arrive at her arranged meeting.

  Clutg the letter, Hiruzen's weathered hand trembled slightly.

  Koharu had served Konoha... served him faithfully for decades. The four of the old rades had the same power-driven nature and she was one of his most trusted rades.

  The idea that something had goerribly wrong filled him with dread.

  With a heavy sigh, he called in one of his trusted ANBU.

  "Summon Danzo and Homura immediately," he ordered.

  The masked shinobi disappeared without a word, leaving Hiruzen to dwell oter.

  His sharp eyes sed the horizon. Although he had lived long enough to witness tless losses, this one carried a differe.

  As Hokage, the safety of his people was his responsibility, and the thought of losing a close rade uled him deeply.

  A few mier, in the War Room, Danzo Shimura and Homura Mitokado arrived. Danzo's usual stoic demeanor betrayed a flicker of i as he sat down, while Homura, pale and anxious, fidgeted with his robes.

  "What's this about?" Danzo's voice was calm, and calcuted, but there was a subtle curiosity lurkih.

  Hiruzen leaned forward, his tone heavy with worry. "I received a letter from the Daimyo. Koharu never made it to the meeting. This is unlike her."

  Homura's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's impossible. Koharu is too meticulous to stray from her duties. Are you certain this isn't just... a dey?"

  Hiruzen shook his head. "Two days with no word. I've already dispatched a group of jonins to search for her."

  Danzo's gaze darkened. "Hiruzen, the world we live in is cruel, and Koharu was a formidable kunoichi, but age makes us vulnerable. Enemies could have—"

  "Don't jump to clusions." Hiruzen cut him off. "We don't know anythi. We'll wait until we have firmation before speg on what happened."

  Homura's ay alpable. "But if someone captured her, she held cssified information. It could put us all in jeopardy."

  Danzo eyed Hiruzen carefully. "It depends on what secrets we're discussing. Perhaps it's time we resider how much our elders should be entrusted with."

  Hiruzen's jaw ched. Danzo's suggestion wasn't a mere ; it was a veiled accusation, and Hiruzehe man's ambitions too well. If secrets regarding past covert operations, and the pn regarding the Uchiha leaked, it would be disastrous.

  "I assure you," Hiruzen said, his voice taking on an authoritative edge, "Koharu would never betray our vilge, even under duress."

  Danzo's lips twisted into a thin smile. "Even the most loyal shinobi break, Hiruzen. We must be prepared."

  At that moment, the meeting room doors slid open, and Hatake Kakashi entered, his usually rexed posture repced with grim resolve. His joni bore sptters of mud and debris, the aftermath of a relentless search.

  "Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, his voice tinged with a solemn note, "We've found her."

  The room fell silent. Homura visibly flinched, while Danzo leaned in with barely cealed i.

  Hiruzen braced himself. "Tell me everything,"

  He ahough his voice was already lined with grief.

  Kakashi took a breath, his lone eye shuttered with pain. "We discovered her in the depths of the Naka Forest, near a site that seemed to have been the se of a struggle. Wild animals had... done irreparable damage to her remains. However, based on what we could piece together, it appears she had been attacked."

  Kakashi paused, his voice softening with regret. "The ANBU team found signs that indicate she may have fought back, but whatever—or whoever—she faced was beyond her ability to hahe presence of predators suggests that she did not die instantly." He hesitated, looking at the three elders, and added, "Her face bore an expression of utter terror."

  Homura sank into his seat, his hands trembling.

  "What could have dohis?" he whispered, disbelief coating his voice.

  Danzo's eyes narrowed, his mind already spinning with possibilities.

  "We have many enemies, old and new," he murmured. "But to strike down one of Konoha's elders in this manner is an act that ot go unpunished. Hiruzen, we must prepare ourselves."

  Hiruzen's jaw ched as he absorbed Kakashi's report.

  "Did you find anything else?" he asked, his voice tight.

  Kakashi hough his expression didn't brighten. "We found tracks—shoes rather than shinobi sandals, suggesting an outsider may have ambushed her. There were also faint traces of chakra residue, but it was tmeo identify the assaint. I've already assigned an iigatioo gather more information."

  Danzo's eyes flickered with suspi. "We should sider every possibility. If someone was bold enough to assault Koharu, they may target other vilge officials ."

  Hiruzen frowned, deep in thought.

  "Strehe vilge perimeter. DispatBU to monitor key areas, especially around our strategic resources. We must be cautious but also remain vigint against jumping to unnecessary clusions."

  Homura found his voice, shakier than usual. "Whoever did this must pay,"

  He said, g his fists. "Koharu's death ot be in vain."

  "I agree," Danzo said, though his voice held an uone Hiruzen couldn't ig was a thirst for retribution, but there was something more—an opportunistic edge. "This tragedy opens our eyes to vulnerabilities we may have ignored."

  Hiruzen's gaze hardened. "We will discuss defense measures ter. For now, focus on h Koharu's memory by keeping Konoha safe. Kakashi, I want updates on the iigation every few hours."

  Kakashi bowed deeply. "Uood, Hokage-sama."

  He left, his departure a shadow of the heaviness left in the room.

  The versation tinued into the night, with strategies and s discussed. But Hiruzehat whatever darkness had taken Koharu was not only a blow to the vilge's strength but a chilling remihat even the mighty could fall.

  The shadows of the forest seemed to reach out, their secrets remaining cealed, and the Hokage wondered what else y lurking just beyond their grasp.

  Outside, as the moon cast a silver glow over Konoha, the vilge mourned not just a loss, but the uling realization that danger, once distant, was now at their doorstep.

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