Black Zetsu vanished into the darkness, leaving Danzo alone with the test tube in his hand.
The faint green liquid within shimmered under the dim light — Hashirama Cells.
For days now, that strange entity had come to him repeatedly, whispering ideas, tempting him with possibilities.
Danzo's single visible eye reflected the test tube. Deep within, ambition stirred — an ambition once buried, now taking root again, sprouting stronger than ever before.
In the silence of the underground chamber, his voice echoed coldly:
"Sensei… you started this. Don't blame me for finishing it."
Elsewhere, Tsunade and Jiraiya had already set out on their journey.
At the hospital, Tsunade had left everything in Shizune's capable hands.
Recently, Karin had also begun studying under Shizune, focusing on Medical Ninjutsu.
Her talent was extraordinary — the product of the Uzumaki Clan's immense chakra reserves and natural affinity for healing. Watching her, Shizune often felt a mix of admiration and heartache.
After all, Karin had been treated like nothing more than a living medical supply in the Hidden Grass Village — a tragic waste of talent and humanity.
But here, in Konoha, Karin finally found peace. Compared to the nightmare she once lived, her new life felt like paradise.
She had food, rest, and — most importantly — purpose.
Though the training was exhausting, the progress she made was undeniable. And for all of it, she was deeply grateful to Naruto — not just because he saved her, but because he was an Uzumaki like her.
That shared bloodline made her feel as though Naruto were an older brother — someone she could trust completely.
Determined to repay him, Karin devoted herself to her studies.
She even used Shadow Clones to train longer hours, advancing rapidly until she reached the level to begin learning the Mystical Palm Technique.
"Senior Shizune! Can I start learning the Mystical Palm Technique now?"
Wearing a white lab coat, Karin's eyes sparkled with anticipation — though Shizune could see the fatigue hidden behind that brightness.
A pang of pity tugged at her heart. Shizune couldn't help but think of Umbrella — the ideology Tsunade had once described. To her, Umbrella represented shelter for those who had suffered — a place where lost souls could stand beneath the same protection and rebuild their lives.
Her understanding of Umbrella wasn't as deep as Tsunade's, but in her heart, she knew what it meant.
If she hadn't met Lady Tsunade, her own fate might have been just as tragic as Karin's.
"Of course," Shizune said gently.
"But get some proper rest tonight. We'll start tomorrow. You'll need a clear mind to control chakra that precisely."
Overworking would only slow her progress. The Mystical Palm Technique required focus — and exhaustion was its enemy.
Meanwhile, deep within Konoha, Senju Tobirama sat surrounded by scrolls, reviewing the history of the village he once built.
The more he read, the more his anger burned.
This Konoha — his Konoha — had once been able to stand against four great villages at once and emerge victorious. Yet now? Even the Hidden Cloud dared to provoke them — even tried to extort the Hyūga Clan's head!
"Hiruzen… what happened to you?" he muttered, voice cold with fury.
Every page he turned deepened his disappointment. When he came across the account of Sakumo Hatake's death, Tobirama slammed the scroll down.
"That man took his own life over a failed mission?!" he barked.
"Damn it, Hiruzen! Danzo! What have you done to my village?"
The next scroll chronicled the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha — a record so poorly detailed that it left more questions than answers. The conclusion, however, struck him like a hammer: the Fourth Hokage had died sealing the beast.
"Minato… the genius who inherited my Flying Thunder God Technique," Tobirama whispered.
"And you made him use the Reaper Death Seal? Has the Will of Fire turned to ashes?!"
His voice rose in outrage as he hurled the scroll to the ground.
Just then, a masked Root operative appeared.
"Second Hokage-sama, Lord Danzo requests your presence. He says it's urgent."
Tobirama's crimson eyes snapped toward the shinobi, sharp as a blade.
"Danzo… dares to summon me?"
The Root ninja stood rigid, silent. Tobirama could see it — the suppression, the conditioning, the hollow obedience in the man's eyes. These weren't loyal shinobi. They were puppets.
"Lead the way," Tobirama said coldly, his white cloak flaring as he rose.
"Let's see what my so-called disciple has done this time."
At the same moment, near Konoha's main gate, Tsunade paused to take one last look at the village skyline. So much had changed.
But before she could speak, a massive explosion thundered in the distance.
Her expression hardened.
"Jiraiya!"
"I know!" he shouted, already leaping toward the smoke.
Together, they sprinted toward the Root base.
Inside, chaos had erupted. Tobirama stood encircled by Root shinobi, chakra flaring with killing intent.
"Danzo!" his voice thundered. "Are you rebelling against me?!"
A barrier sealed the chamber, isolating them from the outside world.
For the first time in decades, the air in Root trembled — not with fear, but with the rage of a god long thought dead.
If not for the Dark Movement Technique, Tobirama would have already been sealed away by now.
Even with the Edo Tensei, immortality meant little in the face of a sealing jutsu.
"Teacher! You were the one who betrayed Konoha first! Only I can lead this village back to glory!"
Danzo's voice was frenzied — his obsession with the title of Hokage had long crossed into madness.
He tore away the bandages wrapped around his right arm, revealing the grotesque sight beneath — rows of Sharingan, spinning with crimson light.
Each one pulsed with power and malice, a testament to his twisted ambition.
"Danzo… you—!"
Tobirama froze in disbelief. Then, fury ignited in his chest like wildfire.
He had heard the rumors of the Uchiha massacre, but seeing this left no doubt — Danzo's so-called devotion to the village was nothing more than an excuse for greed and control.
"Teacher," Danzo sneered, "why not join Hiruzen in the afterlife?"
At his command, a group of Root operatives appeared, surrounding Tobirama with sealing scrolls in hand.
The Second Hokage's expression hardened. Killing intent radiated from him like a storm.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A massive surge of water erupted, shattering the underground base. Tobirama's chakra filled the area, turning the Root facility into a raging flood.
The tremendous pressure triggered a chain explosion as the hidden equipment and seals detonated one after another.
Danzo narrowed his eyes through the haze. It's either victory or death now.
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the roar —
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
The air itself trembled. The strike hit Tobirama squarely, blasting his body backward. His form shattered into fragments before slowly knitting itself back together — the Edo Tensei regenerating him.
He looked up sharply, and his eyes widened.
Standing before him was none other than Hyūga Hiashi.
The Hyūga Clan Head…? Working with Danzo?
"Impossible…" Tobirama muttered.
Danzo laughed wildly, his madness echoing through the flooded chamber.
"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you, teacher? This is fate! I am the one destined to rule Konoha!"
His hand moved to his right eye — Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan.
The Hashirama Cells grafted into his body had strengthened him beyond his limits — and worse, they allowed him to reduce the cooldown of Kotoamatsukami.
With such power, even the will of others could be rewritten.
If someone refused to obey… then Danzo would force them to.
"Danzo!"
A sharp voice rang out from the entrance.
Tobirama's eyes snapped toward the sound — and his expression softened for an instant.
"Tsunade?"
The figure that stepped forward was no longer the child he remembered.
Her golden hair shone under the dim light, her green eyes sharp and unyielding — a true descendant of the Senju.
"Danzo, what do you think you're doing to my great-uncle?"
Danzo turned, a cruel grin spreading across his scarred face.
"Tsunade? Hmph. Since you're here… I'll take you down too. Let's end the Senju line once and for all!"
From the rooftops and alleys, figures began to appear one after another — dozens, then hundreds.
Ninja from the Shimura, Sarutobi, and Hyūga Clans, alongside Root operatives, surrounded the area.
Tsunade and Tobirama stood back-to-back as the enemies closed in, the air crackling with chakra and tension.
Danzo's voice echoed coldly through the ruins.
"This village needs order… and that order will be mine!"
Tobirama's gaze hardened.
"Danzo Shimura," he said, his voice like ice, "you've truly fallen far."
And with that, the battle for Konoha's soul began.
...
TN:
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