Chapter 45: The Final Showdown with Danzo
On the other side, deep in the forest:
Sasuke and Naruto, who had been pursuing the rampaging Gaara, now found themselves in an unprecedented crisis.
Shukaku, fully transformed into its tailed beast form, was like a moving natural disaster—sandstorms raging, massive claws swinging, every strike carrying devastating power.
Sasuke's chakra was nearly depleted. Though Naruto had tapped into Nine-Tails chakra, he was covered in wounds and barely hanging on.
"Dammit... looks like I have no choice but to use that move!"
Naruto roared, preparing to use the summoning technique he'd recently learned to turn the tide.
Bzzz!
Suddenly, the cursed seal on Sasuke's neck—the one covered in sealing formulas—erupted with a violent surge of chakra! In an instant, a figure identical to Rubik himself materialized!
"Tch. What a mess."
Rubik's shadow clone glanced at the battlefield, his tone carrying a hint of resignation. He formed hand seals, instantly locking onto Shukaku's core!
"Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Chain!"
Several golden chains engraved with sealing runes materialized out of thin air, ignoring Shukaku's ultimate sand defenses and wrapping precisely around its massive body and limb joints! The overwhelming sealing power immediately suppressed Shukaku's rampage, forcing out pained roars as its movements grew sluggish and stiff!
"Now's your chance! Naruto!"
The shadow clone called out sharply.
"Got it! Rasengan!!!"
Naruto, who had been building up power, seized that split-second opening and poured every last drop of chakra into the Rasengan in his palm. Like a golden comet, he slammed it straight into Gaara's unconscious form atop Shukaku's head!
BOOM—!!!
Shukaku's colossal form collapsed in a burst of sand, revealing Gaara's unconscious body beneath.
The shadow clone walked slowly to where Gaara lay sprawled on the ground. At an angle Naruto couldn't see, he leaned down and whispered a few words to the unconscious boy—soft enough that only the two of them could hear.
Those words were like stones dropped into a still pond. Beneath Gaara's closed eyelids, there seemed to be the faintest flicker of reaction. Then the shadow clone dissolved into the wind.
...
Back in Konoha
With Orochimaru's retreat and the Sound-Sand alliance's collapse, the smoke of the "Konoha Crush Plan" finally cleared. The village lay in ruins, the air thick with the stench of scorched earth and blood. Survivors began the grim work of clearing debris, tending to the wounded, and slowly raising the curtain on reconstruction.
In the hospital's private ward, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, lay on his sickbed, pale and barely clinging to life.
The fierce battle against the two previous Hokage and Orochimaru had drained every ounce of his strength. His aged body could no longer endure such strain. Mustering what little energy he had left, he summoned his two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The atmosphere in the ward was suffocating, frozen in place. With great difficulty, the Third Hokage relayed the final judgment—delivered by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, from within the barrier—regarding Danzo and the advisory council.
"What?! That's impossible!"
Utatane Koharu shrieked, while Mitokado Homura's face went ashen.
"Danzo... Hiruzen, this has to be a misunderstanding! We must summon Danzo for a face-to-face confrontation immediately!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes wearily, then opened them again. All that remained in his gaze was sorrow and absolute resolve. His voice was faint but cutting like a blade:
"There's no need... to see Danzo anymore."
That one short sentence landed like a cold verdict. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu seemed to have all the strength drained from their bodies, frozen in place.
They stared at the old, resolute Third Hokage on his sickbed and understood the unmistakable weight behind those words.
The two advisors seemed to age ten years in an instant. The last glimmer of light faded from their eyes. They hunched their backs and silently withdrew from the ward.
In that moment, Konoha's balance of power crumbled away.
...
The "Root" Lair
Deep beneath Konoha, in the darkest, most sunless underground chamber, the atmosphere before the cold, heavy alloy gates of the Root headquarters was murderously tense.
Inside the gates stood Shimura Danzo and the elite Root operatives behind him, standing like phantoms. Danzo leaned on his cane, his one visible eye gleaming with sinister, maddened light.
And outside the gates stood a lineup that would make any shinobi in the world's blood run cold:
At the very front was Jiraiya, his face unusually grim, with Rubik at his side. The two stood like insurmountable mountains, sealing off Root's escape route.
Half a step behind them stood the elite ANBU directly under the Hokage, led by the Wood Style user, Yamato—all wearing cold masks.
Behind them were Konoha's top jonin: Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Maito Gai, and Yuhi Kurenai. Their eyes were sharp, ready for battle at any moment, weaving an invisible net of encirclement around Root.
The cold light drew an invisible line between the two sides. The air seemed to solidify, broken only by a suffocating, oppressive silence.
Danzo's fingers gripping his cane turned white at the knuckles, veins bulging on the back of his hand. His single exposed eye locked fiercely onto Rubik, standing beside Jiraiya—as if he wanted to swallow this unforeseen variable whole. The freezing chill of the underground base seemed to condense in that one glare.
"Heh..."
A low, raspy laugh—like sandpaper scraping against stone—forced its way from deep in Danzo's throat, shattering the suffocating silence. The laugh carried no warmth; it only seemed to drop the surrounding temperature another few degrees.
"Quite the... grand spectacle, Jiraiya."
His voice was slow and gloomy, every word encased in frost.
"To think you'd rouse nearly all of Konoha's high-end combat power just to deal with me.
If the previous Hokage could see from heaven how 'united' you all are in going after an old man who's given everything for this village for decades... I wonder what they'd think?"
"Wouldn't it be possible that it was the great and brilliant Second Hokage himself who conveyed that instruction?"
Rubik asked, striking where it hurt most.
Danzo's body stiffened slightly. He raised his single eye toward Rubik and said flatly:
"Nonsense."
Jiraiya's white hair bristled with fury as he roared:
"Danzo! Drop your hypocritical games! We've already investigated everything—you colluded with Orochimaru, stood by and even accelerated the Konoha Crush Plan to weaken the village's foundations! You will pay for everything you've done!"
Behind Jiraiya, Rubik could feel Danzo's murderous gaze, almost tangible in its intensity. He didn't flinch. His crimson Sharingan met Danzo's sinister single eye without an ounce of fear.
He knew—it was his own unexpected presence that had shattered Danzo's dream of becoming Hokage.
"Pay?"
Danzo laughed as if he'd just heard the most absurd joke, his stiff lips curling into a grimace.
"What Konoha needs is iron blood! Absolute control! Power that discards pointless sentiment! Hiruzen's weakness and indecisiveness will only sink Konoha in the stormy seas of the shinobi world!
Everything I've done has been to raise Konoha above all other nations! You, who have been blinded by a false peace—you are the true parasites eating away at Konoha!"
He slammed his cane hard against the ground!
THUD!
The dull impact rang out like a war drum in the confined space. The Root elites behind him moved like clockwork, erupting with icy killing intent as they took a synchronized half-step forward. Countless kunai and shuriken glinted in the dim light, aimed at everyone at the gate.
"You want to judge me? Crush 'Root'?"
Danzo's single eye swept across the forces outside—Jiraiya, Rubik, Yamato leading the ANBU, Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, Kurenai... every single one was among Konoha's finest.
His gaze grew ever more venomous.
"Then use your blood to prove just how laughable your so-called 'justice' truly is! Where 'Root' stands, that is the extension of Konoha's will! Want to destroy it? Then prepare to be torn out by the roots and buried with it!"
Yamato's eyes sharpened beneath his mask. He formed hand seals rapidly and called out:
"All units—on guard!"
Jiraiya stared at the sinister-faced Shimura Danzo in silence.
Rubik seemed to sense something and thought to himself, "Finally here, huh." He then tilted his chin toward Jiraiya:
"Hey, you old pervert—looks like some big shot just showed up. Not gonna take a look? An old friend of yours, y'know."
"Brat!"
Jiraiya snapped without turning around.
"Now's not the time for riddles! It doesn't matter who shows up on the battlefield—didn't I teach you? A shinobi must stay calm at all times! You've still got a long way to go!"
"Doesn't matter... who shows up?"
A mature woman's voice suddenly cut through.
"I said it doesn't matter who—Ts... Tsunade!!!"
Jiraiya whipped his head around, his voice shooting up an octave, eyes nearly popping out of his skull.
"You're too loud, you old pervert."
Rubik covered his ears, looking disgusted.
"Shut up, Jiraiya!"
In response, two merciless fists—one big, one small—connected with him. The battle hadn't even properly started, and Jiraiya was already sporting fresh bruises.
"W-Why are you back in the village?!"
Jiraiya clutched his face, his earlier bravado instantly deflating.
"Honestly, you could've at least given me a heads-up..."
Rubik watched his mentor's sudden shift from tough guy to coward and couldn't hold back a snort:
"Pfft... what a joke, old pervert."
"Shut it! Adults are talking—no butting in!"
Jiraiya shot back, red-faced.
But Tsunade paid no attention to this bickering pair. Her gaze cut through Danzo like a blade, her cold voice carrying an unyielding resolve:
"I'm here... to demand an answer for the Senju clan members who were wronged!"