Just as Homura Mitokado had said, Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that Uchiha Yoru could kill him, but Yoru had no right to question him, much less interrogate him.
The attitudes of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Homura Mitokado could only be described as obstinate. In the eyes of other shinobi, perhaps it looked like pride, or the courage of men who refused to bow their heads because of their status.
But to Yoru, it was nothing more than the bizarre logic of Japanese-style hierarchical culture.
In his eyes, their attitude was the classic case of a dead pig not fearing boiling water—brazenly acting shameless because they could rely on their status and positions.
He saw nothing courageous about it.
Having been steeped in two thousand years of culture that proclaimed, "Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born of superior stock?" and baptized by the idea that, "The emperor's throne rotates; today it comes to my house," a descendant of Yan and Huang like him considered noble status and lofty office to be worth absolutely nothing!
What was noble was the soul.
What was noble was one's conduct.
Never one's identity or position.
And so, Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude stirred the fire in Uchiha Yoru's heart.
The Heart Ape within his Purple Mansion, already powerful enough to overturn mountains and seas, suddenly erupted.
In an instant, killing intent surged through him.
Yoru no longer cared about keeping his own hands clean.
Nor did he consider the presence of the First and Second Hokage.
The golden Susanoo abruptly rose to its feet.
Then it lifted an enormous size-860 foot and stomped directly down at the Third Hokage, exactly as it had crushed Uchiha Setsuna moments earlier.
When the gigantic foot descended, none of the shinobi present moved to stop it.
It was not because Yoru was too fast.
Nor was it because they failed to notice.
They simply had never imagined that he would truly try to kill the Hokage.
No matter what else they were, everyone present still regarded themselves as Konoha shinobi.
The idea of directly killing a Hokage simply did not exist in their minds.
Even Orochimaru, who would one day kill his own teacher, had no such concept at this moment.
Their eyes saw it.
Their nerves reacted.
But their minds failed to process what was happening.
As a result, no one moved.
That included Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
He raised his head, neck stiff, mouth slightly open as he stared blankly at the enormous foot descending toward him.
His mind was completely empty.
Only at the final instant did several branches suddenly push up from the ground beside Hiruzen's feet.
As they shot upward, they rapidly thickened and shed their bark, transforming into heavy wooden boards that fitted together.
Wood Release: Hōbi Technique!
More than a dozen enormous wooden boards joined together.
There was even enough power left over for them to form a grotesque wooden face.
That face directly caught the golden Susanoo's enormous foot.
Boom—!
A tremendous impact exploded outward.
The wooden shield created by the Hōbi Technique was forcibly driven several meters into the ground.
The shock was so violent that all three giant summoned beasts were lifted off the ground.
The ANBU shinobi were thrown about as well, unable to remain standing.
The Konoha shinobi were even more confused.
They had already gathered the relevant information.
The Wood Release present on this battlefield belonged to Uchiha Yoru.
Uchiha Yoru was controlling the golden Susanoo to stomp the Third Hokage to death.
And then—
He had apparently used Wood Release himself to stop his own Susanoo.
Was this some kind of left-hand-fighting-the-right-hand technique?
Very quickly, however, these elite shinobi noticed something.
The chakra signature of this Wood Release was completely different.
It did not belong to Uchiha Yoru.
There was actually a second Wood Release shinobi here?
Could it be the Wood Release seedling Danzō had just mentioned?
No.
Impossible.
This chakra was far too powerful.
Although its edge was restrained and did not outwardly flare, the unbelievable weight of that chakra alone allowed everyone to directly sense the caster's strength.
This was a shinobi whose strength was no lower than Uchiha Yoru's.
At the very least, they stood on the same level.
Konoha absolutely did not possess such a powerful shinobi.
Given the style of the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō, the two of them would never have tolerated the existence of someone this strong.
That person would either have ended up like Sakumo Hatake—
Or erupted into direct confrontation just like Uchiha Yoru.
In truth, the Konoha Sannin themselves had already experienced the strong rejection exerted by the Third Hokage's political faction.
Tsunade wandered outside Konoha.
Jiraiya rarely returned unless war demanded it.
Even Orochimaru spent most of his time buried inside laboratories and rarely appeared.
All three of Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciples had removed themselves from Konoha's political center.
Naturally, that was no coincidence.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya both frowned.
They feared that this was a Wood Release shinobi from outside Konoha.
If so, that would be a major problem.
But Tsunade's mouth fell open.
She suddenly sensed something familiar.
The chakra fluctuations carried by that Wood Release possessed a distant, deeply familiar quality.
Having already experienced meeting Senju Tobirama again, Tsunade quickly arrived at the answer.
That was the chakra of her blood relative.
Her own grandfather.
Konoha's First Hokage—
Senju Hashirama.
Tsunade instantly became excited.
Confidence surged through her heart, as though she had suddenly found the greatest possible backer.
Before Tsunade could jump down and acknowledge her family, the wooden face created by the Hōbi Technique began to change.
It transformed into an enormous wooden hand.
The hand grabbed the golden Susanoo's foot.
The massive wooden arm continued extending.
Very soon, an enormous, somewhat stout wooden humanoid stood up.
This Wood Golem looked much sturdier than the Susanoo, but it showed no hostility whatsoever.
It slowly moved the golden Susanoo's foot aside and carefully placed it on an open patch of ground.
In the next instant, the First Hokage appeared atop the Wood Golem's head.
He wore a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Um… Uchiha Yoru."
"Tobirama asked me to stop you."
At the same time, Senju Tobirama appeared atop Uchiha Yoru's golden Susanoo.
He gestured toward Yoru, indicating that he should dispel Susanoo.
Yoru was now overflowing with confidence.
He believed that even if every living and dead person present joined forces against him, he could still defeat them all.
Therefore, he calmly dispelled Susanoo.
Besides, he trusted Senju Tobirama's intelligence.
Tobirama would never do anything irrational.
Sure enough, when Tobirama saw Yoru dispel Susanoo, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he said,
"Don't kill Hiruzen Sarutobi yet."
"I have questions I need to ask him."
"And Uchiha Yoru, you cannot be the one to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"No matter what he has done, he is still the Hokage."
"If you personally kill him, the consequences will be endless."
Yoru looked at Senju Tobirama.
Then he suddenly smiled.
"And then?"
The Second Hokage sighed.
Then he spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is my disciple."
"So I am the most suitable person to kill him."
Uchiha Yoru nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
The exchange between Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Yoru stunned everyone present.
Even Tsunade, who had already guessed that Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama might appear, stood frozen atop Katsuyu's head with her mouth hanging open.
"Aba… aba…"
Orochimaru basically understood the entire situation after seeing this.
He rubbed his chin and smiled to himself.
"How did I never think of using Edo Tensei this way?"
"With this, the deadlock created by the Hokage's supreme status is completely broken."
Jiraiya was utterly dumbfounded.
His current position had become unbearably awkward.
Whether because of Konoha, represented by the Third Hokage, or Mount Myōboku, represented by the Great Toad Sage, he had stood opposite Uchiha Yoru because of his allegiance.
But now it seemed that the Third Hokage might not actually represent Konoha.
Instead, Uchiha Yoru had gained the acknowledgment of the previous Hokage.
Didn't that mean he, Jiraiya, had placed himself against Konoha?
He could hardly imagine that one day, simply by following orders, he might somehow become a missing-nin of Konoha.
It was absurd.
Still, the Sannin were separated from the First and Second Hokage by a generation, so the shock they felt was somewhat lesser.
The ones truly terrified senseless were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, and Homura Mitokado.
Especially Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The moment he heard his own teacher say that he intended to personally kill him, his spirit collapsed.
He had always regarded himself as the Second Hokage's legitimate successor.
Everything else surrounding his authority was merely an extension built atop that foundation.
Once that identity was stripped away, even his status as the Third Hokage became questionable.
Thinking carefully, once the title of Third Hokage was removed, Hiruzen Sarutobi's own personal presence became remarkably weak.
All that remained were flashy slogans and propaganda.
"Professor of Ninjutsu."
"The Strongest Hokage in History."
Without the foundation of the title "Third Hokage," those were basically empty words.
If knowing many ninjutsu was enough to be called the Professor of Ninjutsu, Konoha still had the Uchiha clan.
The Sharingan's copying ability was practically cheating.
An Uchiha could effortlessly learn almost any ninjutsu they saw.
By that standard, every one of them could be called a Professor of Ninjutsu.
As for the Strongest Hokage in History…
Forget it.
At this moment, Shimura Danzō finally broke free from the hypnosis and realized what his teacher's words meant.
He suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"Hiruzen!"
"I always said you weren't qualified to be Hokage, and you kept treating my words like nonsense."
"Now even Sensei says he's going to personally kill you!"
"What right do you have to remain Hokage?"
"Just obediently hand the Hokage position over to me!"
"Then none of this would have happened!"
Pshhk—!
A razor-thin jet of water shot through the air.
Shimura Danzō's head disappeared.
As his Edo Tensei body slowly began reconstructing itself, Senju Tobirama coldly said,
"First time."
"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine remaining."
Danzō's half-restored head twisted with rage.
"Sensei, what are you doing?!"
Senju Tobirama answered,
"Killing you."
"Ten thousand times."
"Hiruzen certainly performed poorly."
"But the reason I have reached the point where I must personally kill him…"
"Is you!"
"He failed to restrain you."
"He allowed you to repeatedly inflict potentially fatal damage upon Konoha."
"That is his crime worthy of death."
"As for you—"
"You deserve to die ten thousand times."
Shimura Danzō stared blankly.
But what kind of man was Senju Tobirama?
He did not give Danzō even the slightest time to recover.
With a casual gesture, he summoned water.
The water transformed into a razor-sharp blade.
Danzō's head fell again.
"Second time."
Uchiha Yoru watched Danzō's head hit the ground.
He felt exceptionally refreshed.
His thoughts became smooth and unobstructed.
Within the Purple Mansion, the fury of his Heart Ape completely dissipated.
Its overall orderliness strengthened, while its spirituality increased along with it.
The monkey had even begun developing the faintest trace of autonomous consciousness.
It jumped wildly around the southern region, scratching its ears and cheeks as though desperately wanting to leap out of the Purple Mansion and personally kill Danzō several times.
Something stirred in Yoru's heart.
He sensed something unusual.
But this place and moment were unsuitable for studying it.
So he quietly suppressed the impulse.
He took out a talisman paper.
Using natural energy as ink, he rapidly drew a peculiar rune across it.
When Shimura Danzō's head had recovered halfway, Yoru folded the talisman into the shape of a shuriken.
Then he flicked it directly into Danzō's chest.
"All right."
"Now he'll actually experience the fear and pain of real death."
"Death without pain or fear is like eating a dry ration pill."
"There's no flavor to it."
"If dying over and over doesn't actually feel like punishment, then what's the point?"
Yoru's words made every shinobi present glance toward him.
Their thoughts were almost identical.
What a ruthless bastard.
Sure enough, after Danzō lost his head for the third time and regenerated, he no longer possessed his previous calm.
He convulsed.
Fake sweat poured from his body.
His eyes lost focus.
His screams were so shrill they hurt everyone's ears.
Uchiha Yoru nodded in satisfaction.
"Now that's more like it."
"There is great terror between life and death."
"That's how someone who has truly experienced death should behave."
"The only problem is that he's too loud."
"It's unpleasant to listen to."
As he spoke, Yoru reached out and poked Danzō's neck.
A series of sealing formulas rapidly spread outward before condensing into distinct sealing runes.
Very quickly, a tiny barrier appeared.
It was just large enough to surround Danzō's head.
The moment the barrier formed, Shimura Danzō's screams vanished.
Yet through the barrier, everyone could still clearly see his agonized expression.
Yoru finally clapped his hands in satisfaction.
"Perfect."
Even Senju Tobirama was unnerved by what Yoru had done.
For a moment, he actually hesitated over whether he should kill Danzō a fourth time.
This was truly miserable.
Yoru looked over.
"Second Hokage, you're actually feeling softhearted?"
"Think about all the Konoha children who died in laboratories."
"Think about those children sent onto the battlefield at ten years old."
"Think about the Root shinobi who were brainwashed into tools."
"Then there's Senior Sakumo Hatake, who was framed despite being innocent."
"Nawaki, who died under suspicious circumstances despite being an outstanding Konoha shinobi who dreamed of becoming Hokage…"
Suddenly, Yoru slapped his forehead.
"Oh."
"I prepared three more guests."
"I almost forgot about them."
As he spoke, Uchiha Yoru took three test tubes and three storage scrolls from inside his clothes.
Using three screaming White Zetsu as sacrifices, he once again performed Edo Tensei.
As the forms of the three summoned people gradually became clear, Tsunade let out a piercing scream.
"Grandma!"
"Nawaki!"
"And… Dan!"
Uzumaki Mito was clearly the strongest among them.
Furthermore, the White Zetsu used as her sacrifice possessed Hashirama cells.
When she revived, she even carried a substantial amount of Nine-Tails chakra, making her strength even greater.
Therefore, Uzumaki Mito was the first to regain consciousness.
She heard Tsunade's scream.
Surprised, Mito opened her eyes.
But the face she saw first was Senju Hashirama's.
"Hashirama?"
"Mito!"
The elderly husband and wife only managed to call each other's names before tightly embracing.
As for their eldest granddaughter—
They had no time for her right now.
Besides, after Tsunade jumped down from Katsuyu, she changed direction halfway through and threw herself toward the light-blue-haired Dan Katō and her young brother Nawaki.
The moment she embraced the people she cared about most, Tsunade began crying.
It was impossible to tell whether her sobbing came from happiness or grief.
But one thing was obvious—
She sounded relieved.
In an instant, what was supposed to be a trial had transformed into a grand Senju family reunion.
Orochimaru watched the scene and repeatedly shook his head.
He had gained even more ideas about possible uses for Edo Tensei.
Jiraiya's face had gone completely gray.
Konoha.
Sensei Sarutobi.
The Great Toad Sage.
He no longer cared about any of them.
Right now, he only wanted a drink.
As a lifelong bachelor, Senju Tobirama had nothing to do with this kind of family reunion.
After seeing his elder brother and Tsunade reunite with their loved ones, even he lost the mood to continue punishing Danzō.
He sealed Danzō completely, then walked over to Uchiha Yoru.
"Why did you Edo Tensei so many people?"
Yoru answered directly,
"I have two purposes."
"First, to make you, Second Hokage, completely resolve yourself to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Second, to bring your entire family into the Hall of Heroes."
"The Sage of Six Paths in the Pure Land should have noticed something is wrong by now."
"If I intercept all of you first, then none of you will have to worry about your family ending up divided between two opposing camps."
"That'll save everyone a lot of trouble."
Senju Tobirama asked in surprise,
"You're that certain the Sage of Six Paths will inevitably become your enemy?"
"Tch."
Uchiha Yoru scoffed disdainfully.
"Second Hokage, the Third Hokage has controlled Konoha for twenty years."
"After becoming accustomed to holding supreme authority, even he began treating Konoha as his personal property."
"Anyone from the younger generation who might threaten his power gets suppressed in one way or another."
"You understand human nature, Second Hokage."
"You should know whether Hiruzen Sarutobi's suppression of the Uchiha clan truly comes from that phrase of yours about the 'evil clan'…"
"Or because the Uchiha simply produce too many geniuses."
Senju Tobirama sighed.
"Perhaps even Hiruzen himself can no longer distinguish the two."
"But judging from the trend of how the Uchiha have been treated…"
"Suppression probably accounts for the larger share."
Uchiha Yoru nodded.
"That's exactly what I think."
"Now think about the Sage of Six Paths."
"He has managed the Pure Land for more than a thousand years."
"Would he regard the Pure Land as his own territory?"
"And would he regard the souls sleeping within it as his possessions?"
Yoru did not wait for Tobirama to answer.
He continued directly,
"I'm stealing people straight out of the old Sage's pocket."
"That naturally puts us on opposing sides."
Senju Tobirama looked thoughtfully at Uchiha Yoru.
After a while, he silently nodded.
He said nothing more.
…
The newly summoned Nawaki and Dan Katō could not actually prove that their deaths were connected to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At least, there was no hard evidence.
But Uzumaki Mito had plenty to say.
About the Land of Whirlpools.
About Uzushiogakure.
About how every last piece of sealing-technique documentation had somehow been transported back—
Yet not a single Uzumaki clansman had been rescued.
And there was the Senju clan rescue force that departed immediately.
More than twenty jōnin.
Over a hundred elite chūnin.
Not one returned alive.
Most importantly—
How could such a massive event happen in a neighboring country of the Land of Fire, yet the Third Hokage only receive intelligence three days after it began?
After receiving the intelligence, why did he wait several more days before organizing a rescue force?
And why did the rescue force led by Shimura Danzō contain not a single shinobi from any known ninja clan?
Afterward, Mito personally investigated.
Yet throughout all of Konoha, she could not find a single shinobi who had participated in that rescue force.
Then who exactly were those shinobi?
There were far too many questions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could answer none of them.
All he could do—
Was remain silent.
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