NOVEL NEXT Chapter 311: Chapter 311
"Danzo is dead!?"
Homura and Koharu were visibly shocked and angered upon hearing the news. After confirming Sarutobi wasn't lying, they quickly asked, "Hiruzen, what exactly happened?"
"Tonight's events are a long story," Sarutobi began, lighting his pipe and taking a puff before exhaling the smoke. "It all started with Danzo seizing Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan."
He slowly recounted the events of the night to Koharu and Homura: Tsunade's return, her request for ANBU and jonin to take control of Root, their visit to the Uchiha compound, capturing the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails attack, and the shocking revelation that the person who controlled the Nine-Tails eight years ago was none other than Obito, Minato's student—the same boy who often dreamed of becoming Hokage.
The night had been eventful, but Sarutobi viewed everything as progress for the village. He also learned from Tsunade that Uchiha Itachi had used Kotoamatsukami to alter the mindset of two hardliners within the Uchiha clan, significantly weakening their faction. With Tsunade back and the situation with the Uchiha clan improving, the village seemed to be moving toward stability.
"Itachi! How dare he attack a village elder! Hiruzen, this cannot be overlooked!" Koharu fumed, outraged at the audacity of attacking Danzo without their approval. "Since when can someone just kill a village elder at will?"
"This was done with my consent," Tsunade retorted coldly. "And what about Danzo targeting Shisui? When did it become acceptable for a village elder to attack one of our most talented ninja? Was it just for the power of the Sharingan?"
Her anger flared as she recalled finding her grandfather's cells on Danzo's corpse.
"That bastard even used my grandfather's cells! Who authorized this!?"
Although she framed it as a question, Tsunade's glare bore into Sarutobi, causing him to flinch. He quickly replied, "I didn't know about this either. Danzo has indeed gone too far."
Internally, Sarutobi speculated whether Danzo had been secretly collaborating with Orochimaru, as Root alone couldn't have deciphered the secrets of the First Hokage's cells.
Hearing about the First Hokage's cells, Koharu's anger waned slightly, but she still stubbornly protested. "Tsunade, you've been away from the village for years, and now you're supporting Itachi in killing Danzo? This doesn't sit well from any perspective!"
"What did you say!?"
Tsunade's fury surged. Her defense of Itachi wasn't just because of Danzo's heinous actions, which justified his execution, but also because of her desire to find clues about Yoichi through Itachi.
"Old man, are you serious about making me the Fifth Hokage?"
Sarutobi hesitated momentarily before nodding. "Of course. Are you willing to take up the mantle?"
With a cold huff, Tsunade stared directly at Koharu. "If that's the case, then as the Hokage, I exercised my authority to approve Danzo's execution. Any objections?"
"You're not Hokage yet—"
"Enough, Koharu," Sarutobi interrupted sternly. "Leave the matter of Danzo for now. The village has more pressing issues to address."
Not wanting to risk alienating Tsunade and losing her as a Hokage candidate, Sarutobi changed the subject. "The situation with Itachi will be handled by Tsunade. Danzo has been acting without my knowledge for years. Once we've organized Root's records, I'll let you review everything he's done."
Koharu and Homura fell silent at this, suspecting Danzo's activities might implicate them indirectly.
"Itachi-san, please don't argue over my actions. I'll accept any punishment, even patrolling the borders for ten years," Itachi suddenly spoke up, surprising everyone in the room.
Even Fugaku was left speechless by his son's actions.
Tsunade, annoyed, asked, "Hey, kid, do you even know what you're saying—"
Before she could finish, Itachi's body burst into smoke.
"A shadow clone!?"
Both Tsunade and Sarutobi were astonished. When had Itachi swapped himself out?
The meeting was abruptly halted, and ANBU and the police force scoured the village for Itachi, whose absence was critical to resolving the night's chaos. However, he remained missing until dawn, when he was finally found unconscious at the Naka Shrine in the Uchiha compound.
When Fugaku, Tsunade, and Sarutobi arrived, they found Itachi unconscious in a kneeling position before the clan's emblem—a posture of repentance.
Fugaku checked him over and asked Tsunade to examine him. Using medical ninjutsu, Tsunade healed his injuries and deduced he had suffered severe genjutsu damage for nearly a full day.
"This doesn't make sense," she said. "His shadow clone disappeared only hours ago. Who could have attacked him?"
Fugaku speculated it might have been one of Obito's allies. But the posture of repentance puzzled him. Who—or what—was Itachi apologizing to?
When Itachi regained consciousness, his confusion deepened the mystery. He claimed to have been ambushed by someone identical to him, wielding a three-tomoe Sharingan, and knocked out around 3 p.m.
"That's impossible," Tsunade said. "At 5 or 6 p.m., you were at the village gate talking to me about Danzo!"
Itachi looked even more bewildered, having no recollection of the encounter.
Back at the shrine, Yoichi observed the unfolding chaos.
"Itachi, your actions have complicated things for both yourself and me," Yoichi remarked.
The duplicity and revelation of Obito's involvement meant plans for the clan's extermination could no longer proceed covertly. Still, Yoichi couldn't forgive the idea of harming family, even in another timeline.
"Father, will changing this timeline cause problems?" Itachi asked.
"No need to worry," Yoichi replied. "This timeline is unrelated to ours. Consider it a vacation where you intervened for fun."
"Understood," Itachi replied, satisfied with the explanation.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, overburdened with tasks, stretched at sunset. "I'm exhausted. Let's go have a drink, Shizune."
"You go ahead, Tsunade-sama. I'll finish organizing things here," Shizune replied.
"Alright, I'm counting on you," Tsunade said as she hurried out, eager to escape the mounting responsibilities. "That old man—he hasn't even retired, yet he's already dumping everything on me!"
(End of Chapter)
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