The Titan Curse: A Shinobi’s Reign

Chapter 17

The blade at her throat remained steady, the cold steel pressing lightly against her skin. The masked man's posture was rigid, his breathing controlled.

Tsunade didn't move. She had faced death too many times to be intimidated.

"If you wanted to kill me," she said calmly, "you wouldn't be standing here wasting time."

The kunai hesitated for a moment before pulling away. The man stepped back, vanishing partially into the darkness of the ruined hideout.

"You shouldn't have come here," he said.

Tsunade rolled her shoulders, rubbing her neck as if she'd been genuinely concerned. She hadn't.

"I'm looking for information," she said, taking a slow step forward. "About Kurozan."

The air around them seemed to shift.

The masked man was well-trained, but even the best couldn't hide everything. Tsunade caught the slight flicker of tension in his body. He knew something.

"You were Root, weren't you?" she pressed.

His silence was enough of an answer.

She folded her arms. "Root is gone. Danzo is dead. You don't have to keep playing the perfect soldier."

His fists clenched, barely perceptible in the dim light.

Good. She had struck a nerve.

---

Back at Kurozan's camp, the night was quiet, save for the distant murmur of men preparing for the battles to come. Kurozan stood on the cliff's edge, gazing at the flickering torches below.

More had arrived. Fighters with nowhere to call home. War criminals, outcasts, and forgotten warriors—all drawn to him.

His power wasn't just in his abilities. It was in what he represented.

Change. Freedom. Destruction of the old world.

His forces were growing. But it wasn't enough. Not yet.

A kneeling soldier spoke. "The Hokage has started moving forces. Your presence is no longer a secret."

Kurozan smirked, the firelight reflecting in his eyes.

"Let them come."

---

Back to Tsunade, the Root operative finally spoke, his voice low.

"Kurozan… is not an ordinary man."

She had already known that much. But there was something in the way he said it—something laced with unease.

"He was part of a project," the man continued, hesitating before going on. "A hidden Root experiment. One of Danzo's last and most dangerous attempts to create the ultimate soldier."

Tsunade felt her stomach tighten.

Another experiment.

Another nightmare born from Konoha's secrets.

"What kind of experiment?" she asked, her voice measured.

"A fusion of chakra and something more," the man said. "A way to create warriors with abilities beyond the limits of any shinobi."

Tsunade exhaled slowly, her hands curling into fists. She had seen what Kurozan could do. The way he transformed men into something monstrous.

And now she knew why.

Root. Danzo. Konoha's dark past.

She had always known the village had its share of corruption. But this—this was deeper than she had imagined.

She looked at the masked man, her voice firm.

"Tell me everything."

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