Rei Ao had watched enough of the show, so he threw more fuel on the fire.
"Oh right—there's a freebie, too."
He reached out and lightly tapped Tsunade's forehead with his index finger.
Tsunade instinctively tried to dodge, but she didn't make it.
The instant his fingertip touched her skin, a tidal wave of information flooded into her mind.
Meeting minutes—one after another.
—Mission assignment sheets.
—Personnel transfer documents.
—And those memos stamped "Top Secret," discussing how to "gently weaken the Senju clan's influence."
Every single file had signatures.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's. Danzō's. And the two advisors who had just turned to ash.
Tsunade saw every detail.
Like Nawaki's mission—its projected success rate was only three percent.
Yet the report described it as "challenging, but good for training new talent."
Like Senju Shinsuke—he could've retreated, but received a dead-order: "Must hold the position at all costs."
Like… like… like…
Too many.
So many she could barely breathe.
Rei Ao withdrew his hand. Tsunade stumbled back.
The look in her eyes changed completely—
from pain, to rage, and then to a cold, hollow emptiness.
"Well?" Rei Ao asked with a bright smile.
"Big enough info dump? VIP-exclusive service, you know."
Tsunade straightened and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At the man who had once been her teacher, her elder… the Hokage.
"Why?"
Just three words.
Hiruzen's lips trembled. After a long time, he rasped, "…For Konoha's balance."
"The Senju were too strong—strong enough to make other clans uneasy, strong enough to threaten the Hokage's authority."
He said it.
He finally said it.
Danzō snorted. "Hiruzen, why keep pretending you're merciful? Just tell her already—Konoha doesn't need a second First Hokage, and it definitely doesn't need a Senju princess who might become Hokage."
Tsunade nodded.
"Got it."
She drew a deep breath.
"Then, Sensei—this is the last time I'll call you that."
Her fist clenched.
Chakra began to boil over.
Her golden hair whipped wildly. The Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead cracked open, black markings crawling up her cheeks.
That terrifying, massive chakra—born from the mingled bloodlines of Senju and Uzumaki—made the entire Hokage Tower tremble.
"I'm going to—"
"Wait."
Rei Ao cut in again.
Everyone turned to him.
He spread his hands. "I get it. You want revenge. But after you kill them, then what? Konoha has no leader, and the Four Great Nations are watching like wolves—are you planning to bury the village along with your clan?"
Tsunade froze.
"So," Rei Ao said, grinning like a fox, "I've got a better proposal."
He raised two fingers.
"First, I'll help you kill the people who deserve killing."
"But leave some room—your teacher can retire, for example. He's old. Danzō has to die, though. That's non-negotiable."
Danzō narrowed his one remaining eye.
"Second."
Rei Ao looked straight at Tsunade and spoke slowly, clearly.
"I can bring Nawaki back—not some cheap Edo Tensei knockoff. I mean the real thing: whole, complete, alive. Senju Nawaki."
Tsunade's head rang.
"Y-you… what did you say?"
"I said I can make your little brother live again."
Rei Ao's tone was as casual as if he were commenting on the weather.
"Of course, it's not free."
The conference room fell silent again.
This time, even Danzō was stunned.
Reviving the dead?
Real resurrection?
Hiruzen snapped his gaze to Rei Ao. "Who… what are you? Are you—could you be the Sage of Six Paths…"
"Don't compare me to that old guy."
Rei Ao rolled his eyes.
"What he can't do, I can. Simple as that."
Kushina muttered quietly from the side, "That sounds so edgy…"
But nobody laughed.
Because Rei Ao had already proven just how absurd he was.
Tsunade's hands were shaking.
Bring Nawaki back.
Those four words echoed in her head like a curse.
It was what she'd dreamed of, even in sleep—
"I…" Her voice was hoarse. "How do I believe you?"
Rei Ao smiled.
He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers.
In the center of the room, the air suddenly warped.
A hazy, half-transparent figure slowly appeared.
A boy.
Sun-bright smile. Wearing the Senju clan robes.
"Big sis?"
Nawaki's phantom spoke.
Tsunade was struck like lightning.
"Naw…aki…"
"Ah—so it really is you, sis!"
The phantom scratched his head and grinned.
"Feels like I slept forever. Had this really long dream… Why are you crying? Who bullied you? I'll punch him for you!"
Still that same idiot little brother.
The same tone, the same tiny gestures, the same look in his eyes—exactly the same.
The phantom lasted only ten seconds before it dissipated.
But it was enough.
Tsunade's defenses shattered completely.
She crouched down, hugged herself, and cried like a child.
Jiraiya moved to help her, but his hand stopped halfway—then pulled back.
He realized he had no right.
Hiruzen closed his eyes, as if he'd aged ten years in an instant.
But Danzō was quietly forming seals.
A flash of brutality passed through his lone eye.
"Watch out!" Kushina suddenly shouted.
Too late.
Danzō vanished.
Not Body Flicker—something stranger, a technique that melded him into the shadows.
The next moment, he appeared behind Rei Ao.
In his hand was a pitch-black tanto wrapped in ominous chakra.
"Die."
Danzō's voice was cold. "You foreign pest—"
The blade thrust toward Rei Ao's back.
Then stopped.
The tip hung one centimeter from his clothes, unable to move another hair's breadth.
Rei Ao didn't even turn around.
"Knew you'd try this."
He sighed. "Shimura Danzō, you know what you remind me of?"
Danzō tried to yank the knife back, but his arm wouldn't move.
Like an insect pinned in amber.
"Like that assassin in games who always sneaks to the backline."
Rei Ao turned slowly. "Bad mechanics, huge addiction."
He reached out, pinched the black blade—
and snapped it.
Crack. The knife broke like a biscuit.
Danzō's pupils shrank. He tried to retreat, but couldn't.
Rei Ao's hand was already on his shoulder.
"You said something just now that I really didn't like."
Rei Ao smiled gently.
"You said, 'Ninja are consumables.'"
His fingers tightened slightly.
Danzō's shoulder bone groaned under the pressure.
"So let me tell you this—"
Rei Ao leaned in. His voice was soft, but everyone heard it clearly.
"In my eyes, you're a consumable too."
"And you're expired."
BOOM!!!
Danzō exploded.
Not metaphorically.
He actually exploded—bursting into a skyful of blood mist.
~~~
New Fanfic: Fusion of Template in Naruto