Danzō didn't even get the chance.
"Mangekyō Sharingan: Epitaph."
After foreseeing the future, Uchiha Yusuke drew his sword and pierced straight through Danzō's chest in a single, instant thrust.
Before Danzō could gamble everything, the Reverse Four Symbols Seal fizzled out.
This time… it couldn't even destroy half a bridge.
"Lord Danzō!"
The moment the battle ended, Root shinobi rushed in.
When they saw Danzō lying there as a corpse, their eyes went bloodshot.
"Uchiha Yusuke!"
At the two squad leaders' command, Root members immediately formed a circle around him.
Yusuke barked coldly:
"You fireflies think you can compete with the sun and moon?"
"Danzō is dead by my blade. If you don't want to die too, get out of my way!"
His shout shook them—many Root shinobi wavered.
The leader was dead… were they really going to throw their lives away for nothing?
They were heavily brainwashed, yes—but they hadn't lost the ability to think.
Avoiding pointless death was instinct, even for shinobi.
"Don't be fooled!"
"Uchiha Yusuke killed Lord Danzō!"
"We must avenge him!"
The two squad leaders, stubborn to the end, still tried to whip everyone into fighting.
For Danzō's true loyal claws like them, Yusuke had no intention of showing mercy.
His sword flashed—two heads hit the ground.
"Anyone else want to follow their example?"
Root went silent, lowering their heads as one.
Yusuke was half-ready to pick out a few more troublemakers to send after Danzō…
when the Third Hokage suddenly stormed in with his personal ANBU.
"Yusuke—stop!"
"Leave Root to me."
Yusuke nodded.
When it came to "re-education," the Third Hokage was highly skilled.
Yusuke had never planned to slaughter Root down to the last man—he only wanted to purge Danzō's hard-core fanatics.
Since the Hokage spoke, Yusuke decided to give him face. After all, Hiruzen was still the official top authority in Konoha.
Hiruzen glanced at Danzō's body in the pool of blood and sighed inwardly.
I did give you chances.
You just weren't good enough.
Rest easy, old friend.
Next life… you can be my scapegoat again.
After a brief moment of "mourning," Hiruzen turned to Root:
"Now, as Hokage, I order you to lay down your weapons and submit to ANBU investigation."
With the Third Hokage stepping in, Root's will collapsed instantly.
One shinobi lowered his weapon—and it triggered a chain reaction.
Within moments, Root members were disarmed, shackled, and reduced to ANBU prisoners.
Hiruzen nodded with quiet satisfaction.
Danzō's men included plenty of elites.
Perfect—he could use this to strengthen ANBU.
Also, returning some shinobi to their clans would earn him political goodwill.
Yusuke's influence was blazing hot right now, and Hiruzen urgently needed to reinforce his own position—
so he could keep holding onto the Hokage seat.
Despite his age, he had no intention of stepping down.
And he didn't trust Uchiha Yusuke at all.
If he ever did choose a successor, it would be between Jiraiya and Tsunade—no one else.
After tossing the Root mess to the Third Hokage, Yusuke walked out of the base.
Seeing him unharmed, Fugaku, Hiashi, and the others all exhaled in relief.
Yusuke was the future hope of more than one major faction—Fugaku and Hiashi were still counting on him to become Fifth Hokage.
"Yusuke—what happened inside?"
They stepped forward to ask.
Yusuke smiled.
"Danzō is dead. The Hokage is inside cleaning up."
At that, faces lit up across the board.
For years, Danzō had been a shadow smothering Konoha.
Now the clouds had finally parted.
Leaders swarmed Yusuke with flattery—some who'd barely spoken to him before suddenly tried to cozy up.
Nara Shikaku looked especially relieved.
Back then, he'd made a point of showing goodwill early.
Now it looked like real foresight.
With Yusuke rising, the future of the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance looked bright.
Once Root was handled, the Third Hokage called everyone into another meeting.
This time, Yusuke didn't stay in a lower seat—he sat directly in the position that had belonged to Danzō.
Yusuke taking the high seat made Homura and Koharu look sour.
But since even Hiruzen accepted it, the two advisors could only glare silently.
They'd already been humiliated earlier.
Now that Danzō had fallen completely, they didn't dare openly provoke Yusuke anymore.
They looked powerful, but in truth they were the classic "borrowed authority" type.
Maybe they had real skill in their youth—now they were mostly just bullies who feared strength.
(And in the canon timeline, when Pain attacked Konoha, those two barked at Tsunade—until she snapped, and they immediately backed off with a weak "fine, do what you want" and ran.)
Hiruzen still had combat power despite reduced chakra.
Homura and Koharu probably couldn't even handle a chūnin anymore—maybe all they had left was the strength to sip tea.
As the upper ranks compromised, the lower ranks watched with mixed reactions.
Some mourned the Third Hokage's decline.
Others secretly rejoiced—finally, the two arrogant advisors had met someone they couldn't push around.
Watching everyone's faces, Hiruzen sighed silently.
With Danzō dead, the authority of Konoha's top leadership took a heavy hit.
From now on, meetings probably wouldn't be his one-man show.
Maybe because he was in a foul mood, he gave a brief summary and dismissed the session quickly.
The moment it ended, "interested parties" rushed to Yusuke with late-arriving friendliness.
Yusuke didn't reject them—but he didn't act especially warm either.
Flowers on brocade would never compare to help in a snowstorm.
Compared with the Hyuga and the Ino–Shika–Chō, these people had missed the best window.
Not long after, Hiruzen received ANBU reports about everyone flocking to Yusuke.
He could only feel helpless.
You couldn't chain human hearts.
When he became Third Hokage, people had "aligned" with him the same way.
But if Konoha truly changed dynasties now… he couldn't accept it.
Hiruzen's eyes flickered. After long thought, he finally made a decision and ordered ANBU:
"Notify Jiraiya."
"Have him bring Tsunade back."
Land of Lightning — Entertainment District — Near the Bathhouse
With binoculars in hand, Jiraiya was hard at work "collecting material" as usual.
"Ohoho…"
"Not bad—really not bad."
"These girls have such exotic charm!"
Suddenly, a small toad popped out of a well and spat a mouthful of slime right into his face.
Jiraiya's mood instantly soured.
"Hey!"
"Can't you see I'm working diligently here?!"
The little toad couldn't speak; it only croaked twice.
Jiraiya sighed.
Another message from Konoha?
That old man… he never lets me rest.
The toad opened its mouth and spat out a scroll. Jiraiya read it—and frowned.
Danzō… got killed?
What exactly is Uchiha Yusuke trying to do?
Even though he'd wandered for years, Jiraiya still cared about Konoha.
He just had some lingering resentment toward the Third Hokage, and didn't feel like going back.
Reading the task, he felt his head start to ache.
Go find Tsunade and bring her back?
Easy for you to say!
Tsunade's resentment toward you is even bigger than mine—how am I supposed to persuade her?
He looked nostalgic when he thought of Tsunade—
then immediately shrank a bit at the memory of earth-shattering punches.
Trying to convince her might get me beaten half to death…
The old man always dumps the worst errands on me.
Still, he couldn't just ignore the Third Hokage's request.
With Root destroyed and Danzō dead, Konoha really was unstable.
Jiraiya could understand the Third Hokage's pressure.
And since he still had his own "Child of Prophecy" search and couldn't return, the only option was to bring Tsunade in.
Historically, Senju and Uchiha were natural rivals.
Using Tsunade—born of the Senju—to check Uchiha Yusuke fit Konoha's traditions perfectly.
Even Madara Uchiha, who once stood above all… had been beaten into submission by the First Hokage.
Tsunade's fearsome reputation was legendary.
Handling one Uchiha Yusuke should be simple—right?
Jiraiya muttered:
"Looks like I'm heading to the Land of Hot Water again…"
"And the hot-spring girls there are really…"
Just thinking about the fresh, cute girls from the hot-spring country filled him with motivation.
Convince "the legendary busty Tsunade"?
Fine.
This impossible mission—
the Toad Sage Jiraiya accepts!
Land of Hot Water — Tanzaku Street
Since leaving Konoha, Tsunade had lived in a haze:
Casinos by day, heavy drinking by evening, then back to the inn to sleep.
A messy life—but, honestly, a comfortable one.
Tsunade indulged herself.
Her assistant Shizune suffered.
Shizune had to scrape together money and clean up all the fallout.
If she didn't admire Tsunade so deeply, she never would've endured it.
Even though Tsunade left Konoha, Shizune believed she could still inherit the will of the dead and become Hokage.
Shizune kept forgiving her excesses—waiting for the day Tsunade would turn back and carry the banner again.
Tsunade's bitterness toward the Third Hokage ran deep, but she still had a thin thread of affection for Konoha.
With Shizune constantly mediating, she wasn't completely beyond reach—
but "not hopeless" didn't mean "easy."
Even in the canon timeline, after the Third Hokage's death, Jiraiya still had to struggle to persuade her.
The deaths of her lover and her younger brother had hit her too hard.
Morning. Clear skies. A pleasant breeze.
As soon as the sun rose, Tsunade grabbed a case and strode up to a casino.
"Perfect."
"Today, it's this place."
Shizune, holding the little pig Tonton, broke into a cold sweat.
"What?!"
"Lady Tsunade, you're gambling again?!"
Tsunade waved her off impatiently.
"Don't nag."
"I'm winning back what I lost last time—today."
Shizune and Tonton silently despaired.
As if she'll win anything back…
"The legendary sucker" title—who doesn't know it?
Tsunade ignored that, convinced she had the makings of a gambling goddess—she was just "unlucky lately."
She'd learned gambling from her grandfather, the First Hokage.
How could she always lose?
Today I'm definitely turning it around!
With that mindset, Tsunade kicked the door open and marched in. Shizune clung to her sleeve, trembling.
Last time Tsunade tried to "turn it around," she lost an entire month's living expenses.
After all the spending since then, their funds were running dangerously low.
Seeing Tsunade enter, the casino manager's eyes lit up.
"Th-that woman is…"
Tsunade, in high heels, walked up with a charming smile.
She opened the case—packed with cash.
Her lips curved slightly; her voice was crisp and sweet:
"Please exchange all of this for chips."
Shizune, watching from a distance, started sweating buckets.
It's over. It's over.
Lady Tsunade is way too motivated today…
A clueless newbie whispered to the manager:
"Who is that lady?"
The manager glared.
"You don't know her?"
"That's the 'Legendary Sucker'!"
Tsunade had loved gambling since long ago—unfortunately, she was terrible at it.
In the gambling world, she naturally earned that infamous nickname.
A walking money dispenser—what casino wouldn't love her?
To gamblers everywhere, Tsunade was a shining beacon of hope.
By evening, after battling in the casino all day, Tsunade finally came out.
As expected, she'd lost everything again.
Walking along, she grumbled to herself:
"I shouldn't have played that hand…"
"No, no, no—that round I should've gone all-in!"
Shizune followed behind, not daring to speak.
After gambling, Tsunade's mood was usually bad for a while.
Getting too close was a great way to get punched.
They entered a tavern. Even while eating, Tsunade kept "having a few drinks."
After dozens of bottles, she started getting properly buzzed.
"Boss—another one!"
Shizune tried to stop her.
"Lady Tsunade, you've already had a lot…"
Tsunade slapped her hand away.
"This is nothing!"
"You drink with me too!"
Shizune glanced at her empty coin purse and felt like crying.
At this rate, we'll be buried in debt…
When will Lady Tsunade finally wake up?
Just then—
Jiraiya, still searching everywhere for Tsunade, pushed aside the curtain and walked in.
He'd only meant to gather information at a tavern.
Instead, he ran straight into his target.
Their eyes met.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
Finally—without any extra effort.
Tsunade is right here.
Tsunade, eyes hazy with drink, froze.
…Am I seeing Jiraiya?
Is this a hallucination?
In the end, Jiraiya broke the silence first.
He pointed, eyes wide.
"Tsunade?!"
Tsunade snapped to her feet too.
"Jiraiya?!"
"Why are you here?"
Jiraiya smiled like a man who'd just dropped a boulder off his shoulders.
He walked over and sat naturally across from Tsunade and Shizune.
"Found you at last."
"I've been looking everywhere."
Half-drunk, Tsunade asked flatly:
"What do you want?"
"Don't tell me you came just to reminisce."
Jiraiya poured himself a cup and downed it.
"To be honest…"
"The old man sent me."
"He wants you to go back to Konoha—"
Tsunade's face sank immediately.
"Back to Konoha?"
"Why would I go back?"
"To watch those people scheme and stab each other again?"
Tsunade's resentment toward Konoha's leadership ran deep.
As the Fire Country's "princess" and one of the Legendary Sannin, she'd still swallowed plenty of humiliation back when she lived in the village…
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