Chapter 7: 

Author's Notes:

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Continuation of the previous chapter.

[The Senju complex has the largest amount of barriers and traps in Konoha, literally the safest place and all thanks to my grandmother Miito] (Tsunade).

[And all the protections and traps are intact, implying that someone would have to get close to Kenichi outside the complex, or having been invited to the compound to apply the poison to it] (Tsunade).

[I don't allow Kenichi to leave the compound because Danzo tried to kidnap my son three times to force him into that damn Root] (Tsunade).

[The poison was applied within the last 24 hours] (Tsunade).

[And only 4 people were in the complex in that time period] (Tsunade).

[One was Jiraya, someone I'm sure didn't poison Kenichi] (Tsunade).

Listening to Tsunade up to that point Hiruzen widened his eyes knowing who the other 3 were, and I understand the implications behind the matter.

[The other three were his advisors, Koharu, Homura, and Danzo] (Tsunade).

[If my son's body were not abnormally resistant to diseases and poisons, now he would be dead and there would be no evidence of the matter] (Tsunade).

[Tell me Hiruzen-Senseiif it wasn't Jiraya, and no one else but the people mentioned came into my house during the last 48 hours, who was most likely to poison my son?] (Tsunade).

Hiruzen at that moment had a difficult expression on his face.

The counselors had gone to the Senju complex to try to force Tsunade to hand over Kenichi to join ROOT, Hiruzen learned of the matter only after it happened, and this resulted in a serious fight between him and Danzo.

Koharu and Homura supported Danzo in this, but because of who Tsunade was, the support of Jiraya, Orochimaru, and the entire Senju clan, they could not force the matter without ending up dead.

And now after they went to the compound in an attempt to force Kenichi to be integrated into the Root program without consulting the Hokage, and were expelled from there by a furious Tsunade, her son appeared poisoned.

And to make matters worse Hiruzen knew that among the counselors there were two who would probably do something like this.

The truth is that Kenichi's potential was already known to all of Konoha's high echelon, and what everyone else feared was that he was not loyal to the village.

Tsunade holds hatred against some people in Konoha, as Dan died due to a leak of information from Konoha.

In particular, Danzo and Homura were involved in the matter, as Dan was a really strong candidate for the Hokage hat due to Tsunade's support.

He died took Dan and Tsunade out of the competition for the post, but due to how Dan loved Konoha and Hiruzen begging Tsunade for Konoha's sake.

She swallowed her feelings and thought of her son Kenichi, then decided to put the matter aside for now and find a way to kill those involved in the future.

All the counselors and people who knew about it understood a fact:

"It was only a matter of time before the bomb known as Tsunade went off."

And everything that counselors least wanted, was for her to have a chance to influence the next Hashirama against them.

But as they would never get the support of the other clans to force Tsunade to deliver Kenichi without exposing that they leaked the information and betrayed fellow leaf Shinobi.

And knowing that they would be declared traitors in case they revealed.

It was obvious that the only other way to prevent Tsunade from influencing Kenichi against them was to get rid of the boy before he grew up.

They could handle the matter if only Tsunade went against Konoha, but not against the next Hashirama when he has grown fully.

So if Kenichi couldn't be controlled by the elders from their point of view, he should be destroyed.

Hiruzen knew that's exactly how they thought.

Looking into Tsunade's cold eyes, Hiruzen understood exactly what she expected of him.

[Tsunade, let's stay calm and talk] (Hiruzen).

[Chat?] (Tsunade).

[Sensei they tried to kill my son because I refused to give him to Danzo, and you want to talk?] (Tsunade).

[You can choose Sensei]. (Tsunade).

[Deal with them, let me do it, or I see myself leaving Konoha next to Kenichi] (Tsunade).

[The choice is yours] (Tsunade).

[Tsunade this is not a joke, think of Kenichi, if he leaves here with you other villages will shoot him] (Jiraya) said seriously.

[I know, I stayed in Konoha for my son's safety, but clearly, he's not safe with those 3, occupying positions that allow them to attack me without me being able to retaliate] (Tsunade).

[Against the other villages, I still have a chance to survive, for I can retaliate to the height] (Tsunade).

[But to stay in Konoha without being able to retaliate, is basically condemning my son to death] (Tsunade).

[I will not see Konoha killing my son like killed his father, Jiraya] (Tsunade) said with eyes that it showed how serious she was talking.

[It would have been a case if I was the target, but they knew they couldn't deal with me quietly, and they took aim at my son] (Tsunade).

[Now the decision is in your hands Sensei] (Tsunade).

Orochimaru listening to Tsunade thought for a while and then said:

[Sensei, Danzo has gone too far, it's time to get rid of him] (Orochimaru).

Orochimaru was not stupid, he had already studied some of Kenichi's blood samples and knew that probably the key to immortality was in his body and if Orochimaru could study Kenichi, he could advance his research in stride.

If Tsunade were to leave, she would surely go with the determination to kill Kenichi if she could not protect him, and without Kenichi, the dream of immortality might not be achieved.

That's why it would be better for Orochimaru if Danzo fell now than he'd miss his chance.

[We don't know if it was him] (Hiruzen).

[It could only have been Danzo, only he would be able to do something like this with the great-grandson of the first Hokage] (Orochimaru).

[We all know about Kenichi's potential, and all he can achieve] (Orochimaru).

[Kenichi is worth more than an old man who would sincerely let crucial information leak if it was beneficial to him] (Orochimaru).

[Kenichi is an extremely intelligent child, and over time he will find that some of the elders tried to kill him, and if Kenichi notices that Konoha just didn't react, his loyalty definitely won't be with us] (Orochimaru).

[We can have the next Hashirama on our side, or let another village have him of theirs, the choice is your Sensei] (Orochimaru).

Listening to Orochimaru, Hiruzen sighed heavily and said:

[I'll investigate the matter, and I'll deal with the culprit and make an example of him] (Hiruzen) said with an unmorted face.

He didn't really want to do this, but he knew it was necessary, Kenichi had too much potential and Tsunade was a threat to the whole of Konoha.

Hiruzen was sure he could kill Kenichi now, but Tsunade could escape if he wanted to use reverse invocation.

And if she escaped she could join any of the other great villages and put Konoha on the ground with the knowledge she had.

Hiruzen could not take risks like this, at that time no matter who among the 3 had been, the person would pay the price.