[173] : Come to Me for the Truth

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Danzō stormed out of the Hokage's office, his expression dark and furious after being denied control over the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.

Hiruzen sighed as he watched him leave. He knew Danzō well enough—he never had any genuine solutions. His only goal was to seize the Nine-Tails for himself, no matter the consequences.

Now that he was gone, Hiruzen was left to figure out how to handle the inevitable. But after running through every possible scenario, he came to a single conclusion—there was nothing he could do. He could only wait.

Shin wasn't here to take the Nine-Tails, just some of its chakra. That much was clear from his previous visits to other villages. As long as that remained true, perhaps Konoha could avoid unnecessary conflict.

....

Meanwhile, Shin and his group arrived at the Senju compound—only to find it completely abandoned.

It was no surprise. Some of Konoha's clans had once tried claiming the land, but Hiruzen had stopped them. He knew touching the Senju's ancestral home would only provoke Tsunade's wrath—perhaps even Shin's.

Still, it had been over six months, and without anyone maintaining the property, weeds had overtaken the once-proud estate. Tsunade stared at the sight, her face unreadable. Even Shin let out a soft sigh.

The Senju Clan, co-founders of Konoha, had all but vanished.

Aside from Tsunade and Nawaki, there was no one left. Even the Uchiha—whose numbers had dwindled—were in a better position.

After doing a bit of quick tidying, Shin and the others decided to stay there temporarily, though they had no intention of lingering long in Konoha.

"It's already late," Shin observed. "We haven't had dinner yet. Let's check out Konoha's food stalls, yeah?"

He led Tsunade, Kushina, Mikoto, and Konan toward Konoha's bustling culinary district. Having left Konoha for so long, he felt a twinge of nostalgia at the local delicacies.

They browsed the entire street, eating a small portion at each stall until they were happily full.

"I thought we'd be watched the moment we entered Konoha," Kushina muttered, surprised. "But no one's following us."

She had Kagura's Mind's Eye, so if anyone were nearby, she would have sensed them.

"That's because the Sandaime wants no trouble," Shin replied. "He knows pissing me off leads nowhere good."

After all, even if they did try to keep an eye on him, what could they do?

"By the way, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki here is Uzumaki Akiko, right?" Kushina noted, reflecting that she hadn't seen Akiko in quite some time. They shared a clan name, though they'd never been especially close.

Tsunade turned to Shin, her expression firm.

"Tomorrow, I plan to talk with the Sandaime," she said. "You can guess why."

Shin could indeed guess—she wanted answers regarding Nawaki's situation. He nodded.

"Fine. Tomorrow, we'll see Hiruzen first. Then we'll find Akiko."

....

They spent the night in the Senju compound. The next morning, after grabbing a quick breakfast, they headed straight for the Hokage's office.

Despite their status as non-Konoha shinobi, no one dared bar their path—Hiruzen had explicitly ordered they should not be hindered, for fear of provoking a confrontation.

....

Stepping into the familiar office, they found little about it changed. Tsunade fixed Hiruzen with a frosty look. He, in turn, studied Tsunade, Shin, and the rest, forcing a strained smile.

"That's a terrible attempt," Kushina commented flatly.

It was indeed painfully forced—like a man smiling under duress.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen," Tsunade said coldly, "I want to know something. Why did Nawaki become a missing-nin?"

She didn't call him 'Hokage.' Didn't call him 'sensei.' He was no longer worthy of the title.

Hiruzen let out a resigned sigh, as though expecting this confrontation.

"Tsunade, it's not as though I wanted Nawaki to go rogue," he began. "But he killed his own comrades. You know Konoha's stance—striking down fellow shinobi is unforgivable."

Tsunade snorted, her eyes filled with mockery.

"What if he acted in self-defense?" she shot back. "All of Konoha thinks he's a murderer. And you? You just let them believe it—because that was more convenient, wasn't it?"

Fury flickered in her golden eyes.

"Tell me, Hiruzen. Did you have any hand in this?"

"If it's the truth you want," Shin interjected quietly, "You don't need to ask him. You can ask me instead."

He locked eyes with Hiruzen. In that moment, Shin's pupils morphed into the three-tomoe Sharingan.

Alarm flashed across the Hokage's features—he recognized the danger, but Alas, it was far too late.

Shin ensnared him in a genjutsu with nothing more than a glance.

Hiruzen's advanced reflexes didn't matter. Shin's Potent ocular power now dwarfed most shinobi. Capturing Hiruzen was child's play.

In that instant, the truth unraveled.

'Danzō had orchestrated everything, framing Nawaki for murder. His original plan was to have him killed, but when that failed, he turned Nawaki into an outcast.'

Hiruzen discovered the truth, he had effectively allowed Danzo's scheme to stand, doing nothing to clear Nawaki's name.

It might not have been Hiruzen's plot personally, but his silence and approval had allowed Nawaki's betrayal status to stick.

This came as a searing betrayal to Tsunade.

Her grandmother had championed Hiruzen for the Hokage seat, letting him stabilize his power in the village.

Her grand-uncle, Tobirama Senju, had been Hiruzen's teacher. And this was how he repaid the Senju Clan?

Shin forced Hiruzen to reveal details about the clan's decline, too—'there had been sabotage and manipulation behind the scenes, with Hiruzen complicit.'

Tsunade's rage boiled over. Chakra flared around her, cracking the floor in a violent burst.

"We should just kill him," Kushina said, throwing Tsunade a meaningful glance. "Nothing else would ease that anger."

Tsunade drew a shaky breath, her swirling chakra gradually settling.

"Shin, release him from the genjutsu," she commanded softly.

Shin shrugged. He ended the illusion, freeing Hiruzen. The Hokage blinked, beads of sweat on his brow, heart thudding at the memory of being helpless.

He knew he'd just been under the Sharingan's control, but not what secrets he'd spilled. The mere fact that Shin subdued him so effortlessly was terrifying.

He looked up, seeing Tsunade still trembling with fury, and felt a pang of dread, fearing what had just been exposed.

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