Chapter 230: Danzō back to the Village

Konoha, inside the Hokage's office.

"Having done such a thing, Uchiha Sasuke should be put on the wanted list immediately!"

Utatsuki Koharu said this with a grim expression.

"No." The person who spoke wasn't the usually mild Third Hokage, but Homura Mitokado instead. Facing his old partner's astonished look, he said calmly, "Right now, no one can prove for certain that the one who killed Danzo was Uchiha Sasuke."

Isn't that just blatant denial?

A signature Uchiha Fire Release was used, there were Chidori marks on the wound—unless Kakashi did it?

Even if there are no witnesses and Danzo's body has been destroyed, how do you explain Uchiha Sasuke suddenly leaving the village in the middle of the night?

Deep down, the Third Hokage really doesn't want to make a big deal out of it. It's just like the Uchiha Massacre back then: clearly an ugly scandal involving the higher-ups of the village that can't be explained away, no matter how many mouths you have. Best to keep it from anyone other than the three of them.

Besides, this time it's slightly different from the Uchiha Massacre incident: back then, that family was cursed by the majority of lower- and middle-ranking villagers, but the now-deceased Danzo was disliked by many mid- to high-ranking individuals.

They had no choice. There had been too many dark deeds from Root exposed previously.

Just one example is Danzo taking advantage of the war to capture a large number of orphans and cultivate them into shinobi using methods similar to Kirigakure's "Blood Mist." Many people couldn't stomach that. There might be some radicals among the higher-ranking jonin, but due to the Third Hokage's influence, the majority leaned toward a conservative, moderate approach.

Even among the elite jonin, few were truly ruthless, so it would be bizarre if they all thought highly of Danzo.

Under Konoha's sunlight, the filth dredged up by Root was intolerable.

As long as Danzo was alive, people would keep wondering if any of the other high-level officials were involved in all those atrocities, or if they were protecting him—or perhaps even gave the orders?

Ordinary shinobi might not care much, but the opinions of the great ninja clans are very troublesome.

If morale collapses, the village becomes hard to govern.

The Second Hokage's recent return gave the village a strong booster shot, but that only works temporarily. Over time, unless the village were to bring back the even more legendary First Hokage, they'd still have to address the problem of "How to handle Root and Danzo."

Once Root was put in the spotlight, Danzo's political career was over. The most dignified exit would have been to quietly take his own life, carrying all blame upon himself.

That way, everyone could rest easy.

But everyone knew the personality of the Third Hokage, and Koharu Utatane is also quite sentimental. Even if Homura Mitokado had suggested it, it wouldn't have passed. He also didn't want to stain himself with Root's filth, so they just kept dragging it out.

In his view, if Danzo was supposedly there to shoulder the village's sins, why hadn't he resolved himself to bear all the consequences?

Because it had gone on so long, Homura naturally became extremely disappointed in his old friend. Only a few days ago he'd even begun wishing someone could step in to replace Root and handle the dirty work for the village.

Yes, it's cruel to Danzo, but that's the brutal reality.

After a long silence in the office, the Third Hokage spoke first: "Teacher must already know, right?"

He might be indecisive, but he's no fool. He knows that if Sasuke left the village, he's not going anywhere else—he's going to find Link.

And since Tobirama Senju, who's been working with Link on experiments, is definitely aware of this by now.

Koharu didn't respond. She knew her teacher's temperament; now that he's returned, he wouldn't say much. He'd likely act just like Homura and pretend nothing had happened.

She abruptly changed the subject: "Sarutobi, the teacher's not here right now; you're still the Hokage."

He's basically tossing the responsibility on him.

"…," Homura sighed, then said, "Let's leave it at that. Seal any relevant information, and wait for the teacher and Link to come back and deal with it."

"With Link's jutsu, Danzo can be summoned back, right?"

All of the higher-ups, including the heads of the major clans, had learned from Tobirama Senju how Link's Summoning Jutsu can communicate with and summon the deceased.

They'd even agreed that when they died, they'd respond immediately if they heard the call.

So, if Danzo's dead, then so be it. They can simply bring him back later and figure out the rest.

They'd been busy dealing with this since morning and were still at it in the afternoon.

Koharu had nothing left to say. She was only outraged that Sasuke killed Danzo. But if they can bring Danzo himself back, there's no need to push for a manhunt.

The Third Hokage removed the Hokage's hat and placed it on the desk. He stretched his back a bit; once you get older, your stamina isn't what it used to be. Yet there's no one else in the village who can take his place.

Jiraiya and Tsunade aren't exactly saving him any trouble: one is wandering around with the jinchūriki, not even responding to news that the Second Hokage has returned; the other has vanished for who knows how long.

They're too willful. Good thing there's Link's jutsu, which has been a huge help.

[Ah, once Link comes back, maybe I can rest a bit again…]

One hour later, in the Hokage's office—

"Sarutobi, what in the world is going on? You said it was urgent—" Homura began as he pushed the door open. Upon entering, he saw a small kid perched on the Hokage's desk. He froze in mid-step, his expression growing blank.

"Homura, have a seat first," said Tobirama Senju (in his childhood form) in a soft, childlike voice.

Homura took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and sat down. Tentatively, he asked, "Lord Second Hokage?"

This is way too shocking. Why is the Second Hokage so young? Is this the Summoning Jutsu again? Or maybe a transformation jutsu? Or an illusion?

His mind was in overdrive.

Next to him, Hiruzen Sarutobi—who looked like he was babysitting a grandson—wiped the sweat from his brow and whispered, "Link and Teacher came up with a new jutsu that can bring the dead back to life."

"What?!"

Homura's expression changed rapidly. He shot to his feet, but after seeing the familiar look in the Second Hokage's eyes, he slowly sat back down. In a low voice, he asked, "Are you sure it's—?"

That omitted part contained many implications: Is this kid in front of them really the Second Hokage himself? Is this resurrection truly genuine?

Tobirama watched Hiruzen and Homura's hushed exchange without comment, waiting for Koharu to arrive so they could explain everything together. Indeed, reviving the dead is bizarre stuff, even in a shinobi world.

And not only that, he's in the form of his childhood self.

[Sigh, my brother…] Tobirama thought with a headache. Because of his personality and past experiences, Hashirama Senju firmly believed that the dead shouldn't interfere with the living. He'd likely reject Link's attempts to pester him from beyond, refusing to show himself.

Unless, of course, they used the original Edo Tensei to bring him back forcibly for a talk.

Tobirama had already made his decision: after he recovers some of his strength, he'll pull out his brother with Edo Tensei so they can discuss the matter of resurrection.

Even in a childhood form, his brother wouldn't be weak. With the experience from his past life, in a few years of training he'd absolutely be a fighting force. Even if he doesn't match the power he had when he ended the Warring States Period, it would be more than enough to serve as a Kage.

Then Tobirama wouldn't have to waste time on it.

In the current shinobi world, nobody could defeat a resurrected Hashirama who had trained a few years. After thinking it through, Tobirama reaffirmed just how important Link is. The ability to utterly tread upon the taboo between life and death is simply too powerful.

If someone told him Link was the reincarnation of the Sage of the Six Paths, he might believe it.

Clack—

"Sarutobi, I—"

At the doorway, yet another old-timer appeared, frozen in shock.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Homura Mitokado, who had already used secret signals, glances, gestures, and whispered explanations, waved him in. Now Konoha's F4 was only missing one.

The three looked at each other and continued their discussion. From the chakra they sensed to his appearance and mannerisms, everything about him matched the Second Hokage.

Could resurrection really be possible?

They still had lingering doubts, though.

At that moment, Tobirama gave a signal to begin. A figure waiting outside the window disappeared, and before long, Link arrived, travel-worn. He greeted the three already seated, then quickly formed a series of hand signs. Placing his hands together with a clap, he activated a Summoning Jutsu.

"Shimura Danzo, Shimura Danzo! Come in if you can hear me. Are you receiving this? Please respond."

"The Shadow of the Shinobi's Darkness died?"

"Dead? Good, good!"

"Danzo is dead…?"

"Lord Danzo, how could this—?"

To be fair, Danzo's 'connections' weren't bad: the moment Link said his name, there was an uproar in the afterlife. Countless voices buzzed in his ears.

Yes, 99% were curses, while the rest were complicated feelings—like Yahiko's—or the words of a few die-hard Root loyalists.

As Link mentally tagged each voice, he suddenly realized he'd caught the person who used to argue anonymously with him:

The one who said, "Nonsense! How could the Third Kazekage possibly have been killed by that brat Sasori?!"

Turns out that guy really was the Third Kazekage.

Anyway, when Link pulled the Third Kazekage in for a split second, the two of them had a rather awkward moment.

"Link, it's me," came Shimura Danzo's voice.

"Right, we'll talk later, Third Kazekage-san who supposedly couldn't have been killed by Sasori," Link teased, ignoring the now-unmasked Kazekage. He quickly locked on to Danzo's signal and released the Summoning Jutsu, ramping up the chakra to summon that shady old "Kage of the Pot" back to the world.

Lo and behold, a younger version of Danzo—quite handsome, actually, though his eyes were as gloomy as ever, just like when he was old.

[But without that arm grafted with Hashirama cells and Sharingan, he's much weaker now,] Link thought.

"Danzo…" Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to call out his old friend's name.

Danzo glanced up at Tobirama, seated on the desk in a child's body. He had thought that, having died once, nothing could surprise him. But this was new indeed.

After a moment of silence, he hesitated and said, "Teacher?"

"Mm."

Tobirama responded in a nasal hum. "They already know how you died. If there's anything you want to say, now's the time, while the three of them are here."

Homura Mitokado kept his composure and signaled to Hiruzen Sarutobi with a look.

Who knew if Danzo might start accusing others out loud? When they got a chance, they'd have to talk privately with Link. The last thing they needed was another uproar about putting out a warrant for Uchiha Sasuke.

One Koharu was messy enough.

~~~

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!