**Chapter 69: Tsunade: Wait for Me to Join the Fight!**

"I don't know."

Jiraiya shook his head. "As you know, after Lord Second passed away, only Minato ever mastered Flying Thunder God. Even the Hokage's guard team, like Shiranui Genma and the others, could barely pull it off working together as a trio. Plus, the seals for Flying Thunder God vary from person to person, depending on their physique and chakra nature… I can't tell."

"But the Rasengan? That's the real deal, no question about it."

"The Uzumaki clan is gone, and we only know scraps about their secret 'Dead Demon Consuming Seal.' Maybe there *is* a way to enter the Shinigami's stomach and talk to Minato… After all, wasn't that girl sealed in a coffin for centuries? Maybe back then, she was in some kind of superposition of life and death, and that's how she got the chance…"

As he spoke, Jiraiya's thoughts drifted to a certain former close friend.

—If *he* were here, he'd probably have a lot to say about this stuff, right?

What a shame…

Jiraiya shook his head, pushing Orochimaru's image out of his mind, and concluded, "So, theoretically, it's not impossible for her to have met Minato."

"Hm…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe, exhaling smoke rings. His aged face looked shadowed and unreadable in the swirling haze.

After a long pause, he muttered, almost to himself, "Well, at least wherever Hikari-san went these past few weeks, she's been quieter this time. She hasn't stirred up a mess like last time…"

It had been over a month since the Root base was destroyed.

Some of the Root ninjas sent there had recovered and been reassigned to the Anbu or other units. Danzo himself, however, was still in the hospital, under strict Anbu surveillance as he healed.

But the fallout from that incident went beyond just that—

Konoha's major clans had started catching wind of what happened, and some had been probing Hiruzen's stance through subtle inquiries. Add to that the recent negotiations between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha clan to open up the jonin ranks, and the clans' sharp-eyed members were reading into every move. Some had even started privately reaching out to the Security Force, signaling their allegiances…

A good chunk of Hiruzen's increased workload lately came from dealing with all this.

"Last time…"

Jiraiya had obviously heard about the Danzo situation too.

At that moment, the white-haired sage seemed to remember something, and his expression turned odd.

"…Old man, remember when you asked me to send a message to Tsunade, telling her to come back to the village when she had time?"

Hiruzen blinked. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Shizune replied a couple of days ago."

Jiraiya pulled an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the desk. "Take a look. Shizune says Tsunade's left the casino and is on her way back to the village… She's furious about Danzo's experiments with the First Hokage's cells. She told us to make sure he's taken care of, because when she gets here, she's going to kill him herself."

Hiruzen: "?!?!"

…

**Konohagakure Central District**

Security Force Headquarters

When Uchiha Hikari arrived, some Uchiha clansmen immediately recognized her and escorted her straight to the top floor, where Fugaku was handling paperwork.

"Great Ancestor, you're here?"

Fugaku hurriedly stood and bowed, his face lighting up with surprise. "Did you just return to the village? You didn't have to come in person—if there's anything you need, I would've visited you…"

"No need for formalities."

As she spoke, Hikari glanced around.

It was her first time at the Security Force headquarters, but from what she'd seen on her way up, there were definitely some new faces around. Judging by the clan crests on the back of their uniforms, she could roughly identify their surnames—

Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka…

Hikari gave them a brief look before turning her attention back to Fugaku, cutting to the chase. "I heard from Sarutobi Hiruzen that there's been some trouble around the Naka River?"

"Yes."

Fugaku nodded promptly. "Over the past two weeks, the barrier around the Naka River area has shown signs of unauthorized entry multiple times, with the most recent one three days ago.

Since that's deep within the Uchiha clan's territory, many clansmen initially didn't want the village sending people in to investigate. But after Shisui and I persuaded them, we reached an agreement. Right now, the Anbu and Security Force are conducting a joint investigation…

No one's seen the intruder's face, so we don't know if it's related to what you mentioned before."

"…You're sure no one's seen them?"

"Yes. I've personally asked every clansman with three-tomoe Sharingan or higher, and none of their responses showed any obvious inconsistencies."

"…"

Hikari fell into thought.

Honestly, she didn't buy that Obito would make multiple trips here just to take a nostalgic stroll through his old stomping grounds. Knowing that guy's personality, it'd be out of character for him *not* to stir up some trouble.

But since Fugaku was so certain, she couldn't exactly call him out in front of everyone.

"Take me to the site."

"Alright."

Fugaku handed his tasks over to the deputy captain, Uchiha Yashiro, gave a few instructions, and then led Hikari toward the Uchiha clan's territory in the southwest part of the village.

Halfway there, Hikari found the pace too slow. She grabbed Fugaku with Susanoo, used Sky Dance Technique to take to the air, and within minutes, they arrived near the Naka River. Following Fugaku's directions, she landed above the waterfall.

*Whoosh—*

The roar of the falling water was deafening, and the air was thick with damp mist.

"Great Ancestor, the barrier team found traces in this area. Some of our team members are still searching the forest over there," Fugaku said loudly, pointing to a few shadowy figures in the distance.

"Got it."

Hikari nodded, scanning the surroundings.

She was pretty familiar with this place. In the original story, this was where Shisui fell into the river and died, triggering Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan and setting off the Uchiha clan massacre.

**[Nameless has started a group live stream]**

**[Nameless @ForeverCarryingSis: Minato-san, what's your take?]**

**[ForeverCarryingSis: …I've got the gist of the situation. If the intruder really is that masked guy who called himself 'Uchiha Madara' back then, even if I were there in person, I probably wouldn't spot anything. His space-time ninjutsu is incredibly tricky. If he's trying to stay hidden, he's not likely to leave any traceable clues.]**

**(End of Chapter)**