Bang!
With a deafening crash, the door was kicked open hard.
"Who is it?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly put away his crystal ball. He had just been admiring a "beautiful view," and he absolutely could not let anyone else see that.
It couldn't be Danzo again, could it? Look at him, making progress. This time he was not slamming the door—he had upgraded to kicking it.
"Tsunade?"
After seeing who had come in, Sarutobi Hiruzen froze slightly, somewhat surprised. Why had this disciple of his come back?
"Old man, long time no see. Are your old bones still holding up?" Tsunade said with disgust.
She had seen Sarutobi Hiruzen's movement when he put away the crystal ball perfectly clearly. After all these years, he was still the same.
He had probably been peeping at some bathhouse again. An old man with no dignity and no shame.
Still, the old man really had gotten so old. He should just retire already. Was that position really so great that he had to cling to it for so long?
"I didn't expect you to return to Konoha, Tsunade," Sarutobi Hiruzen said emotionally.
"Since you're back, do you have any thoughts about taking the Hokage position?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked, "Old man, you don't want to do it anymore?"
She had thought she would need to force him out of office, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was actually offering to step down on his own.
"Heh, how old do you think I am now? I can't keep doing this. Tsunade, you happen to be very suitable for it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood the state of his own body very well. Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, he was already near the bottom. He had gotten old, and every aspect of him had declined.
As for the Tsuchikage… forget it. That old fellow still had Dust Release, whose destructive power was terrifying. Even at his age, he absolutely could not be underestimated.
"Old man, when I came back, I saw Naruto being called a demon fox. He's Minato's son, so why is he being treated like that?"
Tsunade asked. Sarutobi Hiruzen paused slightly, but he was not surprised. Anyone could find out about this matter with a little asking around, and running into it by chance was completely normal too.
"It was something that had to be done. This is my fault," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
"What a nice 'had to be done.' Third old man, is this how you looked after our son?"
Kushina walked in, her tone extremely unfriendly.
"Kushina… Edo Tensei? Was it Orochimaru?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen cried out in shock. His first thought was immediately Orochimaru.
That was what reputation did. Who asked Orochimaru to know so many forbidden jutsu and to act without any restraint?
"I don't care who it was. Why did you let Naruto endure so many insults and so much cold treatment?"
"…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth. This matter involved too many people, and he did not even know how to explain it to Kushina.
Especially the villagers. Too many of them had bullied and insulted Naruto. There were so many they could not even be counted. If she wanted revenge, could she really wipe out all of Konoha?
Although he did not know who had revived Kushina with Edo Tensei, he could be certain that Tsunade had been brought here to demand an explanation.
"Sigh. Kushina, I bear responsibility for this matter. Do with me as you wish," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, no longer planning to explain.
In any case, Tsunade was here. Even if he were beaten to death, Konoha would not end up without a Hokage.
Danzo, somewhere: Did no one consider me?
"He was Hokage, after all. This Sarutobi Hiruzen still has some awareness," Koji said.
There was no attempt to blur the facts. Or perhaps blurring them would be useless. If they went outside now, they might be able to see the situation immediately.
"Dear, who do you think would win in a fight between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo?" Lumine asked.
The "Kage of the Pot" and the Third Hokage had both been taught by the same teacher, but there were very few battles involving the two of them.
"It depends on the situation. Danzo has an arm full of Sharingan, while Sarutobi Hiruzen knows far more ninjutsu than Danzo," Koji said.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's chakra attributes were very comprehensive, and he had his own powerful combinations of ninjutsu. Danzo, meanwhile, used the Sharingan like extra lives. If he caught someone off guard, he could definitely take them by surprise.
In this world, bloodline reigned supreme. For a civilian ninja to reach the level of Hashirama was incredibly, incredibly difficult. Unless they practiced a technique like the Eight Gates, that was the only way to reach such heights.
"This is so boring. So many of my old friends are already in the Pure Land," Nawaki said, resting his head on his folded arms.
"Nawaki, who were you most afraid of in your life?" Koji asked.
"The person I was most afraid of? No one, really."
Orochimaru might seem terrifying to many people, but to him, Orochimaru had simply been a teacher who cared about him and treated him very well.
"You weren't afraid of your sister giving you a loving education?" Eula asked with interest.
"I got used to it."
Nawaki revealed an extremely world-weary expression.
"By the way, where are you all from?"
"Not from the Five Great Nations. You definitely haven't heard of it," Koji said.
Nawaki nodded. He did not know that much about the Five Great Nations either.
"Thank you for letting me speak with my sister," Nawaki said seriously.
He could still see his other relatives in the Pure Land, but his sister had nothing.
"It was nothing."
"Kushina's temper is still as fiery as ever," Nawaki said, looking at Kushina inside the office, and sighed while shaking his head.
When Kushina had first been brought to Konoha, she had lived in the old Senju residence.
"Why don't you say that to her face yourself?" Koji asked with a smile.
"I'll pass. She'd beat me apart who knows how many times."
Inside the Hokage's office, quite a lot of furniture had already been smashed, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had also been beaten black and blue by the fists of an Edo Tensei body.
"Third old man, don't forget what you promised me," Kushina said.
She still had things she needed Sarutobi Hiruzen to do. As for killing people, she was not that extreme, but she absolutely had to vent properly.
"I know. I wronged your whole family," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a bitter smile.
He was already this old, yet he had not expected he would still experience being beaten like this. It was not fatal, but it was very torturous.
"Old man, do you want to use a shadow clone to take one hit from me?" Tsunade asked with a faint smile.
"No need."
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand. If he got healed, he might just end up getting beaten all over again.
He could just use the Transformation Jutsu when he went back.
"Kushina, is the person who revived you with Edo Tensei an enemy of Konoha?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
He did not ask whether Minato had also been revived with Edo Tensei. He knew the forbidden jutsu known as the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Once it was used, there should be no chance of being revived with Edo Tensei.
"No. He has no interest in Konoha," Kushina said, shaking her head.
If Koji were an enemy, there would have been no need to revive them with Edo Tensei at all. Koji alone could destroy Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. As long as he was not an enemy, that was fine. The current Konoha could not withstand much turmoil.
However, it seemed that it was probably not Orochimaru.
Then who exactly was it? There should only be a handful of people who knew the forbidden jutsu of Edo Tensei.
(End of Chapter)
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