Danzo waved his hand, signaling the others to leave.
C quickly led the recruits and children away. Only four remained in the training hall: Danzo, Tsunade, D, and Shizune.
Tsunade swept a glance at J. "Get out!"
J's hand gripped Shizune's small shoulder tight. In the next instant, Tsunade's fist roared toward D's face. Fortunately, Danzo's hand shot out just in time, catching Tsunade's wrist.
Tsunade froze, surprised by Danzo's strength. As the "Darkness of the Shinobi," his power was even higher than she had imagined.
"J, you leave as well," Danzo commanded.
D immediately released Kato Shizune and vanished into the shadows. Tsunade grabbed Shizune and leaped back several paces.
"Tsunade, you understand the power of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu," Danzo said calmly. "It can control enemies from a distance, create chaos, and allow one person to toy with an entire enemy battalion. The legacy of this technique cannot be severed; the Hidden Leaf Village cannot be without it."
"As Kato Dan's niece, Shizune should undergo secret training from a young age. We use mental stimulation to strengthen her spiritual energy so she can master the Spirit Transformation Jutsu as soon as possible. Everything I do is for the village, for the sake of the Hidden Leaf. The Scroll of Seals left by the Second Hokage contains the technique, but what is lacking now is a ninja suited to wield it!"
"Whether Shizune masters it is my business," Tsunade snapped. "What does it have to do with you?"
"Tsunade!" Danzo raised his voice. "Do not think everyone will indulge you forever! The village needs this jutsu; that is why I am training her! However..."
Danzo's tone shifted. "For the sake of Sarutobi Hiruzen, I am willing to compromise. Give me one technique, and I will let you take Shizune."
"What technique?" Tsunade asked warily.
"The sealing jutsu recorded in the Second Hokage's notes, the most suitable for the ANBU: the Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal." Danzo stared her down. "Tsunade, either leave Shizune to preserve the Spirit Transformation Jutsu for the ANBU, or leave the Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal to strengthen the village's control. I am not Hiruzen; I have no time to play house with a rebellious student and a soft-hearted teacher."
Shizune pressed fearfully against Tsunade's leg. Last night, Tsunade had gone to see her only to find her gone. After asking around, she learned from Orochimaru that Danzo had taken her. Striking Root directly in a fit of rage was one thing, but ending the confrontation was proving difficult.
Root ninjas had no exit mechanism. Leaving Root was equated to refusing to fight for the village—it was betrayal. If she had acted before Shizune was taken, she had options; now, she had to grit her teeth and push through.
"Hmph, don't talk about the village needing a jutsu. You just want the Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal and used these low-life tactics to get it."
Just as Tsunade prepared to force her way out with Shizune, three figures flickered into existence.
Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.
The three elders had rushed over after hearing that someone dared to attack Root. Seeing it was Tsunade, they weren't surprised, but their faces remained stern. Hiruzen knew Danzo's goals; without Root, many clandestine missions simply couldn't happen.
Hiruzen glanced at Shizune and spoke. "Tsunade, how can you attack Root, a vital institution of this village?"
Homura added, "If you take your person, and every other clan head takes theirs, how can the ANBU or Root function? Without a mature intelligence force, how can we carry out the assassination of sensitive targets?"
Koharu chimed in, "Tsunade, focus on the Hidden Leaf Hospital. Do not interfere with the ANBU and Root!"
Tsunade realized then: this wasn't going to end well. Strengthening Root served the interests of all the elders. It wasn't just Danzo; they all wanted a stronger shadow force.
Hiruzen couldn't rule a village this large solely by being reasonable. When dealing with subordinates who held the power of life and death in their hands, you couldn't always rely on persuasion.
Sometimes physical force was the only logic that worked. A kunai could solve any problem by removing the person asking the question. Danzo was to Hiruzen what the Second Hokage, Tobirama, was to Hashirama. Every village needed someone to do the dirty work that those in the light couldn't touch.
If Danzo didn't exist, Homura might have become him. If Homura died, Koharu might have had to step up. The Hidden Leaf could not function without someone getting their hands dirty.
Tsunade saw it clearly: she wasn't fighting Danzo; she was fighting the entire leadership and the existing order of the village. She cursed her grand-uncle Tobirama's policies once again—they were truly an endless curse.
"Do not interfere? Shizune was snatched by Root, and I'm supposed to do nothing?"
"Everyone has an obligation to join the ANBU and perform the village's dark missions," Hiruzen said firmly. "That is the rule set by Tobirama-sensei! Should the Senju and their affiliates have the privilege to refuse? Among these four-year-olds are children from the Sarutobi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans, along with many orphans. If everyone smashed the roof and took their people back, what would be left?"
Tsunade was stunned. How had she become the one being unreasonable?
As the standoff intensified, a figure stepped out from the darkness. Everyone turned toward the tall, slender man. The only one who dared to walk calmly into such a sharp confrontation between the highest authorities was Orochimaru, who had been busy in the Root laboratories.
Orochimaru surveyed the scene. 'Tsunade, you reckless woman, you've been cornered by the elders again.'
Tsunade had only recently reached the Kage-level; she was no match for a combined Hiruzen and Danzo. Why make it so ugly?
"You're all making too much noise for my experiments," Orochimaru said smoothly. "Why don't I act as the mediator? Tsunade, you take Kato Dan's niece, but give the Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal to me. I will oversee its use. I promise it will never be used on the Senju or anyone else you care about. How about it?"
Tsunade hesitated. Orochimaru had given her a way out. He had been the one to tell her Shizune was here in the first place. Orochimaru was her most important ally; as long as he supported her, the elders couldn't easily move against her. Like a vote in the Jonin Council, when Orochimaru stood up, the others tended to fall silent.
Hiruzen felt a twinge of bitterness seeing Tsunade ignore him but listen to Orochimaru.
Tsunade performed a summoning, bringing forth a large scroll marked with the Uzumaki crest—the same spiral found on the back of ninja flak jackets. Danzo's eyes lit up. *The Sealing Scroll of the Uzumaki.* If he had that, his power would soar.
Tsunade copied the Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal and tossed it to Orochimaru. "I've given you the jutsu. You are never to touch Shizune or the Spirit Transformation Jutsu again."
Orochimaru scanned the seal. 'How did I become the only one profiting here? It almost looks like I planned it this way, heh.' "Yes, this is indeed the seal that carves itself onto the brain. The Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal."
Tsunade grabbed Shizune and leaped out through the hole in the ceiling.
By the time Yagami and Golden Eagle arrived, they only saw Tsunade leaving with a small girl. Orochimaru was handing a scroll to Danzo.
"Advisor Danzo, do not make me lose face before Tsunade," Orochimaru warned. "There are many ways to ensure loyalty. Using seals is the worst. Look at the Hyuga's Caged Bird; they have the powerful Byakugan, yet they've raised a clan half-full of useless people."
Danzo didn't care. He reached for the scroll, but found Orochimaru wasn't letting go.
"I will not conscript any Senju into the ANBU," Danzo conceded. "You have my word."
Only then did Orochimaru release the scroll.
Golden Eagle muttered beside Yagami, "Why? How many Hyuga have died for the ANBU and Root? Why do the Senju get special treatment? And the Uchiha—why don't they have to send anyone?"
From the perspective of the Senju, Tsunade had suffered a loss. From the perspective of the other clans and civilian ninjas, she enjoyed a privilege they couldn't dream of. But from the perspective of the children being snatched, everyone in the village deserved to die. Fairness was always relative.
Yagami felt a surge of unease. 'Has Danzo just obtained a vital sealing jutsu from Tsunade?'
The Root recruits emerged from the shadows, staring up at the hole in the ceiling. The bright light Tsunade had let in could not dispel the darkness. For these recruits, there was no more future.
The four elders exchanged looks and departed.
...
Late that night, Tsunade finished her work at the hospital and closed her office door. Suddenly, she turned sharply. A figure in a hooded cloak stepped out from the adjacent restroom.
'Who could sneak this close to me?' Seeing the mask, she recognized him. "The ANBU's Fox?"
"Princess Tsunade, what technique did you trade for Shizune?"
"Who are you representing?" Tsunade asked coldly. "Can't the Third ask Danzo himself?"
Yagami didn't want to reveal his identity to Tsunade, but regarding Danzo's strength, he had to act. He had used his Byakugan to confirm no other scouts were nearby. "I'm sorry, Princess, but Commander Yellow Dog needs this intelligence!"
Yagami lunged at Tsunade. Surprised that Fox would attack her, she threw a punch. But as they neared each other, a curse seal suddenly appeared on the floor.
'The Self-Exerting Binding Seal?'
Tsunade had heard the ANBU acquired sealing techniques from Uzumaki remains. Her movements stiffened.
'Such powerful sealing chakra! Is Fox's talent for sealing this high?' Kushina had mentioned that when she almost lost control at the Academy, an ANBU in a fox mask had sealed the leaking Nine-Tails chakra.
Yagami's speed accelerated. In the next instant, his fingers pressed against Tsunade's abdomen.
Five Elements Seal!
Just as Yagami thought Tsunade was weaker than her reputation suggested, the diamond mark on her forehead flared. Strength of a Hundred chakra exploded outward. Both the Binding Seal and the Five Elements Seal were instantly shattered by the sheer force of her chakra.
Yagami retreated to the side. 'She has already mastered the Strength of a Hundred seal. She's firmly in the Kage-level.'
Tsunade's face was etched with shock. Her hands were slightly shaking. The binding seal was one thing, but that Five Elements Seal... that chakra? There was no mistaking it: it was the unique chakra of the Uzumaki clan.
The effect of a Five Elements Seal cast by a normal ninja versus one from an Uzumaki was worlds apart. Tsunade knew her grandmother and mother were both Uzumaki; their chakra naturally possessed sealing properties.
She suddenly recalled a crucial piece of intel. On the night of the Nine-Tails sealing transfer, Kushina said someone had injected chakra into her at the critical moment—chakra that was unmistakably Uzumaki and possessed intense sealing power. That chakra had saved Kushina twice. If it hadn't, the Nine-Tails would have rampaged further, killing more Senju.
During the sealing, her father Senju Rinmoku and her mother had died. Kushina had been surrounded by ANBU.
"Who are you really!"
"I am Fox."
Tsunade's frantic expression faded into realization. Fox was a Hidden Leaf ANBU; his identity had to remain hidden. But he possessed a strong Uzumaki bloodline. That meant he was likely a member of the Senju or someone closely tied to them, which explained why he risked everything to help Kushina.
"Princess Tsunade, what technique did you trade for Shizune?"
Tsunade checked her surroundings again. Finding no one, she whispered, "The Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal."
"Do not investigate me," Yagami said, playing into the Senju persona. "I will help the family again when the time is right." He then vanished using Body Flicker.
'Run!' He thought. 'If I stay any longer, I'll be exposed. Tsunade isn't easy to fool.'
Tsunade stood in the quiet office, her spirits low. She wanted to say more, but knew Fox couldn't linger. She hurried back to the clan compound and entered Aunt Hanaki's courtyard.
"Aunt Hanaki, did my father have any secret arrangements before he died?"
"Secret arrangements? Like what?" Hanaki asked, confused.
"Like... planting a spy in the ANBU?"
Hanaki shook her head. "I don't know. Before your brother's accident, I never thought about managing the clan. If your father had such plans, he wouldn't have told me then."
Tsunade didn't get her answer, but her intuition told her Fox was someone special. You could mimic a jutsu or practice a seal, but the innate sealing attribute within the chakra itself couldn't be faked. She felt a pang of regret; the Tongue-Cursed Puppet Seal seemed to worry Fox deeply enough to risk exposure. 'Did I make a mistake?'
...
Deep in the night, Yagami summoned the stone panda. "take this scroll to Yuka."
Panda nodded and vanished.
When Uzumaki Yuka read the contents, she gathered Uzumaki Kaicho and Uzumaki Gencho.
"Let's go! Fox sent new intel. We're heading to the capital of the Land of Grass to investigate the Guardian Shinobi of the Shimura clan. Their capital moves with the herds, so there's no fixed location. Danzo's influence is starting to bounce back; Fox says we need to increase the pressure."