Inside the Mask Hall, each mask was ferocious-looking.
Yōkō glanced at the Shinigami mask; Yuka had told him which one it was.
Yōkō looked away and said to Tsunade:
"Princess Tsunade, what would you do if I told you that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo contributed significantly to the Uzumaki clan's destruction?"
Tsunade's breath hitched for a few seconds. She stared intently at Fox and asked, "Do you have proof?"
Seeing Tsunade's clenched fists, Yōkō thought it over. It seemed he needed to tell her the truth gradually.
If he told Tsunade that Nawaki was killed by Yellow Dog personally, wouldn't she charge straight to the Hokage Building basement and kill Yellow Dog right now?
Yōkō pointed at himself. "I am the proof."
"You?" Tsunade asked. "You participated in the Uzumaki clan's destruction?"
"I didn't kill any specific Uzumaki clansmen; the ones who did the killing were Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin." Yōkō said:
"At the time, I carried out a mission.
Danzo ordered the ANBU to block information from Tōga Port. It didn't need to be for long; two days were enough.
Some Konoha ninja on missions in the Land of Waves accidentally discovered Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin gathering.
They tried to report back to Konoha, but were eliminated by the ANBU on the way.
If Clan Leader Rinoki had known that intelligence two days earlier, he might have saved many Uzumaki clansmen.
When I carried out the interception mission, I didn't know what Danzo was planning.
I only realized later that it was during that one or two-day window that Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin joined forces and slaughtered Uzushiogakure.
My rank was too low; by the time I found out, it was already too late."
Tsunade nodded, understanding Yōkō's dilemma.
As a spy her father planted in the ANBU, during the initial lurking period, he could only obey Danzo's orders completely and couldn't possibly accomplish anything.
Yōkō continued:
"Based on my later investigations, Danzo had been setting things up in Uzushiogakure for a long time.
While the Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin were gathering, Danzo's Root operatives acted, severing the connection between the Coastal Outpost Fortresses and Uzushiogakure.
The Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin destroyed all the outpost fortresses, and Uzushiogakure remained completely unaware.
It wasn't until the Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin breached Uzushiogakure's walls that the The Uzumaki clan realized their enemies were Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin.
By then, it was too late. Everything was too late."
Tsunade remembered passing through the Land of Whirlpools during the Second Shinobi World War.
Uzushiogakure was overgrown with weeds, its houses collapsed and in ruins.
Tsunade let out a long sigh, her eyes filled with pain: "I had my suspicions about what you said.
The destruction of the Uzumaki clan was riddled with Unreasonable and strangeness. Aunt Hanaki and I discussed it many times; we knew there was something fishy, but we had no proof.
If I were to confront the Third Hokage, I can already guess his excuses.
The Uzumaki clan wanted Kushina to become the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki. The previous Three-Tails Jinchūriki had died, and the Three-Tails was roaming wild.
And Grandma Mito was very old; Konoha needed a new Jinchūriki. A conflict arose over the Jinchūriki candidate.
The Uzumaki clan was also unwilling to hand over their secret sealing techniques.
The village higher-ups, upon learning that Kumogakure and Kirigakure had designs on seizing the Uzumaki clan's secret sealing techniques, took advantage of the situation and set up a scheme.
In the end, Kushina came to Konoha to become the Jinchūriki, Kumogakure and Kirigakure obtained better sealing techniques – I heard Kumogakure even developed a perfect Jinchūriki seal.
Everyone was happy, huh..."
Tsunade looked at Fox and said, "Fox, I had my suspicions about all this. What exactly are you trying to achieve by telling me this?"
What Fox said next made Tsunade's entire body turn cold, and she took half a step back.
Fox said, he actually said...
"Princess Tsunade, Killing one's Master is a grave sin. You should become the Fourth Hokage with clean hands. And I... will bear the sin of Killing the Master for you."
Tsunade stared at Fox in horror.
As a kunoichi, she had killed many people for Konoha; the number of people who died by her hand was at least three hundred, if not five hundred.
But hearing the phrase 'Killing the Master' made her brain short-circuit; she couldn't process it.
Yōkō took off his mask and stared at Tsunade, saying:
"Princess Tsunade, if that day truly comes, I hope you will not misjudge the situation.
Do not hinder me, or... do not use your medical skills to save him."
Tsunade closed her eyes, her chest heaving violently.
It wasn't as if she had no feelings for Sarutobi Hiruzen at all.
Her childhood, her youth, her young adulthood – she had grown up under Hiruzen's care and protection.
It was just that the successive disasters that befell the Uzumaki and Senju clans made it impossible for her to trust Sarutobi Hiruzen anymore.
Hearing the phrase 'Killing the Master' so abruptly, hearing that someone wanted to kill her teacher, she couldn't react properly.
Fox wasn't an ordinary ANBU member; he was her father's most important arrangement before his death, It can be said the embodiment of her father's will.
If Fox wanted to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was equivalent to her father having the intention to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Since Fox became an ANBU squad leader, he had provided critical intelligence at key moments on several occasions.
Tonight, when Uchiha Madara attacked Konoha, it was Fox who told Tsunade that Madara's target was Kushina.
Without Fox's warning, Kushina would absolutely have been killed instantly by Uchiha Madara.
After deep thought, Tsunade said to Fox, "I understand, Fox. I will cooperate with you in secret."
"No, no, Princess Tsunade. I don't need your cooperation. All I want is for you not to misjudge, not to interfere with me." Yōkō said:
"Killing Sarutobi Hiruzen will cause Konoha Village to fall into turmoil. I'm afraid that to protect Konoha, you might hinder my actions.
Konoha is in a period of weakness. Hiruzen is still somewhat important to the village for the time being; I won't take any action recently.
Actually..."
Yōkō sighed and said, "Actually, I had previously planned for Hatake Sakumo to replace Sarutobi Hiruzen as the next Hokage.
Princess Tsunade, you are very suitable to be Hokage, but I'm afraid some in the village might say that three Hokages from the Senju clan looks like monopolizing power and is unseemly.
After all, we aren't Sarutobi Hiruzen; we have at least some sense of shame.
Hatake Sakumo was very suitable to be the next Hokage, both in terms of strength and policy leanings.
However, Sakumo valued Konoha too heavily, more than his own life.
Tonight, I suspect Hiruzen ordered him to charge, and he rushed forward without hesitation and died.
His greatest virtue was being willing to sacrifice everything for Konoha; his greatest flaw was also being willing to sacrifice everything for Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others don't have such... flaws."
Yōkō said with a mocking expression, continuing:
"With the simultaneous deaths of Foreign Affairs Advisor Hatake Sakumo and Internal Affairs Advisor Utatane Koharu, there are now two vacancies among the village leadership.
I estimate the Foreign Affairs Advisor will be Yellow Dog; he has already competed for the position once before. At this point, even Sarutobi Biwako probably can't stop Yellow Dog.
Sarutobi Hiruzen has no one else he can use; he can only choose the more trustworthy Yellow Dog.
Princess Tsunade, are you interested in becoming the Internal Affairs Advisor?"
"Internal Affairs Advisor?"
"Yes. The Konoha Hospital is already a major part of Konoha's internal affairs. Building on your control of the hospital, you could take over the management rights of other village internal affairs." Yōkō said:
"Becoming a high-level advisor means formally entering the center of power.
Advisor Sakumo's former subordinates, linked through Minato, can all transfer to your command. That way, you would have real authority.
Sarutobi Hiruzen has already proven that under his leadership, Konoha Village grows progressively weaker.
For the sake of Konoha, this situation must change."
Tsunade didn't hesitate and nodded, "I will compete for the position of Internal Affairs Advisor. And as you said, I will also reach out to Sakumo's faction."
Yōkō nodded. With Hatake Sakumo gone, Tsunade could step up.
Yōkō formed hand seals and slapped the ground.
After a puff of white smoke, the Stone Panda Hakuji appeared in the Mask Hall.
"Hakuji, Reverse Summon Yuka."
Tsunade looked in surprise at Fox's summon.
A summon that could use ninjutsu was extremely rare in the shinobi world.
Hearing the order, Hakuji's short, stubby fingers moved, forming seals.
White smoke appeared in the Mask Hall.
After the smoke cleared, a woman appeared.
Uzumaki Yuka looked around curiously for Fox, wondering why he had Reverse Summoned her.
The second thing she saw was the several dozen demon masks hanging on the wall.
Uzumaki Yuka's eyes immediately went to the most unique mask among them – the Uzumaki clan's Shinigami mask!
"Yu... Yuka? Is that you?"
Tsunade had met Yuka before, but Yuka had grown up quite a bit, and Tsunade wasn't entirely sure for a moment.
Yuka heard a woman call her name and quickly looked in the direction of the voice.
"Princess Tsunade!"
Yuka then looked at Fox with a panicked expression. Were they revealing everything to Princess Tsunade?
Had the Uzumaki remnants waited so long, finally hoping to see the light of day again?
Tsunade quickly grabbed Yuka's hand and asked, "Yuka, why were you Reverse Summoned by Fox? Where are you all now?"
During the Second Hokage's tenure, Konoha Village and Uzushiogakure were the closestof allies.
Tsunade often went to Uzushiogakure, sometimes staying for half a year at a time. When she visited, Yuka was still a child.
Uzumaki Yuka hurriedly said:
"Princess Tsunade, after the village was destroyed, we began a long period of fleeing.
We didn't dare trust Konoha, and finally fled deep into the Land of Rain.
It rains constantly there, transportation is difficult, and the heavy rain also covers all traces of movement. We hid there for several years.
Princess Tsunade, is Princess Kushina well?"
"Kushina is doing well. She's my student now." Tsunade asked:
"Yuka, how many people escaped? After you escaped, why didn't you come to me?"
Yuka glanced at Fox, then said:
"There are 42 clansmen in the Uzumaki remnant's hiding place now.
The reason we didn't dare contact the outside world was, first, because we discovered Konoha's shadow behind the Uzumaki clan's destruction.
It's not that we didn't trust the Senju clan, but we didn't trust the current Konoha leadership.
Second, we were afraid of pursuit by other villages.
All the major hidden villages have a demand for sealing technique research. If we were exposed, other villages would capture us for experimentation.
After considering everything, we followed Fox's advice and hid completely, rarely leaving the hiding place."
Hearing this, Tsunade felt infinite sorrow well up in her heart.
The Uzumaki clan was reduced to just 42 members, hiding deep in the Land of Rain like Street rats.
Yōkō added, "Princess Tsunade, I didn't dare contact you, afraid that if you knew, you might act too impulsively and cause the Uzumaki clan to be exposed.
Princess Tsunade, you've changed a lot these past few years.
My strength, your strength, both have increased. It's time to tell you the truth; you have the ability to handle these matters now.
Of course, now is not the time for the Uzumaki clan to reappear in the world. The Uzumaki remnants must continue to hide.
We also can't tell Princess Kushina about Yuka and the others yet. If Princess Kushina were to be consumed by hatred, causing the Nine-Tails' chakra to leak, that would be troublesome.
After we completely resolve the problems of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, my suggestion is for the Uzumaki clan to join Konoha and not re-establish their own village separately.
For now, after Princess Tsunade becomes the Internal Affairs Advisor, you can provide resources to the Uzumaki clan to help them recover their strength."
Tsunade nodded. As long as Sarutobi Hiruzen was still Hokage, he would never admit his mistakes, nor would he ever allow Uzumaki shinobi to still be alive.
If Kushina found out about the Uzumaki remnants and went to search for her clansmen, this problem would be unsolvable.
Tsunade looked at Yuka's abdomen; Yuka's belly was quite large, the child was almost due.
Yōkō suddenly felt a headache coming on. What Kekkei Genkai would Yuka's child inherit?
It couldn't be the Sharingan, could it? That would be troublesome.
Tsunade said, "Yuka, I'll get some medicinal supplies for you all to use."
"Okay, thank you, Princess Tsunade."
***
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(End of Chapter)