Chat Group Escanor 22 (Patreon)

Escanor looked toward Hiruzen, speaking in a flat tone, "Whether Danzo can be saved or not is entirely up to you. Let's see what his own luck is."

Hiruzen glanced at the dying Danzo on the ground, complex emotions surging in his heart.

Save him?

In Danzo's current state, even if he were saved, he would probably be crippled.

More importantly, he now had to answer Kushina's questions. He knew that if the answer could not satisfy her, today's matter would definitely not end easily, and might even trigger more terrifying consequences.

Looking at Kushina's eyes that were still burning with fury, he opened his mouth, wanting to explain, wanting to say high-sounding reasons like "for the stability of the village", "to protect the Jinchuriki's identity", or "to balance various factions"...

But with the words at the tip of his tongue, looking at the pure heartache and anger belonging to a mother in Kushina's eyes, and looking at Naruto's small figure clinging dependently to his mother's clothes, those reasons he usually used to convince himself and perfunctorily stall others now appeared so powerless and even ugly.

"I..."

Hiruzen ultimately spat out only a single word before he could speak no further.

Watching his hesitant appearance where he wanted to speak but ultimately was left speechless, Kushina's inner rage gradually settled down, transforming into a chilling disappointment and resolute determination.

"Alright. You don't need to look for excuses to explain anymore either. Minato has told me what kind of person you are—you like to smooth things over, turn a blind eye, and use the 'overall situation' and 'balance' to cover up problems."

Hiruzen's body trembled slightly.

"Since you like it this way, then today, we are going to play for real."

She squatted down and cupped Naruto's bewildered face with both hands, her tone turning exceptionally gentle. "Naruto, you go out and play with Kakashi-nii for a little while first, and get something to eat, alright? Mom and Grandpa Hokage have some adult matters to talk about."

Naruto looked somewhat uneasily at Kushina, then looked at Hiruzen, and finally nodded, saying softly, "Mhm. Mom, you have to be quick."

"Don't worry, Mom will be fast." Kushina kissed his forehead.

"Kakashi."

Kushina stood up, looking toward the white-haired Jonin who had been standing by the door, trying hard to lower his presence.

Kakashi immediately stepped forward. "Yes."

"Take Naruto outside, take good care of him, and take him to eat something good." Kushina instructed.

"Understood."

Kakashi didn't hesitate at all, taking Naruto's hand. "Naruto, let's go."

Looking back at Kushina and seeing her nod, Naruto obediently followed Kakashi and left the office.

Inside the office, there remained only Hiruzen, Kushina, Escanor, and the half-dead Danzo on the ground.

Kushina's gaze locked onto Hiruzen once again. She raised her right hand, extending a single finger to point at one of Hiruzen's eyes.

"Since you like turning a blind eye, then today, we'll gouge out one eye. From now on, you can just use one eye to look at things."

Hiruzen's pupils abruptly shrank to the size of needle tips. A chill surged straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Right at this tense moment.

Bang!

The office door was pushed open somewhat hurriedly from the outside.

"Kushina?! Is it really you?! You're still alive!"

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice. They saw two people standing at the doorway. It was none other than Fugaku who had rushed over in a hurry, alongside Mikoto beside him, who was covering her mouth, with slightly red eyes and a face full of shock and joy.

Kushina looked at her friend at the door, a flicker of emotion passing through her eyes.

In Mikoto's mind, Kushina had long since sacrificed herself alongside the Fourth Hokage during the Nine-Tails Rebellion. Seeing her dear friend alive and well at this moment brought a shock and joy that made her temporarily overlook the bizarre and tense atmosphere in the office.

"Of course I'm still alive." Kushina's voice softened.

"It's just... I don't belong here."

Don't belong here?

Mikoto was slightly taken aback.

This statement was a bit mysterious, but she was more concerned about something else at the moment.

Just before she entered, she had happened to see Kakashi hurriedly leaving with that blond-haired, blue-eyed child. That child's face...

"The child the Anbu was carrying just now..." Mikoto spoke hesitantly.

She already had a guess in her mind, but she still wanted to confirm.

Kushina's gaze softened a great deal, and even carried a hint of pride. "Yes, that's my son, Naruto."

"Ah, so it really is him?"

Mikoto felt both relieved that her friend's child was still alive and a lingering fear.

"I thought... that child had also... on that night..."

The village's secrecy and rumors regarding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's identity had led her to believe that Minato and Kushina's child had not survived.

Hearing this, Kushina's face, which had just softened, darkened once again. Her cold gaze shot toward the disheveled Hiruzen, who was covering his face.

"Even Mikoto didn't know. It wasn't enough that you kept it a secret. You also completely ignored and turned a blind eye to the rumors in the village slandering Naruto as a 'demon fox' and a 'bringer of calamity'."

"Hiruzen, you truly deserve to die. Fortunately, I didn't bring Minato with me today. With how soft-hearted he is, he would definitely have pleaded for mercy on your behalf."

Minato is also alive?!

Hiruzen raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

However, before he could recover from this succession of shocks, Kushina had already walked up to him.

Under the astonished gazes of Fugaku and Mikoto, and the indifferent observation of Escanor, Kushina raised her right hand and thrust it into Hiruzen's right eye.

"You—"

Hiruzen was, after all, a battle-hardened ninja. Even though his mind was severely shaken and he was under immense pressure, his survival instinct allowed him to react in the nick of time.

He raised his left hand to block while leaning his body back, trying to avoid the attack.

However, just as he began his movement—

Escanor, who had been standing silently in the background, appeared at his side at some unknown moment. He reached out his right hand and easily grabbed Hiruzen's left wrist.

Crack!

Hiruzen let out a muffled groan as his left wrist twisted at an unnatural angle. A wave of intense pain washed over him, shattering the Chakra he had just gathered and his blocking motion.

In the split second he froze from the excruciating pain and his pinned wrist—

Splat!

Kushina's fingers had already plunged into his right eye socket. Without even a pause, she twisted her wrist and yanked.

An eyeball, trailing bits of nerve and flesh, was brutally gouged out of Hiruzen's eye socket by her bare hand.

Hiruzen collapsed to his knees, his face pale as paper and his breathing heavy. His intact left eye glared fixedly at Kushina. He did not dare to utter a single word of complaint. His easily crushed wrist served as a constant reminder of the consequences of resistance.

Fugaku's pupils contracted sharply. He had seen countless bloody scenes, but this scene before him—the Hokage having his eye gouged out, done personally by the deceased wife of the Fourth Hokage—still surpassed his imagination.

This had completely shattered the rules and bottom lines of Konoha, and even the entire Ninja World.

His brain worked rapidly, assessing the impact of this shocking turn of events on the Uchiha and the entire village.

Mikoto covered her mouth and gasped, her eyes filled with shock and a hint of pity. But looking at Kushina's cold and resolute profile, then at the miserable Danzo on the floor and Hiruzen who had lost an eye, and connecting it to what was just mentioned about Naruto's plight, that pity dissolved into a complex sigh.

Kushina shook the blood and the eyeball off her hand, letting it roll to the floor.

Looking at Hiruzen, who was panting in pain but did not dare to make any more noise, she spoke in a cold voice, "I want you, in the name of the Hokage, to publicly clear Naruto's name. He is the son of the hero, Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, an orphan of heroes who sacrificed themselves to protect the village. All slanders about him being a 'demon fox' must be thoroughly wiped out."

"Furthermore, punish them severely. Every villager who has ever bullied, insulted, or harmed Naruto, whether through words or actions, must pay the price. I want everyone to know the consequences of harming my son."

Covering his bleeding eye socket, Hiruzen looked at Kushina through the gaps of his fingers with his remaining left eye, a wave of bitterness rising in his heart.

Publicly clearing his name, severely punishing the villagers?

The former was easy to say, but the latter...

The village's prejudice and malice toward Naruto over the years had been almost omnipresent. Too many people were involved.

How could they severely punish them? How much backlash and turmoil would it cause?

But he did not dare say "no". The woman in front of him, and the man behind her, were currently a sharp sword hanging over Konoha's head.

He could only nod with difficulty, squeezing out a hoarse voice from his throat. "I... understand."