Chapter 112 (Patreon)

The Five Kage and their guards headed toward the Fourth Raikage’s location without slowing down.

Walking behind Tsunade, Mihawk couldn’t suppress the doubt growing in his mind.

The course of events had begun changing from the moment Tsunade remained Hokage.

If he remembered correctly, the original sequence of events had been completely different.

After Tsunade fell into a coma, Danzō Shimura had been appointed acting Sixth Hokage. He then approved Sasuke Uchiha’s execution.

When Naruto learned about it, the members of Team Seven traveled to the Land of Iron and intercepted the Fourth Raikage along the road.

Naruto had even knelt before him, personally begging the Raikage to spare Sasuke.

At the same time, Sasuke had originally been heading toward Konoha.

It was only after Obito told him that Danzō was attending the Five Kage Summit that Sasuke changed direction and attacked the Land of Iron instead.

But now, Tsunade was the one attending the summit.

Danzō wasn’t here.

Sasuke should have had no reason to appear in this place.

So why had he still come?

Although Mihawk hadn’t seen Sasuke in more than three years, his presence couldn’t escape Mihawk’s Observation Haki.

There was no mistake.

That chakra belonged to Sasuke Uchiha.

However, there was another presence beside him—one that shouldn’t have appeared here at this point.

Obito Uchiha.

After Naruto persuaded Nagato to abandon his hatred and use the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to restore the people killed during Pain’s invasion, Obito had become deeply interested in Naruto.

In the original course of events, Naruto had traveled to plead with the Fourth Raikage, and Obito had deliberately appeared before him.

Mihawk also remembered clearly that if Obito had arrived even slightly later during the summit, Sasuke would have been killed by Ōnoki’s Dust Release.

It seemed the story had already changed beyond recognition.

Aside from a few major events and pieces of important information, Mihawk could no longer rely on his memories of the original plot when making decisions.

He silently came to that conclusion.

When the group entered a wide hall, they found the atmosphere inside unnaturally quiet.

Blue lightning crackled around the Fourth Raikage’s body.

His teeth were clenched, and his fierce eyes made no attempt to conceal the killing intent he directed toward Sasuke.

However, despite his impulsive temper and overwhelming rage, he hadn’t attacked yet.

The reason stood beside Sasuke.

A man wearing a spiral-patterned orange mask.

Obito Uchiha.

“O-Oh, no… All Five Kage are here!”

Standing behind Sasuke, Suigetsu trembled as beads of sweat rolled down his watery body.

Karin and Jūgo also wore grave expressions.

The Five Great Shinobi Countries stood at the summit of the shinobi world, and each village’s Kage possessed extraordinary strength.

Now, all Five Kage were gathered in one place.

Their combined presence felt like five weapons of mass destruction had been placed inside the same room, creating an atmosphere heavy enough to make breathing difficult.

“So you’ve all arrived.”

Obito leapt onto a broken pillar and sat down casually.

One leg rested on the stone while the other hung over the edge. His right hand lay across his raised knee, and his single visible eye looked through the opening of his spiral mask toward the Five Kage.

“Good. That saves me the trouble of searching for each of you.”

His voice remained calm.

“My name is Uchiha Madara.”

“I assume all of you have heard that name before.”

What is this?

This man…

Hearing Obito introduce himself, Tsunade and the other Kage immediately tensed.

Ōnoki, however, felt a trace of doubt.

Could the passage of time really have worn away Madara’s overwhelming arrogance?

Or had his battle against Hashirama Senju left him with injuries from which he had never fully recovered?

This attitude didn’t resemble the Madara Uchiha that Ōnoki remembered at all.

Although suspicion filled his mind, Ōnoki said nothing.

He chose to quietly listen to what the masked man had to say next.

“Madara, I’ll leave them to you.”

Before Obito could continue, Sasuke suddenly interrupted him.

“There’s something I need to know.”

He stepped forward as though the hall belonged to him, facing the Five Kage without the slightest fear.

His gaze passed over the group before settling almost entirely on Tsunade.

“Hokage.”

His voice was cold and emotionless.

“Tell me where Danzō is hiding.”

“Danzō?”

Tsunade was momentarily taken aback.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Why are you looking for him?”

“I was heading to Konoha to find him, but I discovered that he had already left the village.”

Sasuke’s voice became even colder.

“Madara told me that Danzō is one of Konoha’s elders.”

“As Hokage, you should be the only person who knows where he went.”

A doubtful expression appeared on Tsunade’s face.

“Danzō left Konoha?”

She frowned slightly.

“When did that happen?”

Standing behind her, Mihawk raised an eyebrow.

From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Obito, who remained seated on the pillar as though he were merely watching an entertaining performance.

This guy…

He’s lying, isn’t he?

If Danzō were still inside Konoha, that would be one thing.

But if he had truly left the village, Obito’s intelligence network should have been capable of locating him without much difficulty.

Still, Orochimaru had managed to evade Akatsuki’s pursuit for many years, so Mihawk couldn’t be completely certain.

What confused him even more was why Danzō had left Konoha in the first place.

That man had always been willing to use any method necessary to obtain the position of Hokage.

Was he preparing another scheme behind everyone’s backs?

As though sensing Mihawk’s gaze, Obito turned his visible right eye toward him.

Their eyes met across the hall.

This was the boy who had once cost Obito his left eye.

Unless something unexpected happened, Nerona Mihawk would undoubtedly become one of the greatest obstacles to the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Neither of them spoke.

Their gazes remained locked in silent confrontation.

At the same time, Sasuke addressed Tsunade once more.

“Hokage, tell me where—”

“Don’t get arrogant, brat!”

Boom!

A deafening sonic blast shook the entire hall as the Fourth Raikage’s roar erupted.

Wrapped in the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he vanished from his position and appeared directly in front of Sasuke.

His raised fist crashed forward without hesitation.

Boom!

Crack!

The impact sounded like a massive hammer striking solid timber.

A purple skeletal structure instantly formed around Sasuke, shielding him from the Raikage’s fist.

Several cracks spread across the ribs protecting his body.

Sasuke’s formerly indifferent and prideful expression changed slightly.

His eyes transformed, revealing the six-pointed pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan.

“Oh?”

From his seat on the broken pillar, Obito watched with visible interest.

“Susanoo already?”

He gave a quiet laugh.

“He only awakened the Mangekyō recently, yet he can already use this much of its power.”

“As expected of Itachi’s younger brother.”