Chapter 115 (Patreon)

“Nerona Mihawk… You really are the biggest variable in my plan.”

The blizzard had already stopped, leaving the ground covered beneath thick layers of snow. As Tsunade’s shout faded, an old voice slowly echoed across the silent landscape.

A figure emerged from behind an enormous dead tree in the eleven-o’clock direction.

At the front was an old man with white bandages wrapped around his forehead and right eye. His right arm was completely hidden beneath his robes, not even a finger exposed, while his left hand held a cane. Two men followed behind him.

One had orange hair, while the other had black hair. Their appearances immediately revealed their identities to Mihawk and Tsunade.

They were Danzo’s personal guards, Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame.

The moment Tsunade saw Shimura Danzo, she made no attempt to hide the anger on her face. “Danzo, what is the meaning of this? Why did members of Root attack us without authorization?”

“It has already gone this far, and you still don’t understand, Tsunade?” Danzo’s lone visible eye regarded her indifferently. “It means exactly what you think. You are no longer fit to remain Hokage.”

Tsunade stared at him in disbelief. “You… You’re trying to kill me?”

She knew Shimura Danzo was hardly a good man. He had often disagreed with her teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his obsession with becoming Hokage was no secret.

But no matter how bitter their differences were, they were still shinobi of Konoha.

Danzo had even served under her granduncle, the Second Hokage.

Tsunade had never truly imagined that he would go as far as trying to kill her.

“No. I have no intention of killing you,” Danzo answered firmly. “I simply need you to step down and support me as the Sixth Hokage.”

“You’re dreaming!” Tsunade roared. “I would never hand Konoha over to someone like you!”

“I knew you would never willingly step down, which is why I was forced to make this decision.” Danzo showed no surprise at her response. “Don’t worry. The story will be simple. On your way back from the Five Kage Summit, you were surrounded by Uchiha Sasuke and members of Akatsuki and suffered severe injuries. I arrived in time to save you.”

Danzo continued calmly, “After the injuries you sustained during Pain’s invasion, followed by another serious injury during the Five Kage Summit, you realized that you were no longer capable of continuing as Hokage. In the end, you chose to support me as the Sixth Hokage…”

With this eye of mine.

Danzo kept the final words to himself.

Beneath the white bandages covering his right eye, a faint scarlet glow flashed.

“You… You…”

Tsunade’s eyes widened as she listened to Danzo explain his entire plan. For a moment, even she was too shocked to speak.

Mihawk calmly raised a hand to the small cross hanging around his neck.

He untied the cord and removed it, revealing the tiny cross-shaped sword he had obtained from the system. Holding the miniature blade between his fingers, Mihawk glanced at the Root shinobi surrounding them.

“Sorry. I didn’t bring a knife any smaller than this to deal with you nobodies.”

He then looked toward Tsunade. “Hokage-sama, what is your decision?”

“Whew…”

Tsunade took a deep breath, removed the Hokage cloak from her shoulders, and tossed it onto the snow before rolling up her sleeves. “Prepare for battle.”

She was not Hiruzen.

Tsunade was not the kind of person who would hesitate simply because the enemy came from the same village or had once been a comrade.

Her personality had always been far more decisive.

Danzo’s plan had certainly shocked her, but once she recovered, Tsunade had already made her decision.

There was nothing left to discuss.

Hearing her answer, the corner of Mihawk’s mouth rose slightly.

Clap.

Across from them, Fū Yamanaka brought his hands together.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

More than a dozen figures rushed in from every direction, surrounding Mihawk and Tsunade.

Their presence was noticeably stronger than that of the Root shinobi Mihawk had killed earlier.

It seemed the first group sent to intercept them had been nothing more than expendable pawns used to test Mihawk’s abilities.

“Tsunade will be handled by me. Nerona Mihawk is yours.” Danzo discarded his cane and slowly pulled his right arm from beneath his robes.

A yellowish metal brace covered the arm, seemingly serving as some kind of seal.

As Danzo began removing the sealing apparatus, he continued, “Nerona Mihawk cannot be allowed to survive, much less escape. Fū, Torune, the two of you will deal with him together.”

“Yes.”

Fū and Torune answered at the same time.

Shing—!

But the instant their voices fell, a deep crimson light suddenly filled their vision.

Mihawk casually swung the tiny cross-shaped sword.

A massive crescent-shaped Ranged Slash tore through the air like a raging tsunami.

BOOM!

The slash swept forward with terrifying force.

Hundreds of meters of forest in front of Mihawk and Tsunade were ripped apart. Trees collapsed one after another as the violent shockwave blasted dirt and snow high into the air, filling the area with dust and mist.

The crimson light swallowed Danzo, Fū, Torune, and several nearby members of Root.

However, when the light finally faded, only two corpses remained on the snow alongside several shattered pieces of wood.

Substitution Jutsu.

Mihawk had already expected it.

Before the Ranged Slash had even fully disappeared, his figure had vanished into an afterimage.

When he appeared again, he was already among the Root shinobi behind them who had been momentarily stunned by the destructive power of his attack.

Mihawk’s eyes had taken on an icy-blue hue.

With a casual flick of the small cross-shaped sword, the familiar sound of flesh and fabric being torn apart echoed through the snow.

Riiip—!

Against shinobi, Mihawk had long since realized that Ranged Slashes were often more useful when clashing with large-scale ninjutsu.

Against opponents with extensive combat experience and the composure to react immediately, launching a huge Ranged Slash could easily become a waste of effort.

A skilled shinobi could simply use the Substitution Jutsu or Body Flicker Technique to escape the attack before it reached them.

Compared to that, close-range swordsmanship was far more convenient.

Especially when combined with Mihawk’s perception.

“When you appeared before me… you were already dead.”

Mihawk’s calm voice drifted into the ears of the surrounding Root shinobi like a passing breeze.

Their vision gradually blurred.

All they could make out were flickering afterimages, severed limbs, and blood scattering across the snow.

Mihawk could perceive the subtle rhythm within all things and find the precise point his blade needed to pass through. He barely needed to exert any strength at all.

Every swing became a perfect act of killing.

Simple and beautiful in its precision, yet brutally lethal.

One slash was enough.

When Danzo, Fū, and Torune appeared again, three or four more bodies were already scattered across the snow.

And those corpses had not belonged to ordinary shinobi.

They were neither Genin nor Chūnin.

Every one of them had been an elite member of Root, shinobi who had mastered powerful techniques and even nature transformation.