Adopted By Tsunade [119-120] (Patreon)

Chapter 119: Hesitation Means Defeat

"It's driving me mad!"

Danzō's eyes were bloodshot.

Not because he was activating the Sharingan—he was furious.

On this night of the clan's extermination, he could be called the most diligent.

He forged an order from Hiruzen Sarutobi, tacked on a written test at the Ninja Academy, and delayed Sasuke's dismissal time.

He also tacitly approved a day off for the entire Konoha Police Force, sending them home and giving Itachi the perfect chance to wipe them out in one go.

At the same time, he deployed Root operatives to set up barriers.

Maybe not merit, but certainly hard work.

Yet after an entire night, he hadn't gotten a single pair of Sharingan.

Next, he'd have to take the blame and face Hiruzen's interrogation.

Thinking of this, he immediately put on a mask of agony.

Orochimaru was faring a little better.

The previous talent tests on Uchiha had netted him several pairs of Sharingan.

And he possessed an experimental subject named Uchiha Shin.

He wasn't actually a member of the Uchiha clan, but a very special human.

He showed no rejection reaction to any transplanted tissue.

The new arm Orochimaru gave Danzō was actually his arm.

With powerful cloning technology on top of that, acquiring Sharingan wasn't a big problem.

But getting Mangekyō Sharingan might take an extremely long time.

Seizing them directly would be fast and convenient.

Unfortunately, every attempt had failed.

Orochimaru concluded he must be cursed when it came to Mangekyō Sharingan.

Every encounter spelled trouble.

Especially with Natsume.

Orochimaru gradually calmed down.

He had a fallback, so he wasn't flustered.

Only Danzō was badly burned.

Without Sharingan, he couldn't use Izanagi with impunity; his strength would drop by half.

Reduced to an ordinary jōnin.

He couldn't stomach that.

After all, he intended to be Hokage.

"Lord Danzō."

A Root operative appeared, kneeling on one knee to report: "We've tallied the corpses of the dead Uchiha. Around three hundred are missing."

"What did you say?!"

Danzō suddenly turned, a look of joy on his face. "Where are they now?"

Three hundred people.

Heaven never shuts every door!

Even if many are ordinary civilians, there have to be a few ninja, right?

Scraping together a few sets of three-tomoe Sharingan should be no problem.

Orochimaru sneered inwardly.

For that mysterious man to snatch so many pairs of eyes in an instant, he must possess some terrifying method.

Why would he leave three hundred people for you?

Itachi, brainwashed by the Will of Fire.

Danzō, mind clouded by the Hokage's seat.

Two fools!

"You handle the rest yourself."

Orochimaru couldn't be bothered to stick around to face Hiruzen.

"Don't forget your promise."

Danzō turned his head, only to find Orochimaru already gone.

He frowned.

This guy didn't give him an ounce of face.

If not for valuing his human experimentation skills, he would have wanted to get rid of him long ago.

"Based on the traces, possibly at the Naka Shrine."

The Root operative answered.

"I actually forgot about Naka Shrine."

Danzō's eyes lit up.

Orochimaru's intel said Sarutobi Seinosuke's corpse was at Naka Shrine.

This indicated the location would have quite a few Uchiha ninja guarding it.

"Half of Root stays to search for valuable Uchiha items; the other half comes with me to Naka Shrine."

Danzō gave immediate orders.

"Lord Danzō."

Another Root operative flickered into view. "Lord Hokage is on his way here."

Danzō was slightly startled.

To be honest, he was a little nervous.

But then he thought of Sarutobi Seinosuke, waved a hand, and said, "You go first. I'll follow shortly."

"Yes."

The two Root operatives moved out at once.

They only took orders from Danzō.

As for others—even the Hokage—couldn't command them.

"Danzō!"

The voice arrived before the man.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was livid, anger barely contained.

The moment he appeared, he demanded, "Look at what you've done! I told you to wait for me. Why did you act on your own?!"

"Hiruzen, hesitation means defeat."

Danzō said coldly, "So many jōnin—if a rebellion were allowed to run its course, it would inflict unprecedented damage on Konoha. But now, without a single injury on our side, I've perfectly resolved the Uchiha clan."

"Bastard!"

Hiruzen pointed at the corpses in the distance and asked, "You keep saying it's for Konoha—then where are their eyes?"

I want to know that too!

Danzō's temper flared, and he snapped, "Taken by a mysterious powerful individual. It wasn't me."

"A mysterious individual again?"

Hiruzen let out an exasperated laugh. "Can you tell the truth for once?"

Our Konoha is one of the Five Great Villages, not some place any Tom, Dick, or Harry can waltz into.

Where are all these mysterious individuals coming from?

If you're going to make excuses, at least make good ones!

Hiruzen was certain Danzō had swallowed those Sharingan.

He'd been coveting them for ages; now that an opportunity arose, he wouldn't let it slip.

"It truly wasn't me!"

Danzō repeated darkly.

"Fine—let's say it wasn't you."

Hiruzen took a deep breath and asked, "Where is Itachi?"

"He killed all members of the Uchiha clan and has defected."

Danzō delivered his prepared line.

"What?!"

Hiruzen found it absurd.

He had assumed Root did it, but it turned out to be Itachi.

Thinking it over, Root didn't have the capability.

Only Itachi, with Mangekyō Sharingan and his status, could silently wipe out the entire Uchiha clan.

A hint of guilt flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.

What was the point of this?

He could roughly understand Itachi's thinking.

What a good child.

Hiruzen's aged frame seemed even more stooped.

With the Uchiha clan gone, Konoha would fall into decline again, and other villages might start stirring.

This was why he had always been reluctant to resort to force.

"Hiruzen, there's one more thing."

Danzō tossed out a planted bombshell: "During Root's search of Uchiha records, we found they orchestrated the kidnapping of Seinosuke. He is currently at Naka Shrine."

"What?!"

Hiruzen's head snapped up, his expression changing. "Utterly brazen!"

Danzō thought to himself: You were just looking guilty—now you can finally stop pretending to be the good guy, huh.

Hiruzen could keep Danzō in check. He wasn't pure evil, but calling him good would be insulting the Hero of the Shinobi.

Plenty of shinobi had died by his hands.

"We'll know once we go to Naka Shrine."

Danzō lifted a hand. "Given the Uchiha's character, after Seinosuke's Wood Release was exposed, it's highly likely they kidnapped him."

Hiruzen nodded silently.

He should have thought of this earlier—he just didn't want to stir up more trouble at this moment.

Chapter 120: Aunt Mikoto, You Wouldn't Want To…

Naka Shrine.

The Uchiha clan's ancestral ground, and their secret meeting place.

Konoha's leadership had long known of its existence.

But previously, they weren't clear on the exact location.

Until after Shisui and Itachi defected to them, the Uchiha clan fell completely into their grasp.

However, there was still one thing they didn't know.

Underground at Naka Shrine, there was a stone tablet inscribed by the Sage of Six Paths.

Only by reading it in sequence with the Sharingan, Mangekyō Sharingan, and Rinnegan could one see all of its contents.

Because Danzō had sent Root ahead, by the time he and Hiruzen arrived, the search was over.

"Lord Danzō. Lord Hokage."

The Root members saluted in unison.

Hiruzen's brow furrowed ever so slightly.

Brazen, truly.

They addressed Danzō first, then him.

Root no longer had any reason to exist.

Hiruzen glanced around and found a corpse covered with a white sheet not far away. He asked, "Who is that?"

"Sarutobi Seinosuke."

The Root member's answer left Hiruzen frozen in place.

After a long while, he stiffly turned his head and asked, "Who did you say?"

"Your son, Sarutobi Seinosuke."

"Impossible!"

Hiruzen rejected it on instinct.

He staggered forward, reached out, and with trembling hands lifted the sheet.

"No!"

Hiruzen's face grew more haggard.

At his age, aside from the Hokage title and Konoha, only children and grandchildren mattered.

He had two sons, Sarutobi Seinosuke and Sarutobi Asuma.

One grandson, Sarutobi Konohamaru.

But he wasn't born yet—his eldest son's wife was nine months pregnant.

Sarutobi Asuma had been rebellious since childhood and later joined the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire's Daimyō, only recently returning.

Sarutobi Seinosuke had stayed by his side, followed his arrangements, entered ANBU, and become a captain—he was pleased with him.

In other words, this was the son he favored.

And now he'd gone before his father.

One could imagine Hiruzen's pain.

Danzō glanced once, unruffled.

He was a loner.

No wife, no children—standing guard over Konoha through the long night, to the bitter end.

To him, family was just an obstacle.

"Where are the others?"

Danzō suddenly realized something was off.

"No one else."

The Root member replied, "We searched here. Aside from Sarutobi Seinosuke, we found no second person."

"What did you say?!"

Danzō thumped his cane in agitation. "In a place this big, not a single person?"

"None."

The Root member repeated coolly.

"Damn it!"

Poison and resentment flickered in Danzō's eyes.

He knew he'd been played—came away empty-handed.

If he couldn't get Sharingan, then he would claim the Hokage's chair.

Danzō looked at Hiruzen, his expression growing colder.

You've made me take the fall so many times—now it's your turn.

Hiruzen, I told you, you'll regret this!

…

Land of Waves, Daimyō's mansion.

Hinae was busy; there were three hundred people to settle.

Most were civilians, not shinobi.

The shinobi had been culled by Itachi.

But plenty slipped the net.

Including Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Mikoto, and Uchiha Izumi, they had taken in thirty-two ninja in total.

Five were jōnin; the rest were chūnin and genin.

Natsume's organization suddenly swelled.

At least Hinae's side no longer had to worry about safety.

[Because of your actions, the fates of Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Shisui, Itachi, Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and others have changed. You have gained a total of 370 Fate Points.]

The string of prompts put Natsume in a great mood—worth the all-nighter.

And it wasn't over yet.

Next, it depended on Danzō's moves.

Hopefully, he wouldn't disappoint.

If necessary, Natsume could help.

Natsume knocked. No answer.

"I'm coming in."

He slid the door open and saw Mikoto, heart like dead ashes.

She sat on the floor, dazed, her eyes lifeless.

If she had merely lost her husband or her son, it would have been a little better.

But she had witnessed Itachi killing Fugaku.

No normal person could accept that.

In the original story, Mikoto chose to die with Fugaku—she didn't resist and died under Itachi's blade.

Now, Natsume had stopped that.

"Aunt Mikoto."

"...?"

Mikoto looked at Natsume's true face, a bit surprised.

Normally, she would have been shocked.

But at this moment, nothing could stir her.

"Let me go."

Mikoto spoke.

All her usual gentleness was gone.

To prevent her from committing suicide, Natsume had tied her up.

Otherwise, she would have followed Fugaku already.

He understood Mikoto now.

She wanted only death.

Natsume squatted down to look at her up close.

After the calamity, her delicate face was pale, her black hair disheveled—she looked haggard.

Her kimono had come loose from when Natsume had pinned her, exposing dazzling, snow-white skin.

"Aunt Mikoto."

Natsume reached out and smoothed her messy hair.

She didn't react.

"Just a little while ago, the Ninja Academy held a pop quiz."

As Natsume tidied her up, he spoke.

At the mention of the Academy, light returned to Mikoto's eyes.

She suddenly lifted her face. "What about Sasuke?!"

She had thought Sasuke had died by Itachi's hand.

If he killed his own father, how could he spare his younger brother?

"He's alive—and safe."

Mikoto froze at that, tears spilling out uncontrollably.

She pressed her head to Natsume's chest and sobbed.

This also meant she no longer sought death.

A mother's strength.

Itachi could no longer be saved, but Sasuke still had hope.

She couldn't just die and leave her poor child to face a cruel world alone.

Natsume patted her back without speaking.

At this moment, she just needed to vent until it passed.

After a long while—

Mikoto lifted her tear-streaked face.

"Untie me. I want to see Sasuke."

"You'll have to wait a while to see him."

Natsume released her restraints and explained, "Konoha is under lockdown now. And your appearance would affect Sasuke."

"Why?"

Mikoto couldn't understand the latter half at all.

"If you want revenge, you need power."

Natsume's voice was calm. "You know your clan's Sharingan requires emotional stimulus to awaken. For Sasuke, this is a good opportunity. If you're by his side, it will blunt that emotion."

Mikoto hesitated.

She didn't want Sasuke to endure such pain.

But Natsume was right.

If Sasuke wanted to grow, he had to pay a price and work for it.