"Nani?!"
Danzo slammed his hand on the table.
"Orochimaru's summon? Has Orochimaru still not given up?"
He felt both pleased and uneasy.
He was pleased that Jiraiya had yet to find Tsunade.
But he was uneasy that no one might die this time. He still wanted to preserve his strength and compete for the Hokage Position.
"Wait!"
"Manda definitely has Orochimaru on his head, but Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya are there too!"
"They seem to have defeated Orochimaru, but I don't know why they've made a contract with Orochimaru's summon!"
The Root ninja quickly finished reporting the news.
Danzo's face had already darkened.
If Tsunade really came back, he would once again have no chance at the Hokage Position!
"Damn it!"
It was all Hiruzen Sarutobi's fault.
It was bad enough that he became Hokage. Now his grandstudent wanted the position, and even his student was coming for it?
Konoha should be a place where Shimura Danzo alone called the shots, not Hiruzen Sarutobi!
"Forget them. We of Konoha's Root must remain hidden beneath the light and draw nourishment from it. All that matters is protecting Konoha."
Danzo spoke grandly, though his teeth were clenched.
Meanwhile, the village was already cheering.
Tsunade was back!
The greatest Medical Ninja in history!
All the ninja who had survived the Konoha Crush Plan could be saved!
Manda lowered his head and carried them to the village gates.
Xuanming reached back and patted Manda on the head.
"Are all the summons from Ryūchi Cave this weak? You're still far from strong enough. You have to get stronger, Manda!"
At his words, Manda pressed his head even closer to the ground.
"Understood!"
Manda looked at Xuanming with reverence and fear.
Then he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"So this is how terrifying Naruto is. Manda's a summon who'll turn on his summoner. He wouldn't even listen to Lord Orochimaru and only worked with him under a contract, yet he's unusually obedient in Naruto's hands."
Kabuto wondered just how powerful Naruto seemed to Manda.
Having been defeated by Xuanming partway through the fight, Kabuto had no idea what had happened afterward.
He also had no idea how Orochimaru had been thoroughly humbled, or how not one of the thousand snakes had escaped.
The ninja waiting at the village entrance had seen it all.
Especially Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, who had long been responsible for guarding Konoha's gates.
What could have happened to make Manda go from being summoned by Orochimaru to bowing at Xuanming's feet?
The advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, came out to greet them in person.
"Princess Tsunade, it's time to make a decision. The sooner news of your becoming the Fifth Hokage spreads, the sooner the village can find peace and return to normal."
Utatane Koharu spoke.
"Me, Hokage?"
Tsunade couldn't help laughing.
She deliberately turned to look at Jiraiya.
"Hey!"
Jiraiya hoped Tsunade wouldn't act on impulse at a time like this.
"Of course."
"You personally defeated and captured Orochimaru. You have Jiraiya's recommendation, the Feudal Lord's approval, and the village's trust."
"Having you become Hokage would be the best way to restore stability to Konoha!"
Mitokado Homura spoke on behalf of both advisors.
Might Guy had also arrived, standing behind the gate.
Konohamaru stood in a corner, listening to the adults talk.
He knew Xuanming had returned, and wanted to know who the new Hokage, the one replacing his grandfather, would be.
"You've got it wrong."
Tsunade smiled and patted Xuanming on the back.
"I did come back to Konoha, but I want to form a Medical Ninja squad and make sure Konoha's ninja teams can all get treatment in time from now on."
"But I wasn't the one who really defeated and captured Orochimaru. That was Naruto Uzumaki!"
Everyone gasped in unison.
Naruto was only a newly promoted Chunin!
"So I'm not here to become Hokage. I'm here to recommend Naruto for the position!"
Tsunade kept her hand on Xuanming's shoulder, giving him her full support.
So she really had said it!
Jiraiya and Shizune both looked utterly exasperated.
Good grief, who would ever agree to such an outrageous demand?
"Those two old fossils will never agree. The younger you are, and the less they know you, the harder you are for them to control."
"What Konoha needs is a dog, one powerful enough, but willing to die for Konoha without question!"
"When the Fourth Hokage died, he was left without support. They said he had drawn the Nine-Tails away for the village, but afterward, the Uchiha, who had served as Konoha's protectors, were nearly wiped out. The truth was buried for good."
"Who'll be the next one to pass their test? I'd really like to know."
Just hearing Orochimaru speak sent a chill through everyone.
Those with strong wills glared at him.
The weaker ones didn't even dare look his way.
Orochimaru was still very much Orochimaru.
"Shut up. You're nothing but a prisoner now!"
At the back of the crowd,
Danzo had his subordinates clear a path.
At last, he arrived in person.
He hadn't wanted to come and risk being humiliated.
But when he learned that Tsunade had so recklessly recommended Naruto for Hokage, he was even more furious.
Fine!
You want another Minato Namikaze, do you?
Dream on!
The villagers paid Orochimaru's words no heed, pretending the next Uchiha could never be them.
When Danzo entered the area, all the silence turned to disgust.
Stillness.
Silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought darkness, silently permitted beneath a veneer of peace and calm.
Ninja weren't exactly people who lived in the light, so someone had to clear away the refuse.
Shimura Danzo was the filthiest one in Konoha.
Xuanming knew.
When people knew they were in the wrong, they often lied to themselves.
Like Danzo, who would always convince himself that everything he did was for Konoha.
"Danzo."
Orochimaru curled his lips into a twisted smile at his former experimental partner.
"Have any ninja in Konoha been dissected by you lately? Have you been wrapping yourself in bandages lately? Even your eye's covered. Did you always have this habit?"
Orochimaru's words made everyone look at Danzo.
That was true.
Danzo had changed after the Night of the Uchiha Massacre.
Had he been through some great battle?
Or had it been because he rescued the Uchiha during the massacre and fought Itachi Uchiha?
Neither was true.
Everyone knew Shimura Danzo was useless when it came to protecting the village.
"Shut up."
Danzo turned to Tsunade.
"If you're unwilling to become Hokage, and Jiraiya is unwilling too, then we should invite the Feudal Lord and decide on a new Hokage together."
"As for Naruto Uzumaki, he was only promoted to Chunin a little over ten days ago. He's the least qualified person here to become Hokage!"
Danzo tapped his wooden cane as he headed toward the village.
He gave no one a chance to reply.
"Danzo!"
Xuanming had sensed Danzo's intense hostility even before he appeared.
From beginning to end, that bastard had held the greatest contempt for Xuanming, a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
From the Zabuza incident, to the Chunin Ninja Exams, to the attack on Konoha, and even now, after the defeat of Orochimaru,
the goodwill these ninja felt toward Xuanming had long since replaced their hostility.
Only Danzo had never changed.
"You have no right to speak to me while I'm performing my duties as the leader of Root and an advisor to Konohagakure. You're just a Chunin!"
Danzo turned back.
His one visible eye was full of contempt and disdain.
"The Ninja World doesn't care about rank."
"Only strength!"
Xuanming slapped his hand against the ground.
At the same time, he activated five Summoning Techniques!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Manda, Gamabunta, Katsuyu, the Rabbit Family, and Enma.
They all appeared, blocking Danzo's path!
"When did Naruto learn my Summoning Technique?"
Tsunade was completely baffled.
The ninja of the village couldn't help but retreat.
Xuanming's strength was already that terrifying!
"If you're overwhelmingly powerful, why put up with it?"
"Even if Naruto Uzumaki is the new Madara Uchiha, this village no longer has a Hashirama Senju!"
Orochimaru burst into uncontrollable laughter.
As the smoke cleared,
Xuanming stood before Danzo, holding the Adamantine Ruyi Staff.
"Danzo, stop right there!"