Konoha F4 Assemble!

Konoha.

Hokage Office.

"Hiruzen."

"Wake up!"

"He even dared to attack the Anbu. Do you think he still cares about you being the Hokage?"

"Once someone like him is allowed to fully grow, he'll become Konoha's greatest hidden danger!"

"Only Root can keep him under control."

"Hand him over to me."

"I'll erase his emotions and have him receive the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal."

"I want to thoroughly dissect his body and study the secrets of the Senju Clan's bloodline!"

Danzo once again revealed his objective.

A flash of greed passed through his single eye.

It was a desire for immense power.

He simply did not believe that Chiba had awakened Wood Style.

How could a godlike power such as Wood Style possibly appear in a junior?

Ever since the First Hokage fell.

No one from the Senju Clan had ever been able to wield that power again.

In Danzo's eyes, Chiba had merely been exceptionally lucky.

He had simply undergone a rare atavistic phenomenon, with a bloodline concentration far beyond that of ordinary people.

As long as he could capture Chiba and bring him into Root.

He could extract Chiba's cells and improve the arm into which he had transplanted the First Hokage's cells.

He would gain a longer life and greater power!

"No!"

However.

Even as Danzo's reasoning left him breaking out in a cold sweat.

Sarutobi Hiruzen still clenched his teeth.

He abruptly rose to his feet, and the aura of a Kage Level expert instantly erupted.

He stared straight into Danzo's eyes, refusing to yield an inch.

"I said no. Absolutely not!"

"As long as I remain Hokage, don't even think about laying a hand on Chiba!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was no fool.

He understood that Chiba was an enormous threat.

But he understood even more clearly that Danzo was an insatiable venomous snake.

Handing Chiba over to Danzo would be no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

If Danzo truly uncovered something through his research, or used Chiba's power to launch a coup.

Then Konoha would truly be beyond redemption.

"Hiruzen!"

"You're pushing Konoha into the abyss!"

Danzo flew into a rage.

The chakra around him surged in response.

Cracks even appeared in the floor around his cane.

The two were locked in a fierce standoff, neither willing to retreat half a step.

The air in the Hokage Office seemed to freeze solid.

At that critical moment.

Steady footsteps sounded from outside the door.

"Enough."

An elderly yet authoritative female voice rang out.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura entered the office side by side.

These two elder advisors of Konoha usually kept to themselves, yet they had made the unprecedented move of arriving together.

Clearly.

They had also heard about Chiba.

Utatane Koharu frowned, glanced at the bloodstains on the floor, then at the tense Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.

"Look at yourselves."

"What kind of spectacle is this?"

"The Anbu and Root are both watching outside."

"Do you want the entire village to laugh at you?"

Utatane Koharu reprimanded them without any restraint.

Mitokado Homura adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

For once, unprecedented gravity showed on his perpetually expressionless face.

"Hiruzen, Danzo."

"Now is not the time for you two to fight over power and profit."

Mitokado Homura's voice was calm, yet it struck directly at the heart of the matter.

"We already understand Chiba's situation."

"A Senju Bloodline hidden away for sixteen years."

"A dangerous individual who could severely wound elite Anbu members through sheer force of presence."

"He is currently occupying the former site of the Senju Clan."

"What can you possibly change by arguing yourselves hoarse here?"

Mitokado Homura raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.

"That's right."

"Whether Chiba is loyal or treacherous, and what his attitude toward the village truly is."

"Isn't something you can figure out by guessing here."

"Since he refuses to come see the Hokage."

"Then we'll go see him."

Utatane Koharu took over, her tone filled with cold rationality.

"Only by speaking face-to-face."

"Can we confirm what he truly thinks."

"And decide..."

At this point.

Utatane Koharu paused, a trace of killing intent flashing through her eyes.

"What comes next."

What came next.

Those three words made the three men in the office fall silent at once.

They all understood perfectly well.

If Chiba was willing to obey the higher-ups' arrangements, then they would continue using his ties to the village to restrain him.

If Chiba showed even the slightest hint of rebellion.

Then what awaited him would be the merciless crushing force of Konoha as a whole!

Even if he possessed the bloodline of the Senju Clan.

Even if he was Tsunade's disciple.

As long as he threatened Konoha's stability, he had to be eliminated!

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep draw from his pipe.

At some point, he had picked up the pipe that had fallen to the floor earlier.

But the tobacco inside had long since gone out.

He drew in a breath of cold air, trying to calm his wildly pounding heart.

"Fine."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe against the edge of the desk, producing a crisp sound.

"Then we'll go see him."

He turned toward the Anbu squad captain waiting outside the door.

"Pass on my orders."

"Mobilize five Anbu squads."

"The Barrier Squad and Sealing Squad are to take up positions immediately."

A resolute glint flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

If Chiba was willing to yield.

Then he did not mind playing the good old man.

After all, Chiba was Tsunade's disciple, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's own granddisciple.

But.

If Chiba wanted to tear off all pretense.

Then he had to prepare for the worst.

Danzo let out a cold snort.

He signaled to the Root shinobi behind him.

"Inform Root."

"Level-A combat readiness."

"Everyone, converge on the Senju Compound."

Danzo's thinking was simple.

If the negotiations fell through.

He had to capture Chiba before the Anbu did!

Capturing Chiba alive was currently his most crucial strategic objective.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance.

Neither of them objected.

When facing an unknown monster of this caliber, no degree of caution was excessive.

A few minutes later.

Below the Hokage Building.

A mass of dark-clad shinobi gathered like ghosts.

There was not the slightest bit of noise.

Only the occasional faint metallic clink of weapons brushing together.

A murderous atmosphere instantly engulfed Konoha's entire central district.

Sarutobi Hiruzen changed into the combat attire he had not worn in a long time.

It was a black bodysuit covered by specially made armor.

Though he had grown old.

Though his face was covered in wrinkles.

When he put on that equipment.

He was still the Ninja Hero whose name had once shaken the Ninja World!

Danzo stood beside Sarutobi Hiruzen.

As always, he leaned on his cane, his cold gaze sweeping across the surrounding ranks.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stood behind them.

Surrounded by elite shinobi.

The four elders who stood at the pinnacle of Konoha's power marched grandly toward the southeastern corner of the village.

Along the way.

Every civilian and ordinary shinobi sensed that something was wrong.

They moved aside one after another, staring in terror at this frightening force.

"What happened?"

"Why has Lord Hokage personally mobilized?"

"..."

Whispers spread along both sides of the street.

But no one dared speak loudly.

Because everyone could feel the killing intent, oppressive to the extreme.

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the surrounding stares.

His gaze remained fixed on the southeast.

That was the former site of the Senju Clan.

Once, it had been Konoha's most prosperous and sacred place.

But after the First and Second Hokage fell one after another.

The Senju Clan had voluntarily dissolved its clan structure in order to integrate into the village.

Countless Senju clansmen concealed their names and identities, blending in among the civilians.

That vast compound had gradually fallen into ruin, becoming an untouchable scar in Konoha's history.