Tsunade stood on high ground, looking at the red banner with yellow lettering fluttering in the wind, then at the Uchiha Clan's sole survivor bound in midair in a Tortoiseshell Bind. The corner of her eye twitched violently twice.
What the hell kind of farewell ceremony for a deserter was this?
Jiraiya sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes wide as he stared at the black-clad youth directing the villagers' frenzied spectacle.
Unbelievable. What deep-seated grudge did that brat Chenshu Senju have against the Uchiha Clan to come up with such a wicked, smoke-belching trick?
That was Sasuke Uchiha. After such an intense public execution of social death, the psychological scar he would carry for the rest of his life would probably be bigger than Hokage Rock.
"Let's go. We'll talk after we enter the village."
Tsunade rubbed her throbbing temples, gaining an entirely new understanding of her flamboyant and domineering cousin.
These twisted methods that ignored all convention were indeed ten thousand times more terrifying than simple fighting and killing.
After the farce, Sasuke was forcibly dragged into the Hidden Leaf Village's interrogation room for major criminals by ANBU in an utterly humiliating state. Yet everyone's attention was soon completely seized by another earth-shaking event.
The Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village had officially returned.
Soon, it was the following morning.
The atmosphere in the top-floor conference room of the Hokage Building was so oppressive it seemed water could be squeezed from the air.
Today was a high-level handover meeting that would determine the future balance of power in the Hidden Leaf Village. Aside from the heads of the village's major clans, the two senior advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, sat solemnly at the long table.
Sitting at the very edge was none other than Root's