Danzo's Doubts

After reassuring his clansmen, Fugaku let out a sigh of relief.

For a long time, the relationship between the village and the clan had placed immense pressure on him as the Uchiha Clan head.

Although he had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, it was itself a cursed power.

The evolution of the Blood Wheel Eye was inevitably accompanied by loss and pain.

He wanted to protect the village, and he also wanted to protect the clan.

Now, he finally no longer had to choose between them. After all, the village and the clan should have been one entity to begin with.

"Father, how did it go?"

When Fugaku returned home, he saw his eldest son, Itachi.

Itachi was a sensible child who had his own thoughts about many things.

"It's fine now. The village won't target us anymore. Life will definitely keep getting better."

Itachi nodded. He was also full of hope for the future. If so, Sasuke would be able to grow up healthy, right?

Shisui's dream could also come true. Perhaps he, too, could pursue the true meaning of life?

Kakashi was in the former Fourth Hokage's home, clumsily taking care of Naruto.

After the two wet nurses learned that Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son, they no longer cared whether their own children had enough to eat. They desperately wanted only to make sure Naruto was full.

The greater their hostility toward Naruto had been before, the greater their guilt was now.

Transforming from a fox demon everyone reviled into the son of a hero might take very little time.

After Jiraiya finished discussing the Cloud Shinobi matter with Orochimaru, he also came to this familiar room.

As Naruto's father's teacher, Jiraiya had never come to see Naruto and had instead left Konoha long ago.

"Senior Jiraiya!"

Kakashi greatly admired the Legendary Sannin.

"Naruto..."

Jiraiya had been the one to give him that name. His blond hair resembled Minato's, and he looked full of vitality.

Jiraiya clumsily tried to hold Naruto, but Naruto kept struggling, and no matter how Jiraiya held him, it felt awkward.

"You should hold him like this!"

Fortunately, after taking care of Naruto for several days, Kakashi had gained some experience.

Under Kakashi's guidance, Jiraiya finally managed to pick Naruto up despite his clumsiness.

Naruto was very well-behaved. He neither cried nor fussed. Perhaps Asura's chakra had already begun affecting him from such a young age.

The infant in his arms left Jiraiya in a daze. If only nothing had happened to Minato.

Only Tsunade remained in the Senju clan grounds.

Returning here reminded her of many painful memories.

She drank a great deal alone before finally falling asleep.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, was pondering Hiruzen Sarutobi's changes. He keenly sensed that his teacher's recent transformation was likely closely related to giving up part of the power in his hands.

Orochimaru's ultimate dream was immortality. Compared to immortality, becoming Hokage was insignificant.

After all, how many years had the village existed? How many years of history did the Shinobi World have? To achieve immortality, he had to become stronger.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was right. If immortality was achieved by making oneself weaker and weaker, then it definitely was not true immortality.

Then how should true immortality be achieved?

The Senju? The Uchiha Clan? Did the secret of immortality lie with these two clans? Or perhaps in a Holy Land?

Orochimaru's thoughts ran wild, but he was also filled with fighting spirit.

No matter what the answer was, he would definitely find it!

The village had changed greatly, but none of it had anything to do with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He still lived in a small wooden house, grilling meat and training. No one came to disturb him.

In name, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still Konoha's Hokage, but most of Konoha's affairs were now handled by his three disciples.

His wife, Biwako Sarutobi, had already passed away. His two sons, Shinnosuke and Asuma, had both grown into adults and begun living their own lives.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi received another visitor today—his old friend, Danzo.

After lying in the hospital for several days, Danzo had nearly recovered.

His foundation had not been harmed in the first place. They had merely purged all the foreign evil within him.

But after Orochimaru told Danzo that he was the elder, Danzo had truly broken down.

What had he been pursuing all his life?

The position of Hokage had never been prepared for him. He was merely a root buried deep in the soil, waiting to rot.

After understanding that, Danzo gave up his persistence. Of course, it might also have been because everything he had was destroyed, leaving him no chance to turn things around.

Walking through Konoha's streets, Danzo could also see that this village had long since ceased to have a place for him.

In truth, he had always been the one with the worst reputation in Konoha. None of the village's shinobi clans would allow him to become Hokage.

No one acknowledged him, and no one would cheer for him.

Thus, Danzo likewise did not return to the Shimura Clan. Instead, he headed for the outskirts of the village to see how Hiruzen Sarutobi was doing.

Even now, Danzo still could not understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi had done this.

Everything had clearly been proceeding according to plan, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had suddenly decided to stop playing. He directly took Danzo down, along with the other two advisors.

Then he directly handed most of the village's affairs to Orochimaru, summoned Jiraiya and Tsunade back as well, and overturned most of the policies the two of them had established while in power.

"Hiruzen!"

After arriving at the small wooden house, he could not find Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He called out, but received no response.

The wooden house was simple, with no decorations. There was only a bed and a meditation cushion.

A few simple seasonings and a tea set sat on the table.

There was nothing else.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken down him and their two former teammates just to live like an ascetic?

Danzo still could not understand.

Since he had nothing to do anyway, Danzo simply picked up the tea set on the table and began making tea.

He had not waited long when, just as Danzo raised the tea to take a sip, extremely heavy footsteps sounded outside. Every step made the ground tremble.

A thunderous crash sent tea spilling all over Danzo.

In a flash, he arrived outside the house. A huge tiger lay before the door, thoroughly dead.

Then Danzo saw his old friend.

Danzo: "?"

Why had Hiruzen Sarutobi become so young? After Danzo transplanted the First Hokage Cells, his aging had slowed.

Even now, he looked only around forty, but compared with Hiruzen Sarutobi as he was now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly younger.

Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not merely look younger. He was more energetic overall. His resolute eyes and explosive muscles made it impossible for Danzo to connect the man before him with the stooped old man from before.

Why? Danzo could not figure it out.