Hashirama's Cells, Secured

Ten minutes later.

The three followed Danzo to a secret base.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened at the sight of it.

A laboratory this large lay deep beneath the cemetery.

And he had known nothing about it!

Tsunade glanced around, uninterested.

Orochimaru, however, had curiosity gleaming in his golden, slit-pupiled eyes.

He looked thoroughly intrigued.

They went deeper, walking through dim corridors for several minutes.

At last, they reached a massive glass tank.

It was filled with pale green liquid.

A body floated motionless inside.

Hashirama Senju!

Seeing Hashirama Senju submerged in the tank sent anger flashing across Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.

He was about to speak—

Bang!

Without warning, Tsunade drove another punch into Danzo's lower back!

"Pffft!"

Danzo spat out a mouthful of blood.

He staggered several steps forward and nearly fell flat on his face.

"Lord Danzo!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several figures in striped masks emerged from the shadows.

They appeared beside Danzo and surrounded him protectively.

They glared at Tsunade, hands already on their ninja tool pouches.

Tsunade showed no fear.

She stepped forward, and Chakra erupted from her!

"What? Are you planning a rebellion?"

Her voice was icy, her gaze sharp as a blade.

The Root ninja froze, fear showing on their faces.

In their rush to protect their leader, they had forgotten who stood before them.

She was the First Hokage's granddaughter.

Konoha's princess.

And the Third Hokage was right there.

Danzo clutched his lower back, gasping for breath, his face white as paper.

He pointed a trembling finger at Tsunade, his lips quivering.

"You... you... I... I..."

"Enough with the stammering. Straighten out your tongue before you talk to me."

Tsunade's cold voice was full of impatience.

Her sheer brazenness

made Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who stood nearby, swallow hard.

She really is Konoha's Strongest Female Fist!

The same thought struck them both.

Danzo shook with rage, his one eye practically spitting fire.

But he knew he was in the wrong and forced his anger down.

After several deep breaths, he finally managed to speak.

"I did this... only to preserve the First Hokage's remains."

He ground out each word through clenched teeth.

Before Tsunade could respond, Danzo hurriedly added,

"Everyone knows what the First Hokage did for Konoha!"

"I couldn't bear to let his remains slowly decay in a graveyard, so I preserved them this way!"

"That liquid is a preservative I made myself. It keeps the remains as intact as possible!"

His explanation was a stretch.

But it was just plausible enough.

Protecting the First Hokage's remains.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression softened slightly.

Danzo had been wrong to move the body without permission.

At least he had not done anything worse.

Tsunade glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

She caught the change in his expression.

That old man lets Danzo get away with far too much!

Would a few more soft words from Danzo be enough for Hiruzen Sarutobi to sweep the whole thing under the rug?

She gave Hiruzen Sarutobi no chance to speak.

She snorted.

"Preserving his remains?"

"Who knows what you were really after?"

"For all I know, you've been using my grandfather's body for some shady experiment."

"I haven't!"

Danzo panicked and turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hiruzen! You have to believe me! I would never do that!"

"Tsunade is slandering me!"

Tsunade folded her arms and watched his performance coldly.

Only when Danzo finished did she speak, taking her time.

"Slandering you?"

"Then tell me why my great-uncle's remains are the only ones here."

She paused, then raised her voice sharply.

"Where's my other grandfather?!"

"Where are the remains of Tobirama Senju—your teacher, the Second Hokage?"

"Or did you decide your teacher's remains weren't worth preserving?"

Danzo's face changed completely.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned grim in an instant.

She was right!

Danzo kept claiming he was "preserving the remains."

So why had he preserved the First Hokage's, but not the Second's?

How did that make sense?

Tobirama Senju was a hero of Konoha too, and Danzo's teacher!

This was clearly...

Selective "preservation"!

Danzo's face twitched, uncertainty flickering in his one eye.

He opened his mouth, then swallowed whatever he had been about to say.

He hesitated for several seconds.

Under everyone's gaze, he finally forced out the words.

"The Second's... the Second Hokage's grave..."

"I dug that up too..."

"What?!"

Everyone turned to stare at Danzo.

Even Tsunade froze.

She had not expected that answer.

If he had dug it up, where was the body?

Danzo looked embarrassed.

At last, he explained helplessly,

"The Second Hokage's body had decayed badly. There was no point preserving it."

So that was it.

The others understood at once.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had not possessed a body as extraordinary as Hashirama's.

He had not been dead long, but his body had already decayed.

Danzo's words were disrespectful, but they were true.

That explained why he had preserved the First Hokage and not the Second.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression ease again, Tsunade decided not to push matters further.

After all, her own purpose in coming here was hardly innocent.

She snorted and said coldly,

"Whatever your reasons, my grandfather's remains are not staying here!"

"Third Hokage!"

Tsunade turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I'm leaving my grandfather's remains in your hands!"

With everyone watching, Tsunade still had to show Hiruzen Sarutobi some respect.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded firmly.

"I'll take care of it!"

Danzo opened his mouth, hoping to argue.

But with his insides still churning, he did not say another word.

He was already in the wrong.

It looked as though Tsunade was letting the matter drop.

If he said more, he might earn another punch.

Then, in the very next moment,

Tsunade strode up to the glass tank full of pale green liquid.

She drew back her right fist.

"Wait—" Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to stop her.

Crash!

Tsunade smashed the glass tank with a single punch!

Shards flew in every direction.

Pale green preservative gushed across the floor.

Tsunade moved fast.

She hauled Hashirama Senju's body out of the shattered tank and slung it over her shoulder.

It was soaked and still dripping.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched. Looking helpless, he said,

"Tsunade, couldn't you have carried off the whole tank? Did you have to smash it?"

Tsunade pursed her lips and used her free hand to pat Hashirama's soaked clothes.

"I don't trust anything he made."

"Who knows what he put in that liquid?"

"I'll prepare the solution to preserve my grandfather's remains myself."

Neither Danzo nor Hiruzen Sarutobi knew how to answer that.

Danzo felt guilty and resentful.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt helpless, and a headache was coming on.

Tsunade did not care what either of them thought.

She walked two steps with Hashirama's body on her shoulder, then stopped.

Turning, she shifted the body onto Orochimaru's shoulder.

"Carry him for me."

"..."

Orochimaru froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

He nodded silently.

He caught Hashirama's body and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

Tsunade rolled her shoulders, glanced at Danzo, then at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Let's go."

She turned and headed out first.

Orochimaru followed silently, carrying the body.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and gave Danzo one last look.

"Danzo, about this... We'll talk when you've recovered."

With that, he left too.

In the room,

only Danzo and the Root members remained.

The air went still for several seconds.

Then—

"Pfft!"

Danzo spat out another mouthful of blood.

He could no longer suppress the injuries he had forced himself to endure.

"Lord Danzo!"

"Quick! Get a medical ninja!"

The Root members beside him rushed forward to support him and began healing him.

One of them said quietly:

"Sir, they took the First Hokage's body. Our experiments..."

Danzo waved a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"It doesn't matter."

His voice was hoarse, but he sounded calm enough.

"Let them take the body."

"We've already kept plenty of cell samples. More than enough."

He paused, a cold glint passing through his lone eye.

"But that madwoman..."

Danzo's face darkened like a storm cloud.

He had taken that beating for nothing today.

And he had lost the First Hokage's body on top of it.

Worse, Tsunade's attitude today made it clear she had her eye on him.

Pulling any more tricks in the future would probably be harder.

He suddenly turned to the Root ninja who had first reported the matter.

"Tell me everything that happened today. Every word."

"Don't leave out a single detail."

The Root ninja swallowed.

Then he began a detailed account.

The more Danzo heard, the deeper his frown grew.

Was this really an accident, or...

He stared in the direction Tsunade had gone and fell into thought.