On the platform, they watched the movements below.
The Third Elder, with black hair and black eyes, wore a Senju Combat Uniform. He curled his lips into a smile and said to Danzo, "Little guy, your great-uncle and cousins are about to go on. What do you think? Looking forward to it?"
Looking at the Third Elder, whose face was full of smiles even as he radiated an air of malice, Shimura Danzō suppressed his anger and replied calmly, "May I ask the Third Elder what there is to look forward to?"
"Hahaha! Look at what they're doing. I'll explain it to you. I came up with this punishment myself, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied!" the Third Elder said with a laugh.
Shimura Danzō's expression didn't change. He gave a slight nod and followed the direction of the Third Elder's finger with his gaze.
A group of Senju ninja in Combat Uniforms had set up more than a dozen thick wooden posts in the open space. Then they stripped his great-uncle, great-aunt, and cousins naked and tied them to the posts one by one.
At the sight, Shimura Danzō's hand tightened slightly inside his sleeve.
But he kept his face cold and said with a hint of mockery, "The Third Elder's talent lies in stripping people naked in public?"
The Third Elder waved a hand, not bothered by the mockery in Danzo's tone. "Don't rush. Let's take our time and watch!"
The two looked toward the grounds again.
After tying up the prisoners, the Senju ninja took out Fishing Nets from their Ninja Tool Pouches and secured them over the bodies of the people being punished, working in pairs.
Once they had finished, the Third Elder turned back to Danzo and explained with a smile, "This punishment is called 'Fish Flower.' I got the idea from fish and flowers!"
"Can you see that piece of flesh squeezed out of them?"
Shimura Danzō nodded without answering.
Unbothered by his attitude, the Third Elder pointed to the marks left by the net on Rikima Senju's body and continued, "They're serving 'Five Years of Punishment,' which means they have to endure the punishment for five years! So I chose this punishment that won't kill them!"
"Little guy, be sure to come visit your great-uncle often when you have time!"
"Hahahaha!"
Hearing the mocking laughter at his side, Shimura Danzō struggled to keep his expression steady.
He wasn't much of a decent person, and he'd done plenty of wicked things.
By rights, he shouldn't have felt angry.
But... they were his blood relatives!
Apart from the children his younger siblings had left behind, those people tied to the posts were all he had left!
If the Senju had simply killed them, he could have accepted it. After all, they were ninja. Either you killed someone else or someone else killed you. How many of them ever had a peaceful end?
Besides, they had started the trouble, so losing and getting cut down by someone was only normal.
But now the Senju were telling him that he had to watch those blood relatives of his suffer for five years.
Five years!!!
Shimura Danzō's mouth twitched slightly. His hands clenched tightly inside his sleeves, and faintly, he could see liquid slowly trickling out from them.
"Ugh-!"
The sight of the Meat Flower was too much for Uka Senju. He couldn't hold it in and vomited up everything he'd eaten earlier.
He'd been in the Shinobi World for nine years and had already killed people. He'd thought he was prepared long ago.
But the memories of spending decades in a peaceful world in his previous life told him otherwise.
He wasn't completely prepared!
The commotion beside Mito Uzumaki drew everyone's attention.
Seeing the kid throwing up, a few people who hadn't undergone training laughed out loud.
Uka had eaten a lot earlier. He'd kept the noise down, but the weakest person on the platform was a Jonin. How could they not have noticed?
But his aunt hadn't stopped him, so the others had simply watched for fun.
Sure enough, the Third Elder's perverted punishment had made him throw up!
Amid the laughter, Mito Uzumaki saw how badly the child was vomiting and quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath. At the same time, a green light glowed in her hand.
With the warmth against his back, Uka Senju gradually stopped his body's involuntary reaction.
He glanced gratefully at Mito, wiped his mouth, then got up and began cleaning up the vomit on the ground.
After everyone had finished laughing and joking around,
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked around, leaned slightly toward the First Elder beside him, and asked softly, "First Elder, when do you think we should begin?"
Hearing this, the First Elder raised a hand and pressed it down.
Then he leaned forward and called to the two behind Hiruzen, "Third, where's the gift you prepared?"
"Bring it up. The guests are getting impatient!"
"Okay, okay, I'll go get it now!" the Third Elder replied with a laugh.
After saying that, he quickly got up and headed backstage.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the sinister Third Elder disappear around the corner, his heart gave an unexpected thump.
He'd thought the humiliation had been bad enough for today. He hadn't expected the main course to be yet to come!
He glanced worriedly at his old friend's hand, hidden in his sleeve.
How could a sleeve conceal that thick smell of blood?
A moment later, the Third Elder appeared around the corner again, followed by two guards carrying a Low Table.
"Here, set it down in front of the little guy and uncover it," the Third Elder said as he returned to his seat, pointing at Danzo and addressing the two guards.
"Yes, sir!"
The two guards carried the Low Table in front of Shimura Danzō and lifted the black cloth covering it.
There were two dishes on the table!
Looking at what was in front of him, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to the others in confusion, unsure what game they were playing now.
But he noticed that the easygoing, cheerful air the Senju higher-ups had shown earlier had completely vanished.
One by one, they sat in their seats, poised for action, as if they might attack the two of them at any moment!
Out of habit, Hiruzen Sarutobi started to turn his hand, then restrained his ninja instincts and continued looking at them with a smile.
"Little guy, eat it all! Your uncle specially prepared this for you!" Ignoring Hiruzen's change in demeanor, the Third Elder stared straight at Danzo as he spoke.
Hearing this, Shimura Danzō realized that everyone present had him in their sights.
He suppressed the agitation within him and thought, When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head!
Then he forced himself to focus entirely on the stir-fried dish.
Brown and green were mixed together. The green was probably the most common kind of chili pepper, while the dark brown meat was probably the internal organs of some creature?
As he wondered, he reached for the plate with his bloodstained right hand.
He wolfed it down. He didn't even use chopsticks, eating the entire plate of stir-fried food like A San.
Feeling the feedback of his stomach churning, Shimura Danzō looked up at the Third Elder, bewildered.