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Chapter 172 - Chapter 172: Tsunade's Breakdown

His hair turned white, cascading down to his waist.

A third eye appeared on his forehead, its nine-tomoe pattern clearly visible.

Surrounding him were nine Truth-Seeking Orbs, a clear symbol of the Six Paths.

Floating in midair, Danzo opened his eyes. His Rinnegan glowed with a faint blue light.

"I've found you."

His figure vanished from the chamber.

...

A deserted coastline in the Land of Lightning.

The sky darkened, space twisted, and violet lightning rampaged wildly.

Countless arcs of purple electricity flickered and intertwined, as if targeting something unseen.

Blinding purple flashes illuminated the entire shoreline.

The scene was like the end of the world.

Then, a streak of blue light cut through the storm, and the apocalyptic lightning gradually subsided.

The dark clouds rapidly dispersed, and sunlight once again pierced through the sky.

"Escaped, huh?"

Danzo closed his eyes but could no longer sense the enemy's presence.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Had they returned to the Pure Land? Or hidden elsewhere?

Still, as he had suspected, their power barely reached the level of the Six Paths.

And they remained nothing more than a soul.

A cloaked figure, moving at an astonishing speed, skimmed across the ocean's surface.

"My lord?"

Having tracked his target to this location, Uchiha Itachi hesitated upon seeing the familiar figure.

Danzo, still floating in the air, slowly withdrew his Truth-Seeking Orbs, and his white hair darkened back to black.

The divine aura surrounding him faded considerably.

"Itachi, come back with me. You can't handle that enemy just yet."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Itachi's face. The sheer destruction from earlier had been terrifying—even from ten kilometers away, he had felt an overwhelming sense of dread.

But... Sasuke.

As if reading his thoughts, Danzo spoke again.

"Don't worry. Sasuke and the others won't be harmed for now. I'll deal with that old bastard as soon as possible."

"Understood, my lord."

As soon as Itachi finished speaking, the two figures vanished from the ocean's surface.

By the time Itachi regained his senses, they were already standing at the entrance of the Uchiha Clan's newly constructed settlement.

...

Meanwhile, atop the Hokage Tower, Danzo stood alone, his expression unreadable.

His surveillance of the entire shinobi world had revealed an anomaly—Tsunade.

Now, he could feel it more clearly.

Her chakra brimmed with vitality, carrying traces of his own energy.

And within her womb... a new life.

A child with a bloodline connection to him.

...

Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade glared furiously at the envoy before her.

"The shinobi village does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Land of Fire. That was my grandfather's decree. You'd best leave."

"My lady, will you really stand by and watch the Land of Fire fall into ruin? You are its princess!"

"Ruin? This is nothing more than your internal power struggle. The village will not get involved."

After instructing Shizune to escort the envoys out, Tsunade leaned back in her chair, massaging her temples.

She already knew who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The so-called "Second Prince" was nothing but a puppet, a pawn in the schemes of some old fools who refused to accept reality and sought to drag her into their game.

"Tsunade."

The voice sent a chill down her spine. For a moment, she almost used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.

But in the end, she suppressed the impulse and looked up at the man standing before her desk—Danzo.

"Old bastard, what are you doing here?"

Her tone was as sharp as ever, but Danzo could sense a hint of unease beneath it.

He scrutinized her closely.

"Aren't you going to explain your Wood Release... and the child in your womb?"

Tsunade shot to her feet and slammed her hands on the desk.

Bang!

She glared at him, eyes burning with defiance.

"Explain what? So what if the Senju bloodline has awakened Wood Release? And what's wrong with a woman having a child?"

Danzo remained silent, watching her feigned bravado. The atmosphere grew tense.

Just then, the office door swung open.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Shizune glanced between Tsunade and Danzo, sensing an odd tension in the room.

"It's nothing, Shizune. Take good care of Tsunade for the time being."

With that, Danzo rose and left the office.

Tsunade sank back into her chair, staring blankly ahead.

"My lady, are you alright?" Shizune asked cautiously.

Tsunade buried her fingers in her hair, her expression crumbling, and slammed her forehead onto the desk.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, Shizune?"

"Did you and Lord Danzo have a fight?" Shizune asked hesitantly. "Lord Danzo is actually very kind. He wouldn't hold a grudge over something small. You don't need to worry too much."

"You don't know anything..."

Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she shot Shizune a suspicious look.

"Did he bribe you? Why are you speaking up for him?"

"W-What? Of course not!" Shizune blushed, hastily denying it.

Yet, she couldn't help but recall the first time she had met Danzo—the warmth in his gaze.

Tsunade, seeing her assistant's flustered expression, grew even more suspicious.

...

A small residence in the heart of Konoha.

"Come on, have another drink with me! Hahaha, this part is pure gold!" Jiraiya laughed, rapidly scribbling across the pages of his manuscript.

Ever since Danzo had regained consciousness, Jiraiya's creative juices had been flowing like never before.

After being restrained for so long, inspiration flooded his mind.

Surrounded by two beautiful women pouring him sake, he was in absolute bliss, drinking and writing his novel without a care in the world.

Poof!

A small toad, leaning on a cane, suddenly appeared in the room.

"Oh? Fukasaku-san, what brings you here? Want to have a drink? You should try human food sometime."

"Jiraiya."

Fukasaku's solemn tone made Jiraiya pause.

He set his cup down.

"You two, leave us."

"Yes, my lord."

Once the women had left, Jiraiya turned back to Fukasaku.

"What happened?"

"The Great Toad Sage has passed away."

Jiraiya was momentarily stunned but not entirely surprised.

"I see... Well, he was over a thousand years old. It was only a matter of time."

"That's not all. The sacred relic of Mount Myoboku is also missing. The Great Sage left behind a prophecy—if the relic disappears at the time of his death, Mount Myoboku must be sealed off for a thousand years."

"A thousand-year isolation...?"

"Yes. During that time, the Summoning Jutsu will be unusable."

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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