With an outcome like this, how could Danzo be satisfied?
Right—Danzo never truly cared about the village. What he cared about was whether he could become Hokage.
So in truth, he'd hoped Akatsuki's raid would cause as much destruction and casualties as possible—ideally Tsunade would die outright. Then he could step in "as a matter of course."
That was how it went in the original story.
In the original, Konoha wasn't just leveled—it became a giant crater. Tsunade fell into a coma. Danzo seized the chance to appear, accused Tsunade of failing to protect the village, and with his hardline posture even the daimyō had to agree. He became the acting Hokage, and even acting was enough to delight him.
As long as he performed well as acting Hokage, making it permanent seemed only a matter of time.
But now? He could forget acting Hokage—he might not even have a chance to come out of the shadows.
"tsk! Damn brats—why are they that strong? That clan's kid awakened (Mangekyō Sharingan) Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye; the stale kid from the other clan even awakened the (Sennin no Me) Sage Eyes; even the kid from the Aburame line has become that formidable. Most hateful of all is that punk Natsuki—strong to this degree, with his girlfriend even wielding the (Rikudō Dōgu) Six Paths Ninja Tools…"
Danzo felt a dull pain in his right eye. He couldn't help wanting to hit Natsuki with (Kotoamatsukami) Distinguished Heavenly Gods.
With Natsuki so powerful, if he could rewrite Natsuki's will and make him serve Danzo, wouldn't that make Danzo invincible?
However, (Kotoamatsukami) has a long "charge time," so he couldn't use it lightly.
Otherwise, he'd have already reshaped the entire village with it; he wouldn't need to skulk like a sewer rat, hiding from the light day after day.
So, he had to choose the single most suitable target to rewrite—someone who would help him reach the Hokage's seat!
"No. I have to use this chance to step out! If I don't, I may never get another! I haven't cracked the secret of immortality. I don't have many years left. I must become Hokage before I die—otherwise how can I die with my eyes closed?!"
Danzo clenched his teeth and made up his mind.
Anyway, the village had still taken notable damage this time; he could seize the chance to challenge Tsunade.
Maybe he couldn't seize power outright, but at least he could demand his old role as Hokage adviser back—and push to reconstitute (Ne) Root.
In Konoha, with the battle over, the villagers were escorted back.
Seeing the heavy damage everywhere, they were badly shaken—especially after hearing there was a massive crater hundreds of li outside the village. Many went weak in the knees.
After they learned the rough outline of the battle, they couldn't help feeling relieved.
Thankfully, they'd been evacuated in advance. Thankfully, under Tsunade-sama's leadership, they defeated the enemy. Thankfully, the heroes diverted the force that would have annihilated the village. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be "some" damage—the whole village would be gone, and countless would have died. The result was unimaginable.
So, people were grateful to Tsunade-sama and the heroes—eager to sing their praises.
Of course, there were complaints—homes and shops had been badly damaged, some completely lost. Having emotions was normal.
But overall, the mood was hopeful.
Moreover, after Tsunade-sama heard the battle's outcome, she immediately mobilized chūnin and genin who hadn't fought much to help villagers rebuild houses, and increased patrols to restore a sense of safety.
In a short time, the situation stabilized completely.
As for Natsuki—Tenten had already carried him home for a bath.
In truth, Natsuki had simply burned through a lot of chakra at the time, but he recovered quickly and was fine. He just enjoyed watching Tenten bustle about for him, so he didn't refuse.
Naturally, a little cuddling was unavoidable.
But after bathing, the two hurried to the ninja tools shop—worried about the shopkeeper.
The shop had taken some damage. The shopkeeper had already returned and stood staring blankly at the store, lost in thought.
"Otō-san, are you okay?" Tenten rushed to him.
"I'm fine—you two are the ones I should be asking about!"
The shopkeeper looked them over. Seeing they weren't even injured, he exhaled in relief. "As long as you're safe—that's all I hope for!"
Tenten silently hugged him. No need for many words—family understands.
Natsuki quietly started tidying up. He knew (Doton) Earth Release and (Mokuton) Wood Release—mending buildings was child's play. In no time the repairs were done.
While he was at it, he fixed up the neighbors' places too. He was showered with thanks and praise—after all, he'd been a main force in defeating the enemy, a hero of the village.
Natsuki didn't care about that; he was helping for the sake of his father-in-law's neighborhood relations.
You see each other every day. Over the years, everyone had grown familiar; maybe not intimate, but they helped one another in daily life.
So Natsuki didn't mind lending a hand.
Luckily, because he was a "hero," folks didn't dare make him work too hard. Once it was mostly done, they urged him to go rest.
Natsuki didn't refuse and hurried back to the shop.
Inside, the cleanup was finished. The shopkeeper was listening to Tenten recount parts of the battle—how she and Natsuki had shone—which he found fascinating.
He wasn't a shinobi, but he sold ninja tools, so he understood a bit. He knew the enemies were terrifying—and that his daughter and son-in-law were even stronger.
That was good. The stronger they were, the easier his mind rested as a father.
"Good son-in-law! Come, come!"
The shopkeeper waved him over. "Tell me—how did it feel when you fought the strongest enemy? Was there a lot of pressure?"
Natsuki nodded solemnly. "Tons of pressure. Seeing how strong he was, I thought—I must win. I still have to marry Tenten, give Otō-san ten or eight grandkids. How could I lose? How could I die? Then I erupted with power and finally defeated him!"
Tenten couldn't help but kick Natsuki lightly, rolling her eyes skyward.
Ten or eight kids? She'd die from exhaustion!
To her surprise, the shopkeeper gave a big thumbs-up. "Exactly! You two better live well—I'm waiting to hold ten or eight grandkids! More would be fine!"
"Geez, Otō-san, that's too much. Go cook already—Natsuki and I are tired and don't want to move!" Tenten hurriedly cut him off.
"Okay, okay! I'll cook today! Hahaha!"
In great spirits, the shopkeeper beamed and headed into the kitchen.
Tenten elbowed Natsuki wordlessly, but Natsuki understood.
He didn't mind. Better to humor Otō-san like this than dive into grisly battle details and make him worry.
(End of Chapter)
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