Koharu and Homura Mitokado were stunned.
"Sarutobi… what did you just say?"
Homura's face twisted in anger, glaring at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But Sarutobi only shook his head helplessly.
What's the use of glaring at me?
Yes, Ryoma's methods were excessive. But the two of you? You plotted against Kushina and even thought of targeting Uzumaki Mito herself. That's nothing short of digging your own graves.
And more importantly… could anyone here truly restrain Ryoma now?
Hiruzen recalled the massive Thousand-Armed Buddha towering into the sky earlier, and his heart trembled all over again. For the first time, he truly felt old.
He turned back toward Homura. "Homura, what's done is done. You'll have to live with being a Jinchūriki now. Rest assured—Konoha will not mistreat you."
Bloodshot veins bulged in Homura's eyes. "Forget it?!"
Sarutobi exhaled slowly. "Ryoma, you really have gone too far. Yes, Elder Homura was in the wrong, but he is still one of Konoha's elders…"
Ryoma smiled faintly and nodded. "The Third Hokage is right. It's all for Konoha, isn't it? Elder Homura, then sacrifice yourself for the village."
With that, Ryoma simply turned, taking Kushina's soft little hand in his. "Let's go home."
Kushina brightened immediately. "Grandma Mito, let's go home together!"
Uzumaki Mito gave a single nod, cast a calm glance at Hiruzen, and followed after Ryoma and Kushina without hesitation.
Behind them, furious voices erupted.
"Sarutobi, are you just going to let him leave?!"
"You saw it yourself! He's grown too arrogant!"
"We demand an explanation—otherwise we won't let this rest!"
Hiruzen finally turned, his eyes hardening as he looked at Danzo, Homura, and Koharu.
"An explanation? Fine. Then tell me this—why, when Lady Mito ordered the Four Purple Flame Formation to be raised, did you disobey? Why, despite being retired, do you still meddle in Administration affairs? And why, most of all, was the Two-Tails' seal deliberately tampered with?"
The three elders went silent.
Sarutobi's voice dropped cold. "You claim everything you do is for Konoha. Then now—when the time comes for you to sacrifice for the village—don't complain."
Danzo's teeth ground audibly. He stepped close to Hiruzen, whispering harshly, "Everything I've done is necessary! If this continues, Konoha will no longer belong to all of us—it will become the Senju clan's Konoha! Tell me, then—would that still be Konoha?"
Hiruzen's gaze turned frigid. "Danzo, don't forget—Konoha was founded by the Senju. Our teachers, the First and Second Hokage, were both Senju. Do not be so ungrateful."
Without another word, the Third Hokage turned and left.
But as he walked, ANBU reports kept arriving one after another, and his face grew darker with every message.
"Ryoma sealed both the Nine-Tails and the Two-Tails single-handedly?!"
"The Third Mizukage is dead—killed by Ryoma himself—and the body has already been brought back?!"
Even the Sannin nearby froze, stunned by what they heard.
Is Ryoma really this powerful…?
Back at home, once Uzumaki Mito retired to her room, Ryoma pulled Kushina into his arms without hesitation.
The sudden closeness shocked her. Her heart raced wildly, like riding a roller coaster. Almost without thinking, Kushina lifted her face and kissed him—tentative at first, then passionately, as though swept up in a storm.
When at last they broke apart, Kushina's face burned red. She shoved him lightly, stammering,
"I'm… I'm going to sleep!"
She dashed into her room, slamming the door shut.
A moment later, though, she cracked it open just slightly, only to find Ryoma was gone.
"Hmph! Idiot! All guys are just pigs in shoes!"
Meanwhile, Ryoma had already returned to his own quarters. Sitting down, he summoned his character attributes. With a thought, he replaced his current card with an S-rank—the First Mizukage, Byakuren.
His status appeared before him:
[Name: Ryoma]
[Strength: Super Kage-level]
[Position: Special Jōnin]
[Character Cards: SSS-rank—First Hokage Hashirama Senju (100% fusion), S-rank—First Mizukage Byakuren (10% fusion)]
[Kekkei Genkai: God-Tier Wood Release]
[Ninjutsu: Flying Thunder God Lv.3, Impure World Reincarnation Lv.3, Lightning Release: Chidori Lv.3, Multiple Shadow Clone Lv.3, Yin Seal Lv.3, Creation Rebirth Lv.3, Four Symbols Seal Lv.3, Dead Demon Consuming Seal Lv.3, Harem Technique Lv.?, Shuriken Shadow Clone Lv.3]
Switching out Uzumaki Ashina's card, his sealing mastery dropped back to its original state.
But with the First Mizukage's card, Ryoma instantly gained access to Byakuren's entire arsenal of ninjutsu. Naturally, his most refined techniques were from Water Release—pride of Kirigakure.
After all, the Mizukage was the strongest Water-style shinobi of the Hidden Mist.
Ryoma leapt from the window, vanishing into the night sky.
Bang!
Harem Technique.
But this wasn't meant to tempt—it was meant to deceive.
From the shadows, a clone transformed into a stunning woman clad in skintight black appeared along the path leading to the training grounds.
It was there that Koharu Utatane approached, escorted by several young clan shinobi.
She was still giving orders. "Keep a close watch on Ryoma these days—"
Then, all at once, the young shinobi froze, their gazes locked ahead.
They were hot-blooded young men. Faced with Ryoma's illusionary beauty, their focus wavered.
The clone smiled seductively, her movements deliberately enticing as she drew closer.
Koharu frowned, her instincts stirring. Something felt wrong.
"Stay alert," she warned sharply.
"Yes, Elder Koharu!" the escorts replied.
Too late.
The clone's expression twisted into a cold smile.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
Forming her hand into the shape of a pistol, she fired a pressurized stream of water from her fingertip. It pierced Koharu's chest instantly.
Her eyes widened in disbelief before her body collapsed backward, blood spilling across the earth.
"An assassin!" the clan shinobi roared, weapons flying as they hurled kunai and shuriken.
Bang!
The clone shattered into smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?!"
Before they could regroup, more figures appeared—dozens of identical black-clad women surrounding them.
One after another, streams of water fired like bullets.
Koharu's body convulsed under the barrage, her flesh torn apart as though she were nothing more than a ragged sack.
Blood sprayed across the stunned escorts.
"An assassin! Call for help!"
But it was already too late. Koharu lay motionless in their arms, breathless, lifeless.
From the shadows nearby, a figure faded away, leaving only his cold words behind:
"As I said… tonight, you die."
Ryoma vanished just as Minato Namikaze arrived, appearing in a flash of light.
"Elder Koharu was attacked?!"
"What happened here?!"
The shaken clan shinobi scrambled to explain, voices overlapping.
"It was a woman in black, using Shadow Clones—"
"She used Water Release, shot water from her fingers like a pistol—"
Minato crouched, pressing his hand to the ground, feeling the damp trace of chakra-infused water. He lifted it to his nose.
"…Water Release."
His first thought was Ryoma. Yet the witnesses' descriptions didn't align.
A female assassin, skilled in Water Release… could this be Kirigakure's revenge?
But why target Koharu?
With no clear answers, Minato could only oversee the removal of Koharu's body. He then hurried to the Hokage's office.
That night, for Hiruzen Sarutobi, there would be no sleep.
...
TN:
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