"Shinnosuke, Asuma, you haven't seen Tsunade and Jiraiya? Come, I'll go see them," Danzo said as he stood and headed for the door.
Hearing this, Shinnosuke and Asuma exchanged a glance and followed Danzo.
With the Sarutobi brothers and Aburame Ryoma in tow, the four of them went to the house next door.
Before they reached it, a shout of cursing floated from the living room.
"That bastard Danzo called me here and then vanished. How long does he expect me to wait?"
"Alright, Tsunade, ease up. Danzo might be tied up with something. We haven't met in years; let's catch up first," Jiraiya soothed.
"Catch up at a tavern, not on someone else's turf."
"I'll give Danzo three more minutes. If he doesn't show in three, I'm leaving."
Hearing this from afar, Danzo's eye twitched. He drew a deep breath and walked into the living room.
"Long time no see, Tsunade. Your temper is as fierce as ever," Danzo couldn't help a jab.
"Danzo, you old fossil, you finally showed up. I thought you'd died," Tsunade snapped.
Danzo's eyelid twitched again.
The Sarutobi brothers traded a look, amusement in their eyes. To put Danzo in his place, it took Lady Tsunade.
"Enough bickering. Danzo, since you're here, let's get to business," Jiraiya cut in.
"Fine."
Danzo stopped sparring with Tsunade and took the main seat.
"Lord Jiraiya. Lady Tsunade," the Sarutobi brothers greeted quickly.
"Oh, you two are here as well?" Jiraiya was surprised, though it made sense.
"Yes. I arrived at the Fire Capital yesterday. Lord Danzo approached me, and we just discussed some matters," Shinnosuke said.
"Sit," Danzo said.
The brothers sat flanking Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Danzo glanced at them both. "I mentioned the situation in my letter. I'll go over it in detail again now."
He paused to collect his thoughts, then recounted what happened on the Night of the Massacre. The tale had been edited, but Tsunade and Jiraiya still caught the gist: the Uchiha revolted. The Leaf leadership did not act directly and had Itachi cleanse his own clan in the name of higher principles. Itachi botched it. With no choice, they moved to annihilate the Uchiha entirely, only to be thwarted by Uchiha Shin. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two advisors died. Danzo survived, he claimed, not out of cowardice but to endure humiliation for Konoha's sake—if he died too, no one would be left to restore the Leaf.
Tsunade snorted. "Konoha ended up like this because you pushed the Uchiha far too hard. You left them no way to live."
"Suppressing the Uchiha was the policy set by the Second, your granduncle. I merely executed it," Danzo said.
"Spare me. My granduncle might have restrained the Uchiha, but not with your level of viciousness. Don't dump all the blame on him. And don't treat me like some clueless girl. That only makes me look down on you," Tsunade sneered.
"Enough, Tsunade," Jiraiya stopped her. "The teacher may have been wrong in parts, and the Uchiha had plenty of problems too. Debating it now is pointless."
"Danzo, your plan—what do you intend to do?"
"I gathered you to retake Konoha."
"Retake Konoha? Do we have the manpower?" Jiraiya asked.
"We do. In top-tier power, there's me and the Sannin."
"The Sannin? Orochimaru as well?" Jiraiya asked, suddenly animated.
"Correct. Orochimaru agreed to take part," Danzo nodded.
"Where is he?" Jiraiya asked.
"Gone," Danzo said.
"Gone? Not participating?"
"After all, the Sannin are only a trio in name. He will take part in his own way, but he won't be teaming up with you two."
"I see," Jiraiya's eyes dimmed. A complex look flickered in Tsunade's eyes.
"Go on," Jiraiya said after steadying himself.
"In high-end power, there are four of us. The mid- and lower-tier shinobi army will be provided by the Sarutobi clan. I originally asked for two thousand, but Shinnosuke refused, with no sense of the bigger picture," Danzo said, taking another jab at Shinnosuke.
"The Sarutobi have that many?" Jiraiya's eyes widened. In his impression, they were a mid-sized clan. Since when did they have so many?
"At their peak, the Sarutobi numbered over forty-five hundred. Even now they still have more than three thousand. They can field at least over two thousand ninja. Yet they're only willing to send a thousand," Danzo said.
"Twelve hundred, Lord Danzo," Shinnosuke corrected.
"Right, right—twelve hundred," Danzo said, his sarcasm undisguised.
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade drew in a sharp breath. Especially Tsunade: her grandfather and granduncle had devoted themselves to merging the Senju into the village, while their teacher, over decades in office, had grown his own clan from mid-sized to colossal, boasting more shinobi than any village outside the Five Great Hidden Villages. It was truly staggering.
"Our teacher from the Sarutobi truly understood the art of management," Tsunade said with a wry smile.
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