Lynx looked at the corpse of the squad leader beaten to death by Tsunade, his heart filled with immense shock.
This squad leader wasn't a Root ninja; he was a squad leader from his Lynx squad!
This squad leader had temporarily entered Root to help train the Root newcomers.
Why did he die here?
Not only was Lynx shocked, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo were equally astonished.
Had Tsunade... gone mad?
Root was currently so strained, they still hadn't supplemented full members and had been continuously training newcomers.
These newcomers were the ones Danzo personally oversaw training every day, teaching them ninjutsu himself, bearing the heavy responsibility and expectation of rebuilding Root.
And today, here, four of them were beaten to death by Tsunade?
Plus an Anbu squad leader, a Special Jonin of considerable strength.
Yōkō was the first to react, directing the Anbu who had arrived to quickly clear the area of bystanders to prevent other villagers from seeing the situation.
Fortunately, it was late at night; if it were daytime, it would have been a disaster.
Orochimaru thought to himself that he had been waiting to receive the new batch of test subjects tonight, but it seemed there was no hope now.
Seeing that no one else was speaking, he was the first to ask: "Tsunade, why did you kill the Root newcomers and the Anbu squad leader?"
Yōkō thought to himself, Orochimaru, accustomed to arrogance, actually spoke the truth directly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly said: "Lynx! Verify their identities! See if these people are spies!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen had compromised.
What else could he do if he didn't?
"What Root newcomers? What Anbu squad leader? I don't know what you're talking about." Tsunade seized the opportunity, saying:
"Today I heard from the Third Hokage that spies from other villages have been kidnapping children from the village.
I didn't believe it at first, but I happened to encounter it tonight, and only then did I understand that the Third Hokage wasn't lying. There really are spies kidnapping children from the village.
These people are spies from other ninja villages.
Not only will I kill them tonight, but anytime I encounter them in the future, I will not hesitate to kill them all!
Konoha is the dream that the Senju clan built with countless deaths.
I will never allow spies to kidnap the village's children!"
Yōkō nodded repeatedly on the side.
Good, this is what you chose. It was you who, time and again, stopped at nothing to achieve your goals, forcing out a clear-headed Tsunade.
Although Tsunade was willful, she was extremely decisive.
Since she decided to act, she would use lethal force, and do so in front of everyone.
Moreover, Tsunade had found her own reason, giving it a sense of righteousness.
Danzo slightly closed his eyes, then thought of his weak and feeble Root. Opening his eyes, his gaze was dangerous as he calculated how to characterize Tsunade's actions as slaughtering Konoha compatriots.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, seeing the flicker in Danzo's eyes, quickly said: "Lynx! Are these corpses spies or not!"
"They are..." Lynx said with difficulty, "...spies!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "Tsunade, you did well. You discovered spies and eliminated them promptly."
Danzo glared angrily at Sarutobi Hiruzen, about to say something, but then heard Tsunade continuing aggressively.
"Oh? So they really are spies." Tsunade said:
"I wonder which village these spies are from.
Fūmatsuri Yuzu's son was also kidnapped by spies. I'll take these corpses. I will extract information from their brains. Perhaps we can find clues about Fūmatsuri Yuzu's child."
Faced with Tsunade's continuous provocation, Danzo knew that Root had suffered another defeat today. He said: "Investigating spies is not something you need to intervene, Tsunade. Root will determine the spies' identities itself."
He waved his hand at Lynx.
Lynx quickly had people take away the four gruesome corpses.
Tsunade didn't stop them, just watched the several higher-ups coldly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Tsunade's contemptuous and scrutinizing cold gaze, sighed inwardly, and said nothing more.
The higher-ups vanished with Body Flicker, as if nothing had happened.
Yōkō also left, but he didn't go to the Hokage Building; he was just passing by, happened to be nearby, and wouldn't deeply involve himself in Root's affairs.
After everyone else disappeared, Senju Minami came to Tsunade's side and asked:
"Princess Tsunade, Danzo has suffered a loss. Will he retaliate against us in other ways?"
Tsunade snorted coldly and said:
"Danzo and the others haven't even figured out the matters concerning Uchiha Madara and Sarutobi Kanenosuke yet. Isn't that enough to give them a headache?
If they dare to escalate the conflict, I will not hesitate to retaliate.
Gambling means constantly raising the stakes until others don't dare to follow or can't afford to follow. This is just my first bet.
Today I finally confirmed that Konoha is no longer the Konoha it used to be.
Apart from still having the name Konoha Village, it's completely a different village from the Konoha at its founding.
What we should cherish is Konoha's ideal and Konoha's name, not the current Konoha."
Tsunade turned to look at the confused orphan who knew nothing and said to Senju Minami:
"Minami, Granduncle Tobirama once said that the Senju bloodline should merge into Konoha Village. Even if women from the Senju clan who married out gave birth to geniuses, they shouldn't be allowed back into the Senju clan.
I don't intend to change Granduncle Tobirama's policy, but the current situation is special. For these next few years, we must protect these children who possess half Senju bloodline.
Until the village or our Senju clan masters Wood Release, we cannot let them fend for themselves."
Senju Minami couldn't help but ask: "Can the village really master Wood Release?"
Tsunade shook her head and said: "I don't know. Sometimes I really think Grandfather and Granduncle weren't thinking straight.
Grandfather was simply a bit foolish. Granduncle passed on all his unscrupulous research to the Hokage Guard Platoon.
Why did Granduncle use experimental methods to research Wood Release? Leading to the current higher-ups having reasons to continue those experiments."
Senju Minami also felt bitter inside.
The policy set by Clan Head Hashirama, of the Senju charging at the front and covering the rear, led to devastating casualties for the Senju clan in wars.
The six successors appointed by Clan Head Tobirama nearly erased the Senju clan from the village entirely.
Those two were overly harsh in their treatment of the Senju clan.
Senju Minami went to gather the orphans with Senju bloodline, planning to settle them within the Senju compound.
The Senju compound was very spacious now; they could set aside four or five large courtyards for these orphans to grow up together within the Senju grounds.
In the Hokage's office.
Orochimaru leaned against the wall and said:
"Forgot to tell you, Hiruzen-sensei, Tsunade has mastered the Yin Seal and the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
If Tsunade had continued to attack earlier, I would be no match for her."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned. First, a look of joy at his student's growth appeared on his face, then it transformed into the bitterness of a student becoming more outstanding yet less obedient.
"So, we can no longer consider Tsunade an Elite Jonin." Sarutobi Hiruzen said:
"Since Tsunade is already a Kage-level ninja, we can't treat her with the previous policies. What do you think, Danzo?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo, who was staring expressionlessly at the coffee table in front of him, lost in thought.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also had a headache. He had just arranged for the Lynx squad to assist Root, and now Root suffered another huge blow in the evening.
It was truly misfortunes never come singly.
Danzo stood up, uninterested in hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen persuade him to forgive his Kage-level student.
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly gave Lynx a meaningful look, signaling him to follow.
After Lynx also left, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, has your strength improved? Have you reached Kage-level?"
Orochimaru said: "Heh, no. But I can guarantee that no Kage-level ninja can kill me."
Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered the logic of this statement and finally said:
"Alright then, if a Kage-level can't kill you, how is that not Kage-level?
By your logic, even Fox has Kage-level strength now."
A few days later, at the Ninja Academy.
The Third Hokage was on the high platform speaking about the Will of Fire. Yōkō led two squads, responsible for the Third Hokage's security.
Namikaze Minato was about to graduate.
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(Chapter End)