Chapter 178: The Death of Shizune?

"Danzo, you will regret this," a phrase that Danzo Shimura had heard countless times. But today, he finally gets to say it with an air of triumph rather than resentment.

The Third Hokage's face is bitter, unable to utter a single word. Under everyone's watchful gaze, he slowly raises his trembling hands, takes off the Hokage hat from his head, and hands it over to Danzo with a sense of unwillingness. This hat symbolizes the formal transfer of Hokage's power.

"Here you go, Danzo."

Unable to contain his excitement, Danzo snatches the Hokage hat and places it on his head. He then looks at the people of Konoha, and declares with overwhelming emotion:

"As the Fifth Hokage, I swear to lead Konoha to defeat the Allied Ninja Forces and win this war. Konoha will return to the glory of the First Hokage's era and become great again!"

In response to the bold words of the new Hokage...

"..."

The people of Konoha still respond sparsely, only a few scattered voices echo in agreement.

But Danzo doesn't care.

It's been forty years since the Second Hokage sacrificed himself and passed his position to the Third Hokage. Over these forty years, Danzo has endured and persevered, finally fulfilling his long-held dream of becoming the Hokage.

From today, he no longer needs to operate in the shadows as the root. He will walk under the sun and bask in the light.

After a moment of self-satisfaction.

Danzo looks at the Third Hokage again, a cold glint flashes in his eyes.

The next second.

In front of everyone, Danzo raises his voice and starts listing out the Third Hokage's faults publicly:

"During Hiruzen Sarutobi's tenure, he was negligent and incompetent. Underneath his dazzling image, he was the most incompetent Hokage in history!

Domestically, he was indecisive on the Uchiha clan issue, leading the clan to become too powerful and seriously threatening the peace and security of Konoha, eventually causing a major disaster.

Externally, he was weak when he should have been strong against the threats from Kumogakure. When he should have compromised with Amegakure and Akatsuki, he chose to be firm, resulting in the needless loss of three thousand Konoha troops.

Under internal and external troubles, Konoha has declined to its current state, and Hiruzen Sarutobi is the culprit!"

Just after taking office, he begins settling accounts.

At this moment, Danzo completely negates all the past achievements of the Third Hokage, making him seem worthless.

"Danzo, don't go too far!"

Jiraiya can't stand it anymore and reproaches him, "How can you smear the Third Hokage like this without feeling guilty?"

Hmm?

Upon hearing this, Danzo looks sharply at Jiraiya and says coldly, "Jiraiya, watch your attitude. You're just an advisor to the Hokage, I am the Hokage!"

Furthermore.

Danzo immediately orders the Anbu to imprison the Third Hokage and hand him over to the interrogation unit to rigorously investigate his dereliction of duty.

However, the Anbu members hesitate and refuse to carry out Danzo's order. They remain loyal to the Third Hokage, just as the Root once remained loyal to Danzo.

Even though the Third Hokage has stepped down, with the support of the Anbu, he still holds considerable influence and can interfere with village affairs.

Danzo is well aware of this.

"It seems that even though you've verbally accepted it, you still don't want to recognize me as the Hokage in your hearts. In that case..."

Danzo shows a disappointed expression, and while he's speaking, he picks up his cane again and thrusts it heavily into the ground.

Boom!

Another building not far away explodes, causing many Konoha ninjas to be affected, resulting in casualties.

"Danzo, enough!"

The Third Hokage finally shouts angrily.

Then, with a bitter look on his face, he says to the Anbu:

"I am no longer your Hokage. From now on, you must obey Danzo's orders and not disobey. Remember, the mission of the Anbu is to protect the Hokage, to protect the village..."

After saying that, the Third Hokage voluntarily raises his hands, indicating to the Anbu to handcuff him.

"Take him away!"

Danzo gives the order with a grim face.

This time, the Anbu dare not disobey. Under everyone's watchful eyes, they escort the staggering Third Hokage towards the Anbu prison.

"Danzo, you're going too far, you will regret this one day!" Jiraiya is furious and continues to protest.

"I told you, I am the Hokage!" Danzo roars back at Jiraiya.

After sending the Third Hokage to jail, Danzo finally gets to vent his pent-up anger, feeling a lot more relieved.

Just then.

Huh?

He suddenly feels something and looks towards a bell tower in the distance.

On top of the tower, Dan and Tsunade stand by the window, seemingly watching the drama unfold.

"Hmph."

Danzo pulls his gaze back, snorts coldly, and then walks into the Hokage building.

At the bell tower.

"Danzo didn't disappoint me. It was worth sparing him back then."

Dan watches the whole drama unfold, finding it highly amusing to see Danzo become Hokage and send the Third Hokage to jail.

Tsunade, standing beside him, frowns upon hearing this.

Judging by Dan's tone, he seems to have anticipated this scene. Danzo becoming Hokage seems to be within his predictions.

What is this man trying to do?

Tsunade racks her brain but can't figure out the real intention behind Dan's actions.

Well, if she can't figure it out, then she won't think about it.

Tsunade shakes her head and stops thinking about it.

As she watches Danzo enter the Hokage building from afar.

"Next, where Konoha will go depends on the performance of the Fifth Hokage."

Dan mutters to himself, then turns around and leaves the bell tower.

He's looking forward to Danzo's next move.

Fifteen minutes later.

Dan and Tsunade return to the Uchiha clan's territory.

"Something's not right."

In front of the Medical Corps building, Dan suddenly stops, his eyes instantly turning into a Taijitu pattern of red and black.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade is surprised and asks. She hasn't noticed any abnormalities.

To this, Dan replied: "Someone has infiltrated the Medical Corps. Be careful."

As he speaks, he turns to look at Tsunade, a demonic glint flashing in his eyes for a moment.

"Okay, okay."

Tsunade responds, somewhat unnaturally avoiding Dan's gaze.

After all, in her view, no one is more dangerous than Uchiha Dan. The man in front of her is the one she should be most careful of.

Just as she is thinking this...

Tap tap tap.

With the

sound of footsteps, a figure emerges from the building. When Tsunade sees her, her face changes.

It's Shizune.

Shizune is tightly bound with ropes, and behind her are two masked Anbu members from Konoha, holding kunai to her neck, escorting her out.

With a lifeless gaze, as though controlled by some genjutsu, Shizune is clearly under someone else's command.

"What is the meaning of this? Who sent you?" Tsunade bursts out angrily as she witnesses the scene.

"Tsunade-sama, Konoha is at the brink of extinction. As one of the legendary Sannin, you refuse to fight for the village. We had no choice but to resort to such a tactic to convince you to join the fight," a member of Konoha's Anbu explains coldly.

"Heh." Tsunade scoffs in response, her eyes ablaze with her three-tomoe Sharingan, their murderous intent fixated on the two ninja. "You think that threatening me like this will make me submit? How utterly foolish."

Without warning, a powerful surge of chakra erupts from her body, fracturing the ground beneath her feet and causing a spiderweb of cracks to spread outwards.

The two Anbu, taken aback, take a step back and warn Tsunade again, "Tsunade-sama, are you willing to disregard the life of your own student?"

One of the Anbu applies pressure to his kunai, deepening the wound on Shizune's neck and drawing a thin line of blood.

Tsunade clenches her fist, suppressing the raging fury within her before asking in a grave voice, "What do you want me to do? If you're asking me to march into my death on the front lines, I won't agree. Threatening me with Shizune won't change that."

"Tsunade-sama, please be assured. To save Konoha, you only need to do one thing. Just like last time, suppress the Nine-Tails after it goes berserk. That's all," the Anbu finally reveals their reason for seeking her out.

"What?" Tsunade's body stiffens as she quickly realizes what's happening. "Are the higher-ups in the village planning to release the Nine-Tails again, to use it against the Allied Shinobi Forces? Who came up with this idea, Hiruzen or Danzo? Have these old men lost their minds?"

"To defeat the Allied Shinobi Forces, we have no other choice. The Nine-Tails is Konoha's last hope," one Anbu explains.

"Tsunade-sama, as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, we believe you must have a way to control the Nine-Tails, correct?" the other Anbu inquires.

Tsunade furrows her brows, slowly shaking her head. As the two Anbu stare at her in confusion, she reaches up and removes the crystal necklace from around her neck. The once bright gem has dimmed significantly.

"The reason I was able to suppress the Nine-Tails that day was because of this necklace, which contained the First Hokage's Wood Release chakra. It was this chakra that suppressed the Nine-Tails. But now, the Wood Release chakra within the necklace is depleted."

With a grave expression, Tsunade explains her predicament, making it clear that if the Nine-Tails were to go berserk again, she wouldn't be able to do anything.

However, the Anbu do not believe Tsunade's words.

"Tsunade-sama, it seems you're determined not to cooperate with us," the Anbu speak coldly, exchanging glances.

"What are you planning to do?" Tsunade senses something amiss, secretly gathering chakra and preparing to snatch Shizune from their clutches. She also glances at Dan, pleading for his help with her eyes.

Shizune is not only Tsunade's disciple but also Katō Dan's neice. After years of staying by Tsunade's side, she has become like family.

Therefore, Tsunade, who normally hates asking for help, makes an exception. If Dan is willing to help, rescuing Shizune from the Anbu shouldn't be difficult.

However, at this moment, Dan's face changes as if he has seen something terrifying, and he doesn't have time to act.

Not good.

Tsunade quickly turns back to see a flash of a blade.

With a soft sound, Shizune's neck is sliced open, and a fountain of blood sprays into the air.

"Hmph, this is the consequence of refusing to cooperate," the Anbu smirks coldly, using the Body Flicker Technique to make a hasty retreat.

With a thud, Shizune collapses onto the ground, her eyes devoid of life, her neck continuing to spurt blood, staining her clothes and the ground beneath her red.

Tsunade is stunned.

"Shizune!"

She comes to her senses, letting out a heart-wrenching cry. Rather than chasing after the culprits, she rushes to Shizune's side.

She focuses her chakra into her palms, producing a pale blue mist-like chakra to cover the ghastly wound on Shizune's neck.

"Get better quickly, you need to get better..." Tsunade murmurs to herself, her body's chakra pouring out in an attempt to use her medical ninjutsu to pull her student back from the brink of death.

The bleeding soon stops, and the wound begins to heal visibly. However, Shizune's lifeless gaze and increasingly cold body indicate that she has already lost her life force.

Faced with such a fatal wound inflicted in an instant, even Tsunade, hailed as the greatest medical ninja, is powerless.

Tears unknowingly slide down her cheeks.

Shizune died because of her.

Tsunade realizes once again that anyone who gets close to her is doomed to misfortune. Whether it was Nawaki and Dan in the past or Shizune now, all met a tragic end.

At this moment, guilt, self-blame, regret... all these negative emotions accumulate in Tsunade's heart, pushing her mental agony to its peak.

Then, without her noticing, a unique chakra surges from her brain, affecting her optic nerves. The three tomoe in her eyes seem to undergo some transformation, as if forming a new pattern.

Dan, watching all of this, understands. The Sharingan is a mirror that reflects one's soul. When the owner of these eyes loses a loved one, the intense inner pain can catalyze the birth of the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan.

Can Tsunade awaken it?