Chapter 123: Returning to the Village

(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)

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Carrying Yugito over his shoulder, Colt looked behind him.

"Come out!"

In a flash, four ANBU appeared before him.

"Sir!" the squad leader spoke, her body trembling slightly.

As a bystander who had witnessed the entire battle, she was in awe of Colt's power.

Not only her, but the other three team members bowed their heads even deeper to express their respect.

"There are no stragglers left. Go oversee the border ninjas; they can withdraw now," Colt told them.

"Also, stay there to prevent any Kumo counterattacks. If you spot a large army approaching, you should all retreat immediately without engaging."

As he spoke, Colt readjusted Yugito on his shoulder.

After receiving his orders, the ANBU immediately sprang into action.

The capture of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki was a significant event, and knowing Kumogakure's temperament, they would certainly not let it slide.

Colt needed to hurry back to the village and leave this major issue for Tsunade to handle.

Most importantly… he had to eliminate Danzo!

The opportunity had presented itself, and Colt would never miss this chance.

He didn't want to keep Danzo as a constant annoyance.

It wasn't that he feared Danzo himself, rather there was always the possibility of him targeting Hinata or Ino.

And those two advisors – he'd need to come up with a good strategy to deal with those old geezers who would never stand idly by while he got rid of Danzo.

Colt's eyes grew sharp, and with a flicker of movement, he vanished.

The wooden prison slowly disappeared, revealing dozens of charred corpses inside.

On his way here, and as usual, he had already set up numerous [Flying Thunder God] markers, allowing for rapid travel.

In the future, he'd have to leave markers in the main towns of the Land of Fire. It would be very convenient for missions.

Half an hour later, Colt arrived at Konoha's gate.

This time, instead of going through the main entrance, he teleported directly to Tsunade's office.

To prevent Danzo from getting wind of the news in advance and fleeing with his Root agents, Colt had to act swiftly.

Tsunade was startled when she saw someone suddenly appear but relaxed upon realizing it was Colt.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the border? Why are you back so quickly?" Then she noticed Yugito on his shoulder. "Is this a prisoner?"

Colt checked to see if anyone was nearby, confirming there were no Root agents nearby.

He then activated a sea barrier jutsu before finally speaking.

"This is Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki from Kumogakure."

Tsunade abruptly stood up.

"What did you say?"

The news was astounding to her.

In less than a day, Colt had captured a Jinchūriki from Kumogakure.

Shizune's jaw dropped, struggling to process this information.

Seeing him place the still unconscious Yugito on the ground, Tsunade and Shizune were taken aback.

"How miserable," Tsunade muttered. "What happened to this woman before she lost consciousness?"

Colt recounted the events that had transpired.

Tsunade was naturally furious when she learned that Kumo had actually sent a Jinchūriki to the border.

A Jinchūriki was a hidden village's trump card.

Using one meant that the conflict had escalated to a new level.

However, this was just supposed to be mutual testing of the waters.

Kumo was being quite audacious.

But that wasn't all. When Colt mentioned being ambushed by the Root ninja on his way, Tsunade completely lost it.

BOOM!

The desk that had just been replaced overnight was shattered again under Shizune's despairing gaze!

"How dare that old bastard! He actually dares to target you!" Tsunade raged.

"If anything had happened to you, how could I pass on our lineage?!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the other two conscious people in the room were shocked.

What did she mean? Was Tsunade interested in Colt?

'Didn't she say she'd leave it to me?'

Shizune's mind was reeling.

Colt instinctively took two steps back.

"I'm still a child, and I don't want to be a father so early."

Tsunade also realized her slip of the tongue, her face flushing slightly.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm talking about you continuing the Senju bloodline," she hurriedly changed the subject.

"Uhm"

"I'll summon Danzo now and demand an explanation."

Tsunade was also quite disgusted with Danzo.

She had known about his underhanded actions even back then, and it turned out even Orochimaru's defection had his fingerprints on it.

It was just that the Third Hokage had been protecting his old friend, and no one could touch Danzo at all.

"Sister Tsunade, I want to get rid of this cancer of Konoha completely," Colt stated firmly.

Hearing this, Tsunade frowned.

"Danzo is Konoha's advisor after all. Especially those fogies, Koharu and Homura – they will definitely try to stop us."

Since becoming the Hokage, Tsunade had become more level-headed, handling many things with greater composure.

Colt smiled slightly.

On his way back, he had already thought of a countermeasure.

"Let's act first and explain later. You help me detain the two advisors, and I'll eliminate Danzo at the Root headquarters."

"Once it's done, they won't be able to say much. Are they going to turn against the Hokage over a dead man?"

Tsunade's expression clearly showed she was considering it.

She also felt that this method was feasible, but she was still a little worried.

"Can you handle Danzo? If he escapes, we'll be in big trouble."

Colt confidently replied, "Don't worry, I've already planned for that."

With his current strength, it would honestly be a miracle if Danzo managed to escape.

"Alright, let's do it!" Tsunade made up her mind and turned to Shizune.

"Shizune, send someone to call the two advisors to come over. Tell them I need to discuss how to deal with Kumo's past and subsequent actions. Then call two ANBU squads to secure the perimeter."

Since Colt had captured the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Kumo would definitely make a big move next.

This reason was very plausible.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune nodded and left, holding Tonton in her arms.

Colt also quietly slipped out and headed to the Root headquarters without alerting anyone.

Through the back window, Tsunade stared at the Third Hokage's face on the mountain.

"Sensei, if Konoha is to thrive, then the rotten roots must be pulled out."

"Just watch over us from there, and see how Colt makes Konoha stronger step by step!"