Awakening
"It can't be!!!"
"How could something like this happen? It's not possible, it makes no sense!"
"No... It can't be true!!"
It was too horrible to believe.
Tsunade, completely beside herself, threw the scroll of information she was holding to the ground. Her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, while her entire body trembled with rage, helplessness, and deep pain.
Never, not even in her worst nightmares, could she have imagined that the elders of Konoha were so dark and ruthless! They had exterminated the Senju clan, the clan that built the very foundation of Konoha, and they did it without a single trace of remorse!
The scroll detailed how the Senju clan's ninjas died, when and where each death occurred, and the reasons that justified their actions. Even those Senju who tried to escape, who abandoned the clan to join others, couldn't save themselves.
No one escaped the damn massacre.
Everything was calculated. Every mission, every trap, every plan had been meticulously designed with one goal: to eliminate the Senju, to bring about their extinction.
To avoid suspicion, these traps and missions were spaced out precisely over time, a move as sordid as it was vile.
Among the victims was also...
Her beloved younger brother, Nawaki!
During the Second Great Ninja War, he fell into a trap with an explosive seal and was killed in the cruelest way possible.
And that trap had been organized by Homura, one of the members of the Konoha Council! All to make sure Nawaki died without even a chance for a proper burial.
Tsunade, one of the best-informed Sannin, felt a chill running down her back and up to her scalp.
She couldn't, didn't want to believe it.
The most devastating part was that she had already suspected it in the past, but had never imagined anything so monstrous.
She had always thought that the first Hokages, her grandparents, had been so powerful that they absorbed all the luck of the Senju clan, which led to her family's decline over the years.
But now she saw it clearly: it wasn't a matter of luck, but a calculated conspiracy. A silent extermination, a slow-burning massacre orchestrated by the Konoha Council elders, carried out over decades, which had destroyed the Senju clan little by little.
It was so atrocious, so ruthless, that she couldn't accept it!
It was unacceptable!
Those Council elders were formed by Tobirama, her second grandfather!!
"How could they be so ungrateful?! So damn ruthless?! Why did they respond to the Senju's kindness and protection with betrayal and hatred?!"
All because the Senju clan's prestige was too high, because they feared its power and influence!!
Every thought pierced her heart like an icy knife, every idea tore her apart from the inside...
"Tsunade-sama..."
Seeing this scene, Shizune, who was serving water, felt dismayed. She hurried over with a cup of tea, wanting to comfort her master. But just as she was about to say something, her eyes accidentally fell on the scroll's contents.
In that instant, she froze, as if struck by lightning. Her whole body froze, her expression was one of absolute terror, and the cup of tea she held in her trembling hands slipped and fell to the ground.
How could this be...?
That was the only thought that filled her mind. The scroll's contents were so terrifying, so heart-wrenching, that she felt trapped in a nightmare with no escape.
"I..."
The next moment, Tsunade jumped to her feet, her eyes filled with despair and rage. She looked directly at Luo Lei, her voice breaking as she screamed:
"Tell me this is all false!! Tell me it was all fabricated by you and that damn White Fang traitor!!"
"Hehehe..."
After hearing this, Luo Lei slowly took the cup of tea, a disdainful smile on his face. He took a calm sip, then said in a low voice: "Tsunade, why do you keep deceiving yourself? You noticed how things were a long time ago, but you just didn't have the courage to face them. You prefer to close your eyes, to bury your head in the sand and ignore the damn reality in front of you!"
He raised an eyebrow, and his tone became even sharper: "I'm giving you this scroll so that, finally, you open your eyes and see the truth you've been avoiding. It's time you stopped living in your comfortable lie!"
"Still... I still can't believe it!"
The pain on Tsunade's face persisted. Her expression twisted repeatedly, until finally, she slumped back into her chair, her body hunched over, her gaze lost, as if her spirit had been crushed.
"Why...? Why all of this?"
She shook her head, her eyes full of sadness and disbelief.
She murmured in a hushed voice: "Before he died, the Second Grandfather warned us. He said that the Senju clan shouldn't get involved in politics, that we should disperse among other clans to protect ourselves..."
"In the end, it was all in vain... All for nothing! The Senju clan has fallen so low that there's nothing left..."
Thinking about it tore her apart. The pain was so overwhelming that she could only sit there, defeated, feeling her heart drowning in despair.
"Could it be that Hokage-sama didn't know what the Council was doing...?"
It wasn't clear how much time had passed, but Shizune, struggling against disbelief, read the contents of the scroll and spoke in a trembling voice: "The scroll clearly indicated that many of these actions were orchestrated in the shadows by Homura."
"Maybe... maybe Hiruzen-sama, Koharu-sama, Danzō-sama weren't aware of this..."
"YES, THAT MUST BE IT!" Tsunade's eyes lit up with desperation, as if she were clinging to the last shred of hope she had left. "The elder was always good to me... He couldn't have known! He couldn't have allowed this! Surely he didn't know that Homura had targeted the Senju clan!"
"YES... THAT MUST BE IT! IT HAS TO BE THAT WAY!"
Slap!
However, seeing Tsunade lose her mind, desperately clinging to a lie, Luo Lei frowned in disgust. Without a second thought, he slapped her hard.
The slap echoed with a dry crack.
"Wake up, Tsunade. Stop deceiving yourself with these childish illusions!" His voice was icy, his eyes pierced through Tsunade's without a hint of mercy. "Do you really think the Hokage, being who he is, didn't know what his friends were doing? Come on, Tsunade! Hiruzen always knew. He preferred to look the other way, he played dumb. Do you think Homura would have dared to lift a finger without Hiruzen's consent?"
"Hiruzen has always been a master of deception! He presents himself as a pure man, but in reality... If things go well, he takes the credit. If something fails, someone else pays the price. That's always been his way."
Luo Lei didn't bother mentioning that the same would happen with the Uchiha clan in the future, another of Konoha's founding clans. Hiruzen also feigned ignorance, which allowed Danzō to conspire with the masked man, Obito Uchiha, to massacre the Uchiha clan.
Ironically, both the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan, the pillars on which Konoha was built, did not have a dignified end under the rule of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"..."
At that moment, Tsunade raised her hand to her slapped cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief.
It was the first time in her life that anyone dared to slap her!
And despite that, as she felt the sting on her skin...
Why did part of her feel happy? Why did part of her feel she deserved it, and it excited her...?
"Forget it... this no longer matters."
The next moment, Luo Lei stood up, a coldness in his eyes. He looked at Tsunade, his expression hardened, and declared with a deadly calm: "When I return to the village, I'm going to kill Homura. There will be no mercy."
Swish!
And without saying another word, he disappeared from Tsunade's tent in the blink of an eye. He had something important to discuss with Yugito.
As for killing Homura... From the moment he betrayed him, that fate was already written in stone.
________
Time: If you're craving more (and I know you are!), I have just what you need. On my Patreon, you'll find exclusive chapters. Join our community and be the first to discover what happens next!
👉 [patreon.com/Athome790]
Your support fuels me. Thank you for the support! 💖