Konoha, Hokage Office.
Tsunade held the intelligence that the Anbu had just intercepted from Kumogakure, and slammed her palm onto the desk.
Bang!
With a loud noise, the entire desk shattered on the spot, and wood splinters and documents scattered across the floor.
Shizune held Tonton and jumped back a large step, looking at the wreckage of what used to be a fine mahogany desk with a pained expression, silently recording the cost in her ledger.
This was the third desk Tsunade had smashed since taking office.
"That bastard Raikage! We kindly let him go back, and he turned around and made Naruto's intelligence public to the entire Ninja World!"
"If I had known, I should have let Naruto chop off his head back then, so he wouldn't be stabbing us in the back now!" Tsunade roared, her fists clenched.
Taking two deep breaths, Tsunade's gaze swept over the words "Naruto" on the intelligence on the floor, and her anger began to slowly dissipate. She leaned back against the chair, tapping her fingers on the armrest.
For any normal ninja, having their information known by the enemy makes them extremely passive. The enemy will formulate targeted tactics based on your Ninjutsu system and will specifically look for your weaknesses to attack.
But Naruto is not a normal ninja. His strength is already so great that he doesn't need to worry about whether his information is leaked.
Knowing what Ninjutsu he has, and being able to block him when he uses these Ninjutsu against you are two completely different things.
Shizune took advantage of this moment to take out a document and place it in front of Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, this is the final batch of interrogation records retrieved by the Intelligence Division. All investigations into the cases regarding Danzo have been completed."
Tsunade took the document and flipped through it from beginning to end. The more she flipped, the colder her expression became.
"Enough. All this evidence combined is enough for him to die twenty times over. Shizune, publish the results of the investigation into Danzo. It is time to let all of Konoha know what that old thing has been doing all these years."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Shizune turned and was about to walk out when the door to the Hokage Office was pushed open.
The two Elders, Koharu and Homura, walked in one after the other.
Tsunade frowned, thinking the two had come to plead for Danzo again. After all, they had hinted more than once before that Danzo was, after all, a Konoha Elder, and a public execution would make Konoha lose face in front of other nations.
She had even prepared a set of tough rejection arguments.
Homura glanced at the announcement document in Shizune's hand that was about to be posted, and Koharu also took a look.
The two looked at each other and then turned to Tsunade simultaneously.
Homura spoke first, "Tsunade, we two old bones have come this time just to ask you one thing."
"What is it?"
"Does the current Naruto really possess the strength of the First Hokage?"
Tsunade looked at the two with some surprise. After a moment of silence, she gave her answer, "As to who is stronger between the current Naruto and my grandfather, I cannot give you a definitive answer to that question. But one thing I can be certain of is that with Naruto's current strength, there shouldn't be many people in the entire Ninja World who can stand against him."
Homura closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, something seemed to have been let go in his cloudy old eyes.
"The Ninja World belongs to the young after all. Tsunade, we two old bones will no longer question the decision you have made."
Having said this, the two turned and walked out of the Hokage Office.
Tsunade watched their backs disappear outside the door and nodded to Shizune.
Shizune hugged the document in her arms tightly and walked quickly out of the office.
Soon, an official announcement regarding Danzo was posted from the Hokage Building, covering every bulletin board in the streets and alleys of Konoha.
Villagers gathered around one after another, and the crowd grew larger and larger.
The announcement was densely packed with the crimes Danzo had committed during his tenure as an Elder.
1: Colluding with Orochimaru to conduct illegal human experiments, transplanting the First Hokage's cells and the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.
2: Planning and executing the Uchiha Clan annihilation, and afterwards seizing a large number of Sharingan to transplant onto himself.
3: Ordering Root to remain inactive during the Nine-Tails Attack, refusing to participate in protecting the village.
4: Ordering Root not to participate again when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush, sitting by and watching the Third Hokage die in battle.
5: During the Nine-Tails Attack, ordering Root to stand by and watch, leading to the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
6: Attempted assassination of the Third Hokage.
7: Spreading rumors, leaking the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to the entire village, and inciting villagers to collectively ostracize young Naruto.
8: Launching a public opinion offensive to force Konoha White Fang to commit suicide.
9: Forcibly drafting ninjas from various major clans to join Root, subjecting them to brainwashing-style training, leading to the death or disappearance of a large number of excellent ninjas.
10:...
At the end of the announcement, it was noted that Danzo had taken his own life in prison during the interrogation, and his crimes would be permanently archived in Konoha as a warning to others.
For a time, the entire Konoha was in a state of great shock.
Any one of these crimes, if picked out, would be enough for an ordinary ninja to die ten times over, yet Danzo had done them all, and had held the title of Konoha Elder for decades.
Countless people started cursing right there in front of the bulletin board, with curses rising one after another.
From this moment on, Danzo's name was nailed firmly to the pillar of shame in Konoha's history, becoming an object of scorn for everyone to curse over meals.
— — —
In a remote town, Itachi sat in the corner of a teahouse.
He learned the full text of Konoha's announcement regarding Danzo through his own channels.
After reading the section of the announcement regarding the Uchiha Clan annihilation incident, a flash of complex emotions crossed his eyes.
Konoha had truly cleared the Uchiha Clan's name. Although it was many years late, they had ultimately done it.
He thought this secret would go to the grave with him. He hadn't expected to see the truth brought to light within his lifetime. This made him feel increasingly pressed for time.
Sasuke needed to grow up while he could still see, and the village also needed him while he could still make one last contribution.
...
In the Land of Sound, beneath a cliff.
Sasuke formed hand seals with one hand, and the Chidori in his palm emitted a sharp screech as blue-white lightning danced in his palm.
He took a deep breath and extended the Lightning Chakra forward from his palm. The Chidori, which was originally just a spherical mass of lightning, was stretched into a straight spear of lightning, extending from the base of the cliff all the way to a boulder dozens of meters away.
Chidori Sharp Spear!
The lightning pierced the surface of the boulder, leaving a charred hole in the rock wall, and the surrounding rock was melted by the high heat into glassy, black crystals.
Sasuke panted heavily as sweat dripped from his chin onto the gravel at his feet.
"As expected of Sasuke-kun, to have developed the Chidori to this extent."
"This ability to perform shape transformation and distance control on Lightning Chakra has already far exceeded the scope of a standard Chidori."
Sasuke turned his head and saw Orochimaru walking out of the shadows of the cliff.
"Orochimaru, what do you want with me?"
Orochimaru took a scroll out of his sleeve, tossing it toward Sasuke.
Sasuke raised his hand to catch it, undid the seal on the scroll, and his gaze swept over the contents.
Naruto captured the Fourth Raikage and defeated the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Bee, head-on at the border of the Land of Fire, severing one of Eight-Tails' tails.
It is confirmed that he has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Uzumaki clan Kekkei Genkai Adamantine Sealing Chains, and it is suspected that he possesses the Kekkei Tota, Light Release.
Sasuke's gaze lingered on the last line of text for a long time.
'Loser, have you really become this strong now?' Sasuke muttered to himself in his heart.
The space-time Ninjutsu Flying Thunder God Technique, the Kekkei Genkai Adamantine Sealing Chains, and the Light Release he had never even heard of.
He was improving, and Naruto was improving too, and Naruto's rate of improvement was faster than his—much faster.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly. "Orochimaru, I need stronger training. The current training intensity is far from enough."
The curve of Orochimaru's lips deepened slightly. "Hehe, Sasuke-kun, come with me. I happen to have a new training program prepared specifically for you."
He turned and walked toward the back of the cliff.
Sasuke stuffed the scroll into his ninja tool pouch and followed Orochimaru's footsteps without hesitation.