Seeing the newly released [Main Quest] from the system, Gento felt a surge of wild joy in his heart.
This was the first SSS-rank reward he had ever encountered!
Moreover, the reward was connected to the mysterious Otsutsuki clan!
He understood the rules of this world all too clearly.
In the Naruto world, if one wanted to grow stronger, everything depended solely on bloodline.
If your bloodline was lacking, no matter how hard you worked, your upper limit would at most reach Kage-level.
To attain power beyond Kage-level, one had to possess a powerful Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan, or the formidable constitution of the Uzumaki or Senju clans.
Even though his own strength had already reached Kage-level.
It was still somewhat insufficient when facing someone like Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan and wielded beyond Kage-level power.
The only method he could think of to reach beyond Kage-level himself was to evolve the Mangekyo Sharingan into the Rinnegan.
As for Six Paths-level power, it was even more difficult, almost with no clear path at all.
In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke only barely reached Six Paths-level power after receiving the gift of the Sage of Six Paths.
As for whether the Sage of Six Paths would be willing to grant him such a gift?
Gento could only say… he'd be dreaming!
After all, Naruto and Sasuke were the reincarnations of the Sage's own sons' souls.
There was no way he could compare.
And without Six Paths-level power, when facing Kaguya Otsutsuki in the future, or even later Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Urashiki Otsutsuki, even possessing beyond Kage-level strength would only make him a bit of a larger ant.
How to obtain Six Paths-level power had always been the problem that troubled Gento the most.
Now, upon seeing the Divine Tree seed rewarded by the system, hope was finally rekindled within him.
Behind the Divine Tree lay the secret of the Otsutsuki clan's endless evolution.
No matter what, he had to obtain this reward!
At that moment, Homura's furious voice rang out by his ear:
"How dare you!"
He pointed at Gento in anger:
"Gento Uchiha! Do you know what it means to openly kill Danzo?!"
Gento looked coldly at this aged advisor, a mocking smile on his face as he replied:
"Oh? And what does it mean?"
He paused, then continued:
"Does it mean the Hidden Leaf Village will be rid of one more piece of trash like you, clinging to power and doing nothing of value?"
"You!"
Homura's face became a deep red of anger.
At the side, Koharu also shrieked:
"Gento Uchiha, don't get cocky!"
"You will bear full responsibility for Danzo's death!"
"How noisy!"
Gento could not be bothered to listen any longer.
The yellow Susanoo smashed down with a fierce punch!
Boom!
The massive fist struck down right beside the three of them, the ground cracking as debris flew everywhere.
Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu rolled back in a miserable scramble to dodge, their bodies covered in dust, with not a trace of the dignity of a Hokage or advisors remaining.
None of them had expected that, even with the Anbu gathered, Gento would still dare to attack them!
The two to three hundred Anbu behind them also instinctively stepped back a few paces.
Ninjas understood:
Although their ninjutsu possessed immense power, their own defenses were extremely weak.
If struck by that yellow monstrosity before them, their fate would be no different from Danzo's remains on the ground.
Koharu steadied herself and instinctively tried to speak again.
Gento looked at her coldly:
"I can kill Danzo in front of Hiruzen, and I can just as easily kill you in front of him as well!"
"If you dare say one more word of nonsense, I'll send you down to accompany Danzo right now!"
"If you don't believe me, feel free to try."
"I'd like to see how many more heads you have than Danzo."
Koharu opened her mouth, glanced at the mangled remains beneath the giant tree, then at Gento's cold Sharingan.
Her face shifted between pale and red, but in the end, she did not dare to speak again.
Hiruzen's face had already turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Gento killing Danzo right in front of him was already a direct slap to his face.
And now, in front of hundreds of Anbu, he was scolding the two advisors as if reprimanding juniors.
This was no longer just a slap… it was grinding his face into the ground.
He took a deep breath and slowly spoke, his voice carrying suppressed anger:
"Gento Uchiha, have you made enough trouble?!"
Gento turned his head and looked at the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen straightened his back, trying to recover the dignity of a Hokage:
"Danzo's actions were indeed improper, but you publicly killed a high-ranking official of the Hidden Leaf Village. What kind of behavior is this? Rebellion?!"
"For the sake of the Uchiha clan's contributions to the village over the years, I can give you a chance."
"Lay down your weapons immediately and submit to investigation. I promise to handle this matter fairly!"
Hearing this, Gento let out a laugh.
That laughter was filled with mockery.
"Handle it fairly?"
He stared at Hiruzen, his gaze sharp as a blade:
"Hiruzen, I'll ask you one thing."
"Before Minato died, didn't he entrust Kushina and Naruto to you?"
Hiruzen was stunned, his expression changing slightly.
Gento continued:
"Didn't you promise Minato that you would take good care of them?"
"I…"
Hiruzen could not answer.
Gento went on:
"You made that promise to Minato. Then what?"
"You took all of Minato's property, saying it would be used for rebuilding the village. But what kind of place did you give Kushina and Naruto to live in?"
"That rundown apartment! Filled with garbage left by previous tenants, reeking of mold everywhere! Is this what you call taking good care of them?"
Hiruzen opened his mouth, unable to respond.
Gento stepped forward:
"You said that to protect Naruto, his identity as the Fourth Hokage's son couldn't be made public."
"Then who was it that leaked Naruto's identity information?"
"When Naruto was being bullied, where were you?"
Hiruzen stammered, then pointed at the pool of blood beneath the giant tree:
"Th-this… all of this was done by Danzo!"
Gento let out a cold laugh, his voice suddenly rising:
"When those villagers pointed at Naruto and called him the demon fox's child, when those children chased him, beat him, and threw stones at him–where were you, the Third Hokage?!"
Hiruzen's face turned pale.
Gento pressed on:
"When Kushina was called a demon fox, when she was isolated and ostracized by the village, where were you, the Hokage?!"
"I… I didn't know about these things!"
"Did you really not know? Or did you pretend not to know?!"
Gento's voice echoed across the open ground:
"Minato gave his life for the Hidden Leaf Village, for this village!"
"His orphaned child and his wife–this is how you took care of them?"
Behind Hiruzen, the gazes of the Anbu ninja shifted slightly.
Some lowered their heads, some clenched their fists, and others revealed complicated expressions.
A silver-haired youth among the Anbu remained silent.
They were Anbu, the ones closest to the center of power.
They knew better than ordinary ninja that everything Gento said was the truth.
Feeling those gazes behind him, Hiruzen's expression grew even uglier.
He gritted his teeth, trying to salvage the situation:
"Th-these… these all have reasons…"
"Reasons?"
Gento sneered.
"Fine, then I'll ask you this–since you knew Naruto was Minato's son, why didn't you arrange a decent residence for Kushina when she was discharged from the hospital?"
"That's because…"
"Because you embezzled Kushina's property!"
Hiruzen's face flushed red:
"That's nonsense!"
"Nonsense?"
Gento pointed at Kushina, who was holding Naruto and crying:
"Danzo personally admitted that you treated Kushina and her son as political tools to deal with the Uchiha!"
"Can you deny that as well?"
Hiruzen opened his mouth, only to realize he could not say a single word.
"Hiruzen, you brought so many people here today. What for? For Danzo?"
He stared into Hiruzen's eyes:
"Or are you afraid I'll expose all those unspeakable things?"
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
Hiruzen's face alternated between pale and flushed.
The Anbu behind him now looked at him with something different in their eyes.
Finally, Hiruzen suddenly waved his hand:
"Enough!"
He gritted his teeth, his gaze turning fierce:
"Gento Uchiha, you publicly killed Danzo and openly insulted the Hokage and the advisors."
"Today, I must take you down!"
"Anbu, move out!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]