[Konoha, Year One. On a high platform outside the Village]
Hashirama heard what the Sky Screen said and smiled without speaking. As Madara's old rival, he found Sasuke's Susano'o, which was at most only at the third stage, as fragile as paper compared to Madara's Perfect Susano'o.
Madara seemed to sense his thoughts and turned his head, staring at him with a death glare. Those red eyes filled with murderous intent, as if saying: 'What bad things are you thinking?'
Hashirama gave two dry laughs and quickly turned his head away.
Tobirama stood not far away, arms crossed, his expression calm. But inside, his mind was racing; he realized that, as he was now, he actually had no good way to break through the Susano'o.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags wouldn't work, Flying Raijin wouldn't work, and Water Release and the like were even less worth mentioning. The Susano'o's defensive power truly exceeded the limit of his attacks.
Of course, although he couldn't do anything about Susano'o, the Susano'o wouldn't be able to touch him either.
---
[Konoha, Year 48. Hokage Office]
Minato stroked his chin, deep in thought.
He also realized that he was facing the same dilemma as the Second Hokage!
Although the Flying Raijin was fast, it lacked sufficient attack power, and it seemed difficult for Rasengan to break through the Susano'o's defense.
Unless he developed a stronger Rasengan, he wouldn't be able to break through it head-on when facing the Susano'o.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade pursed her lips, looking disdainful. That Susano'o of Sasuke's definitely couldn't withstand a single punch of her monstrous strength.
---
[Kirigakure, Mizukage's Office]
Mei smiled with her lips pressed together. The Sky Screen had mentioned before that her Lava Release could melt Sasuke's Susano'o! There was no helping it; Shinobis with Kekkei Genkai were just that overbearing.
Ao nodded at the side: "Mizukage-sama, your Lava Release is indeed the nemesis of the Susano'o."
Mei proudly raised her chin: "Of course."
---
[Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office]
Ōnoki was equally confident.
Never mind Sasuke's Susano'o; even Madara's Susano'o, as long as he dared to stand before the present him and take one hard hit of the Dust Release, he would count Madara as impressive.
[T/N: Yeah, sure bro~]
---
[Kumogakure, Raikage's Office]
A was somewhat hesitant.
He wasn't sure if his attacks could break through this thing called Susano'o. And it seemed that in the future, he had suffered a significant loss at the hands of Sasuke and lost an arm.
Although his Lightning Release Chakra Mode had immense speed and power, but Susano'o's defensive power couldn't even be pierced by Danzo's Wind Style. He needed stronger means of attack.
"Big bro, what are you thinking about?" Bee asked.
"Thinking about how to fight if I were to face this Susano'o," A said in a low voice.
Bee, for once, didn't rap: "Your Lightning Release's strongest spear should be able to pierce it, right?"
A shook his head: "I don't know for sure. It needs to be tested in actual combat."
---
[Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office]
Rasa sat in his chair, feeling extremely depressed.
He thought for a long time and indeed realized that he didn't have a good way to deal with Susano'o! Although his Gold Dust had strong attack power, facing the level of defense that Susano'o had, it probably wouldn't even count as scratching it.
Chiyo looked at him and sighed: "You don't need to worry too much. Not everyone can use the Susano'o. Nowadays, the only Uchihas who can activate Susano'o are probably Itachi and Obito."
Rasa nodded: "I know, but what if we encounter one?"
Chiyo thought for a moment: "Then run."
Rasa: "…Are you serious?"
Chiyo: "Yes."
Hearing that, Rasa couldn't help but smile bitterly.
---
[Shimura clan Compound]
Danzo sat on the wooden porch, listening to the analysis on the screen, his expression gradually turning ashen.
There was no need for any analysis; there was already no possibility of defeating that Uchiha brat.
His most precious Kotoamatsukami had already been confiscated by Hiruzen, and his ten Sharingan were also gone; all the assets he had been so proud of had vanished into thin air.
"Danzo-sama." An ANBU's voice rang out, "According to Hokage-sama's arrangements, someone will come to take your right arm tomorrow. Of course, in exchange, you will receive a more normal arm, which will not affect your daily life."
Hearing those words, Danzo unexpectedly didn't fly into a rage. Instead, he just closed his eyes.
It seemed his right arm couldn't be saved either.
He had lost.
Lost to the Sky Screen, lost to fate.
But he wouldn't admit defeat. As long as he was still alive, he would find a way to rise again.
[Speaking of which, one cannot help but introduce the man Shimura Danzo himself.]
[As a member of the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's escort squad, the man behind the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, he once served as the Hokage Advisor—a key role second only to one man and above thousands, and even briefly became the Sixth Hokage of Konoha after Tsunade fell into a coma, though later he wasn't acknowledged.]
Throughout the Shinobi World, many suddenly felt that Danzo was quite pitiful. After all that trouble, he finally became Hokage, only to later not be acknowledged.
Someone muttered quietly: "Sixth? The Fifth is Tsunade, the Sixth is Kakashi. What kind of Sixth is Danzo?"
The person next to him replied: "A temporary one? Like a temp worker."
Someone else laughed out loud: "No wonder he's not on the Hokage Rock."
[As the Darkness of the Shinobi World, he had long placed himself in the shadows and did many dirty jobs for Konoha.]
[Yahiko's death, the mutual killing of Yakushi Nono and Yakushi Kabuto, and the human experiments in Konoha were all inseparable from him.]
[As the Scapegoat of Konoha, whenever anything bad happened in the village and the perpetrator couldn't be found, blaming Danzo was always the right call.]
[More importantly, although he possessed a powerful force in Konoha, during the Nine-Tails Incident, the Konoha Crush Plan, Pain's invasion… in every one of these crucial battles concerning Konoha's survival, he and the Root organization always collectively "went offline." This made his claim that he would spare no cost for Konoha look ironic.]
[Of course, the young Danzo wasn't quite so inhuman, or rather, he was still human.]
---
[Shimura Clan Compound]
Danzo felt as if someone was clutching his heart!
What right did the Sky Screen have to judge his actions?
Everything he did was for Konoha!
Those dirty jobs always had to be done by someone, the blame always had to be carried by someone. That guy Hiruzen always hypocritically said "No" and "You cannot," yet never stopped him.
Every time he proposed doing something, Hiruzen would remain silent, but silence was also tacit approval. And once the deed was done, that guy would put on an "I had no knowledge of this" look.
He had been a scapegoat for him too many times!
Danzo's lips quivered, wanting to say something, but his throat seemed blocked by something, and his whole body trembled with rage.
[However, the major turning point in his life happened precisely in his twenty-fifth year. A choice concerning life and death completely rewrote his fate and that of Hiruzen, thereby laying the foundation for the political landscape of Konoha for the next several decades.]
*****
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