Dale walked back to the Senju estate and told Tsunade everything.
He told her about the stolen Heirloom of Fire and Danzo’s dark trap.
Tsunade was furious, but Dale just held her hand and smiled calmly.
“Do not worry,”
Dale told her.
“I already have a plan. It is very simple and easy.”
Tsunade looked at him curiously.
“How are you going to prove you didn’t do it? Danzo left no trace.”
“He left no *ninja* trace,”
Dale corrected her.
“Don’t you remember in my old world, we had special investigators. I watched a famous show about them called CSI. They use science to find tiny clues that normal eyes cannot see. Things like skin cells, dust, and invisible fingerprints. Danzo thinks he left a clean room, but science always finds the truth.”
Tsunade’s eyes lit up.
She trusted his modern mind completely.
“I am going with you,”
Tsunade said firmly.
Dale nodded.
Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First Hokage.
Before the hidden villages were even built, the Senju were basically royalty.
She was considered a true Princess.
Even the Fire Daimyo had to show her deep respect and give her face.
“Okay,”
Dale agreed.
He reached out to hold her waist.
“Hold on tight. I will use my Blink jutsu. We will be in the capital city quickly.”
“Stop right there,”
Tsunade said, gently pushing his hand away.
“No teleporting.”
Dale blinked in confusion.
“Why not? It is much faster.”
“Because this is not a ninja mission, Dale,”
Tsunade explained, her face turning very serious.
“This is a political war. If we want to fight politically, we must do it exactly right. You cannot just pop into the royal court like a common criminal trying to sneak in.”
Tsunade stood up straight, holding her head high with incredible pride.
“You are my future husband,”
Tsunade declared.
“We are going to make a grand entrance. We are going to show them exactly who they are messing with.”
Tsunade immediately sent out orders.
She gathered one hundred of the strongest ninjas from the Senju clan.
When the Uzumaki clan members who visit Kushina heard that Dale was in trouble, they were furious.
They refused to sit back.
They immediately sent the letter to Uzu to send their own fierce warriors, to protect the hero who had saved their home.
In just a few days, a massive army stood in the Senju courtyard.
There were twenty elite Jonin, forty battle-hardened Chunin, and the rest were strong, capable Genin.
Altogether, they gathered almost three hundred people.
And standing at the very front of this army were two Mid-Kage level ninjas: Dale and Tsunade.
Dale looked at the massive crowd of powerful fighters.
He scratched the back of his head nervously.
“Tsunade…”
Dale whispered to her.
“Isn’t this a little bit too much? We are just going to a court trial.”
“It is exactly the right amount,”
Tsunade told him, her voice completely solid.
“Daimyo is a politician. He only listens to absolute power.”
Tsunade looked at the army, and then back at Dale.
“With three hundred elite ninjas, we have enough military force to completely overthrow the entire capital city,”
Tsunade explained calmly.
“When the Daimyo sees this army marching to his front gates, he will be terrified. He will not dare to do anything stupid, and he will make sure your trial is completely fair.”
Tsunade reached out and held Dale’s hand tightly for everyone to see.
“Danzo wants the Daimyo to treat you like a lowly thief,”
Tsunade said with a fierce, loving smile.
“But today, we are going to show the capital city that you are on the exact same level as a Prince.”
Deep underground, far away from the sun, Danzo Shimura sat in his hidden room.
He held a warm cup of tea in his hands.
He took a slow, happy sip.
He was completely confident.
His trap was set perfectly, and there was no way Dale could escape the Daimyo’s royal court.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden door opened.
One of his best Root spies rushed into the room, breathing hard.
“Lord Danzo,”
The spy gasped, holding his chest.
“I have news—”
Before the spy could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled back into his head.
He collapsed heavily onto the cold stone floor, completely dead.
The room went deadly quiet.
From the dark shadows in the hallway, a figure slowly stepped into the light.
It was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His eyes were not tired.
They were not kind.
They were incredibly sharp and completely focused on Danzo.
Danzo froze.
His teacup stopped halfway to his mouth.
The air in the room suddenly felt crushing and heavy.
Danzo instantly knew he had pushed too far.
He had made Hiruzen truly, dangerously angry.
Hiruzen walked forward.
His face showed absolutely no emotion.
He just gently kicked the dead body out of the way, as if it was nothing but a broken branch.
Hiruzen pulled out a chair and sat down right at Danzo’s table.
He reached across the table, picked up the teapot, and calmly poured himself a hot cup of tea.
He took a slow sip.
Then, he looked Danzo directly in the eye.
“Abolish Root, or die,”
Hiruzen said.
Just a single, terrifying sentence.
Danzo’s single eye went wide.
He gripped his wooden cane tightly under the table.
Suddenly, the shadows in the room began to shift and move.
*Swish.
Swish.
Swish.*
More than a hundred elite ANBU ninjas dropped silently from the ceiling and stepped out of the dark corners.
They completely surrounded the room.
Their swords were drawn, trapping Danzo perfectly.
Stepping out from behind the ANBU were two very familiar faces.
Jiraiya stood tall with a fierce look in his eyes, and Orochimaru stood next to him, smiling a cold, deadly smile.
“You…”
Danzo whispered, his voice completely shocked.
“You came here.”
“I did,”
Hiruzen answered softly, setting his teacup down.
For years, Hiruzen had always known what Danzo was doing in the dark.
He had always turned a blind eye, hoping his old friend would only protect the village.
But Danzo had crossed the final line.
“I thought you would rush to the capital,”
Danzo said, his mind racing.
“I thought you would go to help your precious Dale in the royal court.”
“Dale does not need my help to deal with politicians,”
Hiruzen replied simply.
“But the village needs you to stop. Right now.”
Danzo stared at the Hokage, his mind spinning with confusion and deep, burning greed.
Hiruzen was always a peaceful man.
He always chose to talk instead of fight.
But today, Hiruzen brought an army to kill him in his own home.
‘What exactly is Dale hiding?’
Danzo thought to himself, completely stunned.
‘What kind of incredible, world-shaking secret does that boy have that forces the Hokage to make such an aggressive move just to protect him?’
The journey to the capital city took exactly one week.
Because they had such a massive group of people, they moved slowly.
But Dale did not mind at all.
In fact, he and Tsunade treated the long trip like a fun, relaxing vacation.
They stopped at beautiful waterfalls, ate fresh food at small roadside towns, and spent their days sightseeing.
“Look at that view, Tsunade,”
Dale said, pointing at a large, beautiful mountain in the distance.
“We should definitely bring the kids here next time.”
Tsunade laughed softly, holding his hand as they walked down the dirt path.
“You are way too relaxed,”
Tsunade teased him gently.
“Did you forget we are going to a royal trial? The Daimyo is trying to throw you in a dark prison.”
Dale blinked in surprise, scratching the back of his head.
“Oh, right,”
Dale smiled warmly.
“I actually almost forgot about the trial. I was having too much fun traveling with you.”
But when the army of three hundred elite ninjas finally reached the giant front gates of the capital city, the fun vacation ended.
The mood changed instantly.
The royal guards standing at the gates dropped their spears in pure shock.
Their faces turned completely pale.
“N-Ninjas!”
One guard yelled, his voice shaking with absolute terror.
“Hundreds of them! Quick, run and tell the Daimyo!”
Inside the beautiful capital, the wealthy nobles felt a sudden, freezing chill in the air.
The heavy, dark bloodlust coming from three hundred battle-hardened Senju and Uzumaki warriors was no joke.
It felt like a giant, suffocating hand grabbing the entire city.
Loud warning horns blew from the castle.
Thousands of royal soldiers and armored Samurais came rushing out to the front gates to block the road.
They drew their sharp swords, trying to look brave.
Dale stood at the front of his army.
He used his lightning chakra to quietly sense their power.
“They have a massive advantage in numbers,”
Dale whispered to Tsunade, keeping his face calm.
“But their actual strength is very low. Only a few of their Samurai leaders are at the Jonin level. The rest of these soldiers are not even at the Genin level.”
Tsunade crossed her arms.
She looked at the giant army of soldiers with cold, unimpressed eyes.
“Having a numbers advantage only works when you are fighting Jonin-level ninjas or below,”
Tsunade explained smoothly.
“But against Kage-level ninjas, numbers mean absolutely nothing.”
At the very front of the royal army, the Samurai Commander gripped his sword tightly.
He was sweating heavily.
He looked closely at the two people leading the terrifying ninja army.
When he recognized Dale’s face and Tsunade’s blonde hair, the Commander’s heart almost stopped beating.
“Wait… do not attack!”
The Commander screamed to his men, his voice cracking with pure fear.
“Lower your weapons right now! Do not make a single move!”
A young Samurai standing next to him looked confused.
The young man asked.
“There are only three hundred of them! We have thousands of men! We can crush them!”
“You blind fool!”
The Commander whispered harshly, his hands shaking in his armor.
“Do you not read the Bingo Books?! Do you not know who those two are?!”
The Commander pointed a shaking finger at Dale.
“That man is the S-rank monster who wiped out enemy armies all by himself! He is the ‘Chasing Thunder’!”
Then, the Commander pointed at Tsunade.
“And the woman next to him is the ‘Earth Shaker’! She destroys entire city districts with a single punch!”
The young Samurai’s eyes went wide.
The rest of the soldiers slowly lowered their swords, completely terrified.
They finally understood the terrible truth.
The Daimyo had made a massive mistake.
If those two Kage-level monsters decided to attack right now, it would not matter if the Daimyo sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Not a single one of them would survive.
Dale smiled his usual warm, calm smile.
He raised his hands gently to show he had no weapons.
“Do not be afraid, Commander,”
Dale said, his voice loud and clear enough for all the soldiers to hear.
“We did not come here to start a war. We came here peacefully. I am here to stand trial, exactly as the Daimyo asked.”
The Commander let out a long, shaky breath.
He felt incredibly nervous, but he could only accept Dale’s words.
He quickly put his sword away.
“Y-Yes, Lord Dale,”
The Commander stuttered, bowing deeply.
“Please, follow me. We will escort you and Lady Tsunade to the royal court with the highest respect.”
Dale turned to his ninja army.
He gave them a simple nod.
Immediately, the Senju and Uzumaki ninjas went to work.
They did not try to push their way into the city.
Instead, several Jonin stepped forward and placed their hands flat on the grassy ground.
“Earth Style!”
They shouted together.
*Rumble.
Rumble.*
Right before the terrified eyes of the royal soldiers, the ground began to shift and shake.
Thick stone walls and solid houses rose smoothly up from the dirt.
In just a few seconds, the ninjas had created a massive, perfect military camp right outside the capital gates.
The royal soldiers gulped their saliva loudly.
They squeezed the handles of their spears.
They knew the terrifying truth.
If those ninjas decided to attack, the soldiers standing at the gate would be the very first ones to die.
Inside the beautiful castle, the wealthy nobles were peeking nervously through their silk curtains.
They were sweating heavily.
Many of them were deeply rethinking their dangerous choices.
They had received heavy bags of gold from Danzo Shimura.
Danzo had bribed them to vote against Dale during the trial.
Danzo had promised them that his elite Root ninjas would be hiding in the capital to protect them.
But as the nobles looked around the shadows of the castle, they saw absolutely nothing.
Danzo’s ninjas were gone.
He should have sent his shadow army, but there was no one.
The nobles were completely on their own against the ‘Chasing Thunder’.
The heavy golden doors of the throne room slowly swung open.
Dale and Tsunade walked inside together.
The room was massive, filled with shaking nobles and heavily armed royal guards.
At the very end of the room, sitting high up on a grand, beautiful throne, was the Fire Daimyo.
He wore an expensive robe and held a painted fan to hide his face.
He looked down at them, fully expecting the two ninjas to drop to the floor and beg for his mercy.
Dale and Tsunade walked to the center of the room and stopped.
They stood perfectly straight.
They stood face to face with the ruler of the country.
They did not kneel.
They did not even bow their heads.
The nobles gasped in shock.
The room was filled with angry whispers.
A royal guard stepped forward, pointing his spear at them.
“How dare you!”
The guard shouted loudly.
“You are standing before the supreme Fire Daimyo! Kneel to the floor immediately!”
Dale looked at the guard with flat, completely fearless eyes.
“We will not kneel,”
Dale said simply, his voice echoing powerfully across the silent room.
Tsunade lifted her chin.
She looked at the Daimyo with absolute pride.
She was the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the man who built the Hidden Leaf Village.
She possessed a royal bloodline from long before this capital city was even constructed.
She was a true Princess of the forest.
And Dale was her chosen future husband.
He stood on the exact same level as a royal Prince.
“I am Tsunade Senju,”
Tsunade declared, her voice ringing with unquestionable authority.
“And this is Dale Senju. We are the royalty of the Leaf. We do not bow down to anyone. Not even you.”
The Daimyo swallowed hard.
His painted fan suddenly stopped moving.
He looked at Dale’s calm, confident face, and he finally realized he had made a terrible mistake.
He had invited two sleeping dragons directly into his own home.