With Konan’s assistance, Pain managed to leave Konoha smoothly with Danzo’s corpse.
No matter how furious Tsunade and the Konoha ninja were, they couldn’t pursue him in force.
The gap in strength was too vast; their current safety had been purchased with Elder Danzo’s life.
If they angered Pain and provoked another battle or disaster, the losses would far outweigh any gain.
Naruto didn’t make a scene about chasing after Pain.
Since Jiraiya’s death, he had truly begun to mature, acting like a reliable man.
Exhausted, Tsunade rubbed her temples and asked the Anbu who had been protecting her to recount everything that had transpired.
Danzo’s almost tender guidance to Pain before his death, his calm reproach, his final despairing words, and the decisive slice across his own throat.
The Anbu shinobi tried his best to maintain a neutral tone, but by the end, he couldn’t stop his voice from choking up.
Pain’s arrogance had driven Elder Danzo to despair.
To offer such insightful perspectives, Elder Danzo must have spent countless hours pondering and searching.
With a resolve to die, he had tried to understand how Pain—a brilliant young leader—conceived of peace, only to be met with an answer that offered no hope.
And so, calmly yet despairingly, he ended his own life.
Now, everyone in Konoha felt a pang of bitter regret.
They should have tried sooner to understand Elder Danzo’s thoughts and ideals—how he viewed the cake that could never feed everyone, how he viewed this world that was never at peace, and his explanations for the causes and crux of war.
If only…
if only the questions Elder Danzo pondered had been brought to light sooner, considered by more people, and actively worked toward solutions…
But there were no “ifs.” Like discovering the remnants of a once magnificent flower, it was only in Danzo’s final moments that people caught a glimpse of his inner world.
Most knew Elder Danzo only as a name; they had never had the chance to approach him, let alone understand him.
Because he was “Root,” the shadow beneath the tree of Konoha.
Their only impression of him was an icy, sinister gaze, ambitious demands, and a relentless struggle for power against the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hokage.
Ninja from major clans knew a bit more, familiar with the tragedies Root had orchestrated, making their impression of Danzo even more insidious and horrific.
So now, hearing the Anbu describe the words Danzo had spoken—calling Pain a “foolish child” with a “closed mind,” seeing him plunge into ultimate despair over Pain’s arrogant, naive questioning, and ruthlessly taking his own life without a second thought…
The dark impression of him crumbled, laying bare a far more complex and enigmatic soul.
Just then, a masked figure appeared on the roof, walking up to Tsunade and kneeling respectfully on one knee.
It was Root.
Yamanaka Inoichi recognized him as Fu from their clan, one of Danzo’s most trusted subordinates in Root.
Thus, he remained quiet, simply observing Fu’s movements.
“Lady Tsunade,” Yamanaka Fu spoke in a calm and polite tone, offering a level of respect Root had never shown the Hokage before.
“The Root ninja have completed the final assignment left by Lord Danzo: providing support across Konoha, wrapping up remaining combat operations, and preparing the initial damage assessment.” Tsunade looked at this Root ninja who was actually bowing to her.
Sensing the reason, she asked incredulously to confirm: “Did Danzo leave you instructions?” “Yes.
Lord Danzo instructed that after his death, Root shall follow Lady Tsunade’s orders.” Silence fell over the surroundings.
Root—the dark underbelly of Konoha that Danzo had spent his entire life building—was handed over to Tsunade just like that.
Even Tsunade, the recipient of this trust, could hardly believe it.
Staring at the respectful Root ninja, she murmured softly, “Why…” By standard protocol, Yamanaka Fu was not supposed to answer such a question.
However, perhaps the loss of Lord Danzo, whom he had guarded for so long, had weakened Fu’s resolve.
Guided by his own reasoning, he delivered a completely mistaken answer.
“Lord Danzo once said that in times of crisis, all forces must be united, concentrating power into the hands of a single trustworthy individual before making further arrangements.” Rummaging through Danzo’s memories, Azuma came to the helpless realization that this grandiose line was actually something Danzo had spewed out when vying for power against the Third Hokage.
Recited now, it made Danzo sound like some noble saint.
Tsunade never expected that Danzo had regarded her as a “trustworthy individual.” She recalled his hand holding her back, his soft scolding, calling her ignorant of the bigger picture, arrogant, and immature.
Yet before marching off to his death, he had dumped his life’s work squarely into her hands.
Tsunade felt dazed.
In a sudden flash of memory, she recalled spending time with Danzo during her childhood.
Back then, her Granduncle Tobirama had taken the Third Hokage and Danzo as disciples.
When her Grandfather Hashirama and Granduncle were buried in work, leaving her lonely and bored, Danzo had held her on his knee to comfort her.
Those days were so distant.
As she grew up, her perception of Danzo had been reduced to his insidious side, completely forgetting that he had once cared for her like a true elder, coaxing her not to cry.
Death acted like an implicit fig leaf, fully concealing the deceased’s flaws while endlessly magnifying every lingering trace of warmth.
Tsunade closed her eyes tightly, holding back the stinging tears.
She could not be weak.
At least in front of others, she had to maintain her steadfast, reliable demeanor as Hokage.
It was alright, it was alright…
Before dying, Danzo had left her his full backing.
Root’s combat power and intelligence-gathering capabilities even surpassed the Hokage’s Anbu.
As long as she gripped authority firmly and arranged things carefully…
Yamanaka Fu suddenly spoke softly: “Lady Tsunade, there is one more matter I need to report to you in private.” Without hesitation, Tsunade led Yamanaka Fu to the Hokage Office, dismissed the other Anbu and subordinates, composed herself, and waited for Fu to speak.
“Lord Danzo maintained friendly relations with the Land of Fire’s Daimyo.
When Pain launched his invasion, Lord Danzo first arranged a meeting with the Daimyo.” This meeting was originally arranged by the real Danzo to secure the position of Hokage immediately after the battle, but now, no one—not even the Root ninja who knew his ambitions best—would suspect such a motive.
Yamanaka Fu paused for a few seconds.
Seemingly coming to a realization, he continued quietly, “Please allow me to remove my mask, Lady Tsunade.” Tsunade permitted it.
What appeared before her eyes was a newly transplanted Sharingan in Yamanaka Fu’s right eye socket.
“This Sharingan can cast a special technique that alters the target’s will without them realizing it, though its cooldown period is extremely long…
Lord Danzo had kept it sealed in his right eye.” “Before marching off to his death, Lord Danzo left it to me.” Tsunade understood what Fu was implying regarding Danzo’s final arrangements.
She recalled Danzo’s words to Pain before he died about controlling the Fire Daimyo, the pre-arranged meeting, and how he had transplanted the Sharingan he had kept for over a decade into Yamanaka Fu right before heading off to his death…
Danzo had left everything he had to offer to her.
She didn’t even need to stress over the details—simply following the plan he laid out would shield her from all internal pressure, allowing her to forge ahead without hesitation.
Tsunade felt as though her long-suppressed grief was overflowing with no outlet.
In the end, she hadn’t even been able to protect Danzo’s body.
Atop the Hokage Residence, the system finally finished checking its host baby.
Satisfied that his soul was still clean and pristine, it breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to take him to another point in time.
With so many points in time, there was bound to be one where its host baby would be happy to stay and live.
The system was in no hurry.
At worst, it could try them one by one.
Selecting the next timeline, it teleported the host baby over.
[Ding~ Special Achievement Obtained: “Tsunade’s Filial Affection”!] [Congratulations!
Through this special achievement, you have gained 1000 Momo Points!] Azuma, having already left, did not hear these two system notifications.
In its haste, the system merely marveled at how capable its host baby was before rushing off after him to the next timeline.
It feared that if it arrived even a moment late, Azuma might manage to kill himself again—and failing to pull the host’s soul out in time would result in painful soul damage.