Ten minutes later, the three of them followed Danzo to a secret base.
Looking at this base, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression was not very pleasant.
A laboratory base this large deep within the cemetery.
He actually didn’t even know about it!
Tsunade glanced at it a few times, showing no interest.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, had a glimmer of curiosity in his golden vertical pupils.
He looked like he was “very interested.” The group went deeper, walking through the dim corridor for several minutes.
Finally, at the end, they saw a giant glass container.
The container was filled with a pale green liquid.
Inside the liquid, a corpse was floating silently.
Hashirama!
Seeing Hashirama soaked in the liquid-filled glass tank, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face showed anger.
He was just about to speak— “Bang!” Tsunade threw another punch, hitting Danzo in the lower back without any warning!
“Pfft!!!” Danzo spat out a mouthful of blood.
He stumbled forward several steps, almost falling face-first.
“Lord Danzo!” “Swish, swish, swish!” Several figures wearing striped masks immediately flashed out from the shadows.
They appeared beside Danzo, shielding him in the center.
They looked at Tsunade angrily, their hands already resting on their Ninja tool pouches.
Tsunade was not afraid in the slightest.
She stepped forward, and her Chakra erupted with a boom!
“What!
Are you rebelling?” Her voice was cold, and her gaze was sharp as a knife.
All the Root Ninjas stiffened, their faces showing cowardice.
In their eagerness to protect their master, they had actually forgotten the identity of the person before them.
She was not only the granddaughter of the First Hokage and the princess of Konoha, but even the Third Hokage was here.
Danzo clutched his lower back, panting heavily, his face as pale as paper.
He pointed at Tsunade, trembling, his lips quivering: “You…
you…
I…
I…” “What’s with the ‘you, you, I, I’?
Straighten out your tongue before you talk to me.” Tsunade said coldly, her tone full of impatience.
This extremely arrogant attitude made Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who were standing on the side, swallow hard.
“As expected of Konoha’s number one female fist!” Both of them had this thought simultaneously.
Danzo was trembling with rage, his single eye almost spitting fire.
But knowing he was in the wrong, he forcibly suppressed his anger.
After gasping for air a few times to steady his breathing, he said: “I did this…
just to…
better preserve the First Hokage’s remains.” He gritted his teeth and said, word by word.
Before Tsunade could speak, Danzo quickly added: “The First Hokage’s contributions to Konoha are obvious to all!” “I couldn’t bear to see his remains slowly rot in the cemetery, so I specially used this method to preserve them!” “This liquid is my specially made preservative, which can maintain the integrity of the remains to the greatest extent!” His explanation, although somewhat far-fetched, was barely passable.
Protecting the First Hokage’s remains.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression relaxed slightly.
Although it was wrong for Danzo to move the corpse without permission, fortunately, he hadn’t done anything more excessive.
Tsunade glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi, observing the change in his expression.
This old man was just too indulgent toward Danzo!
If Danzo said a few more soft words, would Hiruzen Sarutobi just sweep this matter under the rug?
She didn’t give Hiruzen Sarutobi a chance to speak.
She snorted coldly.
“Preserving the remains?” “Who knows what you’re really up to.” “I’m afraid you’re using my grandfather’s remains to conduct some shady experiments, aren’t you?” “I didn’t!” Danzo panicked immediately and hurriedly looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“Hiruzen!
Believe me!
I absolutely do not have that intention!” “Tsunade is slandering me!” Tsunade folded her arms across her chest, watching his performance coldly.
After Danzo finished speaking, she said slowly: “Slander?” “Then let me ask you, why is it that only my great-grandfather’s remains are here?” She paused, her voice rising sharply: “What about my great-uncle?!” “Tobirama, your teacher, the Second Hokage’s remains, where are they?” “Or do you think that your teacher’s remains don’t deserve to be preserved by you?” Once these words were spoken, Danzo’s face changed completely.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression also instantly became very ugly.
That’s right!
Danzo kept saying it was to “preserve the remains.” But why was only the First Hokage’s preserved, and not the Second’s?
What kind of behavior was this?
Tobirama was also a hero of Konoha, and even Danzo’s teacher!
This was clearly…
selective “preservation”!
Danzo’s expression twitched, the light in his single eye flickering.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.
He hesitated for a few seconds.
Under the gaze of everyone, he finally opened his mouth with difficulty: “The…
the Second’s grave…
actually, I dug that up too…” “Eh?!” After saying this, everyone looked at Danzo in unison.
Even Tsunade was stunned.
She didn’t expect this answer.
Since he dug it up, where was the body?
Danzo’s expression was somewhat awkward.
Finally, he explained helplessly: “The Second Hokage’s body was severely decomposed, so there was no need to preserve it.” So that was it.
The group realized it instantly.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama, didn’t have a body as monstrous as Hashirama’s.
Although he hadn’t been dead for long, the body had already decomposed.
Although Danzo’s words were somewhat disrespectful, they were also the truth.
It explained why he only preserved the First Hokage and not the Second.
Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose expression had softened again, Tsunade didn’t intend to escalate the situation further.
After all, her own motives for this trip weren’t entirely pure either.
She immediately snorted and said coldly: “Regardless, my grandfather’s remains must absolutely not be kept with you!” “Lord Third!” Tsunade turned to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“My grandfather’s remains, I’ll leave them to you!” In public, Tsunade still had to give Hiruzen Sarutobi some face.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded heavily.
“This matter, leave it to me!” Danzo opened his mouth, wanting to argue for something.
But feeling his churning internal organs, he didn’t say another word in the end.
Given the current situation, he was in the wrong.
It seemed Tsunade didn’t intend to pursue it further.
If he said more, he would inevitably take another punch.
Just the next second, Tsunade stepped forward, walking to the glass container filled with pale green liquid.
She pulled her right fist back.
“Wait—” Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to stop her.
“Bang—!!!” Tsunade threw a punch, directly shattering the glass container in front of her!
Glass shards flew everywhere.
The pale green preservative liquid poured all over the floor with a splash.
Tsunade was quick-witted and agile.
She scooped up Hashirama’s remains from the broken container and carried them on her shoulder.
They were soaking wet and still dripping water.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mouth twitched, and he said with a helpless face: “Tsunade, couldn’t you have just carried the whole container away?
Was it necessary to smash it?” Tsunade curled her lips and patted the soaked clothes of Hashirama’s remains with her free hand.
“I don’t trust the things he made.” “Who knows what messy stuff was added to this liquid?” “I will prepare the nutrient solution to preserve my grandfather’s remains myself.” That statement left Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi not knowing how to respond.
Danzo felt guilty and aggrieved.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt helpless and had a headache.
Tsunade didn’t care what they thought.
She carried Hashirama’s remains, took two steps, and suddenly stopped.
Then she turned around and placed the remains on her shoulder onto Orochimaru’s shoulder nearby.
“Help me carry this.” “…” Orochimaru was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
He nodded silently.
He steadily caught Hashirama’s remains and carried them on his own shoulder.
Tsunade stretched her shoulders, glanced at Danzo, and then looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“Let’s go.” She turned and walked out first.
Orochimaru carried the remains and followed silently behind her.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and took one last look at Danzo.
“Danzo, about this matter…
we will talk again when your injuries have healed.” After saying this, he also followed and left.
In the place, only Danzo and a group of Root members remained.
The air was quiet for a few seconds.
Then—”Pfft!” Danzo spat out another mouthful of blood.
The injuries he had been forcibly suppressing could no longer be contained.
“Lord Danzo!” “Hurry!
Medical Ninja!” The Root members nearby immediately stepped forward, supported Danzo, and began to cast healing techniques.
Someone whispered: “Lord, the First Hokage’s remains have been taken away, our experiments…” Danzo waved his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“It’s fine.” His voice was hoarse but still calm.
“Let them take the body.” “Anyway, we have already kept plenty of cell samples, which is enough.” He paused, and a flash of coldness flickered in his single eye.
“It’s just that crazy woman…” Danzo’s face was so gloomy that it could drip water.
The beating he took today was for nothing.
He even lost the First Hokage’s remains.
Moreover, Tsunade’s attitude today clearly showed that she was targeting him.
It would probably be even harder to pull any more tricks in the future.
He suddenly turned his head and looked at the Root Ninja from the beginning.
“Tell me everything that happened today, word for word.” “Don’t leave out a single detail.” That Root Ninja swallowed his saliva.
He began to report in detail.
The more Danzo listened, the deeper his brows furrowed.
“Is this matter really an accident, or…” He looked in the direction Tsunade had left, deep in thought.