Whatever "interesting thing" Hikaru had just mentioned, Hiruzen knew it definitely could not be anything good.
At that moment, Hiruzen was genuinely at a loss. He had never imagined Danzō would actually go this mad. For a brief instant, he even found himself wondering—
Was everything I did for him really worth it?
But the thought passed just as quickly, because Hiruzen also knew one thing clearly:
Unless Danzō died outright, he had to be saved.
It was an awkward truth, and an even more helpless one.
In many ways, Danzō had become what he was because of Hiruzen himself.
Danzō had always been his shadow. Most of what Danzō did had only been possible because Hiruzen had silently permitted it. The man knew far too many of Hiruzen's secrets.
If Danzō ever fell into the hands of someone like Senju Hikaru, Hiruzen had no doubt at all—
that boy would tear every secret out of him.
And if that happened, the consequences would be far beyond anything Hiruzen wanted to see.
It would deal a devastating blow to the entire web of interests surrounding them.
There was also another reason Hiruzen kept saving Danzō:
private sentiment.
Danzō was his oldest friend, someone who had grown up beside him. That kind of bond could not simply be erased.
And more than that—
the way Danzō had turned out really was, in part, Hiruzen's doing.
Danzō had wanted to become Hokage, and that was a direct challenge to Hiruzen's own authority. Naturally, Hiruzen could never permit it.
So he had slowly shaped Danzō into a symbol of darkness.
He let Danzō become feared in the village, loathed in the wider shinobi world, reduced to a figure no one could accept standing beneath the sun as Hokage.
In a sense, Hiruzen had personally destroyed Danzō's future.
He had personally pushed Danzō into the abyss of darkness.
He had indulged him again and again, allowed him to taste power, allowed him to continue believing he could someday become Hokage—
until he had reached this point.
Danzō was now farther than ever from the title of Hokage.
And closer than ever to the abyss.
"Danzō… what exactly have you done?"
Hiruzen did not know.
But Hikaru knew very well.
In his eyes, Danzō had once again delivered him a splendid gift.
The only slight pity was that Hikaru had no intention of killing Danzō yet, because at present that would not serve his interests at all.
Still, with such a massive weakness now in his grasp, he would be able to squeeze Danzō hard—and, through him, force Hiruzen even further.
The more he thought about it, the more pleased he became.
As for the ROOT operatives in front of him, though they were not easy opponents, Hikaru truly did not consider them much of a threat.
Because at this point, his seeds had already all been planted.
Suddenly, three ROOT shinobi leapt high into the air. Their swords gleamed coldly as they brought them down toward Hikaru in rapid succession.
Their speed was exceptional—they were elite ROOT members after all—and Hikaru seemed to remain standing still, without the slightest intention of dodging.
But even without moving, something immediately felt wrong to them.
Their blades passed right through him as if they had stabbed only empty air.
"Not good!"
In that instant, the ROOT operatives came to the same realization.
The figure before them had vanished without a trace.
What they had struck was only an afterimage.
That speed was absurd.
And certainly not something an ordinary shinobi could pull off.
"Ah!"
Before they could think any further, one of the ROOT operatives suddenly let out a muffled scream.
Only then did the others notice—
their comrade's chest had already been pierced clean through.
"So it's Flying Thunder God. That level of mastery… this isn't White Fang."
If it was not White Fang, then it could only be Nightingale.
At that moment, they finally understood who they were truly facing.
And having realized that, they also understood something else:
there was no retreat for them now.
Perhaps they had known that from the moment they accepted this mission.
Now the feeling had simply become even more absolute.
"Kill him."
The two remaining ROOT operatives did not shout.
They did not panic.
It was almost as if such intense emotions simply did not exist within them.
They just swung their blades and rushed at Hikaru with reckless, suicidal precision.
Faced with the assault, Hikaru's body flickered.
He did not even use Flying Thunder God this time.
He moved like a phantom, slipping through the tiny gap between the two converging attacks.
Clang!
His blade flashed once.
The ninja sword, wreathed in blue chakra, slashed straight across one ROOT shinobi's chest, and a burst of blood erupted like a red mist.
Hikaru did not even spare the man a glance.
The instant he felled one opponent, his body paused for the faintest moment before he spun.
The second operative was already behind him, driving his sword forward with terrifying speed.
There was almost no room left to evade.
Shhk!
The blade plunged straight through Hikaru's chest.
But the ROOT operative felt no joy.
He already knew his strike had missed.
He had sensed the chakra fluctuation just beforehand.
Bang!
Sure enough, with a dull burst and a swirl of smoke, he found his sword embedded not in flesh, but in a block of wood.
"Not bad," Hikaru's gentle voice came from right beside his ear. "Fast. Very fast."
"But unfortunately… still just a little too slow."
The words made the ROOT shinobi's hair stand on end.
He yanked his blade out of the wooden block and tried to react—
but it was already too late.
Hikaru's sword pierced straight through his chest.
And after finishing him, Hikaru did not stop even for a heartbeat.
His chakra stirred.
In the next instant, he vanished again.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
The moment he disappeared, a massive fire dragon came roaring toward where he had been standing.
The ROOT operative Hikaru had just killed was instantly burned to charcoal.
"Damn it!"
The eight remaining ROOT members all realized the situation had turned disastrous.
The moment they identified Hikaru, they had already known they were in trouble.
But even then, they could never have imagined that twelve of them would be reduced to eight in less than a minute.
That was terrifying.
And now Hikaru had vanished again.
The pressure on them spiked sharply.
"We can't let this continue!"
Among the eight, the short brown-haired boy could no longer remain still.
He rapidly formed hand seals, and a huge surge of chakra erupted from his body.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
"Wood Release?"
Hiruzen stared blankly as a row of wooden pillars arched upward from the earth, curving together into a defensive wall around the two shinobi.
For a moment, he froze.
He genuinely had not understood what he was seeing.
He had even wondered if perhaps that child was somehow a member of the Senju clan.
But that thought only flickered for a moment before his expression turned grim.
Hikaru was not the type to make wild claims.
And Konoha had not failed to analyze Hashirama's Wood Release before.
Could this child be the successful experimental subject?
Though Hiruzen did not personally manage ROOT, he still knew quite a lot about its activities.
For instance, he had long known that Danzō had once taken in a young boy from Orochimaru's lab and then raised him carefully.
He had never spoken of it.
He had always pretended he knew nothing.
But in truth, he had seen all of it.
He truly had not expected Danzō to unleash that child here to attack him—
and worst of all, with a real Senju standing right beside him.
"A Wood Release user…"
At that moment, Hikaru's voice sounded softly beside Hiruzen.
"Interesting, isn't it? Earlier I could already sense that unusual chakra from this kid. It felt a lot like mine."
"So this is what it was."
Hiruzen said nothing.
Faced with Hikaru's remark, he had no answer he could safely give.
What was he supposed to say?
That this child had Senju blood, that they had taken him and painstakingly cultivated him until Wood Release awakened?
That answer itself would open a terrible can of worms.
It would expose the fact that they had been coveting bloodline abilities.
And if Hikaru took the boy away, there was no doubt he would pry out every memory and every secret he could.
That alone could cause catastrophic trouble.
But telling the truth outright—
that they had dug up his ancestor's grave, used the corpse for experiments, and ended up creating this boy—
was even less possible.
That answer would be even more suffocating, even more dangerous.
"Looks like Hokage-sama doesn't know much either."
Hikaru said it casually, then sighed.
"In that case, we'll just capture the Wood Release user."
"As for the ROOT operatives…"
He paused there.
At the same time, he slipped into Sage Mode.
His hands moved rapidly through a string of seals, and a tremendous flood of chakra erupted outward.
The earth beneath them began to shake violently.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
This time, Hikaru did not bother hiding his strength or holding anything back.
Without senjutsu, his Wood Release would already rival—or likely surpass—Yamato's future standard.
And as for the current Yamato, this child's Wood Release meant next to nothing in Hikaru's eyes.
After all, even in the original story, Kakashi at that age could have dropped this version of Yamato almost instantly.
Kakashi was now Hikaru's subordinate.
The two of them were on excellent terms, but even Kakashi could never gain any real advantage over him.
So facing the current Kō—this young Yamato—Hikaru felt absolutely no pressure.
But what he did want was for Hiruzen to clearly see that "Wood Release" and "Wood Release" were not the same thing at all.
And any opportunity to make Hiruzen feel pressure was one Hikaru would never reject.
Boom!
In an instant, the trembling ground exploded upward with countless vines.
Those vines rapidly thickened into trees, and those trees surged into being as if a whole forest had been uprooted and reborn in a single breath.
Every tree in that forest was under Hikaru's complete control.
Under his will, the trunks and branches lashed savagely toward the Wood Locking Wall where the ROOT members had huddled.
Bang!
A massive branch slammed into it.
At once, deep cracks spread across the wooden barrier.
It did not collapse immediately, but it was obvious to the eye that it would not last much longer.
Bang!
Hikaru gave them no time at all.
Another branch crashed down, and this time the wooden wall shattered completely.
The ROOT operatives hiding inside clearly suffered for it.
Though the Wood Locking Wall had shielded them, the sheer force of the impact still passed through and battered their bodies.
Even so, no matter how much pain they were in, they knew they had to dodge the next wave.
Especially when they saw the thick branches snaking toward them, binding and coiling like living things.
Staying in place meant death.
But Hikaru's Wood Release moved far faster than they could.
In the blink of an eye, one ROOT operative was caught and hauled into the air.
"Ahhh!"
He screamed immediately, and his body visibly began to wither.
Deep Forest Emergence could absorb chakra.
Once caught by Wood Release, even tailed beasts could fall into despair.
Humans stood even less of a chance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, however, the remaining ROOT shinobi launched a counterattack.
Several kunai shrieked through the air toward Hikaru.
They had clearly recognized reality by now:
if Hikaru was not dealt with, none of them would walk out alive—
let alone assassinate Hiruzen.
But their attempt was meaningless.
Hikaru did not move at all.
The trees themselves surged up in front of him and blocked every single kunai.
"Wood Release: Violent Spear Trees!"
Kō was unwilling to stand idle.
He formed hand seals as well, and wood tendrils burst from his body, swelling rapidly before smashing against Hikaru's Wood Release.
What happened next was enough to make anyone stare in disbelief.
When his Wood Release struck Hikaru's, Hikaru's did not even tremble.
But Kō's own attack shattered apart on impact.
"They aren't even on the same level."
Watching from the side, Hiruzen felt numb.
He understood very well that power had levels.
But when the gap became so vast it was almost impossible to comprehend, what remained was only despair.
He had been stunned to discover that one of the attackers could use Wood Release.
He had been genuinely curious about the difference between a naturally awakened Senju Wood Release and an artificially created one.
Now, however, he had his answer.
And the answer was devastating.
These two were not even in the same realm.
The quality and quantity of their chakra were worlds apart.
The child may have been younger than Hikaru, but he had been an experimental success and then had years of Danzō's careful cultivation behind him.
As for Hikaru—
even if he had awakened his Wood Release some time ago and merely hidden it, Hiruzen still believed it more likely that the ability had emerged only recently.
If Hikaru had possessed this power for long, he would have seized what he wanted far earlier.
One was a test subject cultivated for years.
The other, perhaps, had only recently awakened.
And yet the difference between them was this overwhelming.
That fact alone proved something:
their experiments had created Wood Release—
but at the same time, those experiments had also failed.
"Hokage-sama."
Hikaru's voice suddenly snapped Hiruzen out of his thoughts.
He looked up.
By now, aside from the child, almost every ROOT operative had already been caught by Hikaru's Wood Release.
And even the child was being hounded badly, forced back again and again.
Yet Hikaru had still not gone all out against him.
"What is it?"
Hiruzen took a deep breath and rapidly considered how he should respond to whatever Hikaru might say next.
But what Hikaru said made his pupils contract sharply.
"Hokage-sama, I'd like to ask a favor."
"Please use a Fire Release technique for me."
"…What?"
Hikaru removed his mask, revealing his face.
He looked as mild and genial as ever.
But his words made Hiruzen feel as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar.
"Wherever leaves dance, there is fire burning. The fire's shadow shines upon the village, and fresh leaves begin to bud."
"That is the Will of Fire—a kind of inherited ideal, a manifestation of spirit."
"But in my view, it is also a transmission of power."
"When Wood Release and Fire Release intertwine, the result becomes even more fearsome."
"And that also happens to reflect the powers of the two clans that founded Konoha."
"One wielded Wood Release."
"The other excelled in Fire Release."
"Unfortunately, there's no Uchiha here today."
"And I myself haven't trained my Fire Release enough yet."
He turned slightly and looked at Hiruzen.
Ignoring the old man's increasingly frigid gaze, he continued with the same calm smile:
"But fortunately, Hokage-sama is here with me."
"And I'm sure Hokage-sama would not begrudge using Fire Release once—so that I may relive, for just a moment, the true power that belonged to Konoha at its founding."
After those words, Hikaru fell silent.
Hiruzen's expression had already changed completely.
A vast, overpowering presence erupted from him instantly, crashing toward Hikaru like a wave.
For the briefest instant, Hikaru even felt a suffocating pressure.
As expected of the Professor.
This was not something an ordinary shinobi could ever produce.
Hiruzen was not yet the decrepit old man he would become later.
Though he had already begun passing the absolute peak of his physical prime, he was still someone who stood at the summit of the shinobi world.
Faced with such a Hiruzen, Hikaru finally let some of that smiling falseness fade.
Until now, only Minato had ever pushed him this far.
Not even Obito had forced this degree of seriousness from him.
Of course, Minato had never come at him with killing intent.
Hiruzen, however, was now very clearly allowing murderous intent to gather.
Hikaru had truly enraged him.
Still, no matter how fearsome Hiruzen's attitude became, Hikaru did not actually fear him.
He simply met Hiruzen's eyes and waited quietly.
"Don't go too far, Minister Hikaru," Hiruzen said at last, his voice deep and cold. "This benefits neither of us."
"Does it not?"
Hikaru snorted softly, contempt plain in his tone.
"Hokage-sama, some things, if taken too far, invite divine punishment."
"Or perhaps… an unfortunate accident."
"One might even die during an otherwise peaceful journey."
As he spoke, Hikaru's own aura surged outward.
In an instant, his presence collided head-on with Hiruzen's in midair.
That clash of killing intent also, inadvertently, saved the captured ROOT operatives.
Hikaru had now shifted his focus entirely onto Hiruzen, so he was no longer directing his Wood Release as aggressively.
Still, the ROOT shinobi trapped inside it could not break free.
They had already been drained so heavily by the Wood Release that many were barely conscious.
At most, the pressure easing off a little merely gave them breathing room.
They still could not escape.
Even Kō's pressure lessened somewhat.
The Wood Release was still attacking him, but he no longer looked quite as desperate.
"Even if I die, you still won't become Hokage," Hiruzen said sharply, then lunged, driving a fist at Hikaru.
Sneak attacks were the bread and butter of shinobi combat.
Unless you were overwhelmingly stronger, there was no reason not to use the most practical method available.
Of course, Hiruzen also knew perfectly well that a mere surprise strike would not likely decide anything against someone like Hikaru.
Sure enough, the instant his fist connected, he was already preparing to retreat with Body Flicker.
The moment he realized the sensation on impact was wrong, he withdrew at once.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, Hiruzen completed the seal.
Ten shadow clones appeared around him instantly.
He knew very well that one-on-one against an opponent with Flying Thunder God, the outcome would be disastrous.
He needed enough decoys to split Hikaru's attention and buy himself the room and time he needed.
"A beautiful choice. Hokage-sama truly is still formidable."
Hikaru's voice came first from a nearby tree—
then, the next instant, from right beside Hiruzen's ear.
"But Hokage-sama… how long do you think it'll take me to clear away your shadow clones?"
Hiruzen's pupils narrowed.
But he refused to let the taunt shake him.
His hands flashed through seals once more.
"Summoning Technique: Monkey King Enma!"
A swirl of smoke burst forth, and Enma appeared beside him.
But Hiruzen's expression darkened.
Because in that instant, all ten of his shadow clones had already been wiped out.
And he could also sense Hikaru rushing at him.
There was no time to wonder why Hikaru had picked off every clone yet left the original alive.
Nor time to question why Hikaru had suddenly slowed down.
He simply slammed his hands together.
Another jutsu formed.
"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
At once, a stone wall surged up before him.
At the same time, Hiruzen grabbed Enma's arm and leapt backward.
While airborne, he formed a seal with one hand.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
A dense curtain of smoke exploded through the forest.
Even now, Hiruzen truly was a terrifying shinobi.
Though he had no kekkei genkai, his control over ninjutsu had reached an absurd level.
And because he had mastery over all elemental chakra natures, he could cycle between them with almost no delay at all.
"Not enough chakra left."
"This time, I have to end this!"
Hiruzen's mind raced.
The fight so far had been maddening.
He had almost never managed to truly touch Hikaru.
With Flying Thunder God in play, Hikaru maintained nearly total initiative.
And against that level of mobility, Hiruzen had had almost no answer.
He knew Hikaru possessed sensory abilities as well, which forced him to rely on heavily chakra-consuming shadow clones as bait.
"Still, I've more or less figured out a limitation of his Flying Thunder God."
"Once the distance becomes great enough, he can't instantly strike anymore."
"Before he closes in again, I need to finish this."
With that thought, Hiruzen hurled Enma forward.
Then he rapidly formed seals.
"Secret Technique: Adamantine Prison Wall!"
The thrown staff spun back toward him, then split into dozens of segments, interlocking into a defensive cage around him.
Adamantine Prison Wall could imprison an enemy—
but it could also serve as a powerful shield.
Hiruzen was not the only one to do it.
All of his new shadow clones mirrored him.
The moment he was enclosed within the adamantine barrier, Hikaru arrived.
"So you've locked yourself up?"
Hikaru asked almost mockingly.
"Hokage-sama, that looks an awful lot like setting yourself on fire."
"Whether it is or not, I don't know," Hiruzen said, lifting his head.
At that exact moment, he and every clone completed their seals together.
"But I intend to test your limits."
"I intend to see whether you can withstand this!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Lightning Release: Thunder Blast!"
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
Five figures unleashed five different elemental techniques at the same time.
Each one was almost perfectly identical in quality and output.
Each converged toward the same focal point.
And once all five natures overlapped, Hiruzen formed another seal.
His chakra surged violently.
"Five Release: Great Continuous Bullet!"
The five elemental techniques merged, twisted together, and roared toward Hikaru in a single overwhelming torrent.
"I widened the distance, and I didn't give you time to prepare."
"Let's see whether you can still use Flying Thunder God now."
"And if you can't—"
"then let's see whether your Wood Release can defend against this!"
That was Hiruzen's thought as the colossal explosion detonated.
The earth shook violently.
The forest grew blisteringly hot.
Countless trees were blasted flat by the invisible shockwave, then ignited in an instant.
Thick smoke surged across the forest.
For a moment, it looked like the end of the world.
Even Hiruzen himself was thrown by the backlash.
All his shadow clones vanished.
Enma returned to the summoning realm.
Staring at the apocalyptic destruction before him, Hiruzen slowly rose to his feet, his gaze still uncertain.
"Is it over?"
He murmured the question under his breath.
"Looks like I won."
"He didn't make it through."
Hiruzen had never truly intended to kill Hikaru.
Or rather, he did not believe he could kill him.
Hikaru was simply too strong—and he possessed Flying Thunder God.
This clash had been, in truth, part test, part declaration.
Hikaru had mocked and cornered him, trampling his pride. Hiruzen had needed to respond.
Konoha was too fragile right now to endure real internal collapse.
But for the sake of his own dignity, Hiruzen had to show that he would not simply yield.
At the very least, the Five Release attack seemed to have caused Hikaru real trouble.
Otherwise, by now, a sword would already be resting against his neck.
"Then Hokage-sama is going to be disappointed."
Hikaru's voice suddenly echoed beside him.
At once, Hiruzen's expression changed.
"Why would Hokage-sama think—"
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