Naruto: Linked to Kaguya, Corrupting the Ninja World

Meanwhile, in a private room of an izakaya, Hiroki, Shizune, Yugao, and Tsunade sat around the same table.

"The next move is to remove the Third Hokage from power," Hiroki announced.

Shizune sighed helplessly, covering her forehead. "Come on, is it really okay to discuss such conspiracy openly in a public place?"

"Who would leak the information? You?" Hiroki chuckled. "If you dare talk, then..."

He made a cutting gesture across his throat.

Shizune's face darkened, silently wondering: Why did I get involved in this again?

Yugao turned her gaze toward Tsunade, speaking in a tone that was hard to read. "We're not important enough to pull something like this off—it must be Tsunade-sama who can make it happen."

Tsunade fixed Hiroki with a deep stare. "What do you have in mind?"

"I told you before—Konoha has already decayed. It needs to be corrected. The great ninja legend is practically gone already."

Tsunade didn't respond directly, leaving the izakaya first with Shizune.

On the street, a familiar figure—Hiruzen Sarutobi—came into view, and the distance between them steadily narrowed.

"Tsunade," Hiruzen Sarutobi called out with a sigh in his voice.

"Teacher," Tsunade replied with a smile.

Though their greeting was warm, each could feel a growing distance between them.

"How long are you planning to stay this time?" Hiruzen asked casually, as if just making small talk.

In truth, he had already become wary.

How convenient—just after my run-in with Hyuga Hiroki, Tsunade and Uzuki Yugao suddenly appear.

According to Jiraiya's information, she should still be in the Country of Hot Springs.

Factoring in travel time and information relay, even under the quickest circumstances, there should have been a delay of several days.

Yet they arrived so timely.

This made Hiruzen suspect that they had come prepared—with intent.

"Teacher, the year Minato died, you wrote me a letter asking me to return as Hokage. Does that offer still stand?" Tsunade softly asked.

As her words reached his ears, Hiruzen's heart clenched and his expression momentarily froze before returning to normal. "Tsunade... things are different now."

If she were still the same Tsunade, bringing her back as Hokage wouldn't have been unthinkable.

But... this Tsunade had changed.

Hearing this response, Tsunade showed no sign of disappointment and quickly made an excuse before leaving with Shizune.

Hiruzen let out a silent sigh.

On a distant rooftop, Jiraiya quietly observed this scene.

Naruto stood beside him.

He glanced down at the parted figures of Hiruzen and Tsunade before shifting his gaze toward the Hokage Rock.

He asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, some people in the village say the Fourth Hokage was my father. Is that true?"

"Yes. He died protecting the village."

"Protect... huh?" Naruto muttered.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly walked toward the Hokage Building, Jiraiya led Naruto to follow behind him.

Inside the private room of the izakaya, only Hiroki and Yugao remained.

"Yugao, use Tsunade's name to gather all the clan leaders."

"Would it be appropriate for me to do something like that?"

"Then wouldn't it also be inappropriate for me to do it?"

"We should tell Tsunade-sama first," Yugao suggested. "I probably have already been watched since my appearance."

Hiroki asked Kaguya to help relay their plan to Tsunade. Kaguya sighed inwardly at the trouble but directly pulled the spiritual forms of the three to Kaguya Palace.

"Talk."

Suddenly transported from the izakaya to an unfamiliar palace, Yugao was stunned, wide-eyed with nervous awe.

This was Yugao's first time here, and her first time meeting Kaguya. She couldn't help but stare.

After a long while, Kaguya found her gaze somewhat offensive and returned a sharp look.

Yugao finally snapped back to reality and began worrying about things outside. "Our bodies won't be in danger, right?"

"No problem," Kaguya said calmly.

Compared with her, Hiroki and Tsunade remained much calmer.

"Do either of you have any thoughts or plans?" Hiroki asked.

"What's the point of making plans? In the end, isn't it still going to come down to brute force deciding who wins?" Yugao replied.

"Just say what exactly you want to do," Tsunade stated calmly.

"My idea is to first invite those clan leaders out and see which side they're on," Hiroki explained.

"Unless the Third pressures them beyond endurance, they won't hold different positions," Tsunade said composedly. "For these clans, their current lives are comfortable enough. Besides, with the Uchiha Clan as a previous example, no clan will dare think about rebellion in the near future."

"No, no, no..." A faint smile appeared on Hiroki's face. "We still need to inform them."

"In the village, there has appeared a kind of creature capable of flawlessly impersonating others..."

As Hiroki explained his ideas, Tsunade couldn't shake a creeping sense of absurdity.

If she wanted to become Hokage, she had countless opportunities to openly claim the position before. Now this all felt like gearing up for a coup—it was ridiculous!

In the Senju Mansion, the moment Tsunade opened her eyes, she immediately summoned Shizune, who was waiting aside, instructing her to invite clan leaders from other prominent families in Konoha for a reunion.

Shizune hesitated for a moment before heading out without hesitation.

The various clan leaders didn't think much of it and readily agreed to the invitation.

Even the modestly sized Hatake clan received the invitation, and Kakashi Hatake willingly set off.

Among them, the elders of the Hyuga Clan dispatched Hizashi Hyuga to attend on their behalf.

Each assumed Tsunade had invited only their individual clan, completely unaware that representatives from other clans would also be attending—it was clearly not going to be a private meeting.

Everyone exchanged glances as more and more people arrived, their moods involuntarily becoming complicated.

They felt caught off guard—unsure whether to stay put or make an exit.

After all, the host was one of the Sannin, the granddaughter of the First Hokage. Leaving directly might offend her.

If they didn't leave, they felt like something unpleasant might happen.

Tsunade stood in front of these people, silently counting heads, waiting until all the clan leaders had gathered.

Back and forth, more people kept entering the Senju estate. With so much commotion, there was no way Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't notice.

Thinking about Tsunade's expressed desire to become Hokage, his immediate reaction was that she intended to gather support from other clans to seize power. He flew into a rage and barked, "Let's see who dares support her!"

Danzo Shimura felt a surge of irritation as well.

At first, he hadn't cared, but now she was back—trying to gather allies again? How utterly hypocritical!

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully before saying to Hiruzen and the others, "Tsunade has awakened the Wood Release, and that Hiroki Hyuga isn't easy to handle either. Comparatively speaking, Yugao Uzuki might be the weakest, and she was already a rogue ninja. Master, perhaps we should send someone to deal with her first."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing that Tsunade had awakened the Wood Release, Danzo's heart grew even more bitter.

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