Kosuke Maruboshi led a squad already waiting outside the Hokage Building.
To avoid alerting the enemy—or rather to delay any leaks—he hadn't chosen ninja from the Sarutobi or Shimura clans.
The team was mainly Hyuga, the Ino–Shika–Cho trio clans, and civilian jonin.
"Let's go."
Natsume didn't bother explaining much to them.
The group sped out at a blistering pace.
The Valley of the End lay to the north of Konoha.
Following the mountain range behind the Hokage Rock straight ahead, one arrived at a waterfall.
Once, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara fought here, carving out the Valley of the End with their battle.
The path from Konoha to the Valley was mostly forest and mountains—perfect terrain for ambushes.
"Grandpa Kosuke, I'll leave a shadow clone. Once you see it disperse, order everyone to attack."
With that, Natsume suddenly accelerated and vanished from sight.
…
Deep in a forest—
Tsunade stopped.
They'd already left Konoha far behind. Shimura Danzo no longer bothered with disguise and stepped out openly.
"Tsunade, I've been waiting a long time."
"An ambush?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and asked.
"That's right. This talk about Sarutobi Hiruzen wanting to see us—fake."
Danzo's face twisted into an ugly, smug grin. "It was all to draw you out."
"Kill me?"
Tsunade had already anticipated this, but fury still flared. She asked, "Why? Is this your socalled 'for Konoha'?"
"Of course it's for Konoha!"
Danzo slammed his cane hard and said, "You and Sarutobi Hiruzen are both too soft. Konoha needs an absolutely cold-blooded ruler, one who binds all clans and geniuses into a single rope—that's what best serves the village."
"Hmph, delusions."
Tsunade frowned. "By 'binding into a rope,' you mean turning everyone into your weapons, don't you?"
"And what's wrong with that?"
Danzo barked coldly, voice dripping with menace. "Because of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki remains unused, and the Uchiha were driven to rebellion. I am the true heir of our teacher. I'm the one who should be Hokage!"
By the end, he'd lost all reason, eyes bloodshot with jealousy and resentment.
"You're not doing it for Konoha—you're doing it for your Konoha."
Tsunade shook her head in disappointment. "Great-Granduncle's choice wasn't wrong. The old man is far more suited to be Hokage than you."
"Shut up! Shut up!"
Danzo flew into a rage.
He'd always thought—or deceived himself—that he'd only hesitated one second longer than Sarutobi Hiruzen back then, and that was why the Hokage's seat was taken from him.
"Die!"
Danzo's face twisted. "The Hokage will be me!"
His right arm swelled in an instant, ripping his sleeve, countless vines surging into a giant tree.
Irritation flickered in Tsunade's eyes.
Those were her grandfather Hashirama's cells.
She stepped onto the trunk, flipped up over Danzo's head, clenched a fist, and slammed down.
Chakra turned into overwhelming power, whipping up a shrill wind.
Danzo didn't dodge.
Under his control, the giant tree wrapped around his body.
Tsunade's monstrous strength smashed down; the bark cracked all over, but didn't break through.
Branches sprouted from the trunk, interlacing, whipping over to bind her.
But in the next instant, a puff of smoke—a log substitution.
Tsunade was already behind Danzo, hammering down with another punch.
Far stronger than the last, it sent tree and man skidding several meters.
Danzo didn't panic. He sneered coldly and steadied himself.
Tsunade's face shifted. Beneath her feet, black sealing marks burst from the ground.
They coiled like living things around her ankles, pinning her in place.
A sealing jutsu laid in advance.
Danzo had baited her right into it.
Tsunade had clearly been careless.
To be fair, in terms of combat experience, Danzo had more.
And he'd planned this against an unprepared opponent.
"Yooo! Konoha's Blue Beast reporting in!"
Might Guy vaulted out. "Konoha Whirlwind!"
He became a green cyclone and blitzed Danzo.
Not only him—Kosuke Maruboshi and the others appeared in succession.
"You were prepared?"
If Danzo didn't understand by now, he'd be a fool.
Clearly, Tsunade had sensed something, came alone first to confirm, and the rest showed once there was proof.
"You've done too many wrongs, Danzo."
Tsunade snorted, breaking free of the seal with Kakashi's help.
"Exactly because of that, I discovered it early. Danzo, you're surrounded. If you want a shred of dignity, surrender."
"It's far from decided who wins!"
Danzo roared, and all Root operatives emerged.
They were fewer than the Hokage Guard plus the Konoha Police, but no weaker.
There were ten jonin in total.
"Danzo is a rogue ninja now. Are you really going to follow him?"
Tsunade demanded.
But all Root members kept expressionless faces. No one answered.
"Tsunade, see? These are the weapons Konoha needs!"
Danzo's expression had collapsed into madness. "Kill them!"
A melee erupted.
But they'd forgotten a few people.
Tsunade forgot Natsume; Danzo forgot Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
The two Hokage advisors were actually nearby, but neither joined the fray.
As Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's students, they were certainly not weak.
In their youth, they were among the elite jonin.
Old age had dulled them, but they still held jonin-level strength.
"Koharu, should we lend Danzo a hand?"
Homura watched the clash of chakras and asked.
"No rush."
Koharu shook her head. "If we step in now, there'll be no turning back."
"You mean we back whoever wins?"
Homura's eyes lit up.
"Exactly."
Koharu smiled. "We tricked Tsunade out, yes—but afterwards we can claim Danzo coerced us. No choice."
"You're more prudent as always."
Homura gave a thumbs-up, then asked, "If Danzo kills Tsunade, won't he blame us for not acting?"
"No. Because he'll need us to help him ascend as Hokage."
A smug look crept over Koharu's wrinkled face. "Which means we're already unassailable."
"Wonderful. Truly worthy of Hokage advisors."
Sudden applause startled the two.
They turned and saw Natsume.
"How did you find us?"
Koharu's face darkened.
Their conversation could not be allowed to leak. Otherwise, they'd have no place left in the village.
And Natsume was Tsunade's student—he absolutely couldn't be allowed to live.
Fortunately, he was just a teen, only chuunin level.
"I did underestimate you a bit."
Before Natsume could answer, Koharu continued, "Pity you're not smart enough. I haven't acted in a long time, but dealing with a youngster like you is still well within my ability."
"Let me."
Homura stepped forward to block Natsume, eyes filled with hate.
"I've had it with this brat. If not for his meddling, would we be in this mess?"
Tsunade hadn't concealed Natsume's contributions.
Publicizing his suggestions bolstered his prestige, paving the way for him to become Hokage.
Thus Koharu and Homura knew the Hokage Secretariat was his idea.
The air went taut.
Chakra surged.
Homura formed hand seals quickly.
A scroll manifested out of thin air and unfurled.
Countless kunai swarmed out like bees, aiming to drown Natsume.
In the original story, Homura acted only once—
Against the Nine-Tails, summoning various tools and gear from scrolls.
His fighting style mirrored Tenten the wealthy weapon mistress.
Natsume slowly extended his palm.
Partial Multi-Size Technique.
His hand suddenly expanded more than tenfold.
He swatted down in a massive slap.
Every kunai went flying.
Homura's face changed drastically—too late to dodge—he took the hit full-on and was blasted back.
He hit the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.
"You're not a chuunin at all!"
Koharu, being behind, dodged the blow.
The strength Natsume just showed was far beyond chuunin.
And his body's toughness was absurd—so many kunai hadn't even broken skin.
Koharu had no time to look at fallen Homura. She flicked a shuriken—
Which split into hundreds, then thousands, pouring down like rain.
The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
Natsume answered with another massive slap.
So fast Koharu couldn't react—she went flying, landing right next to Homura.
The two struggled to rise.
They were already old; a hit like that left them nearly incapable of fighting.
"We're Hokage advisors. Even Tsunade can't kill us. You certainly can't!"
Koharu screamed in panic.
In the official databook, it's stated the advisors possess strength and wisdom on par with the Third.
Natsume couldn't help but laugh.
Koharu and Homura glanced at each other, not understanding why.
"Sorry, couldn't help it."
Natsume waved a hand. "But I really won't kill you."
Koharu and Homura instantly looked like they'd escaped death.
"Ninja melee, advisors die violently—doesn't that sound nice to the ear?"
Natsume opened his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
"You… you… those eyes?"
Koharu froze.
"How do you have a Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Homura shouted in terror and confusion, "Don't you have Senju blood?"
Which Senju messed up? Or which Uchiha strayed?
"Run!"
Koharu shouted.
Recognizing the Mangekyo, she realized what was coming.
Too late.
After those three words, she went blank.
Along with Homura, she rushed rapidly toward the distant battlefield.
"Danzo, we'll help you!"
They roared in unison, attacking Might Guy, who was pressuring Danzo the most.
Guy had opened the Third Gate—already supersonic, absurdly fast.
"Guy, careful!"
Kakashi quickly warned. "These two advisors are no weaker than the Third. Don't hold back!"
Might Guy instantly got serious.
Hidden Lotus!
He became a raging storm.
The naked eye couldn't even catch him—only the endless afterimages blasting Koharu and Homura.
A thunderous boom.
The two crashed into the ground—dead beyond dead.
Guy blinked. So this is "on par with the Third"?
Danzo was dumbstruck. What are you two doing—rushing in just to die?
Tsunade noticed but said nothing.
Clearly they'd been out of practice too long and were rusty.
And they knew nothing of the Eight Gates.
Even the Third Gate isn't something most can take head-on.
More importantly, Tsunade didn't care for the two advisors.
Dead was simpler.
Danzo, however, was far stronger than she'd expected.
He'd not only grafted Hashirama's cells and gained Wood Release—he'd also replaced an eye with a triple-tomoe Sharingan.
Who knew where he'd gotten it?
Tsunade snorted, slid sideways, and stomped down.
Boom.
The ground split wide.
Danzo dodged by a hair.
He gritted his teeth. If the fight dragged on, things would get worse for him.
Such a ruckus would be detected by Konoha; more and more enemies would arrive.
He could only rely on his two three-tomoe Sharingan.
He could use Izanagi twice—two minutes of death negation.
All unfavorable outcomes could be overwritten.
If he killed Tsunade within those two minutes, he'd win.
Danzo didn't hesitate—he activated Izanagi. His left eye went blind.
Tsunade started forward, then stopped.
Natsume appeared not far away, shook his head, then formed seals.
Sage Art: Water Release—Water Severing Wave!
A jet of water slashed Danzo's body before he could react.
The next moment, his body regenerated. Seeing Natsume, he was stunned. "Sage Mode?!"
His revival shocked Tsunade too.
She realized why Natsume had stopped her.
If she'd rushed in, Danzo would've taken her down with a forbidden jutsu like Reverse Four Symbols Sealing.
She'd die; he'd revive—victory to him.
"This is… Izanagi!"
Tsunade frowned. "You really did scheme long against the Uchiha."
Izanagi is the Uchiha's ultimate ocular art.
Few in the clan knew it—so where did Danzo learn it?
A troubling question.
"Natsume—"
She swallowed her words.
Because Natsume began a grand Water Release performance, flinging water jutsu like he didn't pay for chakra.
A sense of doom rose in Danzo's heart—he was pummeled on repeat.
Dead, revived, dead again, revived again.
Even with invincible Izanagi, the overwhelming firepower left him no room to counter.
At this rate, never mind two minutes—three wouldn't be enough.
The two advisors were dead, Root was fully pinned—no one could help.
Danzo clenched his jaw. At this point, only escape remained.
If the green hills remain, there'll be firewood to burn.
He tore open his clothes without hesitation—countless black seals surged skyward.
"Reverse Four Symbols Sealing! Everyone scatter!"
Tsunade's face changed; she shouted.
She knew all too well how terrifying it was.
It cost the user's life. Blood becomes seals to bind everything around.
Natsume wasn't actually afraid, but he knew Danzo would use it to flee, so he backed off as well.
"Shadow Hokage, do your best," he thought. "Hope you rack up fate points for me out there in the ninja world."
Thus, Konoha's Four—one dead, one fled—only Sarutobi Hiruzen remained.