Chapter 444: Protecting Granny Chiyo
Uchiha Madara and Onoki discussed Obito's information at length.
Madara was extremely anxious. He was worried that after obtaining secrets from him, Obito would seize the opportunity to become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki first.
But he also understood that he couldn't rush things right now.
He had to explain Obito's information in detail to Onoki so that Onoki could organize and gather other ninja to stop Obito together. Only then would they have a chance.
Otherwise, if Onoki charged in alone without a plan, he would just be throwing his life away.
Whether it was the original timeline where Madara fought the Five Kage, or the current situation where Madara and Onoki were competing for Chiyo's attention, Madara had come to recognize just how capable present-day Onoki was.
Onoki hadn't spent decades as Tsuchikage for nothing, nor had he fought through several ninja wars for nothing. His combat experience was incredibly rich.
People like Hozuki Gengetsu might have been older veterans, technically from an earlier generation as the Second Mizukage, but that was meaningless.
High seniority meant nothing if you died young.
Take Minato Namikaze as an extreme example.
In the Boruto era, whenever Naruto encountered difficulties, he would look at Minato's memorial photo and ask, "Dad, what should I do?"
Meanwhile, Minato in the Pure Land was basically thinking: 'I died younger than Naruto is now. Why are you asking me?'
But simply being "old" wasn't enough either. You had to have fought in top-tier battles.
That left only two people who fit the criteria: first, Onoki; second, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
As for Sarutobi Hiruzen, forget the fact that he was currently disguised as Danzo and being chased down, even if he were here for real, Madara still wouldn't think highly of him.
Because Sarutobi Hiruzen was the disciple of that innately evil Tobirama.
Speaking of Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other side, Hiruzen had finally been caught.
There was no helping it. Hiruzen wasn't a speed-type ninja. No matter how long he endured, he couldn't truly shake off the pursuers behind him, even with Jiraiya constantly helping to mislead them and temporarily tricking Onoki into going back.
Most importantly, Granny Chiyo couldn't endure anymore.
At first, Granny Chiyo had actually quite enjoyed watching everyone fight over her.
She had always been the mischievous old-prankster type and didn't dislike the attention. Originally, she hadn't even planned to resist.
But there was a problem.
Hiruzen was an Impure World Reincarnation body, and Hozuki Gengetsu chasing after them was also Impure World Reincarnation.
Even Jiraiya and Roshi, who weren't Impure World Reincarnation, at least had opportunities to rest.
But Granny Chiyo had none.
She'd been carried around by "Danzo" the whole time without even a chance to use the bathroom.
No matter how healthy her kidneys were, she couldn't hold it forever.
At last, Granny Chiyo began to struggle.
First, she used a poison bomb, only to discover in shock that "Danzo" was completely unaffected by the poison gas.
Instead, Jiraiya accidentally inhaled some while catching up from behind. He clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground, twitching violently.
"Y-you old bastard, playing dirty, huh—?!"
Jiraiya had only seen a cloud of mist leaking from "Danzo" and assumed it was some kind of message Hiruzen had left behind.
But after getting close and taking a sniff, he discovered it was poison!
After collapsing, Jiraiya hurriedly bit his finger and summoned a toad from Mount Myoboku.
"S-save me—ugh!"
The toad immediately latched onto him with its mouth and sucked all the poison out.
Meanwhile, on "Danzo's" side, after realizing poison was useless, Granny Chiyo directly shot out chakra threads and tripped him.
As a result, "Danzo" was finally intercepted.
"Damn you, Danzo! You sure can run and dodge!"
Hozuki Gengetsu grit his teeth and rushed forward. Before "Danzo" could get back up after falling, he pinned him down first.
Gengetsu possessed the precise long-range Water Release: Water Gun Technique, using his fingers like pistols to fire water bullets.
In terms of speed and accuracy, it theoretically surpassed thrown shuriken and kunai by far.
So Gengetsu wasn't worried about accidentally hitting Granny Chiyo.
But what he hadn't expected was that despite chasing and firing the entire way, not a single shot had landed.
"Danzo" was absurdly good at dodging.
Even Roshi, trailing behind them, felt puzzled watching it happen.
He couldn't help wondering whether Danzo had trained so often with his good buddy the Third Hokage that Hiruzen's Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique had somehow honed his evasion skills.
However...
Gengetsu punched "Danzo" square in the face.
"Danzo" showed no reaction.
The Third Hokage truly lived up to his title as the Professor of the Ninja World. Even now, he still hadn't released the Transformation Technique.
But then.
"That guy's an Impure World Reincarnation body too. Don't hold back!"
Granny Chiyo's voice rang out.
Without hesitation, Gengetsu fired a Water Gun Technique point-blank at "Danzo's" head.
Hiruzen tried to dodge, but Roshi rushed forward and pinned him down.
Bang.
Sarutobi Hiruzen finally reverted to his true appearance.
Meanwhile…
Since the desert had no cover, Granny Chiyo took out a scroll and released three puppets to stand guard while she hurried off to use the bathroom.
When she came back and took a look, even she was dumbfounded.
Where was Danzo?
Why was it this old geezer Hiruzen instead?
"Ohhh, I get it now. Hiruzen, you old bastard—does that mean all those terrible things rumored to have been done by Danzo were actually committed by you while disguised as him?"
Granny Chiyo suddenly thought of something, her face filling with realization.
"That's definitely it! That old monster Sarutobi is too evil, on par with that bastard Onoki! None of the Third Kages are decent people!"
Even while cursing Hiruzen, Roshi still didn't forget to drag Onoki into it too.
"You've misunderstood..."
Seeing that he'd been exposed, Hiruzen decided to simply explain his true intentions, how he had deliberately abducted Granny Chiyo in order to avoid Uchiha Madara's plans.
"Oh right, Jiraiya's his disciple. That means Jiraiya must be in on it too! No wonder he kept interfering with our pursuit. So that's what was going on!"
Roshi suddenly realized this point.
Everyone immediately turned to look at Jiraiya, who had just arrived after recovering from the poison.
The toad had sucked on him so hard that Jiraiya's lips were swollen just like Kakashi's.
"Jiraiya!"
"Everyone, calm down first! Let me explain!"
Hiruzen knew this wasn't the time for arguments. The more they fought among themselves, the worse things would become. He quickly created several shadow clones and forcefully began explaining, ignoring everyone trying to interrupt him.
This prevented the situation from devolving into a chorus of "I'm not listening!"
Finally.
Under Hiruzen's efforts, the previously divided group at last exchanged information and learned that all of them had been acting to stop Uchiha Madara.
Granny Chiyo also revealed her own information: the details about using One's Own Life Reincarnation and Rinne-rebirth, reviving someone first in order to revive another afterward.
After hearing this, everyone felt relieved.
Their suspicions had been correct. Uchiha Madara truly did have a scheme underway!
"Granny Chiyo, you shouldn't return to Sunagakure. Staying near Uchiha Madara is too dangerous. Come hide in Konoha instead."
Sarutobi Hiruzen offered his suggestion.
"Konoha? Nonsense. She should go to Iwagakure. I'll personally stand guard over Granny Chiyo's camp!"
Roshi snorted coldly.
"Jiraiya and I will guard Granny Chiyo together and protect her safety!"
Hiruzen immediately refused to back down.
Hozuki Gengetsu stood nearby, stroking his little mustache with a confused expression.
This was strange.
Everything had already been laid out in the open, so why were they still fighting over Granny Chiyo?
(End of this chapter)