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Chapter 77 – “The Breaking of Old Chains”
🕑 Added 2025-07-04 08:20:59 +0000 UTCChapter 77 – “The Breaking of Old Chains”
Morning sunlight filtered into the Hokage Tower, casting long shadows across the polished floor of the main office. But inside the room, a different kind of light burned, one of resolve, long-suppressed fury, and newfound freedom.
Tsunade stood behind her desk, the Hokage's coat draped loosely over her shoulders. She was still, arms folded, eyes hard.
Before her stood Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the two remaining members of Konoha's so-called elder council. Their expressions were tight. Homura leaned on his cane, lips drawn in disapproval. Koharu’s mouth was a thin line, unreadable, but her eyes betrayed her anxiety.
They’d been summoned, not for consultation, but for judgment.
Tsunade didn’t offer them tea. Didn’t ask them to sit. She simply placed a single scroll on the table.
“The official order of dismissal,” she said, her voice cold but level.
Koharu blinked. “You… you’re dismissing us?”
“You don’t have the authority,” Homura added immediately, his voice sharp with warning. “The council is appointed with approval from the Fire Daimyō. We’re advisers. Our positions are protected under—”
Tsunade cut him off.
“Your positions were protected when you were protecting the village.”
She stepped forward.
“But you didn’t. You enabled Danzo. You covered for Root. You turned a blind eye to child kidnappings, secret operations, and violations of shinobi law so long as they were done in the shadows.”
Homura straightened, face flushed. “Everything we did”
(Zander : everything we did is for Konoha!!)
“was for stability?” Tsunade snapped. “I’ve heard that one before. So had the Uchiha. So had the orphans Danzo branded as tools.”
She placed her hand on the desk, fingers splayed over the scroll.
“I’ve already sent the report to the Fire Daimyō. I’m not asking for permission.”
“You’ll destabilize the council,” Koharu said slowly, voice more tired than angry now. “This kind of purge... you won’t have the noble clans backing you.”
“Wrong,” Tsunade said simply.
She turned and gestured to the tall scroll racks behind her desk, some stacked with ledgers, some sealed in medical-grade containers. “Thanks to Hajime’s inventions, the noble clans are practically lining up to kiss my boots.”
Homura blinked. “What?”
Tsunade smirked, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“You didn’t think I could survive politically without you two watching over me, did you? That I needed your hands on the reins?” She chuckled bitterly. “If Hajime didn’t exist, maybe you’d be right. I’d still be tolerating you both, trying not to cause a stir.”
She walked to the window, looking out over the bustling Konoha streets below.
“But he does exist. And because of him, I no longer answer to the old system.”
Her voice grew steady, proud.
“He created chakra-soap blocks that cleansed wounds and chakra buildup, reducing hospital stays by half. Healing tags that work even for civilians. A fat-loss pill that sells out every week in the noble markets, because even the richest want to look thinner. And” she rolled her eyes with amused disgust “, a perfected version of that damned... enhancement pill. No side effects. You have no idea how much money that alone brings in.”
(Zander: Viagra no side effects)
Homura looked faintly appalled.
Tsunade turned back to them. “Because of him, Konoha’s treasury has more discretionary funding than we’ve had since the Second War. I don’t need the Daimyō’s trickle funding. I don’t need clan taxes. I don’t need you.”
“You can’t” Koharu started.
“I can,” Tsunade interrupted.
“Because I am the Hokage. And Konoha doesn’t need chains pretending to be anchors.”
The door opened behind her.
Hajime entered, silent as always. Clad not in armor now, but his usual black and grey attire, the hem of his coat still dusted with flakes of dried earth from the previous night.
He said nothing. Simply stood beside her.
Tsunade handed the scroll forward. “Sign it. Or I’ll have ANBU witness your refusal and remove you by force.”
Homura stared at her.
Koharu’s hand trembled.
“You’re becoming like Danzo,” Homura muttered. “Acting unilaterally. Crushing dissent.”
Tsunade tilted her head. “No. I’m not like Danzo.”
She looked at Hajime.
“He’d have executed you in the dark. I’m doing this in the light. In front of witnesses. With law.”
Hajime stepped forward and held out a second copy of the scroll. It bore the official seal of the Fire Daimyō’s economic chancellor, alongside dozens of clan signatures who’d been swayed by Hajime’s inventions and Tsunade’s reforms.
“You’ve lost your support,” Hajime said, voice like steel. “And your shadow games are over.”
Homura finally lowered his head and signed. Koharu followed, shakily.
The room was silent.
Tsunade took the scroll back and nodded. “You’re dismissed. Permanently. Leave the Tower within the hour.”
They left.
No words. No threats.
Just silence.
When the door closed behind them, Tsunade exhaled slowly and sank into her chair.
For the first time since taking the hat, she felt the full weight shift off her shoulders.
Hajime glanced at her. “You’re not smiling.”
Good thing Hajime was giving was giving various inventions while creating his organs, as that allowed Tsunade to unilaterally to make decisions for the village.
She chuckled softly. “Give me a minute.”
And then
She did.
She smiled.
With warmth.
With pride.
Not just at what had been done, but at who had made it possible.
End of Chapter 77 – “The Breaking of Old Chains”
