Malphegor
patreon
YTS: Ch. 172
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 23:00:29 +0000 UTCHiruzen saw Tsunade standing alone at the doorway, her figure isolated, and his brows furrowed tightly.
Before he could speak.
Koharu, who had been sitting on the sofa, abruptly stood up and glared at Tsunade in fury.
"Tsunade! Do you know what you're saying?! Do you think becoming Hokage means that just your word alone—"
Hiss~
A snake-like hissing sound came from her ear.
A woman clad in emerald-green garments, with hair cascading down like a waterfall, Tagorihime, emerged from stealth. Her snake fangs barely pierced Koharu's neck, forcing her to swallow the rest of her words.
Homura saw Koharu being restrained and was about to take action. But a similar hissing sound reached his ear.
A girl, dressed in white as pure as snow, with an innocent and doll-like face, Ichikishimahime, perched on his shoulder and spoke coldly.
"Don't move~ Though I don't particularly enjoy eating old men, if you don't behave, I might have to make an exception."
Swish—Swish—Swish—
One by one, Root ninjas clad in ANBU uniforms appeared outside the Hokage's office windows. The two elite ANBU, who had been suppressing their presence in the corner of the office, immediately sensed danger.
They swiftly gathered around Hiruzen.
Just then, a faint, mist-like breath came from beside him. The two ANBU felt their eyelids grow heavy. In the next instant, their bodies collapsed limply to the ground.
The previously invisible Tagitsuhime revealed herself and gracefully bowed to Hiruzen. Raising her hand, she made an inviting gesture.
"Root ninjas… Snake princesses… Are Danzo and Orochimaru supporting you from behind?"
Hiruzen's expression was filled with disappointment as he lifted his pipe. A small ember flickered at his fingertips, lighting the tobacco as he took a deep drag.
Danzo had coveted the Hokage seat for years. But to think that his two old comrades would conspire with him to overthrow him from his position…
It left him cold. And on top of that… They were underestimating him far too much.
His reputation as the "Professor" wasn't earned through mere words—it was forged on the battlefield, in real combat. Even though his power had declined somewhat with age, did they really believe they could control Konoha with such petty schemes?
Fools dreaming in broad daylight.
"You're overestimating yourself." A trace of pity flashed across Tsunade's eyes as she stepped into the Hokage's office.
"If you achieved all this through your own strength, I would only feel pride. But if you are relying on 'his' power, Konoha will only be led to ruin. I cannot stand by and watch…" Hiruzen spoke in a sincere, persuasive tone.
But to Tsunade, his words, so oblivious to the truth, only deepened her sorrow. She glanced at the Root ninjas forming a barrier outside the Hokage's office.
Gently tapping the sealing paper tucked inside her robe.
The external seal crafted by Kushina and the internal formation filled by Kei unraveled, enveloping the entire office in space-time techniques.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
None of the protective or interference barriers set in the Hokage's office had been activated.
When?!
His gaze flickered between the Root ninjas outside and Tsunade, who was also covered by an unfamiliar jutsu.
A sinking feeling clenched his heart.
Though this technique didn't seem to be a binding or imprisonment seal, it clearly involved space-time manipulation—it was likely meant to relocate him out of the Hokage's building.
But… this meant even his trusted ANBU had traitors among them.
Whoosh—!
A powerful space-time ripple, strong enough to transfer a Tailed Beast Bomb, surged through the room.
Everything inside the Hokage's office was swept away toward a pre-designated spatial coordinate.
---
Outside the training grounds, the once-dense forest had transformed into a vast, verdant plain.
Near the entrance to the training grounds, the tiered wooden spectator stands were filled with Konoha's most prominent figures—clan heads, department heads, and jonin.
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato, Fugaku, Hiashi, Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza, Shibi, Murakumo, Tsume…
They all remained silent, their gazes flickering occasionally to the highest seats on the platform.
Sitting there... Hashirama, Tobirama and… Madara!
"Kei, that white-haired brat beside you—if he keeps staring at me with that insolent gaze, don't blame me for teaching him a lesson."
Madara, arms crossed, sat at the top of the platform, his expression filled with impatience.
"Tobirama, Tobirama! Look over there! Tsuna is coming! Today is her day to become Hokage! Cheer up a little!"
Hashirama, seated between Tobirama and Madara, grinned as he forcibly turned his younger brother's face toward the center of the field.
"Hmph!" Tobirama felt the immense force threatening to snap his neck. With a cold snort, he averted his gaze from Madara.
Being revived by Edo Tensei early in the morning was bad enough. But to be pinned down and mercilessly pummeled by his brother's Wood Release, controlled by this "Kei" guy?
Truly infuriating.
Just as he regained his composure, he was met with Madara's disdainful gaze for what felt like half a day.
Why didn't he listen to his brother back then? Why did he create a jutsu like Edo Tensei?!
"Madara~ Cheer up a little! Look at Konoha now—it's thriving! And there are even several members of your clan here! Everyone is living together in harmony, isn't that wonderful?"
Hashirama patted Madara's shoulder, his face beaming with genuine joy.
Earlier, Kei had already explained to him the significance of uniting the five villages and the importance of a unified shinobi world.
The village he created was about to make history once again.
Bringing lasting peace to the shinobi world.
How could he not feel true happiness from the depths of his heart?
"Foolishness." Madara scoffed and turned away. If he didn't find the upcoming events somewhat interesting, he wouldn't have wasted another second sitting here.
He had listened when Kei explained his vision to Hashirama earlier, but he held little hope for the grand picture that had been painted.
Wherever people existed, conflict would follow. There would always be those who weren't satisfied with the status quo—those who wanted more, owned more, enjoyed more. Ruling through sheer force might work in the short term.
But long-term peace?
Whoosh—
On the vast plains of the training grounds, a spatial fluctuation rippled through the air.
Hiruzen, Tsunade, Koharu, Homura, the snake princesses, and two unconscious ANBU ninjas all appeared at the center of the field.
Tagitsuhime lifted the unconscious ANBU and pushed Koharu and Homura to the edge of the arena.
Hiruzen looked up at the high platform in the distance and at all the figures seated there. His already grim expression darkened further.
It didn't seem like his disciples were actually working with Danzo and Orochimaru. But the vast majority of Konoha's power seemed to have been secretly linked together in the shadows.
And worst of all, the former Hokage and Madara were here. How on earth had Tsunade accomplished this?!
"Stop looking. If they're all here, you should already know what that means."
Tsunade took a deep breath and laid the harshest truth before Hiruzen.
All these years… Hiruzen had let everyone down.
"Tsunade, if the Hokage position is passed down in this way, it will bring great risks to the village."
"Say that after you defeat me."
"Hah… Then let me test your skills one last time."
Hiruzen's gaze turned cold. Using force to claim the Hokage seat—this was absolutely a flawed and twisted idea!
It would only instill a belief in "might makes right" within the village. It would be disastrous for governance, and even worse for development.
From the stands, Kei listened to Hiruzen's words with amusement, a faint smirk forming at the corner of his lips.
Providing a seemingly fair competitive opportunity. Meeting certain conditions would allow one to initiate a "Hokage Challenge."
Wasn't that also a form of positive reinforcement? And let's be real—how many people could even meet those conditions?
Even if he lowered the threshold a bit to give ordinary ninjas some hope…
Who the strongest was—it was still up to him to decide, wasn't it?
---
[Name: Senju Tsunade]
[Career: Ninja]
[Traits: Twin Crowns of Medical and Combat (Red), Ten Wins, Ten Kills (Red), Pseudo-Natural Sage Body (Red), Strongest Female Ninja (Purple), Phantom Beauty (Purple), Shifting Lights and Shadows (Blue), Sealing Mastery (Blue), Inherited Bloodline (Green), Cursed Gambler (Black)]
---
Kei was very satisfied as he reviewed Tsunade's status panel.
Look at that!
Three red attributes, and all of them were at least somewhat related to him!
Even though [Pseudo-Natural Sage Body] had a "pseudo" tag, stacking all of these abilities together made her powerful enough to utterly crush Kage-level opponents.
In just a short period, he had raised her strength to this level. Who else even stood a chance at challenging her position?
