"Relax, Sasuke is fine, just completely drained of chakra. He'll be back on his feet in three days," Tsunade said to Itachi, the green glow fading from her palms. She turned her gaze toward Kakashi. "Now, give me a full debrief. When did your contact with Itachi begin, and who else is involved?"
Kakashi's observation haki scanned the entirety of Konoha; other than the many familiar signatures of the village ninja or normal citizens, Kakashi didn't feel any signatures he should be wary of.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi's partner in the Akatsuki. Itachi, Kisame, and I have been in contact after the Chunin exams, when the two were sent on a mission to try to kidnap Naruto. The Third Hokage knew the basics of the encounter, but I didn't reveal much besides the fact I chased them off."
Tsunade sighed, shaking her head in dissatisfaction, not with Kakashi, but her sensei; her sensei truly lost the trust of one of Konoha's brightest, if he ever had his trust in the first place.
"So, what is your plan when Sasuke wakes up? He's bound to want answers, answers that only the previous management of Konoha can give."
"I believe the Third owes him an explanation of everything."
Kakashi stared into Tsunade's eyes, searching for a reaction.
"I'm surprised you haven't sought out the answers yourself," he continued, his voice dropping. "The Senju were formally disbanded by the Second Hokage to protect them. Instead, Danzo hunted down what remained, driving them to extinction in his obsession to replicate the First's Wood Release. As the foremost medical ninja in the shinobi world, you must know what came of those experiments. You, of all people, know exactly how miraculous it is for someone to simply survive the cells of the First Hokage."
Tsunade narrows her eyes, wondering where Kakashi was going with this.
"Don't dance around the point, Kakashi, just tell me what you know that I apparently don't."
"Other than you, Tenzo is the last remaining member of the Senju clan."
Kakashi's words hung in the air, seeing the widening of Tsunade's eyes before he continued.
"You would know this if you had read the files down in the Root base concerning the Senju clan," he continued, his tone even. "The children Danzo threw into those experiments weren't random orphans. They were the last young blood of your clan. Even the elderly Senju were harvested for other 'purposes.' It is ridiculous to assume Lord Third was oblivious to any of this. Maybe he didn't realize the absolute scale of the horror until it was already done, but make no mistake, Lady Tsunade. He knew it was happening."
"Konoha still has remnants of the Senju clan—"
Tsunade cut herself off, the defense dying on her lips as Kakashi slowly shook his head.
"But what do those remnants have in common?"
Kakashi led her to the answer, Tsunade's eyes widening in realization.
"Chakra. Their chakra isn't unlocked. They all live normal civilian lives."
Tsunade felt disgust as she came to understand why they were left alive.
"Danzo had no use for them, but if they were to have children with any talent…"
"Yes."
Kakashi nodded solemnly, letting the silence stretch as Itachi sat back and listened with a neutral expression, only his eyes conveying his shock at the information.
"I have something to take care of."
Tsunade's chakra wafted off her in controlled waves, turning to leave when a weak voice called out.
"Wait."
Everyone turned, watching as Sasuke pushed himself up shakily. His gaze locked onto Tsunade, burning with a desperate, absolute need to hear the truth directly from Hiruzen's mouth. It wasn't that he doubted Itachi anymore, not after listening to his brother's confession, and certainly not with his sensei confirming every horrific detail. But Sasuke needed to look him in the eye. He needed to hear the old man explain it all.
"Please…" Sasuke choked out, his voice raw but unwavering. "Let me go with you. I need to know."
Sasuke swung his legs over the edge of the bed despite his severe chakra exhaustion, determined to walk there if he had to, regardless of his condition.
"Sasuke."
Itachi murmured softly as he watched Sasuke gaze into Tsunade's eyes without flinching or backing down from the pressure she was releasing.
Sasuke watched Tsunade walk out, thinking she had left him and getting ready to stand on his own when Kakashi's firm hand pushed down and forced Sasuke to sit.
"She's coming back."
Sure enough, Tsunade returned a few minutes later, pushing a wheelchair into the room.
"Itachi, get up," she commanded sharply. "You're going to be the one pushing him. Put on a transformation jutsu."
Itachi blinked at her sudden order. His body reacted instantly, moving on muscle memory before his mind could even register that he was standing, walking over to Sasuke and picking him up, much to his annoyance, and sitting him down in the chair before applying a transformation, now appearing as a man with short brown hair and slightly above-average looks, not unnoticeable, but not too eye-catching either.
"I've already ordered someone to come clean the room, so you might want to leave unless you want to help."
Tsunade said to Kakashi and blinked when he immediately vanished in a flash of silver.
"Flying Raijin, so we have two who can use that technique now."
Tsunade muttered before turning and walking out of the room with the two Uchiha trailing behind.
- Sarutobi Clan House -
Arriving at Hiruzen's house, Tsunade punched the front door, shattering the heavy wood into a shower of splinters and scraps. She stormed straight inside, leaving a trail of debris in her wake as she led the stunned Uchihas into the residence.
Seconds later, Hiruzen flickered into the entryway, his defensive stance relaxing noticeably the moment he caught sight of them. He immediately let out a heavy sigh at the murderous look on Tsunade's face. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out his pipe and stuffed it with his favorite tobacco. With a sharp snap of his fingers, a spark lit the bowl, and he took a deep, weary drag. A number of things ran through Hiruzen's mind about what could make Tsunade this angry, and he had no clue which one it was. The thought that he knew many things that would make Tsunade furious made him wince.
"Did you really need to break the door?"
Tsunade ignored his attempt at calm. She saw right through to the guilt that flashed across Hiruzen's face the moment he pulled out his pipe. It was a telltale habit of his, a crutch he leaned on whenever he was stressed or hiding a heavy conscience, which had been often, judging by how rapidly the man had aged. He looked far older and more withered than anyone else from his generation.
"You stood back and let Danzo butcher my clan."
The words hit hard, and Hiruzen slouched ever so slightly.
"So, that's what you're here for."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, catching the subtle shift in his tone.
"So, there's more I should know about."
She stood there, her expression remaining icy and unblinking while her mind raced through the dark timeline of Konoha's secrets. A horrifying thought suddenly surfaced. If Danzo had been willing to dig up Sakumo Hatake, what was stopping him from targeting others? What was stopping him from going after the First Hokage's direct lineage?
"If my brother is missing from his grave," Tsunade whispered, her voice dropping to a lethal, trembling register, "I will kill you."
Hiruzen flinched, the sheer lethality in her voice cutting through the thick smoke of his pipe. He quickly took a step back, raising his hands in a rare, completely defensive gesture.
"He is there, Tsunade. I swear it to you on my life," Hiruzen rushed to speak, his voice desperate to defuse the ticking bomb in front of him. "Nawaki is still in his grave. Danzo was a monster driven by an obsession with your grandfather's Wood Release, but even he knew that crossing that line with your brother would have meant the absolute destruction of the village. I personally placed the protective seals on Nawaki's resting place, and I have checked them myself every year. He has not been touched."
"Create a clone; we're checking now."
Tsunade turned back to Itachi and nodded. Itachi got the message and promptly dispelled the transformation technique. While Hiruzen wasn't surprised by the jutsu itself, his pipe nearly dropped from his lips when he saw the face hidden beneath it.
Before the old Hokage could fully process the shock of seeing Itachi Uchiha standing in his home, Tsunade stepped right back into his line of sight, her gaze unyielding.
"You stay here," she ordered Hiruzen, gesturing toward the two Uchiha brothers. "The real you is going to sit down and explain the events surrounding the Uchiha clan from your point of view. Every single detail. But your shadow clone is coming with me to Nawaki's grave right now."
Hiruzen closed his mouth, the initial shock giving way to a weary understanding. He knew he was utterly cornered, but on this one point, his conscience was clear. He formed a single hand seal, and with a sharp pop of smoke, a perfect shadow clone materialized at his side.
"Go," the real Hiruzen said quietly to his double. "Show her that the seals are intact."
The clone nodded to Tsunade and immediately moved toward the shattered doorway, with Tsunade following a step behind, leaving the real Hiruzen alone to face the burning stare of Sasuke.
- Konoha Cemetery -
Going over each and every intricate seal, the shadow clone of Hiruzen nodded with absolute confidence.
"The seals remain intact," he assured her, stepping back from the gravestone. "He is still in here, Tsunade."
Tsunade's eyes remained fixed on the gravestone, her expression unyielding.
"Seals can be reapplied, or bypassed entirely if someone puts in enough effort," she said, her voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Bring him up. I will only believe when I can see him with my own eyes."
The clone of the old Hokage hesitated, his hands dropping from the seal matrix. It wasn't because he lacked confidence; he knew with every fiber of his being that Nawaki's body rested beneath the soil, untouched by Danzo. But the thought of his former student, a woman who had spent so long running from her grief, digging up the decaying remains of her little brother made his stomach turn.
"Tsunade, please," Hiruzen said softly, his voice heavy with reluctant pity. "He is here, I swear it. You don't need to do this. Seeing him like this... it won't bring you the peace you think it will."
"I didn't ask for your pity, I asked for the truth," Tsunade snapped, her posture rigid and unyielding. "I am a medical ninja. I know what death looks like. Unseal the grave, or I will tear this ground apart myself."
The clone stared at her determined expression for a long, silent moment. Realizing there was no changing her mind, he let out a defeated sigh.
Reluctantly, Hiruzen stepped forward and formed a precise sequence of hand signs, channeling his chakra into the headstone to safely unravel the intricate seals. The glowing security scripts faded from the stone one by one, clicking as they dissolved.
With the seals disengaged, he knelt and placed both palms flat against the cemetery grass.
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core," he muttered quietly.
The ground groaned and trembled beneath their feet. Slowly and smoothly, a rectangular pillar of soil rose from the earth, lifting the wooden coffin up to the surface. It sat between them under the gray sky, covered in dirt but completely intact, exactly as it had been left decades ago.
Tsunade stepped forward without hesitation, her hands gripping the edges of the wooden lid. With a sharp, heavy pull, she ripped it free and tossed it aside.
The coffin was completely empty.
A suffocating silence fell over the burial plot. Tsunade slowly turned her head, her gaze locking onto the shadow clone with a raw, murderous rage that radiated off her body in waves of visible chakra.
The clone of the old Hokage stared down into the empty wooden box, his eyes widening in pure horror. The color drained from his face as his composure completely shattered. He wasn't just faking it; Hiruzen was genuinely, utterly stunned.
"This… this is impossible," Hiruzen stammered, his voice trembling as he shook his head in disbelief. "Danzo definitely wasn't the one who did this, Tsunade. I swear to you. If Danzo had even breathed near this site, the sensor wards attached to my own chakra signature would have gone off. I would have known instantly."
He looked up at her, a profound dread washing over his features as he stared at the pristine, unbroken soil that had just surrounded the coffin.
"But these seals… at the time they were placed, there wasn't a single shinobi alive in this village who possessed the knowledge to bypass them without leaving a trace. I don't understand who could have done this. Maybe only Lady Mito, but she wouldn't have done this."
- Back at Sarutobi Clan House -
Hiruzen sat in his living room across from Sasuke and Itachi, his voice steady but heavy as he began to lay bare the long, tragic history of the Uchiha clan's isolation. He detailed the growing friction after the Nine-Tails attack, the forced relocation, and the impossible choices that had ultimately been forced upon the clan. Itachi remained entirely silent, standing just behind Sasuke's wheelchair, a quiet presence for his younger brother.
"I wanted a peaceful resolution," Hiruzen sighed, his eyes fixed on the floorboards as he spoke directly to Sasuke. "But Danzo worked in the dark, exploiting the village's fear with rumors and fanned the fla-"
He abruptly choked on his words.
Miles away at the cemetery, Tsunade's restraint had completely snapped. Blind with fury, she had lashed out, her heeled sandal connecting with the discarded coffin lid. The heavy slab of wood tore through the air like a rocket, slamming dead-center into the shadow clone's chest. With a sharp pop, the clone dissolved into a cloud of white smoke.
Back in the living room, the real Hiruzen gasped. He seized the arms of his chair, his eyes widening as the clone's final memories flooded into his brain. The pristine, untouched seals. The raised coffin. The hollow, empty wood.
The pipe slipped from his trembling fingers, clattering against the floor and scattering hot ash at his feet. He stared blankly ahead, completely paralyzed by the realization that Nawaki was gone, and he had absolutely no idea who had done it.
- Chapter End -
Been a bit busy lately, mostly with family things. Can't catch a break. I do hope you enjoyed the chapter. Before you go, I'd like to address some things.
Some people have been commenting lately, and I feel like replying directly here so everyone can see and no one assumes later.
No, I do not have a Patreon, and that's not the reason I don't upload on a scheduled basis. I have a life, and that's not meant in a sarcastic way; I really just have a life that requires me to help my family. I'd love nothing more than to write 10 chapters per week for you all. (But back to the Patreon thing) I don't want to force any of you to buy something that I wouldn't buy. And while I know I'm not the best, this one is significantly better than the previous two I tried my hand at.
(Even if my fics were better, I wouldn't want anyone to feel obligated to buy my them.)
And second, I'm not sure if this person putting "Author" in quotation marks is their way of saying this isn't my story, and while flattering, it's completely wrong. This is my story; each chapter is typed out by me and me alone. If I were going to translate a story, I'd state as such in the synopsis, and it'd be a much better story than you're reading now.
And lastly, if you directly insult me, you're getting blocked. The ones who have offered constructive criticism know I can take it; many of my reviews have shaped this story (G.O.A.T'S, I really appreciate you all), but I won't be insulted for no reason. You have the right to your opinion, but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to block you for being an asshole.
That's all from me; I'm working on chapters right now, expect more, and try to remember that this is the main story of Naruto, but with a slight AU.