NARUTO- CH-144. Wood Release!

But then, he unexpectedly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

This was beyond his expectations.

Itachi realized that he was likely unable to control the situation anymore.

The only option left was to kill him.

Fugaku finally understood everything.

Itachi had been on Konoha's side from the very beginning.

This so-called decapitation plan was merely to eliminate all the hawkish elites of the Uchiha clan in one fell swoop.

It all made sense now.

The earlier doubts he had were resolved in this very moment.

But at that time, he had been too distracted by Itachi opening his eyes and had ignored everything else.

"Really..."

Fugaku closed his eyes, his body slowly collapsing as he descended into complete darkness.

Shimura Danzo stood in silence.

He really wanted to know what Fugaku had wanted to say in his final moments, but it was now meaningless.

The sudden turn of events had frozen everyone in place.

Even Tsunade was shocked.

She didn't recall this being part of the plan.

Fugaku couldn't escape that blade.

"Danzo!" Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped, coming to his senses, "What are you doing?!"

But then he felt a wave of relief.

With Fugaku's death, his Mangekyō Sharingan would no longer pose a threat.

"Is that... Wood Release?" Hiashi couldn't help but speak.

The other ninjas' expressions shifted when they heard this.

Wood Release was a symbol of Konoha Village.

It represented the once invincible ninja god, Hashirama Senju.

But why was Danzo Shimura using Wood Release?

Nara Shikaku's mind began to race, 'Could this be the 'right time' Tsunade had mentioned?'

The Wood Release technique of the Senju clan was now in the hands of a Shimura clan ninja.

Even though he didn't know the whole story, he knew this wasn't normal.

Danzo's methods were always underhanded.

Sarutobi Hiruzen froze, still in shock from Fugaku's death. He hadn't noticed at first that Danzo had used Wood Release.

Now, he was dumbfounded.

'Orochimaru… It's Orochimaru.'

'Dammit!'

Hiruzen quickly pieced it together.

Danzo Shimura had been secretly working with Orochimaru.

No wonder the ninja teams sent to search for Orochimaru had always returned empty-handed.

It was Danzo who had been leaking the information.

But this revelation stung deeply.

"Old man!" Tsunade spoke coldly, "Can you give me an explanation?"

Hiruzen broke into a sweat.

Not just Tsunade, but many jōnin like Hiashi and Shikaku were now looking at him expectantly.

Of course, they were just curious.

But the real problem was that Hiruzen couldn't give them an answer.

How could he explain this?

That they had dug up Hashirama Senju's grave and used his cells for Wood Release experiments, resulting in the deaths of ninjas and villagers?

"I'll explain."

Danzo stepped back, his wooden spike disappearing and his right arm returning to its original form.

But even so, it wasn't entirely 'normal.'

The skin on his arm was unnaturally pale, and a human face could be faintly seen on his shoulder.

"Shut up!"

Hiruzen shouted in a panic!

If this secret were exposed, he would lose all his face.

Could he admit that he didn't know?

But who would believe him?

"Capture Danzo! He's been controlled by the Sharingan!"

Hiruzen reacted quickly.

In the battle between Danzo and Itachi, Itachi had won.

Not only that, but he had also controlled Danzo, killed Fugaku, and was now about to reveal the Wood Release experiments.

But it wasn't too late.

They could still stop him before the truth came out.

The Anbu around them immediately moved forward, but then stopped.

"Let's see who dares to move?!"

Tsunade lifted her foot and slammed it down.

The ground around her cracked and spread out violently.

"Tsunade!" Hiruzen's eyes widened, disbelief on his face, "What are you doing?!"

It was a threat.

A clear, direct threat.

Although Hiruzen knew how important Wood Release was to Tsunade, how could she dare threaten the Hokage in public?

"Tsunade!" Utatane Koharu shouted, "Hiruzen is your teacher and the Hokage. What is this attitude?"

"That's my attitude."

Tsunade answered calmly, "But what are you afraid of?"

"I…"

Hiruzen was momentarily speechless.

For him, the greatest fear wasn't death; it was losing face.

"Tsunade."

Hiruzen's eyes softened as he pleaded, "Wood Release is a secret of Konoha Village. It cannot be known by too many people."

Tsunade remained silent.

Seeing the expression on her teacher's face, she wavered.

Where there was hope, there was also inevitable disappointment.

She had once believed that Hiruzen could lead Konoha to greater heights.

But now, the reality only left her more disillusioned.

"You're old, Master."

Tsunade clenched her fist and declared, "Abdicate."

"Nonsense!"

Hiruzen shouted sternly, "Now is not the time for this."

The senior ninjas watching the scene exchanged glances, shocked by this sudden turn of events.

Hiashi and Nara Shikaku, who had been informed beforehand by Tsunade, couldn't help but feel excited at this moment.

They now knew what the 'right time' was.

"Tsunade!" Utatane Koharu gasped. "Are you crazy?"

She never imagined Tsunade would force the Hokage to abdicate at such a time.

"Enough, Haru!"

Mizutomon grabbed Koharu's wrist and glared at her desperately.

Koharu suddenly understood.

It seemed Sarutobi Hiruzen's reign as Hokage was coming to an end tonight.

The Wood Release experiment had revealed Hiruzen's serious errors.

Tsunade, with her prestigious background, had no real opposition.

The only choice they had now was to support the arrival of the fifth Hokage.

Koharu fell silent.

"Now is the time. All the jōnin are here. We can vote."

Tsunade glanced around at the gathered ninjas and asked, "Who agrees with me becoming Hokage? Who opposes?"

"Tsunade!" Hiruzen's face turned pale, "What do you want…"

He suddenly shuddered and took half a step back.

'No… there's a problem.'

Tonight had been a conspiracy from the very beginning.

__________

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