On the road to Shadow Rock, Tsunade finally learned from Orochimaru who had secretly used her grandfather's body tissues for Wood Style cell transplantation experiments.
"Danzō Shimura!"
"He was a disciple personally taught by my great-grandfather! How dare he?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, while Orochimaru sneered:
"How could he not dare?"
"With Grandmother Mito gone, there is no one in Konoha who can extend their senses across the entire village."
"Throughout the entire village, perhaps only he felt relieved at Mito's passing!"
Tsunade clenched her fists in anger, her teeth grinding.
"Ungrateful, shameless!"
"I'll kill him today!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, walking ahead, suddenly stopped and gently lowered the brim of his hat, saying in a deep voice:
"Tsunade, don't be rash!"
Tsunade, whose anger had no outlet, immediately turned her target to the elder when Hiruzen suddenly told her not to be rash.
"Old man, are you senile?"
"Danzō Shimura dared to do such a thing in the village, and you still want to protect him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not mind his disciple's disrespectful words, sighed softly, and shook his head:
"I am not so old as to be unable to distinguish right from wrong!"
"What has happened in the village recently, coupled with the modified experimental subjects Orochimaru brought back, naturally led me to guess that these were all Danzō's doing."
"I can understand your anger, but you are not suitable to handle this matter!"
"This matter cannot be brought to light. The villagers need a stable and united Konoha."
"Orochimaru, watch Tsunade and don't let her interfere!"
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not the hypocritical politician of the future who constantly sent the younger generation of Konoha to the battlefield to die while mouthing the Will of Fire.
In this present time, before being completely corrupted by power, he was still, as he had been in the past, a qualified leader who considered the village above all else.
Orochimaru also appropriately stopped the angry Tsunade and gently shook his head at her.
"Teacher Sarutobi is right!"
"Tsunade, it would be better for Teacher to handle this!"
"When Danzō is apprehended, I believe Teacher will give you an explanation!"
Strangely, Tsunade, who had been like a raging lioness moments before, immediately softened her attitude after Orochimaru's persuasion.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded gently, tacitly agreeing with Orochimaru's words.
...
"Hokage-sama, my subordinates have arranged for the Sealing Team ninjas to surround Shadow Rock. The barrier can be raised at any time!"
"However..."
Sakumo Hatake returned from his mission and appeared before the three with a Shunshin. After reporting to Hiruzen Sarutobi, he seemed hesitant to speak.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly and asked in confusion:
"However what?"
Sakumo Hatake nodded slightly.
"Yes!"
"Violent chakra fluctuations have been detected below Shadow Rock. Judging by their intensity, the combatants are likely Jonin-level."
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively exchanged a glance with Orochimaru, and a thought struck both of them simultaneously.
Danzō wanted to destroy evidence!
This was not difficult to guess. As the "pot king" of the ninja world, Danzō, while shouldering the heavy burden of being scapegoated, had also honed the art of shifting blame.
Internal conflict arising at this juncture likely meant Danzō had caught wind of something, prompting him to take this self-preserving action.
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a cold snort and immediately charged towards Shadow Rock.
"Moving so hastily, you must have many secrets hidden, Danzō!"
"I'd like to see how you protect Konoha, which you always talk about!"
The group quickly followed and arrived below Shadow Rock moments later.
"Raise the barrier. Without my command, no one is to enter or leave!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order. The Sealing Team ninjas immediately took out the pre-prepared large sealing scrolls for the barrier, each holding one, and formed hand seals simultaneously.
"Barrier Gate Linkage Charm - Eight Gates Seal, Rise!"
With a synchronized shout, four towering gates rose from around Shadow Rock. The Four Symbols divine beasts carved on the gates began to glow, and a massive barrier instantly took shape, completely enclosing Shadow Rock.
Inside the barrier, the light warped and shifted, making it impossible to discern any activity from the outside.
As for the "Eight Gates Seal" mentioned, only four gates were summoned. Orochimaru speculated that perhaps the barrier's formation was inspired by the concept of the Four Symbols generating the Eight Trigrams.
...
"Summoning Jutsu - Baku!"
Danzō dodged a lightning snake that descended from the sky, and as his body lunged towards Hiruzen, he quickly formed the hand seals for the summoning jutsu.
"Moo!"
A melodious ox cry echoed with the dissipating smoke in the underground base. The enormous dream-eating beast, Baku, as soon as it appeared, flicked its long nose and forcefully inhaled in Hiruzen's direction.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A powerful storm erupted out of nowhere. The fierce winds unleashed by Baku's innate ability contained no trace of chakra.
Hiruzen, caught off guard, found his plan to absorb it with his Dark Style chakra foiled. His body was uncontrollably drawn into Baku's maw.
Danzō's expression turned grim. He instantly appeared behind Hiruzen, his cheeks puffed out, and unleashed a powerful Wind Style chakra.
"Wind Style - Vacuum Sphere!"
The Wind Style chakra, amplified by the gale generated by Baku, instantly transformed into countless wind spirits wielding sharp blades. These Kamaitachi-like wind constructs, like fish in water, became a torrent of violent wind blades under the gale's enhancement, crashing into Hiruzen's back.
"Roar..."
Hiruzen let out an inhuman scream. His body, encased in Steel Style, was instantly torn by countless wounds under this sudden surprise attack.
To be fair, Danzō's Wind Style jutsu, when launched from behind, could even shatter the defense of Susanoo in a single blow. Although Hiruzen's Steel Style defense was strong, it was far inferior to Susanoo.
"Hiruzen, I told you, my combat experience is superior to yours!"
"A mere Jonin achieved through unconventional means dares to be audacious before me!"
"You killed so many of my subordinates, now pay with your life!"
Danzō did not mourn the lives of his subordinates. Being inherently cold-blooded, he cared little for anyone's life. Although these subordinates were merely his tools, they were very effective. The loss of nearly half of them to Hiruzen's Storm Style was a source of considerable anger for Danzō.
Hiruzen screamed and rolled down from the air. Seizing the opportunity, Baku stopped inhaling and raised its two massive forelegs, stomping down heavily on his battered body.
"Damn you, Danzō, you forced me!"
Hiruzen roared in anger, and his figure suddenly vanished from beneath Baku's feet.
"Storm Style - Storm Dragon!"
Hiruzen, appearing below the lightning clouds, ignored his own riddled body as if he felt no pain. He rapidly formed a string of hand seals.
The Storm Style lightning flickering above his head instantly converged, and with a roar, a black dragon exuding an aura of death emerged from the dark clouds.
"Roar!"
With an enraged dragon's cry, the black dragon shot down from the dark clouds, smashing Baku into a puff of smoke and forcefully sending the troublesome creature back to the summoning realm.
Having achieved its goal, the lightning dragon, its body radiating black lightning, twisted and turned, its head shaking and tail wagging as it lunged at Danzō.
Seeing the lightning dragon's fierce attack, Danzō calmly stepped back, letting the remaining Root ninjas temporarily hold the line while he swallowed a soldier pill to quickly restore his chakra.
Hiruzen gagged, coughed up a bottle of emerald green liquid from his mouth full of terrifying fangs, and gulped it down.
As soon as the potion, which contained the essence of countless animal lives, entered his body, Hiruzen's wounds began to heal at a visible rate.
Grinning savagely, he tore off the scattered bandages and, with a flash of his figure, followed below the Storm Dragon, charging into the midst of the Root ninjas.
"Round two, begin!"