Chapter 98. Confrontation.

He knew she was trouble.

Hiruzen believed Sakura was an ordinary child, but Danzo was not so easily deceived. Prodigies had blood lineage, but she was the child of a mediocre shinobi couple. Even if the couple were a beast on the battlefield, they weren't as great as the clans. There was no reason Sakura should be as strong as she was. He suspected she was an imposter, but the council defended her and dropped the investigation.

Now look at what happened.

He had to rely on word of mouth since he evacuated with the civilians, but Sakura had gone and done it. The story was hard to believe, but he trusted his ANBU's words.

Sakura slayed a dragon.

She awakened a power comparable to a legendary beast, yet she was supposed to be a civilian child! Danzo gripped his cane tightly as they marched through the halls. The Kages were down, and the general was busy with his village affairs; this was the perfect time to strike. He would usurp power and gain control. As a council member, it was his right to be the leader behind Hiruzen. He would have her summit less she blows her cover.

Never once did Danzo think the power comparable to a dragon would turn on him. To attack him would be attacking the leaf and punishable by death. He defeated a monster like Shisui with his loyal ANBUs; he wasn't afraid of her.

Danzo's ANBU rushed into the room to secure his entrance. With their arrival, the room became tense. Everyone was on guard and ready for a fight.

Danzo leisurely entered the meeting room Sakura set up in. The arrogant girl sat in the head chair like a throne, surrounded by loyal servants. Danzo paused. Those weren't ordinary shinobi, he realized. Weren't those the tail beasts of the other villages?

He surveyed the room, taking note of the Clan Heirs and their teammates scattered throughout. It was as he feared; she already had control of the clan's future. His eyes paused on Shikaku Nara, and he frowned.

On his way to Sakura, he came across the Nara head nursing his teammate back to health. He thought nothing of it, not expecting to see the Nara at Sakura's side. Shikaku was one of the clans that defended Sakura; Danzo should have known this man would betray him.

Shikaku stood before the boys as Danzo's gaze lingered on them. It wouldn't be good if the old bat attacked. Fortunately, Danzo had other, more pressing matters to address. He looked at his target, and Sakura smiled at him smugly.

"Sakura Haruno!" He spoke with authority. "As the highest authority, I order you,"

"Who is the highest authority?" asked the girl with a deep voice, interrupting Danzo.

He frowned.

Aside from her appearance, he heard nothing of this anomaly.

He pushed on.

"As the Hokage is out of commission and I am a council member, I have the highest authority after the Hokage!" he announced.

"You dare to say that nonsense in our presence?" Sakura said with a cold tone. She rested her chin on her fist and looked down at him as though he were an ant. "Even if we excuse power, We alone hold the highest authority in this land."

"You dare to commit treason by defying me!" Danzo purposely raised his voice. This scenario was what he wanted. If Sakura defied him here, he could charge her with treason. Even if he couldn't kill her, he could exile her from the village and have the other villages deal with her.

"It's amusing that you don't know your place," Sakura sighed, like a tired parent explaining the world to a child. "You said it yourself; you are lower than a Kage, so what makes you think you have authority over Us?"

"You think yourself a Kage now," Danzo glared. "That power must have gone to your head. Power alone doesn't qualify you to become a Kage!"

"Hm," Sakura hummed. "Are you sure that's not the case? If not, why do you do such heinous things to get stronger?"

The room stilled.

Those who didn't know looked confused; those who did stood ready to fight.

"I don't know," Danzo began.

"Forget it!" Sakura waved him off, sitting up, resting both on the armrest. Danzo's ANBUs readied for a fight, but Sakura didn't move immediately. "I can't handle this guy, Hashirama. Deal with your worthless student!"

"Hashirama?" Danzo wondered. The report that the first Hokage appeared on the battlefield made Danzo still. Could it be that his teacher was here still and not back in the world of the dead?

Two puppets appeared before them and looked at Danzo with blank faces. Sakura reached for them, and their form jerked before glowing with Chakra and steam.

Sakura's hair and eyes turned black when the puppets stood with more life. One puppet's hair turned white and their eyes red, while the other's eyes turned black. The one with white hair rotated their shoulder, working out the kinks of their new body. The other, however, looked back at Sakura with sad eyes.

Sakura frowned at the puppy eyes she received.

"Deal with this first," she said simply.

"What is this!" Danzo demanded. He was expecting the first Hokage, not two puppets with their names.

"It must really be a long time if you're this old, Danzo," the white-haired puppet spoke in a familiar voice. Danzo gaped at the puppet.

"Didn't you see Hiruzun?" the other puppet asked. He was so old." Hashirama's voice was playful. "There's also a fourth Hokage now, so generations must have passed."

The two began to bicker, and Shikamaru was baffled as he pisces it together.

"She didn't defeat the Kages," he muttered.

"She ate them," Shikaku confirmed.

Neji dared to activate his Byakugan and was stunned by what he saw. The two puppets were connected to Sakura still by two chakra cords that looked too much like umbilical cords. Sakura's chakra was still muddled, but not as much as before. She really did eat them.

He felt sick.

Danzo's cane cluttered to the ground, getting everyone's attention.

"Sensei," he breathed in disbelief. Even as Orochimaru said he was working on bringing the dead to life, Danzo never once thought he would see his Senseis again.

"Don't call me that," Tobirama refuted. He looked at his student in disguise. "If you wanted the Kage spot so badly, you should have risked your life for it!" he yelled.

In truth, after learning the turn, Tobirama felt guilty. He gave the right to rule the village to the one willing to die for it. At the time, Hiruzen was the one to speak up despite knowing only death awaited him. He was willing to sacrifice it all for his friends. It was what Tobirama believed was best for the village, and he was right, to an extent. He was still looking through the memories, but he must not be a good sensei if his students turned out like this.

"All this for power," he scoffed. "Those who seek power for selfish gains don't deserve it. In the end, Saru was the best choice."

Tobirama's words shook Danzo's world. To hear such things from the one you admire most. He didn't believe it, it was some trick, his sensei would never look at him like that. The puppets took Sakura's form with changes to the hair and eyes to reflect the soul. They looked nothing like the first and second Hokage; it was just Sakura trying to fool him.

He chuckled darkly.

"Hiruzen is the only fool among Lord Senju's students. Your petty tricks won't work on me," Danzo informed her.

Sakura looked down at him with pity. He was in denial. That was only the first stage of grief.

"As an elder of the Leaf village and the highest authority, I order you to stand down!" he commanded. "You will remain in isolation until the situation resolves. You've caused enough damage."

"Damage!?" Kiba was outraged. "She's the one that saved this place!"

"And in doing so, put the village at risk!" Danzo yelled. "The village will be attacked because of her."

"What bullshit is that!?"

The Genins looked at each other with confusion while the Jonins stared in disbelief. Sakura's action put the fear of god in the other nations; they were unlikely to attack the Leaf for fear of death. It was the same case as with the nine tails; they were too scared to attack because of Naruto.

"Ah, that reminds me," Tobirama mused. "Those Lighting bastards attacked us, didn't they? This conflict would be a great opportunity for revenge."

Tobirama released a wave of killing intent that shook the room.

"Those bastards are responsible for my death. You'll have to forgive me for holding a grudge."

Danzo gritted his teeth. He knew this feeling, this chakra. His sensei was a patient man, but it was difficult to calm him when angered.

"Tobi."

The voice was small but held all the authority of a noble. Tobirama immediately suppressed his bloodlust and humphed.

Hashirama turned to Danzo then and smiled weekly. Even with the truth revealed, he couldn't see past the little boy who looked at him with admiration.

"Regardless of our misgivings, as former Hokage, you can trust we have Sakura handled," he assured Danzo.

"Enough!" Danzo locked eyes with Hashirama and activated the genjutsu. "Surrender, or you'll be executed! Sakura is too dangerous to live!"

"I didn't believe it before, but you really did use me until the end," Hashirama muttered sadly.

"Hashirama?" Tobirama turned to his brother.

"Even after defiling my body, you want to control my mind?"

Danzo flinched. His eyes widened with shock. His genjutsu didn't work.

"To think you would dishonor a noble clan like this!" his shout shook the room and cracked the floor. Everyone fell to their knees because of the pressure. Danzo staggered back but stubbornly refused to fall.

Sakura chuckled.

"Look what you've done; you made him mad."

The ground exploded, and the room was suddenly a forest. Trees wrapped around the room, roots clinging to the ceiling, and shinobis scattered. For a Leaf shinobi, this was home, but this was Hashirama's domain. Suddenly, Danzo and his ANBUs played "The Trees Are Lava."

Danzo looked around in a panic; he had once seen the First Hokage in battle and knew the devastation his jutsu could bring. Being in a forest with him was a death sentence.

Taking a deep breath, Danzo fired a Vacuum wave at Hashirama.

It didn't reach him.

A tree trunk formed before the Senjus tanked the attack. In retaliation, the tree reached for Danzo with killing intent. Danzo clicked his teeth and leaped back and away from the offended free. He landed some distance away; unfortunately, it was on an exposed root. The root burst from the ground and sought to crush him.

Frustrated at his predicament, Danzo retaliated.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!" a storm of cutting wind sliced through the forest and made a clearing for him to land.

Seeing a safe space to land, his ANBUs surrounded him protectively.

"Lord Danzo!" they cried in concern.

"Don't worry about me," he assured them. "Get rid of her."

His ANBUs moved. They aimed their blades at Sakura, but it was useless.

The shadow below their feet moved with them, trapping them in place. Confused, they tried to look back, yet their body refused to move; only their eyes were independent. They glanced down to find the Nara shadow binding technique. Hands of shadow reached up to their necks and squeezed.

"Shikaku!" Danzo yelled. "You dare to betray the village!"

"You're the one trying to hurt the Hokage vessel," Shikaku said lazily.

"Traitors, all of you!" Danzo cursed. Taking a deep breath, he fired a wind jutsu at the Nara.

"Crap," Shikaku cursed.

Purple chakra exploded around him, taking the form of a ribcage before him, and blocked the attack. Sasuke stepped forward with a murderous look in his eyes. Sakura and Itachi were never fond of this man, and he was starting to share their sentiments.

"Stand down, Danzo," Asuma advised. "This isn't a battle you can fight."

Danzo glared at his god son. How dare he take that woman's side; he was just as bad as his father.

"I will do what's best for the village!" he declared.

"Pray tell, what is good for the village?" Sakura mocked him. "Is it you exposing the Nine Tails' host's identity and making the village hate him?" she stood from her chair. "Is it partaking in experiments on orphans?" Hashirama and Tobirama returned to her body. Her hair turned white, and her eyes became pale. "Is it starting a war in a foreign village and ruining many lives?" she walked down to his level. "Conspiring to exterminate a clan for their eyes?"

She stopped before him. "Or perhaps, is it continuously trying to assassinate the Hokage?"

Kakashi looked away with a wince, and Sasuke's veins throbbed.

"You know nothing!" Danzo cried.

"On the contrary, I know too much. I should have killed you years ago," Saskura said regretfully. "My mistake," she raised her hand into the air. "Let me rectify that!"

The room exploded.


Next Chapter

March 1.