Uchiha the Madman: He embodies truth and obliterates reality.

The troublesome fellow is gone; they'd better fight to the death in Amegakure. That way, the one who benefits will be... oh no, it will be Konoha!

Danzo sneered inwardly.

...

...

It was dusk when I came out of the Hokage Building.

Jiraiya saw Tsunade leaning against a large tree, waiting for him.

"Tsunade, what are you doing here?" Jiraiya walked up to Tsunade and asked somewhat guiltily.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya. "What did you say to the old man?"

"It's nothing, I just told Tsunade that I wanted to go to Amegakure." Jiraiya didn't hide anything and told Tsunade.

Tsunade shook her head. "I knew it."

"Haha, I wanted to leave quietly, but it seems I failed!" Jiraiya laughed and scratched his head.

Tsunade stared at him: "We've only just reunited, and we already have to part ways? Do you really have to go?"

"I'm so happy! Are you worried about me?" Jiraiya said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade quickly turned her head away, saying, "Who's worried about you? Don't flatter yourself."

"Yeah..."

Jiraiya smiled, then said in a serious tone, "No matter what, I have to go. It's my mission, and I should have done it a long time ago."

"Don't talk nonsense! Nobody put those missions on your head, don't be so self-important, you idiot!" Tsunade turned around and angrily punched Jiraiya in the chest, but this time she didn't use her full strength.

"Hahaha!!"

Jiraiya felt the pain in his chest, but he smiled confidently at Tsunade and said, "Don't worry! I'm one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha! Even if something really happens, I can get out of there unscathed."

"Idiot...stop trying to look cool."

Tsunade glared at Jiraiya with displeasure. "Do you know how dangerous this trip is? The person you're going to investigate has the Rinnegan."

"I know!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily, "But there's no other way. In order for Konoha to find a way to extricate itself from this crisis, I have to do this."

"Is Konoha that important to you?!" Tsunade exclaimed in alarm.

"what."

Jiraiya nodded, his face serious. "Konoha is incredibly important to me, as are the innocent people in this world."

Then, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and said, "It's the same with your former lover Dan and your younger brother Nawaki. They both lost their lives for Konoha, didn't they?"

Tsunade recalled Dan and Nawaki's appearances and whispered, "Jiraiya, you know... I don't want to lose you too."

"Some things are unavoidable, and the situation isn't as bad as you think. I might not necessarily fight them. After all, they also want to cooperate with the five major powers..."

After saying that, Jiraiya forced a smile and said to Tsunade, trying to appear optimistic.

"If anything happens, have the toad contact me. I'll definitely come over," Tsunade said hurriedly.

Jiraiya smiled and nodded, "Ah... I will. If you really want me to come back, Tsunade, bet that I will definitely come back! Aren't you always losing bets?"

"You bastard." Tsunade's voice choked with emotion.

"All right."

Jiraiya turned around, waved to Tsunade with his back to her, and said, "I have to go! Goodbye!"

"Ah," Tsunade responded.

And so, as Tsunade watched Jiraiya's figure gradually disappear, two lines of clear tears unconsciously streamed down her face.

You absolutely have to come back! You bastard!

Chapter 65 Nightmare in My Heart

Inside the Hokage's office.

Danzo sent Hiruzen to inspect the area, while he himself remained alone in his office.

After using Shisui's Sharingan to control Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo truly felt free from restraint. The feeling of having all his strength focused in one direction was just too damn good!

Danzo thoroughly enjoyed this.

Previously, his decisions required Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval before they could be issued, but now no one could question his decisions. This was because the one issuing the orders had become the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—his puppet, Danzo.

Sitting in the chair reserved for the Hokage, Danzo's lips curled into a wild smile. "Finally, I can sit in the Hokage's seat myself."

"Humph."

Danzo, sitting on the chair, let out a cold laugh. "It'll be soon. My time is coming. Soon I'll become Hokage."

“However… now is not the time.” Danzo muttered to himself as he sat in his chair.

Danzo had his own thoughts on becoming Hokage.

He wanted to wait for the right opportunity, until he had established his prestige in the hearts of the people, before having Hiruzen hand over the position of Hokage to him.

Danzo believed in his heart that Hiruzen and the others were just cowardly and incompetent people, and that only he, Danzo, could lead Konoha out of this meteorite crisis!

Without him, Konoha would surely face destruction. No one else could do it! Only Danzo possessed this ability!

Only he can become Hokage and save Konoha! Save the world!!

Upon realizing this, Danzo couldn't help but feel a little excited.

After the initial excitement subsided, Danzo temporarily set aside this tempting idea. Becoming Hokage was still a long way off; he had more important things to do now: fulfill his promise to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru is still useful to Danzo, who needs Orochimaru's technology to research a way to save the ninja world. As someone deeply involved with Orochimaru, Danzo is well aware of Orochimaru's research capabilities. It's safe to say that there's no other talent in the world quite like Orochimaru.

Therefore, in order to win over Orochimaru, Danzo didn't hesitate to hand over Sasuke Uchiha and forbidden techniques. All this was to gain Orochimaru's loyalty.

Now that I've controlled Hiruzen with my Sharingan, it's time to fulfill my promise to Orochimaru.

Danzo slowly rose from his seat.

"There will be too many people around during the day, so let's move at night," Danzo thought to himself.

...

...

at the same time--

After arranging Sasuke's accommodation after his discharge from the hospital, the Anbu Ryusa, who had been tasked with taking care of Sasuke, came to the Konoha hospital to pick up the fully recovered Uchiha Sasuke.

The Anbu Quicksand first signed the discharge papers for Uchiha Sasuke, and then took the taciturn boy with them out of the hospital.

Along the way, the villagers talked about Sasuke, and from time to time, some villagers cast sympathetic glances at him.

"Is that child the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan? How pitiful."

"It's him! It's really tragic! He's probably the only one left from such a large family!"

"That's right! Itachi Uchiha was truly heinous; what kind of things did he do!"

"This child is so pitiful. Itachi Uchiha has done so many bad things."

Sasuke lowered his head as he listened to the villagers' chatter.

Seeing this, Liu Sha shielded Sasuke in front of him, trying his best to prevent him from being disturbed by the villagers' words.

Soon... Ryusha led Sasuke to a residence on the west side of Konoha.

Liu Sha pointed to the house in front of him, her tone gentle: "Sasuke, this is your home."

My...home?

Young Sasuke stared blankly at the house. What a joke... his home... had been destroyed by that man long ago. What home did he have left?

Liu Sha and Sasuke entered the house together.

The room is quite spacious, more than enough for two people. In addition, it's fully equipped with appliances and furniture. Overall, this accommodation is considered quite comfortable in Konoha Village.

Looking at the short, dark-haired boy in front of him, Liu Sha felt it was necessary for someone taking care of a child for the first time to introduce himself. This would also help them get along better in the future.

Anbu member Ryusa removed the animal mask from his face and smiled at Sasuke, saying, "Hello Sasuke, I'm the one who's looking after you today. My name is Ryusa."

"Let's get along well from today onwards, Sasuke!" With that, Ryusa extended his hand to Sasuke, wanting to shake his hand.

Despite the approaching gestures of the Quicksand Gang, Sasuke ignored them and went into the bedroom to lie down on the bed.

"Ugh..."

Liu Sha sighed. He was thinking of getting along well with Sasuke, after all, the Hokage had entrusted him to take care of Sasuke, so he had to at least get along with Sasuke!

But now, looking back, it's clear that his attempt to curry favor was a waste of time and energy.

Liu Sha shook his head, deciding not to get involved in Sasuke's affairs any further.

As night fell, perhaps because he was too tired, Sasuke closed his eyes, lay down on the bed, and slowly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Liu Sha, who had been keeping watch in the living room, went to sleep after confirming that Sasuke was asleep.

After an unknown amount of time... Sasuke, lying on the bed, gradually drifted off to sleep.