Chapter 49: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Concealing His True Intentions

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The Situation in Sunagakure

The state of affairs in Sunagakure could only be described as utterly devastating.

Among those who survived Uchiha Madara’s Tree World Technique, it wasn’t just the four from Konoha—Chiyo of Suna also lived to tell the tale.

Yes, Chiyo herself.

At the time, if it hadn’t been for the Third Kazekage’s Magnetic Release Iron Sand shielding her, she would have perished. Even so, Madara’s Lightning Release: Extreme Thousand Birds had pierced through the protective layer of iron sand, leaving Chiyo severely wounded. When the Third Kazekage pulled her out of the iron sand cocoon, she was drenched in blood.

Though she appeared gravely injured, her wounds weren’t as severe as they seemed. After handing Chiyo over to other shinobi, the Third Kazekage went on to confront Madara.

However, for Chiyo, the nightmare had only just begun.

She had witnessed firsthand the backbone of Suna’s forces—the Third Kazekage—lose an arm to Madara. She saw the Kazekage’s ultimate technique effortlessly countered by Madara, followed by the Kazekage’s death at his hands. Finally, she watched as Madara unleashed the legendary Wood Release, slaughtering her comrades with ruthless efficiency.

Exhausting all her puppets, Chiyo barely managed to survive the merciless onslaught of Madara’s Tree World Technique. Even so, she emerged gravely injured.

Dragging her battered body, Chiyo trudged through the endless desert for a full day and night before finally reaching Sunagakure.

Barely clinging to life, Chiyo delivered a heart-wrenching report to Suna’s leadership: the Third Kazekage had been killed by Uchiha Madara, and Suna’s forces had been nearly annihilated.

After reporting this grim news, Chiyo was rushed to the hospital. Whether she would survive was uncertain.

Meanwhile, Sunagakure was thrown into chaos. The loss of their Kazekage and the decimation of their forces left the village in shock, especially upon learning that the perpetrator was none other than Uchiha Madara. Fear gripped the village.

At this point, their thoughts were not of avenging the Third Kazekage but rather of how to prevent Madara from returning to wreak further havoc on Suna.

For several days, the village remained on edge, bracing for another attack. When no sign of Madara appeared, they began to breathe a little easier.

Ironically, once the initial panic subsided, Sunagakure descended into internal strife. With no clear leader, various factions within the village began vying for the position of Kazekage, openly clashing in their power struggles. They showed no regard for the fact that Suna had already suffered catastrophic losses.

Amidst this turbulent undercurrent, Chiyo—who had barely survived and been stabilized—watched coldly from the sidelines.

Her heart had grown cold. Her revered Third Kazekage lay dead, and Suna was in ruins, yet these people were already embroiled in infighting. Chiyo’s faith in her village plummeted to zero. Spiritually broken, she sank into despair.

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The Situation in Konoha

On the Konoha side, after Hatake Sakumo returned to the main camp with Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, he immediately ordered the entire shinobi force to pack up and retreat. Without explaining what had transpired, he led the bewildered Konoha troops back to the village without delay.

Upon their return, the four of them hurried to report to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

In the Hokage’s office, the four stood before Hiruzen, their expressions tense as they recounted the events in detail…

After listening carefully, Hiruzen’s jaw dropped in shock. The pipe clenched between his teeth fell to the floor with a clatter!

“What!? Uchiha Madara!? A devastating Lightning Release technique!? Killed the Third Kazekage!? And Wood Release!? Wiped out the entire Suna shinobi force!?”

Sakumo, Tsunade, and Jiraiya nodded fervently, like chickens pecking at grains of rice.

Hiruzen’s eyes glazed over as he struggled to process the shocking news. His jaw hung open for what felt like an eternity.

How could this be possible!? There had never been any mention of Madara possessing such potent Lightning Release techniques. And Wood Release? That was even more inconceivable!

Thinking of Wood Release, Hiruzen couldn’t help but recall Konoha’s secret research into the technique—particularly their experiments on the highly active cells extracted from the preserved remains of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

Even Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, harbored admiration for Hashirama’s legendary Wood Release, which had earned him the title of “God of Shinobi.” Thus, when Danzo had requested permission to use Hashirama’s remains for research, Hiruzen had acquiesced silently.

But while Konoha had made little progress in their study of Wood Release and Hashirama’s cells, their greatest enemy, Uchiha Madara, had somehow mastered it!

With the Mangekyō Sharingan and now Wood Release, was Madara planning to ascend to godhood!?

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Hiruzen’s temple. He bent down to retrieve the fallen pipe, forgetting to wipe it before absentmindedly shoving it back into his mouth.

As the leader of the village, Hiruzen’s reaction spoke volumes about the magnitude of this revelation.

Standing before him, Tsunade was even more agitated. After all, Wood Release belonged to the Senju clan. Slamming her hands on Hiruzen’s desk, she urgently addressed him:

“Sensei Hiruzen! I suspect Uchiha Madara may have tampered with my grandfather’s remains! Otherwise, where could he have obtained Wood Release!?”

Snapping out of his daze, Hiruzen felt a chill run down his spine.

He couldn’t allow Tsunade to investigate the First Hokage’s tomb. If she discovered that the remains interred there were not truly Hashirama’s, not only would Tsunade explode in anger, but the surviving members of the Senju clan—and even Uzumaki Mito—would be driven to fury.

A single drop of sweat formed on Hiruzen’s brow as he forced himself to remain calm and placate Tsunade:

“Tsunade, don’t worry about this. The First Hokage’s tomb is guarded day and night; nothing untoward has happened. Right now, our priority should be dealing with Uchiha Madara. After all, Madara poses a grave threat to Konoha…”

Tsunade frowned, her instincts telling her that Hiruzen was hiding something.

Before she could press further, however, a puff of white smoke erupted beside them as Jiraiya suddenly vanished from the room, interrupting both Tsunade’s suspicions and Hiruzen’s evasive explanations.

Chapter end