Chapter 63: The Shocking Event That Rocked the Ninja World — The Black-Robed Organization Is Completely Infamous Now!
At this moment, Uchiha Obito seriously suspected that Byakuya had some connection to the Black-Robed Organization.
The reason?
Byakuya had managed to make Hyūga Hinata become dramatically stronger in an extremely short time!
Although the evidence wasn't exactly ironclad…
it was more than enough for Obito to put him on the list of suspects.
"Konoha…"
Obito gazed into the distance, his eyes gradually growing distant and unfocused.
"Kakashi…
Are you doing well?
I'm… not doing well at all.
Living in this hell every single day… it's pure torture."
...
Under the escort of Byakuya's group,
Tsunade arrived in Konoha without the slightest trouble.
They slipped quietly into the village, then split up.
Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, and Kushina headed straight toward the Hokage Tower together.
Byakuya and Naruto each returned to their own homes.
"I never thought… after all these years away, Konoha would still look exactly the same~"
Tsunade walked along the familiar streets, murmuring softly to herself.
She glanced at the surrounding buildings.
At the nearby shops.
At Ichiraku Ramen.
And finally up at the Hokage Rock.
Everything was so familiar.
So nostalgic.
Before long,
they entered the Hokage Tower.
Inside the Hokage's office, they were greeted by four very familiar faces:
Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura… and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Wait—!
Sarutobi-sensei!?"
All four of them froze in shock at the same time.
They stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen with wide, horrified eyes.
"Hey there~"
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, casually removing the pipe from his mouth and blowing a perfect smoke ring.
"Tsunade, you've finally come back."
"S-Sensei…
What in the world is going on here!?"
Tsunade was completely dumbfounded.
She whipped her head around toward Jiraiya,
convinced this had to be one of his stupid pranks!
But even Jiraiya looked utterly confused.
When he had left, Sarutobi Hiruzen had clearly been on his deathbed.
Not long after that, Konoha had even sent out official notice of the Third Hokage's passing.
So how…
how was he sitting here alive and well?!
"I know you're all surprised.
Honestly… even I was pretty shocked when I realized I wasn't dead.
An old bag of bones like me…
getting tossed back by the Shinigami!
What, did the Shinigami decide I didn't taste good enough?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was in an unusually good mood and even cracked a small joke.
"Actually…
there's no need to be so shocked.
All of this is thanks to that Black-Robed Organization.
They casually brought Kushina back to life.
Extending my life a little longer doesn't seem like such a big deal in comparison, does it?"
"Kushina… revived!?"
Tsunade and Shizune both cried out in unison.
Then they watched as the "ordinary ANBU" who had accompanied them the whole way suddenly dispelled the transformation technique.
In an instant,
a very familiar kunoichi appeared before them.
"Tsunade-sama~
Sorry for the surprise~"
Kushina gave an embarrassed little smile,
then immediately shifted the blame.
"It was all the Third's idea for me to keep it a secret like this."
"This… this is…"
Tsunade looked from Kushina to Sarutobi Hiruzen and back again.
For a moment, her entire worldview felt like it was collapsing.
"Reviving the dead… extending life…
It's really that simple!?"
Her mind drifted to the people she had once fought desperately to save… and failed.
A dazed feeling washed over her.
"This Black-Robed Organization…
Just what kind of terrifying existence are they!?"
Unfortunately,
everyone present desperately wanted the answer to that same question.
So no one could give Tsunade any real reply.
"Tsunade, enough chitchat."
Utatane Koharu spoke up in a stiff, businesslike tone, changing the subject.
"Let's get down to business already."
"Oh… right."
Tsunade replied mechanically.
Right now, her mind was completely filled with thoughts of the Black-Robed Organization.
'If… if I could just find that Black-Robed Organization…
Could they bring back Nawaki and Dan too…?'
The thought made her heart suddenly race with excitement.
At this moment, she desperately wanted to track them down.
"Advisors!!"
Just then, an ANBU burst into the room.
"Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?"
Danzo shot the ANBU a cold glare,
silently criticizing Sarutobi Hiruzen's training standards for the ANBU.
"What's with the panic?
Speak properly!"
"Y-Yes, Lord Danzo!"
The ANBU took a deep breath and reported calmly:
"We've just received intelligence.
A member of the Black-Robed Organization… has completely razed Sunagakure!"
As soon as the words left his mouth,
the entire office fell deathly silent.
"Razed?"
Danzo felt his eyelids twitching violently.
"Is this the kind of 'razed' I think it means?
Give me the details!"
"It's said…
that the Black-Robed Organization member simply stomped her foot once,
and every single house in Sunagakure was destroyed!
Then with a casual wave of her hand, she formed a giant sand palm and sent every charging shinobi flying.
She effortlessly defeated Elder Chiyo as well.
In the end… she turned several of Sunagakure's elders into charred corpses!
Extremely brutal methods!
And…
it's said that this Black-Robed Organization member is none other than Pakura —
Sunagakure's former Scorch Release user, who was supposed to have died many years ago!"
"What!?"
Everyone in the office was utterly stunned by the news.
"This Black-Robed Organization…
Just how powerful are they!?
Who… who in the world is their leader!?"
At this moment,
the same question echoed in every single person's mind.
...
The news of Sunagakure's destruction spread like wildfire across the entire ninja world.
Unlike the previous incident in Kirigakure where they had simply taken someone away,
this time Pakura had directly annihilated Sunagakure.
The nature of the act was far more severe.
In an instant, the "Black-Robed Organization" became a name that struck terror into the hearts of shinobi everywhere!
And the boss of the "Black-Robed Organization" became a legendary, terrifying demon king whose power was unimaginable!
Shinobi and spies from every village sprang into action,
scrambling to gather every possible piece of intelligence about the Black-Robed Organization.
...
Meanwhile,
the very person everyone in the ninja world was desperately searching for —
the boss of the Black-Robed Organization —
was currently eating ramen with Team 7.
"Slurrrp… slurrrp…
Ahahahaha…
Teuchi-san's ramen is still the best in the world!"
Naruto casually wiped his nose with the back of his hand and mumbled through a mouthful:
"It's been so long…
I really missed this!"
"Naruto! You're so gross!"
Sakura barely held back the urge to punch him,
then took the chance to scoot a little closer to Byakuya.
"Byakuya-kun~
We're planning to go visit Kakashi-sensei together.
Do you want to come with us?"
"Kakashi's awake?"
"Yeah~
After the meeting today, Tsunade-sama went straight to the hospital to treat Kakashi-sensei and Lee.
Kakashi-sensei's fine,
he's already awake.
But Lee…
He might never be able to be a shinobi again…"
The moment Sakura said those words,
the mood in the room suddenly turned heavy and cold.
"Don't worry.
He'll be fine.
You have to trust Tsunade's medical skills."
Byakuya gave a gentle smile.
After that, the conversation turned much lighter and happier.
Not long after, the group finished eating, agreed on a time to visit Kakashi, and then went their separate ways.
"Sasuke."
Byakuya didn't head home right away. Instead, he called out to Sasuke first.
"Hm?"
Sasuke turned back with a slightly puzzled look.
"Tomorrow. Training at our usual spot by the river."
"Got it~"
Sasuke nodded, hands in his pockets, and walked off without suspicion.
"Tch~"
Byakuya watched him go and gave a small shake of his head.
"Tomorrow…
Tomorrow is the first day Naruto's going to train with Jiraiya using Sexy Jutsu.
I wonder… what kind of 'amazing' changes are going to happen when you show up there, huh?"
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