Chapter 180: Making Use of Trash
"Tsunade, we'll leave everything here entirely in your hands. Since the Second Hokage trusts you, we'll also fully support you and help you take control of the Land of Fire."
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura said this calmly to Tsunade, then led everyone away.
As if they hadn't just come to back Danzō up.
As if they hadn't just come to denounce Tsunade.
From a bystander's perspective, these two old fossils were incredibly annoying, like a pair of buzzing flies.
And they perfectly embodied the saying: good people die young, disasters live a thousand years.
They managed to live from the First Hokage's era all the way into Boruto's time.
Ōnoki was already dead, they were still alive.
But honestly, there was a reason they survived that long.
Put nicely, it was called knowing how to read the situation and staying politically flexible.
Put bluntly, they were fence-sitters, whoever was stronger, whoever won, that's who they supported.
They neither obsessed over power nor picked meaningless fights, which naturally let them cling to the top for decades.
This time they backed Danzō because the extermination of the Daimyō's family was too huge of an issue, and because Danzō claimed he had decisive evidence to bring Tsunade down.
Even so, they never said a single word throughout the confrontation, they just let Danzō charge alone.
Turns out that was the smart move.
"These two old bastards…"
Tsunade watched them leave, speechless.
But their nonsense wasn't worth much attention, there were more important things to deal with.
She had Shizune call Ino and Sakura over.
"You two, treat Danzō. Try not to let him die."
She still remembered the two of them complaining that they never had wounded patients to practice medical ninjutsu on.
Well, here you go.
Sakura and Ino began using medical techniques on Danzō.
At the same time, Kushina suddenly noticed something familiar on his body.
She stepped forward and pulled open Danzō's torn clothing.
There was nothing visible, but when she placed her hand on him and injected chakra, black patterns emerged across his body.
"Four Symbols Seal? No… this is…"
Kushina's eyes widened.
Danzō's luck was truly rock bottom.
His few trump cards, the Sharingan and Hashirama's cells, had just been discovered and taken away by the Second Hokage, who had literally just finished researching those exact things and had absurd sensory abilities.
Now, the Reverse Four Symbols Seal on his body was noticed by Kushina, who had just come back from the Uzumaki shrine after deepening her knowledge of sealing techniques while researching how to undo the Reaper Death Seal.
The Four Symbols Seal was originally an Uzumaki clan technique.
"Why would he put sealing jutsu on himself? To suppress the Sharingan and Great-Grandpa's cells?"
Tsunade stepped forward and asked.
"No. This isn't the normal Four Symbols Seal. It's an unactivated Reverse Four Symbols Seal. He didn't use it to suppress anything…"
Kushina was extremely familiar with this seal.
The seal used on Naruto to contain the Nine-Tails was Minato's Eight Trigrams Seal, made by stacking two Four Symbols Seals.
And Minato had learned the Four Symbols Seal from her.
"Not suppression? Then what's it for?"
"I'm not sure. If I had to say… it's pretty much perfect for dragging someone down with you."
Kushina honestly didn't know what Danzō planned to do.
After all, she didn't know he had Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, and even if she did, she wouldn't know how broken its ability was.
"Drag someone down with him?"
Tsunade's expression changed instantly.
With Danzō in this miserable state, he was clearly already at the end of the road.
A cornered dog would jump the wall.
Once Danzō woke up, if he went crazy and blew himself up with whatever that seal did, it would still be Konoha suffering the loss.
"Sakura, Ino, forget it. Stop treating him. Let me handle it."
Tsunade made the decision immediately.
At this moment, she finally understood why her grand-uncle had wiped out the Daimyō's entire family.
Sakura and Ino stood up and stepped aside.
Tsunade walked up to Danzō, clenched her fist, and recalled a line from a letter Shiromo had once written to her.
"Danzō, it's not me who's killing you. It's this chaotic era."
She was about to smash him to death.
"Wait!"
"Hold on!"
Kushina and Shizune shouted at the same time.
"Hm?"
Tsunade froze with her fist raised and looked back at them in confusion.
"Lady Tsunade, if you punch him here, the building will collapse. Maybe switch locations?"
Shizune spoke first.
"Lady Tsunade, I can modify the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, then it won't be dangerous anymore."
Kushina quickly added.
"Modify the seal? Then I won't trouble you with that, Kushina."
Tsunade immediately shook her head at Kushina's suggestion.
"Actually… I want to use this opportunity to undo the Reaper Death Seal."
Kushina sighed and finally told the truth.
Using the Reaper Death Seal and undoing it, both required a living body.
So who would pay with their life?
If it were an enemy and you taught them how to use it, they'd just drag you with them.
If it were an ally, you'd be sacrificing them for nothing.
Until Kushina noticed Danzō.
He was the perfect candidate.
A trigger-type Reverse Four Symbols Seal that could activate even when chakra was depleted and life was fading, as long as she modified it properly…
"Oh? Then you'd better make sure that if Danzō makes any sudden moves, he can't hurt anyone else."
That reasoning finally made Tsunade consider it.
"Of course!"
Kushina hurried to reassure her.
In truth, Tsunade's worry was unnecessary.
At least for a long time to come, Kushina cared about the village, and about Konoha's people, even more than Tsunade did.
So under the hands of Kushina, the Uzumaki sealing master, the Reverse Four Symbols Seal on Danzō's body was rewired.
Ino and Sakura continued healing him in sync to keep him from dying too early.
But to prevent Danzō from waking up in pain while being treated by two rookies, Tsunade thoughtfully had Shizune keep injecting anesthetic.
And so, after an unknown amount of time…
Danzō woke up inside Konoha's prison.
His chakra was sealed, his eyes were covered, it felt like he was wearing some kind of hood.
Yep, classic Konoha prisoner outfit. In the original story, Uchiha Sasuke had worn something similar after the Valley of the End.
Danzō didn't feel anything strange.
He simply began thinking about what he should do next.
.....
Meanwhile, Tobirama returned to the lab with his spoils.
He dumped the severed arm out of the sealing scroll, and casually tossed Shisui's Sharingan into a jar.
"The arm I gave Danzō got taken back by you, Second Hokage-sama? That works too."
Orochimaru wasn't surprised at all when he saw it.
After all, that arm had originally been cultivated from Shin's cells and given to Danzō by him in the first place.
"Go on, where were we just now?"
Tobirama looked at Shiromo and asked.
"You hadn't said anything yet."
Shiromo curled his lip.
"..."
Tobirama paused.
"…Fine."
He picked up the metal tray holding Danzō's arm.
"Perfect timing, this is an even better example to demonstrate the various connections and transformations between my brother's cells and the Sharingan."
(End of this chapter)