Chapter 174: Sarutobi Hiruzen: “what The Hell Is Tsunade Doing?!” Slaying Three Snake Princesses In A Row!
Tatsuta-hime’s massive snake pupils reflected the figure above the wooden golem’s head. Her heart was already in turmoil, her eyes filled with unthinkable disbelief, and she even felt an unprecedented absurdity.
She had lived for a millennium and witnessed countless strange individuals who believed in bizarre “Ninja Ways.”
But like the Uchiha ninja before her, who dared to charge single-handedly into Ryuchi Cave Sacred Land solely for the ethereal ideal of “Punish Evil and Promote Good,” there was only this one case!
She could sense Tashin-no-Hime’s faint aura embedded in the rock wall.
She saw the terrifying piercing wound on Ichikishima-hime’s body emitting green smoke.
Manda’s mutilated remains were still emitting a scorched smell not far away.
Intense horror pierced her soul like icy cold needles.
‘No… I must stall for time! Great White Snake is powerful; it will surely sense this brutal battle! Just hold on a little longer, and Great White Snake will definitely come to save us!’
“You, human ninja…” Tatsuta-hime endured the churning scalding pain within her body. Her massive snake head reared up, forcing herself to calm down, her voice hoarse.
“What exactly is the basis for your judgment of good and evil, right and wrong? You know, you and I aren’t even the same species!”
Her massive vertical pupils stared fixedly at Ikeizumi: “We of Ryuchi Cave follow the natural laws of survival of the fittest and natural selection! Survival, evolution, slaughter—that is our ‘Ninja Way’!”
“On what basis do you use your humans’ hypocritical moral standards to confidently deem our adherence to our own survival laws as the actions of ‘inexcusable’ villains?!”
Uchiha Ikeizumi looked at her indifferently, his scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan showing no ripples whatsoever.
Tatsuta-hime’s sophistry about “natural laws” and “human morals” went in one ear and out the other for him.
“Because I am human.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s icy voice carried no emotional fluctuation.
This brief reply completely stunned Tatsuta-hime, blocking all the words she wanted to say.
Uchiha Ikeizumi had no interest in debating with a red name villain.
He clapped his hands together fiercely.
The lava beneath his feet instantly turned scarlet and softened, like a volcano suppressed for millions of years finally finding an outlet. Viscous, scalding lava emanating destructive aura surged upward like boiling blood.
Massive amounts of lava quickly gathered and shaped. In the blink of an eye, it coalesced into a ferocious lava dragon head even larger than the wooden golem’s skull, entirely composed of molten lava!
The lava dragon head was lifelike, its dragon mouth wide open, revealing sharp fangs formed from flowing lava.
Lava dripped continuously from the corners of its mouth like saliva, sizzling upon hitting the ground and rising in bursts of white smoke.
The massive lava dragon head lunged toward Tatsuta-hime’s position!
“Hiss—?!”
Tatsuta-hime’s vertical pupils contracted instantly to pinpoints. The fatal sense of crisis made all the scales on her body stand on end!
In the critical moment, Tatsuta-hime twisted her massive snake body with all her might.
Attempting to roll sideways to dodge.
However, her enormous body after reverting to snake form became a fatal burden at this moment; her movements were particularly clumsy before the lava dragon head.
Psssh—!!!
The terrifying sound of a scalding branding iron pressed into butter erupted abruptly. Tatsuta-hime’s tough scales melted instantly upon contact with the lava dragon head’s fangs, like ice and snow under fierce fire.
The lava’s horrific high temperature instantly carbonized the contacting flesh and bones.
“Hiss aaaahhh!!!”
A pain intense enough to tear the soul swept through Tatsuta-hime’s entire consciousness like a tsunami. Her massive snake body was bitten clean in half!
The severed section was scorched black, with entrails and fractured bones exposed to the air, swiftly carbonized by the residual lava’s high temperature!
Tatsuta-hime’s upper snake body twisted and thrashed wildly, while the lower half went limp. The scalded wound at the break instantly burst open.
Blood sprayed out like a breached flood, only to evaporate rapidly under the high heat.
A shrill wail unlike any snake’s, filled with endless pain and despair, echoed long under Ryuchi Cave’s dome!
On the other side, Ichikishima-hime witnessed with her own eyes Tatsuta-hime being bisected at the waist by a single bite from the lava dragon head.
Ichikishima-hime’s mind raced in terror.
‘Manda has a violent temper and isn’t particularly close to me! Orochimaru is merely Manda’s contractor! As for Great White Snake’s orders… its orders aren’t as important as my life!’
‘Staying here will really get me killed!’
Escape! Must escape!
Must get away from this Uchiha madman!
Her massive snake head abruptly turned direction, and Ichikishima-hime unleashed all her survival potential.
Her enormous snake body twisted frantically, ignoring the intense pain from her injuries.
She continuously crushed ground rubble, fleeing desperately toward the deeper regions of Ryuchi Cave.
If she had run from the start, she might have escaped.
Now, everything was too late.
The next instant, countless thick, immensely robust dark brown vines, each tens of centimeters in diameter, burst through the hard ground, rising wildly with overwhelming power.
They locked onto Ichikishima-hime’s massive snake body with clear hunting intent, like a school of sharks scenting blood.
Whoosh—!
The thickest vine shot out like lightning, wrapping precisely around the end of Ichikishima-hime’s frantically swinging snake tail.
“What?!”
Ichikishima-hime felt her tail tighten, a massive pulling force halting her mad dash abruptly, her enormous snake body even staggering backward.
Before she could turn in horror to see what happened…
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!
More vines surged like a dark brown tsunami, overwhelming everything. Like living giant pythons, they swiftly and flexibly wrapped around her snake body’s midsection, abdomen, even neck, binding Ichikishima-hime firmly.
Ichikishima-hime let out a despairing hiss, twisting her body frantically to break free.
She even opened her giant mouth, trying to bite through the vines with her venomous fangs!
But Wood Style’s toughness far exceeded her imagination! The vines, infused with vast life force, were not only extraordinarily tough; her fangs could only leave shallow marks, unable to sever them!
The dense vines began constricting wildly, like giant pythons strangling prey.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Bone-chilling fracture sounds popped densely like bursting beans—her snake bones buckling under the vines’ horrific strangulation.
Intense pain and suffocation instantly overwhelmed her!
Ichikishima-hime felt her organs squeezed out of place, lungs unable to draw air, her massive snake pupils bulging from pain and oxygen deprivation, veined with blood.
Ichikishima-hime’s eyes filled with ultimate terror and despair.
Her struggling strength rapidly weakened.
Leaving only unconscious twitching.
……
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village.
Hokage’s Office.
Smoke swirled, nearly enveloping Sarutobi Hiruzen’s figure. His brows furrowed tightly, the pipe’s embers flickering between his fingers as he was exhausted by the clan traitors and Cloud Hidden spies dragged out by the “Sarutobi Fujiko incident.”
Crucially, he was certain there were more clan members colluding with Cloud Hidden spies in the Sarutobi Clan; the problem was he didn’t know who yet.
“Bang!”
The office door was pushed open urgently. An Anbu ninja wearing an animal mask knelt on one knee, voice urgent: “Hokage! Something happened inside the Uchiha Police Force!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his bloodshot eyes, voice hoarse: “What has you so panicked?”
The Anbu ninja took a deep breath, reporting rapidly: “Uchiha Fugaku… has been impeached and removed by his clan members! He has publicly stated that he will formally submit his resignation to you tomorrow, stepping down from Uchiha Clan Head and Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force!”
“What?!” Sarutobi Hiruzen’s hand holding the pipe trembled, ash scattering down.
He suspected the thick smoke had caused hallucinations.
The Sarutobi Fujiko matter already had him at his wits’ end, and now the Uchiha Clan was staging a palace coup at this critical juncture?
How could Fugaku be ousted by his own clan?
He instinctively took a deep drag of the pungent tobacco, the burning sensation stimulating his fatigued nerves, forcing himself to calm and think.
“Who led the impeachment against Fugaku?” Sarutobi Hiruzen’s voice was low.
“It was Uchiha Ikeizumi’s subordinate, Uchiha Izumi!” The Anbu ninja answered without hesitation: “This coup against Uchiha Fugaku was deeply involving Uchiha Izumi, Lady Tsunade, and Ninja Cat Kijiro.”
“Beyond that, it included a large number of mid-level Uchiha Police Force ninjas, and many ordinary Uchiha clan members—the momentum was massive.”
The Anbu ninja paused, adding: “From observations, it seems Uchiha Fugaku’s conservative and compromising policies internally and externally in recent years have accumulated much dissatisfaction among clan members, who feel he failed to uphold Uchiha dignity and interests…”
“Wait…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted the Anbu ninja’s torrent of words, catching a key name.
“Tsunade?!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen almost didn’t react: “She’s not a Uchiha Clan ninja—how did she get involved?”
The Anbu ninja replied: “Because when Elder Koharu brought Root ninjas to arrest Uchiha Izumi and others, it was Lady Tsunade who stepped in to stop Elder Koharu. Then, Lady Tsunade escorted Elder Koharu and the Root ninjas all the way to the Police Force.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen: “…”
He slowly set down his pipe, fingers unconsciously tapping the desk, letting out a weary sigh: “Hoo… I think I understand why Fugaku so decisively chose to step down.”
He rubbed his throbbing temples, a complex glint in his eyes: “Tsunade… she is my direct disciple, granddaughter of the First Hokage, and one of the Konoha Sannin. During her time in the village, she amassed considerable prestige.”
“In many people’s eyes, especially Uchiha clan members, her stance, to some extent, represents my stance, or at least some tacit approval from the higher-ups.”
“Even though she no longer concerns herself with village affairs, that influence remains.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s voice carried helplessness: “It was probably Tsunade’s ‘endorsement’ that completely stripped Fugaku of his will and reason to resist. Under internal and external pressure, he could only choose to exit.”
“In Fugaku’s eyes, this might be the last shred of dignity he could keep.”
The office fell into brief silence, save for the faint crackle of burning tobacco.
After a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke again, voice low and serious: “Has the Uchiha Clan internally selected a new clan head candidate?”
“No clear election result yet.”
The Anbu ninja replied swiftly: “But from observations, among the many Uchiha clan members on site—especially the young ninjas and ordinary clan members—the highest call is for—Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
“Uchiha Ikeizumi…” Sarutobi Hiruzen repeated the name softly, turning it into a deeper sigh.
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head, saying: “With Ikeizumi’s personality, the Uchiha Clan Head position—handling miscellaneous clan affairs and balancing various interests—is something he absolutely won’t accept. In his ‘Absolute Justice’ ideology, it would only be shackles binding his hands and feet, hindering his ‘enforcement of justice’ in the Ninja World.”
He shifted tone, growing immensely grave: “However…”
“The Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force position—responsible for village security with independent law enforcement rights… that key role will likely fall into Ikeizumi’s hands.”
Though by system, the final appointment of Police Force Captain rested with him as Hokage.
Yet when support for Uchiha Ikeizumi within the Uchiha Clan swelled to a tidal wave…
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew full well that if he forcibly vetoed or appointed someone else.
It would inevitably cause severe turmoil within the Uchiha Clan.
Possibly sparking strong backlash and unrest.
Perhaps Uchiha Setsuna failed to incite a coup affecting all of Konoha, but one decision from him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, might suddenly make Uchiha Clan ninjas want to overthrow him as Hokage.
Konoha, already on edge from the Fujiko incident, absolutely could not afford another major Uchiha Clan disturbance at this juncture.
……
Ryuchi Cave.
As the thick vines continuously tightened, scales on Ichikishima-hime’s snake body flew off, exposing bloody flesh.
Each vine dug deep into flesh, snapping one bone after another, then crushing the broken bones.
With a “boom,” a massive blood mist enveloped the area entirely. All the thick vines were dyed blood red, accompanied by chunks of meat and shattered bones splattering in all directions.
When the prompt flashed before his eyes, Uchiha Ikeizumi knew that Ichikishima-hime, one of Ryuchi Cave’s three top leaders, was dead!
The massive wooden golem slightly turned its body, raising its only huge arm and smashing a fist toward Tashin-no-Hime, who was embedded in the mountain wall, barely clinging to life with no power to resist!
Boom!!!
Tashin-no-Hime, struggling to heal herself with Sage Art energy, widened her eyes.
She had no chance to dodge, only watching the fist grow larger in her vision.
Until her consciousness buzzed into darkness.
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s cold gaze shifted again to Tatsuta-hime, bisected by the lava dragon head.
The lava flowing below was lifted as if by an invisible hand, surging like a flood toward the screaming Tatsuta-hime.
Tatsuta-hime’s screams abruptly ceased!
……
……
