"Come on."
Hikari's Shadow Clone activated the skeletal Susanoo ribcage and casually waved at Shion.
"Come? Come for what?" Shion was momentarily confused.
"Get in."
Seeing Shion hesitate, the massive glowing skeletal arm simply grabbed the little Priestess and her luggage by the scruff, tossing them into the ribcage like groceries into the trunk of a car.
'Huh? This thing can let other people stand on it too ?'
Shion curiously tapped the spectral floor beneath her feet.
It looked transparent, but it was solid as steel.
The next second, the Shadow Clone leaped into the air.
The skeletal Susanoo suddenly sprouted massive chakra wings and blasted straight into the horizon.
Thanks to the absurd chakra reserves provided by Eight Thousand Spears and the recent power ups, Hikari's control over the Susanoo was completely unmatched.
She could manifest the wings of the Complete Body form without even needing to fully armor up.
Shion officially became the first customer of Susanoo Airlines!
After a sonic boom echoed across the sky, they disappeared over the horizon.
"So... why the fuck didn't we use that when we came here? Not enough space?" Tsunade watched the trail of chakra fade in the sky, deadpanning at Makoto and Hikari.
"Because we're not in hurry. If Makoto says there's no hurry, why rush?" Hikari looked at Tsunade like she was the crazy one.
Hikari enjoyed the process of just hanging out with Makoto.
The destination didn't matter.
"You guys really were just treating this like a goddamn road trip." Tsunade was speechless.
All that time walking, and it turns out they weren't rushing to save the world... but backpacking?
....
Meanwhile. Hidden Leaf Village.
After Tsunade left, Danzo made his move.
Or rather, his Root subordinates did.
The maximum-security cell where Danzo was imprisoned had a massive sensory barrier.
Using even a sliver of chakra would trigger the alarms immediately.
To bypass this, three Root assassins executed a flawless, zero-chakra physical infiltration.
And they finally found their leader.
Danzo was blindfolded, stripped of his dignity, and wrapped in a straitjacket of sealing bandages from head to toe.
Beside him sat a few stale rice balls, crusty bread, and a bucket of water.
Seeing the once sinister, domineering Shadow of Konoha reduced to this wretched state, the Root members felt profound sorrow... or maybe just sheer awkwardness.
"Lord Danzo!" the three Root members whispered mournfully outside the bars.
"...Hmm." Danzo trembled at the sound of his loyal tools.
Then, a foul odor assaulted their trained noses.
Looking down, the Root members realized the horrifying truth.
The prison floor was covered in absolute filth!
The guards had been so focused on sealing Danzo's chakra, binding his limbs, and turning him into a living bomb for the Reaper Death Seal, that they completely forgot he still had basic human body functions.
With one arm severed, the other bound, and zero chakra to escape, Danzo had no choice but to literally shit where he sat.
"Lord Danzo... let me help you."
One masked Root member pulled out a scroll of rough canvas from his robe, tore off a piece, and bravely stepped into the hazard zone to wipe Danzo's ass.
"...Leave first! Ignore this!" Danzo hissed, his face burning with suppressed rage and absolute humiliation!
But he couldn't bring himself to bark an actual order to stop.
After all, this was peak loyalty.
Root members were supposed to sever all emotions, and this kid was taking "taking one for the team" to a whole new disgusting level.
"Lord Danzo, don't worry. There are no guards here. We checked thoroughly."
"Yes, my Lord. Tsunade has left the village. Because she overstepped her authority taking over the Daimyo's duties, she's overwhelmed and reassigned the prison staff," the other two reported, trying not to look at the cleanup operation.
'Oh?'
Hearing that Tsunade was gone, Danzo's scheming mind immediately booted back up.
'No guards? No Tsunade?'
He stopped resisting the subordinate's cleaning efforts.
He, Danzo Shimura, would make a dignified, triumphant return to power!
Though they could clean the literal shit off him, the sealing restraints had to stay.
Breaking them would trigger the chakra alarm instantly, and Hiruzen or Jiraiya would be on his ass in seconds.
Not to mention his nightmare of a teacher, Tobirama, teleporting in.
"Kyah."
As Danzo was deep in serious thought, a soft involuntary moan escaped his lips.
Realizing what sound he had just made in front of his elite assassins, Danzo glared murderously at the subordinate cleaning him!
It turned out the canvas was too rough, so the subordinate had swapped tools.
He had taken out his calligraphy brush.
And he was using the soft bristles to clean Danzo's nether regions.
"Lord Danzo, I don't mind the mess. Leave it to me," the emotionless kid said flatly.
"..."
Danzo desperately wanted to scream that he fucking minded!
Not even Hiruzen had touched him there!
Yet today, all his physical and mental defenses had been violently breached by a paintbrush.
Alas.
This ultimate humiliation was all Tsunade's fault.
He would have his revenge!
After aggressively composing himself, Danzo spoke.
These subordinates demonstrating such heaven-shaking loyalty—especially the one currently wrist-deep with a brush—deserved recognition.
"From today onward... your codename shall be Sai."
Danzo addressed the brush-wielding subordinate.
"Sai... Thank you, Lord Danzo."
The gratitude sounded utterly robotic, but Danzo didn't care.
Root lacked emotions anyway.
Ten minutes passed and still, no alarms... It seemed the prison really was empty.
"Lord Danzo, please wear my pants."
Sai proactively stripped off his own pants and helped dress the half-naked old man.
"Good. Very good." Danzo was quite satisfied.
He was even somewhat moved!
In his darkest hour, only these emotionless tools could make him feel anything at all.
"Sai, I have an important mission for you. Go inform the remaining forces that I, Danzo, have returned. Lead all available Root members to the Hokage Building and subdue everyone inside."
After giving his orders, Danzo turned to the other two.
"You two, accompany me."
Danzo's grand delusion: No matter how crippled he was, he must sit in the Hokage's chair at least once before he died.
Before Tobirama or Hiruzen found him, he had to realize his ambition.
He wanted the world to see that he was the true Hokage!
"Hmm? Wait, come back here!"
Just as Danzo was about to smirk triumphantly, he suddenly felt uncomfortable around his ass.
He called out to stop Sai, who was preparing to leave.
"Lord Danzo, what is it?"
"Your damn brush, take it with you."
"Oh. My apologies, Lord Danzo."
Sai stepped back, reached directly down the back of Danzo's newly acquired pants, and smoothly pulled out the calligraphy brush, its bristles stained a... yellowish-brown.
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