Koharu and Mitokado Homura were stunned.
"Sarutobi, what did you just say?"
Homura's face turned dark as he glared at Hiruzen Sarutobi in disbelief.
Hiruzen simply shook his head in helplessness.
What's the point of glaring at me?
Yes, what Takayama Haru did may have gone too far—but weren't your actions even worse?
You even brought up ideas involving Mito Uzumaki and Kushina.
That was practically asking for your own destruction.
Besides, at this point, even I may not be able to restrain Takayama Haru anymore.
Hiruzen recalled the colossal Thousand-Handed Buddha from earlier, which had blanketed the sky. The image still left his heart trembling with awe.
Am I… really getting old? he thought.
Hiruzen turned to Homura and said calmly, "Homura, whether it happened or not—just move forward. You're a pillar of the village. Konoha will not treat you unfairly."
Bloodshot eyes wide with fury, Homura spat, "Move forward?"
"Takayama Haru, you definitely crossed the line. Yes, Elder Homura may have been out of line himself, but he's still a Konoha elder…"
Takayama Haru nodded slightly and said, "Mmm, I think the Third Hokage is right. We're all working for Konoha's future. Elder Homura, maybe it's your turn to sacrifice for the village now."
As he said that, Takayama turned around and gently took Kushina's hand. "Let's go home."
Kushina immediately chimed in cheerfully, "Grandma Mito, let's go home!"
Mito Uzumaki nodded, gave Hiruzen a passing glance, and followed after Takayama Haru and Kushina without hesitation.
"Sarutobi, you're just going to let him go?"
"Did you see how arrogant he was?"
"Sarutobi, I want an explanation! If we don't get one, this won't be the end of it!"
Hiruzen turned to face Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. "Actually, I want an explanation too."
"Why, when Lady Mito ordered you to deactivate the Four Violet Flame Formation, did you ignore her order?"
"And how is it that two former elders who are no longer in charge of administrative affairs still manage to give commands to the admin department?"
"Also—why was the Two-Tails' seal manually released?"
As the three remained silent, Hiruzen let out a heavy snort. "You all talk about what's best for Konoha. So now that it's time for you to make some sacrifices for the village, you want to complain?"
Danzo clenched his teeth and leaned toward Hiruzen, whispering bitterly, "Everything I've done—I did for the right reasons."
"If this continues, Konoha won't belong to all of us anymore. It'll become the property of the Senju Clan!"
"And when that happens—will Konoha even still be Konoha?"
Hiruzen stared coldly at Danzo and said, "Don't forget, Danzo, Konoha was founded by the Senju Clan. Our two founding teachers were Senju. You should show some gratitude instead of betrayal."
With that, Hiruzen turned and walked away.
But the stream of reports from the ANBU only grew more shocking as he walked.
"Takayama Haru sealed both the Nine-Tails and the Two-Tails—by himself?"
"The Third Mizukage was killed by him? His body has even been retrieved?"
The nearby shinobi who overheard were visibly stunned.
Is Takayama Haru really that powerful?!
Back at home, Mito Uzumaki went into her room. Takayama Haru turned to Kushina and gently embraced her.
This time, Kushina had truly been scared.
That heart-pounding, rollercoaster-like ordeal made her instinctively tilt her head up and kiss Haru with fiery passion.
At first, just a light brush—like a dragonfly skimming the water's surface.
But soon after, the storm hit.
Time passed. Kushina's face flushed deeply with embarrassment. She shoved Haru away. "I'm going to bed now!"
She darted into her room, slammed the door shut, and locked it.
If I invite him into my room… would he resist? she wondered.
But after a few minutes, Kushina opened the door just a crack to peek.
Takayama Haru was already gone.
"Hmph! Idiot. Men are just big dumb pigs!"
In his room, Takayama Haru opened his character interface.
He swapped out his current character card for an S-ranked one: "Primal Water Lotus".
His stats were now:
Name: Takayama Haru
Strength: Beyond Kage-level
Rank: Special Shinobi
Character Cards:
SSS-ranked Senju Pillar (Fusion: 100%)
S-ranked Primal Water Lotus (Fusion: 10%)
Bloodline Limit: God-tier Wood Release
Ninjutsu:
Flying Thunder God Lv3
Earth Reincarnation Lv3
Lightning Chidori Lv3
Spirit Fire Lv3
Yin Seal Lv3
Omnipotent Technique Lv3
Four Symbols Seal Lv3
Reaper Death Seal Lv3
Harem Jutsu Lv
Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu Lv3
After switching to the Water Lotus character card, his sealing abilities returned to full power.
And thanks to the memory of the Water Lotus, Takayama Haru had now learned all her Water-style jutsu. The most familiar was Water Drill—a technique with no hand signs, a legacy of the Mist Village.
The Mizukage had been the strongest Water-style ninja in Kirigakure.
Haru jumped out the window and vanished into the night.
BANG!
Harem Jutsu!
But Haru's version wasn't meant for seduction—it was a deadly distraction technique.
His clone transformed into a pale-skinned beauty in a tight black outfit, and appeared on the path between the training grounds and the dormitory.
That's when he spotted Koharu, walking under guard by several young clan shinobi.
She was saying, "Keep a close eye on Takayama Haru for the next few days…"
Suddenly, the young guards froze at the sight ahead.
They were all young men—so when faced with Haru's alluring female clone, none of them could look away.
The clone smiled slyly and struck a seductive pose as she walked toward them.
Koharu frowned. Something felt… off.
"Stay alert."
"Yes, Elder Koharu!"
At that moment, Haru's clone attacked.
"Water Style—Water Drill Shot!"
Takayama Haru's clone formed her hand into a finger gun and fired a high-pressure stream of water like a bullet.
It pierced right through Koharu's chest.
Eyes wide in disbelief, she fell backward in a spray of blood.
The young shinobi immediately shouted in horror: "ASSASSIN!"
They launched themselves at the attacker. One threw a shuriken that pierced through the clone's chest.
BOOM!
The clone dispersed in a puff of smoke.
"That was a shadow clone?!"
Suddenly, dozens more tight-suited female clones appeared from all directions, unleashing a barrage of water drill shots.
Koharu's eyes reflected countless streams of watery bullets before her body was riddled like a ragged sack.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The guards were stunned.
"CALL FOR HELP!"
They rushed to lift Koharu's lifeless body.
Elder Koharu was dead?!
In the shadows of a nearby alley, a voice echoed faintly as the figure disappeared:
"I told you—I was going to kill you today."
Moments later, Minato Namikaze arrived.
"Elder Koharu was attacked?!"
"What the hell happened?!"
The panicked shinobi tried to explain what they saw.
"It was a woman in a black outfit—she used shadow clones and killed Elder Koharu!"
"She used Water Style… it was like a finger gun…"
Minato knelt down, touched a pool of water, and sniffed it.
It was Water Style.
His first thought was Takayama Haru.
But the clone's appearance didn't match. Could it be… revenge from Kirigakure?
But why target Koharu?
Minato was left with no answers. He dealt with Koharu's body and rushed back to the Hokage office to report.
That night, for Hiruzen Sarutobi, sleep would not come.