"DANZO! ARE YOU REALLY LOOKING FOR TROUBLE?!" Tsunade's voice trembled with sheer frustration. Seeing Danzo's old, smug face made her hands clench with the urge to punch him.
"TSUNADE, don't defend him just because he's your disciple. YOU ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DISASTER." Danzo spat each word with venom, his accusing gaze piercing Tsunade. "Look at the kind of disciple you train... He has no respect for his elders!"
Smack!
The sound of the slap echoed through the place.
Everyone looked at Chen, unable to believe what he had just done.
Chen slowly lowered his hand, calm as ever. Then, with disdain, he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his palm.
"Honestly, I shouldn't have slapped you on the face... Now my hand is dirty."
Danzo touched his cheek, his eyes wide in shock. Never in his life, not even in his worst nightmares, had he imagined that this brat would dare slap him, especially in front of everyone!
"YOU DAMN BRAT! An insufferable fool! He just attacked the Hokage's assistant! ARREST HIM, NOW!!" he roared, his face flushed with a mix of humiliation and hatred boiling inside him.
Yet, despite his furious shouts, no one moved. Only the few Root operatives Danzo had brought along tried to respond, but their efforts were futile.
Chen's eyes gleamed, and instantly, the approaching Root members stopped, turned into mere puppets under his control.
"What are you talking about, old man? When did I attack you?" Chen raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with sarcasm while his gaze bore into Danzo with pure mockery.
"Don't give me that! Many people saw it! Are you going to deny it now?!" Danzo retorted indignantly, gritting his teeth.
Chen smirked. Then, slowly, he looked around and asked nonchalantly, "Did anyone see ANYTHING? Come on, if anyone saw it, stand up and tell me to my face."
The silence was deafening. No one moved, no one said a word.
The truth was, Chen was a hero of Konoha. His strength had been demonstrated on the battlefield, and many now feared him. No one was willing to go against him for something as insignificant as defending Danzo.
"Enough!" Hiruzen's firm and severe voice broke the silence. "The enemy is merely retreating, not yet surrendered. We need to focus on what truly matters."
The purpose of these words was also to calm Danzo, or at least prevent the situation from escalating further. Otherwise, Danzo would not let this incident go, and they would be entangled in an endless argument.
Chen shot Danzo one last cold glance and, in a low voice, threatened, "Don't mess with me again, Danzo. Because one of these days you might end up dead in a ditch, and NO ONE will dare pick up your corpse."
Danzo's face turned red with fury.
The rage boiled within him. If it weren't for Hiruzen's presence, he would have already attacked Chen, regardless of the consequences.
But Chen smiled disdainfully. It wasn't surprising that Tobirama had chosen Hiruzen as Hokage over Danzo.
How could someone so impulsive and blinded by rage be fit to lead the village?
Danzo's face was grim.
He wasn't usually this irrational, so impetuous. But when it came to Chen, it was different. Everything he had suffered, all the humiliation, was because of him. His hatred for Chen Hyuga was so deep that every time he saw him, he lost his reason.
And that was why, even though he knew Chen's strength, he couldn't help but seek trouble, couldn't control his own judgment when facing him.
"ENOUGH! Chen, you must be exhausted after this battle, go and rest," Hiruzen said, pulling Danzo's arm forcefully, trying to prevent the situation from worsening.
Chen Hyuga was dangerously unpredictable.
Hiruzen couldn't read him, and the fact that he dared slap Danzo in front of everyone meant he had no limits. He knew that if Chen wanted to kill Danzo, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Earlier, that boy had subdued Danzo with Genjutsu with just a glance. Thus, he could only pull Danzo away and remain alert, watching Chen's every move to prevent something worse from breaking out.
"Don't worry," Chen said with a disdainful smile, looking at Hiruzen as if he were a mere insect. "If I really wanted to kill him, he'd already be dead."
These words were like a cold, direct blow. If Chen truly set his mind to it, what could Hiruzen Sarutobi do to stop him? To him, Hiruzen was simply irrelevant.
Hiruzen's and Danzo's faces darkened at his words. There wasn't a shred of respect in Chen's attitude.
Jiraiya, seeing the tension in the air, decided to intervene: "Chen, could you show some respect? They are the high leadership of Konoha!" he said, trying to calm the situation.
Chen looked at Jiraiya with a slight sarcastic smile and then calmly grabbed Tsunade's hand. "I don't see the need to respect someone just because they hold a title," he replied. "I have the power to fear no one, and therefore I don't need to hide what I think."
After saying this, he turned and left, Tsunade by his side.
With Chen's departure, the atmosphere loosened a bit, though the tension still lingered.
"Hiruzen, you spend all day pandering to that brat," Danzo grumbled resentfully. It was evident he was about to explode.
Hiruzen shook his head, sighing. He didn't respond to Danzo and simply turned to leave.
What other option did he have? Chen's strength was unquestionable. Who could face him? Although Madara Uchiha had been an unstoppable power in his time, he had always been balanced by Hashirama Senju. But Chen Hyuga... who could balance his power?
He felt powerless but had to keep that feeling to himself. Chen Hyuga, at least for now, had to be used for Konoha's benefit. The future would be discussed later.
"Danzo, I'm warning you," he said while walking away, turning his head toward his companion. "Don't provoke that boy. He doesn't even see me as Hokage, let alone you as my assistant."
Danzo gritted his teeth, his left eye glinting coldly as he watched Hiruzen walk away.
"I see," he muttered, though his tone made it clear he wasn't planning to stay idle.
He would never forget it.
Danzo had never been humiliated in that way. Not only had he lost his dignity at Chen's hands, but also one of his eyes.
But what Danzo didn't understand was Chen's "kindness." He had taken Danzo's eye to force him to implant the Sharingan sooner.
Otherwise, even if Danzo wanted to obtain the Sharingan later, it would have required much more effort and time. In a faster way, Chen was doing him a favor.
It's a shame that Danzo, with his heart consumed by darkness and resentment, couldn't see that "kindness." He could only think of revenge, of how to return the pain Chen had inflicted on him.
...
In the days that followed, Konoha continued its attacks, but Ōnoki and the others opted to avoid direct confrontation and focused on strengthening their defenses. Without Chen's intervention, Konoha couldn't successfully advance its offensives.
Chen, for his part, showed no interest whatsoever in continuing to participate in the battle. He now possessed the chakra of several bijuu, and his motivation for war had vanished. He remained distant, almost indifferent, while the conflict continued to unfold around him.
Curiously, Hiruzen wasn't upset by Chen's inaction. On the contrary, he felt relieved to see him like that.
This war, which had almost depended exclusively on Chen's power, had reversed Konoha's disadvantageous situation and avoided a sure defeat. Thanks to Chen, the village had gained time and was in a better position.
That's why, although many of Konoha's ninjas feared Chen's immense power, others admired him deeply. Rumors even began circulating that Chen was strong enough to become Hokage, and that with him in charge, they could deter other villages from confronting Konoha.
Some people thought Chen was too young to take on the role of Hokage at that moment, but they trusted that in a few years, he would be ready.
These rumors had put Hiruzen on alert. The idea that Chen could be seen as a potential Hokage touched his nerves. Therefore, Hiruzen preferred that Chen not make more contributions on the battlefield. Seeing him inactive was, in a way, exactly what he wanted.
________
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