In Konoha, near the village, on the battlefield.
Tsunade, covered in multiple injuries but wearing a cheerful smile that left others wondering if she had actually been in a war until now, approached the clones of Tanaka and Shiori.
"Finally, this war is coming to an end~" she hummed.
"So..."
Before Shiori could finish what she was about to say, Tsunade interrupted, "You want to go back, right? But before that, be our guests."
Shiori didn't respond; she simply looked at Tanaka's clone, seeing him nod in agreement. She then said, "Alright, we'll be in your care for a while."
Orochimaru, who heard this, was the happiest. He wanted to have time to talk to Tanaka.
Of course, Tsunade, who wished to repay them at least a little for how much they had helped in this war, was also pleased.
A lot happened in this war, and it was almost certain that this time, Konoha would cease to exist on the face of this planet. But thanks to their intervention, especially Tanaka's, they managed to turn things around and emerge as the victors.
[2+4=6]
Meanwhile, in Uzushio, Tanaka, who had assumed his main body, left the special room and went to the balcony where Akane was watching Kushina and Rias play in the garden.
"Finished your training?" Akane asked with a gentle smile.
"Yes, I just finished." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't entirely the truth either. However, Akane didn't seem to suspect him and had no reason to; she simply nodded with the same smile.
The reason he didn't mention that it was a clone and that his main body was in another dimension was simple: knowing her, he knew she would worry, and he didn't want that to happen unnecessarily.
Furthermore, when the main body returned, he planned to finally talk to her about the Revolutionary Army and invite her, along with Kushina, to join him. Even if Kushina didn't directly participate in the activities of the Revolutionary Army, just being a member would be an advantage in itself.
Even for Akane, she could continue to live as always, and simply being part of the organization would already bring mutual benefits.
"Akane-san, when do you plan to start teaching Fuuinjutsu to Kushina-chan?" Tanaka asked, curious.
"It's still early, but..." Akane said with a small smile. "I'm starting to teach her how to circulate chakra, as well as some more basic things. Not to mention that Kushina is currently interested in puppets, thanks to a certain someone, isn't she~?"
"Haha, I'm embarrassed." Tanaka scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Fufu~ Don't be." Akane laughed, closing her eyes with a perfect arc. Then, she opened them again: "As long as Kushina is happy and safe, small whims can be granted, even if some think I'm spoiling her too much~"
'Akane really loves Kushina-chan...' Tanaka thought with a smile.
"I feel relieved hearing that," Tanaka said. "By the way, Akane-san, it seems that Shiori is coming back. I'll go out for a bit and inform the village leader."
"That's good; it means things went well for Konoha, right?" Akane wasn't naive; a few words were enough for her to connect the dots. "Go, and tell me everything later."
"I will." Tanaka nodded.
Before leaving, Tanaka thought, 'Speaking of spoiling Kushina-chan too much, it's been a while since I gave her those sneakers... Should I make something new? Hmm, I'll think about it.'
[69-69=0]
Amegakure
Walking with her sister, Hanako hummed a song she had learned from "Ace."
Tatsumaki, with her pompous and tsundere manner, feigned indifference, but in her mind, she also hummed the song at the same rhythm as Hanako.
Stopping her humming, Hanako turned to her sister: "By the way, Tatsumaki-nee, do you think the leader will take long to visit us?"
"I don't know, and I don't care, hmph!" Tatsumaki turned her face away.
"Hehe, you say that, but I know you like him too~" Hanako teased her.
"W-Who...Who likes him?" Tatsumaki stammered, denying it.
"Alright, who else would know better than you how you really feel, Tatsumaki-nee?" Hanako laughed provocatively but soon changed the subject: "By the way, it's almost time; let's go, or Killua-sama will be upset."
Although all the clones were Tanaka, they acted according to their assigned personas most of the time, and Killua had a stricter personality, especially toward those who kept him waiting.
Meanwhile, on the floating island serving as the main base for the Revolutionary Army, Tanaka's clones had finished summoning the clone in the dungeon and were now undergoing the process of switching clones to assume the role of commanders.
Among them, Yami had already been dismissed to transfer all his memories to the main body, keeping it up to date with recent events.
Because of this transition, it was easy for each of them to adapt to their personas, although Yami was the quickest.
"Alright, you little shits. I'm off to check on that little rat Hanzo, hahaha!" Laughing, he was enveloped by a dark shadow and began to disappear before their eyes.
Of course, this wasn't exactly a unique ability of Tanaka's but more a stroke of luck; Tanaka had created an accessory that allowed him to use shadows as an element, enabling travel through them. And that's exactly what Yami did, as he was the current bearer of this item. A perfect tool, especially for gathering intel without being detected.
"Now that I think about it, 'we' still have the scroll where Danzo is sealed," Ace commented with a mischievous tone. "What shall we do with him?"
"Skin him alive."
"Death."
"Torture."
"Torture him, break his chakra network, blind him in both eyes, sever all chakra connections to his eyes so no new implants are possible, cut out his tongue, ears, and nose, and then return him to Konoha~" Killua said indifferently, though a cruel smile seemed to be forming on his lips.
"We'll do that." Ace was the first to agree, and no one opposed him.
Although there wasn't an extreme hatred for Danzo in this life, having watched the anime had instilled an unshakable desire to do all those things, even if they bore no direct grudge.
Killua created a clone and retrieved the scroll that had been stored.
Without a word, the clone left with the scroll, heading to a room filled with isolation, protection, and other formations.
The objective was simple: carry out what had been decided.
As for why he chose to do this as "Killua," assuming this persona made it easier to handle darker matters, such as torturing someone.
Overall, it was a room already designated for torture on the sky island. Though many unpleasant items had been removed and the place had been improved, a few torture devices remained, like pliers, saws, hammers, and so on.
Killua unrolled the scroll and said, "Release!" A cloud of smoke appeared. Soon, Danzo materialized in the center of the scroll, missing an arm.
When Danzo emerged, his gaze was dull, lifeless. But, after blinking, his eyes gained a faint glimmer, a spark of life.
"W...Where..." His voice was hoarse and dry, like that of a man lost in the desert, deprived of water or food for several days.
Although he was trapped within the seal, this seal did not freeze him in time. Even if the effects were reduced, the accumulated sensations of hunger and thirst surged with full force the moment the seal was broken.
"GRRRRRR!"
At that moment, Danzo's stomach let out a loud rumble of hunger.
Even in this situation, Danzo didn't seem embarrassed; on the contrary, he appeared extremely cautious.