NOVEL WEB Chapter 19: Konoha Elders.(EDITED)
The morning started like any other.
I got dressed, had a quick bite, and headed off to the Academy. But I knew today wasn't going to be ordinary. Tsunade had told me last night she was going to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi — the Third Hokage, her old teacher.
Something about her tone… I could feel the storm brewing.
Before leaving, I created a Wood Clone. While the original me went to class, the clone followed Tsunade using Tree Travel, silently tracking her through the underground flora that ran beneath the village.
She made no stops.
Straight to the Hokage building.
No ANBU stopped her this time. Maybe they knew better. Or maybe they felt the pressure in her chakra — heavy and unyielding.
Without even knocking, Tsunade slammed open the Hokage's office door.
Hiruzen wasn't surprised. He barely looked up from the stack of papers on his desk. He had sensed her coming, of course.
The tension in the air was thick. I was watching through my clone now, perfectly hidden in the wooden frame of the wall.
Tsunade walked in, bold as ever, and sat across from him.
"Sensei," she began coldly, "you already know. Ren and I… we're the last Senju left in this village."
She had no idea I was listening. Neither of them did.
Hiruzen didn't flinch. He simply sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"We both know that, Tsunade. I've always respected the Senju. I've done what I can to preserve—"
She cut him off.
"Don't lie to me."
Her voice cracked like a whip.
"I checked the hospital registry. Every single record. There's no trace of any mixed-blood Senju left alive in the village. Not one."
I froze.
She had actually gone that far? I knew she was suspicious, but to dig through the entire medical archive?
That's Tsunade for you.
"During the war," she continued, "Senju women married into other clans. There were children. Bloodlines. Legacy. But now? Gone. All of them. Like they never existed."
Her voice trembled with rage.
"I wanted to walk away from this village, you know. I really did. But I stayed—for Ren… and for my grandfather's dream."
Hiruzen's eyes darkened. His silence said everything.
"You have no answer, do you?" Tsunade spat. "Then don't expect me to call you sensei anymore."
She stood.
"Third Hokage, I've seen ninja snooping around the Senju compound. If they aren't gone by sundown… I will leave. I'll become a missing-nin if I have to."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Hiruzen didn't chase her.
He just sat there, slumped over his desk, looking like he'd aged another decade.
I didn't follow Tsunade.
I'd meet her back home later.
But I needed to see what Hiruzen would do next.
Sure enough, a few moments later, he called out, summoning an ANBU with a single word.
"Bring the elders."
The ANBU bowed and vanished.
Not long after, they arrived — Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and of course, the snake himself: Danzo Shimura.
The moment they stepped in, I focused all my senses. This was it — the truth behind the decay of the Senju Clan.
Hiruzen started without hesitation.
"Danzo… Did you order the elimination of all Senju bloodlines?"
The room fell silent.
Danzo raised an eyebrow but didn't bother denying it.
"You know how dangerous the Senju can be. Their bloodline… if left unchecked, it could threaten the village."
I wanted to snap his neck.
But Hiruzen wasn't finished.
"Who gave you permission?"
Danzo didn't answer, but Koharu stepped in.
"It was for the greater good."
Homura nodded.
"We've all made sacrifices for the village."
Hiruzen looked down, clenched his fists — then sighed.
"This… This is why I can't trust any of you."
Even now, he wouldn't punish them. That was his weakness.
He turned to Danzo again.
"Recall all the Root operatives from the Senju compound. Tsunade knows. She found them."
Danzo blinked.
"Impossible. I sent the best."
"I don't care," Hiruzen said sharply. "If she leaves, morale will collapse. We can't afford that."
Danzo scowled.
"Then we silence her."
The words hung in the air like poison.
The next instant, Hiruzen was on his feet.
"If you so much as lay a finger on her… I'll execute you myself."
A moment of silence passed.
Danzo, for once, said nothing.
Through my clone, I could feel my blood boiling.
This was it.
This was the rot at the center of the village.
A Hokage too weak to punish treason.
Advisors who put their ambitions above innocent lives.
And Danzo… the man who thought he was Konoha's savior while wearing its blood on his hands.
I dispelled the clone and sat alone in the Academy corridor, pretending to study my notes.
But in truth, I wasn't thinking about class anymore.
I was thinking about the future.
Tsunade was angry, and rightfully so.
But I… I was focused.
Focused on what needed to be done.
Because one day, I would rise above them all.
And when that day came, Konoha would never again forget the name Senju.
Author's Note:
Chapter 19 pushes Ren deeper into Konoha's inner politics. Danzo's crimes are confirmed, Hiruzen's weakness exposed, and Tsunade's loyalty tested. Ren is no longer a silent observer—he's slowly becoming the storm on the horizon.