Chapter 276: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

While Uchiha Ren and the others were talking, Shimura Danzō's second Reverse Four Symbols Sealing had already ended.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane  had collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted from chakra depletion. Only Homura Mitokado, who had been protected the entire time, was still barely able to stand.

Holding the Sword of the Thunder God, Homura positioned himself in front of Hiruzen and Koharu, vigilantly scanning the surroundings for Danzō's presence.

After what had happened earlier, Homura naturally didn't dare assume that Danzō had died.

However, what surprised him was that Danzō didn't attempt another sneak attack.

Instead, he openly revealed himself right before Homura's eyes.

"Weapon Manipulation: Flying Blade Explosive Tag Twin Blades!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the moment Danzō appeared, Homura launched ten chakra-infused explosive kunai toward him.

Immediately afterward, he opened a sealing scroll and summoned two massive explosive shuriken, hurling them straight at Danzō.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted, engulfing Danzō's figure in blazing fire.

Yet Homura's expression only grew more serious.

There was no hint of satisfaction from landing the attack.

He was certain every strike had hit Danzō directly—but not because his timing was perfect.

It was because Danzō had made no attempt to dodge at all.

And the voice that emerged from the smoke the next moment confirmed his suspicion.

"Useless!"

"Right now, I am invincible."

"Attacks like yours aren't even worth dodging."

Danzō stepped out of the smoke with a faint look of disdain.

There wasn't a single wound on his body.

Not even the corner of his robe was damaged.

His gaze skipped past Homura entirely and landed on Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was breathing heavily behind him.

Shaking his head, Danzō said,

"Hiruzen… you really have grown old."

"You've already exhausted your chakra after blocking only two Reverse Four Symbols Seals."

Hiruzen didn't respond.

Instead, he focused on refining what little chakra he could recover, while silently marveling at Danzō's current strength.

Chakra was a special energy formed from a person's physical energy and spiritual energy.

As shinobi aged and passed their physical prime, their stamina declined—and naturally, so did their chakra reserves.

Danzō was roughly the same age as them.

Logically speaking, his chakra reserves should also have diminished compared to his peak years.

Yet judging by his current performance…

Danzō possessed even more chakra than he did in his prime.

Could this be the result of that arm?

Hiruzen's gaze shifted to Danzō's grotesque and terrifying right arm.

Danzō naturally noticed where Hiruzen was looking.

He raised his arm deliberately and displayed it openly.

On his right arm, the five Sharingan embedded within it had already closed one completely, while another was halfway shut.

"You're quite concerned about this arm, aren't you?"

Danzō seemed to be enjoying the moment, becoming increasingly talkative.

"Speaking of which, you should thank your beloved student Orochimaru."

"This arm is the result of his experiments."

"If it weren't for him, I would never have obtained such power."

Hearing this, Hiruzen's pupils shrank.

"I knew it…!" he said through gritted teeth.

"You've been conducting human experimentation all along!"

"Orochimaru was ruined because of you!"

"No, no, no."

Danzō shook his head.

"First of all, Orochimaru wasn't ruined by me."

"I merely gave him a stage to display his talents."

"Secondly, after you strictly forbade the continuation of the Wood Release experiments, my cooperation with Orochimaru truly ended."

"Tenzo was indeed part of the final batch of experimental subjects from our collaboration."

"His survival was nothing more than an accident. I discovered him while cleaning up the aftermath."

"Even Orochimaru himself didn't know he existed."

"And this arm…"

Danzō lifted his grotesque limb slightly.

"…is merely a byproduct of the Wood Release experiments."

At this point, the expression on Danzō's face suddenly turned serious.

His tone shifted abruptly.

"Hiruzen… do you know the one thing about you that I've always despised the most?"

Hiruzen remained silent.

He had no intention of answering that question.

But Danzō didn't expect a response anyway.

"The thing I hate most about you," he continued coldly,

"is that indecisive personality of yours—always afraid of wolves ahead and tigers behind."

"If something needs to be done, then either don't do it at all…"

"…or see it through to the end."

"Take human experimentation for example."

"We already sacrificed so much for it."

"If we didn't continue until the end, then what were all those sacrifices for?"

"You're the one who made the deaths of those experimental subjects completely meaningless!"

"You're the one who turned all the efforts of Orochimaru and myself into nothing!"

"If you had just persisted a little longer back then…"

"…the village might now possess an entire force capable of wielding the First Hokage's power!"

"We wouldn't have to bow our heads to other villages."

"And we certainly wouldn't have suffered such devastating losses when they joined forces against us!"

"Everything—everything—is because of you!"

"And Tenzo and this arm…"

"…are the best proof of it!"

As he spoke, Danzō grew more and more agitated, venting years of resentment and frustration at Hiruzen.

Hiruzen's expression darkened.

At the same time, a question surfaced deep within his heart.

If I had known Tenzo existed back then… would I still have stopped the experiments?

After a long moment, Hiruzen sighed helplessly.

He understood the answer.

Even if he had known about Tenzo…

He likely would have still ended the experiments.

Too many people had already died in those human experiments.

At the time, the village had begun to stir with rumors about people mysteriously disappearing.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi…

was not Tobirama Senju.

Tobirama possessed the authority and prestige to suppress the Uchiha clan's unrest over those experiments and silence opposition throughout the village.

But Hiruzen wasn't confident he could control such chaos.

So he made a decisive choice—

Before the truth about the experiments could be exposed, he erased every trace of them.

Even though the experiments had already produced some results, he had no other option.

"Enough."

"It's meaningless to talk about these things now."

Danzō's expression turned cold again.

"In the future, I will lead this village toward an even greater era."

He raised his right hand, forming a sword hand seal, chakra gathering rapidly within his body.

Then he asked in a chilling voice:

"Do you have any last words?"

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