Kagami Uchiha had once been a close friend. A teammate.

And Shisui Uchiha was Kagami Uchiha's descendant...

But back then, Danzō's eyes had already been clouded!

Just as Shisui's lyrics said, back then, Danzō could no longer tell day from night.

After learning that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and especially after learning what that Mangekyō could do, Danzō had wanted that power.

To grow stronger.

To become Hokage.

To wash away the shame of the Hidden Leaf Village.

But everything Danzō had done was wrong...

A descendant of a close friend had died at Danzō's own hands.

Thinking back on it now, the Danzō of that time really was a bastard.

While listening to Shisui's singing, Danzō reached up and touched the Mangekyō Sharingan in the eye socket. Shisui's Mangekyō...

"Sarutobi..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing nearby, heard that familiar voice and looked over with mild curiosity.

"What is it, Danzō?!"

This time, Danzō seemed to have no energy left to push back against the nickname.

"Monkey... I truly did wrong back then. Sometimes I think about how you had already lost your fighting spirit when facing the Land of Lightning — but was I any different?

Our teacher died in the Second Shinobi World War. And the truth is, when I faced the Land of Lightning myself afterward, I felt a genuine fear rising from somewhere deep inside...

But I couldn't face that fear directly. All I could do was numb myself. Hope to grow stronger. Hope to take revenge on the Land of Lightning. Hope to make the Hidden Leaf Village powerful.

But I've come to see that everything I did over all these years was wrong...

Monkey... the two of us are both remnants of the old era. Both burdened with sin.

So let us give our lives for the Hidden Leaf Village!

Sarutobi! The fighting spirit we once lost — it's time for it to come back!

Tomorrow's war with the Land of Lightning... let us be the ones to lead the charge! Let us two remnants of the old era do what we can for the Hidden Leaf Village!

I! Danzō Shimura! I am the greatest daikon radish the Hidden Leaf Village has ever produced!

Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning! Prepare to face a daikon radish!"

As the words poured out, the aura radiating off Danzō kept rising, Chakra surging and gathering wildly from within.

Hiruzen suddenly noticed that this old friend seemed different somehow...

That aura. That Chakra. Compared to the aged, diminished state of before, it was a difference like heaven and earth.

Looked like Danzō had found the old self again...

"Hahaha... Danzō! Those words are exactly what I was thinking!

Back in those days, when the two of us brothers took hold of the Hidden Leaf Village's power during the Shinobi World War, we kept the Leaf standing tall above the entire Shinobi World. The whole world meant nothing to the two of us back then...

Now that the Land of Lightning dares to come and provoke us — let's go and see just what they're made of!

Danzō... after all these years! The two of us are going to fight side by side again!"

Danzō smiled faintly at that.

"Heh... Monkey, don't let me look down on you tomorrow. After all, I am the greatest daikon radish the Hidden Leaf Village has ever produced!"

"Danzō! I am the Third Hokage!"

"Monkey! Hirofumi Ito is the Fifth Hokage!"

BOOM!

Tobirama Senju appeared behind them without warning and cracked a fist into both their heads in quick succession.

Tobirama had heard every word those two students said. The anger over what they had done hadn't gone anywhere. But seeing them find their way back to who they once were, as their teacher, Tobirama felt something close to relief.

"You two ungrateful little wretches, what do you think you're doing, putting on this big act?!

Does tomorrow's business with the Land of Lightning even need the two of you?! Do you have any idea that even I would have to wait in line for a chance to throw a punch?!

So the two of you can go off to the side and keep yourselves busy! My elder brother and that wicked madara uchiha, those two are definitely firing the opening shot. By the time they're done, will there even be anything left for you?!"

Hiruzen and Danzō Shimura looked at each other. Their eyes started doing the talking.

"Monkey... this won't do. After all these years, we finally have a rare chance to fight side by side, and against the Land of Lightning, of all people. We can't just let an opportunity like this slip away!"

"Danzō... I know exactly what you mean... but didn't you just hear what our teacher said? Even the teacher has to wait in line. With hashirama senju and Senior madara uchiha both in the mix, there's no way the two of us can compete with that!"

"Monkey... no! We are absolutely not letting this go! When the time comes and we spot someone from the Land of Lightning, we just strike, catch them completely off guard!"

"Great idea, Danzō! Tomorrow we read the room and move when we see the opening..."

"No problem, Monkey! After all, I am the greatest daikon radish the Hidden Leaf Village has ever produced!"

BOOM!

Two fresh lumps appeared on their heads.

Tobirama reached out and knocked them both hard, again.

"You two ungrateful little wretches, what are your eyes doing, darting around like that?! Scheming up something shameless again, are you?!"

Hiruzen let out a sly little chuckle.

"Heh heh... Teacher... how could that possibly be? No matter how shameless the two of us are, we could never out-shameless you!"

"Hmm?!"

"Ptui ptui ptui, I mean our teacher is wise and mighty! How could we two disciples possibly be shameless? That would just be an embarrassment to you, Teacher!"

"Alright, alright, enough flattery. Do you two want to sing? If you want to sing, get up on stage already!"

Hiruzen's eyes lit up. There had already been a song in mind anyway, and now that old friend Danzō was back, why not drag Danzō along to sing together?

"Danzō! Let's go! We're going to sing!"

"Sarutobi! Let go of me! What songs do I even know?! I've never learned a song in my life! What are you dragging me on stage for?! To stand there looking like an idiot?!"

"Aiyaaa~~ Come on, Danzō! You can be my backup dancer!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi grabbed Danzō Shimura by the arm and marched straight toward the stage.

"Sarutobi! You are going to regret this!"

"Danzō! I am the Third Hokage!"

BOOM!

Still dragging Danzō along, Hiruzen slammed one free hand hard onto the ground. A burst of smoke exploded with a crack.

Summoning Technique!

"Enma! On stage!"

Enma looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Hmm? Sarutobi? What do you need me for?!"

"Enma! Pin Danzō down!"

"On it!"

➤ Next: What Do We Do About the Portable Toilets?

Chapter 252 - What Do We Do About the Portable Toilets?

Danzō Shimura was pinned flat against the stage by Hiruzen Sarutobi's summoned beast, utterly drained of the will to live.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the microphone and began to sing.

"Brother, give me a hug — tell me what's on your mind~~

All the grievances and changes you've weathered through the years~~

Brother, give me a hug — let those tears fall if they must~~

Shed every last drop of the heartache buried deep inside~~

Danzō! Come on, dance!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sang while keeping up a steady stream of interaction with Danzō Shimura throughout.

At that moment, Danzō Shimura wanted to cry and couldn't even manage that.

"Damn you, Hiruzen! You want me to DANCE? Go to hell!

You are going to regret this!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paid absolutely no mind to any of it. A look of boundless happiness spread across that face, microphone in hand, continuing right along...

"Brother, you've gotten thinner~~

You look so worn out~~

The dust of the road can't hide~~

The years written on your face~~

..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had the gorilla hold Danzō down by force and sang the entire song through to the very end. After the last note, Hiruzen Sarutobi was immensely satisfied, face glowing, radiating pure delight. Danzō Shimura, meanwhile, left the stage looking like a wronged little girl, wanting to cry and finding no tears left.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Danzō Shimura's retreating back and broke into a cackle.

"Kehehehehe... Satisfied! I am so utterly, completely satisfied! Kehehehehehe..."

The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi's turn ended, Black Zetsu leapt onto the stage without waiting another second.

Black Zetsu was extremely confident about the song about to be performed. And this particular song had been personally crafted by Hirofumi Ito, made just for Black Zetsu...

When Black Zetsu picked up the microphone, there was still a flicker of nerves, but the instant a certain mother came to mind, every last trace of that nervousness vanished.

Just thinking about the song Hirofumi Ito had given, Black Zetsu's heart swelled with emotion.

This song was practically tailor-made.

That's right.

In this world, no one is better than Mom!

And so, with that thought settled firmly in mind, Black Zetsu raised the microphone and sang at the top of its voice.

"In this world, only Mom is wonderful~~

A child with a mom is a treasure~~

Nestled in Mom's warm embrace~~

There's no end to the happiness~~

Without Mom, life is full of sorrow~~

A child without a mom is like a blade of grass~~

Drifting far from Mom's warm embrace~~

Where can happiness be found~~

..."

After Black Zetsu finished, even Itachi Uchiha came to the stage, however reluctantly.

Itachi Uchiha couldn't shake the feeling that Hirofumi Ito had done this on purpose. Why did it have to be this particular song?!

But then, looking down from the stage at a certain mother's warm, encouraging gaze...

A certain father gave a quiet nod.

That foolish little Obito tilted a small chin upward with a haughty air.

Itachi Uchiha decided there was actually nothing wrong with singing this song after all.

And so, after a long, slow breath...

"Find a free moment~~ find some time~~

Take your little brother~~ and come home more often~~

...............................................

Come home more often, come on home~~

Even if it's just to wash some chopsticks and rinse some bowls for Mom~~

Old folks don't ask much from their children — no great contributions, no grand deeds~~

A whole lifetime is hard enough, all they hope for is everyone together~~"

...............................................

The concert ran all the way through to the middle of the night, and nearly every notable person in the Hidden Leaf Village had taken the stage to perform.

Tens of thousands of audience members left the venue still hungry for more.

After all, a concert was an entirely novel thing, and the ones performing were the prominent powerhouses of the Hidden Leaf Village, every single one of them.

This was something that had never been seen before.

Tonight was absolutely a night worthy of being written into the Hidden Leaf Village's history.

A landmark event by any measure.

East Konoha Corporation also began wrapping up, and together with the Hidden Leaf Village's Logistics Department started clearing the venue.

With tens of thousands of people in attendance, there was naturally no shortage of trash left behind.

But the trash wasn't actually the worst headache. The worst headache was the public restrooms, which were nearly full.

Earlier, hashirama senju had clapped both hands together and produced row after row of public restrooms around the concert grounds. Right now, every single one of those restrooms was packed full of waste.

East Konoha Corporation's manager Kakuzu and Logistics Department head Shisui Uchiha stood staring helplessly at the rows upon rows of facilities stretching out before them.

To be clear: this was the accumulated output of tens of thousands of people doing their business over the course of an entire night.

There was no way all of that could just sit here. Forget the eyesore, the smell alone was unbearable.

But cleaning it up wasn't exactly simple either.

That much waste, no matter where it ended up, was going to be an eyesore and a source of odor.

Shisui Uchiha stared at the rows of restrooms with a pained expression.

"Kakuzu, how are we supposed to deal with all this?! We can't exactly ask the senior shinobi to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport all this stuff out of the Hidden Leaf Village, can we?!

Never mind how many trips that would take...

We can't really bring ourselves to ask those seniors for something like this either, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to move sewage just doesn't have a great ring to it!"

Kakuzu stood to one side, also turning the problem over with a pained expression, trying to figure out what to do with all of it.

Just then, Sakumo Hatake and kakashi hatake walked over.

kakashi hatake looked utterly devoid of the will to live. Yes, kakashi hatake had accidentally awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, but everything that had led to that moment had been so mortifying it defied description.

And on top of that, a certain father had watched every last second of it unfold.

And since awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, kakashi hatake's body had become even more drained than before, Sakumo Hatake was seriously starting to wonder whether kakashi hatake had been sneaking looks at dirty books again.

"Father... I really didn't look at any dirty books! I've already explained, it was my Sharingan that evolved. It evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan.

You know how much Chakra it takes to sustain a Mangekyō Sharingan! It nearly drained me completely dry just now, otherwise there's no way I would have passed out on that stage!"

Sakumo Hatake let out a cold snort.

"Hmph! You unfilial wretch! Do you really think your father is that easy to fool?!

A Three-Tomoe Sharingan just up and evolves on its own?! You think a real Mangekyō Sharingan grows on trees?!

You claim you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan? Then tell me, what is your Mangekyō's ability?!

If you can't give a clear answer today, you can go home and haul night soil for your father!"

kakashi hatake felt utterly helpless and had no choice but to explain.

"Father... my Mangekyō Sharingan's ability is to open a Kamui Dimension. Not only can I enter the Kamui Dimension myself, I can also store objects inside it... and the space is vast, it can hold a great many things!"

Sakumo Hatake and kakashi hatake kept walking as they talked, moving further into the venue.

And every single word of that conversation was heard crystal clear by Kakuzu and Shisui Uchiha standing right there beside them.

➤ Next: You Want Me to Clean the Cesspit?!