Chapter 79:
When Orochimaru arrived at the Hokage Building, he saw Tsunade collapsed on her knees, covering her tear-streaked face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Orochimaru's gaze shifted from Tsunade to the six or seven corpses laid out in body bags on the ground. The zippers on the bags were half-open, revealing the faces of the deceased. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as he recognized them immediately.
"The Senju clan?"
Among the seven corpses, four were members of the Senju clan. Two of them, to Orochimaru's dismay, were Tsunade's parents. This realization hit him harder than expected, and it led his mind to race with numerous thoughts.
Orochimaru had long known that after the Second Hokage's death, the Senju clan had been steadily declining. But this… this was different. After this incident, only Tsunade, her younger brother Nawaki, and Uzumaki Mito the widow of the First Hokage remained.
He had always wondered about the mysterious reduction of Senju members in recent years. During the early years of Hiruzen's tenure as Hokage, the Senju clan was still relatively robust, and Tsunade's parents were among the most notable. But now? It seemed as though the Senju had been disappearing one by one.
Why was this happening?
Orochimaru had once considered the possibility that the Third Hokage was behind it. It wasn't unheard of for a ruler to eliminate powerful families that could threaten their position. After all, many within the Senju clan had been dissatisfied when the Hokage title passed to someone outside their lineage.
But, Orochimaru knew his master well. Hiruzen, despite being pragmatic, didn't seem like the type to coldly eradicate a powerful family like the Senju, especially considering that the Second Hokage, Tobirama, had been his teacher. Not to mention, the risks of such an action were too high. Even if Hiruzen wanted to eliminate the Senju clan, he would have faced immense backlash from loyalists within the village ANBU, Jonin, and other influential figures who respected the Senju legacy.