In the Anbu headquarters plaza, the remaining Anbu ninja looked at Veigar with a new sense of awe.
Taking just over two seconds to deal with over 130 Anbu ninja ranging from Chunin to Jonin level—Veigar's strength commanded their respect.
Thump, thump, thump...
The Shadow Clones dispersed, and over a hundred Anbu ninja lay heavily injured on the ground.
At Veigar's feet, the monkey-masked Anbu ninja was already severely injured and unconscious. Veigar turned and swept his gaze across the thousand-plus Anbu ninja present, his voice exceptionally cold:
"From now on, I make the decisions in the Anbu!"
"Does anyone else have an objection?"
Some rejoiced, others despaired. Though Veigar was young, his assertiveness had been thoroughly witnessed by everyone.
Led by Shinku Yūhi and the various department leaders, the Anbu ninja loyal to Hiruzen were now calculating their next moves and how to interact with Veigar.
Seeing no one speak, Veigar continued with a sneer:
"If you want to challenge me, you can!"
"But the price is the same as theirs: if you lose, your Anbu memories will be erased, you'll be expelled from the Anbu, and you'll never be able to be a ninja again."
This was the first fire Veigar lit.
Ruthless.
Ruthless with a cruel hand.
These over 130 Anbu ninja were now completely crippled, whether Chunin or Jonin, all of them rendered useless.
Veigar's blade not only plundered their chakra but also damaged all their internal meridians. From now on, they could only live as ordinary people.
As for continuing to be ninja, that was out of the question.
Whoosh!!!
Veigar's words once again caused an uproar. They had never imagined Veigar could be so ruthless.
"Commander, you, your methods are too cruel, aren't they? After all, they're still ninja of the village."
Shinku, steeling himself, forcefully suppressed his inner shock and stepped forward.
"Are you questioning me?"
Veigar's gaze met Shinku's, and he retorted coldly.
"I..."
Shinku, meeting Veigar's gaze, revealed a look of alarm through his masked, crimson eyes. He couldn't see a trace of emotion in Veigar's eyes.
"I just feel that..."
Shinku lowered his head.
"You don't need to feel anything."
Veigar directly cut him off.
"Within three days, I expect to see your resignation report. My Anbu is not suitable for you."
Without giving Shinku any face, Veigar announced his removal from the position of Intelligence Department Commander.
Veigar emphasized the word "my."
This was also the second fire Veigar lit.
Cutting the Gordian knot.
Veigar planned to first clear out a batch of Anbu ninja loyal to Hiruzen, and Shinku was his first target.
As for supplementing the Anbu ninja, he had plenty of ways.
"I..."
Shinku wanted to say something more, but facing Veigar's cold eyes again, he lowered his head once more and said with a hint of dejection:
"I understand."
Immediately, a group of Anbu ninja from the Intelligence Department became agitated.
"Squad Leader, why?"
"Commander, what did the Squad Leader do wrong that you're removing him from his position?"
"Please retract your order, Commander."
...
Veigar heard all these questions and pleas, and said coldly:
"I've heard all your voices."
"For those who don't wish to remain in the Anbu, I also give you three days to submit your resignation. No exceptions after the deadline."
Veigar's icy voice overshadowed everyone present, making the plaza fall silent once more.
Shinku, with his head bowed, was very clear about the situation. Being quite intelligent, he knew Veigar was eliminating dissidents, and he was the first under Veigar's butcher's knife.
"Sigh..."
Shinku sighed in his heart.
Konoha's sky was about to change this time!
In the silent plaza, Veigar's voice rang out again.
"Any Anbu information that was leaked from your mouths in the past, I can overlook."
"However, starting from this moment."
"I hereby declare an iron rule: from now on, any information regarding the Anbu, without my permission, shall not be revealed to anyone."
"Listen clearly, that means anyone, including the Hokage. Violators will serve as an example like those lying on the ground. In severe cases, death!"
As the word "death" was uttered, an overwhelming killing intent instantly erupted from Veigar, engulfing all the Anbu ninja present.
On the ground above the Anbu headquarters, Minato and Hiruzen in the Hokage's office simultaneously sensed this intense killing intent.
"This is Veigar's aura."
Minato, who was processing official documents, paused his brush, secretly surprised. Veigar's killing intent was so heavy that it could penetrate such a thick layer of ground.
"Minato, what is Veigar doing in the Anbu? He, he..."
Hiruzen, startled, asked Minato with a worried tone.
"Lord Third, I've handed over all Anbu matters to Veigar. I promised him I wouldn't interfere at all."
Minato turned his head, smiling with a sense of relief as he spoke to Hiruzen.
Immediately, Hiruzen's worry turned into shock. He hadn't expected Minato to have such audacity. At the same time, he also realized the extent of Minato's trust in Veigar.
"As long as I am in the Anbu, there will only be one voice, and that is my voice."
Leaving that statement, Veigar turned and walked deeper into the Anbu headquarters, where the Anbu Commander's exclusive office was located.
Next to it was the Anbu archives.
As for the Anbu on the ground—no, the ninja who no longer belonged to the Anbu, they would naturally be dealt with by others.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, Konoha's various ninja clans had all learned that Veigar had become the Anbu Commander and had, on that very day, purged a group of Anbu ninja with extremely forceful methods.
At this point, they also realized that Konoha's sky was about to change. Through this incident, they saw Minato's determination to seize power from Hiruzen.
Veigar, who had been eating, drinking, and sleeping in the Anbu for three consecutive days, received nearly 200 more resignation letters after Shinku's resignation was submitted.
Without exception, Veigar approved them all.
At the same time, Veigar also wrote on their resignation letters that Konoha's Anbu would never re-employ them.
The departure of these nearly 200 Anbu ninja resulted in a large number of vacant positions within Konoha's Anbu and a predicament of insufficient manpower.
However, these issues were not a problem for Veigar; vacant positions would be filled, and more personnel could be recruited.
And these vacant positions and new personnel were the third fire Veigar was preparing to light.
Promoting loyalists.
Displaying strength, eliminating dissidents, promoting loyalists—these three fires were now all lit.
Another day passed.
Anbu work didn't change due to anyone's departure. The Anbu, having returned to its state of a few days prior, resumed its busy operations.
Veigar, who had stayed in the Anbu headquarters for four days, finally stepped out of the Anbu gate.
Hokage's Office.
Veigar once again stood before Minato and Hiruzen.
Because of Veigar, the nearly 200 ninja who left the Anbu had greatly alleviated Konoha's current predicament; the manpower for executing missions was no longer stretched thin.
"Lord Fourth, please grant me a batch of Anbu special recruitment authorizations!"
Veigar, standing there, directly stated his purpose. He needed to replenish the Anbu's manpower.
"Good, I'll give them to you now."
Without any hesitation, and without asking Veigar how many he needed, he simply rounded up the number for Veigar to three hundred.
Although this was still dozens short of the number of people Veigar had expelled from the Anbu or who had voluntarily resigned in the past few days, this was the limit Minato could provide.
"Thank you..."
"Minato, wait."
Veigar hadn't even finished saying "Thank you" when Hiruzen jumped out, stopping Minato, who was about to sign the document.
"Lord Third, what's wrong?"
Minato put his pen down, signed, and then, as he turned to Hiruzen, even pressed the Hokage's stamp onto the document.
Veigar saw this and immediately smiled.
He hadn't expected Minato to have learned this trick during this time.
Hiruzen, however, was distressed.
Ever since Veigar became Anbu Commander, he no longer saw the same unquestioning respect from Minato as before, and this made Hiruzen very uneasy.
"Minato, with Konoha's current visible ninja force, there aren't enough spare personnel for Veigar to recruit into the Anbu. This document cannot be signed!"
Hiruzen, adopting a posture of concern for Konoha, spoke earnestly, revealing a look of helplessness.
Before Minato could respond, Veigar answered Hiruzen for him.
"Lord Third, rest assured. I won't recruit ninja currently on missions. Instead, I'll recruit personnel from various clans."
"Furthermore, I won't use any coercive methods."
Minato listened, then turned to Veigar and said:
"Hmm, I trust you."
Saying this, he handed the document to Veigar.
At this point, Minato finally turned to Hiruzen and said:
"Lord Third, I believe everything Veigar does is absolutely to make Konoha better."
Putting away the helpless expression on his face, Hiruzen gently nodded.
That night, Veigar, in his capacity as Anbu Commander, sent a visiting request to the Hyuga Clan, and was granted an audience by the current clan head, the newly appointed Hiashi Hyuga, accompanied by his brother Hizashi Hyuga.
Veigar's movements at this time naturally couldn't escape the eyes of Hiruzen and Danzo, especially since Veigar had obtained the special recruitment authorization from Minato right in front of Hiruzen today.
Root, which Minato had previously ordered disbanded, was allowed to continue to exist due to Hiruzen's persistence, with Danzo still its leader.
Hiruzen's meeting with Danzo took place in one of Root's bases, at Danzo's home.
"Danzo, is there something urgent you needed to see me about?"
Veigar's actions in the Anbu had made Danzo the first to grow restless, not Hiruzen.
At this moment, who was most affected by the iron rule Veigar established in the Anbu?
Besides Hiruzen, it was Danzo.
It's important to remember that Danzo had many spies planted in the Anbu. Veigar's new rules gave Danzo, who had always coveted the Hokage position, a very strong sense of crisis.
Although those people were still in the Anbu now, he knew very well that Veigar would definitely begin purging them soon.
By then, it would be even more difficult for him to get information from the Anbu.
Veigar's visit to the Hyuga Clan today also provided Danzo with an excuse to invite Hiruzen.
Hiruzen got straight to the point, and Danzo was equally direct.
"Hiruzen, are you just going to let that brat run wild?"
The "brat" in Danzo's mouth naturally referred to Veigar.
Was Hiruzen anxious about Veigar's big moves?
Of course, he was.
However, he hadn't yet thought of a solution, so being anxious was pointless.
However, Veigar's statement today that he would only recruit personnel from Konoha's various ninja clans actually made Hiruzen less anxious, and he also thought of a countermeasure.
Hiruzen had plenty of ways to deal with these clans; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained in the Third Hokage's position for decades.
In the original story, even after Minato's death in the Nine-Tails incident, he was able to retake the Hokage position and once again gain nominal authority, shattering Danzo's dream of becoming Hokage once more.
When he learned that Veigar had visited the Hyuga Clan, he became even less worried, because the Hyuga Clan had always been a firm supporter of his.
Besides the Hyuga, he also had the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.
As long as Veigar didn't touch his bottom line, the Uchiha, then Hiruzen wouldn't be anxious, and might even secretly provide support.
"Although Veigar is still young, he is still Konoha's Anbu Commander. As his seniors, we should give him sufficient support."
Hiruzen responded to Danzo indifferently, a faint smile on his face.
"You!"
Danzo, who hadn't sat in the Hokage's seat for so many years, still lagged behind Hiruzen in terms of composure.
"Are you truly decided?"
Hiruzen smiled and recited his Will of Fire doctrine to Danzo, looking out at the night sky with his hands behind his back:
"Where there are leaves dancing, the fire will burn. The shadows of the fire will illuminate the village, and new leaves will sprout. Only when geniuses continuously emerge from the village will Konoha stand strong forever."
For others, Hiruzen's spiel might work, but for Danzo?
Heh heh—
He didn't buy it at all.
However, Danzo still understood the hidden meaning in Hiruzen's words: that he wasn't anxious at all, and that it was Danzo who was anxious.
"Hiruzen, Minato is currently not capable enough to handle such a great responsibility, and neither is Veigar."
"Furthermore, I see extreme danger in Veigar's face. For the sake of Konoha, that brat absolutely cannot remain in the Konoha Anbu."
"If necessary, I believe he should be killed."
This wasn't the first time Danzo had wanted to kill Veigar, but he had never succeeded before. Now, he was just bringing it up again.
For the Hokage position, let alone Veigar, he would even choose to kill Hiruzen.
In the original story, didn't he do something like that?