"This is the place. The captain and the others were killed here by a man with a Three Tomoe Sharingan. He seemed to be that famous young powerhouse from Konoha, named Uchiha... Ryun!"
A Kumo-nin led the entire Cloud envoy group, totaling 12 people, to the crime scene.
Soon after, they dug up the brutally murdered bodies of three Kumo-nin from a freshly turned patch of earth.
"At the time, I had a stomachache and went to relieve myself nearby. When I came back, I saw all three of my comrades slaughtered by that guy. I knew I wasn't his match, so I could only hide and not make a sound..."
This 'Kumo-nin' spoke with reddened eyes, his expression full of guilt and anguish.
"Lord Saki, you must avenge our fallen brothers!"
The leader of the Kumo envoy knew their plan to kidnap the Nine-Tails' vessel had failed. But looking at the red strands of hair in his hand and the mutilated corpses on the ground, Saki, the Jonin, gritted his teeth and nodded heavily.
"Konoha... Uchiha Ryun... killed our people from Kumo. I will make that damned bastard pay in blood! No matter who he is!! No matter his status!!!"
"Let's go, follow me back to Konoha!"
In the underground Root headquarters of Konoha.
"Lord Danzo, I noticed Uchiha Ryun acting suspiciously, so I followed him. In the Forest of Death, I witnessed him rescuing the kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki and slaughtering all three Kumo-nin..."
A 'Root member' knelt on the ground, reporting the incident to Danzo.
"What!!!"
Danzo was shocked. He immediately stood up and demanded his subordinate explain in more detail.
The chakra of the ninja before him was familiar, and his voice and appearance were also correct. Danzo didn't even consider the possibility that this person might have been replaced. Instinctively, he believed Root members would never lie to him or betray him.
After the 'Root member' finished his detailed report, Danzo immediately gathered his men and headed for the crime scene.
However, by sheer coincidence, as soon as they left Konoha and entered the Forest of Death, they ran into the returning Kumo envoy.
The moment the two sides met, weapons were drawn in reflex, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.
"Konoha plans to silence us, is that it? If we die here today, Kumo will surely crush Konoha! The Raikage will avenge us!"
Saki, the Jonin, spoke with a dark expression. Even though they seemed to be in danger, his attitude remained unyielding.
"Wait... you Kumo-nin seem to have misunderstood..." Danzo raised a hand to explain.
"What misunderstanding? Aren't you heading in this direction to hunt us down?" Saki remained vigilant.
"You've truly misunderstood. We were merely passing by..."
Danzo, though confused, continued to explain.
"But why is the entire envoy group not resting at the inn tonight and instead gathered here?"
Danzo now sensed something was wrong.
"What's going on here?"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Danzo turned to see the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arriving with his men!
Hiruzen had received word that the entire Kumo envoy had left their lodgings. Fearing they were up to something, he hurried over with his team.
Three groups had now converged at the same time.
"What are we doing here? What's going on? Konoha killed our people, and now you dare ask us what's going on?"
Saki was like an enraged lion, his chakra erupting the next moment.
Unfortunately, his strength was no match for Konoha's forces. But upon hearing his words, both Hiruzen and Danzo widened their eyes in shock.
Danzo instinctively glanced at the Root member who had provided the intel and led him here.
But the man subtly shook his head, as if equally puzzled about how the Kumo envoy knew about this.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Konoha would never kill your people!" Hiruzen immediately denied it.
However, when he counted the Kumo envoy's numbers, he realized their original group of 15 had been reduced to 12—three were indeed missing...
Seeing this, Hiruzen's heart sank with a terrible premonition.
"Nonsense? You dare call this nonsense? Then open your eyes wide and see for yourselves!"
Saki took out a scroll and unsealed it in front of everyone, dumping the mutilated corpses onto the ground.
The Konoha ninja gasped at the sight of the dirt-covered, dismembered bodies.
"What in the world happened here?!"
Hiruzen couldn't understand why the Kumo-nin had been hacked apart like this, nor why they had been buried and then dug up again.
By now, Danzo roughly understood the situation. He gave the Root member a look and nodded, signaling him to explain the incident to the Third Hokage.
Then, leaning on his cane, Danzo stepped forward and calmly addressed the Kumo envoy.
"How can you be so certain Konoha killed your people based on these remains? The crime scene isn't even in Konoha. Isn't jumping to conclusions a bit reckless?"
Hearing this, the Kumo-nin grew furious.
"Konoha did this! I saw it with my own eyes! The killer was a brat wielding a black-bladed lightning sword with the Sharingan. I even heard his name—it's your village's Uchiha Ryun!"
A 'Kumo-nin' shouted angrily.
"What?!"
Every Konoha ninja, including Hiruzen, was stunned.
Danzo, now fully aware of the situation, realized Uchiha Ryun had messed up—leaving a witness who recognized him.
'What an absolute fool!'
Danzo cursed inwardly, thinking Ryun was utterly incompetent.
For now, Danzo decided to leave this mess to Hiruzen. After all, Ryun was his student's student, one of his most valued proteges.
After hearing the Root member's report, Hiruzen's face turned beet red with rage.
He was furious about the attempted kidnapping of the Nine-Tails' vessel, livid at Kumo's audacity to play the victim, and angry at Ryun for killing the Kumo-nin carelessly and leaving a witness who exposed his identity.
Though Hiruzen was seething, he forced himself to calm down.
"Your real purpose in coming to Konoha wasn't to form an alliance, was it... The so-called alliance was a lie. Kidnapping the Nine-Tails' vessel was your true goal!"
Hiruzen's gaze was icy as he scanned the Kumo-nin.
"Absolute nonsense!!!"