Konoha.
Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was routinely handling documents, but his frequently furrowed brows were enough to show his current unease. So, in his obvious agitation, he wanted to take a puff from his pipe.
Thinking this, he reached for the pipe on his desk, but unexpectedly, he couldn't hold it steady, and it fell directly to the ground, shattering into pieces upon impact.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched this scene, and a surge of unease immediately welled up within him, his eyes filled with gloom.
Strange, why would this happen?
Could it be an ominous sign?
No, impossible!
"Hiruzen!"
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was deep in thought, Danzo's voice rang out, and the door was pushed open.
"Danzo, why are you here at this time?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, glanced at the shattered pipe on the floor, and without bothering to pick it up, said with a displeased and somber tone.
"Bad news!"
Danzo's face was solemn, and he said in a low voice, "Hiruzen, I hope you can hold on!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that?"
Not good!
He had a bad feeling.
He was already a bit unsettled, always feeling that something was off, which made him agitated. And now Danzo came over, his face so serious…
There was no doubt, something had happened.
Danzo sighed, tightened his grip on his cane, and slowly said, "Traces of Anbu have been found within the Land of Hot Water, and it's been confirmed they are the ones we dispatched earlier…"
At this point, Danzo deliberately paused, then continued, "They are all dead."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face gradually contorted, from initial shock and disbelief, to later grief and unbearable pain, until he was on the verge of madness.
He lowered his head, clenching his fists, his voice hoarse: "Danzo, are you certain?"
Danzo stood before the desk, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had aged considerably in an instant, and seemed to feel a flicker of pity, but quickly dismissed it.
He nodded and said in a deep voice, "Confirmed. The scene was gruesome, a complete mess. Sarutobi Miroku's death was horrific, almost unrecognizable; only half of a head could be identified…"
"Enough!" Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want to hear any more and slammed his fist on the desk, which instantly caved in.
His son was gone!
This was certain.
Although Danzo had secretly caused a lot of trouble behind his back, he wouldn't joke about something like this, especially since it was he who had his eldest son hint to Danzo that it was time to act.
He just hadn't expected that this time, Danzo's Root and the Anbu directly under the Hokage would fail so completely.
Uchiha Baimu, was that guy really that powerful?
Mangekyo Sharingan… It had to be, it had to be.
He must have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan; otherwise, a normal Sharingan wouldn't be enough to survive the Anbu's encirclement and even wipe them out… Hiruzen Sarutobi growled in a low voice: "Uchiha Baimu, I will definitely kill him."
The pain of losing a child!
It was too painful, truly too painful.
His eldest son, whom he had nurtured for many years, was actually killed like this, killed by the inherently evil Uchiha. That damned Uchiha Baimu, if I don't kill you, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, am not the Third Hokage of Konoha!
Danzo silently watched this scene, thinking that such a loss of composure was truly rare.
Hiruzen, it seems this incident has hit you hard.
Then don't blame me.
As soon as he heard the news, Danzo rushed over, not out of any good intentions, but to use this incident to make Hiruzen Sarutobi clash with Baimu to the death.
He hadn't expected that this inherently evil Uchiha brat could actually wipe out the elites of my Root and the elite unit led by Sarutobi Miroku.
To be honest, when Danzo first received the secret report, he was incredibly astonished.
Because he truly hadn't expected Baimu to be so powerful.
And this undoubtedly gave Danzo the idea of possessing him.
Baimu's eyes became something he considered his own.
However, Danzo knew very well that to deal with such a troublesome enemy, he couldn't rely solely on himself; he still needed the help of our Hokage-sama.
Because the hatred for a murdered son is irreconcilable!
No matter how indecisive Hiruzen Sarutobi usually was, Danzo didn't believe he could endure this matter. That was his beloved eldest son, the son he had nurtured for many years.
Not to mention he still had a younger son, but Asuma was simply not up to par, quite inferior to Sarutobi Miroku. So Danzo firmly believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi would not remain indifferent.
Facts proved Danzo wasn't wrong; Hiruzen Sarutobi had truly entered a state of rage, with only one thought in his mind: to kill Uchiha Baimu and prevent this menace from continuing to live.
"Hiruzen, when do we act~?" Danzo quietly asked, watching Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was trying his best to suppress his emotions.
"No rush!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly.
Although he was very angry and wanted to kill Baimu.
But now was not the right time to act. Moreover, the Anbu members died in the Land of Hot Water. If Baimu used this to his advantage, it would be a big problem.
He needed to gloss over the matter first. Those people didn't die by Baimu's hand, but by the hands of Kumogakure.
After his anger subsided, Hiruzen Sarutobi regained his rationality, so he wouldn't make a wrong judgment because of it. For now, he still needed to gloss over the matter.
Therefore, he immediately gave instructions: "Miroku and the others didn't die by Baimu's hand, but by the hands of Kumogakure. So, notify the front lines, they must defeat Kumogakure!"
"Let's not talk about that inherently evil Uchiha brat for now. What do you think Tsunade would think if she knew?" Danzo hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to actually hold back, but this wouldn't do, so he eagerly hoped to continue targeting Baimu.
"Regarding Tsunade, don't think about targeting her anymore. What's important now is to kill Uchiha Baimu, but we can't keep sending people to assassinate him. We need to use Kumogakure's hand to get rid of him."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that there had to be a reasonable excuse for the Sarutobi Miroku incident, and he couldn't let Baimu use it to cause trouble. He needed to announce the matter now.
Anbu on a top-secret mission were ambushed by Kumogakure, suffering heavy losses and being completely wiped out.
Squad Leader, Sarutobi Miroku, died in battle!
This is what Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted.
Danzo: "…"
Hiruzen, you truly are cunning.
And Danzo could roughly guess Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangements, especially regarding Sarutobi Miroku. This was to bestow upon him the name of a hero… Hmph, to glorify himself?
Indeed, Hiruzen, you are still so hypocritical!
But will that inherently evil Uchiha brat let you have your way?
Don't forget, Sarutobi Miroku led people to assassinate him, but was instead killed by that brat. Do you think that evil Uchiha Baimu knew Sarutobi Miroku's identity?
Clearly, it must have been exposed. So, how do you deal with it?
Danzo said in a deep voice: "The assassination failed, and Uchiha Baimu knows it was us who did it, that we gave the order. Now that he is the Uchiha clan leader, do you think he will make the Uchiha clan take drastic measures? Don't forget, the Uchiha clan's elites are currently on the front lines and haven't returned. If…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi directly interrupted Danzo, not giving him a chance to continue, but instead, with a forceful attitude, clarified one thing: only Uchiha Baimu was to be killed!
"Alright, Danzo, not all of the Uchiha clan are like Uchiha Baimu. It's just that this time, Uchiha Fugaku was forced to abdicate, which happened on the front lines, and we didn't know about it, so we couldn't stop it in time. If this had happened in the village, it would be different. So, don't think about escalating this matter. I still say the same thing: Uchiha Baimu's death is enough."
Just kill Uchiha Baimu?
Give it up, Hiruzen, the Uchiha clan cannot be allowed to remain.
In Danzo's opinion, the Uchiha clan deserved to die. Moreover, he needed the Sharingan, so if the Uchiha clan didn't die, how would he plunder their Sharingan?
Collecting them solely on the battlefield was simply too inefficient, so Danzo naturally eagerly hoped to wipe out the Uchiha clan.
Isn't the opportunity here now?
The problem is… Hiruzen, you are still too weak.
Even though your son was killed, you still only want to kill one Uchiha Baimu. You are truly too weak.
Danzo was unwilling, so he tried his best to persuade: "Hiruzen, Uchiha Baimu is now the clan leader; his identity is different. If he dies, what do you think the Uchiha clan will do? Now is the chance; the Uchiha elites are away. I think we can make a move…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said coldly: "You say the elites are away? Don't forget one thing: the Uchiha on the front lines have already returned, clearly at Uchiha Baimu's command. And the Uchiha clan's compound is currently under strict guard; they're prepared!"
He paused, then looked at his friend and said in a deep voice: "This Uchiha Baimu, compared to Fugaku, is like heaven and earth, do you understand? He's not as foolish as Fugaku!"
You think Uchiha Baimu is easy to deal with?
No, this guy is very cunning, so now we need to rely on external forces, and Kumogakure is undoubtedly the best tool. Using Kumogakure's hand to eliminate him… Everything will be reasonable, and with his death, not only will the Uchiha clan have no fault to find, but other ninja clans won't be suspicious either!
"Hiruzen, you want to use Kumogakure's hand, but the problem is that the commander on the front lines has now become Tsunade. How will you know Uchiha Baimu's whereabouts? Without knowing his whereabouts, without knowing the battle plan, you can't let Kumogakure know Uchiha Baimu's movements. How will you use their hand to kill him?"
Danzo, upon hearing this, was dismissive. He understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions too well, but the current problem was that if he couldn't leak any intelligence, how would he make someone target Uchiha Baimu?
Hiruzen Sarutobi said with an indifferent expression: "There are many people on the front lines, and it's normal for enemy spies to leak information."
"Hiruzen, you're not thinking of…" Hearing this, Danzo seemed to realize something, and his expression immediately turned ugly.
You want me to take the blame?
Hiruzen, you truly are inhumane.
Danzo understood that if anything happened later, he would be the one blamed for leaking information, because Hiruzen Sarutobi was the righteous and glorious Hokage, and naturally wouldn't do such a thing as betraying confidential information and harming fellow village ninja.
As for whether others would believe it?
That wasn't important.
Who made Danzo's reputation what it was? Would they believe him, the head of Root, Danzo Shimura, the Darkness of Konoha, or the righteous and glorious Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Neither choice would be made.
"Danzo, I'm sorry to trouble you, but this is all for Konoha!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a righteous expression.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi's rhetoric, Danzo undoubtedly felt like he was being forced to eat shit. He really was being made the scapegoat, and Hiruzen was just going to be the righteous and glorious one, right?
Damn it, Hiruzen, you really are inhumane!
Danzo was furious, but helpless.
It was simply impotent rage.
Because no one would believe him.
They would only think he did it.
"Fine, fine, fine, Hiruzen, you'll regret this!" Danzo raged impotently, slamming the door as he left.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't wait for Danzo to get far before immediately adding, "Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
...Land of Frost, main camp.
Tsunade arrived here with Esdeath and Alice Lize.
The person in charge of the front lines here was Shikaku Nara, the head of the Nara clan. In addition, there were also the heads of the Akimichi clan and the Yamanaka clan.
That is, the three clans of Ino–Shika–Cho, loyal partners of the Hokage line of Konoha, were all here. However, although Shikaku Nara was in charge, it was only temporary, and he was not the commander.
Now that Tsunade had arrived, everyone knew who the real commander was.
Of course, if Tsunade hadn't come, it would most likely have been given to Minato Namikaze or Orochimaru, but Minato Namikaze was currently on the Iwagakure battlefield, responsible for confrontation and vigilance.
As for Orochimaru, he was still on the front lines of the Sunagakure battlefield, focused on the war against Sunagakure, and naturally had no time to come to the Land of Frost. Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi had planned for Minato Namikaze to take charge of the war against Kumogakure and be responsible for the operations on the Land of Frost battlefield.
However, due to Tsunade and Bai Mu volunteering, the plan fell through. But he had made arrangements and still recalled Minato Namikaze.
Currently, however, Minato Namikaze couldn't arrive yet, and since Tsunade had already arrived, the command of the front lines would fall into Tsunade's hands.
Given her status and position, even if Minato Namikaze came, he wouldn't be able to contend with Tsunade for this command. Only Orochimaru could, but Orochimaru wouldn't be able to make it for a while.
Therefore, the commander could only be Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Nara Shikaku led a group of Konoha Jonin to greet her, but didn't see Bai Mu's figure, which immediately surprised him. He wondered if something had happened?
But looking at the situation, it seemed unlikely that anything had happened, so why was he not there?
Tsunade nodded, then immediately got to the point, not wanting to waste time with pleasantries. She asked in a deep voice, "Shikaku, what's the situation now? What are Kumogakure's movements?"
Nara Shikaku knew that Tsunade was always decisive, so he immediately responded, "Lady Tsunade, Kumogakure has currently gathered three thousand troops. The Third Raikage's son and his brother, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, are personally here. The situation is not favorable for us!"