Konoha was currently in a period of great unrest. Throughout the night, Hiruzen and the other high-ranking officials had not slept at all, while the Anbu continued their exhaustive investigation into the cause of Shisui's death.
Early the next morning, the people of Konoha noticed something was wrong. The village's defense system, which had recently been relaxed, had tightened once again. Every person entering or leaving Konoha had to undergo a rigorous inspection.
Itachi had finally returned home with a heavy heart. After exchanging a few strained words with his younger brother, Sasuke, who still knew nothing, he holed himself up in his room, lacking the will even to eat.
Before leaving the Hokage's office the previous night, Danzō had pointedly signaled Itachi, suggesting the boy find time to meet with him privately.
In contrast, the instigator of last night's events, Diarmuid, had gone straight to sleep upon returning to the Hyuga Residence. Zetsu had not bothered him much, quickly leaving Konoha to rendezvous with Obito, who was standing by in the vicinity.
The entirety of Konoha felt as if it were on the precipice of a great storm.
Although Kumogakure had dispatched several ninjas to infiltrate the Hyuga Residence the night before, they hadn't sent the entire delegation. A portion remained behind. The Ambassador had waited at the embassy all night, only to realize that not a single soul had returned. By early morning, seeing Konoha's defenses contracting, his heart began to race with anxiety. After some deliberation, he led the remaining Kumogakure personnel to confront Hiruzen, determined to demand an explanation.
Inside the Hokage's office, the air was thick with smoke. Hiruzen hadn't slept a wink, and now Konoha was potentially harboring a powerful, unidentified enemy. With so much having transpired, the old man was mentally exhausted and possessed a very short fuse.
Watching the Kumogakure Ambassador ranting before him, Hiruzen gripped his pipe, his eyes occasionally flashing with visible impatience.
"We came here with the intent of peace and friendship! Yet, in a single night, six members of our Kumogakure delegation have gone missing within Konoha! Is this the attitude Konoha shows us? Furthermore, what is the meaning of these inspections you started today? Are you preparing to launch a war, screening out foreign intelligence officers in advance?" the Kumogakure Ambassador questioned aggressively.
Hiruzen looked at him coldly and asked, "Is that all you have to say?"
"Third Hokage-sama? What kind of attitude is that? I stand here representing Kumogakure, representing the will of the Fourth Raikage!" the Ambassador replied firmly.
At that moment, all of Hiruzen's pent-up frustration exploded. He yanked open a drawer, pulled out a stack of photographs, an, completely abandoning any diplomatic decorum as if the man before him weren't an ambassador but a common street thug, slung the photos directly into his face.
The Ambassador was stunned by the sudden outburst. Before he could react or vent his own anger, Hiruzen roared at him:
"You have the nerve to ask me where your people went? I should be asking you! Since when is a diplomatic delegation permitted to sneak into the compound of a major Konoha clan in the dead of night? You want to know where they went? Look for yourself! I'll tell you where, they went to the Hyuga home!!!"
Trembling, the Ambassador picked up the photos. His face turned pale as he saw the clear images of his ninjas scaling the Hyuga walls under the cover of night.
However, anyone chosen to be an ambassador is inherently clever. In a split second, he pivoted, speaking rapidly: "Under the commission of Lord Fourth Raikage, Kumogakure had confidential matters to discuss with the Hyuga clan. Thus, we had to resort to such measures. But even so, Konoha has no right to detain our people. Please release them immediately."
These words were a blatant attempt to drive a wedge between Konoha and the Hyuga clan. Had Hiruzen not already been fully aware of the situation, there might have been a tiny sliver of doubt. But now...
A cold sneer played on Hiruzen's lips as he erupted in fury. "Resort to such measures? Do you have any idea how much trouble your despicable behavior has caused Konoha? Do you know why the Anbu were near the Hyuga Residence to take these photos in the first place?"
"Why?" the Ambassador asked, genuinely confused. This mission was supposed to be top-secret; how could Konoha have known in advance?
"The S-Rank international criminal, Rodriguez Diarmuid, infiltrated Konoha last night. According to our intelligence, he was hiding within the Hyuga Residence. We were in the middle of a joint operation with the Hyuga to capture him. But thanks to your ninjas appearing out of nowhere and breaking into the compound, they successfully alerted Diarmuid! I am telling you plainly: your ninjas have all died at Diarmuid's hands. Our capture operation failed entirely, and we lost many Anbu members because of it, including, but not limited to, our war hero, Shisui of the Body Flicker. Kumogakure will take full responsibility for this. I have already dispatched a delegation to Kumogakure to demand accountability. I want to see exactly what kind of explanation the Fourth Raikage gives me! And let me tell you, this morning's screening is to track Diarmuid's movements and flush out every spy in this village. If you want to interpret that as war preparation, then feel free!" Hiruzen stated with iron resolve.
Hiruzen was already fuming, and having a figure like Diarmuid present provided the perfect scapegoat for Konoha's recent failures. He didn't care if this would anger Diarmuid, knowing the man truly wouldn't mind. After all, the Hyuga had already coordinated with the village. Diarmuid could easily shoulder the blame for the Kumogakure incident.
As for what Kumogakure thought... it didn't matter to Diarmuid. He had already killed the Third Raikage, the father of the current Fourth Raikage. The enmity between him and Kumogakure was already irreconcilable. Taking the blame for this changed nothing and earned him a favor from Hiruzen.
Diarmuid hadn't expected, however, that Hiruzen would so smoothly pin Shisui's death on him as well. Even if he was the one who did it...
Hiruzen was prepared. Once he settled these matters, he intended to meet Diarmuid in person and have a deep conversation regarding Shisui. Shisui was a world-renowned figure; his death could not be covered up indefinitely. Konoha needed a reason that was logically sound while preserving the village's dignity. They couldn't exactly tell the world that Shisui had been killed in under ten minutes and Konoha couldn't even identify the killer.
Diarmuid's presence at this exact moment was the perfect narrative pivot. As for the Uchiha clan, with Itachi present, they would understand that Diarmuid was merely the "fall guy" and that the village wasn't responsible.
A mountain of information crashed into the Ambassador's mind, leaving him dazed. He understood Hiruzen's words, and he actually found himself believing them. After all, even if Konoha had discovered their infiltration early, they wouldn't have killed everyone, they would have kept prisoners as leverage. Coupled with the death of a powerhouse like Shisui... the Ambassador was now eighty percent convinced.
At the same time, he cursed his luck. To run straight into the hands of Diarmuid? Everyone in Kumogakure knew that name; the Third Raikage had died by his blade. Aside from the Land of Earth, Kumogakure was the village most obsessed with tracking the Yorozuya. But they had never found a way to deal with them, especially not Diarmuid. The man was not only powerful but shrouded in mystery; you couldn't even find him, let alone fight him.
Moreover... this wasn't how the script was supposed to go! Kumogakure hadn't even started their "war blackmail" threats yet, and Konoha had beaten them to the punch?
The Ambassador truly panicked. Though they often threw around threats of war, as the Raikage's confidant, he knew the Fourth Raikage had no intention of starting a war with the other Great Nations right now. Kumogakure simply wasn't prepared for a full-scale conflict. If Konoha actually lost their temper and started a war, he wouldn't survive his return home.
"Third Hokage-sama, this truly was a pure accident. We had no such intentions..." the Ambassador stammered.
"Enough. There is no need for further words. What comes next is beyond the scope of a mere Ambassador. Pack your things and get out of Konoha today. Go back and tell the Fourth Raikage: if Kumogakure does not give us an explanation, prepare for Konoha's retaliation!" Hiruzen maintained his hardline stance.
The Ambassador was stunned. Wasn't the Third Hokage supposed to be a pacifist? Why was he being so aggressive? But things had reached this point; he could only nod awkwardly and rush out of the office.
Once the Ambassador was gone, Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief. The frustration of the night had finally been somewhat vented.
Of course, his threat about war preparations wasn't entirely a bluff. The Uchiha situation was imminent. If handled poorly, it would trigger a civil war, which would almost certainly invite intervention from other Great Nations. War was a very real possibility. Hiruzen was indeed preparing for the worst-case scenario in secret.
The Kumogakure spies hidden in Konoha would likely pick up on this news. If so, perhaps Konoha could actually squeeze a hefty settlement out of the Land of Lightning?
His mood improved slightly. He looked at the Hokage Rock outside the window, sighed, picked up a document from the desk, and walked toward the door.
At the entrance, two guards stood at attention. "Lord Third."
Hiruzen nodded. "Let's go. To the Hyuga Residence."
He was going to see Diarmuid. It was time.