Arisu lowered his eyes slightly, his calm gaze falling on Kakuzu, who lay limp at his feet.
At this moment, Kakuzu's eyes were wide open, shock and fear churning wildly in their depths, his mind filled with a sense of complete overturning.
He had thought that the opponent for this assassination was nothing more than one of Konoha's accompanying guard ninjas.
Only now did he understand.
The one being protected was the strongest.
No wonder the other party had never needed any guards from beginning to end.
"How could this be… Konoha's Great Elder should clearly be an unarmed ordinary person?"
Kakuzu's throat was dry and tight as he muttered in disbelief.
Arisu slowly raised his eyes to look at him. Deep within his indifferent gaze, a trace of faint surprise flickered.
He hadn't expected that the one who came to assassinate him would actually be Kakuzu.
In the original story, Kakuzu had also attempted to assassinate Senju Hashirama.
But because of him, Konoha still had no Hokage.
The only one holding true power was himself.
"Kakuzu, your intelligence work is truly terrible."
Arisu stood with his hands behind his back and spoke slowly. "The one who sent you to assassinate me made a completely rotten move. However, this situation suits my intentions just fine."
As his words fell, he casually raised his hand and gave a light pat. An invisible surge of chakra burst out instantly.
It passed straight through Kakuzu's body, completely sealing the chakra within him, reducing him in an instant to a helpless cripple at the mercy of others, with not the slightest ability to resist.
"My chakra… I can't mobilize it?"
Kakuzu's pupils shrank sharply. The hands he had intended to use for hand seals froze in place.
———
The next day, a shocking piece of bad news swept across the entire ninja world, Uchiha Tajima had been assassinated in the Daimyo's capital and died on the spot.
The news was like a thunderclap out of nowhere, instantly shaking all factions of the ninja world and stirring up a massive uproar.
When the news reached Konoha, the entire village was immediately enveloped in furious grief. The Uchiha clan in particular was overcome with sorrow and rage, their anger surging to the heavens.
When Arisu heard the bad news, his expression changed drastically.
To push the effect of this act to its peak, his body suddenly went limp, and in front of all the high-ranking members of Konoha, he fainted on the spot, fully displaying a state of grief and loss of composure.
At the very moment Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna learned of their father's death, two overwhelming waves of grief and hatred exploded in their minds.
Their eyes instantly filled with blood, turning red. Their original Sharingan spun rapidly, the tomoe within shifting wildly.
In the blink of an eye, both awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. In their crimson pupils, killing intent surged, almost piercing the heavens.
Inside Konoha's intelligence department, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt suffocating.
"Tobirama, after investigating for so long, have you found the mastermind behind this or not?"
Uchiha Izuna's aura of violence surged around him. His expression was dark enough to drip water, his voice icy and sharp as he demanded an answer.
Senju Tobirama's face was equally grim. He frowned tightly, remaining silent for a moment before finally speaking in a low voice, "After verification, the masterminds are the major ninja clans led by the Senju clan."
Bang!
With a loud crash, Uchiha Izuna slammed his palm onto the table in front of him. The solid wooden surface instantly split with fine cracks, fragments scattering everywhere.
Izuna's eyes were wide with fury as he shouted, "Damn it! Our Uchiha have never provoked them, yet they dared to come to us and kill Father!"
Beside him, Uchiha Madara stood in silence the entire time. Not a single shout, not much visible loss of composure, but in his scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan, killing intent surged like a raging tide, almost condensing into tangible murderous aura that swept outward.
The temperature in the entire intelligence department seemed to drop sharply. No one around dared to even breathe loudly.
"I'm going to see Great-Grandfather right now and advise him. I will make sure every one of those heartless bastards is slaughtered, to comfort Father's spirit in heaven!"
Uchiha Izuna gritted his teeth as he threw out those words. Before his voice even faded, his figure moved, turning into a blur as he rushed straight out the door.
Senju Hashirama looked at Uchiha Madara, who was filled with grief and surrounded by killing intent, his expression full of concern and helplessness.
Hashirama stepped forward and gently patted Madara's shoulder. "Madara, Uncle Tajima's death… I'm just as heartbroken…"
He wanted to comfort him, but he knew that any words at this moment would feel weak. What reached his lips in the end was nothing but a quiet sigh.
Meanwhile, Senju Tobirama did not sink into emotion.
His brows remained tightly furrowed, his gaze moving back and forth across reports. His fingers tapped lightly on the table without thinking.
This assassination felt wrong in every way…
Uchiha Tajima was one of the top fighters in the ninja world, highly skilled and extremely vigilant.
Ordinary assassins couldn't even get close to him. How could he have been killed so easily?
And Konoha hadn't even hidden Tajima's movements. Instead, they had announced them publicly…
"Something's off… If we follow through with this incident, we might achieve an unexpected result…"
A sharp light gradually appeared in Tobirama's eyes. His thoughts became clearer and clearer as a meticulous idea quietly took shape.
At that moment, his eyes flickered.
His whole body trembled.
'I understand now!', Tobirama exclaimed inwardly.
Then he cast a somewhat awed glance toward the direction of the elder building. "So this was all a move in that person's game?"
———
"Hahaha, it seems Tajima is dead, and that old man Arisu fainted. Konoha is leaderless now. This is our chance to attack!"
Senju Butsuma waved his hand broadly.
At this time, the main forces of all the ninja clans had already gathered at Mount Kikyo, preparing to launch a war to destroy Konoha.
———
[Konoha Village]
Arisu stood with his back to the crowd below, his gaze deep as he looked at the map of the Land of Fire.
"Great Elder! Give the order! Avenge Elder Tajima! Declare war on the major ninja clans!"
Hyuga Tennin said heavily.
"Great-Grandfather, give the order. Avenge my father! Avenge your grandson!"
Uchiha Izuna also spoke.
"Great Elder! Give the order!"
Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, and the others all urged in unison.
Arisu took a deep breath and turned to face them.
A look of resolve flashed in his eyes.
"My decision is made! We will launch a unification war against the ninja clans within the Land of Fire!"
"Senju Hashirama, hear my command! You will lead Konoha's First Division south and advance to Mount Kikyo!"
"Uchiha Madara, hear my command! You will lead Konoha's Second Division west and advance to Kannabi Bridge!"
"Senju Tobirama, hear my command! You will lead Konoha's Third Division east and advance to the eastern coastline, preventing the Senju clan from fleeing east to the Land of Whirlpools!"
"Uchiha Izuna, hear my command! You will lead the Fourth Division north and advance to the border of the Land of Iron!"
"Hyuga Tennin, hear my command! You will lead the Fifth Division to control the surrounding regions and maintain stability."
"Finally, I will remain in Konoha to oversee and command the overall situation."
"Remember, no massacres. Display our strength. Eliminate only the masterminds and the upper ranks of the ninja clans!"
Arisu gave his final instruction with emphasis.
He understood clearly that if they carried out large-scale slaughter, then even if those clans submitted later, their hatred would prevent them from truly integrating into Konoha.