The Anbu member stood where he was from beginning to end. He neither moved nor gave chase.
Behind the mask, his gaze calmly swept over the direction the three had fled in, then turned to Yukio, who was still supporting himself on the ground, his shock not yet gone.
He asked nothing and offered no comfort. He simply looked at him quietly.
The next second, the dirt beneath his feet stirred slightly. His whole body sank soundlessly into the ground like he was merging into water.
The earth closed back up and he disappeared.
———
"You're saying people from the Uchiha clan tried to attack Yukio?"
Arisu tapped the table lightly with his fingers and looked up at the White Zetsu standing before him.
The White Zetsu immediately lowered his head and bowed respectfully.
"Yes, Sage. I was carrying out routine surveillance nearby at the time. When I saw what was happening, I transformed into an Anbu and scared the three of them away."
Arisu frowned slightly, but he wasn't too worried about his son's safety.
With Rinne Rebirth as a backup, even if something really happened, bringing him back to life would only take a wave of his hand.
"You've worked hard."
"Go back to Mount Myoboku. Tell Black Zetsu to arrange a transfer for you. Pick any of the easy positions on the mountain. On top of that, you'll get two years of paid leave.", Arisu's tone softened.
White Zetsu's eyes lit up immediately. He quickly bowed.
"Thank you, Sage! This is what a subordinate should do. It wasn't hard at all!"
To be honest, carrying out missions in the human world was already a miserable job for White Zetsu.
Forget modern things like phones and computers, they weren't even allowed to bring half a scrap of paper from Mount Myoboku, out of fear that even a little secret might leak.
Their daily routine was just staking out and watching targets. The days were so boring mushrooms could grow from them. Being transferred back to the mountain now was practically a blessing from heaven.
After White Zetsu happily withdrew, the warmth in the room instantly vanished. The force in Arisu's fingertips suddenly increased, and his eyes turned cold.
"Hmph."
"These three Uchiha have reached the end of the road."
Arisu let out a low snort.
He rubbed his forehead. It was difficult for White Zetsu to monitor all of Konoha. Giving every villager a White Zetsu would be far too troublesome.
So this kind of oversight couldn't really be helped.
"Next time, I'll assign more White Zetsu to secretly protect Yukio, just in case..."
Before he could finish speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.
Yukio stumbled in. One strap of his school bag had slipped down to his arm, and his little face was pale.
"Father! Father!"
Yukio threw himself into Arisu's arms, his voice carrying a sob.
"Someone wanted to kill me! Three people suddenly rushed out on the road and tried to kill me!"
"Don't be afraid..."
Arisu immediately got up and went over. He caught Yukio firmly, reached out and rubbed his messy hair. His voice became soft and steady, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Father already knows."
Patting his son's back, Arisu comforted him, "I already placed Anbu around you to protect you. Nothing will happen. Leave this matter to Father, alright?"
———
Inside the Hokage's office, warm yellow light fell over the documents spread across half the desk.
Just after Minato Namikaze put down his pen, an Anbu pushed open the door and handed over urgent intelligence from the border.
"Lord Hokage, Uchiha Tekka, Yashiro, and Inabi forcibly broke through the south gate without permission. The guards failed to stop them."
Minato's fingers paused, and his brows immediately knitted together.
Something was wrong.
Although the three weren't among the Uchiha's core members, none of them had ever left the village without authorization before. They must have caused some major trouble.
Before the thought had fully passed through his mind, the office door was pushed open without even a knock.
Arisu walked in slowly and said coldly, "Minato, Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Yashiro, and Uchiha Inabi just attempted to assassinate my son outside the village. They failed. Issue orders immediately and arrest them."
Minato was shocked.
He jumped to his feet, much of the color draining from his face.
"Someone tried to assassinate Yukio?!"
"How is Yukio now?! Is he alright?"
Then Minato slapped his forehead in frustration, his voice full of self-blame.
"This is bad! I thought it was just an ordinary case of abandoning their posts. Those three have already escaped beyond Konoha's borders!"
There was no surprise on Arisu's face.
Once their plan was exposed, those three idiots naturally knew that staying in Konoha meant certain death.
"Yukio is fine for now."
"Now, Lord Hokage, issue a wanted order immediately."
Arisu ordered.
Minato nodded at once and asked urgently, "Teacher, what rank should it be?"
"S-rank. Issue it across all territories immediately. Also notify the villages of the Five Great Nations and request a joint manhunt.", Arisu added.
Minato showed a troubled expression, "Mr. Arisu, the other villages may not be willing to commit resources over Konoha's internal affairs..."
"Just send it."
"They'll respond."
Arisu interrupted calmly, his eyes full of certainty.
Watching the Anbu leave in a hurry with the wanted order stamped with the Hokage's seal, the atmosphere in the office grew heavy.
Looking at the lights in the direction of the Uchiha district outside the window, Arisu said calmly,
"The Uchiha hawks have become lawless."
"They dared to openly assassinate the son of the Hokage's close ally inside Konoha. This is no longer ordinary arrogance from a great clan. They must be thoroughly wiped out with overwhelming force, leaving no future trouble."
"Teacher..."
Minato Namikaze's brows were twisted together. He walked to the window with his back to Arisu, his voice filled with deep exhaustion.
"Teacher, it's really impossible. The Uchiha hawks are deeply rooted. Blood ties and family connections within the clan are tightly intertwined. If we really strike hard, we'll only force the entire Uchiha clan into rebellion."
"The ninja world has only been peaceful for a few years. Konoha can't withstand this kind of internal conflict."
Minato had long had his own plans. He wanted to divide them slowly and weaken them step by step, like boiling a frog in warm water, gradually pulling out this thorn buried in Konoha's flesh.
"You're too naive, Minato."
The fingers hanging at Arisu's side curled slightly, and undisguised killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Minato didn't understand.
What worried him had never been a rebellion in the clan district.
It was the Sharingan.
Unlike the original story, there were too many variables now. As long as the Uchiha clan still existed, new Mangekyo users could appear at any time.
Those powers beyond his control would sooner or later throw all of his plans into complete chaos.
Since keeping them around was a disaster, then he might as well send the whole clan to the Pure Land.
"In my opinion, we should cut through the mess quickly. It would be even better if we could find someone to take the blame."
A calculating glint flashed through Arisu's eyes.
Minato's expression became even more troubled, and he still wanted to persuade him.
"Teacher..."
"Minato!", Arisu interrupted him.
"If you can't firmly hold the position of Hokage, if you don't even have the courage to cut off an arm to save the body, then let Shinnosuke or Tsunade take the position instead."
Arisu paused. Looking at Minato's suddenly tense face, his tone softened slightly, "Tsunade still doesn't know about Yukio's assassination attempt. Once she finds out, her methods will only be harsher than mine."
Arisu simply looked at Minato calmly, with not the slightest trace of a joke in his eyes.
The meaning behind his words couldn't have been clearer.
If you refuse to strike hard against the Uchiha, then I'll replace you with someone who will, and let that person become Hokage.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/XenosX
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining. You can also read advanced chapters there.🥰