Konoha's streets were quiet at night. During the period when the joint Chunin Exams began, even at night, the commercial district was very lively. However, due to the explosion a few days ago, people were afraid to go out easily. Fortunately, the culprits who had been bothering them had now been targeted and were about to be apprehended.
Near the houses confirmed to belong to the Jashinists, the Security Force silently sealed off the surrounding roads. This operation was personally led by Uchiha Kagami, and the Anbu, who were cooperating with the Security Force, were led by Shimura Danzo. Although the Jashinists were just a bunch of clowns, due to the impact of this incident, Konoha Village still dispatched two high-ranking officials. The Jashinists must feel very honored.
The Jashinist strongholds were not clustered together. Therefore, Uchiha Kagami and Shimura Danzo primarily dealt with the Jashinist leader's location. As for the other minor figures, they didn't need to personally go out; their subordinates could handle them.
Uchiha Setsuna, as one of the few masters in the clan and a close friend of Uchiha Tetsu, naturally participated in this operation. His expression was tense, and his body was a bit stiff. His colleagues in the combat team saw him like this and whispered, "Setsuna, are you nervous? There's nothing to be afraid of. The Jashin organization is an existence that can even destroy the Land of Hot Water."
"No, I'm just excited, because I can avenge Ken's father," Uchiha Setsuna showed a smile, expressing his joy at being able to avenge his close friend.
Uchiha Setsuna was somewhat surprised that there were really Jashinists in that wealthy merchant's house. He hadn't considered this. The reason he chose that merchant's servant was because of Zetsu's suggestion. Now it seemed that Zetsu had known all along that Jashinists were mixed in, so he had him control that servant, all for the convenience of framing others.
Uchiha Setsuna felt that this was good, because since there were indeed Jashinists, no one would suspect him even more. The only thing he had to do now was to act like someone who had lost a close friend, found his enemies, and then eliminate them with all his might.
At this moment, Uchiha Kagami in front made a gesture, and every security officer immediately activated their Sharingan. In the night, a large number of bright red lights flickered, sending a chill down one's spine. Then, Uchiha Kagami looked up and nodded to Shimura Danzo, who had appeared there at some point. Shimura Danzo returned the gesture and disappeared again.
The Anbu would be the first team to infiltrate and deal with the Jashinists. If any Jashinists accidentally escaped, they would be apprehended by the Security Force watching outside. Although the Security Force believed they should carry out a forced assault, considering that a frontal assault might affect other civilians, it was better for the Anbu, who specialized in assassination, to act first.
Now, Uchiha Kagami was quietly waiting. He understood the strength of his fellow students very well. Shimura Danzo had served in the Anbu for many years and had already honed his assassination skills to perfection. With the Jashinists' strength, perhaps the Security Force wouldn't even need to act; they could be completely eliminated.
Just as the Security Force silently surrounded the residence, the Jashinist leader, disguised as an ordinary citizen, suddenly woke up with a start. He was a Jonin from the Hidden Hot Water Village. During the religious cleansing movement many years ago, he luckily escaped the Hidden Hot Water Village after sensing an anomaly early on. For years, he had lived incognito, secretly operating the Jashin organization.
He had always harbored hatred for Konoha Village, which supported the Land of Hot Water's religious cleansing movement, and had always been thinking about when he could get revenge. The joint Chunin Exams provided them with this opportunity. Taking advantage of the large influx of people, they painstakingly used secret medicines, suppressed their chakra, eliminated their presence, and so on, finally managing to infiltrate some people. If it weren't for the joint Chunin Exams, they probably wouldn't even have had the chance to get in.
Since they had infiltrated, they had to find a way to disrupt these joint Chunin Exams, preferably by making the Five Great Nations suspect each other, and causing another Shinobi World War to break out, just as the Jashin organization had rapidly developed in the past by capitalizing on the suffering that the Shinobi World Wars brought to the common people.
However, what was unexpected was that someone suddenly self-detonated in the street, also involving a member of the Uchiha Security Force. This immediately put Konoha Village on high alert, making it difficult for the Jashinists to act. Not only that, they also risked exposing their identities.
The Jashinist leader had no idea who the self-detonator was. Although Konoha Village could not guarantee that news of the explosion would not spread, keeping the detailed internal information secret was no problem at all. Therefore, he also did not know that there was a member of the Jashin organization in the self-detonator's house, and that person had already been secretly arrested and all information investigated.
The Jashinist leader got out of bed, filled with doubt and unease. Years of hiding had honed his intuition for danger to a very high level. Now, he seemed to once again smell the same scent as when the Hidden Hot Water Village was being purged. He pondered for a moment, then turned to another room where his companions were, to discuss their future plans.
The moment he pushed open the door, the Jashinist leader felt a chill run up his spine and quickly retreated. Then, a sharp blade thrust out from the dark room. He quickly drew his kunai and bravely blocked the attack, but still scraped his cheek. He heard the other party click their tongue softly, quickly withdrew their sword, and swung it again.
The Jashinist leader immediately dodged, then ran without looking back. Seeing this, he knew that he and his companions had been exposed. There was no time to consider anything else; the first priority was to save his own life. The attacker behind him seemed not to pursue, but there was a strange sound, like the rapid flow of air.
Even though the Hidden Hot Water Village was just a small ninja village, and the quality of its ninja could not compare to the Five Great Nations, to achieve the rank of Jonin, the Jashinist leader was not an ordinary person after all. He quickly realized that the opponent was using Wind Release, and coincidentally, he knew how to use Fire Release ninjutsu, which countered that attribute.
The Jashinist leader quickly turned his head, his hands already forming seals, and exhaled a ball of flame, which collided with the oncoming Wind Release. Instantly, the Fire Release rapidly expanded due to the impetus of the Wind Release, then exploded. The Jashinist leader, who had anticipated this, shielded his body and, using the impact of the explosion, burst out of a window in the corridor.
—Good, next I just need to run away quickly, and I can't worry about anyone else. As long as I don't die, there's still hope for the Jashin organization to rise again.
The Jashinist leader thought this, but upon seeing the eerie red light flickering on the street, his joy of escaping slowly faded, and a sense of despair emerged from the bottom of his heart.
"Heretics!" Uchiha Kagami saw a person rush out of the window. Using his Sharingan's observation skills, he immediately knew that the person was not an Anbu member, but could only be from the Jashin organization. He immediately shouted and leaped out.
The Jashinist leader quickly prepared to defend, but Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan predicted his movements. A cold light flashed, and accompanied by the Jashinist leader's scream, a severed arm flew into the air. When a ninja only has one hand, unless they can perform one-handed seals or use ninjutsu without seals, they cannot use any ninjutsu. The Jashinist leader was immediately incapacitated.
The Jashinist leader fell heavily to the ground, clutching his wound, in immense pain and covered in cold sweat. He barely managed to raise his head: "Sha-Sharingan, you are from the Uchiha clan…"
"Ah, Uchiha Tetsu, who was conspired against and killed by you, as the head of the clan, I must avenge this," Uchiha Kagami said expressionlessly.
"Conspiracy? Then…" Just as the Jashinist leader spoke, a kunai pierced his neck. He stared with wide eyes and fell backward. Uchiha Kagami looked back and saw Uchiha Setsuna in a throwing posture.
"I'm sorry, because the person who killed Tetsu was right in front of me, so—" Uchiha Setsuna quickly said.
"It's alright, I never intended for him to live anyway," Uchiha Kagami shook his head and said.
Uchiha Setsuna breathed a sigh of relief. The reason he killed the Jashinist leader was partly to cultivate his image as someone who values loyalty and righteousness, and partly to prevent the Jashinist leader from revealing things that shouldn't be said. If the other party had said that Uchiha Tetsu's death had nothing to do with them, the Security Force might have considered other suspects, and Uchiha Setsuna would have been in trouble.
Immediately, Shimura Danzo leaped out of the broken window, looked at the dead Jashinist leader, and said, "You killed him."
"Danzo, why did you let him escape? This guy's skills are mediocre; he shouldn't have been able to escape your pursuit," Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but ask.
"How could we let the Anbu take all the credit, considering he killed a member of your clan? He's just trash anyway," Shimura Danzo smiled slightly and said.
As a Jonin of the Hidden Hot Water Village, the Jashinist leader only received such a evaluate. If he were still alive, he would probably be resurrected from anger. Regardless, Uchiha Kagami and Shimura Danzo paid no mind to the dead man. They ordered their subordinates to collect the body and see if they could find any information about the Jashin organization, then went to oversee operations in other areas.
When dawn broke, the public immediately received official news from Konoha Village—the perpetrators of the explosion a few days ago had all been eliminated. This was followed by the Security Force's investigation results and the main background of the mastermind.
"Are they all dead?"Fumori Masaki frowned slightly after hearing the news.
"Captain Fumori Masaki, is there a problem?" Yamanaka Takuma, who had been accompanying him as his secretary these days, asked curiously.
"Nothing, at most there's evidence to corroborate it, and it doesn't matter if there isn't,"Fumori Masaki muttered something incomprehensible, then walked to the window, looked at Konoha Village, and said, "Although we can't completely relax, the village can now properly arrange the Chunin Exams."