I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 701 The more people involved in a matter, the harder it is to assign blame.

"Tatsuma, this matter is probably not that simple. Xiao Jiu suddenly developed a wound, and there was no one else around."

Of course, it's possible, but I just can't perceive it. I previously encountered a special creature, pitch black, that could control my brain for short periods, making me do things against my will.

After testing the Nine-Tails' power, Minato sent Kushina, who had fallen into a deep sleep once again, home to rest. He then rushed back outside the village and spoke to Tatsuma, who was working on ground restoration and landscaping.

On the wall, Shikaku, Tenka, and others gathered, some gesturing wildly as if they wanted to say something, but because of the barrier, they could neither get out nor call out to Tatsuma.

Tatsuma nodded and said, "I already know about this. The reason I was delayed for a while was to deal with the person behind it all. I will explain it to everyone at the meeting later and also investigate why the village... Let's talk about it all later."

Upon hearing this, Minato looked at the wall and said, "Shall I go and inform everyone to prepare for the meeting?"

"Yes. By the way, call Orochimaru-sama to the meeting as well. Whatever experiments he's conducting, stop them and make sure he attends."

"it is good."

Minato appeared on the village wall in a golden flash, explaining something to everyone. Shikaku began preparing for the meeting, while Tenpu, Sento, and the others went to inform the participants. Minato went to see Orochimaru alone.

Tatsuma, on the other hand, repaired the terrain outside the village, which had been ravaged by the Nine-Tails, in the shortest possible time.

If he weren't the Hokage, he might only have repaired the terrain, not restored the greenery, because leaving the greenery would have allowed him to pump out water.

But now, as the Hokage, Tatsuma feels like he's cutting off a piece of his own flesh every time the village spends money, and his sense of ownership makes him choose the cheaper option.

After finishing, he held his back, glanced at the lush forest that had returned to its former glory, and a simple, honest smile, like that of an old farmer, appeared on his face.

He saved the village so much money, and although he was exhausted, it's okay. He can use the money he saved to reimburse his nutrition expenses!

He did more than just repair bridges and roads and plant greenery; he covered up the traces of a major battle in the village, sending a signal to the outside world that even after the Nine-Tails' attack, Konoha was still safe and sound.

This kind of action, which concerns the village's reputation, diplomatic confidence, and greatly helps in attracting investment and talent, is not an exaggeration to give it an S-level rating. Setting a reward of three to five million taels of silver would be a piece of cake.

The sky was already slightly bright. He looked at the sky and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, returning to the Hokage Building.

Inside the conference room, quite a few people were already waiting. In addition to the management team, there were also members of the security department and the garrison. After all, strictly speaking, these two departments were the ones who should take the blame.

Of course, Tatsuma didn't intend to shift the blame to them; Shikaku had simply made two preparations and called them over.

Leaving his office, Tatsuma entered the conference room. Under the worried, thoughtful, or subtly anxious gazes of everyone, Tatsuma said, "Everyone has worked hard. The village has managed to keep the losses so low, and everyone deserves a lot of credit."

That one sentence set the tone for the meeting, and the guards, including Fugaku and Yashiro, along with the core members of the garrison, such as Hatake Sakumo and Akimichi Choza, all breathed a sigh of relief.

There may be leaders who prefer to praise before criticizing or criticize before praising, but everyone in the meeting room understands Tatsuma's style. Once Tatsuma sets his tone, it will not be changed.

Chenma sat in the reserved seat and said, "I have a general understanding of what happened last night. It was not a lack of defensive forces, nor was it a mistake by the sealing team in monitoring the village's barrier."

Even I only learned how to resolve this situation after facing the enemy.

However, I see there are still people who don't know what happened last night.

As Tatsuma spoke, his gaze fell on the somewhat bewildered faces of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. The two men's expressions instantly turned serious, but they dared not meet Tatsuma's eyes.

Tatsuma didn't bother calling out names, but instead looked at Tenfeng and said, "Tenfeng, tell us your part."

Tianfeng nodded and recounted how he had been attacked without provocation while having dinner with Qiandou and his group the previous night. He also posed the question to others who had experienced the same thing.

After the group finished explaining what had happened, the atmosphere in the meeting room became increasingly tense, with everyone speculating about who had done it and what their purpose was.

The fact that they only caused serious injuries without killing the target, and even triggered the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage, was very puzzling to them.

In fact, Tatsuma had just returned to the village last night and had the same question, because he immediately guessed that Hidan used the evil god curse technique, Death Possession Blood, in the original work.

But if it is that technique, then the deaths of the attacked people would better suit the interests of the mastermind.

It wasn't until Tatsuma found Black Zetsu that he realized that the person controlled by Zetsu, although he knew the curse technique of Death Possession Blood, did not have an "immortal" body like Hidan.

Therefore, the only way to inflict as much damage as possible is to ensure the caster's survival.

Tenka's Sharingan, Sento and Nawaki's meridians, and Kushina's injuries were all designed to inflict the most cost-effective damage without killing the user.

As for Nono, Tatsuma thinks she is the most wronged one. After all, Nono doesn't have any special abilities. Although severing her hand tendons would make her efforts in medical ninjutsu almost useless.

However, the absence of one Nono is insignificant to Konoha at present.

Therefore, Tatsuma felt that Nono was being targeted, which was entirely undeserved.

Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Chenma said, "Surely someone knows about this method, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed lightly and then said, "I have heard some of these stories before. They were from a long time ago, before ninjas became the mainstream group that used chakra."

At that time, a group of chakra users, who were also worshippers of evil gods, combined the two powers to create something that was less a ninjutsu and more a curse.

All that is needed is the target's blood to perform a self-sacrifice through the ritual of the evil god. In effect, the amount sacrificed is the same amount the cursed person will pay in return.

This is a style of attack that trades injury for injury, life for life, but after ninjas became the mainstream, this power gradually disappeared from the ninja world. I never expected to see this power again.

Tatsuma nodded and said, "That's right. This power has appeared in the ninja world once again. If my information is correct, the evil cult that has appeared in the Land of Hot Water in recent years is an organization that uses this power."

"So last night... was it a terrorist attack launched by an evil cult?"

Tianfeng's eyes, now repaired, showed signs of turning blood-red in their black pupils. Chenma waved his hand and said, "No, it's not that. The power of the Evil God Cult, or rather, this kind of curse, is just being used."

"So what does all this have to do with me?"

Orochimaru spoke up, and Tatsuma raised his hand to indicate that he had heard his opinion before saying, "Some of the people here know about something I did before that was classified as top secret, and I think it should be made public now."

Under the puzzled and shocked gazes of some people, Tatsuma briefly explained the matter of Uchiha Madara, and then said: "The mastermind behind last night was Uchiha Madara's contingency plan left in the ninja world."

As for Lord Orochimaru, I think you should be very interested in these things.

As Tatsuma spoke, he tossed two scrolls to Orochimaru. Orochimaru glanced at the sealing formula and, without Tatsuma needing to speak, reversed the unsealing formula and opened the sealing scrolls.

Two White Zetsu, already unconscious, appeared. The others were puzzled, but Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction, nodded, and reactivated the seal, saying:

"Then I can give you a little more time to continue."

Chenma nodded and continued, "The creatures you just saw are called Zetsu. The white ones are White Zetsu, and their numbers are extremely large. There is also a Black Zetsu, of which there is only one, and he is the most important person behind the scenes."

Tatsuma didn't intend to bring up the Otsutsuki experience. First, he couldn't explain the source of his information, and second, it was too difficult to make sense. It would be better to shift the blame onto Uchiha Madara.

Anyway, it was Tatsuma who fought Uchiha Madara; no one else participated. Even Obito, who was present at the time, didn't know the specifics, so Tatsuma could say whatever he wanted.

Tatsuma attributed Black Zetsu's identity to Madara Uchiha's Yin-Yang Release creations, and also recounted the passage that Madara Uchiha told Obito in the original work.

Although equally shocking, at least people could understand it.

"That Black Zetsu"

Upon hearing Tatsuma say that Black Zetsu was the culprit who attacked the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki eight years ago, causing the Nine-Tails to go berserk, Minato's eyes turned dangerous. Tatsuma said:

"Zetsu is an extremely special existence. Conventional methods of perception cannot detect them. However, Black Zetsu has already been severely injured by me. With this loss, he should not make a move against the village for a while."

Therefore, we have a relatively relaxed period of time to discuss plans and methods for capturing Black Zetsu, but today is not the right time. The most important thing to solve today is the problem from last night.

The blood used to fight the Konoha ninja came from our own hands.

Tatsuma pulled out a blood sample bottle and said, "You should all be familiar with this, right?"

"For medical check-ups"

Apart from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the retired former Hokage, all the older generation of ninjas, including Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, had undergone this physical examination and were naturally familiar with it.

Biwako frowned and said, "This wasn't leaked by Konoha Hospital. There were too many people being tested this time, and in order to meet Konoha Hospital's own testing needs, the final testing wasn't handled by Konoha Hospital."

Instead, it was handled by the laboratory managed by Orochimaru. During the handover, I checked everything carefully, and there were no issues with the quantities transferred.

For a moment, all eyes were on Orochimaru, who was quite frank and said, "I haven't left my laboratory these past few days, and the laboratory's equipment logs can prove it."

Furthermore, the matter of taking over the blood samples was not my responsibility; it was Nonou who specifically designated someone to do so, and her team also had the authority.

Nonou frowned, but nodded nonetheless, saying, "It's true that I was responsible for handing over the blood samples from Konoha Hospital, but the storage is..."

"Who is it?"

"It is Kabuto, but I can assure you that Kabuto's actions are in accordance with the work procedures, and when we were dealing with him, we also had the work schedule that you, Lord Orochimaru, provided."

Under persistent questioning, Nono finally revealed the final contact person. Orochimaru denied it, saying, "Impossible. I never left the lab, so how could I have issued a work order?"

"But..."

"Alright, it might be a fake. If even Nono can't tell the difference, Kabuto certainly can't either. But... let's still have him come over."

Tatsuma looked at Minato and said, "Are you going to bring him here?"

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)