The Master of Konoha's Legacy

Fukuda Masaki glanced at them, quickly covered the scrolls with a piece of paper, looked up to check outside, and after confirming that no one was around, whispered, "Why?"

Uchiha Tonan lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Shin-nosuke-sama is dead."

Fukuda Masaki nodded, looking regretful, and said, "I understand. You do need to go back and report to the Hokage. I'll write you a permit to leave the city."

Uchiha Tunan smiled slightly, then took out a notebook and another scroll and placed them on the table, saying:

"I am so grateful for your help these past few days, Lord Masaki. This is my final way of repaying you. If you ever need my help in the future, you can come to Konoha to find me anytime."

[Chapter 97. Quietly Eliminating the Threat, Slaying the Enraged]

Fukuda Masaki took the notebook with a puzzled look and flipped through it.

In an instant, I realized that the scroll contained all my political achievements.

These are all good stuff.

Soon after the new daimyo ascends the throne, the officials will surely make some adjustments. With their achievements in hand, they might be able to secure the position of Taijō.

Fukuda Masaki's eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly gathered all the items into his arms, a smile spreading across his face as he said:

"You're a very meticulous person. I look forward to working with you again in the future."

Exactly two years from now, I plan to buy a property for my son in Konoha.

If anything comes up, I'll need your help, Tu Nan.

Uchiha Tonan bowed deeply, but as he lowered his head, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said:

"Don't worry, Lord Masaki, I'm the kind of person who remembers favors the most."

By the way, I would also like to ask Lord Masaki to take care of the orphans taken in by the Beicheng Guard after I leave.

"I'll come pick them up after I've settled things on my end."

Having received such a huge favor from Uchiha Tonan, Fukuda Masaki naturally wouldn't refuse such a small request.

He immediately patted his chest and said:

"No problem, no problem. I really like children."

Uchiha Tonan smiled, narrowing his eyes. He leaned forward, picked up the teapot, and poured tea into Fukuda Masaki's teacup while saying:

"Thank you so much. I'll take my leave now."

"Lord Masashi, I wish you a successful career in your official duties. Until we meet again."

Fukuda Masaki immediately stood up, put his hand on Uchiha Tonan's shoulder, and said with a big smile:

"I'll see you off."

After seeing Uchiha Tonan off, Fukuda Masaki returned to his study and happily put the scroll away, feeling incredibly pleased with himself.

He then took a sip of tea and said with a satisfied expression, "If only everyone below were like Tu Nan."

Initially, each of the six scrolls given to Fukuda Masaki contained five million taels of silver, totaling thirty million taels.

Fukuda Masaki understood that the money was hush money.

The second scroll contains the corpses of servants in the North City Guard's residence.

The notebook contained records of the crimes committed by these servants.

The moment Fukuda Masaki accepted the gift, it meant that Uchiha Tonan was completely cleansed.

In Shinnosuke's case, Abe no Seimei and His Highness the Crown Prince are both targets.

Hiruzen Sarutobi should not be able to trace it back to himself.

Um.....

Two shields weren't enough to ensure safety, and coincidentally, there were two Root ninjas with His Highness that day.

Let's think of a way when we get back, and maybe we can bring Danzo over to help us out.

Three targets: one has vanished without a trace, one holds a special position, and one is an old partner who has worked with Hiruzen Sarutobi for many years.

Uchiha Tonan wanted to see what Hiruzen Sarutobi would do.

Overall, the trip to the City of Fire went relatively smoothly.

With a fortune of 600 million, it would take forever to complete all the tasks.

It's important to know that the minimum reward for an S-level mission is one million, and missions with rewards in the tens of millions are very rare.

Even if an S-level mission costs five million taels, you would need to complete 120 of them continuously.

Let's not even talk about the time required to complete an S-rank mission.

Even during peacetime, the total number of S-rank missions in the entire ninja world in a year doesn't reach that many.

Wealth is still easier to obtain by plundering the common people; no wonder there are so many rogue ninjas in the ninja world.

I estimate that a large portion of them felt the money was too little.

This time, he also killed Shinnosuke and Asuma. With no successor for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he can take advantage of the situation.

Furthermore, we learned from Asuma that Hiruzen Sarutobi admired Orochimaru.

Hmm, it seems that using the Will of Fire on Hiruzen Sarutobi is useless; I need to show him that I can inherit his mantle.

The only thing I wasn't satisfied with on this trip was Masaki Fukuda.

Uchiha Tonan never expected that Fukuda Masaki's family had plans to relocate to Konoha.

In that case, I'm sorry.

If the two have no further connection, that would be fine, but once Fukuda Masaki arrives in Konoha...

In case something happens, Uchiha Tonan won't be able to help.

That old fox might use these things to manipulate me.

The best approach is to eliminate the threat beforehand.

One day later, in the Hokage's office in Konoha.

"Oh!"

After reading the intelligence, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the desk, smashing it to pieces.

The member of the Anbu who handed over the intelligence immediately knelt on one knee and said, "Lord Hokage, please calm down."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to calm himself down, then glared at several Anbu members.

"Summon Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Danzo to me."

"Yes."

After the ANBU left, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly contorted into a ferocious expression. He crumpled the intelligence report in his hand into a ball and threw it on the ground, looking like he wanted to devour someone. He growled:

"Shinnosuke...Asuma..."

Soon, two Hokage advisors and Danzo Shimura arrived at the office together.

Upon entering, one would see that Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer as composed and steady as before, but instead had a look of madness on his face.

"Hiruzen, what happened?" Danzo asked.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood there with his head down, his chest heaving, without uttering a word.

He pointed tremblingly at the crumpled intelligence report on the ground, clearly furious.

Without saying anything, Shimura Danzo picked up the intelligence report from the ground, and after reading it, he frowned and looked serious.

Then the intelligence was handed over to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu for viewing.

After everyone had finished reading, Mitokado Homura said, "Shinnosuke was definitely framed. The culprit should be His Highness."

Danzo narrowed his eyes and retorted, "Menyan, you can't just say things like that. What right does His Highness have to kill his own father?"

Mitokado Homura couldn't figure it out either, and said with a lack of confidence, "This is just my guess. Maybe His Highness can't wait to succeed to the throne."

After all, the biggest beneficiary of this whole affair seems to be only His Highness.

Danzo coldly said, "It's also possible that this is a trick played by enemies in the shadows, in order to sow discord between the Daimyo's Mansion and Konoha."

In any case, we can't let the prince who supports him become the murderer; even if he really is, he has to be exonerated.

The daimyo is not important, but the daimyo's funds are extremely important for the Hokage election.

Besides, it was Hiruzen's son who died, not my Danzo's son.

Mitomon Homura thought for a moment and asked in confusion, "But according to the intelligence report, there is no mention of any enemy spy."

Danzo said calmly, "What if it's an illusion? For example, the Uchiha clan, that kind of evil clan is good at these kinds of schemes and tricks."

"enough!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the three of them, and said in a sinister tone:

"I called you here not to discuss who the mastermind is and who the murderer is."

I want you to join me in putting pressure on the Daming Prefecture.

"Make them hand over His Highness and that man named Abe no Seimei."

Shinnosuke's tragic death and Asuma's disappearance are heartbreaking for Hiruzen Hajime.

Danzo naturally saw the resolute look in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, but since the prince was still of interest to him, he had to protect him.

“I have no objection to arresting Abe no Seimei, but His Highness is the next daimyo, and the ninja village cannot touch him.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Danzo a deep look, seemingly seeing through his thoughts, and said in a cold voice:

"If there is no eldest prince, there is still the second prince."

Now let's vote. Those who agree with me, please raise your hands.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his hand first, then stared at the three of them with a sharp gaze, his eyes full of threat.

[Chapter 98. Helpless, Tu Nan Returns to Village]

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a quick glance and silently raised their hands.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately said in a deep voice:

"Three to one, the vote is in favor. Immediately dispatch ten secret service squads to the City of Fire."