Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

However, the workload of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas has been significantly reduced recently, while the workload of the other two teams has increased.

So Sarutobi Asuma had time to sneak out and get drunk, Jiraiya could take leave and leave temporarily, and Kazuma and the others could do what they wanted without being disturbed... As for why their workload was reduced at this time, the reason given by the Fire Lord was that the Twelve Guardian Ninja had worked too hard recently.

Whether this reason is true or false doesn't matter.

In any case, the Twelve Guardian Ninjas are directly subordinate to the Fire Daimyo, so there is no problem in ordering them to work without giving them any reason.

"Jiri should be almost at Konoha by now, right?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, given his speed, he should be arriving soon. Speaking of which, it seems that Kazuma and the others have been staying in the palace and haven't gone out... I was worried that they would try to ambush Jiraiya, so I used a shadow clone to transform into Jiraiya and leave openly. In the end, it was all for nothing. I wonder what Kazuma and the others are up to?"

In a room that is only six square meters

Beigen, Chengma, Xingdou, and Dongyu gathered together.

"Who knows what they're thinking!"

Hearing Beigen's puzzled question, Xingdou, with his rugged appearance and burly build, who looked like an ape that had escaped from its enclosure, scratched his head in frustration. "But they're definitely not thinking anything good."

Hearing this, Dongyu couldn't help but laugh. "Xingdou, what are you talking about? Everyone knows that Kazuma and the others are definitely up to no good. The question is, what exactly are they planning to do? We thought they would take advantage of Dilu being alone to ambush him, but it turns out we were wrong."

Speaking of which,

The smile faded from the pretty female ninja's face, and she frowned slightly. "Jiliu isn't their target. Do they think that even if the ninjas from Konoha come, they can't do anything to them? Or... do they have other plans?"

I can't understand it at all.

The four of them racked their brains but still couldn't figure out what kind of bad scheme Kazuma and his group were plotting. The lack of information made it impossible for them to deduce Kazuma and his group's thoughts. As for the idea that Kazuma and his group might target them, this thought flashed through their minds and was quickly dismissed.

This is the Imperial Palace.

Unless Kazuma and his men decide they don't want to stay here any longer, they would never dare to make a move in the Imperial Palace.

until--

Night fell completely, and a bright moon slowly rose from the horizon. Moonlight shone into the room through the open window, along with poisoned senbon needles. One by one, the sharp senbon needles were "thudded" into the low pine table that had been picked up.

"This is... Murasaki?"

Beigen and the others stared at the low table nailed with a row of poisoned sages, their expressions a mixture of shock, anger, bewilderment, and disbelief.

it turns out,

An attack was indeed launched inside the palace.

Are Kazuma and the others not planning to stay at the Imperial Palace any longer? No, now is not the time to think about these things. Surviving Kazuma and the others' attack is the most important thing. Other things... can be thought about later after we survive.

"Chengma, Xingdou, Dongyu, go all out, don't be careless."

Beigen roared, reminding his companions not to hold back.

He even felt a little regretful. It was a pity that this was the Imperial Palace, where there were daimyo and many nobles, making it inconvenient for them to use that forbidden technique with great destructive power. Otherwise, if the four of them joined forces to use that forbidden lightning technique, they wouldn't be afraid even if the radical faction attacked two or three times their size.

Wait, could it be...?

Could it be that Ma and his group considered this when launching the attack?

There was no time for him to think. The 'Four-Edged Iron Claw' that suddenly attacked from underground went straight for his abdomen. This thing was a unique ninja tool used by Kazuma. Like Sarutobi Asuma's pair of brass-shaped chakra blades and the three-edged black staff he held, it was a chakra weapon.

"Kazuma! What exactly are you trying to do? What's the point of destroying Konoha?"

Beigen wielded his three-edged black staff, crackling with lightning, and repelled Kazuma's surprise attack.

He looked at Ma and shouted a question.

He was genuinely confused. He couldn't understand why Kazuma insisted on making the Fire Lord the sole ruler of the Land of Fire. To be honest, the current Fire Lord wasn't exactly incompetent in his eyes, but he was certainly not a wise and diligent ruler either. What was it about such a person that made Kazuma so devoted to him?

Unexpectedly,

Kazuma really did give him an answer during the battle.

"It's very simple. A snake doesn't need two heads, and a country doesn't need two pieces of jade. Everything I've done is to get this stagnant country moving forward again."

This answer made Beigen instantly realize that their differences were indeed irreconcilable.

He Ma, that madman,

They actually dared to attempt to instigate a larger-scale war to propel this stagnant nation forward again... This sounds very appealing, but if you peel back the veneer of embellishment, you'll find that the essence of these words is simply 'expansion'.

The expansion of the Land of Fire

Naturally, this means a war of greater scale and intensity, far exceeding the previous Shinobi World Wars!

"Kazuma, you guys are really crazy!"

Beigen gritted his teeth.

"Is that so? So what if we go mad? As long as we can rewrite the mistakes and move this country forward again, I don't care if I go mad or even if I'm shattered to pieces!" Kazuma looked at Hokan, his eyes filled with an unwavering determination. He was truly prepared to pay any price.

For a moment, Beigen was stunned.

He was deeply moved by Kazuma's will.

then,

He felt a sharp pain that was hard to describe, and his gaze fell on the dark gray hand that was tightly clenching the bright red heart, which seemed to be made of iron. "Kama...Nosuke? You, cough cough, you really think highly of me? You actually, cough cough cough cough...joined forces?"

While speaking, Beigen coughed up blood continuously, and closed his eyes with resentment.

then,

Life vanished in that instant.

The Twelve Guardian Ninjas, Hokane, is dead!

His death was just the beginning. They were outnumbered and caught off guard by Kazuma and his group. After Kitane was killed by Kazuma and Kamanosuke, Hoshito was also beheaded by Kogitsunemaru and Tenmoku. Next came Naruma and Tousame.

The battle went even more smoothly than Kazuma had imagined. While Hokane and the other three were all killed, they suffered no casualties. Only Kogitsunemaru and Tenmoku sustained minor injuries; Kogitsunemaru had his left ulna broken by Hoshido and also had two or three broken ribs.

Tenmoku was hit by Naruma's [Lightning Release: Lightning Ball], but fortunately, the attack's destructive power was limited and it failed to take Tenmoku away.

"Zizi, how are Kogitsunemaru and Tenmoku doing? Will it affect their journey?"

He held the scroll in his hand and asked a question.

The corpses of Beigen, Chengma, Xingdou, and Dongyu have been collected into the scroll. The [Soil of the Dead] technique has many conditions for being used, one of which is the need for fresh corpses. The fresh corpses must be processed using secret methods so that they can be summoned to fight for him when needed in the future!

This is one of the reasons why he didn't become a master tomb raider like Orochimaru. Decaying corpses are of no use to him; he needs fresh, well-preserved corpses.

"Tenmoku is fine, but Kogitsunemaru's condition is not good. I can only help control his injuries for now, but this emergency measure won't last long, so we can't go too far away." After examining Tenmoku and Kogitsunemaru, Murasaki answered Kazuma's questions in detail.

"As long as we can hold on until we leave Daming Prefecture, there won't be any problems."

While talking to Ma, he suddenly turned his head to look at the center of the palace and saw figures leaping across the rooftops.

[Chapter 271. This matter is entrusted to Zongxian-jun]

Jiraiya arrived in Konoha in the evening.

Upon arriving in Konoha, he immediately requested an audience with the Hokage, stating that he had something very important to report to him. Because of his status as a ninja monk from the Fire Temple and one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, the Fifth Hokage, Akimichi Torifu, who was off duty and preparing to go home, readily agreed to this abrupt request and granted an audience with this guest of special status.

The unusual activity in Daming Prefecture could not be kept secret.

Just a few days ago, they had discussed how to deal with those clowns in the Daimyo Prefecture. However, due to the presence of the Daimyo and the lack of concrete evidence, they ultimately did not take any action and chose to wait and see. In Akimichi Torifu’s view, the arrival of Jiriku was the 'variable' they had been waiting for.

"Lord Hokage, I apologize for my intrusion in visiting you."

Jiro clasped his hands together and bowed to Akimichi Tokifumi.

"It's alright. Konoha and the Fire Temple are allies who share weal and woe. I have visited Abbot Chungaku at the Fire Temple many times before. Unfortunately, I got old and was busy with many things, so I never had the chance to leave the village to visit the Fire Temple again. How is Abbot Chungaku's health? If I remember correctly, he should be eighty-six years old this year."

This is the skill of the elderly: they have accumulated a deep network of relationships over the course of their lives, and can always find a suitable entry point when facing different people, so that the atmosphere of the conversation is not too stiff or distant.

"The teacher's health has not been good for the past two years. He always coughs incessantly in winter, but he feels a little better when the weather is warm."

Di Lu's tense nerves relaxed a little.

Looking back on the simple but trouble-free days at the Fire Temple, a feeling of nostalgia quietly grew. The life of struggling in the quagmire of Daimyo Prefecture was truly exhausting, both physically and mentally. Perhaps it would be time for me to return to the Fire Temple once this matter was over!

of course,

The premise is that this matter is completely resolved.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, seeing the lingering worry on Jiraiya's face, Akimichi Torifu took the initiative to ask, "Jiraiya, you said you had something very important to say. I wonder what happened? Is it the Fire Temple or the Daimyo's residence?"

"It is Daming Prefecture."

Seeing that the matter had finally been brought up, Jiraiya took a breath and said in a deep voice, "My colleagues among the Twelve Guardian Ninja, along with Ma, Kamanosuke, and others, have been spreading fallacies and heresies these days, such as that the Land of Fire does not need two jewels, that the Daimyo should hold real power over the ninjas, and that the Hokage has no need to exist. Moreover, their actions are becoming more and more rampant."

Previously, my comrades and I could barely hold off Kazuma and his group when we joined forces, but unfortunately, some of my comrades have had a disagreement with us, so we are completely powerless to control them. I am very worried that Your Excellency the Daimyo may be swayed by them, and in order to prevent something unspeakable from happening, I have come to Konoha to ask for help. I hope that you, Hokage-sama, can lend a hand.”

Jiroku was unsure whether Konoha knew about what had happened in Daimyo's residence, but he still tried his best to explain the cause and effect as if Konoha were unaware of these matters.

"Is this true? Di Lu, are you sure what you're saying is true?"

After hearing what Jiriku said, Akimichi Torifu's expression immediately became serious.

Although his mood was not as heavy as he appeared, on the contrary, he was quite happy. He had refrained from taking any action before because he lacked concrete evidence and would have been tantamount to slapping the daimyo in the face.

but now,

The witnesses came to our door on their own initiative.

With a plausible excuse, one can legitimately take action to get rid of those annoying clowns.

"I can vouch for it with my own life."

Di Lu said firmly.

"No need to say that. It's just that since it involves Your Excellency, we can't take action without solid evidence. But now..." Akimichi Torifu stood up, but perhaps because he stood up too suddenly, he felt a little dizzy for a moment. For some reason, his vision was also a little dim and gloomy. Was it because it was getting dark?

But the headache that followed made him realize that something was wrong.

He could clearly feel his temples throbbing, and the throbbing pain made his head feel like a balloon that had been inflated to its limit but was still being blown up, ready to burst at any moment.

"Lord Hokage?"

Di Lu realized something was wrong.

However, it wasn't his turn to do anything here. Nara Shizuku, who had been silently and unnoticed as the secretary, immediately took action. He helped Akimichi Torifu sit back down, found the medicine hidden in the box, gave it to the Hokage, and then directly instructed the ANBU members hidden in the shadows to find a medical ninja.

Fortunately, before the medical ninja could arrive, Akimichi Torifu, after taking the medicine, gradually returned to normal. However, after being tormented like this, his so-called normalcy was only relative to the situation where he seemed on the verge of death. In fact, his condition was very poor, his face was as red as a monkey's bottom, and the beads of sweat on his temples shone with orange-yellow halos under the glow of the setting sun.

"Hoohoo!"

Akimichi Torifu took a breath and forced a smile. "Jiri, I'm sorry to have to admit it. I'm getting old and my body can't keep up anymore... But don't worry, what you said is very important. We will never allow anyone to sow discord between the Daimyo and Konoha. Shizuku, take Jiri to... Sogen-kun. He will handle this matter. Tell him that this matter must not be neglected."