Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

As a ninja village established less than five years ago, the power holders in the village are not all a group of mature and prudent middle-aged and elderly people. To be precise, even today, Otogakure has not yet formed a stable ruling class. The power struggle among the power holders continues. Although the leader has not changed, the faces of the elders have changed quite a bit.

"Lord Haku, it is true that Orochimaru was the one who brought about the establishment of Otogakure, but it is by no means a plaything in his hands. Moreover, we have never neglected Orochimaru's orders. It's just that we were powerless and made a mistake. If we say that Otogakure has no reason to exist because of this, wouldn't that be too harsh?"

The elder who spoke was a young man in his early twenties.

A young man with good talent, good strength, and considerable ambition.

"You have a problem with Lord Orochimaru's orders?"

Bai asked in a gentle tone.

"I wouldn't call it an opinion, but I hope Lord Orochimaru can understand our difficulties. Otogakure has only been established for a few years, and we..." His words trailed off as ice spreading from the tatami mat transformed into an ice spear that pierced the young elder's chest, the tip of the ice spear turning crimson.

Drops of blood fell onto the tatami mat.

A strong stench of blood filled the room.

The leader's face grew paler and paler. He hadn't even seen when Bai made his move. In the blink of an eye, this young elder, whose strength was definitely among the top ten in the village, was killed. If it were him... he would probably have met the same fate!

The fear grew stronger.

"How many times do I have to repeat the same sentence over and over again! I've already said that Lord Orochimaru doesn't care what your reasons or difficulties are. What you need to do is to do your best to complete the orders given by Lord Orochimaru, instead of wasting your time and energy on scheming and infighting."

"Now, does anyone have any further comments?"

Bai looked around at everyone.

"No, no, we will certainly do our best to carry out Lord Orochimaru's orders." The people of Otogakure hurriedly prostrated themselves, their foreheads pressed against the tatami mats, their attitude extremely respectful. The dying corpse once again reminded them who the true master of Otogakure was!

they,

He was nothing more than a puppet under Orochimaru's control.

"I need accurate intelligence within a week, otherwise... next time we won't let it go so easily," Bai said softly.

"Thank you, Lord Bai. Thank you, Lord Bai."

A week is already an exceptionally lenient time.

Haku ignored these hypocritical guys. To be honest, the information was no longer important. His main purpose in coming to Otogakure was to warn these restless guys not to waste their limited energy on useless things.

but--

Although intelligence is no longer important.

However, he also sensed an unsettling atmosphere from the meeting between the Hokage's assistant and Lord Orochimaru, feeling that the nearly five-year period of peace in the ninja world seemed to be coming to an end.

"Sigh! Is another conflict about to break out?"

In the room where Bai was the only one left, helpless sighs echoed.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"You're back again!"

Standing at the gate of Konoha Village, Tsunade looked at the scenery that hadn't changed much in the past few decades, and her emotions couldn't help but fluctuate. Even though she had returned once four years ago, four years, more than a thousand days, was not a short time.

Furthermore, her inner conflict remains unresolved to this day.

Returning to her hometown, a place that evokes countless memories of the past, wasn't an easy way for her to remain calm. Just standing at the gate, a series of past images involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

"How annoying!"

Tsunade shook her head vigorously, trying to banish the troubling image from her mind.

"Lady Tsunade, where are we going next..." Kakashi asked from the side. Because Tsunade forbade them to inform the village in advance, no one came out to greet them. They guessed that someone would only inform the village when they reached the gate.

But this is fine too.

To avoid trouble.

"Let's go see that old man, Akimichi Torifu, first!"

Tsunade is a generation younger than Akimichi Torifu, but she is the kind of person who is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. She never holds back when she speaks, and she has never been polite to these elders. However, it is only in words. In reality, as a medical ninja, her compassionate heart is quite fitting.

of course,

Another reason is that Akimichi Torifu was, after all, the Fifth Hokage.

She couldn't just come back and not go see the Hokage, but go to him for assistance first... That wouldn't be appropriate. She wasn't interested in the village's disputes and had no intention of getting involved, so it was best to follow the rules. Once she had done what she wanted to do, it would be easier for her to leave directly, so she wouldn't be tied up.

Without Tsunade having to worry, Itachi Uchiha found out that the Hokage was still at the Akimichi clan's residence and had not been transferred to a hospital for treatment.

Having figured out the position of the Fifth Hokage,

Tsunade and the others then headed towards the Akimichi clan's territory.

When they arrived at the entrance to the Akimichi clan's territory, Akimichi Choza was already waiting at the gate. Clearly, someone had come ahead to inform them before their arrival. The gate of Konoha Village was not just guarded by a few guards; there were certainly many secret agents hidden there. Like other major clans, they would also send people to keep watch at the gate to keep abreast of any activity in the village.

"I've already told you that your illness is best treated with rest. If you continue working, it will relapse sooner or later, and it will be more serious each time, Uncle Torifu." Tsunade walked into the room and saw Akimichi Torifu sitting behind the low table on the tatami mat. Without any ceremony, she walked over and sat down opposite him.

"You're back, Tsunade!"

Hearing that voice, which he hadn't heard in a long time but which seemed unchanged, Akimichi Torifu greeted him with a smile.

“I had to come back. Those secret agents are running around everywhere, it’s really troublesome. Besides… I’m not just coming back to treat you, there are other things to take care of.”

Looks like I've caused you trouble again!

"Stop nagging. I already told you that seeing you was just a side thing. I had to come back because of other things."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of the name Hiruko?" Tsunade asked after a two-second silence.

"Hiruko? Hmm! That sounds like the name of a rogue ninja, doesn't it?" Akimichi Torifu thought for a moment, then slowly said, "I saw this name on the list of rogue ninjas, but if I remember correctly, Hiruko hasn't appeared for many years. The list even has a note after Hiruko's name saying 'suspected death'? You encountered..."

"Tsunade-senpai, are you saying that everything that happened at Sumilu Mountain was done by Hiruko?"

The sound originated outdoors.

"Sōgen-kun, you're here too!" Although he couldn't see, Akimichi Torifu found that his hearing was becoming more and more sensitive.

Please forgive my unauthorized visit.

Zongxian pushed open the door and entered the room where only Akimichi Torifu and Tsunade were present.

Upon receiving news that Tsunade had returned to the village and gone to the Hokage's residence, Sogen immediately put down his official duties and went straight to the Akimichi clan's territory. As soon as he arrived at the gate, he heard the name 'Hiruko,' and his long-buried memories were awakened, connecting with the monsters that Kakashi had previously reported.

Simultaneously,

It also connected with those kidnapped ninjas who possessed bloodline limits.

"It's alright, please sit down!"

Akimichi Torifu pointed to the empty space next to him. Although he could no longer see, he now knew the interior space like the back of his hand.

"What did you mean by Su Mi Lushan? Is there some kind of problem over there?"

"This matter is related to the attacks that Cloud Ninja, Iwa Ninja, and Kirigakure Ninja encountered." After settling down, Zongxian answered Akimichi Torifu's question. "Thanks to Tsunade-senpai's reminder, otherwise I really wouldn't have thought that this matter would be related to the Oni-Garra Technique."

"You guessed it too?"

Tsunade looked over.

"Hmm, most likely. I think Kazuma and Hiruko have probably conspired to do everything. Kazuma's attack on the Cloud, Iwa, and Mist ninjas was probably not something he wanted to do himself, but rather Hiruko planned to use them for something, such as fusing these bloodline limits with the Oni-Garaku Technique?"

"It seems you know about Beiliuhu's affairs."

“I knew about it before.”

Zongxian speaks the truth.

This wasn't actually him cheating by relying on his memories from his previous life. Back then, in order to study the White Zetsu's corpse, he considered 'cooperating' with quite a few people, and Hiruko was one of them. However, Sasori, that unlucky guy, just happened to deliver himself to his doorstep. In the end, he captured Sasori and forced this genius to cooperate.

Before that, he had specifically investigated the matter of Hiruko and carefully reviewed the archives that had been sealed away back then.

"Wait, you two, hold on a minute. I know about the Demon Sprout Technique; it's a forbidden technique created by Tobirama-sensei. But if I remember correctly, it's a forbidden technique for fusing summoning beasts, right? Because it violated human ethics too much, it was sealed by the First Hokage. How could it... fuse with a bloodline limit? How is that possible?"

Akimichi Torifu, though blind, instinctively opened his eyes and stared at the two people in front of him with his cloudy, lifeless eyes.

[Chapter 306. The Surging Malice]

"The Second Hokage was the founder, and Orochimaru and Hiruko were the ones who inherited and further improved upon it. Indeed, the purpose of the forbidden techniques that the Second Hokage initially created was very simple, but those who came after him were not useless people who could only follow the script. Moreover, compared to the difficulty the Second Hokage faced in going from zero to one, what they did was simply to deepen and expand upon them. With their talents, it was not difficult for them to do so."

Zongxian's tone carried a sense of reassurance.

The unknown is what makes people most uneasy.

Once we figure out what really happened, all that's left is to deal with whatever comes our way.

However, it was unexpected that Ma had joined forces with Biluhu... But that's just as well, like turtles looking for tortoises, rotten fish looking for rotten shrimp, we can wipe them out in one fell swoop! Of course, the premise is that they show up on their own, or that we find their real lair.

“That’s right. Hiruko has always been obsessed with talent, believing that the gap in talent is what keeps him from catching up with me, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. He completely ignores his own talent in research. Improving the forbidden techniques developed by his great-uncle is not impossible for him. In fact, he had already achieved some results more than ten years ago. You can get a glimpse of this from the materials he left behind. If you want to know more, Uncle Torifu, you can ask Shikaku or Choza to read them for you.”

Tsunade realized Akimichi Torifu's cloudy and lifeless eyes as soon as she spoke, but fortunately, she reacted quickly enough and forcibly corrected herself.

"The fusion of bloodline limits... This is truly unbelievable. But colluding with Ma and Hiruko, their target is Konoha?" Akimichi Torifu didn't care about Tsunade's slip of the tongue at all. His keen intuition as the Hokage made him realize the crisis brewing behind this matter.

There's no need to say more about Kazuma.

This traitor among the Twelve Guardian Ninja is a staunch anti-Konoha dangerous element, the kind of guy who can be killed on the spot without any further discussion once discovered.

Hiruko was forced to become a rogue ninja because of her research into forbidden techniques. Perhaps she wasn't as obsessed with destroying Konoha as Kazuma was, but it's highly unlikely that Hiruko tricked Kazuma into researching forbidden techniques. It's more likely that Kazuma teamed up with Hiruko to cause trouble for Konoha.

"Nine times out of ten."

Zongxian nodded. "I think so too. It's always better to plan for the worst than to be blindly optimistic. Of course, there's no need to be overly nervous. In the end, they're just two people. Even if they've mastered some forbidden techniques, they're not that easy to pose a real threat to Konoha. Konoha isn't so fragile that it'll crumble at the slightest touch. We don't need to panic because of risks that are far from coming."

"Not yet? Shouldn't it be imminent?"

Tsunade looked over. "The Cloud Village, Iwa Village, and Kirigakure Village have all been attacked. Three ninjas with bloodline limits have been captured. Konoha is very likely to be the next target. After all, none of us know how much Hiruko and Kazuma have in their pockets. The Uchiha and Hyuga are also potential targets." Her tone wasn't harsh, but it was clear that she cared about the village.

"So I have given orders to all the clan members. Chunin and Genin are temporarily prohibited from leaving the village, and Jonin cannot go out alone. They need to gather a group of people before they can go out. The Hyuga clan has also issued a warning. But to be honest, the Hyuga clan only needs to protect the main clan members. They are much less worried than I am."

Zongxian answered calmly.

"As long as you are prepared, it will be fine."

Tsunade nodded and shut her mouth.

At this moment,

"call!!!"

Akimichi Torifu took a deep breath.