I have a bunch of relatives who want to become Hokage.

It's as if they've turned back into the same fighting clan that used to be, ready to challenge everything and everyone.

Such an Uchiha is not easy to deal with.

"Yondaime-sama, Sandaime-sama."

The leader of the Uchiha clan was Uchiha Yakumi. He was fine when talking to Namikaze Minato, but when it came to Sarutobi Hiruzen, his face turned ashen.

"Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, is targeting the young members of my clan. Is that your doing?"

"Uchiha Yakumi, mind your manner when speaking to the Hokage!" Someone from the Hokage faction immediately shouted.

Tsunade remained expressionless, while Jiraiya's face darkened.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the other hand, put away his previous anxious expression.

Minato Namikaze remained silent.

Because he knew that the other person must have come as well.

"Have I heard a joke?" Shimura Danzo appeared, surrounded by several Root ninjas. "Is this what you call 'taking action'? The facts are still unclear. The Uchiha clan should not allow themselves to revert to their old ways."

He looked at the distant mist, feeling displeased.

I told you to shut up, and this is how you shut up?

Orochimaru absolutely cannot be allowed to get into trouble; that's his bottom line.

Without Orochimaru, not only experiments, but many other things become inconvenient.

Despite its seemingly impressive headquarters, the core members are actually pitifully few, and the staff is entirely made up of a group of temporary workers.

The advantage is that temporary workers can be eliminated without any qualms once they've been used up enough.

Konoha Village has never lacked resources for orphans.

But isn't it a bit too crowded here?

Danzo Shimura looked around unhappily, feeling uneasy as if something was about to happen.

However, someone in the crowd nodded to Minato Namikaze.

Seeing this, the Fourth Hokage felt certain.

If the occasion had allowed, he would have clenched his fist.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “Third Hokage, I’ll need you to persuade Lord Orochimaru later. We’re all comrades, so let’s keep things peaceful.”

"No, Minato, you are the Hokage now." Jiraiya stopped him, seemingly unwilling to stay there any longer or see anyone here. "I'll take over."

After saying that, before Minato Namikaze could speak, he had already leaped into the mist.

Minato Namikaze could only manage a bitter smile as he watched his master's disappearing figure.

After all, you can't hide it from your teacher.

Soon, a loud bang came from the fog, and the tremor of the earth was transmitted well to the feet of everyone.

Immediately following was Jiraiya's incredibly loud voice.

"Stop it, all of you!!!"

An angry voice echoed through the woods.

Soon, the fog dissipated, revealing the scene inside.

A chill ran through everyone who saw it.

In the arena, the forest had been leveled, and three enormous spirit beasts lay prostrate there.

Two of the three legendary Sannin were standing on the heads of their signature summoning beasts.

Uchiha Shingen stood on the head of a giant black snake, which was slightly larger than Orochimaru's Manda.

"Orochimaru, you bastard!" Manda cursed.

Orochimaru ignored it, his face grim.

"Old Manda, long time no see," Uchiha Shingen greeted Manda. "Did you eat before you came out?"

"I only want to eat you." Wan She replied instantly, decisively.

"Shut up!" said the black snake beneath Uchiha Shingen's feet.

"..." Manda immediately fell silent.

"Lord Jiraiya," Shingen Uchiha said obediently, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

Jiraiya's face was grim. He looked at Uchiha Shingen, then at the black snake, and then at Orochimaru and Manda.

"What are you doing?" he gritted his teeth. "Are you all crazy?"

"I am sparring with Lord Orochimaru." Uchiha Shingen seemed oblivious to Jiraiya's anger. "After all, Anko is Lord Orochimaru's disciple, so I still need to consult Lord Orochimaru on how to guide her."

"Heh..." Orochimaru sneered.

However, he knew that this was the end for today, and he released the summoning of Manda.

He landed back on the ground, glanced at his two other "companions" who had also deactivated their psychic abilities, said nothing, and turned to leave.

"Orochimaru." Jiraiya appeared in front of him in a flash. "What are you doing throwing a tantrum at a time like this?"

"Jiraiya, don't meddle in my affairs. It will be better for you," Orochimaru said.

"I'm going to take care of your business. Today's matter is too big. You're coming back with me first." Jiraiya was furious. "Master and Minato are here, as are people from other clans."

Following Jiraiya's direction, Orochimaru saw the group of people on the high ground in the distance.

There was little warmth in his eyes.

He paused slightly when he saw Tsunade.

The image of that child seemed to reappear before my eyes; even after so many years, the memory remained so vivid.

This made him very unhappy.

“Then let’s go,” he said, then ignored Jiraiya and leaped toward the high ground alone.

At this moment, within Konoha Village, a Root stronghold was completely surrounded by a group of Konoha ninja.

The lowest level of those who surrounded them was Special Jonin, and there were several Jonin, all of whom were veteran Jonin of the Konoha Ninja Army.

One of them had a full beard and looked quite weathered.

Now, this veteran Jonin is casually tossing aside the last Root ninja he killed.

Looking at the dark entrance to the stronghold, he waved his hand.

"Charge in!"

Chapter Thirty-Six: Darkness Destroys Light

At the command of the bearded Jonin, a group of Konoha ninjas rushed into the stronghold.

They cleared away all obstacles in the same way they did when fighting abroad.

These people were all elites from Konoha's regular army, and once they decided to take action, they no longer had any concerns.

The same actions were happening in other parts of the village.

The Jonin team finally got a chance to vent their long-suppressed dissatisfaction with the higher-ups.

But as each stronghold was forcibly breached, the secrets exposed made these ninjas, who were used to life and death on the battlefield, had done all sorts of things they shouldn't have, and had seen plenty of slovenly things in the village, feel for the first time...

I'm really just a giant little white rabbit.

It wasn't that the scene was too exciting, but rather that the content far exceeded everyone's expectations.

These strongholds are all located in the western district, which accounts for about half of Konoha Village. As this is Konoha's agricultural production area, there are many forests and the population is concentrated in the central residential area. At night, the entire western district is basically deserted. It has always been the main distribution area of ​​the Anbu... no, the Root's base in the village.

All the outposts were built underground, with complex and narrow passages leading to the underground, dimly lit, making it feel like entering the tomb of an ancient nobleman.

But when the various troops entered its core area, they discovered that the frequent disappearances that had occurred in the village since the wartime period could be declared solved.

The missing villagers, the ninjas who were clearly returning to the village but lost contact and were even suspected of being deserters, and the ninjas who sacrificed their lives but were not able to return to the village for burial—these strongholds discovered the remains of many of them.

The workshop where the corpses were disposed of smelled nauseating, and the methods used were unacceptable.

Even meat processing plants that specialize in slaughtering livestock are more focused than this.

Without a doubt, the people in charge of the experiment did not treat these people as human beings.

In his eyes, they were all just materials.

There were also many "materials" that were people who had been dead for many years. The Konoha ninjas even found some coffins among them, with the clan crests of ninja clans on the coffin lids.

After checking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief—none of the eight remaining ninja clans of Konoha were here.

But they relaxed too soon. What they discovered at the end made them realize that the darkness here could destroy all the light in the world!

The body tissue of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was actually extracted by this laboratory!

Looking at those test subjects marked as failures and deaths, but who hadn't yet been disposed of, one can tell just how tragic this experiment was.

To verify this, the Konoha ninjas rushed to the First Hokage's grave. After an inspection, they found signs of renovations!

Okay, this is a really big deal, no one can cover it up now.

The First Hokage's grave has been dug up. Anyone who says they'll only pursue the main culprit is also a suspect.

Everyone who participates must die.

To desecrate Hashirama Senju's corpse is tantamount to desecrating Konoha, a major incident that shakes the very foundation of the organization.

Those who put up a stubborn resistance... no, the enemies, have all been killed. Most of the remaining ones are clerical staff here. As for the test subjects... unfortunately, no survivors were found when the Konoha ninjas broke through this place.

Without delay, the Konoha ninjas took control of all the prisoners at the scene, while a Jonin rushed out of the village.

He didn't stop for a moment, and when he crossed the city wall, he didn't even have time to explain the situation to the ninjas there, he just jumped over it.

Even a second's delay carries enormous risk.

As he sped along, the atmosphere on a certain high ground gradually became tense.

The people on the high ground split into three groups.

The Hokage faction was one group, the Uchiha faction was another, and everyone else was just watching from the sidelines, clearly indicating they didn't want to help either side.