I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Dream, Lightning Man!"

At its peak, Lei Meng Lei Ren's power was enough to destroy an entire village.

Although the four members of Beigen are no longer at their peak, they still have enough chakra left to kill the six members of Kazuma.

The next instant, a blinding white light illuminated the entire night.

After the deafening thunder subsided, a huge, charred black crater appeared where Ma and the others had been, and their figures had been completely reduced to ashes.

At the same time, the four members of Beigen, having exhausted the last bit of chakra in their bodies, also ceased to live.

With this, the internal strife among the Twelve Guardian Ninja ended, leaving only Asuma and Jiraiya.

The evening wind howled mournfully.

Covered in blood, Jiraiya clasped his hands together and said sadly, "The Twelve Guardian Ninjas are no more."

察~

The sound of a lighter rang out.

Asuma lit a cigarette but didn't smoke it. He just silently watched the cigarette burn out, letting the rising white smoke bid farewell to this battle in which both sides had lost.

After a long while, Asuma and Jiroku left with the four corpses of Beigen.

A slight noise suddenly came from the large crater created by Lei Meng's outrageous technique.

A few minutes later, a man covered in charred soot and severely injured crawled out; it was He Ma.

"Asuma! Jiraiya! And... Konoha!"

He was seen struggling to escape, growling and grumbling in frustration.

However, at that moment, a slight whooshing sound rang out in front of him.

Kazuma subconsciously raised his hand to look, only to see a sharp kunai and a pair of blood-red Sharingan eyes that were very conspicuous no matter how they were concealed.

"Damn it... Konoha."

Having uttered these words with his last breath, Kazuma collapsed unconscious after the cold, sharp edge struck him.

From then on, the radical faction that harbored malice towards the Hokage was completely wiped out.

The ninja forces of the Land of Fire that were outside of Konoha ceased to exist.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Temporary Conclusion of the Peace Talks with the Cloud Ninja Mission

the next day.

In the capital of the Land of Fire, at the residence of the Left Minister.

The fierce battle that took place at the daimyo's residence late at night, especially the news that Kazuma dared to risk public condemnation by attempting to assassinate the daimyo, made the Left Minister of State instantly anxious and uneasy after he learned of it in time.

He never imagined that Kazuma would do such a heinous thing.

Although he knew nothing about this matter, he had previously been in contact with Fu Zheng, so it was hard to guarantee that someone would connect him with the assassination attempt on the daimyo.

"No! We must take Shouming under control as soon as possible!"

Shouming was the special envoy who contacted Ma, and the Left Minister immediately ordered his men to bring him in and keep him under control.

The latter concerns his innocence, and there must be no mistakes at this crucial moment.

However, after a moment, the fact that his men had returned empty-handed made his face turn deathly pale.

As a seasoned political maneuver, how could the Left Minister not know that someone had set a trap for him?

"No matter what, a clear conscience fears no accusation. As the Left Minister of the Land of Fire, how could I be brought down by someone else's framing!"

The Left Minister quickly perked up, thought for a moment, and immediately wrote to his vast network of connections, which he had cultivated over the years, seeking help.

As a long-established noble family in the Land of Fire, the Left Minister wields considerable influence within the country. If he were to truly utilize the political capital he has accumulated over the years, he might actually be able to escape this calamity.

However, Konoha, which had already planned everything, would not give him that chance.

At that moment, a person dressed in a black robe and wearing a cat-face mask suddenly appeared outside the study.

As the guards were about to draw their swords upon seeing this, a pair of Sharingan with three tomoe suddenly appeared in their line of sight.

The newcomer was Itachi.

As a genius of the Uchiha clan, after experiencing the life-and-death trials of the Anbu, his Sharingan has now reached the three-tomoe stage.

The guards were naturally unable to withstand the Sharingan's genjutsu.

So, ignoring everyone else, Itachi casually pushed open the door and entered the study.

"You are..." The Left Minister, who was writing furiously, suddenly heard the noise and subconsciously looked up. Before he could finish speaking, he met Itachi's Sharingan eyes.

Then, the Left Minister, who was now completely under Itachi's control, put down his pen, took the common poison prepared by Itachi, and drank it without hesitation.

Soon after, the Left Minister died with his face blackened.

The operation did not end there.

Itachi continued to the desk, collected all the letters that the Left Minister had just written, and then, with his gloved right hand holding a pen, used the Sharingan's copying ability to write on a new sheet of paper in the exact same handwriting as the Left Minister.

This confession from the Left Minister admitted that he and his accomplices had plotted to assassinate the daimyo. Upon realizing his plot had been exposed, he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, hoping the daimyo would forgive his family.

Only then can the entire plan be considered complete.

As Itachi left the Left Minister's residence without alerting anyone, the guards who had been under the illusion spell all came to their senses.

However, they did not notice anything unusual, and assumed that it had only been a blink of an eye.

These people continued to dutifully guard outside the study.

Little did they know that its owner had already died.

It wasn't until the daimyo's envoy came to summon the Left Minister to his residence that they discovered this once powerful official had been dead for some time.

In the time that followed, the Land of Fire was in constant turmoil, providing plenty of fodder for gossip among the general public.

First, the daimyo was assassinated, a rare occurrence, and the assassin turned out to be one of the twelve guardian ninjas who were his trusted confidants.

Then came the civil war among the Twelve Guardian Ninja, leaving only two survivors.

However, when the tools could no longer be trusted by their owners, this long-standing organization was dissolved.

Finally, the most shocking revelation is that the mastermind behind all of this was none other than the Left Minister.

Before committing suicide out of fear of punishment, the latter personally confessed to the involvement of several accomplices in the letter.

As a result of the Daimyo's fury, a major purge took place among the high-ranking officials of the Land of Fire during this period.

If someone pays close attention, they will find that most of these people were those who had previously fought against Konoha.

In this way, Yun Ting's goal has been achieved.

By deliberately extending the line, they would use it as bait to lure out the vanguard of the Land of Fire who were willing to fight against Konoha, and then strike them down and destroy them.

In this way, some long-standing problems will be eliminated before the future ruler of the Land of Fire takes power, and this will also serve to deter others and maintain current domestic stability.

After this upheaval, it's time for the Land of Fire to take a break.

Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish; it cannot be done too hastily.

With Konoha's strength, Yun Ting could easily conquer the entire Land of Fire.

The reason for this gradual infiltration is to ensure the complete inheritance of the Land of Fire.

Otherwise, even if he could take over the Land of Fire in a single day, such a violent method of seizing power would only cause a tremendous internal upheaval.

After that, it would take him far longer than a day, a year... two years... even more than ten years, to truly stabilize the Land of Fire.

This doesn't even take into account the absolute possibility that the other four major powers might take advantage of the situation to plunder.

Power can kill many people, but it can never govern a country.

Given Konoha's size, it's simply impossible for it to replace the Land of Fire in a short period of time by swallowing an elephant whole.

Therefore, everything must proceed steadily.

This is undoubtedly a good start.

After eliminating the stubborn faction of the Land of Fire and the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Yun Ting wisely halted Konoha's expansion. He deliberately shifted the blame for the previous conflict to the fact that the Left Minister and his group had instigated it, thus easing tensions between the village and the Land of Fire's leadership and restoring order.

In the time that follows, it will be time for him to set his sights on the upcoming Cloud Ninja peace delegation and the Land of Lightning behind them.

If the Land of Fire wants to smoothly complete the transfer of power in the future, it will have to severely crack down on external forces that are trying to spy on it.

Who else is more deserving to be used as a warning to others than these aggressive Cloud Ninjas, whose strength is second only to Konoha?

Thus, after the first step of the cleanup within the Land of Fire, the second step is about to begin.

......

......

Konoha, Hokage's office.

Looking at Sarutobi Asuma, who was covered in dust and looked much more haggard than before, Yun Ting comforted him, "Since the Twelve Guardian Ninjas are no more, Asuma, you should rest in the village for a while. I will arrange other work for you later."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Asuma replied in a low voice.

He really needs time to calm down, seriously reflect on everything that happened, and re-examine his own beliefs.

When I left the Hokage Building, walked through the unfamiliar street scenes, and arrived at my own front door.

Asma, who was preoccupied with his own thoughts, suddenly felt a strong longing for home.

The reason for this is that the rebellious teenager of yesteryear has now weathered storms and grown into an adult.

Without mentioning what kind of conversation will take place between Amas and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After meeting with the former, Yun Ting immediately asked his female secretary, "Have all the arrangements for the Yunren peace delegation been made?"

Ritsuko Yamanaka answered without hesitation, "It's all arranged."

The peace delegation from Yunren arrived several months earlier than in previous history.

Yun Ting certainly deserves credit for this.

After sending a group of Root ninjas to the battlefield against the Cloud Ninjas, a large number of Uchiha ninjas with a burning desire for battle also arrived, making the Konoha frontline forces stronger than ever before.

Correspondingly, the casualties and pressure on the Cloud Ninja are also increasing.