Tsunade's sudden outburst surprised no one.

  The fact that she hadn't stepped in to break up the fight herself was enough for everyoo feel the severity of the situation. After all, stepping in to mediate a fight like this wasly easy.

  Masashi, one of the heroes of the ails Night and a promi figure of the Uchiha , was well-regarded in Konoha. And Orochimaru needed no introdu.

  Meddling in their csh risked provoking the Uchiha —a dangerous prospect. Everyone remembered how the Police Force had proven themselves during the ails i. Their bat skills and cohesion were unmatched, even by the ANBU, solidifying the Uchiha's position as the most powerful the vilge.

  Soon, more people gathered. It was not something that could be kept under s—especially whehird Hokage, dressed in full battle attire, had left the Hokage Resideo intervene.

  Not only those from the Hokage's fa but other ninja s were starting to arrive as well.

  "Regardless of the situation, Sandaime-sama, we should separate them first," suggested one of the ANBU members following Hiruzen.

  The elderly Hokage's expression icture of inner flict, a familiar look that made the ANBU apanying him visibly anxious.

  The Uchiha hadn't yet shown up, which gave the ANBU an uneasy feeling.

  And sure enough, the uneasy feeling came true.

  A group of Uchiha members appeared, all dressed in Police Foriforms. Each of them bore Sharingan, and while not all had the three-tomoe form, it was clear they were elite members of the .

  Before the ails i, pints about the Uchiha were dismissed as mere grumblings. But after that night, the had frohe Hokage fa head-on, demonstrating their power in a way that couldn't be ignored.

  It felt as if the Uchiha were returning to their roots as an indomitable warrior .

  Su Uchiha wasn't easy to handle.

  "Hokage-sama, Sandaime-sama," greeted Yaku, the leader of the Uchiha group. His tone was cordial when addressing Minato but turned hostile when he faced Hiruzen. "Was it your iion for Orochimaru tet our member?"

  "Please watch your tone when addressing the Hokage." someone from the Hokage fa said.

  Tsunade remained expressionless, while Jiraiya's face darkened.

  Surprisingly, Hiruzen seemed to calm down instead of looking distressed.

  Minato stayed silent. He had a strong sehat someone else had arrived.

  "Am I hearing a joke?" Danzō's voiterrupted as he appeared, fnked by several Root ninjas. "Is this what you call 'targeting'? The facts aren't clear yet. The Uchiha should be careful not to revert to their old ways."

  He gazed into the mist where the fight raged on, feeling displeased. Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? This could destroy months of careful pnning.

  Orochimaru was essential to his pns. Without him, not only would his experiments be jeopardized, but many operations would bee signifitly harder to execute. Root, though appearing formidable, had very few embers and relied heavily on disposable operatives.

  vely, disposable operatives could be eliminated without hesitation ohey had served their purpose. Konoha always had an abundance of orphan resources.

  However, was this many people really necessary?

  Danzō sed the growing crowd uneasily, sensing that something big was about to happen.

  In the crowd, someone nodded discreetly at Minato. This signal gave him some relief. If it weren't for the current circumstances, he would've pumped his fist in victory.

  "Sandaime-sama, I'll need your help to talk things over with Orochimaru afterward."

  "No, Minato, you're the Hokage now," Jiraiya interrupted firmly. Clearly, he was eager to leave. "I'll deal with it."

  Before Minato could respond, he leaped into the mist, disappearing from sight.

  Watg his mentor's retreating figure, Minato could only smile wryly. After all, there was no hiding anything from his teacher.

  Soon, a deafening crash echoed from within the mist, followed by tremors that could be felt underfoot.

  Jiraiya's thunderous voice roared out: "STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!"

  The mist began to clear.

  The forest had been leveled, and three massive summonis were in the clearing. Trees y splintered around them.

  Two Sannin stood atop their signature summoning creatures.

  Masashi, meanwhile, erched on the head of a giant bake.

  "You idiot!" Manda bellowed angrily.

  Orochimaru ig, his face sullen.

  "Hey, Manda, long time no see," Masashi said with a smile. "Have you eate?"

  "I'd like to eat you," Manda retorted swiftly.

  "Silence, Manda," Kuro snapped under Masashi's feet.

  Manda immediately fell silent.

  "Jiraiya," Masashi said, looking apologetic. "I'm terribly sorry for causing trouble."

  Jiraiya's expression darkened as he looked between Masashi, Kuro, Orochimaru, and Manda. "What the hell are you all doing? Have you lost your minds?"

  "I'm sparring with Orochimaru," Masashi replied nontly. "After seeing how he trained Anko, I thought it best to seek his guidance myself."

  "Heh…" Orochimaru sneered but didn't argue. Knowing the situation coulde further, he dispelled his summoning.

  He nded and, without saying a word, turo leave.

  "Orochimaru!" Jiraiya appeared in front of him. "What's the point of this tantrum? The situation has gotten out of hand. You o e back with me."

  "Jiraiya, stay out of my business," Orochimaru said coldly. "It's better for you that way."

  "I don't care. This is too much. You're ing back with me. Hiruzen-sensei and Minato are here, along with representatives from other s."

  Following Jiraiya's gesture, Orochimaru g the distant hill where a crowd had gathered.

  His gaze stayed briefly on Tsunade. For a moment, he thought of a child he hadn't seen in years, still vivid despite the passage of time.

  It left a bad taste in his mouth.

  "Fine," he said at st and leaped toward the hill without waiting for Jiraiya.

  ---

  Ba the vilge, veterans surrounded a Root stronghold. Every attacker was at least special jonin rank, with many seasoned jonin among them.

  One of them, a bearded man with a rugged look, casually tossed aside the st Root ninja he had killed. Blood dripped from his kunai as he stared into the dark entrance of the stronghold.

  These weren't the usual Root guards—these were the dispensable ones. He waved his hand.

  "Charge in!"

  With the and from the bearded jonin, a group of Konoha shinobi stormed into the stronghold.

  "Leave no er unchecked. They are slippery," he ordered.

  They swept away all obstacles in their path, adopting the tactics they used for operations abroad.

  "They're not even trying to defend. Something's wrong," a squad leader reported.

  "Or everything's exactly as pnned," the bearded jonin said grimly.

  These were elite members of Konoha's regur forces. Ohey ehere was ation or restraint.

  Simir as unfolded elsewhere in the vilge.

  The jonin squads, long burdened with grievances against the higher-ups, seized this opportunity to vent their frustrations thhly.

  But as oronghold after another was forcibly breached, the secrets exposed shocked even these hardened shinobi—individuals who had witnessed death otlefield, itted unspeakable acts, and seey of sordid affairs within the vilge.

  "These tunnels... they're built like graves," a shinobi whispered, his hand trailing along the cold stone walls.

  "No. Graves show more respect for the dead," another responded.

  For the first time, they felt like oversized, naive rabbits.

  It wasn't just that the ses were brutal—it was that the revetions far exceeded their worst expectations.

  These strongholds were located in the western district, an area occupying about half of Konoha.

  Known as the agricultural zo was deh forests and sparsely poputed, with residents trated in a tral living area.

  At night, the western district became lifeless, an ideal location for the ANBU—or rather, Root—to establish their main vilge bases.

  Every stronghold was designed as an underground facility, with long and narrow passageways leading into chambers. Walking through them felt like entering the tombs of a nobles.

  Upon reag the core areas, however, the shinobi discovered the ao the frequent cases of missing persons sihe wartime era.

  "Dot everything. Every sirocity," the squad leader anded.

  Vilgers who disappeared on their way back to Konoha, fellow shinobi suspected of defeg, and rades decred dead but never properly interred—all were found in these strongholds, or at least what remained of them.

  "Some of these... they're from our own s," a medi reported, examining the bodies with shaking hands.

  "Mark the symbols. We'll need proof," the squad leader said, his jaw ched.

  The workrooms for processing corpses reeked with the stench of decay, and the methods of disposal were beyond appalling.

  Even sughterhouses for livestock would have shown more care.

  Those dug the experiments didn't view their subjects as human beings. To them, these individuals were merely materials.

  Many of the "materials" were long-deceased bodies.

  A check firmed that none of Konoha's eight promi s were involved—much to everyone's initial relief.

  But their relief remature. What they fou revealed a darkness capable of destroying all light in the world.

  The boratory had extracted tissues from the body of the First Hokage. The experimental subjects—marked as failures a unprocessed—testified to the gruesome nature of these trials.

  "Get to the Hokage. Don't stop for ahe ander ordered a messenger.

  "Even the ANBU?"

  "Especially the ANBU."

  To firm the findings, they immediately ied the First Hokage's tomb. Sure enough, it showed signs of ret disturbance.

  This was no longer a manageable issue. The desecration of the First Hokage's grave shook the very foundation of Konoha. Anyone suggesting leniency would bee suspect themselves.

  Every individual involved had to face justice.

  Defiant enemies had already been killed, leaving only administrative personnel alive. As for the experimental subjects—unfortunately, there were no survivors by the time Konoha's forces arrived.

  Without dey, the shinobi secured all captives on site. One joni off immediately for the vilge to deliver the news, sprinting without pause. Crossing the walls, he didn't even take the time to expin himself to the sentries.

  Every seattered.

  ---

  The gathering had divided into three fas.

  One sisted of the Hokage and his allies. The sed was the Uchiha . The third prised bystanders, her leaving nor joining in—just watg.

  Each group carefully positiohemselves, maintaining strategic distances while sizing up potential threats.

  The third-party ninja s were cautious. They had families to support and couldn't afford to take sides in such a dangerous situation.

  They weren't about to be swayed by past favors. No one had ever offered them charity without strings attached.

  "Orochimaru, is this as you say?" Hiruzen turo his student, his expression naturally kind as he shifted his gaze to Masashi. "Is this true?"

  "Of course, Sandaime-sama." he nodded like a humble, ho youth. "Orochimaru expi perfectly. I couldn't e up with something so detailed."

  He added, with apparent distress, "I'm truly too immature!"

  The crowd fell silent.

  They were caught off guard by Masashi's tone. Since Konoha's founding, people had spoken to the Hokage in various ways—some were frontational, others submissive, some meandering, and a few utterly i.

  But no one had ever spoken with such btant sarcasm.

  It was usually the Hokage doing the passive-aggressive talking. Even for a past Hokage, wasn't this a bit disrespectful?

  The crowd reassessed their impression of Masashi. He seemed... different.

  Masashi, however, remained unfazed. Crafting personas was a means to pursue his goals. And for a ninja, one's persona had to align with their apparent strength.

  "Calm down," Hiruzen said with a kindly smile. "If you feel wronged, you voice it."

  "Sandaime-sama, you're too kind," Masashi replied solemnly. "For the sake of the vilge, I have no grievances."

  Hiruzen sighed, looking disappointed.

  "Orochimaru, you've been reckless," he said to his disciple.

  The Snake Sannin, meanwhile, was bored.

  Why were these people so obsessed with such trivial matters? Did it have any meaning?

  "What a fuss! pletely inappropriate!" Danzō interjected.

  His remark earned him strange looks from many. After all, he was notorious for turning small issues into crises.

  "Sandaime-sama," Yaku spoke up, "if Masashi is i, he leave now?"

  The Uchiha had no trust in anyone from the Hokage's office. They still resehe assig of Shisui to the ANBU.

  The more their retions with outsiders improved, the more they realized how stifling their prior situation had been—engineered entirely by the Hokage's administration.

  "Yaku, show some respect to the Hokage," an ANBU operative warned again, standing beside Hiruzen.

  Yaku shot back, visibly irritated. "Adults are talking, uand?"

  The atmosphere turned hostile.

  The Uchiha stepped forward, their Sharingan eyes fshing red as they fnked Masashi and Yaku. Their i was clear: We dare you to try.

  Faced with so many Sharingan, the ANBU instinctively averted their eyes while preparing for bat.

  Yet, no fident.

  The masked man from the ails i had taught them ohing: without suffit power, one shouldn't lock eyes with Sharingan.

  Hiruzen and Danzō's expressions grew serious. They weren't intimidated by the three-tomoe Sharingan, but they also didn't want to worseions with the Uchiha.

  The Sannin, meanwhile, had their owions.

  Jiraiya g Orochimaru. Orochimaru looked at Tsusunade... just wao go back to the gambling hall.

  Only Minato, seemed prepared to intervene. He stepped forward, ready to speak. But he stopped abruptly, his attention drawn to a familiar figure rag toward them.

  "Hokage-sama! Something major has happened!" The deep voice shattered the silend shook everyone present. "The First Hokage-sama's grave has been desecrated!"