"He's gone crazy!"
"He's absolutely lost it!"
Konohagakure.
Hokage's Office.
The four great advisors had gathered once again.
Koharu Utatane murmured, her old face filled with disbelief.
"Uchiha Itsuki, what is he trying to do?"
First, he led the Uchiha Clan to defect from the Leaf.
Then he denied the Daimyo's authority.
After being provoked, he directly launched an attack on the nobles!
And instead of backing down after being threatened by the nobles, he went even further, slaughtering them without restraint.
Now he's taken it even further — he's claiming territories, and letting shinobi take control of the nobles and towns.
It's simply unimaginable.
Homura Mitokado was also visibly disturbed.
It was the panic of seeing a long-standing belief shattered.
He could no longer see what the future held.
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a soft snort, his face darkened, and he remained silent.
Danzo Shimura, on the other hand, let out a cold laugh.
"Crazy? Wrong, he's perfectly sane!"
"Then what's his goal?"
"To break convention!"
Danzo's eyes were filled with jealousy and envy as he murmured, "He intends to break the current system of the shinobi world and create a new ninja village, a new set of rules."
Damn it!
This was what Danzo wanted to do!
To create a new order.
To become a pioneer!
To put his name alongside Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
Although Madara Uchiha was considered a rogue shinobi and despised by almost all the villages, who knows how many still admired him.
The "Demon of Shinobi World."
The only one who could stand alongside the "God of Shinobi."
Uchiha Itsuki was working towards that path.
He wanted to become a legend!
To become a new legend!
Thinking of this, Danzo could no longer sit still.
"Hiruzen, we must act. Whatever Uchiha is trying to do, we must crush them."
"Of course."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression remained calm as he spoke in an intentionally aged voice, "I'm preparing to initiate a Five Kage Summit."
Koharu and Homura's lips twitched.
The voice was too forced!
This change in Hiruzen... He's just like Danzo. After losing a bit of detachment, why did both their personalities start changing so much?
The two simultaneously thought of a term Itsuki had once used: "feminized!"
"Gathering the power of the Five Kage, huh?"
Danzo, however, seemed unfazed and merely nodded slightly.
Given Uchiha Itsuki's demonstrated power, dealing with him was beyond what one village could manage alone.
Besides!
Uchiha Itsuki had antagonized the entire shinobi world. Why should only the Leaf bear all the losses?
"What about the Chunin Exam..."
"I plan to take action during the Chunin Exam. I don't believe Uchiha Itsuki can stay put."
"That's actually a good idea..."
Danzo murmured.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a ninja burst in, exclaiming loudly, "Lord Hokage, bad news!"
The Third Hokage suddenly grew furious and shouted, "You're the bad news!"
The Anbu: "..."
"Ahem, Hiruzen!"
Koharu hurriedly coughed.
Since losing his sense of detachment, Hiruzen's temperament had become rather volatile.
He would often get inexplicably angry!
With a reminder, Hiruzen also collected himself, coughed dryly, and asked, "What is it?"
The Anbu hesitated and said, "A city has been attacked by shinobi."
"From the Fire Hidden Village..."
"No, it's not them!"
The Anbu looked somewhat frightened and said with difficulty, "That city is far from Fire Hidden Village and Uchiha Itsuki's current position, and the methods used don't resemble theirs."
He approached a map and marked a spot on it.
Seeing the mark.
Koharu and Homura were puzzled.
But!
Danzo and Hiruzen both felt a chill.
They exchanged glances and saw the deep fear in each other's eyes.
This city was unlikely to be Uchiha Itsuki's doing — it was too far away.
Itsuki attacked towns systematically, one by one, not with such great distances between.
But!
At this moment, they sincerely hoped this was Itsuki's work.
If it wasn't...
Then it meant that some other village or shinobi organization had made a move.
They had begun testing the limits of the nobles' authority!
"No... It can't be..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned pale, muttering to himself.
The long-standing conventions were about to be completely shattered.
Only Uchiha Itsuki could be considered an outlier.
But what if other villages began to imitate him?
What then?
It would be a disaster!
A disaster for the nobles.
Likewise.
It would also be a disaster for the shinobi.
The shinobi world was about to undergo a revolution.
Everything was heading into the unknown.
In his old age, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sudden surge of fear.
In his position, with his status and age, the thing he feared most was change!
He didn't have much time left!
The last time!
If Jiraiya hadn't voluntarily stepped down, leaving the Leaf without a Hokage successor, he might have already been forced to retire.
Even so, right now, the Leaf was still waiting for a new successor.
Once that successor appeared, his position would be under tremendous threat.
The so-called balance would be broken.
Given these circumstances, he didn't have time to face a revolution.
"We must deal with this immediately!"
Hiruzen's eyes were cold as he said, "This is treason against the Daimyo, and it cannot be tolerated!"
The other three nodded in agreement.
Their current lives were good; they didn't need anything new.
The shinobi world as it was now was just fine.
...
The nobles sensed something was wrong too.
Thus, the Daimyos of several countries simultaneously sent stern warnings to the Kages of the five major villages.
They ordered them to deal with Uchiha as soon as possible.
If the situation continued, next year's funding for each village would be completely cut off.
If they managed to handle Uchiha, their budgets would be increased by thirty percent!
The Leaf was the first to comply with the order, sending emissaries to Uchiha.
At the same time, they actively prepared their shinobi forces.
Even after recently losing three thousand men, they didn't care.
In their eyes, only Uchiha mattered.
Faced with this situation, it was surprising that Uchiha actually retreated.
Without the need for the shinobi forces, a few emissaries managed to make them pull back.
Everyone was once again stunned.
After showing such madness, did Uchiha really just give up that easily?
Yes!
They retreated!
The Uchiha withdrew from the first few towns, returning to Chisō Castle under the watchful gaze of the town lord who looked like he was forcing a smile.
Were they drunk or what?
Other villages quickly caught on and still dispatched their shinobi forces to beat the Fire Hidden Village down, even to destroy it.
What did the emissaries' promises have to do with them?
Would Itsuki let them succeed?
Of course not!
Using Flying Raijin, he moved freely, constantly dropping explosive tags.
Although facing the enemy's shinobi forces, Itsuki's presence could be seen everywhere.
The shinobi armies sent by several villages were forced to retreat.
Among them, Sunagakure and Iwagakure suffered the least.
Kumogakure lost over a thousand shinobi.
The Leaf lost another two thousand.
The repeated losses were beginning to take a toll on the Leaf.
And it was at this time that the Chunin Exams began.
The other villages also took this opportunity to recall their shinobi forces.
It wasn't that they were weak; it was that the Fire Hidden Village was too powerful, and they didn't want to take unnecessary losses, giving others an advantage for free.
(End of Chapter)