News continuously flowed into the Hokage's office.
...
Chaos erupted in the Village Hidden in the Clouds.
The Two-Tailed Beast was lost!
Uchiha Kazuki is about to return to the village.
...
The Village Hidden in the Mist remains in lockdown, with no one entering or leaving.
Kakashi and others continue to monitor the situation.
...
The Village Hidden in the Sand dispatched troops to the Village Hidden in the Stones, leading to clashes between the two.
The Sand also dispatched troops to Konoha, leading to conflicts with both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, with losses on both sides.
...
Apart from the conflict with the Sand, the Village Hidden in the Stones has shown no other activity, but there's a trend of significant troop gathering. This has led Konoha to begin deploying forces to defend against the Stones.
...
After handling the last bit of business, the Third Hokage and the others were shocked to discover that the village Uchiha Kazuki went to, the Hidden Cloud, turned out to be the worst ninja village to deal with.
Even the Tailed Beast was lost!
This is a huge issue—there's no way the Hidden Cloud will let this go quietly.
Moreover...
Where did the Tailed Beast go?
Could it have fallen into the hands of the Uchiha?
At this thought, the Third Hokage and others looked horrified.
Sitting on pins and needles!
Feeling like there's a thorn in their side!
Walking on thin ice!
A lump in their throats!
The Uchiha were already tough to deal with. If they got their hands on a Tailed Beast, they could turn the world upside down!
Especially if that beast fell into the hands of Uchiha Kazuki, he'd be like a wild wolf unleashed.
They were all over sixty years old—they couldn't handle that kind of stress.
The Third Hokage didn't want the first thing he does when he opens his eyes every day to be: "Medicine, medicine…"
Homura Mitokado questioned, "Chaos in the Hidden Cloud? Because of Uchiha Kazuki? Even the Two-Tails was lost? How could he have that kind of power?"
Uchiha Kazuki was just one person!
Even the Anbu wouldn't take orders from him.
What happened in the Hidden Cloud couldn't possibly be the work of just one person.
"Isn't it obvious?" Danzo's eyes glinted with malice as he coldly said, "Uchiha Kazuki must have been prepared in advance. As expected of a sinister Uchiha. Hiruzen, stop hesitating. Take him down!"
"That's not right!" Koharu Utatane voiced her disagreement, saying, "When we assigned the mission, Uchiha Kazuki was very reluctant to go to the Hidden Cloud. If it wasn't for our pressure… it doesn't add up, it doesn't make sense!"
"No, it's quite normal," Danzo replied coldly. "Uchiha Kazuki must have been prepared beforehand in the Hidden Cloud. Perhaps our pressure disrupted his plans."
If Kazuki heard Danzo's words, he would definitely give him a playful pat and praise him, "You're such a clever little fox!"
"What about the Anbu, then?" Homura couldn't help but ask. "Surely the Anbu and Root couldn't be connected to Uchiha Kazuki too?"
"It's definitely connected to Uchiha Kazuki!"
Danzo's tone was firm and decisive.
"No, no!" Koharu shook her head repeatedly and said sternly, "If Uchiha Kazuki were connected to the Hidden Cloud, it would make sense that they would target the Anbu and Root, but the Hidden Cloud was severely damaged, and the Two-Tails was lost. That's contradictory."
Homura added, "Uchiha Kazuki rarely goes on missions. How could he have set up operations in the Hidden Cloud? The chaos in the Hidden Cloud couldn't have been caused overnight."
The Third Hokage silently nodded, showing his agreement.
Three against one!
Danzo clenched his teeth in silence.
These two idiots usually just cheerlead, and now they dare to offer their own opinions?
They need to be put in their place!
Danzo loudly said, "Maybe this is an entire Uchiha conspiracy!"
The Third Hokage, exasperated, said, "Danzo, I already have a headache. Could you stop for a moment, please?"
"Hiruzen, what do you mean by that?" Danzo snapped angrily. "Do you think I'm deliberately targeting the Uchiha? Everything I do is for Konoha!"
"Alright, I know. You've worked hard."
The Third Hokage casually picked up the intelligence report and replied absentmindedly to Danzo.
For Konoha?
You almost got me killed for Konoha.
You really are something!
If it weren't for the fact that there's no one else to use, I would've taken you out long ago.
Praise the great Third Hokage!
The Third Hokage's attitude only fueled Danzo's anger even more.
The argument in the Hokage's office raged on, but it didn't affect Uchiha Kazuki's return.
He was certain that the Hidden Cloud wouldn't make a move against Konoha anytime soon.
The mission was complete, so it was time to return to the village.
He missed Kurenai.\
Once again, a moment of regret for Sister Mikoto.
However, halfway through, Itsuki suddenly stopped walking.
He looked at a large tree nearby and smiled, "Sensei, long time no see."
A figure slowly emerged from within the tree.
Like a snake, the movement seemed eerie.
This person looked up and down at Uchiha Itsuki, revealing a satisfied smile, then stretched out a long tongue, licked it, and in a slightly hoarse voice said, "Itsuki-kun, it has indeed been a while. Last time you went to Amegakure, I thought you'd come to see me."
The person had long black hair.
Golden vertical pupils, with purple eyeshadow extending to the nose wings.
Pale skin, wearing blue-green, magatama-shaped earrings.
At a glance, they exuded an aura of deceit and danger.
One of the legendary Sannin!
The cold lord, Orochimaru!
This was also one of the most popular villains in the original series.
Itsuki smiled slightly and said, "I did want to see you, Sensei, but I was worried about interrupting your experiments."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, staring at Uchiha Itsuki.
This was his most perfect creation to date.
From a young age, Itsuki had shown extraordinary talent.
As he grew, in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, he had reached a level that made Orochimaru wary.
When Orochimaru left the village, he considered taking Itsuki with him, but Itsuki refused.
The two had a conflict.
The final result, of course, was Orochimaru leaving alone, while Uchiha Itsuki continued to live in the village as the apprentice of the rogue ninja, Orochimaru.
Itsuki didn't mind this at all.
So what if he was the apprentice of a rogue ninja?
The Uchiha were already hated by many, so adding the identity of a rogue ninja's apprentice was just icing on the cake.
As for Danzo, who tried to attack him because of this, Itsuki retaliated fiercely, even causing Danzo to lose one of his balls.
"Itsuki-kun, why did you join Akatsuki?"
"Because Akatsuki has a lot of interesting ideas!" Itsuki said with a smile. "You think so too, don't you, Sensei?"
"Akatsuki has interesting ideas? Heh, hahaha!"
Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He had no interest in Akatsuki's ideas at all, and even found them ridiculous.
What fascinated him was the Rinnegan.
He believed Itsuki had his own reasons too.
Itsuki silently watched Orochimaru laugh maniacally.
His hoarse laughter echoed in the air, making the already dark forest feel even more eerie.
It was as if a never-ending black cloud was descending.
"Hisssss!"
A snake poked its head out, coiling around Orochimaru. Half of its body remained hidden within Orochimaru's clothing, as if the two were one.
Its cold eyes fixed on Itsuki, as if marking him as its prey.
Itsuki faced it calmly.
No one knew when the wind had stopped.
Between them, even the falling leaves seemed to freeze in mid-air, creating a unique space.
The tension between the two grew heavier and heavier.
(End of Chapter)