Evil Uchiha Itsuki

"It is indeed the Hyuga family bloodline, and it's from the main branch!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others verified the lineage of the blind Hyuga right in front of the Cloud Village envoy, confirming his identity.

The Cloud envoy let out a sigh of relief.

Blind is fine!

They didn't need the Byakugan itself.

What they wanted was the Hyuga bloodline. The Byakugan of the Hyuga family would undoubtedly be more powerful in the eyes of the clan's members.

The Cloud Village's plan was to prepare enough women for the Hyuga main branch member, ensuring he would continuously produce Hyuga heirs for the Cloud, allowing them to possess the Byakugan lineage.

At that time, the Cloud's Byakugan, being native...

The more they thought about it, the better it sounded.

The Cloud envoy's lips curled into an uncontrollable smile.

As for Konoha...

Heh, let them enjoy their peace for a few more days.

This is the last calm before the storm!

In a while, the Cloud Village will be ready for war.

In reality, though, starting a war isn't so simple.

Iwagakure (Stone Village) and Kumogakure (Cloud Village) aren't fools either.

Do they not know Konoha's decline is connected to the Fire Shadow Village?

They know. They also know that Pakura has a deep relationship with Uchiha Itsuki.

If they were to go to war with Konoha, the biggest winner would be the Fire Shadow Village.

This was precisely what Fire Shadow Village intended.

Thus, they needed a strategy to prevent such an outcome—at least to make sure Fire Shadow Village wouldn't benefit too much.

What they were doing now was to prevent such an outcome.

They already knew what they were going to do next.

Konoha still needs to be attacked!

But Fire Shadow Village must not be allowed to develop peacefully.

As for Sunagakure (Sand Village) and their plan to dig a canal—keep dreaming!

They didn't need to attack Konoha directly; they could turn Konoha into a weapon for their own use.

With these thoughts, the Cloud envoy immediately took the Hyuga clan member and left, eager to implement their next steps.

When Kakashi heard that the envoys from various villages had all left, he was stunned.

He had been prepared for a fierce confrontation.

And now they just left?

Why did it feel like punching into thin air?

Oh well!

What's meant to come will come, just wait!

Kakashi shook his head and went back to handling governmental affairs.

Although he was essentially a puppet Hokage, many small matters were thrown at him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other elders had limited energy, and they couldn't be bothered with trivial matters—they had the Hokage to deal with those.

"We are elders; we deal with the major affairs of Konoha."

To this, Kakashi could only complain endlessly in his heart.

However, thinking about the Hyuga member that had been taken away, Kakashi couldn't help but smile.

The gift had been delivered—now to wait for their reaction.

...

"Notify Pakura to deploy earth-style ninjas to help with the canal digging!"

Upon hearing that the envoys had left, Itsuki immediately gave orders.

The Fire Shadow Village mobilized all their earth-style ninjas to assist in digging the canal.

Sunagakure would also deploy all their earth-style ninjas.

Even Amegakure (Rain Village) sent many people.

Konan herself even led the charge.

Using explosive tags, they blasted a path through.

Even Kakuzu was forced by Pain to work for a few days.

The results were clear.

Seeing this, Itsuki simply handed Kakuzu ten million ryo.

Kakuzu, suddenly motivated, continued digging the canal!

"In a hurry?" someone asked.

"Yes!"

Looking at Kurenai in front of him, Itsuki said, "You personally oversee it, and get Guren to help too. In one month, I want that canal to be connected."

"A month?" Kurenai exclaimed. "That's impossible! A canal this long and wide can't be completed in a month."

"Then make it a narrow one first," Itsuki responded. "Once Sunagakure and Amegakure see water flowing, they'll be eager to expand it into a true large river."

"I see!"

Kurenai nodded, then asked, "Why the rush, has something happened?"

"No, just worried something might happen," Itsuki answered simply.

He felt something was off.

The behavior of both Iwagakure and Kumogakure was too unusual.

Of course, it was just a slight sense of unease.

The truth was, even if Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha joined forces against the Fire Shadow Village, Itsuki could handle it.

However, that would expose his true strength.

The old foxes were already watching him; exposing himself now would only bring endless trouble.

He looked at the map of the Shinobi World once again, staring silently.

The strongest ninja villages in the Shinobi World were, without a doubt, the Five Great Villages in the first tier.

With Itsuki leading Fire Shadow Village, they had forced their way into becoming the sixth major ninja village.

Despite the Mist Village going through the Bloody Mist period, despite Konoha being attacked multiple times, despite the leadership changes in the Sand Village, they all remained in the first tier.

Beyond them, there were three other villages that were difficult to deal with.

The Land of Iron!

The land of samurai.

Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village)!

The Village of Hero Water.

Back then, Hashirama Senju had given the Seven-Tails to them precisely because of their formidable strength.

Their ninjas were not to be underestimated.

Lastly, there was the Land of Demons!

But they didn't pose much of a concern.

Because of their unique nature, they rarely showed any desire for external influence.

"Enough already!" Itsuki muttered while staring at the map. "One Fire Shadow Village already gives me enough headaches. Yūgao even asked if I wanted to unify the entire Shinobi World—is she kidding?"

"Like I'm just sitting around bored enough to unify the whole world."

"With wealth, looks, and plenty of women—I'd have to be crazy to try and unify the world and invite that much trouble for myself."

Itsuki's real goal was to make Fire Shadow Village into a holy land.

A place that could transcend everything, becoming the ultimate ninja village.

And to achieve that, there was only one way—military power!

"A war is inevitable."

"It's just a matter of when and how to fight it."

Itsuki squinted slightly, murmuring, "Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha, huh?"

...

It erupted!

Just when everyone thought there would be a period of calm, the Cloud envoy returned with the Hyuga main branch member, and chaos broke out immediately.

In no time at all, Cloud Village formed a ninja army and marched toward Konoha.

"Kakashi!!!"

A furious roar echoed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi kicked open the door to the Hokage's office and barged in.

Behind him, Danzo Shimura, Torifu Akimichi, and the others—none were missing.

Hiruzen's eyes were bloodshot, glaring fiercely at the calm Kakashi, as if ready to tear him apart.

"What did you do? Kakashi, what did you do?" Hiruzen's voice grew louder and louder.

In the end, it turned into a hysterical scream.

Kakashi looked at him coldly and said, "Third Hokage, what's the matter? Do you want to kill your Hokage?"

Hiruzen's breath caught in his throat.

Kill him?

Impossible!

Even if Kakashi was a puppet, he was still the Hokage of Konoha, a leader chosen by countless people.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen really killed him, he figured he wouldn't live for even a day, and the Sarutobi clan would be finished as well.

"Kakashi!"

Nara Shikaku stepped forward and said in a serious tone, "Was it you who dealt with that member of the Hyuga clan?"

"It was," Kakashi admitted directly.

He smiled slightly and said, "I castrated him, made sure he could never be a man again."

"I thought that Konoha would discover this when they saw him, but who would've thought that the Cloud Village envoy was so careless and just took a castrated Hyuga with them. Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

The real reason they didn't notice, however, was Kakashi himself.

When the Cloud envoy shouted at Kakashi, it triggered an overwhelming killing intent from him, scaring the envoy.

After confirming that the person was indeed from the Hyuga main family, the envoy quickly took him away, fearing any accidents.

Who could've imagined that Kakashi would be so ruthless, actually castrating the man?

What use does the Cloud Village have for a main-branch Hyuga without his Byakugan and now incapable of producing heirs?

Sure, the bloodline itself might still have some value...

But the ninja world had already gone through several great wars; it's not like they hadn't obtained samples of the Hyuga bloodline before.

In the end, Cloud Village ended up with nothing.

They were furious!

Cloud was truly about to lose its mind. They quickly mobilized their army, marching toward Konoha.

They demanded an explanation from Konoha, or there would be war! They wouldn't let this insult slide.

"Kakashi, have you lost your mind? You're insane!" Sarutobi Hiruzen roared. "Do you realize that what you've done could start a war?"

"And so what if it does?" Kakashi's voice suddenly rose, "Even if there is war, Konoha cannot lose its dignity. Sarutobi Hiruzen, are you truly the Hokage? Konoha feels ashamed of you!"

As Kakashi finished speaking, one by one, shinobi approached, looking coldly at Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others.

These people were all Jonin of Konoha.

Among them was even Sarutobi Asuma!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened.

"Asuma, you—"

"Old man!" Asuma lit a cigarette and said calmly, "We would rather go to war than live in humiliation."

"You… you don't understand anything!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted, "Everything I've done has been for Konoha!"

"Is that so?"

Many people instinctively looked toward Danzo.

Danzo's face darkened.

Your instincts to blame me are seriously getting on my nerves!

Sarutobi Hiruzen had also often looked to Danzo when he needed someone to take the fall.

These ingrates! Whenever something good happens, they never think of me.

"War… war! Do you think it's that simple? Those words might roll off your tongue easily, but do you understand that war is built on bloodshed?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to shout in frustration.

He had been feeling increasingly oppressed lately, and had been wanting to explode for a long time.

If he didn't let it out soon, he feared he would go mad.

The accumulated negative emotions had grown so heavy that Sarutobi Hiruzen had even considered death several times.

And now, his own son didn't understand him.

It was driving him insane!

But!

The Jonin, along with Kakashi, just looked at him indifferently.

They were not moved by his hysterics.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen finally stopped yelling, the crowd remained silent.

For a long time.

Then Kakashi slowly said, "Third Hokage, you might feel satisfied venting your frustration, but isn't all of this a result of your own actions?"

His words were dripping with malice.

"The Uchiha Clan was forced out by you. Don't deny it, because we will only despise you more. We've already investigated everything; we aren't blind. We saw what kind of life the Uchiha had in Konoha."

"Because of the Uchiha's departure, Uchiha Itsuki founded Fire Shadow Village, triggering everything that followed."

"Time and again, every move was initiated by you!"

"Konoha was once incredibly powerful, with over 20,000 shinobi. And that's not even counting the clans aligned with you four!"

Kakashi's gaze shifted from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"And now you're upset, feeling wronged, thinking you don't deserve this. Well, I want to ask…"

Kakashi glared at everyone present and spoke each word clearly: "Why should we bear the consequences of your mistakes?"

He then turned to Sarutobi Asuma and the others standing by his side, saying, "They're not rebelling against their fathers. They're standing tall as Konoha shinobi, holding up the last bit of honor."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and his comrades turned red, then pale. Their faces twisted with shame and anger.

Kakashi's voice suddenly rose, "I, Hatake Kakashi, am now Hokage. I won't argue about money or weapons, but don't you realize how important the Hyuga's Byakugan is to Konoha?"

"Don't give me that nonsense about Fire Shadow Village already having a Byakugan and that it's inevitable the Byakugan will leak out, making it less important. You're just deceiving yourselves!"

Kakashi spoke forcefully, "As Hokage, for the sake of Konoha, I absolutely will not allow the Byakugan to fall into Cloud's hands, even if it means war! Or you can kill me now!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others glared at Kakashi, veins bulging on their foreheads.

Kill him?

Could they?

This was the current Hokage of Konoha, the Fifth Hokage in power.

If they killed him, the people in the Hokage office building would likely swarm them and tear them apart.

Their popularity had already reached its lowest point. Every move they made had to be careful.

So, as they stood facing Kakashi and the others, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his companions realized something in that moment.

They were powerless!

"Are you really determined to start a war?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked coldly.

"It's not us who want war," Kakashi replied coldly. "It's Cloud Village that wants war. Konoha will be ready!"

"Fine!" Sarutobi Hiruzen snorted coldly and turned to leave.

The others exchanged helpless glances and sighed.

They were one step closer to stepping down from the stage of Konoha.

And each step was filled with humiliation and helplessness.

Nara Shikaku said, "Kakashi, if we really go to war, with Konoha's current situation…"

"What are you afraid of?" Kakashi replied coldly. "Sunagakure and Iwagakure have already publicly announced that they won't attack Konoha in the short term, as long as they care about saving face. It's just Cloud Village—why should we be afraid?"

Nara Shikaku said heavily, "They have the Tailed Beast… the Eight-Tails!"

Without hesitation, Kakashi responded, "We have Akimichi Torifu!"

Nara Shikaku: "…"

Akimichi Torifu: "…"

(End of Chapter)