The Villain Strikes First

At dawn, the sun had just risen. This was Biyang's birth.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still strolling leisurely down the street, warmly greeting the villagers he passed.

When he reached the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi's right eyelid suddenly began twitching uncontrollably. For no reason, his heart felt unsettled, as though something ominous was about to happen.

He went upstairs and pushed open the door to the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that his chair was turned away from him.

Then the chair spun around, revealing the person he least wanted to see sitting in it.

That's right! It was Danzo!

When Danzo saw Hiruzen arrive, he remained reclined against the back of the chair without moving, merely watching Hiruzen with cold, smug eyes.

Hiruzen sensed that something was off. This was unlike Danzo's usual behavior.

Just as he was about to ask, Danzo spoke first.

"Hiruzen, the Root base was attacked last night. Every single Root member inside was killed."

Danzo rose from the chair of his own accord, straightened it, and stood to one side, signaling for Hiruzen to come over and sit down.

Hiruzen was initially stunned by the news, then flew into a rage once more.

"Did the culprit leave behind any information? I will definitely get justice for you!"

That was right. The one enraged now was not Danzo, but Hiruzen.

Although Hiruzen disliked many of his good friend's usual actions, Danzo was still his closest brother.

He had turned a blind eye to many things. Even when Danzo had sent people to assassinate him back then, Hiruzen had merely reprimanded and suppressed him, never imposing any serious punishment.

Now that the Root base had been wiped out, how could he possibly remain indifferent? He had to seek justice for Root.

A mocking expression appeared on Danzo's face as he looked at Hiruzen.

"The culprits were Senya Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha."

"I told you long ago that the Uchiha clan was rotten to the core and had harbored rebellious intentions for a long time. Do you believe me now?"

"What a shame. If you had listened to my advice earlier, Root's ninja would not have died so unjustly."

"I never expected it. The elite ninja of my Root had selflessly contributed so much to the village. They were not killed by enemies during dangerous missions, yet they lost their lives at the hands of comrades from their own village! How laughable!"

As he spoke, Danzo grew increasingly emotional and directly swept all the documents from the desk onto the floor.

With every word Danzo uttered, Hiruzen felt himself nearing collapse. Yet reason compelled him to ask one final question—the answer he most feared hearing.

"How could Senya, Fugaku, and Itachi possibly wipe out the hundreds of ninja in your Root by themselves?! There were more than thirty elite jonin and Special Jonin among them!"

"Impossible! There is absolutely no way the three of them did this. Your intelligence must be wrong!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi vehemently denied the Answer Danzo had just given.

At that moment, Danzo walked step by step toward Hiruzen, his eyes fixed intensely on Hiruzen's.

"If they were merely three ordinary Uchiha, then yes, it would be impossible."

"But the ninja who escaped from Root saw it with his own eyes. The pattern in Senya Uchiha's Sharingan was not three tomoe, but an entirely different pattern!"

Those words struck Hiruzen's ears like a bolt from the blue, stabbing into his mind.

His thoughts instinctively turned to that legendary forbidden ninja, the one who had stood alongside the God of Shinobi, First Hokage Hashirama Senju—the legendary ninja known as the Demon of the Shinobi World, Uchiha Madara!

A massive blue crow tengu giant emerged in his mind.

That battle! Though Uchiha Madara had lost, he had gravely wounded First Hokage Hashirama. Not long after returning to the village, the First Hokage had succumbed to his injuries.

And the power Uchiha Madara had relied on was that godlike strength—the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Hiruzen did not know, however, that Uchiha Madara had possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

At this moment, he believed Senya already possessed strength equal to Uchiha Madara's back then! It forced him to be wary, far more wary than he had ever been of the White Fang of the Leaf!

The wariness on Hiruzen's face made Danzo inwardly ecstatic!

That was it, that expression, that wary look! Hurry and find a way to eliminate all those Uchiha scum with me! Then I can have a complete pair of Mangekyō Sharingan!

By then, forget Konoha! The entire shinobi world would submit beneath my feet!

Danzo had already begun imagining the glorious future of sweeping across the shinobi world while wielding Susanoo and controlling a Wood Golem. Perhaps he could even try putting Susanoo around the Great Buddha—it was not impossible!

"Hiruzen, do you understand now? Not a single word I said before was wrong. The Uchiha Police Force reforms were nothing more than a smokescreen."

"They only wanted to deceive our eyes, to make us immerse ourselves in false beauty."

"Then, after we came to trust the Uchiha, they would deliver us a fatal blow. At that time, the entire village would be destroyed!"

"If the sole survivor of the Root base had not witnessed it personally, even I might have been deceived by the Uchiha clan's previous actions!"

Danzo once again began relentlessly manipulating Hiruzen with his words.

This was different from the previous situation involving Jiraiya. Wariness and suspicion had always filled Hiruzen's heart. Though the Uchiha's sincere conduct had moved him, doubts still lingered deep within him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened further and further. At last, he slowly walked toward the Hokage's desk and recalled Senju Tobirama's words.

Monkey, I failed to properly resolve the Uchiha problem. Although it has not erupted for now, in ten or twenty years, the conflicts within the Police Force will certainly explode.

By now, Hiruzen had completely forgotten the latter half of Senju Tobirama's words: You must handle it properly. That is also why I accepted Kagami Uchiha as my disciple. I hoped he could become a bridge... I failed to fulfill my elder brother's wish. From now on, I entrust it to you, the Third Hokage!

All he knew was that he was the Third Hokage! He was Konoha's ruler. If the Uchiha clan dared to slaughter the Root base today, then tomorrow they would dare to destroy the Hokage's Anbu! The day after that, they would dare to assassinate the Hokage!

"Danzo, gather the remaining Root ninja. I will immediately summon the Hokage Guard Platoon and the Anbu ninja. Once everyone is assembled, stand by!"

"I will send someone shortly to deliver the order for Senya Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha to go alone to the Forest of Death."

"If Senya Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha cannot give us a satisfactory Answer, then we will immediately eliminate the two of them and purge the Uchiha clan!"

None of Hiruzen's former kindness remained on his face. He had already forgotten the tears he had shed on the day of the Police Force celebration.

Now, his heart held only wariness toward the Uchiha, and his obsession with the position of Hokage...