The Great Villages Grow Wary

"Uchiha Kazuto—this man is terrifying!"

Orochimaru said. He put himself in Hiruzen Sarutobi's shoes and realized that if he had been in his place, he might have met the same fate: framed, then sent to the guillotine at the people's insistence, where his head would be chopped off.

The thing was, Uchiha Kazuto had been far too loyal. His loyalty hardly needed investigating; just ask anyone in Konoha, and they would tell you that Uchiha Kazuto was devoted to the village and embodied the Will of Fire more than anyone.

Before the final veil was lifted, who could have seen that this seemingly loyal man, who appeared to be getting in deeper and deeper, was actually harboring sinister intentions?

"Heh, Sensei, you didn't die unjustly. Who could have imagined that the Uchiha Clan would produce someone like him?"

Orochimaru shook his head. He knew his teacher was utterly finished in Konoha. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi came back to life, returned to Konoha, and explained himself in front of everyone, no one would believe him now.

"Could this have been a plot hatched long ago? And perhaps..."

Orochimaru furrowed his brow as he recalled the night of the Nine-Tails attack.

"Could Uchiha Kazuto have been behind that incident, too? Was it all to kill Minato Namikaze? What a terrifying scheme!"

Orochimaru thought there was a very good chance his guess was right. After all, no one knew when Uchiha Kazuto had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. What if he had awakened it very early and had been plotting this Coup for a long time?

It wasn't impossible!

If he had become Hokage back then, he might be the one lying on the guillotine now. He might even have been killed by Uchiha Kazuto before he ever reached it, just like Minato Namikaze.

Orochimaru then decided to leave and head to Konoha to investigate. He wanted to find out what kind of person Uchiha Kazuto really was. If Kazuto wasn't as powerful as he imagined, he wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

The thought of someone like Uchiha Kazuto becoming Hokage left him with a faint sense of unease, as if something terrible would happen as long as Kazuto remained in power.

Meanwhile, the other ninja villages in the Ninja World had also learned that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been beheaded and that Konoha had a new Hokage. The villages immediately began to stir. Konoha was in turmoil—that was the perfect opportunity.

They wanted to take a big bite out of Konoha and claim a greater share of its missions.

But then they learned that Konoha had not fallen into turmoil at all. On the contrary, Hiruzen Sarutobi's death was what the entire village had hoped for. It was hard to make sense of. What had Hiruzen done to unite all of Konoha in cutting off his head?

Since the village system was established, nothing like this had ever happened: the people of a village joining forces to get rid of their own Kage.

"What do you mean, Hiruzen Sarutobi killed the Second Hokage?"

At Kumogakure, the Raikage stared at the report in his hands, unable to believe his eyes.

Then he looked strangely at the Anbu standing before him.

"Are you certain this report is accurate?"

"Absolutely, Lord Raikage. This information is now accepted as fact throughout Konoha. Even a three-year-old knows that Hiruzen Sarutobi was a despicable usurper who stole the Hokage's position!"

The Anbu nodded and explained.

"Heh... Hahaha! How interesting! This is too funny! Hahaha!"

The Raikage slapped his thigh and burst into laughter. It was the funniest joke he'd heard all year.

As for how Tobirama Senju died, Kumogakure knew better than anyone. Weren't they the ones who had killed him?

What did that have to do with Hiruzen Sarutobi? It was absurd—and yet, for the people of Konoha, it actually made a certain amount of sense.

Back then, only a handful of people had made it back. Who knew what had really happened?

Even if they went to Konoha and told them that Kumogakure had killed Tobirama Senju...

"So you say! I could just as easily say I'm your father. I traveled through time, found your mother, and fathered you. Believe that?"

Some things couldn't be fixed by explanations alone.

After laughing, the Raikage settled down and looked at the report in his hands.

Uchiha Kazuto: Konoha's most loyal subject, Hiruzen Sarutobi's most trusted general, and the current Hokage who had personally cut off Sarutobi's head.

"Uchiha Kazuto... This man... is so dark. Compared to him, Danzo is like a baby. I never thought the Uchiha Clan would really produce a Hokage. The Sharingan, huh..."

He shook his head and put aside the idea of picking a fight with Konoha. If the Uchiha Clan had taken power through a violent Coup, he would have sent troops at once, taking the village's ninja to beat up Konoha. In that case, Konoha would surely have been in chaos—a perfect time to invade.

But clearly, that wasn't what had happened. This had been a peaceful Coup. Konoha's main force of ninja had emerged unscathed; only Hiruzen Sarutobi and his followers had died.

In essence, it was just a normal change of Hokage. In fact, thanks to Uchiha Kazuto, Konoha was now even stronger than before.

Because he had the Mangekyō Sharingan!

Those were the same eyes Uchiha Madara had once possessed. They hadn't heard of Uchiha Kazuto before, but knowing he had the Mangekyō Sharingan was enough to make them wary.

In fact, they would have remained wary and kept up friendly relations for a long time even if someone in Konoha had possessed Wood Release and become Hokage. That alone would have been enough.

The other villages felt the same way. Instead of planning to invade because of Konoha's Coup, they became even more cautious.

"Uchiha Kazuto..."

In a shadowy corner of Konoha, Black Zetsu watched him in secret.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan... What a pity Uchiha Kazuto has no siblings."

Black Zetsu shook his head, thinking it was a shame. The plan was proceeding as usual, but he wouldn't have minded adding another layer of insurance. Unfortunately, Uchiha Kazuto had no siblings and wasn't anyone's reincarnation. He was just an ordinary, nameless Uchiha—a nobody who wouldn't attract anyone's attention if he were tossed into a crowd, not before awakening the Mangekyō.

Before long, Black Zetsu disappeared. He didn't think Uchiha Kazuto would interfere with his plan.