No Wonder Shimura Danzō Was So Arrogant

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum. He raised a hand, signaling the Anbu members not to speak yet.

His withered hand pressed against his forehead as he furrowed his brows and fell into deep thought, looking somewhat dumbfounded.

The Shimura Clan had been wiped out?

Wiped out?

While I was sleeping, they were suddenly wiped out just like that?

???

They were really wiped out?

No matter how he thought about it, it felt unreal.

Although the Shimura Clan had shown some intention of staging a coup, it should not have erupted for at least another three or four years, right?

With three or four years, he believed he could have soothed things over.

Yet now, they had been wiped out without a sound!

Had they encountered their enemy, the Uchiha, and seen red? Had hot blood gone to their heads, making them throw caution to the wind?

But what about the evidence of the coup?

He could not help recalling the assassination attempt by Shimura Danzō that he had encountered on the road to the Daimyō after the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died.

Could the Shimura Clan have been plotting for the position of Hokage long ago?

But it had only been one year since Shimura Danzō's death.

This timing... was rather delicate!

The Shimura Clan should not have been that reckless, right?

He could not figure it out. He truly could not figure it out.

Still, Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly rose, changed clothes, and headed for the Shimura Clan Land.

As Sarutobi Hiruzen neared the Shimura Clan Land, the thick stench of blood hit him, making him feel as though he had returned to the battlefield and lending everything a sense of reality.

Upon entering the Shimura Clan Land and seeing the horrific sight before him—corpses, blood, and blade marks—his heart ached, and his mind went blank.

They really... had been wiped out...

He could not believe it.

Several Uchiha Genbu members gathered nearby, blood still staining their bodies as they shook their heads and chatted.

"I never expected their patience to be so poor. They were only criticized a little by the villagers."

"Exactly. The Uchiha Clan has been targeted since the Second Hokage's time, and we have been fine."

"Yeah, the Shimura Clan's patience was just too poor."

"They were too hot-tempered... uh, hello, Minister. Hello, Lord Hokage."

Only then did these Uchiha Genbu members realize themselves and hurriedly leave after their "idle chatter."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not look at them.

He staggered through the area, staring at the ruined, bloody scene before him, his face filled with disbelief.

The Shimura Clan...

The Shimura Clan that had been friends with the Sarutobi Clan since the Warring States Period...

They had actually... actually been wiped out!

But Sarutobi Hiruzen did not suspect that the Shimura Clan had been framed.

After all, he was the Hokage.

Who would dare suddenly massacre a clan right under his nose?

It could only be said that the Shimura Clan was too narrow-minded.

How could they harbor thoughts of a coup? They had even wanted to avenge Shimura Danzō...

Without Shimura Danzō, how had the Shimura Clan become so petty?

Sigh, the human heart was truly unfathomable!

Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi still wore that slightly repressed, calm expression, though the few Uchiha Genbu members arranged by Jinghuo Uchiha had left him looking a little dead-fish-eyed.

But seeing that Sarutobi Hiruzen had never once doubted anything, he realized that Shimura Danzō, in that position... really could do whatever he wanted!

A sentence suddenly surfaced in his heart.

No wonder Shimura Danzō was so arrogant...

Sarutobi Hiruzen was far too incompetent.

Early morning.

The sky had only just brightened when an angry shout shattered the quiet.

"Damn thief! Somebody, come quickly!"

The thief was quickly caught, but the Police Force never arrived.

"Why hasn't the Police Force come yet?"

"The Shimura Clan is getting worse and worse!"

"Looking at it this way, the Uchiha are actually pretty good."

The villagers wore strange expressions.

More than pretty good—the Uchiha Clan disdained taking bribes, could see at a glance who was right and who was wrong, never wrongfully accused anyone, and never let criminals get away easily.

Compared to the Shimura Clan...

"Sigh." That sigh seemed to release the shared helplessness in the villagers' hearts, full of regret.

At that moment, the person who had gone to the Police Force ran back, looking thoroughly displeased.

"What happened?"

"Where are the Shimura Clan members?"

"Why did only you come back?"

Faced with the villagers' questions, the man said irritably, "I went there, but there wasn't a single person in the Police Force."

"???"

"Those damn Shimura Clan members!" The villagers gritted their teeth.

They had never expected the Shimura Clan to run the Police Force like this!

At that moment, an Aunt returned from afar in a daze.

"Huh? Didn't you say you were going to buy vegetables? Why did you come back empty-handed?"

The Aunt came back to her senses, her expression strange. "Guess what I saw at the Shimura Clan Land?"

"What did you see?"

Before the villagers could guess, the middle-aged woman quickly said, "You have no idea—the Shimura Clan actually wanted to stage a coup!"

The villagers were shocked.

"A coup?"

"Oh my god!"

"What were they thinking?!"

"What is the situation now?"

The Aunt said proudly, "Of course Lord Hokage dealt with them!"

"The Third Hokage truly deserves to be called the strongest Hokage of all time!"

"That's amazing!"

After praising Sarutobi Hiruzen, they could not help discussing the Shimura Clan again.

"Why do you think the Shimura Clan wanted to stage a coup?"

"Exactly! They were in charge of the Police Force, and plenty of clans did not have it as good as they did!"

"That's because of that... that thing!"

"What thing?"

"Ambition!"

"Once they got the Police Force, they wanted to become Hokage?"

"Exactly! Otherwise, why would they stage a coup?"

"I heard the Shimura Clan staged a coup because we gossiped about them."

"Huh?"

"We definitely weren't in the wrong!"

"Exactly. Look at the Uchiha Clan. Even though we hardly see them anymore, aren't they doing just fine?"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"And the Shimura Clan wasn't even doing a good job, yet they wouldn't let anyone talk about it!"

"It was only a few idle remarks. What was the big deal?"

"Look at me. My Grandma nags me dozens of times every day, yet aren't I doing just fine?"

"Um... your Grandma is mute now, right?"

"Does she still hit you?"

The daughter-in-law smiled especially happily. "No, no. She's sick now. She can't even get out of bed, and I have to take care of all her eating, drinking, and toilet needs."

"She seems to be only in her forties, right?"

The daughter-in-law said helplessly, "Some people die in their thirties. Being unable to speak or move in her forties, with a daughter-in-law to care for her, is already not bad."

The villagers nodded in agreement. Only a few looked at the daughter-in-law with some fear.

At that moment, ninja wearing green flak jackets passed by on their way to work.

The ninja without sources of information were shocked to hear that the Shimura Clan had been wiped out.

The news had come too suddenly.

Those with sources of information, meanwhile, felt uneasy and uncertain.

They felt that something was off, because this looked very familiar, as if they had seen it somewhere before.

However, it had nothing to do with them, so they naturally chose to stay out of it and ignore the matter.

After hearing some of the discussion, Nara Shikaku could not help stopping and looking toward the Uchiha Clan Land at the edge of the village.

"Sigh, I hope the destruction of the Shimura Clan can calm your Rage Flame."

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