Kakashi Learns the Truth

Kakashi lifted his head, which had been bowed, and looked at Uchiha Yan. "Yan, why are you telling me all this?"

Uchiha Yan's tone was calm and indifferent. "Which side do you intend to stand on?"

Hearing Uchiha Yan's words, Kakashi gave a bitter smile. "So, are you forcing me to pick a side?"

Uchiha Yan patted him on the shoulder and explained, "I'm not forcing you to pick a side; I'm asking you to think clearly about whether the upper echelons of this village are truly worth your loyalty. As a classmate and a friend, I want you to think it through."

Kakashi was silent for a long time. He looked into Uchiha Yan's eyes and said, "I understand, Yan."

"Alright." Uchiha Yan's tone became more relaxed. "I won't keep you for dinner, Kakashi."

Hearing Uchiha Yan's dismissal, Kakashi nodded and turned to leave. As he reached the door and prepared to push it open, he turned his head and said casually, "The Third Hokage asked me about Uchiha Itachi's whereabouts today."

As his voice trailed off, he pushed the door open with a creak and left.

Uchiha Yan felt no surprise upon hearing Kakashi's words.

After all, there were certainly informants for Sarutobi Hiruzen within Root, and Uchiha Itachi and Shisui were inseparable.

Therefore, it was only natural for Sarutobi Hiruzen to try and track Shisui's movements through Uchiha Itachi.

He tilted his head slightly, locking his gaze onto the distant Hokage Building.

He was curious to see how a schemer like Sarutobi Hiruzen would choose to act when faced with such a situation.

Hokage Building, Hokage Office.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen finished dealing with the final document, he stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and left the office.

As he passed through a small alleyway, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

It was far too quiet here.

So quiet that there wasn't even the sound of insects or birds.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind raced as he pondered which faction might be behind this.

The Uchiha? A foreign village, or perhaps some organization lurking in the shadows?

While Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated, the death squads lying in ambush in the alley moved.

As if they had rehearsed this countless times, four men wielding katanas surrounded Sarutobi Hiruzen from four different directions and lunged at him.

The coordination was seamless; had their target been an ordinary person, they would have easily succeeded.

Unfortunately, the target they were attempting to assassinate was the "strongest" Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Although the title of "strongest" carried some exaggeration, Sarutobi Hiruzen was, at the very least, a genuine Kage-level powerhouse.

As the four katanas pierced into Sarutobi Hiruzen's vital points, the masked faces of the assassins revealed a hint of surprise.

They had not expected this assassination to go so smoothly.

However, as the blades sank deeper into Sarutobi Hiruzen's body, the expressions of all four men changed simultaneously.

Anyone who kills frequently knows that there is a certain resistance when a blade pierces flesh.

But their sensation was completely wrong, as if they were cutting through grass.

The four men realized what had happened and looked closely.

As the white smoke dissipated, they discovered that Sarutobi Hiruzen had turned into a straw dummy.

Seeing this, panic flashed in the eyes of the assassins.

At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared behind them and said calmly, "Speak. Who sent you?"

The assassins exchanged glances, a flicker of resolve crossing their eyes.

They bit down on the poison capsules hidden in their mouths, and the toxin took effect immediately.

Within a single breath, the men were lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed softly and temporarily dismissed the Uchiha clan as a suspect.

After all, the Uchiha clan likely didn't have the brains for this.

Besides, aside from the Uchiha, there wasn't another family in Konoha that would voluntarily send a genius with an unformed worldview to the Anbu to be brainwashed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was dark and uncertain.

He looked at the corpses for a moment, thought it over, and fired a signal flare into the air.

To the other villagers of Konoha, however, it looked like nothing more than a firework.

Less than half a minute after the signal was launched, several masked Anbu appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The Anbu captain's expression shifted upon seeing the scene before him. He walked straight up to the Third Hokage, knelt on one knee, and said, "My apologies, Lord Hokage."

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand and said indifferently, "This is not your fault. Investigate their identities. Also, do not let word of this assassination attempt spread."

Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer held any hope of discovering who had sent these assassins.

Still, it was worth checking; what if it actually worked?

The Anbu acknowledged the order and dragged the corpses away.

The next day, inside the Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the files of the individuals for a long time in silence.

The information on these four was completely ordinary and unremarkable.

Yet, it was precisely this normalcy that made Sarutobi Hiruzen sense that something was wrong.

Because these four assassins were not from the village at all.

If they weren't from the village, then how exactly did they get in?

Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows were tightly locked, while the Anbu standing beside him didn't dare to breathe, remaining as still as a statue.

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly thought of his old friend, Danzo.

He let out a soft sigh, shifted his gaze to the Anbu, and said, "Notify Danzo, Homura, and Koharu to come here for a small meeting."

Only then did the Anbu feel a sense of relief. He gave a slight nod and replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

As soon as the words left his lips, he vanished from the Hokage Office.

Half an hour later.

Inside the Hokage Office, the Konoha F4 had all gathered together.

Danzo narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "Hiruzen, what is the meaning of calling us here so early in the morning?"

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses from the side, his gaze fixed on Sarutobi Hiruzen, filled with inquiry.

Utatane Koharu also spoke up, "Hiruzen, there is still plenty of official business at the hospital. If you have something to say, get to it."

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a soft chuckle as he watched the reactions of his old friends.

He slid the files from his desk toward the three of them and said, "See for yourselves."

After saying this, he didn't forget to observe their reactions.

Danzo was the first to take the files. He glanced at them briefly before turning his gaze back to Hiruzen.

He frowned and said, "Hiruzen, don't tell me you dragged us here this early just to have us look at the files of these ordinary people."

His tone was somewhat hostile; Danzo had just recalled his Root members to carry out other missions.

Before he could finish giving his orders, he had been summoned by Hiruzen.

The other two also looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with expressions of dissatisfaction.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a light cough and explained, "I was assassinated yesterday."

Having said that, he began to pay close attention to the reactions of his old friends.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other three changed instantly.

Mitokado Homura asked, "Hiruzen, what exactly happened?"

The other two also looked at him with questioning eyes.