Frontline Emergency: The Third Hokage's Open Scheme of Killing with a Borrowed Knife

Senju Clan Grounds, main courtyard.

Dark clouds hung low in the sky, and the air carried the oppressive heaviness of an approaching storm.

Bang!

A thunderous crash shattered the courtyard's silence. A fine golden nanmu tea table was instantly reduced to splinters beneath Tsunade's monstrous strength. Violent chakra burst outward from her, sending several precious potted plants in the courtyard toppling in every direction.

"Has Teacher Hiruzen gone senile?!" Tsunade glared at the ANBU kneeling on one knee outside the courtyard, amber eyes blazing with fury fierce enough to devour someone whole. "The western defensive line is facing Chiyo's main puppet forces! Sosuke's chakra pathways are damaged; he can barely even refine chakra. Why send him there as some special advisor? How is that any different from sending him to his death?!"

The ANBU wore an animal mask, but cold sweat beaded across his forehead. He did not even dare breathe too loudly. He was merely a messenger, and before an enraged member of the Hidden Leaf's Three Ninja, he had no doubt she could turn him into pulp with one punch.

"I'm going to the Hokage Building and demand an explanation! If he dares use the greater good to pressure me, I'll smash his office!" Tsunade spun around sharply, kicking up a fierce gust as she strode toward the courtyard gate.

"Big sister, stop."

A gentle voice carrying unquestionable authority rang out from beneath the corridor.

Sosuke wore a thin white haori, his face still bearing a sickly pallor. He slowly descended the steps and reached out, accurately catching Tsunade by the wrist.

That hand appeared to exert no force, yet it was like an iron clamp, forcibly halting the rampaging Tsunade.

"Sosuke! Don't stop me. They're killing you with a borrowed knife!" Tsunade clasped Sosuke's hand in return, her eyes filled with anguish and worry.

Ignoring Tsunade's agitation, Sosuke turned and calmly looked at the ANBU kneeling on the ground. There was even a mild smile at the corner of his lips.

"The Senju clan has been supported by the Hidden Leaf, and our ancestors once shed their last drop of blood for the village. Now that the village is in trouble and the front line is in urgent need, how could I, the last male of the Senju clan, refuse?" Sosuke's voice was not loud, but every word rang with conviction and righteous resolve. "Please inform Lord Hokage that I accept this deployment order."

The ANBU felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He hurriedly presented the red scroll stamped with the Hokage's seal with both hands, preparing to rise and take his leave.

"However." Sosuke abruptly changed course, his tone remaining gentle, though it inexplicably sent a chill down the ANBU's back.

"Do you have another instruction, Advisor?" The ANBU lowered his head again.

Sosuke pinched the scroll between two fingers and casually tossed it to Mikoto behind him. Then he said unhurriedly, "This trip represents the honor of the Senju clan. I am also going to supervise the battle at the front, so I cannot possibly go without even a proper guard at my side."

He paused, and a cold glint flashed through his dark eyes. "As one of Hidden Leaf's great clans, the Uchiha clan has long been responsible for village security and has rarely shed blood on the front lines. To demonstrate the Will of Fire, with the two great clans standing united against foreign enemies, I request that Lord Hokage deploy Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku and fifty elite members of the security force as my personal guards, to accompany me on the western campaign."

The ANBU's heart jolted. Sending the Uchiha clan head to serve as guard to a sickly Senju orphan? This was practically grinding the Uchiha clan's dignity into the dirt! Yet he did not dare say another word. He could only suppress his shock, accept the order, and depart.

Hokage Building, top-floor office.

Smoke curled through the dim room. After hearing the ANBU's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, and an imperceptible sneer surfaced on his deeply lined face.

"Hiruzen, that brat is already at death's door, yet he still wants to drag someone down with him." Danzo, standing in the shadows, let out a hoarse scoff, his lone eye full of mockery. "Does he think bringing Uchiha Fugaku along will save that worthless life of his? Even Tsunade finds that old madwoman Chiyo's poison troublesome. In the chaos of battle, a few poisoned senbon will be enough to kill him without a sound."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe and knocked out the ash, his voice carrying the arrogance of someone in control of everything. "He caused such a stir at Hidden Leaf Hospital and won the hearts of so many civilian ninja. If he uses his illness as an excuse to fear battle, the Senju clan's prestige will collapse overnight. He is a smart man. He knows he has no choice but to accept this open scheme."

"Since he took the initiative to bring the Uchiha along, then grant his request." The Third Hokage refilled his pipe, his gaze turning utterly cold. "Immediately draft an order for the Uchiha clan and have Fugaku muster his men at once. Tell him this is his only chance to erase the previous scandal and restore the Uchiha name. If he dares defy the order, it will be treated as disregarding the Will of Fire and punished as treason against the village."

Danzo smiled darkly. Borrowing Hidden Sand's blade while bleeding both the Senju and Uchiha dry. It was a transaction the Hidden Leaf higher-ups could not lose.

Senju Clan Grounds, main bedroom.

Tsunade slid the paper door shut, cutting off all outside eyes. She turned and stared fixedly at Sosuke, who was unhurriedly changing clothes, then demanded in a lowered voice, "What exactly are you planning? You know perfectly well this is Hiruzen Sarutobi's open scheme, so why did you deliberately drag Uchiha Fugaku into it? Do you really think those scheming Uchiha will protect you on the battlefield?"

Sosuke tied the sash around his waist and walked over to Tsunade. He raised his hand, gently smoothing the deep furrow between her brows with his fingertips. At that moment, his gentle disguise completely fell away, replaced by the chilling presence of an ambitious tyrant.

"Big sister, of course I know they will not protect me. On the contrary, once we reach the front lines, Fugaku will absolutely look for a chance to stab me in the back." Sosuke sneered, a dangerous green gleam flashing in his eyes. "But Hiruzen Sarutobi miscalculated one thing. The battlefield has never been a place ruled by political rules. It is a place ruled by absolute violence."

He pinched Tsunade's chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "The Uchiha clan is not united as one. Fugaku has lived too comfortably as clan head; cowardice runs in his bones. I need to use Hidden Sand's puppet masters to bleed him a little. Once the opposition elites he brings are all dead and his backbone has been broken, that dog will truly lie at my feet and obey me."

Tsunade looked at the man before her, calmly calculating everyone into his plans, and the worry in her heart gradually faded, replaced by an inexplicable fervor. More than anyone else, she understood what kind of bloody storm Sosuke would unleash once the power within him was fully released upon the battlefield.

"How many hidden guards do you need?" Tsunade took a deep breath and got down to business.

"Fifty will be enough. Toka will lead them personally and hide in the shadows." Sosuke released her and walked toward the window, looking at the increasingly oppressive sky outside. "Also, keep a tight hold on the hospital's supplies. Without my written order, not a single drop of high-grade hemostatic medicine or a single explosive tag is to reach the western front's high command. I want those old men to bleed out their last drop on the front line, then I'll clean up the mess as their savior."

Late at night, Sosuke's private courtyard.

Dim candlelight swayed in the breeze. Mikoto sat kneeling on the tatami, gently organizing Sosuke's shinobi tool bag for his expedition. Kunai, shuriken, soldier pills—everything was sorted and put away.

She was an exceptionally intelligent woman, so she had naturally seen through Sosuke's sinister intent in specifically demanding that Fugaku accompany him. Yet not only did she feel no sympathy, she found it entirely justified. The Uchiha clan had rotted to its core. Only by following the domineering man before her could she and the clan welcome true rebirth.

Sosuke walked behind Mikoto and wrapped his arms around her soft body. His palm naturally slid down, resting against Mikoto's flat stomach.

At that very moment, the extreme perception of his perfected Sage Body allowed Sosuke to keenly catch an incredibly faint yet incomparably pure pulse of life. That pulse resonated with the Yang Release chakra within him in an extraordinarily mysterious way.

Sosuke's movements suddenly froze, and uncontrollable ecstasy erupted in his dark eyes.

"Mikoto, lately... have your chakra pathways felt somewhat sluggish when refining chakra?" Sosuke lowered his voice, an almost imperceptible tremor in his tone.

Mikoto froze slightly, a captivating blush rising to her cheeks. She turned her head and leaned shyly against Sosuke's chest. "How did my husband know? I thought it was because I had neglected my training lately. These past few days, I've always felt tired easily, and my appetite has become rather strange as well..."

Sosuke said nothing. He simply turned Mikoto around and held her tightly in his arms.

Though the system's cold notification had yet to sound, he was certain that the Senju clan's first child was already quietly growing within Mikoto!

As long as this child was born safely, he would be able to completely unlock the ultimate trump card capable of overturning the entire shinobi world's table—[Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands]!

"Rest well at home. Tsunade is watching over things at the hospital, and no one will dare touch you." Sosuke lowered his head and kissed Mikoto's forehead. Then he raised his head and looked into the endless night beyond the window.

The storm was about to descend, and he would be the sole tyrant controlling it. In the western front's meat grinder, he would use the corpses of his enemies to forge an immortal throne for the child soon to be born!