Killing

Sasuke Uchiha was somewhat restless tonight, and a hint of ruthlessness inevitably seeped into his hunting.

Another Chunin turned to dust amid the dense fog. Even at death's door, he still cursed Itachi to die a horrible death. Sasuke was quite satisfied with this—his Transformation Technique was truly exquisite.

Remembering the plan Black Shadow had mentioned to strike at the root of the problem, Sasuke could not help revealing a trace of gloom. In theory, it was indeed a vicious move, one that struck directly at Konoha's upper echelon. It would not only kill people but break their spirits, cutting off Konoha's hopes for the future at the source.

Konoha's development had been strange. Its overall strength had been at its peak when the village was first founded, but it had declined steadily afterward. Renowned powerhouses always seemed to die inexplicably, defect, or leave the village without wishing to return. Now, Konoha was showing signs of a generational gap.

Of course, Konoha was not the only one. The other major shinobi villages were the same, defying the principle that history should progress upward in a spiral. The more ancient the era, the stronger it had been, just like certain fantasy cultivation worlds.

Only the future Naruto Uzumaki would lead Konoha to a new peak. Without Naruto, there was no telling what Konoha might decline into. Or rather, the entire Shinobi World was continuously going downhill.

When Black Shadow had said this, he had speculated that some force within the Shinobi World might be suppressing the shinobi class through a slow-boiling-frog approach. But that was unimportant. What mattered was the Hokage.

Black Shadow had suggested killing the Hokage. Then Konoha would never have any hope of rising again. Based on Sasuke's understanding of Black Shadow, the fact that he had said such a thing proved he truly wanted the Hokage dead. He was merely restricted by something and could not kill him personally.

Although Indra's influence was gone, Sasuke still could not make up his mind to kill the Hokage. His thoughts swayed back and forth, as though two consciousnesses were fighting inside his head.

"I told you, rather than tormenting yourself, it is better to torment others. If you feel conflicted, put it aside for now and find something else to enjoy."

Sasuke nodded subconsciously, yet he did not know what to do. The Night of the Massacre seemed to have blocked his ability to feel joy.

So Black Shadow led Sasuke to a strange man named Torune Aburame. After thinking carefully, Sasuke recalled that Torune Aburame was one of Shimura Danzō's subordinates, with Nano Venomous Insects parasitizing his body.

In an instant, Sasuke's gaze changed.

Seemingly sensing an unfamiliar presence, Torune Aburame cautiously released his poisonous insects to inspect the surroundings. "Who's there?"

A familiar figure in a black robe patterned with red clouds slowly emerged.

"Itachi!" Torune Aburame was greatly alarmed. "What exactly is your purpose in returning to Konoha?"

As he spoke, Torune Aburame had already launched an attack and sent out a distress signal. Fighting Itachi alone was an extremely unwise act.

"If nothing unexpected happens, many people you hate will arrive soon. How do you plan to deal with them?"

"Kill them outright."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you would torture them to death to vent your anger. I even prepared the procedures for the ten great tortures for you~"

Sasuke and Black Shadow chatted leisurely, but Torune Aburame was utterly horrified. In his field of vision, he could only see "Itachi" muttering to himself amid the swarm of poisonous insects, looking exactly like a madman.

Torune Aburame could not help breaking out in a cold sweat. Could Itachi really have gone insane? The Uchiha Clan was mentally unstable to begin with. Destroying his own clan personally must have worsened his condition. Did he regret it and come back to cause trouble for Lord Danzō?

Even when several Root members arrived at the scene, Torune Aburame was still lost in his own speculation.

Sasuke said, "It seems Danzō is fairly cautious. He did not send any important Root members to confront us head-on."

Black Shadow said, "That is easy enough to understand. If something happens inside Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi can deal with the headache. Why waste his own manpower?"

Sasuke said, "The higher-ups should know that Itachi has returned by now, right?"

Black Shadow nodded. Sasuke smiled. "Good."

As his words fell, the thin mist covering his body and keeping the poisonous insects away abruptly turned into thick smoke and swept over everyone. Once the smoke dispersed, everyone had vanished without a trace.

Today's clouds gave way to sunshine.

Sasuke went to the Ninja Academy as usual, without the slightest anomaly. Yet the Hokage's Office had already erupted into chaos.

Last night, the S-rank rogue ninja Itachi had returned to Konoha. Torune Aburame had sent word to Root, and Danzō dispatched a few expendable men as reinforcements before immediately informing Hiruzen Sarutobi of the situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had initially thought Itachi possessed important intelligence to report in person. After waiting bitterly for a long time, however, all he got was the inexplicable disappearance of Itachi and the Root shinobi pursuing him.

Shimura Danzō's heart ached terribly. Torune Aburame was one of Root's trump cards and a genius shinobi of the Aburame Clan. He did not want to bear such a loss!

Root and ANBU sent many people to investigate. They found the scene of the incident, and experienced shinobi followed the remaining traces to discover several corpses deep within the Forest of Death.

Although Root had long become accustomed to bloodshed and slaughter, they were still briefly shocked by the gruesome sight before them—

The skinned corpses knelt in a circle around a pit. Their abdomens had all been cut open, and the tops of their skulls had been pried off. Pale brain matter and internal organs were piled in the pit like a bizarre bowl of noodles. Even more horrifyingly, while still alive, they had personally scooped out their own organs and cooked them into a pot of "noodles."

It was worth mentioning that Torune Aburame was not among them.

Root and ANBU endured the sensation of their sanity plummeting as they carefully cleared the scene. After reporting the intelligence, Shimura Danzō could only rage impotently in the Hokage's Office.

The reason he could only "rage impotently" was that they had no way of dealing with Itachi. Konoha's current circumstances were less than ideal, and they could not mobilize forces specifically to hunt him down. The only person who could restrain Itachi was Sasuke Uchiha, but when facing a ruthless man capable of personally exterminating his entire clan, no one could guarantee how much Sasuke meant to Itachi.

In Danzō's view, they should directly throw Sasuke into Root and place the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on him, using that to threaten Itachi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi decisively rejected Danzō's unreasonable demand. In his judgment, Itachi had most likely already gone mad and could not withstand further provocation.

Danzō wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi to come into conflict. Hiruzen Sarutobi could not even be bothered to expose such petty schemes.

"For now, this is all we can do about this matter." When Hiruzen Sarutobi said this, bitterness welled up in his heart. A mere rogue ninja had left the village in such a sorry state. How had Konoha become like this?

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also sighed repeatedly. In truth, Konoha had no shortage of Genin, Chunin, or Jonin; its military strength was abundant. But Konoha lacked the kind of supreme powerhouse who could reverse the situation with a single move. Because of its special geographical position, Konoha needed top-tier powerhouses to guard its borders. At the very least, it needed second-rate powerhouses such as Shisui Uchiha or Hatake Sakumo.

Unfortunately, Konoha seemed to have been cursed in recent years. Those who stood out from the rest never lived long.