Blade Slays Cloud Ninja, Konoha's Desperate Situation

Just as the Cloud Ninja's thick hand was about to seize her pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out in the silent, secluded alley.

The Cloud Ninja's maniacal laughter abruptly stopped. His chest, wrapped in a lightning armor, had been pierced through from behind by a section of sharp blade.

The Lightning Release Chakra scattered under the blade's tearing force, transforming into blue light that faded into the air.

"Ugh... this... how is this possible..."

The Cloud Ninja lowered his head and stared at the bloodstained blade tip protruding from his heart, his face filled with disbelief.

He was an elite of Kumogakure,

and he had activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode. How could someone have killed him in a single strike from behind?!

"Swish!"

The person behind him twisted his wrist and pulled out the long blade.

Blood gushed from the Cloud Ninja's chest. His burly body swayed twice before crashing heavily onto the bluestone pavement in front of Sakura, lifeless.

Only after the Cloud Ninja fell did Sakura clearly see the figure standing behind the corpse.

Eleven-year-old Itachi Uchiha wore combat gear and held a short blade dripping with blood.

His scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan turned in the night. When he looked at Sakura, the killing intent faded.

"Nicely done."

Itachi returned the short blade to its sheath and said,

"Thanks to you delaying him here, I was able to break through the concealed barrier he had set up and sneak in for the kill."

Hearing Itachi's words, Sakura's taut nerves relaxed.

She looked at the Cloud Ninja lying in a pool of blood,

then at Sasuke, who was unconscious,

and the breath she had been forcing herself to hold finally gave out. Her vision went black, her legs weakened, and she collapsed to the ground, fainting on the spot.

Itachi hurried forward and caught Sakura. Looking at her face, on which the Sharingan had faded from exhaustion, he fell into deep thought.

At the same time.

Inside the Hokage Office on the top floor of the Hokage Building in Konoha.

"Bang!!!"

The Kumogakure negotiating envoy had a face covered in jowls,

and relying on the powerful military might of all Kumogakure behind him,

he brazenly slammed his palm onto the Hokage's desk, sending the documents scattered across it flying to the floor.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi! You must give Kumogakure an explanation today!"

The Kumogakure envoy pointed at the Third Hokage sitting in the Hokage's chair, spraying spittle as he roared furiously,

"We came to Konoha in good faith to sign a peace treaty, yet members of our delegation were brutally murdered on the streets of your Konoha!"

"Is this how Konoha treats its guests? Is this your so-called sincerity toward peace?!"

Faced with the Kumogakure envoy's accusations,

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, standing to one side, had livid expressions and clenched fists.

The dignified Konoha Leadership was actually being berated to their faces by an envoy from another village. It was a humiliation beyond measure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi forcibly suppressed his anger and explained,

"Your Excellency, the truth of the matter is still under investigation."

"According to the ANBU's report, your Kumogakure ninja infiltrated the territories of the Uchiha and Hyuga late at night, intending to kidnap members of both clans. That was why they were killed in retaliation..."

"Nonsense!"

The Kumogakure envoy did not give the Third Hokage a chance to finish and rudely interrupted him,

"Our people were clearly just strolling through the streets when they were viciously attacked for no reason by your Konoha ninja."

"Kidnapping? That's all a lie fabricated by Konoha to shirk responsibility!"

The envoy thrust out his chest and brought out the greatest source of his confidence.

"I'll convey the exact words of the Fourth Raikage!"

The envoy's gaze turned vicious as he shouted threateningly,

"If Konoha cannot meet our demands today and cannot give us an explanation we find satisfactory,"

"then Lord Raikage will personally lead Kumogakure's army to flatten Konoha's gates and turn this land into scorched earth!"

The threat of war!

Those words weighed on the hearts of every member of the Konoha Leadership in the office.

"What explanation do you want, exactly?!"

Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth and demanded sharply.

The Kumogakure envoy let out a cold laugh and made an outrageous demand.

"It's simple. A life for a life! Hand over the culprits who killed our envoy—the few criminals from the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga clan."

"I will personally take them back to Kumogakure and leave them to Lord Raikage's judgment!"

Hand over the Uchiha and Hyuga people and take them back to Kumogakure for punishment.

Once these words were spoken, everyone present understood Kumogakure's true nature.

The murdered envoy and the demand for justice were all excuses.

Their true core objective

was to use this opportunity to seize Konoha's two greatest Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan and Byakugan!

"I've already stated my terms."

The Kumogakure envoy straightened his collar and looked coldly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"You have half a day to consider them. If you don't hand them over, then we go to war!"

With that, the Kumogakure envoy turned around and slammed the door behind him as he left.

"That bastard! This is utterly outrageous!"

The moment the envoy had left,

Utatane Koharu could no longer suppress her anger and kicked the chair beside her.

"Relying on the Raikage's authority, he actually dared to come to the Hokage Office and run wild! Does he really think Konoha is made of clay?!"

Mitokado Homura's expression was gloomy.

"This is clearly a conspiracy orchestrated by Kumogakure. They deliberately sent people to kidnap members of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. If they succeeded, they would obtain a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai for free."

"If their people were killed in retaliation, they would make an issue of it, use war as leverage, and force us to hand over the Sharingan and Byakugan!"

"Kumogakure has coveted dōjutsu for more than just a day or two. This is nothing short of daylight robbery!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the Hokage's chair,

taking long drags from his pipe. The thick smoke he exhaled shrouded his aged, weary face.

He knew full well that the Sharingan and Byakugan were the foundation of Konoha.

If they were handed over, it would not only cripple Konoha's combat strength but also cause the entire village to lose face throughout the Shinobi World.

Such a humiliating and ruinous condition could not be conceded!

But,

what would they do if Kumogakure truly launched a war and they refused to yield?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was plunged into an agonizing dilemma, his brows knotted into a deathly frown.

Just as the atmosphere in the office grew oppressive,

"Creak—"

The office's wooden door was pushed open from outside.

Shimura Danzō entered, leaning on his cane. His one remaining eye was filled with solemnity.

"Hiruzen, stop hesitating. The situation is completely out of control."

Danzo walked to the desk

and slammed an intelligence scroll bearing a top-secret seal onto its surface.

"Emergency intelligence just came back from Root."

"Kirigakure and Kumogakure have already begun massing troops along the border."

"The vanguard forces of both great ninja villages have finished assembling and are ready to launch an all-out war against Konoha at any moment!"

This intelligence sent the atmosphere throughout the entire Hokage Office plunging to freezing point!

"Two great ninja villages... attacking at the same time?!"

Utatane Koharu's legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the sofa.

Mitokado Homura's face lost all color, cold sweat soaking through his back.

Everyone realized in horror

that Konoha was now at its weakest and most perilous low point since the Third Shinobi World War!

The Three Legendary Ninja who had once shaken the Shinobi World had fallen apart: Orochimaru had defected, while Jiraiya and Tsunade had left and disappeared without a trace.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, known as the Yellow Flash and capable of turning the tide of battle single-handedly, had already died heroically during the Nine-Tails' Attack.

The Konoha Leadership now had a severe gap in combat strength.

Looking across the entire village, they could no longer find even one top-tier fighter capable of commanding the whole army and standing alone against all opposition as they had in the past!

"If war breaks out at a time like this..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand trembled as it held his pipe.

"Faced with the assault of two great ninja villages, Konoha simply has no strength to fight on two fronts."

"Once the defensive lines collapse, Konoha will face complete annihilation!"

"That's not all!"

Danzo added,

"Once we go to war with Kumogakure and Kirigakure, those two hungry wolves, Sunagakure and Iwagakure, won't sit idly by."

"They'll take advantage of our predicament. When that happens, Konoha will be besieged by four great ninja villages and wiped completely off the map of the Shinobi World!"

Silence.

Despairing silence spread throughout the office.

Before the disparity in strength and the threat of the village's destruction and their people's annihilation, all anger and dignity became pale and powerless.

Danzo looked at the three men whose faces were ashen, his gaze ruthless.

"Now that things have come to this, we have only one way to preserve Konoha and stop this war."

Danzo looked Hiruzen Sarutobi straight in the eye and spoke.

"Sacrifice the Hyuga and Uchiha."

"Hand over their people and let those two clans serve as scapegoats to appease Kumogakure's anger."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sank into endless contemplation.