The atmosphere at the daimyo's residence was truly overflowing with positive energy...
Kitahara silently praised it. Getting news about the Hokage so easily was unimaginable anywhere else... The shinobi world really was full of people with terrible emotional intelligence!
The genius chunin beside it had no idea that the crow on his shoulder had just launched a map-wide attack on the entire shinobi world. He could only say with mixed feelings, "A place like this..."
"His Excellency the Daimyo's personal decree! Sarutobi Hiruzen is appointed the new acting Hokage of Konohagakure! His Excellency the Daimyo's personal decree! Sarutobi Hiruzen is appointed the new acting Hokage of Konohagakure!"
Several young men ran through the streets shouting the good news. Who knew why they were grinning so happily... Perhaps all their wives had given birth...
Konoha accepting the daimyo's appointment to rule was an established national policy. Still, the nominal ruler of the Land of Fire had an undeniably weak presence, so it was understandable that he wanted to force himself into the spotlight.
"..." Uchiha Shisui could not continue.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just been appointed acting Hokage, was walking slowly behind those young men with his guard unit, his face expressionless.
"Is that the Hokage of Konohagakure?"
"Wasn't he the previous Hokage?"
"I remember seeing him visit the daimyo's residence often when I was little!"
"At his age... can he still serve as Hokage?"
No matter what the surrounding crowd pointed at him and said, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned a deaf ear. However, the guards beside him looked rather displeased... as though they wanted to do something...
"Let's follow them and take a look... Lord Hokage doesn't seem right!" Uchiha Shisui abruptly grabbed the crow that was about to fly away and quietly trailed behind the Hokage's guard unit.
Although the Sharingan clan's sensory abilities could not compare to the Hyuga clan's, they were still exceptional. No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing wrong with Sarutobi Hiruzen...
Shisui could not explain his feeling either. Sarutobi Hiruzen usually felt like a furnace, making people instinctively feel warmth whenever they saw him.
But now, the feeling he gave off was... keep strangers away... Within the Land of Fire, someone impersonating the Hokage was no small matter! It was practically trampling on the dignity of Konoha's tens of thousands of shinobi!
"Caw..."
Kitahara knew just a little more than Uchiha Shisui. It had come for this group in the first place. Kid, I'm glad you thought so much.
After leaving the city, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his guards quickened their pace. Rather than entering the forest like shinobi, they openly followed the main road back toward Konoha.
"That's too dangerous..."
Cold sweat beaded on Uchiha Shisui's forehead. Even when carrying out missions within the Land of Fire, shinobi would do their best to conceal their positions. This group... was like a bunch of newly graduated shinobi. They only sent scouts ahead and did not care about covering their rear.
Uchiha Shisui's shinobi studies were excellent. He followed the group through the forest all the way without being noticed at all, perhaps because someone simply did not care about that.
"Caw!"
The crow suddenly dragged Shisui into a thicket. There were people in the forest ahead!
"Who are you people? How dare you attack the Hokage!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Kill!"
"They're rogue shinobi! Take them out!"
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
This fierce shinobi battle did not last long. The shouts of fighting in the forest outside seemed to be gradually fading away, and Uchiha Shisui could no longer hold himself back from jumping out to inspect the situation.
The crow's crimson eyes grew increasingly grim. After watching Uchiha Shisui leave, it flew high into the sky alone and looked down at the tiny black dots below.
The slaughter was not over yet... Better stay a little farther away, lest any flaw be exposed.
"Caw!"
If there was one thing in the shinobi world that could bring Kitahara a sliver of comfort, it was probably the D-rank ninjutsu of the shinobi world—the Transformation Technique... It could transform into a human, but its mouth could still only make crow calls.
As for appearances, surely no one would see through it, right? Its only weakness was that it did not know many ninjutsu, so it had to end the battle quickly.
A strange figure with black and white skin slowly landed on the ground and silently darted toward the battlefield...
The battle was already nearing its end. The attackers had probably never expected to encounter a group of elite ANBU. They had nearly collapsed at first contact and could only flee for their lives in a miserable retreat.
"Caw..."
"Ah!"
A rogue shinobi heard the faint cry of a crow. After a brief moment of surprise, he could not help letting out a pained howl—but there was only one cry... Someone had snapped his neck.
Because that person needed a tool for the crime.
"Uchiha Shisui? Wasn't it supposed to be a while before you joined the ANBU? Did Lord Hokage send you out on this mission too?"
The elite ANBU had gathered together by then, watching the suddenly appearing Shisui warily... As a chunin facing so many ANBU head-on, Shisui was a little intimidated.
"Senior, I... Watch out!"
A short sword suddenly stabbed into an ANBU member's body. The victim reacted instantly and tried to draw a kunai to block it, but his strength was clearly far inferior. Blood gushed out, and he collapsed limply to the ground...
A bizarre-looking person flashed past everyone's eyes!
"Stay alert!"
Kakashi, the white-haired shinobi leading them, quickly leaped onto a tree. "Fall back separately! The enemy may be using the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"How is that possible? Isn't that the Fourth—ah!"
Crack... A figure suddenly appeared behind the tall ANBU shinobi... After landing a blow, it abruptly vanished from where it stood!
"Senior, he's incredibly fast!" Uchiha Shisui had activated his Sharingan long ago. He could see the attacker's speed when he struck, but in that instant when he suddenly disappeared...
As the Fourth Hokage's disciple, Hatake Kakashi had seen it far too many times. He merely said in a low voice, "That's the Flying Thunder God Technique! So this is his trump card..."
How could Shimura Danzō, who was trying to assassinate the Hokage, rely solely on that small Wood Release user... Other than the surprise of seeing Wood Release, there was nothing remarkable about him at all...
But this assassin had a bizarre face, as though it had been stitched together. So, in addition to obtaining a Wood Release shinobi through human experimentation, Root had also acquired a shinobi who had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique?
Lord Danzo, your reserves... really are impressive!
"Clang!"
The clash of weapons rang out clearly. An ANBU member blocked the attack. Seeing the attacker immediately disappear after missing his strike, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief...
"Don't let your guard down..." Kakashi's words abruptly stopped.
With the Flying Thunder God Technique, contact alone was enough to leave behind a Flying Thunder God mark... And the caster could appear through that mark at any time!
That bizarre-looking person quickly appeared from another angle and struck again.
Uchiha Shisui rapidly formed hand seals. "Body Flicker Technique!"
More than a dozen clones filled the clearing, each looking outward and standing guard...
As Shisui observed the surroundings, he asked, "Senior Kakashi, can you tell me the weakness of the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"...Just don't let the caster touch you..." Hatake Kakashi thought of countermeasures, recalling battles where Namikaze Minato had been pushed into bitter struggles. But Minato's enemies had all been powerful figures...
That kind of situation simply could not be replicated. Whether it was an advantage in numbers or a jinchuriki... Furthermore, the Fourth Hokage had still forcibly secured victory through the Flying Thunder God Technique... That made things very troublesome.
Whoosh!
A shuriken landed beside Kakashi...
The person who threw it did not seem to care whether it could hit Kakashi. He only needed to use the Flying Thunder God mark on the shuriken to appear...
The tense Kakashi tilted his head aside to evade the incoming short sword, but a portion of his mask and white hair was inevitably cut away! The bastard vanished immediately after missing, giving no one time to react!
On the other side, another shuriken appeared. Aside from Kakashi, every ANBU member had now been wiped out...
A little early today. I have something to do later, so I'm posting this first.
There'll be another update later.
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