News that Gengetsu had killed the Land of Fire's daimyō and occupied the Daimyō's Residence soon reached Konoha.
In Konoha, at the Sarutobi Clan compound.
Severely wounded and half-crippled, Asuma Sarutobi immediately sought out his father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and told him what Gengetsu had done at the Daimyō's Residence.
"What!? Asuma! What did you say?"
"Gengetsu killed the daimyō and occupied the Daimyō's Residence!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Asuma Sarutobi in shock.
Clearly, the news had stunned him.
It was not just Hiruzen Sarutobi who was deeply shocked. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, standing nearby, also wore looks of disbelief.
"Has Gengetsu gone mad!?"
"How dare he kill the Land of Fire's daimyō!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura could not help crying out, their voices turning shrill with shock.
They could not help it. The news was simply too shocking, too unbelievable.
After all, Konoha had been established with the Land of Fire's strong support.
The Land of Fire's daimyō was nominally the highest authority over all of Konoha.
And now, Uchiha Gengetsu had actually killed him!
"Father, it's all true!"
Asuma clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot as he spoke furiously.
"That bastard Uchiha Gengetsu killed the Twelve Guardian Ninja! He stormed into the Daimyō's Residence and killed the daimyō!"
"And the Konoha ninja he led occupied the Daimyō's Residence!"
Hearing Asuma's words, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura could not help cursing.
"Are all the Uchiha Clan's ninja insane!? How could they dare do something like this!"
"Our teacher was right all along. The Uchiha Clan is inherently evil. They're a bunch of utter lunatics!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura's voices were filled with wariness toward the Uchiha Clan.
"Father, let's assemble our forces and send reinforcements to the Daimyō's Residence!..."
"We absolutely can't let that lunatic Uchiha Gengetsu keep this up!..."
Asuma looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and spoke loudly.
Faced with his son's request, the shock on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face gradually gave way to calm.
"Yes! Asuma, go and rest first!"
"Don't worry! We'll handle this!"
Rather than immediately agreeing to send troops, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned medical ninja and had them take Asuma away for treatment first.
Soon, only Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura remained in the hall.
Her face filled with anxiety, Utatane Koharu asked Hiruzen Sarutobi:
"Sarutobi, what should we do now?"
"Gengetsu has done something so insane. If this goes badly, it could bring utter destruction upon Konoha!"
Then Mitokado Homura could not help voicing his agreement loudly:
"Yes! This no longer concerns only Konoha!"
"The daimyō's murder could throw the entire Land of Fire into turmoil! Once the other great nations around us hear about it, they'll definitely exploit our weakness!"
Both looked anxious. They understood the gravity of the matter very well.
Gengetsu, a Konoha ninja, had actually led Konoha ninja to kill the Land of Fire's daimyō.
This was an unprecedented event since the establishment of the ninja world, one that would shock the entire shinobi world!
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of smoke, an unusual light flickering in his clouded eyes.
"You're right!"
"What Gengetsu has done is truly insane!"
"Go back immediately, gather all your clans' strength, and secretly contact the other ninja clans!"
"Once Gengetsu returns to the village, we'll move against him at once and use the charge of murdering the daimyō to reclaim control of Konoha first!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangements, the two promptly answered.
"We'll contact the ninja clans right away!"
"This time, we must take power back from Gengetsu! We absolutely cannot let the Uchiha destroy Konoha!"
Not daring to waste a moment, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura hurried out of the hall.
The hall fell quiet again.
Watching Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura hurry away, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help smiling.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had not fully revealed his true thoughts to his two old companions.
Gengetsu's killing of the daimyō and occupation of the Daimyō's Residence had indeed shocked Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply.
But after the shock passed, an extremely wild new idea had emerged in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
For all these years, a daimyō had always stood over Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had long felt deeply uncomfortable with it.
Every year, he had to humbly beg the Daimyō's Residence for funding, and every major decision required the daimyō's approval.
But as the Land of Fire's nominal ruler, the daimyō represented legitimate authority. No matter how dissatisfied Hiruzen Sarutobi was, he would never dare act against him.
And now, that lunatic Uchiha Gengetsu had actually killed the daimyō!
This immediately gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a new idea.
Having killed the daimyō, Gengetsu would surely become the enemy of the entire Land of Fire and might even be reviled by the whole shinobi world.
Under the banner of avenging the daimyō and purging a traitor from their ranks, Hiruzen Sarutobi could seize control of Konoha from Gengetsu with full legitimacy.
Moreover, the Land of Fire now had no leader.
As long as he eliminated Gengetsu, he could then naturally send troops to take over the Daimyō's Residence and seize the opportunity to control the entire Land of Fire!
He would hold all of the Land of Fire's military and political power in his hands alone!
That would be a magnificent achievement that even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had never accomplished!
If he truly managed it, he would surpass every Hokage in history.
At the thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi involuntarily clenched both fists tightly. His heart pounded, and even his breathing grew rapid.
Meanwhile.
In Konoha's prison.
Danzo was being held there.
Whoosh!
A Root member suddenly appeared and knelt on one knee before Danzo.
"Lord Danzo, our Root operation failed. We did not kill Gengetsu!"
Hearing the Root member's report, Danzo's eye filled with anger.
"A bunch of useless fools! You couldn't even deal with one Uchiha brat!"
The Root member hurriedly lowered his head and continued reporting:
"Please calm yourself, Lord Danzo! According to the latest report, after arriving at the Daimyō's Residence, Gengetsu slaughtered the Twelve Guardian Ninja, killed the daimyō, and occupied the Daimyō's Residence!"
This news startled Danzo as well.
"What! Gengetsu actually did something like that!"
Danzo's sole remaining eye widened, revealing his shock.
Killing the daimyō? Occupying the Daimyō's Residence?
Even he had never dared imagine doing something so deranged.
It took several full minutes for Danzo to recover from his shock.
Then Danzo let out a burst of piercing, wild laughter.
"Hahahaha! Good! Very good!"
"Just as I thought, our teacher was absolutely right. The Uchiha Clan are all evil!"
Alongside his shock, Danzo completely relaxed, and an expression of wild delight even appeared on his face.
In Danzo's eyes, Gengetsu killing the Land of Fire's daimyō was nothing short of seeking his own death!
With the daimyō dead, the nobles and commoners of the entire Land of Fire, and even the other ninja villages, would never let him off!
Gengetsu would certainly have no place left in the Land of Fire. He had become someone everyone despised!
A rebel who had murdered the daimyō could absolutely no longer remain Hokage.
In that case, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely seize the opportunity to act and reclaim power.
When that happened, he, Danzo, could make his comeback.
"Uchiha Gengetsu, you fool. You're digging your own grave!"
"I'll soon be out of this wretched place! The position of Konoha's Hokage will ultimately be mine, Shimura Danzō's!"
Danzo clenched his fists tightly, his lone eye gleaming with an extreme thirst for power and madness.
In an extremely well-hidden underground cavern somewhere in the ninja world.
Obito Uchiha was recovering from his injuries there.
Just then, ripples spread across the ground, and Zetsu's strange body emerged from below.
"Obito, how are your injuries?"
Zetsu looked at Obito Uchiha, who was moving his body around, and asked in a raspy voice.
"My injuries have completely healed, Zetsu! What's the situation in Konoha now?"
Obito Uchiha stopped moving, looked at Zetsu, and could not help asking.
Ever since the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had injured him in Konoha last time, Obito had been recuperating here, knowing nothing about the situation outside.
Hearing Obito's question, Zetsu could not help speaking.
"Obito, you'll never imagine the earth-shattering events that have happened outside!"
"Konoha's new Fifth Hokage is Uchiha Gengetsu!"
"And just a few days ago, Uchiha Gengetsu led Konoha ninja to kill the Land of Fire's daimyō and outright occupy the Daimyō's Residence!"
Without any unnecessary words, Zetsu quickly recounted the news from this period.
"What! How could someone from the Uchiha Clan become Hokage!"
Hearing this news, Obito Uchiha's exposed eye filled with incredulous shock.
Obito knew Konoha's leadership all too well. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, and the others were wary of the Uchiha Clan to the extreme.
How could they possibly stand by and watch someone from the Uchiha Clan take the Hokage's seat!
And killing the daimyō? Occupying the Daimyō's Residence?
That was practically trampling all the shinobi world's rules into the dirt!
"Although it sounds shocking and unbelievable, it's indeed true!"
Looking at Obito's shocked expression, Zetsu continued:
"That Uchiha Gengetsu is terrifyingly powerful."
"Also, according to the intelligence I've gathered, Gengetsu appears to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"He acts with no regard for the consequences. If he's allowed to keep going like this, he'll definitely affect our Eye of the Moon Plan!"
Zetsu spoke gravely.
At the words "Eye of the Moon Plan," the shock in Obito Uchiha's eye instantly vanished, replaced by utter coldness and murderous intent.
"I understand! I'll go deal with him!"
"No one can stop the Eye of the Moon Plan!"
Before you continue