At the same time, key locations such as Konoha Academy, Hospital, and Konoha Military Police Force were also affected.
Several people arrived, ripped off their clothes, lit Explosive Tag, and rushed inside, shouting:
"May the Lord Jashin descend upon Konoha and punish these despicable ninjas..."
"May the Jashin protect you..."
"Thank you, Lord Jashin..."
On this day, explosions resounded throughout Konoha, causing damage to buildings and injuring or killing dozens of civilians.
Subsequently, the Uchiha Police Force arrived at some locations in a timely manner and sent the wounded to the hospital for treatment, earning much praise.
Konoha has entered a period of martial law.
Everyone suddenly realized that war had never truly left this village.
" Hiruzen, this attack was premeditated. That damned Jashin Cult is provoking and demonstrating against us. We must retaliate immediately."
These casualties are insignificant to Konoha; the real problem is that they're disgusting.
It's a pity that Root doesn't have enough manpower, otherwise Danzo would have already sent people to attack everywhere.
Mitokado Homura produced a report and said, "Not only the village, but also the surrounding towns were attacked by suicide bombers at the same time. It should all have been planned by the Jashin Cult."
"How dare they be so arrogant, Danzo? Who exactly is behind this Jashin Cult?" Utatane Koharu asked in confusion.
Danzo knew he couldn't hide it any longer; this was retaliation coming right to his doorstep. He explained, "It's possible that Akatsuki is controlling things from the shadows."
"Akatsuki... is that the assassination organization that has risen to prominence in recent years?"
"Yes, this organization specializes in recruiting rogue ninjas from various villages. They are willing to do any mission for money, and many villages secretly entrust missions to them."
It poses a huge threat to our Konoha.
The others immediately understood Danzo's meaning. Wasn't this just like the 'root', except that it was a 'root' shared by all the villages?
No wonder Danzo reacted so strongly; it turns out he'd met his match.
"So many of Root's men were lost, and that was all caused by this 'Akatsuki'? Danzo, what exactly did you do?"
"Hmph, I'm doing this for the village. If we don't deal with them and let them grow stronger, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Danzo then dropped a bombshell.
" Hiruzen, according to my information, your beloved disciple has also joined this organization."
"What? Orochimaru actually...?" Utatane Koharu exclaimed in surprise.
Seeing that the matter had dragged him into it, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally broke his silence and said, "I will order an intensified manhunt for Orochimaru."
"The key issue right now is how to deal with the problem of the Jashin Cult," Mitokado Homura reiterated the meeting's theme.
"This attack was too strange. The Uchiha wasn't prepared in time. They must have conspired together..."
" Danzo, don't drag the Uchiha into everything. I've already sent people to check the patrol files of the Konoha Military Police Force during this period, and everything is normal."
Furthermore, the Konoha Military Police Force was also attacked, and it is said that a lot of things were damaged.
Seeing that the two were at an impasse again, Mitokado Homura had no choice but to say, "This matter should have nothing to do with them. Most of the locations that were attacked were the responsibility of the Anbu."
"It's just that the Anbu has been short-handed lately, which allowed the other side to take advantage of the situation."
" Hiruzen, I need your warrant to redeploy manpower from the various clans to the Anbu to deal with ruthless bandits like Akatsuki."
Ordinary ninjas are no longer sufficient to handle the situation; only those who have mastered clan secret techniques can be effective.
This time, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura decided to side with Danzo.
When war came close, they could no longer remain calm and stand by.
" Danzo is right, the Anbu needs to expand its manpower, both internally and externally."
In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "I will inform the heads of the various clans later. Also, the crackdown on the Jashin Cult will be shifted from overt to covert operations, with the Anbu taking charge."
Danzo immediately retorted, "We should take a two-pronged approach and increase our efforts. Your show of weakness will only embolden them further."
"That would only provoke fiercer resistance and cause unnecessary casualties."
"Womanly compassion!"
"I am the Hokage!!"
Konoha acted swiftly, recalling the Anbu were out on missions to strengthen internal security.
The regular ninja teams that were out hunting down the Jashin Cult were assigned to defend important towns surrounding the village.
Stability is always the top priority.
Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Itachi, what have you been busy with lately?"
"After the village was attacked by the Jashin Cult, the Anbu service shifted its focus to investigating any traces of the Jashin Cult in the surrounding area."
Even when it doesn't involve core missions, Itachi would occasionally leak information about the Anbu, as he had to serve both sides as a double agent.
The fact that Shisui was once assigned to monitor him indicates that the clan had long begun to suspect his stance.
"I've heard a bit about the Jashin Cult, and it certainly deserves a severe crackdown. From now on, you don't need to worry about clan affairs; just focus on your work with the Anbu."
Itachi immediately understood his father's implication and officially removed his covert identity as a spy.
"Has something happened?"
"Don't overthink it. The current situation of the Uchiha and the village can't be resolved in a day or two. Maybe I was too impatient before."
There's not much we can do. It's almost time for my shift. You take good care of Sasuke at home.
Fugaku got up and left the living room.
As Itachi watched his father's departing figure, he had a feeling that something was happening in the clan that he didn't know about.
Now everyone is wary of him, so he can't find out anything.
"Could it be related to Jashin Cult?"
The Konoha Anbu acted swiftly, eliminating more than ten strongholds of the Jashin Cult within a month, achieving remarkable results.
However, just as they were about to wipe out all the strongholds of the Jashin Cult in one fell swoop, another unexpected event occurred.
"Senior, this is the third stronghold we've raided in a row. It seems these people have all gone into hiding."
"Hmm, it seems the enemy learned of our operation and reported the situation to the village."
Kakashi waved his hand, announcing the termination of the operation.
Kirigakure.
" Obito, I have some information to tell you about Aoki Tsuki. He's been stirring up trouble in the Land of Fire lately, causing problems for Konoha."
"Hmph, they're looking for trouble with Danzo, aren't they?"
Black Zetsu replied, "That's right, this guy is definitely seeking revenge for what happened last time, and he seems to know a lot about Konoha's intelligence."
" Orochimaru must have revealed it to him; these two have ultimately colluded," Obito asserted.
"What should we do? Will they cause us trouble?"
White Zetsu trembled as he thought of the bizarre experimental subjects soaking in solutions in Orochimaru's laboratory.
Black Zetsu and Obito both fell silent upon hearing this.
If they can do one thing, others can do another. In the underworld, there's no such thing as being taken advantage of without fighting back.
Finally, Obito spoke up, "Then let's go to Konoha. I promised to help Danzo with the Uchiha Clan and weaken Konoha's strength."
What are your plans?
"Use the Konoha High Command to deal with the Uchiha and Aoki Tsuki. Zetsu, go and find out all the Jashin Cult's strongholds and personnel."
"Receive!"
His intelligence-gathering ability is unparalleled, Mayfly Technique allows him to freely enter and exit most locations.
They can even transform into the appearance of the target and become part of the cult, not to mention the Spore Technique for close-range eavesdropping.
Soon, an astonishingly detailed intelligence report was delivered to Danzo.
The information about the Jashin Cult that was giving him a headache was now laid out before him.
Danzo showed not satisfaction but deep apprehension. Putting aside Madara's bizarre abilities, he had already overwhelmed Root in terms of intelligence alone.
The capabilities demonstrated by his partner made him uneasy.
Both are ruthless schemers; their current relationship is merely an exchange of interests and mutual exploitation.
So-called cooperation is essentially a competition to see who betrays the other first.
The moment the goal is achieved will mark the climax of betrayal; before that, he must have countermeasures in place.
He reached up and touched his right eye. Kotoamatsukami was his most important trump card, but it wasn't enough on its own.
'I need more Sharingan '
"Someone come here..."
" Danzo."
How much Sharingan have been raised?
"Last time we successfully ambushed an Uchiha squad, Orochimaru said there was only one pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan that met the criteria."
The other lower-level Sharingan were useless and were used as experimental subjects.
Anyway, they don't understand, so whatever Orochimaru says goes.
Bang!
Danzo slammed his cane on the ground. "That greedy serpent! Fine... go and find a way to catch some more."
"But after what happened last time, the Uchiha have become very wary and are constantly on guard against us, making it difficult to make a move."
"Useless! Couldn't it have been done by Jashin Cult? Do I have to teach you something like this..."
Danzo's expression grew increasingly dissatisfied; all the capable subordinates he had trained had died in the process of dealing with Akatsuki and Shisui.
These new recruits are all incredibly stupid.
"Understood, I'll get on it right away."
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and said, " Danzo, Orochimaru said that several of his bases have been burned down and he needs funds to rebuild new ones."
"Dial it to him."
"Um... it requires a lot of money."
"I said... give it to him!!" Danzo roared.
"Hi!"
The Root member left Danzo's room in Danzo, feeling as if he had escaped a disaster.
"Damn Uchiha!"
Compared to facing Danzo, the Uchiha clan is much easier to bully.
Next, the people from the Root transformed themselves, donned the robes of the Jashin Cult, and became followers of the Jashin.
At first, they secretly staked out the Uchiha clan members who were out on missions, but later they discovered that the Uchiha had chosen to swallow their anger.
So they had no more scruples, grew bolder and bolder, and started carrying out attacks near the village.
They act with unbridled arrogance, even more rampant than true Jashin Cult.