"After today, I'm going to Hidden Cloud Village with Ziyun. What about you? Are you coming with us?" Mikoto gripped Kushina's hand.
"I... I don't know. This is all so sudden." Kushina was completely bewildered.
After all, she was only six. A scene that overturned everything she knew had dealt a tremendous shock to her young mind.
Clap, clap, clap! Clap, clap, clap!
Just then, Ziyun suddenly began to applaud. His clapping was neither loud nor soft, but it stood out all the same.
"As expected of the Anbu Captain. You say I killed Uchiha Mikoto, but do you have any proof?"
A sharp glint flashed in Ziyun's eyes, and lightning crackled all over his body. His aura was no weaker than Hatake Sakumo's.
A thundercloud even happened to cover the stadium, and it seemed as though immense thunder was stirring within it.
How terrifying. Can he harness the power of nature?
Sensing the thundercloud overhead, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help muttering to himself as he confronted Ziyun.
Looks like this will be a hard fight today.
"Hmph, you want proof? Bring it in! Carry Uchiha Mikoto's body up here and let this genius from Hidden Cloud Village get a good look!"
Hatake Sakumo snapped his fingers and shouted in a booming voice.
He had known the people from Hidden Cloud Village would say that, but the Anbu responsible for assassinating Uchiha Mikoto had already handed her body over to him last night.
Several Anbu who had been lurking in the shadows then carried out a coffin.
"Hmph, take a good look. Here's the hard evidence. Let's see how you deny it now!"
Walking over to the coffin, Hatake Sakumo lifted the lid and snorted, waiting to see the three people from Hidden Cloud Village turn pale.
The next moment.
"Hahahaha! Anbu Captain Hatake Sakumo, you call this hard evidence?"
Instead of reacting with the shock he had expected, Dodai, the Third Raikage, and Yeyue Ziyun burst into laughter before Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo and the Konoha personnel present then looked into the coffin, and their faces changed in shock!
Inside the coffin, Uchiha Mikoto's body had somehow turned into one of Yeyue Ziyun's clones!
"H-how is that possible? No, that's impossible!"
After seeing what was inside the coffin, Hatake Sakumo took several steps back, his imposing aura gone.
He remembered clearly that last night, the Anbu Ninja responsible for assassinating Uchiha Mikoto had handed her body over to him.
After receiving the body, he had checked and verified it repeatedly.
Her Chakra, her presence, even her Chakra nature had all matched Uchiha Mikoto's!
How had she suddenly become one of Yeyue Ziyun's clones today?
Of course, he didn't know that Ziyun's nine-tailed fox ability allowed him to flawlessly take on anyone's appearance.
As long as he didn't use Ninjutsu, nobody could possibly tell that it was Ziyun in disguise, no matter who they were.
"Sakumo, what's going on? Are you sure you investigated this thoroughly?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer remain calm. He came down from the stands and asked Hatake Sakumo with a cold expression.
A commotion broke out!
At the same time, the Konoha civilians at the scene were also baffled by the repeated twists.
"Huh? That body doesn't look like Uchiha Mikoto."
"That's right. Then where did Mikoto go?"
"What on earth is going on? Has anyone figured it out?"
This scene also quietly shifted public opinion.
"Hmph, Lord Hokage, we did find Uchiha Mikoto's body just now. Yeyue Ziyun must have tampered with it! Otherwise, how could Uchiha Mikoto's body have turned into his clone?"
After calming himself a little, Hatake Sakumo's mind raced, and he immediately came up with another excuse.
In his view, Yeyue Ziyun must have found out beforehand and moved Mikoto's body.
Then he had turned Mikoto's body into his own clone!
Damn it, this genius is too troublesome. No matter what, we have to kill him today.
Otherwise, it will be too terrifying if we let him grow any further.
A traitor. There must be a traitor! A mission this confidential couldn't possibly have been detected. It must have been leaked!
Hiruzen Sarutobi also reached a conclusion in secret.
Otherwise, how could a ten-year-old brat like Yeyue Ziyun have known about his flawless scheme?
"Sealing Squad, Barrier Team, attack! Surround Yeyue Ziyun and seal him!"
At Hatake Sakumo's command, dozens of sealing and barrier ninja who had been lurking in the shadows appeared.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The moment they appeared, four Jonin took positions at the four corners and activated the Four Violet Flames Formation, which even Kage Level powerhouses could not break through, surrounding the Third Raikage, Ziyun, and Dodai.
"Hmph, Hatake Sakumo, you're just a Konoha Anbu Captain. Who gave you the nerve to make a move without any evidence? Was it the Third Hokage?"
Just then, the Third Raikage snorted and activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
With his aura unleashed, he forcibly suppressed the aura of Hatake Sakumo, a Kage Level powerhouse.
After all, the Third Raikage was a powerhouse who could fight the Eight-Tails to a draw using only his physical body. He was at least at Peak Kage Level.
"What more evidence do we need? The fact is, Uchiha Mikoto is dead, and Yeyue Ziyun swapped her body! Third Raikage, are you trying to protect your own?"
"Or do you want to start a war with Konoha?"
Facing the aura of the Third Raikage, a powerhouse at Peak Kage Level, Hatake Sakumo forced himself to speak.
"Hmph, if Uchiha Mikoto really died at Ziyun's hands, I naturally wouldn't protect him. But you can't even produce evidence, and you want to make a move against him in front of me. Are you treating me like I don't exist?"
The Third Raikage pressed him aggressively, his aura formidable.
In fact, the Third Raikage truly had the confidence to back it up.
Even the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball couldn't break through his defenses. Konoha's Kage Level powerhouses alone couldn't do a thing to him.
"You must have destroyed the body long ago! In any case, Uchiha Mikoto is nowhere to be found, alive or dead, so you can say whatever you want. Hidden Cloud Village, I never thought you could be so shameless!"
Hatake Sakumo cursed furiously.
After all, events had unfolded far beyond his expectations, so it was understandable that the White Fang of Konoha had lost control of his emotions.
"Hahaha, Hidden Cloud Village is shameless? Hatake Sakumo, how can you even say that?"
"When it comes to shamelessness, no one can compare to your Konoha High Command!"
"Today, I'll tear away the cover hiding your shame!"
"Mikoto, you can show yourself now!"
Seeing that the time was about right, Ziyun fixed his gaze on Mikoto in the stands, his voice ringing throughout the stadium!
Hearing Ziyun's voice, Mikoto took a deep breath and appeared in the center of the stadium.
Of course, she was still holding the utterly stunned Kushina in her arms.
After all, Kushina was still young. Having suffered such a shock to her worldview, she was already dazed, as though she had been caught in a Genjutsu.
"Uchiha Mikoto is still alive!"
"That's right, she really is alive."
"Then why did Hatake Sakumo insist that Uchiha Mikoto was dead?"
The latest twist left the Konoha Village villagers at the scene stunned once again.
"Uchiha Mikoto, you... you're actually still alive!!"
When he saw Uchiha Mikoto, Hatake Sakumo looked as though he had swallowed shit!
How is that possible?
How can Uchiha Mikoto still be alive?
Hiruzen Sarutobi, up in the stands, also wore a look of shock and fear.
What on earth is going on? Uchiha Mikoto clearly died yesterday, so how is she still alive?
Has Hidden Cloud infiltrated Konoha Village to this extent?
"Mikoto, tell everyone the truth."
The moment Mikoto appeared, Ziyun flashed over to her and protected her.
Although the Konoha High Command was unlikely to try to kill Mikoto in front of everyone, who could be sure?
After all, the Konoha High Command was already thicker-skinned than a city wall.
"Mm..."
Seeing Ziyun come to her side, Mikoto immediately felt reassured.
She then told everyone the whole story of the Anbu's attempt to assassinate her last night.
"Impossible! The Konoha High Command would never assassinate a ninja from their own village. Uchiha Mikoto, you're an impostor!"
Hatake Sakumo had lost his mind. Even with Uchiha Mikoto alive before him, he still tried to deny it.
"Hatake Sakumo, you really are thick-skinned. Even if someone could use the Transformation Technique to copy my appearance, they couldn't copy the Sharingan, could they?"
Mikoto looked at Hatake Sakumo with disdain. Her eyes turned scarlet, and two Tomoe appeared in them.