In Konoha, sinister undercurrents stirred throughout the village after the new Hokage took office. Among the major clans, some had been blinded by greed and repeatedly struck to kill members of the Senju Clan. They had even extended their evil hands toward Tsubasa, heir to the position of the Senju Clan's next patriarch. This string of deranged assassination attempts was like a sharp thorn driven deep into the Senju Clan's heart, fully igniting their blazing fury.
The Senju Clan was divided into thirty-six branches hidden throughout the Land of Fire. Its members had faced constant assassination attempts since Konoha's founding, and the entire Shincheng Branch had even been killed. After enduring for so long, the Senju could finally bear it no more, and the clan's elite forces swiftly assembled. Hokage Tobirama Senju personally led seven hundred elite ninja from the clan's thirty-five branches, dividing them into six groups. Each team was equipped with ten Clan Head Level powerhouses and a hundred Elite Jonin. Their targets were the Minami Shinozuka Clan, the Yamamoto Clan, the Ikeda Clan, the Yamashita Clan, the Hashimoto Clan, and the Ishikawa Clan. Tobirama held irrefutable evidence of the six clans' crimes. This operation would make examples of them and establish his authority, deterring all the clans in Konoha that harbored dark intentions and hoped to get away with them.
The night descended like thick ink, enveloping all of Konoha. At midnight, the revenge operation officially began. The first to come under attack were the Yamashita and Ikeda Clans, subordinate clans of the Uchiha, and the Hashimoto Clan, a subordinate clan of the Hyuga Clan. The Senju swiftly set up the Four Violet Flames Formation around the territories of the three clans. The powerful barrier's light shot into the sky, completely enclosing each clan as if in a prison and cutting off every avenue of escape.
Tobirama Senju, a master of forbidden techniques, personally led ten Clan Head Level powerhouses and a hundred Elite Jonin toward the Ikeda Clan. They formed six-person squads, each with a Clan Head Level powerhouse in charge. Like silent ghosts in the night, the squads slipped undetected into the Ikeda Clan's territory and ruthlessly reaped the lives of those still asleep.
Tobirama's gaze was cold and sharp, and a chilling aura radiated from him as he walked straight toward the Ikeda Clan head's compound. Every step he took seemed to carry an overwhelming pressure.
The Ikeda Clan woke with a start and mounted a fierce counterattack. The Senju Clan no longer concealed themselves, launching a furious onslaught like tigers charging into a flock of sheep.
By the time Makoto Ikeda, the Ikeda patriarch, sensed that something was wrong, more than half his clan had been killed or wounded. Tobirama decisively launched a forbidden technique against the entire Ikeda Clan. His hands formed seals in rapid succession as he chanted, "Forbidden Technique: Impure World Reincarnation's Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!" In an instant, the ground shook violently, and countless deathly pale arms burst from the earth. They seized the ankles of the Ikeda Chunin and Genin and dragged them into the dark earth below. The captured ninja struggled desperately in terror, uttering miserable screams, their eyes filled with despair. The technique instantly wiped out the Ikeda Clan's lower-tier fighting force.
Seikei Ikeda, the Ikeda Clan's first elder, Taro Ikeda, its second elder, and a group of powerhouses hurried over to fight.
Makoto Ikeda roared furiously, "Tobirama Senju, how dare you! You actually dared to attack my Ikeda Clan so brazenly! Today, we fight to the death! This is where you'll be buried!" With that, he swept his hands through the air and summoned a gigantic water dragon, which roared as it surged toward Tobirama.
Tobirama snorted coldly and flashed forward, appearing in front of the water dragon in an instant. He formed a seal with one hand. "Forbidden Technique: Flying Thunder God Slash!" A bolt of purple lightning gathered on the Thunder God Sword in his hand, streaking through the night sky and slicing the water dragon cleanly in two. Makoto Ikeda's expression changed drastically. Before he could react, Tobirama had already flashed to his side, thrusting the Thunder God Sword at his chest with the power of lightning. Makoto Ikeda hurriedly twisted aside, but the Flying Thunder God Slash still grazed his arm, leaving a charred wound.
Meanwhile, the other Senju Clan squads clashed fiercely with the Ikeda Clan's Elite Jonin and Jonin.
A Clan Head Level powerhouse of the Senju Clan faced Seikei Ikeda, the Ikeda Clan's first elder, without a trace of fear. He shouted, "Earth Release: Rock Fist Superhuman Strength Technique!" His arm instantly grew enormous, its surface covered in hard rock, and he charged at his enemy like a mighty giant deity. He threw a punch, and even the air hummed from the force.
Seikei Ikeda hurriedly used a Ninjutsu to block it, but the powerful impact still sent him flying, blood spewing from his mouth. Another Clan Head Level powerhouse of the Senju Clan followed up by cutting off his head with a sword.
The second elder, Taro Ikeda, was likewise killed by the combined efforts of two Clan Head Level powerhouses of the Senju Clan, unable to resist at all.
The Ikeda Clan head was finally subdued by Tobirama, who severed all four of his limbs, sealed his Chakra, and took him into custody.
The Ikeda Clan's ninja were gripped by extreme fear. The surprise attack had already caught them off guard, and the Senju Clan's powerhouses could generally fight three opponents of the same level at once. They had never seen Senju clansmen so powerful and furious, and they wailed for their parents as they were slaughtered. They could never have imagined that their clan, one of Konoha's top twenty, would be wiped out completely in a single night.
The women and children hid in their homes, trembling as cries and screams mingled together. But the Senju Clan showed no mercy. In their minds, the clans that had participated in the assassination attempts had to pay a terrible price. Only by exterminating them with ruthless force could the anger in their hearts be quelled.
After a thoroughly one-sided battle, not one of the Ikeda Clan's more than five thousand members escaped. Although eighteen Senju were wounded, they successfully wiped out the entire Ikeda Clan, defending the Senju Clan's dignity with iron and blood. Seeing that the battle was over, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel to the Ishikawa Clan, a subordinate clan of the Hyuga, and continue the extermination.
Elsewhere, Senju Yasuhei had flown into a rage after learning that his precious grandson Tsubasa had been assassinated. The hidden weapon grandmaster's eyes were bloodshot, and intense killing intent radiated from him. He led ten Clan Head Level powerhouses and a hundred Elite Jonin as they stealthily infiltrated the Yamashita Clan's territory. Upon arriving, they first raised the Four Violet Flames Formation barrier, then began slaughtering their way inward from the outskirts. By the time the Yamashita Clan reacted, more than half had been killed or wounded.
Goma Yamashita, the clan patriarch, and Sashi Yamashita, the first elder, immediately led the clan's powerhouses into battle. Senju Yasuhei roared furiously, "Yamashita Clan, today is your end! A clan as vile as yours doesn't deserve to live!" His hands moved rapidly, sending countless hidden weapons shooting toward the Yamashita ninja like a torrential downpour. The weapons flashed with a cold light, moving with incredible speed and astonishing force, making them impossible to guard against. Countless Yamashita ninja used defensive Ninjutsu to block them, but the hidden weapons easily pierced through their defenses. With a single move, Yasuhei killed and wounded a great many of them.
Goma Yamashita swung a gigantic battle-ax and shouted, "Don't be afraid, everyone! Fight them with everything you've got!" He brought the ax down fiercely, sending a powerful blade of wind at Senju Yasuhei. Senju Yasuhei flashed aside, easily dodging it, and sneered. "You're no match for me!" His hands formed seals again as he shouted, "Hidden Weapon Technique: Phantom Thousand Needles!" Countless silver needles as fine as hairs appeared in the air, each glimmering with an eerie light. Like phantoms, they flew toward the Yamashita Clan's ninja. Wherever they passed, ninja fell to the ground, struggling in agony.
Goma Yamashita swung his battle-ax wildly, blocking every hidden weapon that came at him like a torrential downpour. Looking at the heavy casualties among his clansmen, he inwardly regretted taking part in the assassination of the Senju Clan. Otherwise, his clan would not have faced extermination today. But now that things had come to this, he could only fight for his life, or die here.
Hidden weapon grandmaster Senju Yasuhei's special skills had three aspects. First, having cultivated the Pure Yang Art, he possessed tremendous strength, and the hidden weapons he launched carried immense force. Whatever defenses his opponents used, he could pierce straight through them. Second, he had an ample supply of hidden weapons, and they were fast. Once he launched an attack, it continued without end, leaving his opponents no chance to strike back or even form hand seals. He could also take on an entire army by himself. Third, his range was long and his aim precise. He was the very picture of someone who could hit a target ten thousand meters away. The secret Hawk Eye Technique he cultivated allowed him to see a tiny ant ten thousand meters away. Anything within ten kilometers was in his sniping range, and for this he was acknowledged throughout the Shinobi World as the foremost master of hidden weapons.
At that moment, Goma Yamashita and Sashi Yamashita were being pinned down by his attacks in just that way, while the clan's powerful ninja were almost all sniped one by one with hidden weapons. Yasuhei alone overwhelmed their entire clan. In the end, Sashi Yamashita's skull was smashed by a spiked club used as a hidden weapon, while Goma Yamashita's limbs were pinned by Shuriken. He was then sealed and imprisoned.
The other Senju Clan powerhouses were responsible for cleaning up those who had slipped through the net, searching for and killing ninja who had hidden themselves. An Elite Jonin of the Senju Clan spotted someone lying in concealment and immediately formed hand seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" A gigantic water dragon burst from his mouth and charged at the hidden Yamashita Clan ninja, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. The Yamashita Clan Jonin hurriedly used an Earth Release technique to block it, but the water dragon's impact was far too powerful. It smashed straight through his defense and swept him into the water, where he was crushed to death.
The Yamashita Clan's ninja crumbled in an instant under the Senju Clan's attack. Their eyes were filled with fear and despair, and before the furious Senju Yasuhei, they felt like lambs waiting for slaughter. In the end, all four thousand-plus members of the Yamashita Clan were killed. Only six members of the Senju Clan were wounded in the battle, once again demonstrating the clan's formidable strength. Seeing that the fighting here was over, Yasuhei took six of his Clan Head Level daughters-in-law to the next target's territory—the Shinozuka Family.