Mikoto is different!
After hearing Araki's theory, Mikoto has completely aligned herself with Araki's perspective.
If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up!
There's absolutely no need for the children to worry about what's going on now.
That's precisely why, in Mikoto's opinion, instead of worrying about what might happen to Konoha, it's better to be curious about how Araki thinks about such things.
What she was truly curious about was Araki's thoughts!
"I think there might be an intruder."
Araki said calmly, because with Mikoto as his witness, he could easily bring up this topic.
Although Uchiha Mikoto is just a child, she is still a member of the Uchiha Clan, and they are all together now, so she is a natural witness!
With such a witness present, no one will suspect themselves.
This is different from other things.
The four Kumogakure ninjas who died were merely pawns; the true mastermind behind Konoha has not yet revealed himself.
In other words...
Perhaps the person who leaked the inside story to the Kumogakure ninjas is currently putting out a fire in the forest!
If they rush there now, not only will they likely not be able to help put out the fire, but they will also expose themselves to the mastermind behind it all. This is something they need to be extra careful about.
Moreover...
Araki harbored a secret thought.
Why did the Kumogakure ninja choose to make their move tonight?
They definitely didn't know that Kushina and Mikoto were going to drink.
Perhaps there are other purposes...
Could it be...?
Araki seemed to have thought of something and immediately looked towards Uchiha Mikoto.
"I have a question!" Araki suddenly stared at Uchiha, Mikoto spoke up.
"W-What's the problem?" Mikoto was taken aback for a moment.
"I remember you said tonight would be your last night here and you'd be returning to the Uchiha Clan Compound tomorrow, right?" Araki suddenly asked seriously.
"Yes." Mikoto nodded, then stared at Araki with a puzzled look. "But what does this have to do with this matter?"
"Maybe they want to set a fire to celebrate!" Araki casually joked.
actually.
In Araki's heart.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought popped into my head!
If the mastermind behind this, who has access to the intelligence, is manipulating things...
The reason for restarting so soon after the previous failure might not be solely due to Kushina's fault.
After all, if the mastermind was paying attention to everything here, they would know that Mikoto lived here, and that Mikoto was essentially part of the Uchiha Clan. The Konoha Military Police Force was selected from among the Uchiha, so they could have waited for Mikoto to return home before making their move.
But the attack happened on the very last night before Mikoto returned home...
If it's a coincidence, then it's too much of a coincidence!
But if it's not a coincidence...
It's terrifying to think about!
In that instant, Araki's mind raced, considering a multitude of possible scenarios.
One of these was a possibility that he felt he couldn't entirely believe, yet it was also very likely.
That means that the mastermind behind this, besides using the ninjas of Kumogakure to kidnap Kushina, also wanted to use them to get rid of Mikoto.
Of course, the treatment here doesn't necessarily mean killing; there may be other possibilities.
These thoughts flashed through Araki's mind instantly.
He was certain in his heart that this time it wasn't the time Minato Namikaze saved Kushina, because back then there wasn't a single chance to fail.
In other words, the time he destroyed something before was the time that Minato Namikaze was supposed to save. What happened now is a consequence of the previous destruction he caused.
As for why Minato Namikaze didn't kidnap Kushina a second time after rescuing her, it's very likely because the incident shocked Konoha, raising people's awareness of the Kumogakure invasion and the barrier.
Of course, if Danzo was the Danzo, he might have received a warning from the Third as well.
However, Araki changed this history. The experience of Minato Namikaze saving them did not repeat itself; instead, he drowned everything in silence.
This meant that the people of Konoha were unaware that the intruders from Kumogakure had been there and had kidnapped Kushina, thus giving the Kumogakure ninja a second chance to strike.
"What are you talking about? This isn't funny at all!" Mikoto pouted.
"Yeah, Araki, be serious!" Kushina said, pouting.
"How can you expect me to take this seriously? It wasn't me who did it, so of course I don't know the specifics of what happened. But if I had to guess, I think it's possible that intruders have entered Konoha. Because if it were something that happened within the village, it's unlikely that they would set fire to a forest like this, let alone cause a violent explosion," Araki said helplessly, spreading his hands.
"I think what you said makes a lot of sense, because the villagers love their village very much. If it's an internal conflict, there's absolutely no need to set fire to it!" Mikoto nodded immediately, her eyes flashing with thoughtful consideration, and she immediately began to analyze the situation.
"Why are you thinking so much? This has nothing to do with us. You two haven't finished your drinks yet, let's continue with Truth or Dare!"
Araki immediately stopped the two men from speculating. After all, he had already expressed what he wanted to say at this point, and the rest was none of his business, nor did he want to interfere in village affairs.
If Uchiha Mikoto can prove that she was in the house, then the mastermind will receive this information, know that these explosions have nothing to do with him, and will then connect it to the disappearance of the first batch of Kumogakure ninjas, which also had nothing to do with him.
After all, anyone who isn't an idiot would know that these two things were actually done by the same person. Otherwise, there would never have been a case where a ninja from Kumogakure was killed twice in a row after entering the village, and the mission was still unsuccessful.
This is tantamount to stirring up trouble!
Or perhaps there is someone in Konoha silently protecting all of this, but no one knows who that person is!
In short...
Whatever these people ultimately imagine, it has nothing to do with him; he has distanced himself from it.
Araki wasn't someone who particularly liked to be in the limelight, nor did he want more people to know about this matter. He preferred to keep it to himself, keeping a low profile and quietly growing stronger.
Especially for Kushina, the master who was protected in this matter, it was enough that she knew Araki had done all of this when she was first rescued.
This favor has already been noted, and there's no need to know too much about what happened afterward. It would only cause unnecessary panic, since nobody wants to be discovered that they've been chased and arrested a second time.
"You can still drink it?"
"You can still keep playing this game?"
Kushina and Mikoto both gasped in surprise, their eyes widening as they looked at Araki with a changed expression.
What happens outside has nothing to do with us, so we should continue doing what we want to do.
Araki's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile. He then reached for the spoon, preparing to spin it to begin the next round of the game.
Araki's series of fluid movements stunned Kushina and Mikoto. They weren't mentally prepared when the game was restarted.
The explosive power of twenty Explosive Tag was quite strong, equivalent to twenty high-level Fire Release Ninjutsu. The instantaneous burst of Kakkō made the entire Konoha as bright as day, waking up countless ninjas who had already fallen asleep.
The ninjas were very alert. Once they discovered the problem, they immediately emerged from their daze. Almost instantly, countless ninjas stood in fear amidst the Kakkō forest, staring in astonishment at everything that was happening before their eyes.
What's going on?
"How did it suddenly explode?"
Is there anything explosive in the woods?
"My God, this is way too much!"
"Put out the fire quickly!"
"Everyone, put out the fire quickly! Nobody stand still! If this fire spreads into the forest and causes a huge wildfire, it won't be easy to extinguish!"
"..."
Almost instantly, one sound after another rang out. People quickly recovered from their initial shock and focused on the next step. After all, the fire was spreading, and it wasn't the time to think about these issues. The most urgent task was to put out the fire.
In an instant.
The arriving ninjas began forming hand Hand Seals, creating various Water Release Ninjutsu techniques.
Even if they aren't particularly skilled in Water Release Ninjutsu, their ninja level means they can still use some of the most basic Water Release Ninjutsu.
Various Water Release Ninjutsu were unleashed on them, rushing towards the already burning flames.
Because the two Wood Clone in the desert used vines to define a specific area when controlling the fire.
Guided by the vines, the flames can burn towards the center, and unless all the vines here are burned, the flames will not easily spread to the surrounding area.
Even if it's just a few sparks, the flames can be quickly extinguished by the arriving ninjas using Water Release Ninjutsu before they can grow into a large-scale fire.
over time...
As more and more ninjas gathered here, the number of people who could use Water Release also increased, and the flames caused by the explosion were quickly extinguished.
Within the flames, the vines had vanished, because this was originally created by Araki's Chakra; once Araki stopped using Chakra, the vines would also disappear.
Moreover, the vines had already been almost completely burned by the flames, and the two Wood Clone had also disappeared, leaving behind four charred corpses that had been burned to a blackened state.
"There's someone here! There's someone inside!"
"My God! They're burning people!"
Everyone inside is dead!
"There's someone here!"
Someone's dead!
"These people look like they're tied up; this must be intentional homicide!"
"Absolutely! Look how curled up they are! A normal person wouldn't be like this if they were being burned!"
"Go find the Konoha Military Police Force!"
"..."