Chapter 121

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In the midst of long resonant calls, a messenger hawk soared through the sky, swiftly heading towards Konoha.

Walking down the mountain, Gensou glanced at the black dot in the sky, paying it no mind as he continued forward.

Casually, he asked Sasuke beside him, "In the battle just now, Sasuke, you didn't kill anyone, did you?"

Despite the bloody scene in the Fire Temple's courtyard and the monks lying everywhere, Gensou knew that those monks were merely injured and unconscious at most.

Sasuke's strikes were measured and controlled.

This was quite different from the cold, vengeful persona he usually maintained.

Sasuke did not deny it.

He nodded calmly and said, "I have no interest in wielding my blade against the weak."

'His tone is as consistent as ever.'

Behind his mask, Gensou smiled faintly.

In a world where extreme thoughts were common, Sasuke, whose clan had been annihilated, had the most reason to become extreme.

Yet, most of the time, Sasuke was more rational and clear-headed than others.

His obsession was solely with revenge.

But avenging Itachi was a rightful cause, not an extreme one.

Thoughts like revenge against society or a penchant for killing never crossed his mind.

Even when he allied with Orochimaru in the original story, despite going through numerous battles, he always showed restraint, much like the recent battle at the Fire Temple, leaving his opponents alive and dismissing them as unworthy of his attention.

The only exception was during the Five Kage Summit, where he mercilessly killed the samurai of the Land of Iron, leading Karin to remark that Sasuke's chakra had become dark and cold.

But even that had its reasons.

Gensou admired Sasuke's character and didn't dwell further on the Fire Temple incident.

Sasuke was somewhat surprised.

He had thought Gensou's question implied criticism for being too lenient, but after his response, Gensou dropped the subject, as if it was just a casual inquiry.

'Does Gensou-sama approve or disapprove of what I did?'

Sasuke wasn't one to keep questions to himself, afraid to speak up.

He was about to ask when Gensou suddenly stopped.

Sasuke, slightly puzzled, sensed something as well and focused his gaze on the forest to the left.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clear applause echoed from the forest.

"Not bad, Uchiha! You noticed us so easily."

With a wave of ninja techniques, two men and two women appeared, stepping out from the forest.

"Who are you?"

Sasuke glanced at Gensou, seeing him scan the four newcomers before losing interest. Sasuke then stepped forward and asked coldly.

The leader, unaffected by Sasuke's attitude, warmly introduced himself, "I am Kazuma of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. These are my subordinates: Fuuka, Fuen, and Fudo."

The speaker was indeed Kazuma, a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Believing that the position of Hokage was unnecessary and that true power should lie with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Kazuma had once fought an internal battle against Asuma's faction of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Having faked his death and evaded detection, he had been secretly training his forbidden techniques, aiming to complete his long-held ambitions.

Thus, when he received intelligence about the Fire Temple being attacked, with his old rival Chiriku being easily defeated by a suspected Uchiha, Kazuma didn't take advantage of the temple's weakened state to steal the Twelve Guardian Ninja's buried corpses.

Instead, he had a brilliant idea and came to find Uchiha Sasuke and his companion.

Now, facing Sasuke's cold demeanor, Kazuma continued warmly:

"The Twelve Guardian Ninja? Never heard of them."

Kazuma's smile stiffened.

Serving the Daimyo as part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja had always been his pride.

Even though the current Daimyo had disbanded the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kazuma's loyalty remained unchanged.

Being dismissed by an Uchiha brat, Kazuma felt a surge of anger.

But the bigger picture was more important.

Glancing at the silent masked man who had defeated Chiriku, Kazuma took a deep breath and forced a smile again:

"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of us. What's important is that we serve the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."

"So what?" Sasuke replied coldly.

He cared little about the Daimyo and only wanted to know why these four had approached them.

Despite knowing the prideful nature of the Uchiha, Kazuma found their arrogance surprising, given their clan's near extinction. He pushed aside his frustration and got to the point:

"As one of Konoha's founding clans, the Uchiha no longer exist, and Sasuke, you've left the village. Konoha's neglect and inaction are to blame for this."

"Moreover, how could Uchiha Itachi alone wipe out the entire clan? That night, did Konoha really not notice anything? Based on my understanding of Konoha, they either stood by or actively participated, leading to the Uchiha clan's overnight annihilation. Both of you should know that Konoha is also your enemy!"

As he spoke, Kazuma noticed a change in Sasuke's cold expression.

Encouraged, he revealed his true intentions: "As a representative of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, I sincerely invite you to join our plan to destroy Konoha. The Land of Fire doesn't need two rulers.

The Hokage should be eliminated, and Konoha's power should belong to the Daimyo. With the Daimyo's full support, the Uchiha clan can be rebuilt."

"What do you think?"

Kazuma's gaze shifted from Sasuke to the masked man.

Despite Sasuke's potential, Kazuma saw the masked man as the real prize, someone powerful enough to defeat Chiriku.

Konoha was too strong.

Even with all his preparations, Kazuma lacked confidence.

If he could persuade this Uchiha to join, the plan to destroy Konoha would be much more certain.

It seemed promising.

Kazuma watched expectantly as the masked man, who had remained silent, finally turned to look at him.

Kazuma was filled with anticipation.

Though he had no concrete evidence that Konoha was involved in the Uchiha massacre, he believed it likely, given his own experiences.

He assumed the Uchiha felt the same.

That's why he had sought them out first.

They all shared Konoha as a common enemy.

With the support of the Daimyo, their collaboration seemed inevitable.

(End of Chapter)