58. Schemes in Shadows

A week later,

The entire village is enveloped in a somber atmosphere. The news of Lady Mito's passing away shook the village to the core.

A funeral ceremony was held in the cemetery of the village to mourn the loss of one of the founding pillars of Konoha.

Waah… Waah…

Both Nawaki and Kushina shed tears in Tsunade's arm as the rest of the shinobis pays their respect to Mito in black garbs. Minato and Yuji silently stand behind Mito with solemn expressions.

Tsunade wipes the overflowing tears from her eyes and hugs Nawaki and Kushina, her only family, in an embrace. Kisuke places a garland of chrysanthemums and lilies around Mito's memorial.

Hiruzen and the rest of the elders of the village silently stand beside him with sorrowful gazes.

Pitter… Patter…

Raindrops fall from the sky as even heaven mourns Mito's death. Slowly, one by one, everyone departs from the cemetery, leaving only Kisuke, Tsunade, Nawaki, Kushina, Minato, and Yuji behind.

The members of the Senju and Uzumaki clans blankly stare at Mito's memorial as the rain drenches them.

"Grandma!"

Kushina leaves Tsunade's embrace and dashes toward Mito's memorial.

"Grandma!"

She lies down on the memorial and bawl her eyes out.

Sob… Sob…

Nawaki sobs softly and leaves Tsunade's embrace.

"I won't cry, Grandma! I am a strong boy!" He bites his lower lip and wipes his tears.

"I will grow up to become a strong man and protect Kushina and Tsunade Nee-san as I promised!" He sniffles.

Sigh…

Kisuke sighs and turns around. He walks beside Tsunade and Nawaki.

"I…" He attempts to say something, but his words are stuck in his mouth as he stares at the pitiful sight of Kushina.

"Uncle, you don't have to abandon your responsibility to take care of us." Tsunade's firm words ring in his ears.

"I… I understand!" Kisuke nods and raises his head to stare at the sky as the raindrops fall on his face and wash away his tears.

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Somewhere in a secret room,

"So, Kisuke Uzumaki left the Konohagakure."

A bunch of Kumogakure shinobis in flak jackets and cloud headbands sit around a table and stare at the parchment on the table.

"How reliable is this source of information?"

A young man with a tall, dark-skinned body and a muscular build questions the report. He has long, flowing blond hair and a long beard. He has unusual eyes with green irides, dark sclera, and no pupils. His face has pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes, and a prominent crease across his forehead with a mole above his right eyebrow. He had a darker lip than the bottom one. His elongated canines are visible as opens his mouth.

"Raikage-sama, our spies confirmed the intel with their own eyes."

"Hmm…"

The young man strokes his beard and glances sideways.

"B, what do you think of it?" He questions another young man with bi-color hairs consisting of green and white hairs parting midway on his scalp.

"This looks like a fine opportunity to weaken Konoha." B opens his eyes.

"Very well!" The Raikage A turn towards the rest of the members of the village council.

"It's decided then! We will send troops to attack the current leader of the Uzumaki clan and get rid of him."

The council members frantically discuss among themselves and finally settle on a location. They mark an area on the map and issue a bunch of commands to their shinobis.

"Isn't this too much to deal with one man?" One of the elders questions the number of troops in the operation.

"The success of this mission is of utmost importance to us. This operation will serve two purposes." One of the elders raises his finger.

"First, it will distract the attention of Konohagakure from the area around the Land of Hot water. Second, and the most important part, it will serve the purpose of weakening Konoha's military prowess by taking Konoha's ally from the picture."

The elder circles two positions on the map.

"Currently, Konoha is battling on two fronts against Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Most of Konoha's troops are assigned to these battlefronts. This provides us with a fine opportunity to deal with the Uzumaki clan. If we can diminish their number even by a few, then this will allow us to gain a tremendous advantage in the war." The elder declares.

"Very well. Issue the orders!" The Raikage waves his hand and dismisses the meeting.

A similar meeting takes place in Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure.

"This time we will deal with the Uzumaki clan leader Kisuke Uzumaki and weaken Konoha's combat prowess."

All four great shinobi nations deploy their troops to deal with one man.

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At the same time, inside the Root Headquarters,

Danzo sits on a chair with one of his hands below his chin while his other hand rests on the armrest of the chair. He raps his fingers on the armrest and ponders.

"Danzo-sama!" An animal-masked figure enters the room and bows in front of him.

"What's the matter?" Danzo turns towards the Root Anbu.

"Danzo-sama, I have leaked the whereabouts of Kisuke Uzumaki to the rest of the shinobi nations as per your instruction."

"Hmm… keep an eye on their movements and continue to report everything. Don't even miss a single detail." Danzo instructs him.

"Yes, Danzo-sama!" The animal-masked anbu bows and takes his leave.

"Uzumaki clan… it's a great asset to the military prowess of Konoha. However, the one commanding them has already passed away."

He raps his finger on the armrest and ponders.

"With Mito Uzumaki's death, the influence of the Senju clan in village politics has decreased by a lot. The Senju clan's existence is essential but not necessary in village politics. To gain an influential position in the village, I have to control the entire military prowess of Konoha. The Uzumaki clan is an important ally of Konoha and holds a powerful military prowess. However, its current leader has close ties with Hiruzen. This doesn't sit well with my plans to control the entire military prowess of Konoha. As such, I have to knock him out of the equation and cultivate friendly ties with the new leader of the Uzumaki clan."

Danzo orchestrates an evil scheme.

"Tobirama-sensei denied me the rightful position of Hokage. However, I will prove my worth to everyone in the village through this war."

He clenches his fist as he harbors wild ambitions in his heart.

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Somewhere in a hidden underground hideout in Mountain's graveyard,

Swoosh…

A plant-like humanoid creature with a split body of black and white half pops out of the ground. The creature has one yellow eye on the black side of its body. Numerous spiky extension similar to a venus-fly trap protrudes from the sides of its shoulder. These spiky protrusions cover his head and upper body in a protective shell.

"Zetsu!"

A hoarse voice rings in the head of the strange creature.

"Madara-sama!"

Zetsu turns around and bows its head to a worn and emaciated figure with thin, long white hairs. The figure has his eyes closed and holds his body steady with a kama as a makeshift cane.

"Zetsu! How's the situation?"

The old man opens his toothless mouth.

"There is an interesting piece of news. Kuku…"

Zetsu chuckles and reports the death of Mito Uzumaki to him.

"Mito died, huh!" The old figure reminisces for a while and asks.

"What else?"

"Danzo of the Root leaked the whereabouts of Kisuke Uzumaki, the current leader of the Uzumaki clan, to the rest of the hidden villages. He plans to get him assassinated through their hands."

"Oh!"

The old figure displays subtle emotions. He enters into deep thoughts and speaks after a while.

"Uzumaki clan will prove to be a great hindrance to our plans. We can use this opportunity to get rid of them for once and all."

"I understand!" Zetsu nods and enters the ground.