**Chapter 123: I Came Silently...**

"I came silently, just as I left silently. I waved my sleeves, taking away not a single cloud…"

Itsuki muttered to himself.

"Who's there?"

A loud shout rang out, and in an instant, countless shinobi swarmed in, surrounding Itsuki.

The leader glared coldly at Itsuki, yelling, "Are you from Konoha? How dare you trespass into our Sand Shinobi army!"

At that moment, Itsuki was dressed entirely in black, wearing a mask from Konoha's Anbu.

The outfit was unmistakable.

What really made the Sand Shinobi boil with rage was the sign Itsuki held above his head: "Konoha!"

Damn it.

Countless Sand Shinobi cursed in their hearts.

"Heh, caught already. Sand Shinobi, you truly are one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. I was planning to simply stroll into your command tent for tea."

Itsuki sneered arrogantly, "Fine then, let's stop here. Tell Rasa to withdraw his troops immediately, or else, don't blame Konoha if we shatter his balls tomorrow."

"You're asking for death!"

The Sand Shinobi leader roared in fury, "Seize him!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Sand Shinobi charged toward Itsuki.

"Hahahaha!"

Itsuki laughed maniacally, and suddenly, intense chakra surged from his body.

"Watch out!"

"Boom!"

A massive explosion erupted.

The man blew himself up completely.

The violent blast engulfed several shinobi.

A wild voice echoed: "Remember, my name is Uchiha Itsuki, not Shimura Danzo!"

Simultaneously, two other areas within the Sand Shinobi army camp also experienced intense explosions.

Too many tents were caught in the blasts.

Many people were blown away by the explosions.

Suddenly, the Sand Shinobi grew tense.

A wave of panic spread.

They worried that Konoha might use this chance to launch a full-scale attack.

Fortunately, nothing else happened after the explosions were quelled.

"Is this...a warning?"

Fourth Kazekage Rasa sat in his command tent, his expression dark.

"Damn Konoha!" one of the Sand Shinobi gritted his teeth. "The enemy had rigged the place with explosive tags in advance. We lost sixty-five shinobi!"

That wasn't just one person; it was like a walking pile of explosive tags.

How else could it have exploded so violently?

A shinobi added, "According to the sensory ninja, there were a total of three attackers. Their real target wasn't just the command tent, but our food supplies. This guy we caught was only one of them. It's impossible that we caught all of them. There might still be Konoha operatives hidden among us."

"What nerve!"

"Konoha is as arrogant as ever!"

"Attack them! If we start the fight, Iwagakure and Kumogakure will surely join in to crush Konoha!"

If it were just the Sand Shinobi, they'd never dare to take on Konoha alone; even two Sand Villages couldn't defeat Konoha.

But with Iwagakure and Kumogakure also in the mix, it was a different story.

Rasa remained silent for a long time before he suddenly said, "Do you all really think this was done by Konoha?"

The room fell silent.

"A Konoha Anbu disguise, brazenly claiming to be Uchiha Itsuki, holding a sign with 'Konoha' written on it, heh!"

Rasa's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"This frame job is way too obvious."

"Are you suggesting...Iwagakure?"

Rasa glanced at the speaker but didn't answer.

How could he answer that?

He wasn't entirely sure himself!

So, it was best to stay silent.

Even if he was wrong, it wouldn't be his fault.

"I didn't say anything; you all made the guesses."

"So, what should we do now...?"

"We fight Konoha!"

"Huh?!"

Everyone present was stunned by Rasa's response.

Didn't you just say it might've been Iwagakure?

So why are we attacking Konoha?

Rasa, however, remained confident. "What's with the surprise? The guy himself said he's Uchiha Itsuki, an Anbu of Konoha. What's wrong with avenging ourselves?"

The clever ones immediately caught on and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

It didn't matter who the real culprits were; they just needed a reason to act!

---

"Tsk, tsk!"

"As expected of the Sand Shinobi!" Itsuki clicked his tongue in admiration, holding Kurenai tightly. He murmured, "Good thing I caused a bit of a stir beforehand, or else I might've ended up standing face-to-face with Rasa. How pathetic. Is this the best the Five Great Shinobi Villages can do?"

Kurenai slapped Itsuki's restless hand away with annoyance, saying, "You woke me up in the middle of the night to look at the moon, and this is it?"

Itsuki pointed at the moon. "Isn't that the moon? Can't you see it?"

Kurenai rolled her eyes and said, "Care to explain why you used three shadow clones to impersonate Anbu? Are you trying to make the Sand Shinobi think you're from Konoha or Iwagakure?"

"Does it matter?"

Itsuki responded curiously, "I just want them to start fighting each other. That's all. They can think I'm from whichever village they want."

"If they have the guts, they can even adopt a daddy!"

Kurenai rolled her eyes again. "Are you planning to pull the same stunt at Iwagakure and Kumogakure?"

"No way!"

Itsuki chuckled. "I only needed to stir things up at the Sand Shinobi camp. If they start suspecting both Konoha and Iwagakure, that's perfect. If I do the same thing everywhere, it'll clearly point to Konoha... Hmm? That's actually a good idea! Kurenai, you're brilliant!"

Kurenai was speechless.

"I think I might've made a mistake."

"No, you're the smartest," Itsuki said with a wide grin. "I should reward you. Look at this beautiful moonlight; we can..."

"Get lost!"

Hearing Itsuki's soft words, Kurenai grew furious and struggled to break free.

Unfortunately, her strength was no match for the power of the Uchiha clan.

The ancient power of the Uchiha easily subdued Kurenai.

Beneath the moonlight, the two began to burn some calories.

---

"The Uchiha went quietly and peacefully to the battlefield? They didn't cause any trouble?"

When the Third Hokage heard the report, he could hardly believe it.

"Yes, sir!"

The Anbu knelt before the Third Hokage and said solemnly, "Although some Uchiha expressed dissatisfaction, Itachi and Shisui quickly subdued them, preventing any issues."

"Itachi and Shisui?"

"Yes, sir!"

"They subdued the Uchiha?"

"Exactly!"

The Anbu continued gravely, "The two of them killed two rebellious Uchiha right in front of Lord Danzo, which brought the Uchiha under control."

"Oh!"

"Afterward, Lord Danzo personally inspected the bodies and confirmed they were dead."

"Well done, well done!"

The Third Hokage smiled warmly.

He had always believed in those two.

And they hadn't disappointed him.

They were the true inheritors of the Will of Fire.

Before they left, they had even come to him personally, expressing their loyalty to the village and vowing to eliminate certain unstable elements during the battle.

Such good kids!

If only Itsuki could be more like them, there wouldn't be so many problems.

The Third Hokage sighed inwardly.

What he didn't know was that those two were indeed dead.

But after their bodies were buried, they came back to life.

If Danzo had been present, he would've recognized this as Uchiha's forbidden technique, Izanagi!

Although Shisui and Itachi were now hated by the Uchiha, their actions gave the Third Hokage and his advisors peace of mind. 

**(End of Chapter)**