47 - A Village Divided [Bonus]

Tsunade's sudden outburst surprised no one.

The fact that she hadn't stepped in to break up the fight herself was enough for everyone to feel the severity of the situation. After all, stepping in to mediate a fight like this wasn't exactly easy.

Masashi, one of the heroes of the Nine-Tails Night and a prominent figure of the Uchiha clan, was well-regarded in Konoha. And Orochimaru needed no introduction.

Meddling in their clash risked provoking the Uchiha clan—a dangerous prospect. Everyone remembered how the Police Force had proven themselves during the Nine-Tails incident. Their combat skills and cohesion were unmatched, even by the ANBU, solidifying the Uchiha's position as the most powerful clan in the village.

Soon, more people gathered. It was not something that could be kept under wraps—especially when the Third Hokage, dressed in full battle attire, had left the Hokage Residence to intervene.

Not only those from the Hokage's faction but other ninja clans were starting to arrive as well.

"Regardless of the situation, Sandaime-sama, we should separate them first," suggested one of the ANBU members following Hiruzen.

The elderly Hokage's expression was a picture of inner conflict, a familiar look that made the ANBU accompanying him visibly anxious.

The Uchiha clan hadn't yet shown up, which gave the ANBU an uneasy feeling.

And sure enough, the uneasy feeling came true.

A group of Uchiha clan members appeared, all dressed in Police Force uniforms. Each of them bore Sharingan, and while not all had the three-tomoe form, it was clear they were elite members of the clan.

Before the Nine-Tails incident, complaints about the Uchiha were dismissed as mere grumblings. But after that night, the clan had confronted the Hokage faction head-on, demonstrating their power in a way that couldn't be ignored.

It felt as if the Uchiha were returning to their roots as an indomitable warrior clan.

Such an Uchiha clan wasn't easy to handle.

"Hokage-sama, Sandaime-sama," greeted Yaku, the leader of the Uchiha group. His tone was cordial when addressing Minato but turned hostile when he faced Hiruzen. "Was it your intention for Orochimaru to target our clan member?"

"Please watch your tone when addressing the Hokage." someone from the Hokage faction said.

Tsunade remained expressionless, while Jiraiya's face darkened.

Surprisingly, Hiruzen seemed to calm down instead of looking distressed.

Minato stayed silent. He had a strong sense that someone else had arrived.

"Am I hearing a joke?" Danzō's voice interrupted as he appeared, flanked by several Root ninjas. "Is this what you call 'targeting'? The facts aren't clear yet. The Uchiha clan should be careful not to revert to their old ways."

He gazed into the mist where the fight raged on, feeling displeased. Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? This could destroy months of careful planning.

Orochimaru was essential to his plans. Without him, not only would his experiments be jeopardized, but many operations would become significantly harder to execute. Root, though appearing formidable, had very few core members and relied heavily on disposable operatives.

Conveniently, disposable operatives could be eliminated without hesitation once they had served their purpose. Konoha always had an abundance of orphan resources.

However, was this many people really necessary?

Danzō scanned the growing crowd uneasily, sensing that something big was about to happen.

In the crowd, someone nodded discreetly at Minato. This signal gave him some relief. If it weren't for the current circumstances, he would've pumped his fist in victory.

"Sandaime-sama, I'll need your help to talk things over with Orochimaru afterward."

"No, Minato, you're the Hokage now," Jiraiya interrupted firmly. Clearly, he was eager to leave. "I'll deal with it."

Before Minato could respond, he leaped into the mist, disappearing from sight.

Watching his mentor's retreating figure, Minato could only smile wryly. After all, there was no hiding anything from his teacher.

Soon, a deafening crash echoed from within the mist, followed by tremors that could be felt underfoot.

Jiraiya's thunderous voice roared out: "STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!"

The mist began to clear.

The forest had been leveled, and three massive summoning beasts were in the clearing. Trees lay splintered around them.

Two Sannin stood atop their signature summoning creatures.

Masashi, meanwhile, was perched on the head of a giant black snake.

"You idiot!" Manda bellowed angrily.

Orochimaru ignored it, his face sullen.

"Hey, Manda, long time no see," Masashi said with a smile. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I'd like to eat you," Manda retorted swiftly.

"Silence, Manda," Kuro snapped under Masashi's feet.

Manda immediately fell silent.

"Jiraiya," Masashi said, looking apologetic. "I'm terribly sorry for causing trouble."

Jiraiya's expression darkened as he looked between Masashi, Kuro, Orochimaru, and Manda. "What the hell are you all doing? Have you lost your minds?"

"I'm sparring with Orochimaru," Masashi replied nonchalantly. "After seeing how he trained Anko, I thought it best to seek his guidance myself."

"Heh…" Orochimaru sneered but didn't argue. Knowing the situation couldn't escalate further, he dispelled his summoning.

He landed and, without saying a word, turned to leave.

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya appeared in front of him. "What's the point of this tantrum? The situation has gotten out of hand. You need to come back with me."

"Jiraiya, stay out of my business," Orochimaru said coldly. "It's better for you that way."

"I don't care. This is too much. You're coming back with me. Hiruzen-sensei and Minato are here, along with representatives from other clans."

Following Jiraiya's gesture, Orochimaru glanced at the distant hill where a crowd had gathered.

His gaze stayed briefly on Tsunade. For a moment, he thought of a child he hadn't seen in years, still vivid despite the passage of time.

It left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Fine," he said at last and leaped toward the hill without waiting for Jiraiya.

---

Back in the village, veterans surrounded a Root stronghold. Every attacker was at least special jonin rank, with many seasoned jonin among them.

One of them, a bearded man with a rugged look, casually tossed aside the last Root ninja he had killed. Blood dripped from his kunai as he stared into the dark entrance of the stronghold.

These weren't the usual Root guards—these were the dispensable ones. He waved his hand.

"Charge in!"

With the command from the bearded jonin, a group of Konoha shinobi stormed into the stronghold.

"Leave no corner unchecked. They are slippery," he ordered.

They swept away all obstacles in their path, adopting the tactics they used for operations abroad.

"They're not even trying to defend. Something's wrong," a squad leader reported.

"Or everything's exactly as planned," the bearded jonin said grimly.

These were elite members of Konoha's regular forces. Once they engaged, there was no hesitation or restraint.

Similar actions unfolded elsewhere in the village.

The jonin squads, long burdened with grievances against the higher-ups, seized this opportunity to vent their frustrations thoroughly.

But as one stronghold after another was forcibly breached, the secrets exposed shocked even these hardened shinobi—individuals who had witnessed death on the battlefield, committed unspeakable acts, and seen plenty of sordid affairs within the village.

"These tunnels... they're built like graves," a shinobi whispered, his hand trailing along the cold stone walls.

"No. Graves show more respect for the dead," another responded.

For the first time, they felt like oversized, naive rabbits.

It wasn't just that the scenes were brutal—it was that the revelations far exceeded their worst expectations.

These strongholds were located in the western district, an area occupying about half of Konoha.

Known as the agricultural zone, it was dense with forests and sparsely populated, with residents concentrated in a central living area.

At night, the western district became lifeless, an ideal location for the ANBU—or rather, Root—to establish their main village bases.

Every stronghold was designed as an underground facility, with long and narrow passageways leading into chambers. Walking through them felt like entering the tombs of ancient nobles.

Upon reaching the core areas, however, the shinobi discovered the answer to the frequent cases of missing persons since the wartime era.

"Document everything. Every single atrocity," the squad leader commanded.

Villagers who disappeared on their way back to Konoha, fellow shinobi suspected of defecting, and comrades declared dead but never properly interred—all were found in these strongholds, or at least what remained of them.

"Some of these... they're from our own clans," a medic-nin reported, examining the bodies with shaking hands.

"Mark the clan symbols. We'll need proof," the squad leader said, his jaw clenched.

The workrooms for processing corpses reeked with the stench of decay, and the methods of disposal were beyond appalling.

Even slaughterhouses for livestock would have shown more care.

Those conducting the experiments didn't view their subjects as human beings. To them, these individuals were merely materials.

Many of the "materials" were long-deceased bodies.

A check confirmed that none of Konoha's eight prominent clans were involved—much to everyone's initial relief.

But their relief was premature. What they found next revealed a darkness capable of destroying all light in the world.

The laboratory had extracted tissues from the body of the First Hokage. The experimental subjects—marked as failures and left unprocessed—testified to the gruesome nature of these trials.

"Get to the Hokage. Don't stop for anyone," the commander ordered a messenger.

"Even the ANBU?"

"Especially the ANBU."

To confirm the findings, they immediately inspected the First Hokage's tomb. Sure enough, it showed signs of recent disturbance.

This was no longer a manageable issue. The desecration of the First Hokage's grave shook the very foundation of Konoha. Anyone suggesting leniency would become suspect themselves.

Every individual involved had to face justice.

Defiant enemies had already been killed, leaving only administrative personnel alive. As for the experimental subjects—unfortunately, there were no survivors by the time Konoha's forces arrived.

Without delay, the shinobi secured all captives on site. One jonin set off immediately for the village to deliver the news, sprinting without pause. Crossing the walls, he didn't even take the time to explain himself to the sentries.

Every second mattered.

---

The gathering had divided into three factions.

One consisted of the Hokage and his allies. The second was the Uchiha clan. The third comprised bystanders, neither leaving nor joining in—just watching.

Each group carefully positioned themselves, maintaining strategic distances while sizing up potential threats.

The third-party ninja clans were cautious. They had families to support and couldn't afford to take sides in such a dangerous situation.

They weren't about to be swayed by past favors. No one had ever offered them charity without strings attached.

"Orochimaru, is this as you say?" Hiruzen turned to his student, his expression naturally kind as he shifted his gaze to Masashi. "Is this true?"

"Of course, Sandaime-sama." he nodded like a humble, honest youth. "Orochimaru explained it perfectly. I couldn't come up with something so detailed."

He added, with apparent distress, "I'm truly too immature!"

The crowd fell silent.

They were caught off guard by Masashi's tone. Since Konoha's founding, people had spoken to the Hokage in various ways—some were confrontational, others submissive, some meandering, and a few utterly incoherent.

But no one had ever spoken with such blatant sarcasm.

It was usually the Hokage doing the passive-aggressive talking. Even for a past Hokage, wasn't this a bit disrespectful?

The crowd reassessed their impression of Masashi. He seemed... different.

Masashi, however, remained unfazed. Crafting personas was a means to pursue his goals. And for a ninja, one's persona had to align with their apparent strength.

"Calm down," Hiruzen said with a kindly smile. "If you feel wronged, you can voice it."

"Sandaime-sama, you're too kind," Masashi replied solemnly. "For the sake of the village, I have no grievances."

Hiruzen sighed, looking disappointed.

"Orochimaru, you've been reckless," he said to his disciple.

The Snake Sannin, meanwhile, was bored.

Why were these people so obsessed with such trivial matters? Did it have any meaning?

"What a fuss! Completely inappropriate!" Danzō interjected.

His remark earned him strange looks from many. After all, he was notorious for turning small issues into crises.

"Sandaime-sama," Yaku spoke up, "if Masashi is innocent, can he leave now?"

The Uchiha clan had no trust in anyone from the Hokage's office. They still resented the assignment of Shisui to the ANBU.

The more their relations with outsiders improved, the more they realized how stifling their prior situation had been—engineered entirely by the Hokage's administration.

"Yaku, show some respect to the Hokage," an ANBU operative warned again, standing beside Hiruzen.

Yaku shot back, visibly irritated. "Adults are talking, understand?"

The atmosphere turned hostile.

The Uchiha stepped forward, their Sharingan eyes flashing red as they flanked Masashi and Yaku. Their intent was clear: We dare you to try.

Faced with so many Sharingan, the ANBU instinctively averted their eyes while preparing for combat.

Yet, none felt confident.

The masked man from the Nine-Tails incident had taught them one thing: without sufficient power, one shouldn't lock eyes with Sharingan.

Hiruzen and Danzō's expressions grew serious. They weren't intimidated by the three-tomoe Sharingan, but they also didn't want to worsen relations with the Uchiha.

The Sannin, meanwhile, had their own reactions.

Jiraiya glanced at Orochimaru. Orochimaru looked at Tsunade. Tsunade... just wanted to go back to the gambling hall.

Only Minato, seemed prepared to intervene. He stepped forward, ready to speak. But he stopped abruptly, his attention drawn to a familiar figure racing toward them.

"Hokage-sama! Something major has happened!" The deep voice shattered the silence and shook everyone present. "The First Hokage-sama's grave has been desecrated!"

---

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