Chapter 149: Underestimating the Uchiha's Obsession and Madness
After listening to Black Zetsu's suggestion, Uchiha Tatsuhata sat on the dead tree trunk, contemplating seriously for a moment before slowly nodding, acknowledging Black Zetsu's wholehearted, well-intentioned suggestion made without any trace of ill intent.
"Indeed."
This young Uchiha slowly nodded.
His Toyoakitsushihime was undoubtedly among the most supreme Mangekyō Sharingan ocular jutsu. However, it wasn't the type that stood at the summit upon awakening—unable to advance or ascend further. Rather, it was a growth-type ocular jutsu requiring nourishment to strengthen.
The more powerful fighters' chakra he copied, the more techniques he personally could master—secret techniques, forbidden techniques, even bloodline limits. Unless something surpassed his Toyoakitsushihime in level, he could control it all. Of course, how well he could deploy these techniques depended on circumstances. But simultaneously, he could also weave more replicas. One person could raise an entire army.
Speaking bluntly, his rash action today wasn't entirely without calculation. He'd also schemed to copy Yellow Flash and White Yaksha's chakra. If he could obtain these two Konoha top ninjas' chakra, he'd instantly elevate his already substantially strengthened ocular jutsu another level.
Unfortunately, his scheme failed. Though his strength had indeed genuinely reached the shinobi world's apex, his consciousness hadn't climbed to match his own strength. This was also why he'd failed to deploy numerous powerful techniques copied from Uchiha Madara's chakra during the earlier battle.
"I still need time to settle."
Uchiha Tatsuhata murmured softly, persuading himself, bit by bit suppressing the impulse churning like magma in his chest—the urge to avenge Torajiro. He pressed it into the depths of his heart's lake, allowing his brain to avoid emotional interference and influence as much as possible.
Time passed second by second. The sun at its zenith began descending. Wind blowing from the Land of Frost several kilometers away felt somewhat cold and piercing.
Uchiha Tatsuhata asked aloud, "Black Zetsu, you mentioned earlier that a coup occurred in Konoha. The Third Hokage and his faction all lost power, correct?"
"That's right, that's right. Konoha is now the Fourth Hokage's domain. Major clans like Hyuga and Uchiha all swung toward the Fourth. Most civilian ninja also support the Fourth. The Third Hokage has no possibility of reversing the situation." Black Zetsu answered rapidly while secretly pondering Uchiha Tatsuhata's intent in asking this question.
"Then, what's Shimura Danzo's current situation?"
As expected, he's asking about Shimura Danzo's situation!
Black Zetsu thought inwardly.
The Uchiha clan was a clan driven mad by "love." He'd precisely relied on this trait passed down through Uchiha generations to manipulate them within his palm. Precisely because he understood the Uchiha's obsession and madness, he'd borrowed Danzo and Cloud ninja hands to kill Uchiha Torajiro. This served three purposes: first, stimulating Uchiha Tatsuhata to awaken his eyes; second, making Uchiha Tatsuhata feel despair toward this current world; third, preventing Uchiha Tatsuhata's fury from implicating him.
Even now that Uchiha Tatsuhata had calmed down, he still obsessed over revenge.
Black Zetsu pretended to contemplate and recall. After two seconds, he said, "Shimura Danzo is currently imprisoned. Every few days, Yamanaka clan ninja read Shimura Danzo's memories. From that posture, they seem prepared to pick an appropriate time to directly execute Shimura Danzo."
Uchiha Tatsuhata was startled. "Execute Shimura Danzo? Really?"
He somewhat couldn't believe it. Even if the Third Hokage and his faction had lost power, even if Shimura Danzo had committed countless wrongs, ultimately Danzo had served as Hokage Advisor—holding position below one, above ten thousand in Konoha Village. In his view, Danzo's disposal method would merely be confinement imprisonment. Moreover, he might not even serve much time.
Black Zetsu observed Uchiha Tatsuhata's expression changes while saying, "It should be true. White Yaksha Hyuga Ritsu launched a coup overthrowing the Third Hokage's rule. The Hyuga clan's attitude firmly tramples the Third and his faction into the dirt. Though the Hyuga clan's supported Orochimaru failed to inherit the Fourth Hokage position, Yellow Flash likewise detests Shimura Danzo greatly."
"Moreover, the Uchiha clan supporting the Fourth also extremely loathes Shimura Danzo. So currently, according to White Zetsu observations, the Fourth Hokage's attitude should be preserving the Third Hokage while abandoning Shimura Danzo and other Third Hokage faction members. After all, the Third Hokage's status is more precious. Moreover, he's the teacher of the Fourth Hokage's teacher, Jiraiya."
Uchiha Tatsuhata listened very seriously, working hard to digest and absorb this intelligence Black Zetsu provided. After a moment, he said, "According to your explanation, Shimura Danzo is definitely dying?"
"Correct. If no external force interferes, given Konoha's current situation, Shimura Danzo is definitely dying." The pitcher plant-shaped yin-yang face nodded quite affirmatively.
"In that case..."
Black Zetsu's affirmative answer plunged Uchiha Tatsuhata into contemplation. He seemed to hesitate, but quickly made his decision. "I'm going to Konoha!"
"...Hmm?"
Black Zetsu was stunned. We already said Danzo's definitely dying—why the hell are you still going to Konoha?! Compared to Konoha with its exceptional abundance of tough bones, wouldn't the Cloud ninja—equally one of the murderers who killed Uchiha Torajiro—be much easier to handle?
Uchiha Tatsuhata paid no attention to Black Zetsu's stunned reaction. His eyes radiated killing intent calm to the extreme. "Shimura Danzo must die. Moreover, he must die by my hand."
Black Zetsu instantly understood.
So that's it.
He'd still underestimated the Uchiha's obsession and madness. For Uchiha Tatsuhata, Shimura Danzo's inevitable death alone wasn't enough. He had to personally kill Shimura Danzo to count as revenge!
Fortunately, this wasn't any major problem.
As long as he didn't think about waging all-out war with Konoha now, merely killing Shimura Danzo who'd already become a prisoner—this fundamentally wasn't worth mentioning. Anyway, their existence had already been exposed in Konoha's field of vision. They might as well act more openly.
"What about the Cloud ninja side?"
Black Zetsu knew the answer but still asked once.
Uchiha Tatsuhata answered as expected. "First kill Shimura Danzo, this root of disaster who harmed people. Then go to Hidden Cloud Village and settle accounts with those damned fellows one by one."
Hearing this, Black Zetsu immediately chimed in. "In that case, we must depart quickly. Given Konoha's current situation, who knows when they'll haul Shimura Danzo out and execute him with one blade!"
Uchiha Tatsuhata showed composure now. "I need to get some food first. I'll depart after eating my fill."
He'd only transplanted White Zetsu's partial limbs. He hadn't truly become a White Zetsu who could go without eating or drinking. He still needed to rely on food to maintain his body's functions.
---
Land of Frost border. Thousands of Cloud ninja were stationed here.
The Cloud ninja commander capable of commanding these thousands and pressuring Konoha—forcing them to dispatch one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, to guard the Yu no Kuni defensive line—naturally wasn't ordinary either.
His name was C. Tall and burly in build, fair-skinned with brilliant golden hair. However, looking carefully, one could see beneath that deliberately fluffed hair a pair of not-too-long "horns."
At this moment, this Cloud ninja commander stood atop base camp castle's tower, gazing far toward the southwest's still lush, verdant mountain ranges. Though Konoha's side tried desperately to conceal it, their excessive effort still let Cloud ninja glimpse flaws.
News quickly reached C.
Simultaneously, his deputy Troy rushed over excitedly. "C-sama, a hole appeared in Konoha's defensive line! Sawai and the others must have succeeded. This is an excellent opportunity. If we deploy forces to attack now, we'll definitely pierce Konoha's defensive line."
Under thirty, Troy brimmed with ambition, single-mindedly thinking about achieving merit. He himself possessed the Magnet Release bloodline limit—one of the village's younger generation's outstanding members. Since assuming this front-line vice commander position, he'd repeatedly urged that while Konoha and Mist ninja still slaughtered each other on the Land of Fire's eastern coast, they should coordinate with Mist ninja to launch attacks on Konoha.
However—
C looked at the hot-blooded young Troy. A helpless expression flashed across his lips before immediately propping up a serious expression. "Troy, don't be impulsive. Indeed, Konoha's movements look like their defensive line has holes. But how can you guarantee this isn't a trap Konoha set to lure us into being deceived?"
Troy immediately frowned. "C-sama, Konoha successively erupted in major battles with Sand, Rock, and Mist ninja. Previously, they also fought our Cloud ninja in Yu no Kuni for a long time. Konoha is already exhausted to the extreme. I don't believe they still have energy to scheme against us like this. Moreover, traps ultimately depend on prey size. As long as our thrown punch is powerful enough, even traps can be crushed flat in one breath."
C shook his head. "You speak too lightly, Troy. You underestimate Konoha too much. Konoha's successive defeats of Sand, Rock, and Mist ninja sufficiently prove their might. Even when we previously fought Konoha, honestly, we gained no advantages. We even deployed the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, yet Konoha still blocked our offensive without deploying their Nine-Tails jinchuriki. On what basis do you think we can now easily pierce their defensive line?"
Troy's face showed angry color. But considering C's seniority and superior strength, he still argued, "Konoha's defeat of Sand, Rock, and Mist ninja is true. But they definitely paid blood's price to achieve this. Moreover, not long ago, our spy planted in Konoha sent word that the Third Hokage was deposed by a coup. During such internal strife, Konoha's vitality couldn't possibly remain unharmed. Current Konoha definitely isn't as formidable as C-senpai claims."
"Moreover, Konoha's surrounded-on-four-sides situation hasn't changed at all. Even if Sand, Rock, and Mist ninja were defeated, this doesn't mean Konoha needn't guard against these three sides potentially attacking. The military strength they can invest in this Yu no Kuni defensive line absolutely isn't abundant. As long as we can seize this current opportunity and concentrate forces for fierce assault, piercing Konoha's defensive line has extremely high genuine possibility."
His explanation wasn't without reason. His situation analysis could be called penetrating.
Unfortunately, C still shook his head. "Troy, you're not wrong. Perhaps Konoha's strength truly declined considerably. But as long as Konoha still has that Yellow Flash—now their Fourth Hokage—they can anytime concentrate Konoha's scattered forces to one point. If we truly fight, we might not necessarily hold advantage."
Seeing C repeatedly demur, simply unwilling to deploy forces attacking Konoha's defensive line, Troy completely lost patience. He shouted harshly, "C, has Konoha frightened you witless? Again and again refusing to advance, missing excellent opportunities—this is dereliction of duty! This is criminal!!!"
"Did Raikage-sama hand these thousands into your hands to sit unmovable as mountains here?!"
Though he tried restraining himself, once words emerged, his voice still uncontrollably grew much louder.
Fortunately, this was the tower—the castle's uppermost level. Only the two commanders were in the room. Outside the door were also only a few trusted guards. At least this wouldn't spread any rumors.
C looked at the angry Troy. His expression remained calm. He answered composedly, "Troy, you're too impatient. If you don't learn to guard against impatience and anger, even if you die of old age, you'll only have fate as someone's deputy. You can doubt my judgment, but as a subordinate, you're not qualified to defy my decisions!"
"I'll report your dereliction to Raikage-sama."
"That's your right. I won't stop you."
The Cloud ninja's primary and deputy commanders stared at each other for a moment. Troy angrily departed, truly returning to his room to write Raikage with contained fury.
Meanwhile, C kept his hand supporting the railing, continuing to gaze at the southwest's verdant mountain ranges. Only his palm gripping the railing used somewhat excessive force, directly crushing the wooden railing.
Honestly, he truly didn't want inaction. He wasn't truly afraid of Konoha either. The problem was he knew clearly—the one who truly had no intent of warring with Konoha wasn't someone else. It was precisely the Fourth Raikage.
The reason for dispatching him here, leading thousands confronting Konoha ninja at this Land of Frost and Yu no Kuni border, was simply exiling him—this potential unstable factor—away so he wouldn't hinder the Fourth from organizing and managing the village. The Third died too suddenly, not leaving any will. Meaning the Fourth didn't necessarily have to be the Third's son.
Hidden Cloud Village's Raikage position never had father-death-son-succession traditions. And he, C, was that unstable factor who might potentially compete with the Fourth for Raikage authority. The pair of inconspicuous horns on his head revealed his identity. He and the Gold and Silver Brothers who'd once launched a coup killing the Second Raikage shared bloodlines.
So even though he'd never revealed covetousness toward the Raikage position, he was still exiled from the village. His bloodline was unforgivable original sin in Hidden Cloud Village.
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