Konoha Village, Hokage's Office.
Although the battle earlier had shaken the sky and the earth, the actual damage to the village was minimal.
Most of the destruction was concentrated around Hokage Building and the mountains behind the village.
Uchiha Madara, clad in armor, sat leisurely in the Hokage's seat, treating it as if it were rightfully his own.
At that moment, the ANBU, alerted by the earlier battle, and the two Hokage advisors hurriedly arrived at the office.
The instant they pushed open the door and saw Uchiha Madara, it felt as if the sky itself had collapsed.
"Uchiha Madara!"
Homura stared in horror at the long-haired man seated in the Hokage's chair, radiating overwhelming authority: "Y-You… how are you alive? Who brought you back?"
"Tsunade! Are you insane?!"
Koharu immediately turned on Tsunade, her hands trembling as she pointed and shouted in terror and rage: "You… you don't deserve to be Hokage! I demand your impeachment!"
But Tsunade only looked bitter, silent and quail-like, standing aside without daring to speak.
Seeing this, Koharu grew even more arrogant and stepped forward, pointing directly at Uchiha Madara: "Get down! This isn't your place! You are—"
Before she could finish, her entire arm was instantly severed.
"Ahhhh!"
Koharu screamed, staggering back in shock as she clutched her severed limb.
The scene immediately sent waves of tension through everyone present.
"Kill him! Kill him now!!!" Koharu's hatred intensified as she glared at Uchiha Madara, her voice hoarse as she barked orders to the surrounding ANBU: "Move! Go! Kill him!"
But to her dismay, not a single ANBU around her obeyed.
Kill Uchiha Madara?
We?
The head of the Anbu almost couldn't suppress a laugh when he heard that.
Has the old advisor lost his mind? Their heads are perfectly clear. Everyone just saw the scene a moment ago. Just a few of them, they could be wiped out in seconds.
"Why won't you listen to me!" Koharu's anger erupted as no one moved. His face twisted in rage as he screamed, "I am the Hokage's advisor! I order you, kill him! Kill Uchiha Madara! Tsunade is no longer worthy of being Hokage, hurry up!"
The head of the Anbu frowned, glancing at Koharu with slight disdain, and slowly said, "Advisor, the Anbu only obey the Hokage."
"I AM THE HOKAGE'S ADVISOR!!!"
Koharu strained his neck and screamed, about to say more.
But then, sitting in his chair, Uchiha Madara raised his eyebrows and sneered coldly, "Noisy."
Whoosh!
A deep blue Susanoo appeared, and the blade swept across Koharu.
The next moment, Koharu's head was severed cleanly, rolling to the floor, blood spraying three meters high from his neck.
Tsunade's pupils shrank. "Y-you killed the advisor?!"
The surrounding Anbu tensed immediately, drawing their weapons and watching Uchiha Madara warily.
Even though no one liked the Hokage's advisor, she was still the advisor. How could she be killed so easily?
"Y-you dared to kill Koharu? Uchiha Madara, you are a demon!"
Shocked and terrified, Homura stumbled back several steps. "Y-you are a traitor of Konoha!"
"The Hokage's advisor?"
Uchiha Madara's face was icy, his gaze piercing as it fell on the trembling Homura. He spoke slowly, "When Hashirama and I founded Konoha, there was no such thing as a Hokage's advisor. You ask me how I dare? Fine, I'll tell you!"
"I am Uchiha Madara. Is that reason enough?"
He exuded an overwhelming aura, instantly filling the entire room.
The nearly suffocating pressure cracked the floor beneath them, making it feel impossible to breathe.
Yes, his name alone was enough—Uchiha Madara!
A massive wave of chakra surged toward everyone like a tsunami, pressing down on them as if hundreds of times their weight.
Homura immediately broke into a sweat, his legs trembling, almost kneeling.
"Enough."
At that moment, Uchiha Sogetsu spoke, breaking the terrifying aura.
He looked at Madara Uchiha, whose presence alone had intimidated everyone, and said slowly, "If she's dead, she's dead. Just a mere Hokage advisor, nothing important."
Those words marked the end of the matter regarding Koharu's death.
Glancing at everyone, Madara Uchiha sneered and retracted his intimidating aura. "Fine, I'll give you some face, hmph."
The relieved group finally began to catch their breath. Homura, in particular, was drenched in cold sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
Tsunade shot a grateful look at Uchiha Sogetsu.
Luckily, with Uchiha Sogetsu around, they could at least restrain Madara a little. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been just one advisor who died.
"Anbu Chief, go gather the heads of the other Konoha clans," Uchiha Sogetsu said as he turned toward the ANBU, smiling. "For the upcoming war, we must unite all our forces."
The ANBU hesitated for a moment. Seeing that Tsunade made no objection, he nodded. "Understood, Fourth Hokage-sama."
"Hmph. Fourth Hokage…"
Sitting in his chair, Madara felt a twinge of displeasure and mocked coldly, "So ambitious… You really think of yourself as the Hokage now? About the Moon's Eye Plan, aren't you going to explain it to me, Sogetsu?"
"Explain what?"
Uchiha Sogetsu gave him a puzzled look. "Your plan hadn't even started yet, and I'm already dead. How could I explain it to you?"
Madara seemed to suffer an unfair loss, but could not lash out. He snorted coldly, taking his frustration out on Tsunade. "Hashirama's granddaughter… to be this weak, I'm truly disappointed!"
Tsunade twitched at the corner of her mouth, silently offended at the unjust comment.
"Now… can someone tell me exactly what happened?"
Madara asked. "Start from after my death. Don't leave anything out. I need to know everything."
Tsunade turned her gaze to Shikaku Nara. "Shikaku, please, tell him everything that happened after the Third Great Ninja War."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Shikaku took a deep breath and recounted all events following the Third Great Ninja War and Uchiha Sogetsu's death.
From the sudden rise of the Aurora Order, to Uchiha Obito's devastation across the ninja world, to White Zetsu infiltrating Konoha, taking the place of the Third Hokage to ignite the ninja world war, the Iwagakure betrayal, their alliance with the Aurora Order, and their attempts to formally trigger the war to seize all the tailed beasts.
"So… my plan is still in motion?"
Madara frowned, sensing something was off. "But if the plan is still moving forward, why hasn't Black Zetsu resurrected me?"
"I guess… your will Black Zetsu has already betrayed you." Uchiha Sogetsu looked at him with a half-smile.
"I wonder if you've noticed… Black Zetsu was never really your creation. He's survived all the way from the ancient times."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
At his words, Uchiha Madara immediately refuted him, glaring angrily. "Black Zetsu cannot betray me! He is my will! How could he possibly betray me?"
*******
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