The truth behind Tobirama's death was something Hiruzen and the others tacitly agreed not to disclose to the public. But their teacher had died, how could these students not investigate afterward?
After several years of covert investigation, they finally discovered that the poison used by Ginkaku and Kinkaku was something they had stumbled upon by chance in a ruin.
This poison was colorless and tasteless. When it first entered the body, it caused no noticeable symptoms, and more importantly, there was no antidote. The only way to detoxify was through the gradual removal using chakra, with the help of another person. But this process took a long time. Just removing the toxins from their own bodies back then had taken them over a month.
Shin was extremely powerful, how could they not know that? That was exactly why they used such a foolproof method, eager to eliminate him as soon as possible. But that guy ended up completely fine. It didn't make any sense!
"I don't know the exact reason either," Hiruzen said, somewhat dispirited. "But I suspect that the person planted near Shin slipped up and was discovered before they could poison him."
After pondering for a moment, Danzō looked at Hiruzen suspiciously and asked, "How can you be sure he isn't dead? Since we've lost contact with the people we sent, who gave you this intel?"
Hiruzen fell into silence, not speaking for a long time. It seemed like he was very unwilling to explain further on this matter.
"Say something. Did he come to you? Did he confront you directly?"
"Not yet." Hiruzen shook his head decisively.
At the same time, he thought bitterly to himself, It would've been better if he had just confronted me directly!
"Then, is it possible," Danzō still refused to believe the facts and asked hopefully, "that he actually is dead, and the people we sent just ran into some other kind of accident?"
"I wish that were true too," Hiruzen sighed, "but unfortunately, I'm telling you the truth."
Facing Danzō's increasingly hostile expression and his soon-to-erupt temper, Hiruzen sighed again. He opened a drawer and took out a small glass vial containing a silver powder, and placed it on the table.
"What is this?" Danzō's pupils contracted sharply, and his voice even trembled slightly as he asked in shock, "Where did this come from?"
"It suddenly appeared on my desk just now. I didn't even notice it at first," Hiruzen replied gloomily.
"It was Shin!" Danzō ground his teeth, furious. "That bastard's making a statement, he did this on purpose!"
"Don't you think I know it was on purpose?" Hiruzen laughed bitterly and said, "What, are you suggesting he just got lost on the way to Kiri and accidentally wandered into my office and happened to leave something behind? But he did do it on purpose, what can you do about it?"
Danzō was left speechless by Hiruzen's retort. What frustrated him the most was Shin himself.
When Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Technique, they all felt completely reassured. Seeing enemies fall to it felt exhilarating. But now that Shin had mastered the Flying Thunder God, it felt like a thorn in their throat, like sitting on needles.
How could such a disgusting jutsu even exist?
For a moment, they were all filled with resentment toward Tobirama. Moreover, Danzō couldn't understand what Shin was really after. Was it just intimidation? Or did he have another objective?
"Then what should we do next…" Danzō asked with difficulty, "Do we continue?"
"There may no longer be anything we can do within the village," Hiruzen sighed. "He is making his stance very clear. He's also openly warning us: if we act recklessly, he can return at any time. The fact that we plotted to poison him has become a piece of leverage in his hands. Even if he's not planning to confront us directly for now, if we push him too far…"
"So we're just going to let it go like this?"
Hiruzen's eyes flickered. After thinking for a long while, he finally sighed and said, "Since his scheme has failed and we can't act recklessly inside the village for the time being, there's only one option left."
"Tsunade," Danzō said coldly, his gaze dark.
As for the plan involving Tsunade, they still had confidence in it. After all, they had never intended to directly target her. At least, not while Shin was still alive, they hadn't dared even entertain the thought.
So, on the border, they had employed a strategy of using others to kill on their behalf, so they had no fear of being traced.
---
On the other side, Shin's lips curved slightly as he listened with his eyes closed to the conversation between Hiruzen and Danzō. Back when he used genjutsu to control Hiruzen, of course, he didn't miss the chance to leave a little something behind.
He had long since engraved a modified Flying Thunder God mark on Hiruzen, one specially used for transmitting sound, and masked it with genjutsu to block Hiruzen's perception.
With this, no matter how far apart they were, Shin could monitor Hiruzen in real time, completely and continuously.
He had known about their schemes for a long time and had already prepared thoroughly for every contingency.
Back then, the upper echelon of Konoha had hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles, making his life unbearable. Now, it was time for these people to taste that same torment.
Hiruzen, covered in cold sweat, shaking, and clearly shaken moments ago, that sight was truly satisfying.
But no rush, his script had only just begun. There would be many more days of fear and anxiety ahead. As for the disappearance of the seven ninjas, he simply treated it as if it had never happened. He was certain that Hiruzen and Danzō, who had sent assassins after him, had already made contingency plans in case of failure. If this matter were to be exposed, the three ninjas who had accompanied him on the mission would almost certainly be labeled as being under genjutsu control.
The other four were secretly trained by Hiruzen, no one else even knew their identities, so the blame would naturally fall on them.
Even if he pushed the issue, the likely outcome would be that Danzō took the fall, and Hiruzen would hand out some superficial punishment, and the matter would be swept under the rug. And since he wasn't going to bring it up, Hiruzen naturally wouldn't either, both sides silently agreed to act as though it had never happened.
Without staying further, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique and instantly arrived in the Land of Water.
His mastery of the Flying Thunder God had indeed reached the third stage, allowing him to teleport without a visible mark. However, the distance was still limited, just a few kilometers in a straight line. For long-distance travel, he still needed Flying Thunder God marks placed in advance. Fortunately, over the past year of research and frequent "borrowing" from various parts of the shinobi world, he had already left multiple marks throughout the Land of Water. So, he could go wherever he pleased.
The reason he continued heading toward Kiri wasn't because he cared that much about the mission, he genuinely wanted to understand what Madara was up to.
Just roughly five kilometers from Kiri, a fierce battle was taking place, with intense combat underway among a group of ninjas.