"First Raikage is dead?!"
Everyone turned to Commander Nara in astonishment.
None of them had expected the reason behind the Kumo attack to be this.
Renya raised an eyebrow slightly. That would explain a lot.
But wait… He suddenly realized a problem.
What does the First Raikage's death have to do with Kumogakure launching an attack?
Don't tell me… was it Konoha who killed the First Raikage?!
If it had been his personal guards that were killed, then maybe a retaliatory strike would make sense.
After all, Renya had never once seen the First Raikage appear on the battlefield…
As a Kage, he should've been commanding from the rear, not engaging in combat directly.
Which made him even harder to kill.
Unless Senju Tobirama had come to the battlefield himself—then maybe it would've been possible to take him out.
But that old guy was still handling administrative duties in the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also noticed something off and showed a confused expression.
Seeing this, Commander Nara gave a bitter smile.
When he'd first received the news, hadn't he worn the same look?
Looking at the confused faces around him, he opened his mouth to explain:
"The intel from our recon unit says the First Raikage was ambushed and assassinated by a Konoha shinobi. Enraged, the Kumo shinobi have launched a full-scale assault on Konoha."
Hearing this, their initial confusion deepened.
"Commander, are you saying one of Konoha's shinobi killed the First Raikage?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen exclaimed.
"When did Konoha get someone that strong?" Shimura Danzō frowned in deep thought.
Killing the First Raikage on the battlefield—just think of the kind of merits that would bring.
No doubt about it, whoever accomplished that feat would be awarded an enormous war achievement.
They'd instantly become a top candidate to inherit the title of Hokage.
Another rival had appeared!
"Damn it!" Danzō cursed inwardly, his fists clenching involuntarily.
Renya furrowed his brows, thinking over the plausibility of this incident.
In his memory, there was no one on the battlefield who could have silently taken out the Raikage.
Something about this definitely didn't add up...
The First Raikage had been "assassinated by a Konoha shinobi." The future Second Raikage had been killed by his own hand.
"Commander Nara, who's commanding the Kumo forces?" Renya suddenly asked.
He had a strong feeling that the First Raikage's death was closely tied to whoever was leading Kumo's forces on the battlefield!
When you don't know who the culprit is, the first thing to ask is: who benefits the most?
The one who stands to gain the most is very likely the mastermind behind the scenes!
Commander Nara's eyes lit up. He quickly understood what Renya meant.
"Kumogakure's veteran elite jōnin—the brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
"The First Raikage left the camp not long ago. Those two launched a coup and killed the previous commander, taking over as the new battlefield leaders."
"Not long after that, the news of the First Raikage's death arrived..."
The more Commander Nara spoke, the more uneasy he became. The Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers were highly suspicious!
First, they secretly assassinated the First Raikage, then launched a coup, and afterward brought out the Raikage's corpse—framing Konoha's shinobi for the murder…
"This is the truth!" everyone suddenly realized.
Shimura Danzō let out a quiet breath and loosened his clenched fists.
So it was the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers framing them...
Scared himself for nothing—he'd really thought one of Konoha's shinobi had killed the First Raikage.
But when Renya heard the names Kinkaku and Ginkaku, his expression turned ice cold.
Those two were the ones responsible for Senju Tobirama's death!
They had ambushed and killed the Second Raikage during peace talks, then ended up taking Tobirama down with them in the ensuing chaos...
If it weren't for those two bastards, Senju Tobirama wouldn't have died.
Renya clenched his fists reflexively.
He would never allow that to happen!
He had already killed the future Second Raikage, which meant the future could be altered.
The fact that Senju Hashirama was still alive was already proof enough.
If Hashirama could live, then so could Tobirama!
Renya wasn't a cold-blooded person. He wasn't an ungrateful traitor either.
After spending so much time with Senju Tobirama, he'd grown genuinely fond of the man.
Naturally, he didn't want to see that old guy get killed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku...
He planned to nip the threat in the bud early—see if there was a chance to take those two out on the battlefield!
As long as the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers died, everything that followed wouldn't come to pass.
But those two possessed the Six Paths tools and Nine-Tails chakra—they wouldn't be easy to deal with. One misstep, and it might be game over.
He might even end up dying in front of Tobirama himself...
Only for that old guy to bring him back with Edo Tensei. Now wouldn't that be a laugh.
Renya frowned deeply, pondering how to deal with Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Those Six Paths tools were no joke...
Commander Nara glanced at the pensive Renya, unsure what he was thinking, but didn't interrupt.
After chatting briefly with Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, he returned to the command tent.
He needed to report the First Raikage's death, as well as his own suspicions, to the Hokage-sama.
So that the Hokage-sama could begin preparing for a possible act of frenzied revenge from Kumogakure.
After all, the First Raikage had been "killed by a Konoha shinobi"—Kumogakure would never let this go!
At this point, the truth no longer mattered.
All they could do now was defeat Kumogakure and crush them into submission.
Commander Nara began writing his intelligence report.
He included the details of Renya and the others defeating the Raikage's elite guards, and took the opportunity to lavish praise on Senju Tobirama's excellent mentorship.
The first few hundred words were pure battlefield intel, but the rest turned into a long stretch of flattering remarks about Senju Tobirama and his disciples.
Saying things like how wise and powerful Hokage-sama was... how his students valued comradeship...
This sort of thing had long been a tradition of the Nara clan.
...
Hokage's Office.
Senju Tobirama took out the intelligence report from the northeastern battlefield and began reading it carefully.
Sunagakure had already been suppressed by Konoha—no longer a threat.
And Iwagakure and Kirigakure were at war with each other—no time to deal with Konoha.
The current primary enemy was Kumogakure!
As long as they could defeat Kumogakure, the war would be over.
When Senju Tobirama reached the part of the report detailing the latest development, his calm eyes suddenly trembled violently. His deep voice broke the silence of the office.
"The First Raikage is dead..."
He checked the report again, confirming he hadn't read it wrong.
After a long pause, he sighed deeply.
The death of the First Raikage had undoubtedly escalated the situation.
Kumogakure's initial invasion of Konoha had now become a mission of revenge for their Raikage.
The war would only grow tougher from here...
Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure—what a scheme!
In order to prolong the war, those two brothers had actually gone to such lengths.
Since it had already happened, there was nothing left to do but face it head-on.
Senju Tobirama continued reading the report.
When he got to the part about Renya and the others working together to kill the Raikage's personal guards, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"These little brats are really starting to grow up."