After cutting down Sarutobi Hiruzen with a single stroke, Arata did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he spread out his perception and carefully checked the area. Only after confirming that Hiruzen was completely dead did he finally let out a breath of relief.
At that moment, the heavy weight that had been pressing on his heart ever since he became involved with Tsunade finally lifted.
Arata understood that from this day forward, aside from the two troublesome advisors, no one in Konoha would be able to go against his will.
Even Hatake Sakumo, who outranked him in official position, was several tiers below him in strength. Given Hiruzen's recent actions, as long as Sakumo wasn't a fool, he should know exactly whom to support.
As for the other Konoha clans, Arata had already seen from the battle reports that after this war, aside from the Uchiha clan, the rest would fall into weakness. Some might even end up with fewer shinobi than the civilian population. Their only remaining advantage would be their inherited jutsu scrolls passed down for generations.
Those scrolls could give clan shinobi a slightly higher starting point than civilians, but with their numbers greatly reduced, the advantage was no longer as significant. A smaller population meant a lower chance of producing geniuses.
On the contrary, the civilian shinobi had preserved their numbers well. With such a large base, talented individuals were bound to emerge.
Thinking carefully, many civilian-born prodigies did indeed rise during this period. For example, Yūhi Kurenai's father, a genjutsu genius of Konoha, did not come from a great clan.
And Might Duy, father of Might Guy, also rose to prominence around this time. He was a pure civilian, even considered untalented in ninjutsu among civilians, yet he still managed to stand out in this era.
Of course, there was also the most famous civilian shinobi in the original story—Namikaze Minato. Even if he carried some notable lineage, he was still civilian-born. His diligence and talent were undeniable. His bloodline might have raised his ceiling, but even without it, his talent and effort ensured his lower limit was never low.
With all this in mind, once Arata dealt with the two advisors, he would face no pressure in the Hokage election. The major clans would not oppose him. After all, they had already extended olive branches to him since his engagement.
As long as Arata survived the Second Shinobi War, the clans would fully acknowledge him as a leader.
The two advisors were harder to handle, but Arata had his methods. If necessary, he could use the Root of the Heart Curse Seal. Once those two old men were branded, would they dare disobey?
Just as Arata was cleaning up the battlefield, his sensory network detected an unexpected visitor. He hadn't expected his luck to be this good.
He had just dealt with one old fox, Hiruzen, and now another mortal enemy had wandered in alone. Perfect—he could eliminate both of Konoha's toughest old bones in one go.
The newcomer was none other than Danzō, who had been coordinating with Hiruzen.
Danzō had no idea a monster like Arata was waiting ahead. He was simply thinking that after today's surprise attack, the Second Shinobi War would soon end, and both his and Hiruzen's reputations would soar.
His own chances of becoming Hokage would also rise greatly. He had long been dissatisfied with Hiruzen and had never given up on the Hokage position.
He had simply been working in secret. For instance, he had already acquired the Root of the Heart Curse Seal and planned to use it as a foundation to build his own ANBU-like organization. Once established, he would control a force rivaling Hiruzen's.
Combined with the network he had cultivated over the years, he was confident that if he found an opportunity to eliminate Hiruzen, he could easily take the Hokage seat.
Hiruzen's confidants, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, had already accepted Danzō's benefits. The moment Hiruzen died, those two advisors would immediately side with Danzō.
As for Hiruzen's ANBU, Danzō had already controlled many through the Root of the Heart Curse Seal. In truth, his hidden power was already comparable to Hiruzen's—he just kept a low profile.
Of course, all this depended on ending the war in a glorious fashion. Only by making a major showing in this war could he present real merit during the Hokage election. Otherwise, even if the higher-ups acknowledged him, civilians wouldn't count his secret achievements as real contributions.
Thinking of this, a rare smug smile appeared on Danzō's normally corpse-like face. He was truly in high spirits.
But when he arrived at the rendezvous point, the sight before him made him suck in a cold breath.
The entire area was drenched in blood. The ground was soaked crimson, and the air reeked of a thick metallic stench.
Headless corpses lay scattered across the ground—clear evidence of a one-sided massacre.
Why call it a massacre? Because every victim had died cleanly. Aside from their heads being severed, there were no other wounds. They had been beheaded before they could even react.
The key point—Danzō recognized these eleven bodies all too well.
The nine ANBU uniforms were unmistakable—they belonged to Hiruzen's personal ANBU. One among them was even Danzō's own planted spy, someone who appeared utterly loyal to Hiruzen but had long been branded with Danzō's curse seal.
And now all nine had been beheaded. The wounds were identical. They hadn't even managed to fire their signal flares. This meant the killer's speed was terrifying—fast enough to kill nine jōnin-level ANBU before any could react.
And it had to be done simultaneously. If even one had escaped, a signal flare would have summoned Konoha reinforcements.
Moreover, the nine had fled in different directions. They had clearly split up wisely while escaping, yet not a single one survived. That alone spoke of the enemy's horrifying speed.
Then Danzō noticed something else—each of the nine had finger-thick, charred marks over their hearts, wounds the other two corpses lacked. It seemed these nine had died to a lightning-based jutsu.
As for their heads, it went without saying—the killer had likely disposed of them to hide their identity.
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