Half a year later.
Shimura Clan Compound.
"I can't take it anymore!"
"I think the higher-ups are targeting our Shimura clan!"
"Didn't the Uchiha succeed in their Coup détat? Let's stage a Coup détat too!"
"Exactly, we are the prestigious Shimura..."
At that moment, a streak of golden flame flashed down.
Boom!
The ground cracked, and the splashing rubble turned into scorching golden lava, whistling past their ears with the wind.
The instantaneous heat made their bodies turn cold.
Everyone in the Shimura clan gulped and looked at the youth who had suddenly appeared.
The youth wore a brilliant golden crown, with radiant patterns on him.
Standing on the melted ground, thick golden lava appeared, forming a two-meter-wide circle to support his noble body.
The dazzling golden anklets on his ankles swayed slightly. His hand, adorned with a golden bracelet, exuded an aura of power as it was slightly raised.
Even with his eyes closed, the golden light was unstoppable, falling upon them, increasing their pressure and making them feel uneasy.
Then, the youth spoke, "The Shimura clan has launched a rebellion. Kill."
The Shimura clansmen's expressions changed drastically, even becoming dumbfounded.
No, we were just talking. We haven't even prepared weapons. We were just complaining.
Is there a need to be so arbitrary?
In an instant, over a hundred Root members rushed out from behind the youth. From the eye holes of their grotesque masks, pairs of bloodthirsty and cold eyes were revealed, flashing with a strange light in the dark night.
The Shimura clansmen immediately panicked.
The clan head knew about Danzo's matter and was naturally aware of Hiromi's existence. He hurriedly raised his hands, ignoring the cold sweat pouring down, and struck a posture of surrender to Hiromi.
"The Shimura clan is not staging a Coup détat! I demand that Hokage-sama come here!"
Hiromi's expression turned cold. "Is Hokage-sama someone you can see whenever you want?"
After the scolding, Hiromi's words did not stop there. "The Shimura clan definitely wants Hokage-sama to come so they can assassinate him."
"The crime of a Coup détat plus the assassination of Hokage-sama..."
"The Shimura clan truly is an evil clan."
"For Hokage-sama! Kill!"
The Shimura clansmen were even more dumbfounded.
Requesting to see the Hokage counts as assassinating the Hokage?
Before they could even voice their opposition, the Root members, their eyes glowing with excited red light, charged forward.
Swish!
Blood stained the ground and screams echoed through the dark night.
The anger in the Shimura clansmen's hearts turned into hatred, they saw red and desperately fought the Uchiha Root Members. For a time, blood splattered and screams were constant.
Hiromi kept his eyes closed, as if he didn't hear the agony around him, and calmly said to Itachi beside him, "When faced with Root's proposal for 24-hour surveillance, the Shimura clan attempted to murder Root Commander Itachi. When Itachi tried to withdraw from the Shimura Clan Compound to report to Hokage-sama, he was surrounded by the Shimura clan. Having discovered their intent for a rebellion, he had no choice but to kill them."
Itachi: "..."
He was just wondering how Hiromi would explain this to Hiruzen. After all, the Shimura clan was just making a fuss. They hadn't actually declared a Coup détat, there were just slight traces of it. Compared to the Uchiha clan, who had weapons ready, they were like street thugs compared to elite soldiers.
As it turns out... good grief!
It was about first provoking the Shimura clan's anger, and then, while the Shimura clan resisted, wiping them out. Once the Shimura clan was gone, whatever he said would be the final word.
For a moment, he understood why Danzo was so arrogant. But he didn't expect Hiromi to be even more arrogant than Danzo.
Because he heard Hiromi say this: "Konoha's loss of the Shimura Clan is truly saddening. But no matter who the world loses, the planet will keep spinning, and tomorrow will still come."
"Konoha cannot go a single day without a Police Force. To put the villagers at ease, starting tomorrow, the Sarutobi clan will take over the Police Force. I hope they can remember the lesson of the Shimura clan and become a model for the best Police Force in the hearts of the villagers."
Itachi: "..."
—
Sarutobi Clan Compound.
An Anbu member suddenly appeared in the room. Hiruzen, who was sleeping, sensed something and snapped his eyes open, as if he had never been asleep.
He asked in a steady voice, "What happened?"
"Root Commander Itachi visited the Shimura clan and was ambushed by them."
Hearing this, the first thing that came to Hiruzen's mind was Hiromi activating Susanoo in the village center—he wouldn't come to cause another scene in the village center for Itachi's sake, would he?
He woke up completely and hurriedly asked, "Is Itachi alright?"
"He's fine, it's just..." The Anbu member's expression was strange.
"As long as he's fine."
Hiruzen felt relieved, but then he noticed the Anbu member's odd behavior. A huge sense of unease rose in his heart, and he quickly pressed, "It's just what?"
"It's just that during the ambush, Root found evidence of a Coup détat. The Shimura clan became violent and was counter-killed by Root. Now, the entire Shimura clan is gone."
"???"
Hiruzen's face wrinkled up as he raised his hand, signaling the Anbu members not to speak yet. He held his forehead with his withered hand, his brows tightly knitted, lost in deep thought, looking a bit bewildered.
The Shimura Clan was wiped out?
Just while I was sleeping, they were suddenly wiped out?
???
Really wiped out?
No matter how he thought about it, it felt unreal.
Although the Shimura clan had some thoughts of a Coup d'état, it shouldn't have erupted for at least another three or four years, right?
He believed he could pacify them given three or four years. But now, they had been wiped out without a sound.
Was it because they saw their enemy, the Uchiha, and were blinded by hatred, acting on impulse and disregarding everything?
But what about the evidence of the Coup d'état?
He couldn't help but recall the assassination attempt by Danzo that he encountered on his way to the Daimyo after Minato's death.
Could it be that the Shimura clan had been plotting for the position of Hokage for a long time?
But this timing... it had only been a year since Danzo's death.
This timing... it's a bit subtle.
The Shimura clan shouldn't be that reckless, right?
Hiruzen hurriedly got up, changed his clothes, and headed to the Shimura clan compound.
***
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