Over the next three days, officials and nobles from all over the Land of Fire, under the jurisdiction of Tobirama's space-time techniques, were assassinated in unprecedented numbers.
The large-scale deaths of these officials and nobles threw the remaining ones into a state of panic.
If you were to ask who was the least panicked among them, it was definitely the Daimyo.
After all, he had a family connection to Konoha's First Hokage.
Anyone who dared to touch him would be provoking Konoha.
However, while he wasn't panicked, the people under him were clearly in a state of fear.
With no choice, and in order to calm them down as well as quickly find out who was behind the assassinations, he sent a letter to Konoha, hoping the Second Hokage would quickly send someone to uncover the truth.
Taking advantage of this, Senju Tobirama used the opportunity to place his people in key positions.
He stated that the truth might not be uncovered quickly, but in order to prevent the bureaucratic system of the Land of Fire from stagnating, he recommended many members of the Nara clan to temporarily fill the positions of the deceased officials.
It's hard to say whether this Daimyo was too foolish or simply trusted the one-country, one-village system too much.
Perhaps in his mind, ninjas were only capable of destruction and wouldn't affect their status or position.
So, without hesitation, he agreed to the Second Hokage's recommendation and allowed members of the Nara clan to take up their posts.
As for the dead nobles?
Well, they were dead, so it didn't matter.
No matter the era, there are always people eager to rise above others.
With these people dead, it created the perfect opportunity for the Daimyo to buy the hearts of the people.
In Konoha Village, after Tobirama saw off the Nara clan members who were taking up their new positions, he quickly noticed the slightly darkened eyes of Hashirama and the energetic Mito.
"Big Brother, Big Sister, are you getting ready to leave?"
"It's been delayed for so many days. If we don't leave soon, we're worried Black Zetsu will escape."
Hashirama yawned and said, "Yeah, if we don't leave soon, I think Mito's going to drain me dry."
"Baka, what are you talking about?"
Facing the younger brother Tobirama, Mito's face turned red with embarrassment.
To get back at Hashirama for his nonsense, she pinched his soft flesh hard.
Hashirama ignored Mito's little act of revenge.
The pain was nothing—barely even enough to be considered a "tickle."
With a wry smile, he turned to Tobirama and said, "Now I understand what you meant by 'strong.'"
He sighed, then continued, "Look at my dark circles. If this keeps up, I'm afraid I'll die from exhaustion."
The First Hokage of Konoha, the god of ninjas with recovery abilities unmatched in the ninja world—if he really died from being drained dry, it would become a huge joke in the ninja world.
However, even though Hashirama said this in a sad tone, Tobirama wasn't going to go easy on his older brother.
He still remembered how annoying Hashirama had been when he had just been revived.
"If you die from exhaustion, you die. I can always revive you," Tobirama said coldly.
"Don't~"
Hashirama quickly waved his hands, signaling his younger brother to stop talking.
He was genuinely scared of Mito now. Back when they first got married, he hadn't realized how powerful she was.
But ever since his revival, it felt like his wife had become a completely different person.
Even his body was struggling to keep up.
"Honestly, Hashirama, why don't you try becoming a woman, and I'll become a man? That way, you won't have to worry about me draining you every night."
Clearly, Mito still hadn't given up on her plan to become the dominant one in their relationship, wanting to be on top rather than underneath.
"No, there's one thing I will absolutely never agree to," Hashirama firmly refused.
"Then you tonight."
Hashirama rubbed his sore waist, gritted his teeth, and replied, "If it comes to that, I'll just take some medicine."
"Alright, you're determined. I support your decision, big brother. Just so happens, my lab developed a new drug. Initially, it was meant to restore energy, but after testing, we found that its main effect is actually strengthening essence and cultivating vitality."
"This is too much of a coincidence. The moment I mention taking medicine, you immediately pull out a finished product. By the way, you're not trying to mess with me, are you?"
Hashirama looked at Tobirama with suspicion.
It was indeed too coincidental, making him think too much.
"I don't understand what you're saying. Anyway, big brother and sister-in-law, aren't you two going to deal with Black Zetsu? There's no time to waste. I'll leave you to it."
Tobirama chuckled and disappeared with a Flying Thunder God technique.
"Let's go, Hashirama. We should get going. The sooner we deal with Black Zetsu, the sooner we can get back to the village."
"Alright."
Mountains' Graveyard.
Ever since Uchiha Madara left without a word, Black Zetsu had been staying here, waiting for Madara's return.
The sudden departure of Madara to Konoha, without notifying it, made Black Zetsu feel uneasy.
So now, it had a lot of questions it wanted to ask him.
For example, would Madara, because of Hashirama, want to return to Konoha? And would the Moon's Eye Plan still proceed?
"Madara's been in Konoha for almost half a month. What's he doing there? He didn't even send a quick message through White Zetsu."
After Tobirama invented a Seal Tag for detecting White Zetsu possession and sacrificed some White Zetsus, Black Zetsu had stopped sending White Zetsu to Konoha.
For the latest news on Konoha, it was as if it were deaf, completely in the dark.
It had tried to sneak into Konoha itself.
But every time it passed by the Hokage Office, it felt a chilling, life-threatening sense of danger.
Concerned about its own survival, it decided never to go back to Konoha until it figured out why it felt that way.
Black Zetsu's still needed to survive to revive Kaguya.
If it died, that would be the end of everything.
"Damn Madara, why the hell did you go to Konoha if you were fine?"
As Black Zetsu cursed Madara in his mind, Madara's voice suddenly came from outside the base.
"Zetsu, are you in there? I'm back."
Upon hearing Madara's voice, Black Zetsu didn't hesitate and darted out of the base, heading outside.
"Madara, who is she?"
Seeing Madara's return, Black Zetsu was happy.
But when it saw him holding the hand of an unfamiliar little girl, it became cautious.
"Don't worry, she's the biggest gain I brought back from my trip to Konoha."
"Gain?"
"Exactly. She's from the Uzumaki clan, with naturally strong chakra. She perfectly fits my requirements for a successor."
"I see."
Upon hearing Madara's explanation, Black Zetsu sighed in relief.
It had thought that this little girl was Madara's illegitimate daughter or someone coming to compete for his favor.
Since she was just a successor, it wasn't a big deal.
"Zetsu, take her inside the base and settle her down. I need to deal with the tail behind me."
As soon as Madara finished speaking, a kunai flew towards him.
Seeing this, Black Zetsu didn't hesitate for a second, grabbing the little girl's hand and heading towards the base.
But when it pulled slightly, the little girl didn't move.
Confused, it looked down at her, and before it could ask, the little girl transformed into a beautiful woman.
"Aha~ Did you not expect this? It's me, Uzumaki Mito~"
"Nani?"
At the same time, Madara also dispelled his transformation technique, revealing his true form as the god of ninjas.
"Black Zetsu, prepare to die."
"Reaper Death Seal."
Black Zetsu: ???
What the hell just happened?
*********
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