Konoha's Tatsuya

Night fell, and countless lights illuminated the entire village of Konoha. In scattered areas, artisans could still be seen working overtime, rushing to complete repairs. Konoha, having just experienced the chaos of the Nine-Tails' attack, was silently licking its wounds.

On the Hokage Rock, a spatial vortex appeared out of nowhere. The vortex vanished, revealing a black-clad figure – the very culprit who had summoned the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha just days ago, the masked man, Obito Uchiha.

The gentle night breeze rustled Obito's black robe as he stood silently, gazing at the brightly lit village of Konoha below.

At that moment, two enormous pitcher plant leaves slowly rose from the ground. The leaves opened, revealing a bizarre face in the center, one half white and the other half black.

"Obito, your plan doesn't seem to be progressing very smoothly. Your teacher, Minato Namikaze, truly lives up to his title as Konoha's Yellow Flash. Even in that situation, he managed to injure you and seal the Nine-Tails. It seems that collapsing Konoha in the short term is impossible now!" A harsh, low voice emerged from the bizarre face.

"The Obito Uchiha of the past is dead, and Minato Namikaze is no longer my teacher. The turmoil three days ago was merely a whim of mine. As long as the Fourth, Minato Namikaze, is dead, no one here can stop us anymore. My objective has been achieved; whether Konoha truly collapses is unimportant. Now, our plan is finally on the right track. Nagato still needs a long time to revive the Gedo Statue, so we have plenty of time to scheme. As for Konoha, it's too early to say whether it can truly overcome this crisis," Obito's voice came from beneath the mask, carrying a chilling tone.

"Oh? Do you have other plans?" The bizarre face spoke again, this time in a much younger voice, expressing surprise.

"I've managed to leak information about Konoha's situation to Kumogakure. I believe they'll make the right choice," Obito said calmly.

"Obito, you truly are the successor chosen by Madara. Your schemes are so deep," the younger voice from the bizarre face remarked.

Obito waved his robe and said, "Alright, Zetsu. After this Nine-Tails incident, a serious rift will inevitably form between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha clan. I need you to stay here and closely monitor the movements of the village and the Uchiha clan for me."

The bizarre face, named Zetsu, nodded in agreement. "Understood."

With that, a spatial vortex reappeared in the air, and Obito's figure slowly disappeared into the void. The two giant pitcher plant leaves above Zetsu's head began to close, and he slowly sank back into the ground.

A moment later, the Hokage Rock returned to its original silence.

Inside the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had once again donned the Hokage robes and sat in the Hokage's seat.

A cloud of smoke swirled in front of the desk as the Third, puffing on his pipe, furrowed his brow in deep thought.

Just today, the Third had once again thwarted Danzo and resumed his position as Hokage. However, he was now faced with a complete mess.

Hiruzen had a gut feeling, a sense that some force was lurking in the shadows, observing Konoha. The Nine-Tails' attack had been far too sudden, completely without warning.

Kushina's pregnancy had been a top-secret matter within the village, known only to a select few. Moreover, to prevent any accidents, the village leadership had deliberately moved Kushina to a secret location outside the village before her delivery, sending a large number of ninja to guard her.

Yet, despite these careful arrangements, the perpetrator had still accurately determined Kushina's precise delivery time. They then exploited the opportunity when Kushina's tailed beast seal would be significantly weakened after giving birth, directly summoning the Nine-Tails from within her to wreak havoc on the village.

During this process, the mastermind had entered and exited the village without triggering the sensory barrier or the masking barrier set up around the village's perimeter. They were completely useless.

Did this mean someone within the village was involved? Were they from the Uchiha clan?

When the Nine-Tails appeared in the village, its eyes clearly displayed the Sharingan markings, something no one could deny. However, looking back at the Uchiha clan's actions that night, they didn't seem to be involved.

So, whose Sharingan had controlled the Nine-Tails? Was Minato's decision to use the Reaper Death Seal in battle and perish along with the Nine-Tails related to this?

Also, how should they handle the orphan of the Fourth and his wife, Naruto Uzumaki? Would the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails' attack take further action? And so on.

The Third was baffled by the implications of these countless questions!

The village's structure had undergone a drastic change. Not only had the young Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina, perished simultaneously, but dozens of elite Jonin and many civilian ninja had also died. A large number of buildings in the village had also suffered severe damage.

Most critically, with the loss of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, two of the most promising Kage-level combatants, Konoha had fallen into an awkward situation where there was a severe gap between generations.

Currently in Konoha, among the younger and middle generations, Jiraiya was constantly away from the village, and Tsunade had left the village due to her hemophobia. Apart from Orochimaru, whose actions were becoming increasingly secretive, and who remained in the village, there were no other true Kage-level combatants. The village was left with only the Third, Danzo, and the other elders who had held power for over twenty years to hold the fort.

Faced with such a crisis, after discussions with the village's top brass, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to once again come out of retirement and take on the position of Hokage.

Right now, the Third had many pressing issues to deal with, leaving him no time to slowly ponder the questions above.

During the daytime discussion among the higher-ups, someone had proposed investigating and seriously dealing with the Uchiha clan's alleged involvement in the Nine-Tails' attack. The Third had immediately rejected this proposal.

In the Third's view, regardless of whether the Uchiha clan was truly involved in the Nine-Tails' attack, as long as they didn't officially rebel as a clan, he was prepared to temporarily shelve the matter.

Because, at this moment, the village's priority was to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.

The Uchiha clan was Konoha's most prominent clan, long in control of the village's Military Police Force. They were both the face of Konoha and a vital part of the village's strength. If the village leadership clashed with the Uchiha clan at this time, regardless of the outcome, it would further weaken Konoha's power.

Moreover, the outbreak of internal conflict could easily allow spies from other villages to learn about the village's weaknesses. After this series of blows, rival ninja villages like Kumogakure and Iwagakure would definitely not miss such a golden opportunity. This was a situation the Third absolutely did not want to see.

Therefore, regardless of the truth, the Third needed to suppress this matter as quickly as possible. However, the rift between the two sides had already formed. Pretending that nothing had happened was impossible. He needed to find a suitable intermediary to ease the tension.

But who should he choose?

"It seems it's time to select some fresh blood to replenish the ANBU," the Third thought, a certain person popping into his mind, and he murmured to himself.