While Keizumi was still rushing between various cities in the Land of Water, the news from the capital of the Land of Water inevitably began to spread throughout the entire ninja world.
"This time, what Keizumi used was actually Wood Release…"
Inside the Hokage building of Konohagakure, Hiruzen looked at the intelligence report delivered by an ANBU ninja, the fatigue in his eyes impossible to conceal.
"Orochimaru has already been confirmed dead at the hands of Uchiha Keizumi."
"Hiruzen, that Uchiha Keizumi might have obtained the power of Wood Release from Orochimaru!"
Koharu looked at Hiruzen, who was continuously smoking in the Hokage's seat, and could not help but remind him.
Ever since Keizumi obtained the power of Wood Release, he had not made much effort to conceal it. From the very beginning, Hiruzen and Koharu had suspected that Keizumi's Wood Release had come from Orochimaru.
"No, Keizumi already had Wood Release before he came into contact with Orochimaru."
"For Keizumi, it is possible for him to synthesize Wood Release through the combination of Water and Earth nature transformations."
"It's just that I didn't expect Keizumi's Wood Release to grow this fast!"
"To use Wood Release to kill all the nobles of the Land of Water's capital, and even the Daimyō…"
Hiruzen had long grown accustomed to the abnormalities surrounding Keizumi. What he was truly considering now was the same as Genji—the Fourth Great Ninja War might really be about to break out!
If the Fourth Great Ninja War were to be fought to kill Keizumi, could Konohagakure really stay out of it?
"Keizumi acted a bit too hastily…"
"If he could have slowed down a little, perhaps things wouldn't have become this tense!"
Hiruzen let out a light sigh. Absolute Justice—Absolute Justice was certainly a good thing. Hiruzen could also see the changes in Konohagakure. Whether merchants or ninja clans, under Absolute Justice, everyone had to restrain themselves.
But there were simply too many who could not tolerate Absolute Justice. The nobles of the Five Great Nations, the Daimyō, and even the Daimyō and nobles of the smaller countries would not tolerate a single person harming them under the banner of Absolute Justice.
"Should I send out all the Root ninjas?"
Koharu's purpose in coming to see Hiruzen was naturally not just to discuss Keizumi's Wood Release. Wood Release was important—within Konohagakure, it could even be regarded as orthodox.
But in the face of a ninja war, Wood Release did not seem as important.
As for sending out the Root ninjas, Koharu also had her own ulterior motives. She should have been in prison, and the Root ninjas under her control should also have been in prison. It was only because Keizumi had left, and Tsunade's attention was focused on the Hokage election, that she had the opportunity to leave prison.
"Send out the Root ninjas."
"Pay special attention to the borders of the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Wind."
Hiruzen nodded. His ANBU were no longer fully under his control. The Root under Koharu had been planted with curse marks, and at this moment, they had instead become a force that Hiruzen could control.
"A ninja war…"
Hiruzen sighed softly. He suddenly felt that if a ninja war broke out, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. At the very least, it could make Keizumi and Tsunade realize the flaws of Absolute Justice.
If Keizumi's Absolute Justice were not so extreme, then handing Konohagakure over to Tsunade did not seem like a bad choice.
"Perhaps this ninja war will be the curtain call of my life…"
Hiruzen's gaze grew somewhat profound. As long as Keizumi could become less extreme, and as long as Tsunade could realize that Absolute Justice needed limitations, Hiruzen was willing to face death.
He was truly tired. His two sons had died one after another, his disciple Orochimaru had died, and even his daughter-in-law had connections with Kumogakure. These changes had already caused Hiruzen's energy to decline day by day.
But Hiruzen truly did not dare to let go. Even if he were to be labeled as someone greedy for power, he still did not dare to let go.
He was genuinely afraid that extreme Absolute Justice would drag the entirety of Konohagakure into an abyss of no return. He believed that with him still present, he could at least restrain Keizumi's Absolute Justice to some extent.
…
Land of Rain.
"A ninja war is about to break out!"
"Uchiha Keizumi is a complete madman—he doesn't consider any consequences at all."
Konan looked at the intelligence in her hand and could not help but frown.
Konan truly hated war. It was precisely because of the Second Great Ninja War that she, Nagato, and Yahiko had become orphans. If not for Jiraiya, they might have already died somewhere long ago.
"But for us, a ninja war is a good opportunity."
"Those jinchūriki who were originally well-protected will gradually appear on the battlefield."
Nagato remained silent for a moment, then looked at Konan and spoke softly to comfort her.
Also in the Land of Rain, at this moment, Obito was staring wide-eyed at White Zetsu, while Black Zetsu continued wailing. Although Obito realized that a ninja war might be beneficial to his plan, he did not know how to proceed.
Normally, these matters were arranged by Black Zetsu. Now that Black Zetsu was practically useless, Obito instead did not know what to do.
"How about we follow the Akatsuki's actions?"
"And the ninja war hasn't even broken out yet, right?"
"If it really comes to it, we can just play it by ear when the time comes?"
After staring at each other for a while, White Zetsu finally blurted out his idea. Although Obito felt this was somewhat rash, it seemed he did not have a better choice.
…
Meanwhile, in Kumogakure.
"The Daimyō's residence has already sent six or seven orders in succession, demanding that we, Kumogakure, eliminate Uchiha Keizumi at all costs."
The Fourth Raikage stood in the office. Killer B, Samui, and other elite jōnin of Kumogakure had all gathered here. As the events in the Land of Water continued to ferment, this was already the fourth time the Fourth Raikage had convened them.
"What about the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind?"
"Are there any signs that their ninjas are mobilizing?"
Samui looked at the Fourth Raikage, not in favor of Kumogakure being the first to ignite the ninja war.
"The pressure on the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind will not be any less than ours. No—the pressure on the Land of Wind might actually be somewhat lighter. After all, the Daimyō of the Land of Wind allocates pitifully little funding to Sunagakure, and Sunagakure only nominally follows the Daimyō's orders."
"But the pressure on the Land of Earth will only be greater than that on our Land of Lightning!"
The Fourth Raikage shared the same view as Samui. If a ninja war was destined to break out, Kumogakure could take the role of the main force, but it was best not to be the one to start it.
"The Uchiha clan's ninja from Konohagakure… why do they feel more and more insane…"
Killer B could not help but mutter about Keizumi. He had encountered Uchiha clan ninjas on the battlefield before. Although he had always felt they were somewhat abnormal, the one called Uchiha Keizumi seemed especially abnormal.