"Uchiha Madara took Izuna away..."
Arisu slightly frowned and fell into thought for a moment.
He originally had some intention of protecting Izuna.
He had not expected Uchiha Madara to suddenly appear and interfere.
After thinking for several seconds, Arisu finally let out a light breath and gave up the idea of stepping in. His tone was calm, carrying slight relief.
"Forget it. Let Madara do as he wants."
"Let's see what these people can come up with."
In the end, Arisu did not interfere with Madara's choice any further.
Inside the meeting hall of Konoha's Hokage Building, the atmosphere was solemn and heavy.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in the main seat wearing the formal robes of the Fifth Hokage as he presided over the meeting.
Mito Uzumaki and Watanabe Hinata stood on both sides, assisting with full effort.
Mito Uzumaki did not interfere too much in Hokage decisions using her seniority, nor did she have any intention of seizing power. She simply controlled the overall direction of the meeting silently as a supervisor.
"Everyone, Konoha's top priority right now is to hold Kumogakure accountable and avenge my murdered teacher!"
Just after inheriting the position of Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen firmly threw out the core topic.
Although the ones who carried out the attack were Kinkaku and Ginkaku, in the eyes of everyone in Konoha, this was a deliberate plot by Kumogakure to assassinate Konoha's Hokage. This hatred could not be shared under the same sky.
As soon as his words fell, the heads of the major clans present all showed troubled expressions, and the atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Kumogakure had always been the hardest bone to chew in the ninja world. Not only did they possess two tailed beasts, they could deploy them onto the battlefield at any time.
On Konoha's side, the Nine Tails under Mito Uzumaki could only stay behind to guard the village.
They could not exactly send an old woman like Mito Uzumaki to fight on the front lines.
She was already so old. If she were captured, the consequences would be unimaginable.
On top of that, Kumogakure had trained and expanded its military for years, with military strength firmly ranked first in the ninja world. Their hard power already crushed others.
Dangerous roads, huge differences in military equipment, insufficient manpower. Problem after problem stood before them. No one knew whether Konoha actually had a chance of winning.
"The roads to the Land of Lightning are dangerous, and the mountain paths are hard to cross. If the army marches north, how will logistics and supplies continue operating?"
"A reckless northern expedition would consume massive amounts of the village's manpower and resources. Wouldn't it be better to follow Kirigakure's example and close the village to recover?"
"All four previous leaders have already died. In today's Konoha, who can bear the responsibility of commander of the northern expedition?"
Questions and concerns rose one after another.
The clan heads argued endlessly, unable to make a unified decision about sending troops to punish Kumogakure.
From his seat, Shimura Danzo felt anger surging inside him. Looking at the hesitant and fearful behavior of the clan heads, he only felt growing fury.
"Bastards..."
Danzo spoke in a low voice. His fists clenched tightly until his knuckles turned pale as suppressed rage churned in his chest.
Just as everyone continued arguing and the hall was full of noise, Danzo suddenly slammed his hand on the table.
"Who dares take command of the northern expedition?... What is there to fear!?"
His shout shocked the entire room into silence. Everyone turned toward him in astonishment.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Danzo suddenly stood up straight. His back was rigid, his eyes sharp like blades, every word loud and forceful, filled with determination.
"How can we inherit the will of the past Hokage while hiding and refusing to advance!?"
"The Hokage was assassinated by villains. Such a blood debt stands before us, so how can we not seek revenge!"
"I, Shimura Danzo, volunteer myself to take the position of commander of the northern expedition!"
Danzo's tone was firm without the slightest hesitation. His hot blood and fighting spirit were fully exposed.
Beside him, Mito Uzumaki and Watanabe Hinata exchanged looks. Surprise flashed through their eyes, followed by strong admiration.
Reason told them that Konoha should avoid large-scale war right now.
But both of them had once shared a close relationship with Izuna. At this moment, Danzo's passionate words ignited their emotions, and the battle spirit and bloodlust that had long slept in their hearts surged up again.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo with joy in his heart.
'Bro understands what I mean!'
Now that Danzo was supporting him, this was truly great.
"I share the same opinion. Kumogakure must pay a painful price for this!"
"If the Hokage is murdered and Konoha still chooses to swallow its anger, the entire village will lose heart and completely lose faith in us!"
Mito Uzumaki slowly stepped forward, her expression serious and steady as she fully supported Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I agree!"
Watanabe Hinata immediately followed after her and spoke in a deep voice. His sharp gaze was filled with anger toward Kumogakure's actions as he decisively took the pro-war position.
Hearing this, the current Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Jiri, solemnly nodded and said firmly, "The head of our Uchiha clan was harmed by Kumogakure."
"This blood debt must be repaid. The entire Uchiha clan supports the northern expedition against Kumogakure!"
With the clear support of Mito Uzumaki and Watanabe Hinata, the leaders of Konoha's two strongest forces...
The proposal for the northern expedition, which had originally faced disagreement, instantly passed unanimously among Konoha's higher-ups.
Very soon, Konoha officially issued the order for the northern expedition and launched a limited punitive war against Kumogakure.
Arisu silently approved of this war. As long as it did not break the overall balance of the ninja world, moderate punishment was acceptable.
This local war ended in less than a year.
Danzo personally led Konoha's elite forces and joined with Kumogakure's orthodox army to attack from both sides.
In one move, they completely wiped out the rebel forces of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, forcing the two brothers to flee the Land of Lightning in panic with nowhere left to stay.
Through his outstanding performance in this war, Danzo gained Sarutobi Hiruzen's deep trust.
Not only did Sarutobi Hiruzen allow him to continue serving as Hokage advisor, he also treated him as Konoha's second authority beneath himself, granting him immense power.
Mito Uzumaki and Watanabe Hinata saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen handled matters decisively and governed the village well, enough to carry Konoha's responsibilities.
The two silently chose to withdraw from the center of power and quietly retire.
After the war ended, Konoha returned to stability. Order within the village was peaceful, and all industries gradually flourished.
Looking at the thriving village, Sarutobi Hiruzen came up with an idea. He decided to follow Uchiha Izuna's example from the past and carefully train the next generation of Konoha's young talents.
He did not want to choose children from noble families. Instead, he turned his attention toward ordinary civilian children.
The exceptionally talented Jiraiya and Orochimaru entered his sight.
That same year, Arisu issued a secret order arranging for Kakuzu to move into underground operations.
He was given full control over the ninja world's black market and underground bounty exchange system, building a hidden underground network of power.
After arranging everything properly, Arisu chose to die naturally. The ramen shop he had managed his entire life was entrusted to a boy named Teuchi.
———
[Inside Konoha Cemetery]
The grass and trees were bleak, and the atmosphere was heavy with grief.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood quietly before Arisu's gravestone, unable to calm the sorrow in their hearts.
Looking at the cold gravestone, Orochimaru truly realized for the first time how fragile and unpredictable life was. A dead silence surrounded him.
Jiraiya's eyes had long turned red. Tears continuously ran down his cheeks as he choked silently, unable to make a sound.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood beside the two of them, gently patting their shoulders while softly comforting them.
"Shopkeeper Arisu was a Konoha philanthropist who stood the test of time!"
"Back then, the Second Hokage, Lord Hashirama, the Third Hokage, the Fourth Hokage, and even Danzo and I often visited his ramen shop."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze became gentler as his thoughts drifted back to distant memories of his youth.
He clearly remembered the day Shopkeeper Arisu's ramen shop first opened. Back then, he and Danzo were still little brats, and they were the shop's first customers.