Chapter 69:
It was a little past 11 PM at night.
Senju Hashirama stood atop a tall building, overlooking the brightly lit daimyō's residence that never slept.
Compared to thirty-four years ago, the daimyō's residence had expanded greatly. It was now bustling with carriages and people, many times more prosperous than before.
Thinking of the current Konoha Village, which had barely changed since the time of his death, a complex and indescribable emotion surged in Senju Hashirama's heart:
"Thirty-four years… The daimyō's residence has developed to this extent, yet Konoha has remained stagnant…"
Uchiha Sanpō said calmly: "The Sarutobi, Shimura, Koharu, and Mitokado clans have been sucking blood from Konoha all this time. The funds they embezzled are enough to rebuild Konoha Village three times over."
Senju Hashirama asked curtly: "What is your plan?"
Uchiha Sanpō took out a meticulously drawn map from his bosom and spread it on a rock.
"We will disguise ourselves as two samurai and use shadow clones to deal with the enemy. We start with the Mitokado clan in the northern district, then proceed clockwise."
His finger drew a circle on the map: "Next is the Shimura clan in the west, the Koharu clan in the south, and finally the Sarutobi clan in the east. That old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi must be saved for last."
Then, he took out two sets of samurai outfits prepared in advance from a storage scroll.
A short while later, they were dressed in black iron armor, with sharp long swords at their waists and dragon-shaped iron masks covering their faces, making it impossible to see their true appearances.
Uchiha Sanpō said softly: "Lord First, we are not here to kill. So you must control your strength. Just take all their money. Maybe I'll pay them another visit next time!"
Senju Hashirama touched the black samurai sword at his waist: "Don't worry. I'll leave them alive… After all, death would be too easy for them."
Under the cover of night, the two slipped into the Mitokado clan's mansion in the northern district like ghosts.
This mansion covered nearly several dozen acres and was surrounded by a layer of pale blue barrier.
Uchiha Sanpō squatted on a cherry blossom tree outside the wall, his Sharingan spinning slightly.
"Standard alert barrier, trigger-type alarm. Two patrol squads, five people each, switching every fifteen minutes."
Senju Hashirama closed his eyes and sensed for a moment: "No need to be so troublesome. I'll handle the barrier."
He brought his hands together and gently pressed them against the barrier.
The pale blue barrier rippled slightly, then returned to normal, but its nature had changed.
Senju Hashirama explained: "It won't trigger alarms anymore. I also added a temporary silencing effect. No matter how noisy we get inside, no one outside will hear anything."
Uchiha Sanpō nodded slightly and followed Senju Hashirama into the barrier.
Senju Hashirama clapped his hands together and created eight hundred shadow clones, densely filling the surrounding space.
Then, these shadow clones quickly charged in all directions.
Fighting alongside the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama — just thinking about it was exciting!
Uchiha Sanpō took a deep breath and formed seals, creating three hundred shadow clones to follow.
According to the previous investigation, although the Mitokado clan had 552 ninjas, they only had 2 elite jōnin, 9 jōnin, and 31 special jōnin. The rest were chūnin and genin.
Facing the shadow clone army of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Sanpō, the Mitokado clan ninjas didn't even have time to sound the alarm before they were knocked unconscious by a single hand chop from the shadow clones.
Two elite jōnin rushed out from the main house, but when they saw the courtyard full of shadow clones, they froze on the spot.
"Who exactly are you people… What are you doing here…?" The new Mitokado clan head muttered.
Dozens of shadow clones didn't waste a single word. They used Body Flicker and charged at the two men at high speed.
"Damn it, such fast speed… Be careful!" The new clan head, Mitokado Hirota, had barely finished shouting when the new vice clan head, Mitokado Hiroki, was knocked to the ground.
Soon, both men were dragged to the center of the courtyard.
Seeing his clansmen lying all over the ground, Mitokado Hirota's pupils suddenly contracted: "What do you want?"
Senju Hashirama stomped on his shinbone, cracking it. His voice was ice-cold: "I heard you brought a lot of money from Konoha Village. We're here to collect protection fees."
Uchiha Sanpō took out a piece of paper and said: "The large amount of wealth Homura Mitokado brought with him should have been split between you two, right? Hand it all over obediently. Otherwise, your Mitokado clan will be wiped out tonight!"
The new Mitokado clan head and vice clan head, Mitokado Hirota and Mitokado Hiroki, knelt on the ground. The cold samurai swords pressed against their necks put immense pressure on them.
"Don't kill us! We'll hand over the money!"
Miserable screams rang out continuously. The shadow clones of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Sanpō quickly searched the entire mansion.
…
The Shimura clan's defenses in the western district were even stricter than the Mitokado clan's. There were more patrolling ninjas, and even sensory-type ninjas were stationed.
However, in the face of absolute strength, all defenses were meaningless.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
In the pitch-black night, the shadow clone samurai army descended once again.
The Shimura clan ninjas didn't even see who the enemy was before they were smashed down by a rain of sword hilts.
An elite jōnin from the Shimura clan roared: "Damn it! These samurai… how can they use Shadow Clone Technique?"
He had just tried to form seals when three shadow clone samurai struck him simultaneously, knocking him unconscious instantly.
All 586 ninjas of the Shimura clan were wiped out in just ten minutes.
…
The Koharu clan in the southern district, with 830 ninjas… was also quickly overrun by over a thousand shadow clones.
…
Soon it was the Sarutobi clan's turn.
Watching large numbers of Sarutobi ninjas being knocked down or sent flying, Hiruzen Sarutobi retreated in terror.
"Absurd! Samurai… with this much chakra… even more terrifying than a tailed beast… Who exactly are you?!"
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