Evil Uchiha Itsuki

Itachi took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "If Konoha finds out that this scroll has fallen into our hands, they'll go mad."

Itsuki shrugged, unconcerned. "Aren't they already mad? I feel like Konoha hasn't been sane in a long time."

"Or should I say, how many ninja in this world are actually sane?" As he spoke, he unrolled the scroll and began to examine it closely.

Itachi frowned. "Are you planning to learn a forbidden technique? There's a reason they're called forbidden..."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu is also a forbidden technique, and it's on the forbidden scroll. You haven't learned it?"

Itsuki glanced at Itachi.

Itachi fell silent, momentarily speechless.

Which idiot thought it was a good idea to put Shadow Clone Jutsu in a forbidden scroll?

Itsuki motioned to Pakura. "See if there's anything you want to learn. We're heading to Sunagakure soon, and it's important to protect yourself."

"Sunagakure?" Pakura was startled.

"Yeah." Itsuki smiled. "I hinted to Chiyo that you're the best candidate for Kazekage. What do you think she'll do?"

"Me? The Kazekage?" Pakura almost laughed.

Haven't I been killing enough of their people recently? 

But suddenly, she stopped laughing.

No matter how she looked at it, she was indeed the best candidate.

Right now, there's no one left in Sunagakure who can take control of the situation.

In the past, there were plenty of people qualified to be Kazekage: Chiyo, Ebizo, Sasori, Rasa, and Pakura herself...

But!

Some have betrayed, some have grown old, and others are dead.

In the end, it was clear that Pakura was the most suitable.

Especially given her relationship with the Fire Village, which would naturally give Sunagakure a powerful ally.

Pakura sighed softly. "I'm not really interested."

Itsuki was indifferent. "Whether you're interested or not is one thing, but whether you do it or not is another. I won't force you—it's up to you."

"Do you want me to go?"

"No, I don't want you to leave me, but deep down, you want to go."

Itsuki's words hit the mark.

"Just as the Uchiha are obsessed with the Hokage, the people of Sunagakure are equally obsessed with the Kazekage. Even though you're angry at Sunagakure, you still want to be the Kazekage."

Pakura sighed again.

Sometimes, when she looked into Itsuki's Sharingan, it felt like he could see right through her.

"Take a look," Itsuki said, placing the forbidden scroll in front of Pakura.

As she flipped through it, she said, "What's the point? Forbidden techniques are called forbidden because they're dangerous and hard to learn."

The Flying Thunder God Jutsu is also on the forbidden scroll, but how many people have actually mastered it?

Plenty have died trying.

And most of them died in horrible ways.

In fact, even Edo Tensei is on the scroll, and Uchiha Itsuki couldn't master it either.

"Give it a try!"

Even Itsuki wasn't too confident.

Although with his special powers, he could force himself to learn it, the price would be steep. He didn't want to resort to that unless absolutely necessary.

"Itachi, are you going to try?"

"No." Itachi shook his head. "I feel like basic Fire Style and Genjutsu, combined with my Mangekyō Sharingan, are my strongest assets. I don't need to learn anything else."

"That's true," Itsuki nodded.

In fact, he hadn't learned many other jutsu either.

His strongest techniques were still Fire Style and Genjutsu.

Although he knew others, they weren't as effective as Fire Style.

Plus, he studied other jutsu more for understanding.

By understanding other techniques, he could better counter them.

After Itachi left, Itsuki turned to Pakura with a smile.

"You're not serious, are you?" Pakura couldn't help but tease. "Did Kurenai and the others not satisfy you last night?"

"It was fine, but it would've been better if you were there," Itsuki said, smiling slyly.

Pakura didn't indulge his mischief. Instead, she asked, "I'll think about the Kazekage thing, but what about Konoha?"

"The two Hokage..."

She frowned.

As shinobi who had grown up hearing stories about the First Hokage, even she couldn't help but feel a sense of fear towards the legendary "God of Shinobi."

Would he let the Fire Village go? No way!

"Don't worry. If they come to the Fire Village, that would be great."

Itsuki smiled.

If they entered the Fire Village, he'd have the home-field advantage.

And the only thing that concerned him was Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

But once they stepped into the Fire Village, his barrier would instantly limit their movements.

Even just a momentary restriction would be enough for him to complete the sealing.

He had already studied sealing techniques extensively to counter Edo Tensei.

Once they were sealed, there was no escape.

"But Konoha has its own problems right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think Orochimaru stayed in Konoha for so long?"

"For the Hokage position!"

"Wrong!"

Itsuki laughed. "I don't think Orochimaru is foolish enough to believe he still has a chance at becoming Hokage."

Human experimentation! No matter how you try to clean up that image, it's impossible.

Besides, Konoha has been pushing that narrative for years.

In the original story, for some reason, he did manage to redeem himself.

I don't know the exact process, but the outcome was clear.

"Then why...?"

"Maybe he just enjoys making Konoha uncomfortable!"

Itsuki grinned like a fox. "Konoha forced him out, and they've been hunting him ever since. How do you think that makes Orochimaru feel?"

"Yet now, Konoha needs him."

"Or more specifically, they need his Edo Tensei."

"So, they can't afford to offend him—they have to keep him close, and it probably drives them crazy."

Pakura rolled her eyes. "In that sense, you two are quite alike."

Itsuki laughed. "Come on, let's study the most forbidden of forbidden techniques."

...

When the three Hokage received Konoha's damage report, even those reanimated through Edo Tensei couldn't help but tremble.

One-third of the village had been destroyed!

More than ten thousand civilians were dead or injured!

Over two thousand shinobi were dead or injured!

And a huge amount of supplies was lost.

Including the forbidden scroll!

After reading the report, Hiruzen Sarutobi collapsed into his chair.

The two Senju brothers exchanged a wordless glance.

Since Konoha's founding, they had never suffered such a devastating blow.

The village was nearly in ruins.

The worst part was that Konoha had started the war!

Shameful!

"Reconstruction is going to be a major issue," Hashirama sighed.

Tobirama's voice was cold. "That's a minor issue. The real problem is the Nine-Tails!"

"Konoha can't be without the Nine-Tails. At the very least, the village needs a tailed beast."

As Tobirama finished speaking, an Anbu agent appeared, respectfully handing over a report.

"What's this?" Hashirama asked curiously.

"A report on the distribution of tailed beasts!"

"Tailed beast distribution? Tobirama, are you planning...?"

Senju Hashirama was taken aback.

Senju Tobirama, with a cold expression, said, "I don't have much hope in reclaiming the Nine-Tails. Uchiha Itsuki is not someone we can easily provoke. Our only option is to shift focus to the other tailed beasts."

"Tobirama, if you do this, it will provoke a war."

"Enough! Shut up, big brother! How long are you going to stay so naïve!?"

Tobirama glared at Hashirama, saying, "Without tailed beasts, tell me, how is Konoha going to defend itself against attacks from other villages? Rely on ordinary people?"

Hashirama wanted to say, *I'll go myself!*

But... his fate was no longer in his own hands.

"Edo Tensei, that forbidden jutsu..."

"I'm working on a solution!" Tobirama replied calmly. "Big brother, you don't need to worry."

His eyes drifted toward Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Only those two villages were left.

Kirigakure was isolated, and its internal situation was unknown; rushing in would be reckless.

Sunagakure only had the One-Tail Shukaku, and they were closely allied with Konoha. If anything happened to Sunagakure, Uchiha Itsuki would likely step in to assist them.

The Flying Thunder God Technique made distance irrelevant. Right now, Tobirama didn't want to face off against Uchiha Itsuki. He needed to buy more time.

"The Four-Tails, the Five-Tails..."

"The Eight-Tails!" Tobirama looked at the Five-Tails for a long moment.

The Five-Tails, Kokuō! The jinchūriki, Han! The reason Tobirama chose him was because the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, Roshi, didn't get along with the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. The Five-Tails' jinchūriki, Han, however, was loyal to Ōnoki.

*What kind of tailed beast is so obedient?*

Hiruzen Sarutobi, listening carefully to Tobirama, nervously asked, "Sensei, why not go after the Eight-Tails? Killer Bee is known as the perfect jinchūriki and poses a bigger threat to Konoha. He can fully control the Eight-Tails' power, and he's also the brother of the Fourth Raikage."

Tobirama shot him a glare and replied coldly, "Because Uchiha Itsuki almost captured the Eight-Tails. Got it?"

Hiruzen immediately responded, "Understood!"

*Almost captured*—that meant they were already on guard. How could I not understand something so simple?

Why did I even ask?

I hope Sensei doesn't hit me.

Danzo stood in silence, like a puppet, no longer in the mood to mock Hiruzen.

*What the hell happened to the Hokage seat?*

There was nothing left! And this time, it wasn't even Hiruzen's fault.

It wasn't his mistake. He had already been stripped of the Hokage title.

So whose fault was it?

*The ninja world?*

Danzo genuinely wondered if the entire ninja world had turned against him.

*I just want to be Hokage. Why is it so difficult?*

It used to be just Hiruzen blocking my way, but now it's even worse—Sensei has crawled out of his grave to stop me!

*What did I do to deserve this? Why are you all treating me like this?*

Danzo was on the verge of tears.

*Why are you so cruel to me?*

*Heavens!!!*

"How's Orochimaru doing?" Tobirama shifted his gaze toward Hiruzen, his eyes sharp. "Can you guarantee that he'll behave?"

*No! He's here to kill me!* Hiruzen wanted to say that, but he was too scared of being hit, so he stayed silent.

Silence was the best response.

"Useless!" Tobirama gritted his teeth in frustration.

*Is this really my student? How blind was I to choose him as my successor?*

If Orochimaru were willing to help, none of this would be a problem. Tobirama wouldn't care about the tailed beasts at all.

*With just the two of us, we could handle more tailed beasts than necessary. Especially big brother!*

Even though he wasn't at full power after being resurrected, Tobirama had plenty of ways to restore Hashirama's strength.

*Restoring Konoha's former glory would no longer be a dream!*

But...

*Too many deadweights!*

Tobirama could only look up to the heavens and cry out in frustration!

Hiruzen, carefully changing the topic, said, "Sensei, about the Fifth Hokage candidate…"

"Has she returned?" Tobirama asked.

Hiruzen replied awkwardly, "No, the ANBU haven't been able to contact her."

Tobirama felt another wave of frustration rising inside him. *Tsunade! She's not coming back!*

No, they couldn't even find her.

Yes, Tobirama had chosen Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage!

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were at odds with each other, but they both got along with Tsunade.

Also, Orochimaru was the teacher of Senju Nawaki, which could be useful.

If she became Hokage, maybe Jiraiya would settle down, too.

But!

If they couldn't even find her, all these plans meant nothing.

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Tobirama roared angrily at his four students.

Even Shikaku and Kakashi, who had been lurking in the corner, trying to stay invisible, quickly left the room.

Hashirama sighed, saying, "Tobirama, calm down. We can talk this through."

Tobirama's expression was cold. "If the situation wasn't so dire, I would have already taken matters into my own hands and cleaned house."

*They might have dissolved the Senju clan, but my four disciples didn't just dissolve the clan—they turned it into fertilizer!*

Senju Nawaki was dead!

*The entire Konoha is in chaos!*

Tobirama couldn't believe it.

*How long have I been dead? And things have already gone this wrong.*

His four disciples must have sewage in their heads.

"If she doesn't return, then we have no choice but to pick him!" Tobirama said darkly, his eyes shifting outside.

A large figure was devouring food.

Sensing Tobirama's gaze, the figure quickly swallowed and gave an ingratiating smile.

Akimichi Torifu!

*This is the talent pool of Konoha!*

*What the hell!*

Tobirama cursed silently.

"Hokage-sama!"

A hurried voice called out.

"What is it?" Both the First and Second Hokage spoke at the same time.

They glanced at each other before looking away, perfectly in sync.

"We've found the Three-Tails!" the ANBU operative reported, his voice excited.

"The Three-Tails? That turtle?" Tobirama was stunned for a moment, then immediately overjoyed. "What about Kirigakure? Any news from them?"

If Kirigakure was involved, pulling them into the chaos of the ninja world would greatly improve Konoha's situation.

During the last ninja war, all the villages got involved, thanks to some behind-the-scenes manipulation.

If you didn't want to participate, you had no choice.

The ANBU shook his head, replying, "Kirigakure is still isolated, and the discovery of the Three-Tails was an accident."

"Is that so?" Tobirama felt slightly disappointed but quickly gave his orders. "Summon Jiraiya immediately!"

"Yes!"

…

Meanwhile…

Uzuki Yugao entered the Hokage's office and saw two people wrestling.

"Stop that, you two! We've got a situation—there's been a sighting of the Three-Tails. Should we send someone strong to capture it?"

(End of chapter.)