After the Uchiha clan departed, the Hokage Plaza descended into absolute chaos.
Terrified and furious villagers rushed the high platform like madmen, their curses and wails mingling into a deafening cacophony.
On the platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage haori was stained with dirt and blood. His heavily wrinkled face no longer held even a trace of the majestic demeanor expected of the "Hero of the Shinobi."
His pupils were unfocused, and his lips moved unconsciously, repeatedly muttering the same phrase.
"It's over..."
"It's all over..."
Everything he had meticulously planned—using public opinion to suppress them, allying with foreign enemies to coerce them—had been reduced to a complete joke in the face of absolute power.
"Old man!"
Tsunade dashed forward in a single stride. Looking at the broken Hiruzen Sarutobi, an indescribable fury rushed straight to her head.
She grabbed Hiruzen by the collar, practically roaring as she spoke.
"What the hell did you do!?"
However, Hiruzen merely stared at her with hollow eyes, his mouth still repeating the same delirious mutterings.
"It's over... The Sarutobi clan is finished... Konoha is finished..."
Tsunade's heart sank bit by bit.
She looked around, seeing nothing but utter chaos.
'Is this village really going to be destroyed?'
A wave of powerlessness and sorrow welled up in her heart.
After all, this was the village her grandfather had built with his own two hands.
Tsunade slowly released her grip, allowing the Anbu to carry the walking corpse of a man down from the platform.
She took a deep breath and faced the chaotic crowd below.
Gathering chakra in her chest, she shouted with all her might.
"Everyone, quiet down!"
The villagers halted in their tracks, instinctively looking toward the source of the voice.
There, standing on the high platform, was the legendary Sannin and the granddaughter of the First Hokage, looking down at them with an icy gaze.
"From this moment on, I, Tsunade, will take over the position of the Fifth Hokage!"
There was no inauguration ceremony, nor was there an official appointment from the Daimyo.
In Konoha's most critical hour of need, she was forced to take over this crumbling, disastrous mess.
A mess where their military strength was severely depleted, morale was shattered, and war was imminent.
Tsunade's sharp gaze swept across the plaza.
"Effective immediately, Hiruzen Sarutobi is stripped of all titles and honors on charges of war crimes and corruption!"
"All ninja of the Sarutobi clan are hereby reassigned as combat personnel to fight in the upcoming war and atone for their crimes!"
As soon as these words were spoken, a dead silence fell over the crowd.
The villagers looked at Tsunade with excitement.
Meanwhile, the Sarutobi clan ninja hidden within the crowd wore grim expressions.
Konoha's "Sarutobi Era" had been forcibly brought to an end.
Ignoring the crowd's reactions, Tsunade turned to the Anbu beside her and issued her second order as Hokage.
"Lock down the area. Dispatch sensory ninja and members of the Hyuga clan to investigate the disappearance of the Uchiha compound."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Anbu ninja left to carry out the order, only to discover that the Hyuga ninja had also vanished alongside the Uchiha.
Tsunade hurriedly sent people to investigate, ultimately concluding that not only the Hyuga clan but even the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, had disappeared as well.
...
Meanwhile.
In the Land of Hot Water, located at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
Countless massive trees uprooted from the ground, their branches intertwining to form exquisite and sturdy treehouses.
Exotic flowers and plants, spurred into growth by Wood Release chakra, spread across the ground, emitting a soft glow that illuminated the entire compound.
The air was thick with rich natural energy and chakra; just breathing it in was enough to refresh the mind and body.
The scale and environment here were a hundred times better than their previous compound.
The new training grounds were bustling with intense activity.
All the Uchiha clan members were training fanatically, eagerly anticipating the upcoming ninja world war.
At this moment, the clan members were sitting together in pairs, using the Party Scrolls and Totems of Undying provided by Ian to repeatedly kill and revive each other, grinding to awaken their Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
High above the training grounds, Ian had gathered Yashiro Uchiha and several other core elders.
"My Lord, the clan members' strength is growing at an incredible pace," Yashiro Uchiha said, his face bearing an uncontainable, fanatical zeal.
"When the time comes, you won't even need to lift a finger. We can flatten the Five Great Ninja Villages ourselves!"
Ian nodded calmly, seemingly unsurprised by all of this.
His gaze pierced through the barriers of space, looking toward a certain direction in the ninja world.
"The growth of strength is only the first step," he stated.
"War requires bloodshed."
"For the first phase's objective, we'll warm up by decapitating a few pieces of trash."
"The Daimyos of the Five Great Nations—leave none alive."
"Let those pampered fools understand that the times have changed."
Hearing this, Elder Yashiro and the others had a sharp glint erupt in their eyes.
Hunting the Daimyos!
What a mad, yet utterly exhilarating plan!
"To help the clan members adapt to combat as quickly as possible, go and form several Assassination Squads," Ian ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
The elders responded in unison.
...
While the Uchiha were actively preparing for war, the entire ninja world had already exploded into an uproar.
The news of the Uchiha clan declaring war on the Five Great Nations swept across the shinobi world.
In Kumogakure, inside the Raikage's office.
The Fourth Raikage, A, smashed the desk in front of him to pieces with a single punch, lightning crackling across his body.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old bastard!"
"He used us as his weapons!"
Beside him, Killer Bee also wore a grave expression, uncharacteristically refraining from his usual freestyle rapping.
In Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office.
The elderly Onoki floated in mid-air, his hands trembling slightly with rage.
"Over a hundred pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan... That kind of power..."
He recalled the man who had once dominated the ninja world, Madara Uchiha.
No, this was even more terrifying than Madara Uchiha.
"We were tricked by Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
In Kirigakure and Sunagakure, the exact same scenes were playing out at almost the exact same time.
After experiencing their initial shock and fury, the four Kage all coincidentally came to the same decision.
Soon, a joint statement signed by the four great ninja villages spread across the ninja world at maximum speed.
In the statement, they exposed the conspiracy of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha higher-ups to the public, detailing exactly how they had been lured into participating in the suppression of the Uchiha clan.
They pushed all the blame onto Hiruzen Sarutobi, doing everything in their power to sever ties and divert the Uchiha clan's attention away from themselves.
In an instant, Konoha fell from its former glory as the "Head of the Five Great Ninja Villages" to becoming the universally despised "Sinner of the Ninja World."
Tsunade, having just taken over as Hokage, now had to face condemnation and isolation from the entire world.
But it didn't end there. Inside the village, after learning the truth, the villagers grew even more resentful toward the Sarutobi clan and the village leadership.
Plagued by both internal strife and external threats, the entirety of Konoha was left teetering on the brink of collapse.
...
The Land of Fire, the Capital.
Inside the Daimyo's estate, there was singing and dancing, a scene of peace and prosperity.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was currently embracing a beautiful concubine, enjoying the dancers' performance, completely oblivious to the storm brewing in the outside world.
"A bunch of brutes who only know how to fight and kill dare to challenge my authority?" he scoffed.
He took a sip of fine wine, his face full of disdain.
"A mere ninja clan dares to declare war on a Daimyo? Unforgivable. It is simply unforgivable!"
He issued an order to the trusted minister beside him.
"Pass down my command. Have Konoha immediately deploy their troops to exterminate the Uchiha clan!"
"A wise decision, My Lord!"
The minister echoed with a sycophantic smile.
Right at that moment, an elite ninja responsible for guarding the Daimyo stumbled and crawled into the grand hall.
His face was written with absolute terror.
"Lord Daimyo! Th-This is bad!"
"Th-They're here!"
Before his voice could even fade.
Outside the grand hall, several figures slowly stepped forward.
They were young, dressed in uniform black combat attire, with the fan crest printed on their backs.
The young man leading them even offered a polite smile to the terrified Daimyo.
Under the dim lighting, several pairs of crimson eyes slowly lit up.
"You're the Daimyo, right? Our clan leader asked me to bring you a message," the young man said.
"The Uchiha clan cordially invites the Daimyo to die."