Less than a year after Uchiha Izuna took office, the situation in the ninja world had already become unpredictable.
Sunagakure was vigorously developing puppet techniques.
Kirigakure chose to close itself off from the outside world.
Iwagakure remained in a wait-and-see state.
At the same time, the news of Senju Hashirama's death completely spread throughout the ninja world.
For a while, Kumogakure became restless, coveting Konoha's bloodline limits and constantly sending ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Fire.
Ever since completely mastering the power of the tailed beasts, Kumogakure had become even more arrogant.
Iwagakure and Kirigakure were rather obedient. They listened to Fukasaku and Black Zetsu's advice and did not try to go any further.
———
[Hokage Office]
Uchiha Izuna wore reading glasses while looking through the delivered documents.
"Sigh... Kumogakure infiltrated the Land of Fire. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan was almost dug out several times..."
Uchiha Izuna tightly frowned, feeling troubled.
Konoha could not afford war right now. The First Shinobi War had only ended not long ago, and everyone was tired of war.
But if the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was taken, problems would also appear inside Konoha.
"Teacher! Send Hiruzen and me to teach Kumogakure a hard lesson. We can start a localized war!", Danzo impatiently spoke from the side.
"Yeah, Teacher. There's a limit to what we can tolerate!", Sarutobi Hiruzen also nodded firmly, already beginning to show the bearing of a future shinobi hero.
Uchiha Izuna hesitated slightly, then slowly shook his head. "No. If we do that, who knows what Iwagakure and Kirigakure will do? If they interfere..."
Hearing this, Danzo clenched his fists, unwillingness flashing through his eyes.
"More importantly, we also have problems internally..."
Uchiha Izuna looked worriedly at the report in his hand regarding the Uchiha clan's internal conflict.
Recently, a technique called Izanagi had spread within the Uchiha clan. Many clan members who mastered Izanagi used it during missions and battles, causing their Sharingan to go blind.
Part of the Uchiha suggested destroying this technique, while the other side believed it was a good thing, the strongest forbidden technique left behind by Ancestor Katsu.
Because of this, internal conflict even broke out within the clan.
Combined with the effects of the First Shinobi War, a new Mangekyo Sharingan user had appeared within the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha Izuna was deeply worried about this. He could not handle everything at once, and his strength had also declined severely. He simply could not suppress those Uchihas who respected strength above all else.
"I hope she can stabilize the Uchiha clan..."
"Uchiha Kaede, I think highly of you..."
———
A long-haired woman wearing a Konoha forehead protector walked through the Konoha forest with a troubled expression.
"What should I do...", Uchiha Kaede frowned slightly and unknowingly arrived beside a lake.
At that moment, Uchiha Kaede raised her eyes and looked ahead.
She saw an old man with white hair and beard, his long hair hanging down, quietly fishing by the riverbank.
His posture was calm, blending into the surrounding mountains, water, grass, and trees. Not the slightest aura leaked from him.
Seeing this, Uchiha Kaede did not want to disturb the old man, so she immediately lightened her steps and turned to quietly leave.
"Have the troubles of the Uchiha clan been weighing on your heart lately?"
A calm and clear voice slowly sounded from the fishing old man and directly entered Uchiha Kaede's ears.
Uchiha Kaede was first startled, then stopped and nodded, "Yes. May I ask what guidance you have?"
"It's because of Izanagi, right?", The fishing old man spoke again, directly pointing out the core issue.
Hearing this, huge waves instantly rose in Uchiha Kaede's eyes. Her Mangekyo Sharingan automatically appeared, and her pupils suddenly shrank.
This matter had already been heavily suppressed by Clan Leader Izuna using the entire clan's power. It should have been extremely secret, yet this unfamiliar old man easily exposed it.
"How exactly do you know about this?", Uchiha Kaede instantly calmed herself, her tone full of caution as chakra around her body quietly tensed.
"How I know is not important. I came here this time to help you resolve this disaster. As for Izanagi, I just happen to have a method to counter it.", The fishing old man spoke calmly.
Uchiha Kaede's heart shook violently. She could no longer maintain her composure and quickly asked, "That is a forbidden technique personally created by Uchiha Katsu. Do you truly have a method to counter it?"
Hearing this, the old man laughed inwardly, 'In all of Mount Myoboku, who didn't know I was Uchiha Katsu's strictest father?'
The next moment, an ancient-looking scroll suddenly appeared out of thin air and lightly fell into Uchiha Kaede's palm.
Uchiha Kaede lowered her head and looked carefully, blurting out the words written on the scroll, "Izanami?"
"Take it. This technique happens to perfectly counter Izanagi.", The fishing old man said.
"But why would you... why help the Uchiha clan?"
Uchiha Kaede tightly gripped the scroll, filled with confusion and doubt.
Hearing this, the fishing old man softly sighed, his tone carrying memories.
"When Uchiha Katsu created Izanagi back then, this old man failed to stop him in time, allowing this clan-destroying forbidden technique to spread."
"Now that I see the Uchiha clan trapped in internal conflict and endless disputes because of Izanagi, this old man naturally bears responsibility. I should step in and clean up this poison planted by Uchiha Katsu..."
As his words fell, the old man's figure gradually became faint.
He slowly disappeared by the riverbank, until no trace of him remained.
Uchiha Kaede stared at the now empty riverbank, standing there blankly for a long time without recovering.
A moment later, she suddenly activated the chakra in her body and instantly opened her Mangekyo Sharingan, locking onto the exact spot where the old man had just been fishing. Huge waves surged in her heart!
"That person... who exactly was he!", Uchiha Kaede muttered to herself.
The amount of information in the old man's words was too shocking, completely throwing her mind into chaos.
The old man actually knew about the origins of Izanagi's creation. If that was the case, then he was someone from the same era as Uchiha Katsu, the creator of the forbidden technique?
Moreover, it was not hard to tell from his words that not only did the old man know Uchiha Katsu, the two also had an extremely deep connection.
'If so, just how many years had this person lived?'
She lowered her head to look at the real Izanami scroll in her hand, then looked toward the empty riverbank again.
Her heart was filled with disbelief as she muttered, "Was all of this an illusion, or did it really happen? Could there truly be immortal people in this world?"
———
[Ichiraku Ramen]
Arisu walked out of the restroom holding a fishing hook and a fish basket.
"Huh, old man, where did you just go?", Kakuzu looked at him with surprise.
Arisu waved his hand, "Went fishing. Caught some fish for you. Use them to make ramen."
Kakuzu looked shocked. He looked at the restroom behind Arisu, then at Arisu himself.
"Old man, don't tell me you caught those fish in the restroom?"
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