The noisy uproar shattered Kusanosuke's long-held worldview and turned all his once-prized little clever tricks into a complete joke.
But at this moment, he didn't even have the courage to go outside, he shrank into the leader's chair, trembling.
"You're just going to sit here and watch?" A senior official beside him was equally terrified, but even more furious at Kusanosuke.
At a time like this, if you don't step out and take charge, what's the point of having you as leader?
These words snapped Kusanosuke out of it. Forcing down his fear, he led the ANBU members outside, where they directly confronted Tsunade's group of six from a distance.
"What is the meaning of this? Why are you attacking our Kusa?" At this point, he could only bite the bullet and ask.
Otherwise, even if Tsunade's group didn't do anything to him, he wouldn't be able to remain leader for long.
"What do I mean? Kusa is truly bold, harboring criminals from Konoha."
At those words, Kusanosuke's heart sank. This was bad.
Could it be that our secret harboring of Konoha missing-nin to extract intelligence has been exposed?
But even so, they wouldn't just launch an outright attack on Kusa without a word... would they?
And those people were hidden extremely well, exposure should be nearly impossible. So... was Tsunade bluffing?
After a moment's thought, he decided to flatly deny it.
As long as they had no proof, then this whole thing would be Konoha's fault, and public opinion would swing to Kusa's side.
They probably still didn't know that other ninja villages often held secret meetings to deal with Konoha.
Shin needed only a glance to see through Kusanosuke's thoughts and let out a cold snort inwardly.
A small ninja village is still a small ninja village, never seen the real world, yet full of self-importance. The very definition of arrogant ignorance.
But I've been busy lately, and I don't have time to waste going back and forth with you.
He immediately called out, "Minato!"
"Understood!"
The two brothers didn't need more words; they understood each other instantly. In a flash, Minato vanished from sight.
The Kusa higher-ups and those in the know all felt a chill in their hearts at the sight.
In just one minute, Minato reappeared, holding two Konoha missing-nin by the neck for all to see, making many hearts skip wildly.
They really had been found, and so quickly?
Seeing that things were exposed, Kusanosuke hurried a step forward, gritting his teeth: "You've gone too far! Resorting to framing us, do you really think Kusa won't do anything?"
The Kusa higher-ups caught on immediately, one of them adding, "Exactly! These two aren't from our village at all, we don't even know them! They must have been planted by you!"
"First you frame us, then you attack Kusa, do you really think we're pushovers?"
"You think just because Konoha is strong you can what you want? Aren't you afraid of starting the Third Great Ninja War?"
The Kusa ninjas all chimed in, one after another, as if they'd suffered a great injustice and Konoha was the villain.
"Kusanosuke." Shin looked at their performance with satisfaction, stepped forward with a smile, and said, "We caught them red-handed, yet you still deny it and try to turn the tables? Are you sure you want to tear our relationship apart completely?"
Damn... I wasted all that time putting on a show, and it turns out there really were missing-nin here. Hanma, I'll let you live for another hour.
Kusanosuke's whole body trembled. He was about to summon his courage to meet Shin's gaze, but instantly looked away. Even though Shin was smiling, in that brief moment Kusanosuke felt like he was staring into the abyss.
This man... he wasn't human. He was a monster.
While Kusanosuke's thoughts were racing, trying to figure out a clever reply, someone beside him suddenly shouted in fury: "So what if we tear things apart?!"
Kusanosuke looked up in disbelief at the man who had spoken, his face immediately turning deathly pale.
You've got to be...
"Hahaha!" Before Kusanosuke could even react, Shin laughed, a bright, cheerful laugh, and in a tone as casual as small talk, slowly uttered a single word: "Kill!"
The moment the word left his mouth, five figures moved in five different directions. Any ninja they saw in uniform, they killed. Any resistance, they killed. Without the slightest hesitation or mercy.
Against five Kage-level powerhouses, the Kusa ninjas, who only knew how to bully their own people, had no chance to resist. They died the instant they were confronted.
In the blink of an eye, Kusa became a living hell. Every moment, more ninjas were slaughtered.
Aside from Kushina, everyone here had come straight from the battlefield. They didn't even know the meaning of mercy; all they knew was kill or be killed.
As for Kushina, if before she might have felt pity when framing Kusa to force their compliance, now that two Konoha missing-nin had been truly found, the nature of things had completely changed.
And yet, the idiots of Kusa had the audacity to lie to their faces in the presence of hard evidence, even trying to stir conflict between Konoha and the other great villages right in front of them. Did they really think Konoha ninjas were made of clay?
"Shin... wh-what exactly are you trying to do?" Kusanosuke's teeth chattered as he spoke in terror.
"Just wiping out a village, that's all." Shin's tone was still calm, as if speaking of something utterly trivial, something that stirred less emotion in him than the question of what to eat for dinner.
Just wiping out a village...
Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
They simply could not understand how such cruel words could come from someone who appeared so mild, and in such a flat, indifferent tone.
Shin smiled as he explained, "Didn't you want to break things off? Now that we have, why aren't you happy? Did you really think that by denying it, just flapping your lips, you could talk your way out of this?"
Devil!
The word thundered in everyone's hearts. Their bodies shook. No one had the courage to even glance at Shin again.
By now, they truly realized they had made a mistake. But they didn't even have the courage to beg for mercy, only the hope that, after a round of killing, Shin's anger might subside and he might spare them.
As for the rest of the villagers, they couldn't care less, and didn't have the courage to.
Everyone now felt like a clown. They had tried to twist black and white in front of this man, thinking they could bluff their way through, even pushing the blame onto him.
A cat playing with a mouse, for the cat, it's a game; for the mouse, it's disaster. They weren't even in the same league, there was no comparison at all, not even the chance to "fake it."
The one who had earlier said, "So what if we tear things apart?!" now had a face even paler than Kusanosuke's. Because he had just seen his own son's throat slit by Fugaku, dead beyond any doubt.
And yet, he couldn't make a sound. He only kept his head down, not even allowing his tears to fall.
Shin cast them a glance, then found a spot to sit and took out a scroll to read.
Do people admit they're wrong?
Yes, but rarely.
The Kusa ninjas hadn't truly realized their mistake.
They were just afraid.
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Completed at Chapter 278!
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