In an office in the Hokage Building, an old man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.
The old man's face was already covered in age spots, and his stature was not tall.
No powerful aura emanated from him; he looked like an ordinary old man.
But his eyes, full of deterrence and making people afraid to meet his gaze, indicated that the old man was not simple.
He was none other than Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
An Anbu Ninja wearing a dog mask knocked on the door, and after receiving permission, entered the office.
"What is it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.
"Last night, Sarutobi Keisuke, Sarutobi Yoshifumi, Sarutobi Kazunari, and Sarutobi Shinichi provoked Hatake Yuki, Hatake Koko, and Hatake Shinichi, resulting in a fight."
"The Garrison Force issued a ruling to detain Sarutobi Keisuke, Sarutobi Yoshifumi, Sarutobi Kazunari, and Sarutobi Shinichi for ten days."
The dog-masked Anbu Ninja reported respectfully.
Upon hearing the report, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had his back to the dog-masked Anbu Ninja.
Even if Sarutobi Keisuke and the other three were at fault, they were still members of his Sarutobi Family.
The Garrison Force punishing Sarutobi Keisuke and the other three without any mercy clearly intended to undermine him, the Hokage.
The coldness on his face flashed and disappeared. When he turned around, the coldness was gone, replaced only by his usual "amiability."
He spoke.
"Since they made a mistake, it's only right that they be punished. The Garrison Force handled this matter very well this time. The Village needs such a Garrison Force."
"Tell Sarutobi Keisuke and the other three to reflect on their mistakes and not to act recklessly just because they are Sarutobi Clan members, bringing shame to the Sarutobi Family."
"Yes."
The dog-masked Anbu Ninja's gaze towards Hiruzen Sarutobi became even more respectful.
Hokage-sama was as fair and righteous as ever; even when his own clan members made mistakes, he treated them equally and did not use his status to help them escape punishment.
If other high-ranking officials in the Village could be as fair as Hokage-sama, there wouldn't be so many disputes in the Village.
He responded respectfully and then exited the office, carefully closing the door.
After he left, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down at his desk, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Is this truly impartial enforcement, or is it targeting the Sarutobi Family?"
...
Shimura Ryoma, accompanied by two clan members, hurriedly left Konoha Village.
His purpose for leaving the Village this time was to go to the base of the largest merchant caravan in the Land of Fire.
According to the information received, in a few days, the largest merchant caravan within the Land of Fire would come to Konoha Village.
Currently, the Village Council had not yet convened, and the Uchiha Clan's duty of supervising the Village's entry and exit had not yet been stripped away.
If this merchant caravan came to Konoha, the Uchiha Clan would inevitably receive a share of the caravan's profits, and it would be a significant amount.
This was something he did not want to see, and something he coveted.
Therefore, upon learning the news, he immediately left Konoha Village with his people, hoping to postpone the merchant caravan's arrival at Konoha Village.
"Lord Ryoma, I heard that the owner of this merchant caravan has a good relationship with the Uchiha Clan. Will they disregard our advice and still insist on coming to Konoha Village?"
Among the two accompanying clan members, a young man asked.
The young man was seventeen or eighteen years old, with short hair, brown pupils, and a hint of arrogance on his face.
His name was Shimura Ichiro, a well-known genius among the younger generation of the Shimura Clan.
It was only because Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were so famous that his genius reputation had not spread throughout the Village.
He was quite indignant about this and had always wanted to find an opportunity to fight Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, but unfortunately, he had never achieved his wish.
"They will assess the situation."
Shimura Ryoma said with a light smile.
To be able to operate a merchant caravan into the largest one within the Land of Fire, the caravan's owner must be a smart person.
Now, the Uchiha Clan's power was waning, and their duty of supervising the Village's entry and exit was about to be stripped away.
He believed the other party would make the correct choice.
As for the other party's relationship with the Uchiha Clan, in his opinion, it was merely because the Uchiha Clan controlled the Village's entry and exit, and they deliberately befriended and flattered the Uchiha Clan.
Now that the Uchiha Clan was losing power, the other party would certainly abandon the Uchiha Clan without hesitation.
"Will they really listen? What if they firmly refuse to listen?"
Shimura Ichiro frowned.
"Then we can only play the role of bandits."
A cold light flickered in Shimura Ryoma's eyes.
He believed the owner of this merchant caravan would listen to his persuasion and postpone their arrival at Konoha Village.
But if the other party did not heed the persuasion, then they would only be able to play the role of bandits, plunder this merchant caravan, and force them to comply.
"Play bandits?"
Shimura Ichiro was startled and looked at Shimura Ryoma with some surprise and concern.
"If we are discovered playing bandits, we will certainly be severely punished by the Village, and even Danzo would not be able to protect us."
"As long as we're not discovered."
The other accompanying Shimura Clan member was a man in his thirties named Shimura Sosuke.
Compared to Shimura Ichiro's surprise at hearing about playing bandits, his expression was calm, clearly not unfamiliar with such matters.
"That's right, as long as we're not discovered."
Shimura Ryoma's eyes held a profound look.
As long as it was done secretly enough, even if the Uchiha Clan, who were on good terms with this merchant caravan, had suspicions, they would have no way to deal with the Shimura Clan.
Moreover, within the Land of Fire, there were many Wandering Ninja. A merchant caravan being robbed by bandits was a perfectly normal occurrence.
A few hours later, the three appeared far from Konoha Village, quickly moving through the trees.
Suddenly.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A large number of kunai and shuriken flew towards them, attacking them as densely as falling raindrops.
"Not good!"
Seeing the dense volley of hidden weapons, all three's expressions changed.
However, all three were strong, and they reacted correctly immediately.
While quickly dodging, they drew their kunai, deflecting the hidden weapons they couldn't evade.
Swish—
As soon as the hidden weapon attack stopped, a masked black-clad person silently appeared behind Shimura Ichiro.
Holding a kunai, he quickly stabbed towards Shimura Ichiro's lower back.
In an instant, Shimura Ichiro's hairs stood on end, and he almost instinctively dodged to the side.
He narrowly dodged the kunai aimed at his lower back.
But as soon as he dodged the attack, a masked black-clad person leaped down from a tree at the spot where he had dodged, and, holding a kunai, slashed at him.
Pfft—
Unable to dodge in time, he was slashed by the kunai, and a deep wound appeared on his body.
While Shimura Ichiro was being attacked, Shimura Ryoma and Shimura Sosuke were also being ambushed, each attacked by two masked black-clad people.
Like Shimura Ichiro, Shimura Sosuke was also wounded under the assault.
Only Shimura Ryoma, who possessed the strength of an Elite Jonin, although attacked, managed to block the assault and was not injured.
"Who are you people?"
Shimura Ryoma glared at the two who were attacking him and demanded.