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Uchiha Aki arrived at the spot the village elder had told him about, and honestly, the place was stunning. A massive lake lay surrounded by lush green forest, and since it was almost sunset, the sky was tinged with golden light, casting a peaceful, serene glow over the water.
Aki leapt onto a tall tree and scanned the area. No caves in sight, but there was a waterfall, so he headed toward it. Standing beside the waterfall, he activated his Sharingan and looked around, but he didn't sense any chakra flow. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the waterfall—no sound after it went through. He thought to himself, "It's hollow in there. Judging by the terrain, that old guy probably hasn't been here in ages."
He created a shadow clone and sent it through the waterfall to scout ahead.
Meanwhile, the Second Hokage looked around at the gathering of clan leaders, who had pretty much all shown up. He turned to glance at Sakumo Hatake, knowing full well that a messenger wouldn't dare go against his orders. The only one who could've leaked his arrival to the clans was that little fox himself. He thought darkly, "Sly brat… Looks like I won't be able to clean this all up in one go today. Once the Hatake family officially joins Konoha, I'm going to work that little genius of theirs to the bone."
He knew he couldn't wipe out every clan in the room, but without bloodshed today, none of them would stay in line. So he spoke up, turning to the young Daimyo:
"Some haven't shown up. What should be done with them, my lord?"
The tone wasn't even a question—it was an assertion. The young Daimyo immediately understood what he meant and confidently replied, "Do as you see fit, my lord. I trust your judgment."
The Second Hokage turned to the assembled clan leaders and said coldly, "Let's stop playing games. Don't try to act clever in front of me. I've gathered you all here to discuss something important. A nation can't be without a ruler. Today is the day a new Daimyo takes the throne. Anyone got a problem with that?"
No one dared say a word. The killing intent radiating off the Second Hokage was so intense it was hard to breathe, let alone oppose him. Just being able to stay conscious was already impressive.
Seeing their silence, he said, even colder this time, "Since no one objects, then pay your respects to the new Daimyo today. The official coronation will take place in a few days."
More silence.
Then, Sakumo Hatake stood up first, stepped to the center of the hall, and bowed deeply. "Greetings, my lord."
Seeing that, the others glanced nervously at the Second Hokage, knowing full well there was no turning back now. One by one, they stood up and knelt to the new Daimyo.
Only then did the Second Hokage finally look satisfied. "Since you've all agreed, then your job now is to properly support the new Daimyo. As for the clans that didn't show up today—they're stripped of status effective immediately. Half of their land and population is to be seized. The rest will be divided among you."
With that, he nodded to the Daimyo, excused himself, and left the hall.
Meanwhile, Aki was walking deeper into the cave. After hundreds of meters, a light appeared ahead. He sped up and discovered the light was actually daylight shining in from outside.
When he stepped out of the cave, he was shocked to find an enormous mansion-like building at least six or seven stories tall. He approached cautiously.
Standing in front of the massive front doors, he examined the building closely. The Uchiha clan crest was right there on the doors. The place looked ancient and abandoned—probably hadn't been cleaned or maintained in years. Aki pushed the doors open and went inside, noticing training dummies lining both sides of the hallway. The main path even had obvious signs of past battles.
"So the first floor must've been the Uchiha clan's training area," Aki thought, heading upstairs, Sharingan still activated. This had once been an Uchiha stronghold, after all—no telling what traps or attack seals might still be active.
Outside the old Uchiha estate...
"Yaaawn! He went inside! But gramps really hated anyone messing with this place... What should we do now?" said a pale, white-skinned naked man as he slowly rose from the ground.
A figure with the same face, but entirely black, emerged beside him. His voice was cold and raspy as he replied, "He just said that. Let's mess around with the kid a bit first."
Then the black figure placed a hand on the ground. "Earth Style: Heavenly Falling Lid!"
From a rift in the sky, a massive, lid-shaped object—like a giant pot cover—came crashing down, slamming straight toward the Uchiha building.
Just as it was about to hit, a flash of lightning shot from the roof and shattered it, while a barrier formed around the entire building, blocking the falling debris.
Inside, Aki had heard the commotion. "Someone's here. That chakra spike just now was intense." He rushed outside and saw the black-and-white pair and the remains of the shattered "lid."
Frowning, he demanded, "Which village are you two from? Why are you trying to destroy the Uchiha estate?!"
The white figure grinned, "Oh, we came just to see you, actually!"
The black one added, voice like gravel, "Uchiha Aki—the so-called genius of the Uchiha. I wonder how strong you really are."
Aki stared coldly at the pair. "Feel free to find out."
The moment he spoke, the white figure formed a wooden spike and launched it at him.
"Wood Style?! That's impossible!" Aki thought in shock.
He leapt back and spat a Fireball Jutsu to burn the spike into ash. Then, more serious now, he thought, "Neither my sensei nor the Second Hokage ever found anyone who could use Wood Style without Senju blood… So who the hell are these two? I can't let them get away. I need to take them back to the Second Hokage."
He got into a fighting stance and asked, "At least tell me your names. Why are you here?"
The white one giggled. "Can't let that slip~"
Then a third voice rang in their ears: "Tell him your names. Then beat him within an inch of his life."
The black figure answered, "You can call me Black Zetsu. He's White Zetsu."
Aki charged forward. "Then let's go to Konoha—right now!"
But before he reached them, both vanished into the ground.
Aki stopped, Sharingan spinning, watching carefully. Suddenly, several tree roots burst from the ground, trying to entangle him. He barely dodged using a Substitution Jutsu.
"Tree Binding Death! My teacher used this move on me once," he thought, recognizing it.
He couldn't find the two of them anywhere. "They're hiding underground. If I can't force them up, I can't land a hit."
Realizing this, he dashed back into the cave, retreating from the old Uchiha estate.
Watching him flee, White Zetsu said, "He ran!"
Black Zetsu replied in that same gravelly tone, "Chase him."
They both slipped into the ground, following him into the cave.
Back at the hall, the Second Hokage looked over the corpses of the purged clans and finally felt some relief.
"Maybe now they'll behave themselves for a while. Once I've watched over Konoha and seen Hiruzen, Danzō, and the others grow strong enough, I can step back and let them handle things on their own," he thought.
At that moment, Shimura Danzō appeared before him.
Danzō bowed and asked respectfully, "My lord, you summoned me—what's the mission?"
The Second Hokage sighed at how rigid Danzō still was and replied, "You're my most trusted student, and you've got real talent in politics. During this transitional period, I want you to stay here on Konoha's behalf and help the new Daimyo stabilize things."
Danzō bowed again. "Understood, Lord Second!"
The Hokage shook his head slightly, knowing how stiff Danzō was, but said nothing more. Together, they headed to the watchtower, where he introduced Danzō to the young Daimyo.
Aki now stood on the surface of the massive lake, scanning his surroundings.
"The lake's over a hundred meters deep. If they try Wood Style from the bottom, I'll at least have a bit of reaction time. Just gotta wait for them to make a move."
White Zetsu emerged from the lakeshore and looked at Aki standing out in the middle. "Wow, smart move! Using the terrain to your advantage like that!"
Black Zetsu appeared beside him. "This kid's probably way smarter than the old man was at his age."
White Zetsu nodded, then asked, "But how are we gonna attack? It's all water! Ground-based jutsu won't work well here."
Just then, the unfamiliar voice spoke again: "Loosen up. Let me take over."
Black Zetsu hesitated. "Is that really necessary? I only said a couple things…"
But something had clearly changed in White Zetsu. His aura was totally different now. Looking at Aki in the lake, he told Black Zetsu, "Watch the perimeter. Don't let any outsiders show up." Then he dashed into the water.
Black Zetsu watched him go and muttered, "Still so damn jealous…" before disappearing into the earth again.
Seeing that, Aki quickly created a shadow clone, then leapt into the air. The clone turned to face the water and unleashed a Lightning Style: Ground Surge. The electricity shot through the lake, aiming for White Zetsu.
But White Zetsu jumped out of the water and dodged. He looked up at Aki.
Aki, still in midair, spat out his strongest fire technique: "Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Barrage!"
A massive flame dragon roared toward White Zetsu.
But White Zetsu calmly countered with "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Song." His own flame attack split into several dragon heads and clashed with Aki's. His version was actually stronger.
Landing on the water, Aki stared in shock. "You… You can use Fire Style?!"
"..."