The purge of the Konoha ninja clans is urgent and must be dealt with decisively!

Chapter 500 The purge of the Konoha ninja clans is urgent and must be dealt with decisively!

Seeing Tobirama Senju descend into a state of existential madness, Makoto Uchiha's lips curled into a smile of extreme pleasure, and he even couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

All's fair in war, and that's exactly the effect he wanted.

If Tobirama Senju returns to Konoha with these suspicions, and begins to view everyone as a traitor, spending all his energy on guarding against the various ninja clans and internal investigations within the Senju clan... then when Akatsuki is truly besieged by a coalition of major nations, Tobirama Senju will not dare to act rashly, much less stab Akatsuki in the back.

Moreover, this is an open conspiracy with no solution.

In order to ensure the "purity" of Konoha and eliminate those cancerous elements who betrayed the village's interests in his eyes, Tobirama Senju became more aggressive and decisive in the subsequent purges. The more the ninja clans, large and small, in Konoha could truly feel that the Second Hokage was accelerating the pace of eliminating dissidents in Konoha!

This is further compounded by the fact that Makoto Uchiha had been spreading rumors in Konoha for years that "Tobirama Senju ostracized the Uchiha clan."

This easily creates an extremely terrifying and perfectly logical sense of crisis among the various ninja clans of Konoha.

Since Tobirama Senju could ruthlessly ostracize the Uchiha clan, the founders of Konoha and once on par with the Senju clan, even forcing Madara Uchiha to betray Konoha for no reason and be hunted down to death by Hashirama Senju, wouldn't the next ones to be purged be these clans whose foundations are far inferior to the Uchiha?

Moreover, in such a vast place as Konoha, aside from a small number of loyal followers of Tobirama Senju, such as the Sarutobi and Shimura clans—newly promoted by him and whose interests were completely intertwined—the vast majority of other ninja clans...

Deep down, they all know that their own bottoms aren't exactly clean either.

In the cruel environment of the ninja world, no clan can survive entirely on the so-called "Will of Fire".

The continuation of the clan requires enormous resources, advanced ninja tools, and a continuous flow of funds.

Over the years, with the rise of Akatsuki, many of Konoha's traditional ninja clans have had shady dealings with Akatsuki, and have long since secretly pledged allegiance to the Uchiha clan.

These clandestine transactions were exposed during an internal investigation led by Tobirama Senju.

Given Tobirama Senju's decisive and ruthless nature, he would never consider the so-called kinship of fellow villagers, nor would he give up on settling scores with them just because the law does not punish the masses.

In order to avoid being punished by the Hokage and to preserve the legacy their clans had painstakingly accumulated, the Konoha ninja clans, already living in constant fear due to their guilty consciences, had no choice but to cling even more tightly to the Akatsuki village when faced with a life-or-death situation. They were completely bound to Makoto Uchiha's chariot and went down a dark path.

Because only Akatsuki Village and only Makoto Uchiha could provide them with enough protection to fight against Konoha at that time, as well as a wider space to live.

"Tobirama Senju, we're all intelligent people. I think you should already understand the current situation very clearly, right?"

"In the event that the situation in the ninja world changes in the future, and those major powers and great ninja villages join forces to attack my Akatsuki village..."

"You'd better stay in your Hokage Building and not have any ulterior motives, and definitely don't try to take advantage of my situation or betray me."

Uchiha Makoto leaned forward slightly, his tone carrying an undisguised chilling threat: "Otherwise... I definitely won't let you off so easily like before."

Tobirama Senju's chest heaved violently, but for the first time ever, he did not immediately refute.

Because he knew very well that this naturally evil brat in front of him was not joking with him.

"You should understand that although our Uchiha clan has suffered continuous suppression in Konoha after you became Hokage, and even the power of the Konoha Police Department has been effectively undermined by your apparent promotion, as the founders of the village, we still retain sufficient influence and considerable strength within Konoha. Those small and medium-sized clans that once relied on us are still secretly observing the situation."

"Furthermore, there are the various Konoha ninja clans, large and small, that have secretly pledged allegiance to my Akatsuki Village. If I'm willing to offer them enough tempting incentives at crucial moments... do you think I could get those greedy guys to take risks for profit?"

"It's not impossible that they could work together from within and without to oust you and rebuild a new Konoha."

Under such arrogant threats, Tobirama Senju's expression grew increasingly grim, and he fell into a long silence.

For a long time, Tobirama Senju's dream was to rightfully become the Second Hokage of Konoha.

In his view, although his elder brother Hashirama Senju possessed invincible martial prowess to quell the chaos of the world, he was too naive and soft-hearted in politics.

The weak always tried to influence the inherently evil Uchiha with understanding and tolerance.

This simply wouldn't work in the brutal ninja world.

Only I, with absolute rationality and an iron fist, can truly lead Konoha to prosperity and stability.

Once he dons the sacred robe symbolizing supreme power, sits in that position, and grasps the title of Konoha's "righteous cause," he can legitimately mobilize all the village's resources and nip any potential threats in the bud. He will no longer be as helpless and raging as he was in the past when facing Uchiha Makoto, that naturally evil brat.

When that time comes, everything will be alright.

Konoha will be a united front under his rule, and all the ninja clans will dedicate themselves to the village without reservation, while the Uchiha clan, which is inherently evil, will be completely crushed under his feet.

To achieve this grand goal, and for the future of Konoha, at the moment he truly received the Hokage's hat, Tobirama Senju was filled with ambition and unhesitatingly devoted all his energy to the incredibly demanding work.

During the day, he not only had to sit at the Hokage's desk, enduring extreme mental exhaustion, to review and process mountains of government documents and balance the conflicts of interest between the major ninja clans, but at night he also had to take care of his scientific research experiments and develop forbidden techniques that could change the nature of warfare in order to ensure Konoha's absolute advantage in combat power.

Sometimes, he was so busy that even closing his eyes to rest became a luxury, and he could only rely on his strong, Thousand-Handed Physique to keep going.

Tobirama Senju felt he had done his utmost for the village, fulfilling his duty to Konoha, his elder brother's trust, and the title of "Hokage."

And now?

He was already the Second Hokage of Konoha, and he was already standing at the pinnacle of power in the village!

The harsh reality slapped him hard across the face, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

The situation didn't improve as he had hoped; instead, it was no different from when he wasn't Hokage and could only serve as the Shadow Hokage beside his older brother...

No, it's gotten even worse!

Previously, Makoto Uchiha would only engage in some underhanded tactics. Even when dealing with the nobles of the Land of Fire, they would have to consult with him and compromise by exchanging benefits to gain Konoha's tacit approval.

But now, with the rapid expansion of Akatsuki Village, Uchiha Makoto is able to sit openly in front of him, the current Hokage of Konoha, and use the ninja clans within Konoha to threaten him!

This is utterly upside down!

Tobirama Senju even began to doubt whether he had been going in the wrong direction from the very beginning.

However, Tobirama Senju is Tobirama Senju after all.

He came from the bloody battlefields of the Warring States period, and his will is extremely firm.

Over the years, Tobirama Senju was repeatedly "tortured" and tormented by the Uchiha clan. He was repeatedly pushed to the breaking point and repeatedly humiliated. Gradually, he developed an "immunity" to this level of despair and frustration.

After a long silence, an indomitable will rose within Tobirama Senju.

Can he just admit defeat to Uchiha Makoto like that?

Can he just let the other party treat Konoha, which he has painstakingly built, as a bargaining chip that can be manipulated at will?

No! Absolutely impossible!!

He's the rightful Second Hokage of Konoha! How could he possibly bow down and compromise to a born evil Uchiha brat?!

If even I fall, if even I choose to back down, what will happen to the foundation that my elder brother Hashirama Senju painstakingly built? What will happen to the hard work of the Senju clan members who sacrificed themselves for the peace of Konoha?

He even bears the heavy responsibility of the future of the entire ninja world on his shoulders!

The ninja world needs him to restrain Uchiha Makoto's unfathomable ambition. We absolutely cannot allow this inherently evil Uchiha brat to run rampant in the ninja world!

Once the Akatsuki village begins to bare its fangs at the ninja world, it will inevitably trigger a war even more devastating than the Warring States period, Tobirama Ichiju roared hysterically in his heart.

After such a violent internal struggle, Tobirama Senju finally regained his composure, his sharp eyes fixed on Makoto Uchiha opposite him.

With morale low and people in Konoha in turmoil, now is definitely not the right time to completely break with Uchiha Makoto and the entire Akatsuki village. Otherwise, Konoha will only suffer losses, and it could even lead to the village splitting apart.

From Uchiha Makoto's extremely oppressive threats and inducements, Tobirama Senju was convinced that since Uchiha Makoto was able to say such things today, the information that Akatsuki would definitely be attacked by several other major powers and great ninja villages in the future must be true.

Since Uchiha Makoto is so openly threatening him, it shows that even the seemingly invincible and confident Uchiha Makoto is actually afraid. He is afraid that Konoha will stab Akatsuki in the back at the critical moment when Akatsuki is attacked from both sides!

Having figured this out, Tobirama Senju felt a sudden sense of clarity.

The situation has not yet reached its most desperate point.

If I can swiftly and decisively purge Konoha of its corrupt officials and spies before the major powers launch a full-scale attack on Akatsuki, and rebuild Konoha into a unified force, then by the time Akatsuki is exhausted from its struggles...

Heavens, I can lead the united Konoha and bring true annihilation to Akatsuki and Uchiha Makoto!

Therefore, the most important thing now is to be patient!

Patience means being able to think things through and endure things!

We must first calm down Uchiha Makoto!

Tobirama Senju knew the Uchiha clan too well; they were inherently prone to making the same fatal mistake.

Once they are certain of their victory and that the enemy has been completely crushed and cannot recover, they will become arrogant and careless, thus exposing their most fatal flaws.

Back then, Uchiha Izuna was like that. Relying on his awakened Mangekyou Sharingan, he boasted that his eye power was unparalleled and looked down on everyone. However, on the battlefield, due to his momentary arrogance, he was killed by his own long-prepared Flying Thunder God Slash.

Even now, Uchiha Makoto still has the arrogant blood of the Uchiha clan flowing through his veins, and he will definitely repeat the same mistakes and die because of his own arrogance!

So, Tobirama Senju feigned humiliation and gritted his teeth, saying, "Uchiha Makoto, you win!"

"I'm at your mercy, like a fish on a chopping board. What other choice do I have but to agree..."

"Oh...

To this, Uchiha Makoto simply chuckled noncommittally.

Looking at Tobirama Senju across from him, who was gritting his teeth and bowing his head in defeat, he, as an old rival who had been fighting each other for so long, naturally did not believe any of the bullshit promises that Tobirama Senju made today under pressure.

This is nothing more than a delaying tactic used by the other side to temporarily stabilize the situation when they see it is unfavorable.

At this very moment, Tobirama Senju is probably plotting how to sharpen his sword once he gets back, looking for an opportunity to strike a fatal blow at a crucial moment.

However, it doesn't matter at all.

The smile on Uchiha Makoto's face did not fade; instead, it became even more profound.

The solution that Tobirama Senju could think of to break the deadlock was the most important part of his plan.

Rather than waiting until the situation becomes extremely tense in the future and then having to guard against Tobirama Senju's underhanded tactics, it's better to take the initiative and accelerate the situation ahead of time.

The purpose of revealing this half-true and half-false information to Tobirama Senju was to make him return to Konoha full of suspicion, and to waste a lot of energy and precious resources on endless mutual surveillance and defense.

In this way, Akatsuki Village also took the opportunity to comfortably win over the hearts and minds of the various ninja clans of Konoha.

Those families who were unwilling to sit idly by and wait for their demise would naturally transfer more funds and family members to Akatsuki Village in secret.

Meanwhile, Akatsuki Village's various annexation and assimilation activities in the one-fifth of the Land of Fire under its actual control also...

And continue to proceed smoothly without any obstacles, thereby gathering more war resources in advance for the impending Ninja World War that will inevitably erupt.