Evil Uchiha brat, I'll marry you myself.

Shimura Tano endured the physical pain, his tone tinged with sarcasm.

Gu Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. "The first operation? So, it wasn't them who assassinated Jing Shui's mother." As for whether they were lying, assassins who succeed once wouldn't easily attempt a second one unless they were fools.

"I see. It's clear that you're willing to risk your lives for revenge."

"However, the fact that you fell into a trap tonight is enough to show that the Uchiha clan also discovered this and had already begun to take precautions, even starting to spread some false information."

"We're just waiting for you to walk right into our trap."

"Therefore, your chances of getting revenge in the future are almost zero."

Gu Mu's tone was somewhat playful.

“My lord, if you are willing to help us take revenge, we two are willing to serve you wholeheartedly.”

Having lived for so long, Shimura Tano naturally understood the underlying meaning of the old tree's words.

He immediately knelt down, along with everyone else from the foot of the mountain, to show their loyalty.

That resolute gaze was as if he wouldn't even blink if he were to climb a mountain of knives.

"I can help you take your revenge, but whether you will truly submit remains to be seen."

"Tell me first, what is the current situation of your Shimura clan?"

Gu Mu knew that if he wanted to develop in the future, he would naturally need to have something in his hands, and influence was one of the key elements.

Moreover, an investigation by a family is definitely more efficient than an investigation by oneself.

"Brother Tianye...."

Shimura Yamashita, standing beside him, clearly hesitated; the man in black seemed to have a clear purpose.

This seems to be an attempt to interfere in their family's affairs.

"Shore, think about your fiancée. If I were you, I wouldn't be able to survive."

Shimura Tano's words successfully dispelled Yamashita's last remaining hesitation.

That's right. Relying on those cowards in the family is no better than just rolling up your own blankets and daydreaming.

"Currently, there are three Jonin in our Shimura clan: the clan head, the first elder, and the second elder."

"Among them, the Second Elder has a deep grudge against the Uchiha clan, but he doesn't have much influence within the clan, and he is also the weakest of the three."

"This leads to the fact that warmongers will not easily reveal their thoughts."

Shimura Tano gave a general overview of the situation within the clan.

The Second Elder clearly has a grudge against the Uchiha clan, so why didn't he participate in this operation? In short, he was a coward.

As the saying goes, a cowardly soldier is a coward, and a cowardly general makes a whole army cowardly.

"During this time, you two should secretly recruit some spirited ninjas within the clan. If possible, I hope you will do so in the name of the Second Elder."

"What if the Second Elder questions us?"

"Question? Hmph, why would he question you? You're helping him recruit people."

Gu Mu sneered. As long as the second elder of the Shimura clan wasn't out of his mind, he wouldn't stop it.

If the Grand Elder or the Clan Chief finds out, he can simply say that he was unaware of it.

"If the clan leader eventually speaks with you, send the letter to the post station, and then the post station will send it to the Hyuga clan. The content of the letter is 'The melon is ripe.'"

"Hinata?"

Shimura Tano didn't quite understand what this was for, but he had a feeling that Konoha would definitely become more turbulent in the future.

"One last question, what is your clan chief's son's name?"

"Shimura Aoyama."

"Yes, it's alright. You can go back now. As for whether the revenge will be successful, that depends on how well you do it."

"Yes, sir, I will definitely complete the mission!!"

Shimura Tano and Shimura Yamashita knelt on one knee on the ground; the death of their loved ones had turned them into walking corpses.

Their only motivation to live was revenge, and they were willing to do anything for it.

"The Shimura family?"

"It was an unexpected bonus."

Gu Mu watched the two leave with a silent gaze, then instantly vanished from the spot with a Flying Thunder God technique.

They reappeared on the roof of their house's courtyard.

Gu Mu clearly sensed that Senju Yingliu had instantly regained consciousness because of his appearance.

It seems I'll have to ask Sister Yingliu again in the future how to guard against the perception of sensory ninjas.

With little time left in the night, Gu Mu gazed at the gradually whitening horizon in the distance and simply sat cross-legged on the ground.

Enjoy experiencing your own Shikko-no-Kami mode.

When Gu Mu opened his eyes again, some black stripes appeared on his face, as if he were possessed by a demon and his whole body was under great pressure.

"Is this Sage Mode?"

Gu Mu clearly felt that his perception and strength had been greatly enhanced.

Regarding perception, he could easily see the grass in the yard, while in terms of strength, he had the illusion of being able to kill a bull with a single punch.

Moreover, the power of Wind Release in this form is absolutely a qualitative change.

However, Sage Mode requires a massive amount of chakra. Even with double the amount of chakra, Koki could only maintain it for one minute.

It's easy to imagine just how enormous Hashirama Senju's chakra reserves must have been.

Clapping your hands together, whatever you call for comes true—this is no joke.

I practiced for a while.

Gu Mu entered the room and sensed that Uchiha Shizuru was still asleep. After greeting Senju Hikari, he went to the academy.

This girl probably hasn't had a good rest these past few days.

That's right. Even someone as capable as Gu Mu would have trouble sleeping if he didn't have an absolute trump card. He'd be worried about assassination every day.

Damn it....

Thinking of this, Gu Mu's eyes flashed with murderous intent. Even if he wiped out Konoha in the future, he would still have to find those murderers.

"What's going on? This little devil seems really scary today!"

"Indeed, even though he seemed to be as expressionless as ever, why did I have this suffocating feeling?"

"Hopefully, we won't be facing this guy in today's practical lesson."

Soon, under Tobirama Senju's leadership, the group of academy ninjas began to gather in the plaza.

Without a doubt, Gu Mu emerged victorious in the contest.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he's always number two, and Danzo Shimura is always number three.

"Damn it, how come this guy's strength is getting stronger and stronger?"

Amidst the crowd, Shimura Danzo, checking the results on the notice board, spoke with a resentful tone. He couldn't even clearly see Koki's initial movements.

If it were Hiruzen Sarutobi, he could still put up a fight against him.

But this guy was like a mountain, pressing down on him and making it hard for him to breathe.

"Shimura Danzo, didn't you want to become stronger?"

"I'll teach you."

Just as Danzo was lost in thought, Koki's voice made his expression instantly turn to surprise.

"Is it really an ancient tree?"

"I'd rather you call me godfather than my name. Isn't there a saying that goes, 'A teacher for a day is a father for life'?"

Koki smiled slightly; he intended to use Danzo to completely control the Shimura clan.

"Gu Mu, stop messing with me."

Danzo's eyes turned serious.

"Playing with you? I'm not joking. I believe you know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Is it too much of a burden for you to call me godfather?"

"Then I'll go?"

Seeing that Koki really left without looking back, Danzo glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi not far away and immediately spoke:

"Wait!! Godfather... Godfather, please teach me the secrets of Wind Release."

Seemingly afraid that Gu Mu hadn't heard him, he even called out twice.

However, as long as I can defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi.

What is this little grievance? Today's shame is only for tomorrow's glory.

Danzo comforted himself in this way.

“Very good. Today I have gained a godson. My son, come with me now.”