Though the mission to assassinate the two elders was risky, Goro and Ken accepted it without hesitation.
"Don't worry. I'll arrange for some people to assist you. Just remember—don't get exposed."
Ichiro had no intention of letting others find out that he had ordered the assassination of the two elders.
"Understood. Please rest assured, Lord Ichiro."
In truth, killing the two elders wasn't particularly difficult. The Second and Third Elders of the Uchiha clan may have been elite jōnin in their youth, but now they were even older than the late clan head, Uchiha Gen, and their strength had declined. At this point, they probably weren't even as strong as a regular jōnin.
With Goro and Ken's current abilities, killing them wasn't a challenge. The real difficulty lay in doing it without leaving any trace.
"I just hope the two of them don't let me down."
If Ichiro himself had acted, he could have taken care of those two old geezers without anyone ever noticing—guaranteed.
But if the boss had to do everything himself, what was the point of having subordinates?
If they pulled this off cleanly, Ichiro wouldn't be stingy with the rewards.
『Ding! Ordered the assassination of two elders. Reward: 50 Explosive Tags, Evil Points +2000』
Two hours later, the system prompt confirmed the mission's success.
However, the reward wasn't particularly satisfying to Ichiro. It looked like he'd need to pay a visit to Uchiha Mikoto when he had the chance.
Just a few minutes later, Goro and Ken returned.
"Lord Ichiro, the mission is complete. We were not exposed."
"Good. I know. You two did well. This is the B-rank Fire Style: Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction. Study it and burn the scroll afterward."
Ichiro handed over a scroll containing the Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction technique.
"The lost jutsu—Great Fire Destruction..."
Both of them were visibly excited. This was a powerful Fire Style jutsu that had been lost to the Uchiha clan. Not only was it aggressive, but it was also incredibly potent.
Even though it was a B-rank jutsu, its power rivaled that of A-rank techniques. In the hands of a true expert, it could even reach S-rank levels.
Technically, a jutsu's rank reflected its learning difficulty. But the harder a jutsu was to learn, the more powerful and effective it tended to be. So the higher the rank, the stronger the jutsu—that was accurate.
"You two can leave now. Also, hand over the weapons you used for the assassination."
Ichiro dismissed them and went on to refine his chakra.
His daily training had never stopped. Even before awakening the system, he had managed to reach quasi-Kage-level strength through sheer effort.
After breaking through to Kage-level, his chakra reserves had increased tenfold. Not only did he have more chakra, but the quality had also improved significantly.
Now, using the same jutsu with the same chakra cost resulted in far greater power.
"I should find a place to test the initial release of Ryūjin Jakka one of these days."
After finishing his chakra refining, Ichiro wiped down his Ryūjin Jakka blade.
With his current power, he was already qualified to unleash its initial release. Once he activated it, Ichiro felt that even a peak Kage-level opponent could be reduced to ashes.
The next day, he found an isolated training ground to practice Chidori and Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction.
Since these techniques were purchased from the system, there was no need to learn them—he could use them right away with perfect control.
As for Ryūjin Jakka, Ichiro restrained himself from testing it. Even in its initial release, Ryūjin Jakka was his trump card.
If he could maintain its released state for an extended period, Ichiro wouldn't even fear super-Kage-level enemies.
And trump cards should never be revealed lightly. For a shinobi, exposing your trump card was practically a death sentence.
Afterward, he practiced some taijutsu and kenjutsu. Before he could finish, someone came looking for him.
The bodies of the Second and Third Elders had finally been discovered.
At the elders' residence, Uchiha Fugaku stood grim-faced. His expression was so severe, it could scare a child into tears.
"Who did this? Who would dare murder two of our Uchiha clan elders? Such audacity! As captain of the Police Force, I will not let the culprit go unpunished!"
Ichiro's righteous-sounding voice rang out, laced with fury.
Goro, who knew the truth, couldn't help but marvel—Lord Ichiro's acting skills were masterful.
"Captain Ichiro, do you really not know who did it?"
Uchiha Rin eyed Ichiro coldly.
He had no evidence, but his suspicion pointed straight at Ichiro.
"If I knew, I would've already captured the culprit."
Ichiro replied indifferently.
"Those two elders were devoted to the clan. To think they'd be assassinated like this... The culprit must not be forgiven by the Uchiha!"
"That's right! We must not let them get away!"
Fugaku's glare toward Ichiro was so intense it could've shredded him to pieces.
"As captain of the Konoha Police Force, their deaths are my failure."
Ichiro ignored Fugaku's dagger-like gaze and put on a guilty expression.
"Captain, please don't say that. The assassin was just too cunning. This isn't your fault."
Goro jumped in smoothly, like a duo performing a perfect routine.
"Everyone, regarding the elders' deaths, I suspect the culprit is among us—someone within the Uchiha clan."
Fugaku stepped forward and announced.
He was one hundred percent sure that Ichiro had orchestrated the assassination.
"Lord Fugaku, that's a serious accusation."
"I don't believe it. The killers must've been outsiders. There's no way one of our own would do such a thing!"
"Do you have any proof, Lord Fugaku?"
"..."
Fugaku's words caused unrest among the clan members. Many were displeased—how could he accuse their own people?
Uchiha Rin's expression shifted. He silently shook his head. "Fugaku's being too aggressive."
There was no doubt that Ichiro was involved in the assassination. But if he dared to act, then he definitely wouldn't have left any evidence behind.
"Search—start with the Uchiha compound. Even if we have to comb through the entire village, I'll find the killer. I don't believe they could've covered their tracks completely."
Fugaku glared at Ichiro, eyes burning with determination.
Shinobi were highly skilled investigators—sometimes they could even extract clues from a corpse. Fugaku refused to believe that Ichiro could have done it flawlessly.
Even if they couldn't pin it directly on Ichiro, they'd at least sever one of his arms—cripple one of his men.