Waiting for What Comes Next

After a thorough examination, Shuichi said the situation was not good, "All of this guy's attacks are highly poisonous. Many nerves and blood vessels in his forearm have been corroded and damaged. Cleaning and repairing them will be quite troublesome. It's best not to reattach them directly."

"Then... is there still a chance?" Itachi asked unwillingly.

"Of course, just leave it to me. No problem, I guarantee it won't be any worse than the original." Shuichi turned around and smiled.

He patted Itachi on the shoulder and said, "Your strength is already quite good. It's inevitable that you'd encounter some unexpected challenges when facing a powerful enemy like Sasori of the Red Sands."

"Now that you possess the Mangekyo, once you've mastered its use, there won't be many enemies posing a threat to you. As for whether or not to disclose this information, that's up to you."

Itachi lowered his head in thought, and after a while said, "Master, I don't want to reveal this. Having a pair of Shisui's eyes within the clan has already attracted a lot of attention. Please help me keep it a secret from now on."

"Yes, it's important for a ninja to have some trump cards up their sleeve."

Shuichi's hands unleashed a barrage of Wood Release branches, which connected to the two of them, and a warm, comforting Yang Release Chakra slowly flowed between them.

Itachi and Haku felt a slight warmth spreading through their bodies, sensing their energy steadily recovering and the fatigue from the battle gradually dissipating. They were slightly surprised, thinking, "Your strength has increased again..."

"Hmph, there have indeed been some new research findings recently." Shuichi responded, then said to Itachi:

"After we get back this time, I'll make Xiaobai my full-time assistant and assign you a new squad. The missions will be more conventional, so prepare during your rest time."

"... I see."

"Hmm, that's about enough..." Shuichi withdrew his Wood Release. "Leave the cleanup to me. You two get back to the village as soon as possible. Just in case, I'll send a Wood Clone to accompany you."

Swish swish swish!

A moment later, three figures rushed out of the rocky passage in the Gobi Desert, moving at incredible speed and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Several hours later, the sunlight changed from direct midday rays to a slanting beam, casting a dim light on the cave filled with the remains of puppets, making it appear no different from before.

In the midst of this silence, from several dark corners, white figures slowly emerged from the ground.

First, a head appeared, looked around and, finding nothing unusual, most of its body followed, protruding out and slowly moving around the area...

"Did they end up losing badly? No, Scorpion failed!"

White Zetsu muttered to himself as he walked to the broken Regeneration Core. A strange sound quietly arose.

"Looks like the opponent is badly injured; they haven't even had time to clean up the battlefield."

"It's our turn to get to work, there's quite a lot of stuff..."

Wood Release: Thorn Slayer!

Splash splash--

Numerous vine-like Wood Style burst forth from beneath each White Zetsu's feet, and before they could even touch the corpses, the thick wooden pillars coiled around them like giant pythons, binding them tightly and rendering them immobile.

"What? Wood Release Ninjutsu!"

Only the heads of the several White Zetsu were visible, their faces filled with astonishment. "My chakra was completely suppressed, how is this possible?"

They are creatures that can also use Wood Release; theoretically, they should be able to absorb the energy above to break free.

But the chakra within these Wood Style was practically alive, not just mere life force, but like a true life form with its own consciousness. "Could it be... Yin-Yang Release? Who did this...?"

Soon, someone answered their questions.

Another figure rose from the ground. The purple-haired youth in the Hokage Robe remained calm. Looking at the spoils in his hands, he thought with some regret, "Black Zetsu didn't come with us. Otherwise, we would have had a real chance to finish him off today. He's lucky."

"Purple Aurora, so it was you! Damn it..." The White Zetsu's expressions were ferocious; deliberately not cleaning up the battlefield was just a stunt.

For a busy Hokage to leave the village so far away and stay alone in such a remote place for so long is completely unconventional and shows no martial ethics!

"One, two... five, five living White Zetsu in total, not a bad haul." Shuichi grinned at them. "Looks like my information won't get through. You won't have another chance to burrow underground."

"My disciple just happens to need half an arm, so the perfect experimental subject has been delivered to your doorstep. Welcome to Konoha in advance! Now, you can all get some sleep..."

With Three-Tomoe appearing in his eyes, this time White Zetsu didn't even have a chance to react, completely bewildered and clutching his head.

After binding and packing several White Zetsu together, Shuichi looked around, inwardly criticizing the original plot:

"They said the Jonin's corpses should be disposed of promptly, but after Chiyo and Sakura finished their fight, and so many teams from Sunagakure arrived, has no one even bothered to check on them?"

"Wait a minute! Kankuro's the last one to come and collect junk. Looks like... not many people care about Sasori's stuff..."

"If I had come earlier, I might have been able to find a ring to play with..."

As he spoke, he and his clones immediately began to act, systematically cleaning up every part of the battlefield. They spared no corpses or puppets, burning and cleaning away any trace of blood and flesh.

To Shuichi's surprise, Sasori's outer robe had a black background but no red clouds; the signature Akatsuki Organization design had disappeared! Its prestige had plummeted!

"Am I such a big threat that you're afraid to even wear clothes? Afraid of attracting attention?"

Shuichi chuckled, thinking it made sense.

Nagato knew the strength of his opponent, and he had also done bad things. If he were to be single-minded, wouldn't that just be stupid?

He picked up the "Jade Maiden" ring from the ground, examined it carefully but found nothing unusual, so he put it in his pocket and took it with him, intending to study it when he got back.

Only after cleaning up the entire area did he casually pick up the White Zetsu and return to Konoha.

The Land of Waterfalls, in the northern region, is surrounded by a large waterfall, with lush forests, birdsong, and fragrant flowers—a beautiful environment, but sparsely populated.

The reason is simple: there are many similar locations, making them ideal spots for people who want to conceal their whereabouts.

If you pass through the waterfall, you'll be surprised to find an enormous cave inside.

Deep inside, against the wall, stands a massive monster head with multiple eyes, its face imposing. Before it are two enormous hands with similar skin, their ten fingers pointing upwards, giving it a somewhat terrifying appearance.

Suddenly, a light came on in the darkness. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a colorful, human-shaped phantom flickering from the monster's fingertips, not an electrified light bulb...

Whoosh whoosh--

Behind the first figure, similar phantoms appeared one after another, with one person on almost every finger.

"Hey, what's with this sudden call for us to gather?" the phantom with the ponytail asked impatiently.

"I had a premonition not long ago, and with Jue's notification, I can confirm that Scorpion is dead," the central Phantom of Pain said in a deep voice.

Deidara gasped in surprise, then burst into a strange laugh, "Brother Sasori is dead already? And he talked about eternal art, what a lame joke!"

Pain ignored his antics and turned to look at the pitcher plant figure on the other side. "Ze, what are the specifics? Who killed Sasori?"

Jue's voice was hoarse. "I'm not sure. Several White Zetsu Clone arrived there but completely lost contact. I dare not continue the operation, and I'm afraid that even if I go back in a few days, I won't find any clues."

"However, Sasori has a considerable number of subordinates. Based on the intelligence network he left behind, it can be inferred that his opponents are Uchiha Itachi, a disciple of Purple Aurora, and another team member..."

"Is this guy trying to get revenge for the destruction of the puppets back then?" Kakuzu casually added some information, "I didn't expect him to stumble on a mere brat."

I also know some things. For the past six months, Uchiha Itachi has been missing-nin from the Land of Fire's black market, so it's no surprise they ran into each other."

"Uchiha Itachi... he's the son of the Uchiha Clan Head. It seems he became a disciple of Purple Aurora many years ago and is known as a genius in Konoha. He's 16 years old now!" Zetsu revealed the information he had gathered.

"The other player looks even younger than him, but I don't know any specific details."

"Orochimaru..." Pain shifted his gaze to the long-haired man, "Takeda Shuichi was once your disciple. If you have any information, it's best not to hide it."

"Hehe, I do know a little bit..."

Orochimaru smiled nonchalantly. He wasn't afraid of the Rinnegan's threat, but he was looking forward to something interesting happening.

"That kid's name is Haku. His identity should be the same as Itachi's. He was personally brought back to Konoha by Shuichi many years ago. He possesses the Kekkei Genkai Ice Release, so his talent should be very strong."

"Looks like Scorpion's luck is really bad! He couldn't even escape, hehe..."

"..."

Pain had no choice but to ignore Orochimaru's gloating.

The Akatsuki Organization always operated in pairs.

But that was during organizational missions. Normally, they would have private space; otherwise, how could a group of lawless missing-nin tolerate such "bromance"?

Moreover, these people lack trust in each other, so it's unrealistic to expect them to voluntarily reveal their private information; it's already quite good that they're even willing to work.

"That's all for now. We'll let everyone know if we get any more information," Pain said, his tone unchanged. "Be more careful in the future."

Deidara, starting from the next mission, you will be teamed up with Orochimaru.

"What? I don't want to be with this stinky snake! It'll disgust me to death!" Deidara shouted.

Orochimaru, however, looked over with interest, giving him a wicked smile. "Heh heh, I'm quite curious about your abilities. It seems we'll get along very well."

"Damn it, who wants to be around you..."

"..."

Finally, the Illusionary Body Technique ended, revealing the small hilltop where the waterfall was located.

Konan turned to Nagato and said, "Orochimaru's joining is definitely not for good; he's most likely after the Rinnegan."

"It's alright," Nagato replied calmly. "I won't reveal the final objective before the official operation. He certainly has many tricks up his sleeve, but in my eyes, they're nothing special."

"Then... should we probe Konoha before taking action?" Konan asked.

"Sure, the Sunagakure Village is rather unstable, and Zetsu knows a lot about the Dark Operatives Sasori planted. We can make good use of them."

Nagato said coldly, "Iwagakure had previously inquired about accepting a war mission against Konoha, which I refused. Now that we have pawns in our hands, we can make some arrangements."

"I'll give Orochimaru the order in a while. If he doesn't cooperate, I'll deal with him personally before the plan begins!"

In Konoha, the Anbu and the Medical Unit discovered that the Lord Hokage had secretly slipped away, but they showed no panic or impatience.

Both the Fifth and Fourth Hokage were proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique. The so-called Hokage guards were just for show; in real danger, the guards would actually be a hindrance.

Everyone is aware of this, and they should simply follow the arrangements made by the Fifth Generation Lord.

Therefore, Shuichi did not form a new guard team for the time being, and let Elephant, who was good at commentary, continue to do this job.

Fortunately, the other party was knowledgeable and experienced, more than capable of relaying orders.

When Shuichi returned to the village, the medical staff found no critically injured people and quickly went about their respective tasks.

Only the Medical Unit Captain and other high-ranking officers remained to receive and control a few White Zetsu, who would be used for top-secret research...

More than half a month has passed slowly.

In early March, the Ninja Academy started, and everything in the village was normal.

To the surprise of many ninjas, a handsome young man had appeared in the Lord Hokage's office.

She wore a light-colored kimono, had long, flowing hair, and a warm, inviting smile. Her tone of voice was exceptionally friendly.

The way she held the documents gave her a Yamato, dignified air, reminiscent of a Yamato Nadeshiko, which stirred the hearts of many unsuspecting young men.

In short, no one could feel any dislike towards them.

As the news spread, everyone learned that his name was Haku, and that he was a genius who had been brought back from outside the village by the Hokage many years ago.

His strength is Jonin, which has astonished many people.

Thump thump thump, click--

The office door was pushed open, and Kakashi walked in with dead fish eyes, Teuchi, "Oh, Haku's here too? Long time no see. I'm here to submit my performance review report."

"Hehe, long time no see, Senior Kakashi."

Bai laughed and replied, "Another batch of students taking the exam under your supervision? Let me guess, did they all fail?"

"Yes, it's really a pity." Kakashi hadn't expected his "reputation" to spread so widely.

Shuichi reluctantly accepted the report, which, in essence, boiled down to one sentence: the team members lacked teamwork and their performance was unsatisfactory.

He was somewhat speechless. "You really know how to slack off. Others have already led three batches of students. In that case, how about I assign you some more advanced tasks?"

Kakashi: "..."

The Lord Hokage is truly ruthless! How could a mere employee possibly outmaneuver the boss? He should have relaxed the performance evaluation standards a bit.

"Should we investigate that mysterious organization?"

Kakashi turned his gaze to Haku's new arm; without close inspection, it was difficult to tell that it was transplanted. "Your achievement of defeating Sasori of the Red Sands has gradually spread. You're truly amazing, completely surpassing us seniors."

Bai squinted and said softly, "It's all thanks to Brother Itachi. I could barely protect myself. You overestimate me."

"..."

As they exchanged pleasantries, Shuichi paused for a moment, then pulled a secret document from under the table and handed it to Kakashi, saying, "There is indeed an important mission that I need you to handle."

"We've had initial exchanges with Kirigakure over the past two years, and both sides are quite satisfied."

"Now the other side has prepared a new batch of valuable resources for the trade. As the village's envoy, you will set off to return the Samehada and then safely escort the supplies back. Hmm... that's about it."

Kakashi scratched his head, listlessly taking the document. "Yes, sir."