The Land of the Moon Pledges Allegiance

The Land of Whirlpools, Snake Pit Village.

Orochimaru is reading a letter that Danzo sent to him.

Danzo, now fallen from grace, dared not come to see Orochimaru in person, but instead sent a letter.

The letter briefly outlined his plan to launch a counterattack against Konoha.

Furthermore, Danzo asked Orochimaru to join him in the attack, and the reward was naturally the Byakugan of the Hyuga Main Family.

Honestly, Orochimaru looks down on Danzo completely now.

Even after all this, Danzo still considers himself Hokage and treats things that belong to Konoha as his own.

The fact that Orochimaru received Orochimaru Byakugan from the Hyuga Main Family main branch as a reward only made him more displeased.

Danzo's letter had been delivered to Snake Pit Village for many days, but Orochimaru hadn't read it yet.

Today I received information about Iwagakure's migration to the moon and Danzo's raid on the Land of Fire's port, which reminded me of Danzo.

It turns out Danzo has gotten involved with Iwa ninja again.

Anyone who gets involved with Yichen will never be able to stay put; this is a pattern Orochimaru observed.

That's why Orochimaru found the letter again.

After reading the letter, Orochimaru, though dissatisfied with Danzo's tone, was still somewhat tempted: the Hyuga Main Family was indeed his target.

"White Zetsu, summon Black Zetsu. If he still refuses to appear, then he should never appear again," Orochimaru said to a White Zetsu clone lying on the operating table.

The White Zetsu clone sat up from the operating table very naturally, jumped to the ground, and then disappeared into the ground.

The White Zetsu clone had become accustomed to Orochimaru's experiments.

Sometimes I feel that being on Orochimaru's operating table, enjoying all sorts of nutrients provided by Orochimaru, makes life much more enjoyable than before.

Even sleeping feels better on the operating table.

After a long while, Black Zetsu appeared, possessing White Zetsu. Upon appearing, Black Zetsu directly asked Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, what do you want with me?"

Black Zetsu has been avoiding Orochimaru lately because Orochimaru has never given up his research on his body.

However, Orochimaru couldn't do anything about his body before, so he temporarily put it aside.

Orochimaru said to Black Zetsu, "I fought the Tsuchikage, and I need to know all the information you have regarding Iwagakure."

Orochimaru knew Yichen enough; this guy hadn't gotten much of an advantage last time, so he might bring a whole bunch of Kage Level to cause trouble next time.

Black Zetsu thought about it and decided it wasn't a big deal, especially since the Iwa ninja were indeed their common enemy.

Orochimaru was willing to go against Yichen, and Black Zetsu was more than happy to do so.

Black Zetsu then said, "Iwagakure regularly checks on White Zetsu clone, and the Tsuchikage has incredibly powerful sensory abilities, so White Zetsu clone haven't approached Iwagakure in recent years."

"Therefore, I know about the changes in Iwagakure over the years much more than you do."

"There are a total of eleven Kage Level in Iwa ninja, including the two Jinchuriki."

"Those nine people are the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, Ikura, Kitsuchi, Kawakita, Matsutani Shinya, Deidara, Sokai Uchiha, and Izumi Uchiha."

"Among these people, the ones I know the most are Sokai Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha."

"These two are oddities of the Uchiha Clan. They aren't particularly strong on their own, probably barely even Elite Jonin, but they've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, making them comparable to Kage Level fighters."

Orochimaru frowned, interrupting Black Zetsu, and asked, "What do you mean?"

When Orochimaru was in Konoha, no Konoha Uchiha Uchiha had appeared Mangekyo Konoha.

In Orochimaru's mind, the stronger the Uchiha, the stronger their eye power, with the two being directly proportional.

Black Zetsu said, "You could say that. They were originally just two Elite Jonin, but the Mangekyō Sharingan gave them combat power comparable to Kage Level."

"But without those eyes, they are nothing."

After a pause, seeing that Orochimaru remained silent, Black Zetsu continued, "The Dōjutsu of these two Uchiha are unknown, but I have made some guesses based on some of their battles."

"Sokai Uchiha has a Dōjutsu that can track targets; the specifics of its use are unknown, but he has successfully pinpointed our location several times."

"The base where the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was located was pinpointed by him using the Dōjutsu of his Mangekyō Sharingan."

"One of Izumi Uchiha's Dōjutsu is to absorb the eye power of others and convert it into his own."

At this point, Black Zetsu paused and glanced at Orochimaru's Byakugan.

Orochimaru frowned and asked, "She can absorb the power of the Byakugan?"

Black Zetsu shook his head and said, "That's uncertain, but it can absorb the ocular power of Mangekyō Sharingan and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

Then Black Zetsu said solemnly, "Most importantly, the Iwa ninja now possess more than just the Mangekyō Sharingan Sokai Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha."

"Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan may have also fallen into the hands of Iwa ninja."

Orochimaru's Byakugan narrowed upon hearing this. Fugaku Uchiha's eyes?

He had stumbled before with these eyes, and he had made some guesses about Fugaku Uchiha's Dōjutsu.

That's a time-related Dōjutsu, and it's quite troublesome.

Seeing Orochimaru's expression, Black Zetsu chuckled and said, "Orochimaru, you fought against Fugaku Uchiha, do you know what his Mangekyō Sharingan's Dōjutsu are?"

Orochimaru glanced at Black Zetsu, but didn't answer. He simply said, "Continue."

Black Zetsu cursed Orochimaru's ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind, but showed no sign of it on his face.

Black Zetsu grinned and said, "I once had White Zetsu clone Itachi Uchiha try to exchange information about Sokai Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha with Uchiha Itachi."

"But Itachi Uchiha told me that the Tsuchikage possessed another Mangekyō Sharingan from Shisui Uchiha."

Orochimaru was confused.

Black Zetsu then said, "Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan technique is Kotoamatsukami, which can directly alter the will of the user."

"Now, one of Shisui Uchiha's eyes is in the hands of the Tsuchikage, and the other is in the hands of Danzo."

Orochimaru suddenly felt a chill travel from his tailbone directly to the top of his head.

He glanced at the letter from Danzo that he had casually placed on the lab table.

He thought to himself, "As expected, Danzo's words are never to be trusted. That was close; I almost fell for his trick."

Only...

Orochimaru stared intently at Black Zetsu with his Byakugan. This guy clearly has such crucial information, yet he refuses to tell me.

Feeling a little guilty under Orochimaru's gaze, Black Zetsu quickly said, "Finally, Obito Uchiha's Sharingan may have also fallen into the hands of the Tsuchikage."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru suddenly activated his Byakugan, staring intently at Black Zetsu like a venomous snake about to pounce on its prey.

He asked, word by word, "Say it again!"

Black Zetsu knew why Orochimaru was so agitated, because when he first started cooperating with Orochimaru, he had said that Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan should have been destroyed.

Now he says that the Mangekyō Sharingan with its Space-Time Ninjutsu is still there, which infuriates Orochimaru.

Black Zetsu quickly explained, "Orochimaru, don't be angry, listen to me."

"I originally believed that Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan had been destroyed, and that his Kamui Space had temporarily lost contact with the Ninja World."

"The only thing that could possibly connect the two is the Mangekyō Sharingan in Kakashi Hatake."

"However, given Kakashi Hatake's non- Uchiha Clan Kakashi Hatake, it's already quite impressive that he can barely use it; there's no way he could enter the Kamui Space."

"However, a few days ago, I suddenly discovered that some things from the Kamui Space had appeared in the Ninja World, and they were even in the direction of Iwagakure."

That's why I overturned my previous judgment.

After hearing Black Zetsu's words, Orochimaru's mind raced with various thoughts, and then he remembered the matter of Yichen sealing the Space-Time Tunnel next to Uzushio Village.

Orochimaru's mind raced with various guesses, but in the end, only one figure remained.

That's what Atsumi Akino looked like, as he saw her through Senju Tobirama's perspective.

Orochimaru had a guess: Yichen probably didn't enter the Kamui Space through Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, but rather through Space-Time Ninjutsu.

The time Yichen went to great lengths to close the Space-Time Tunnel that day, which ultimately backfired, must have been because he was conducting some kind of experiment.

Orochimaru didn't tell Black Zetsu his guess, but suddenly said in an extremely cold tone, "Black Zetsu, you sensed it through a part of your own body, didn't you?"

Black Zetsu's heart skipped a beat when he heard Orochimaru's words, and he instinctively took a step back.

Indeed, he attached parts of his body to some special items in the Kamui Space.

He determined it through a special connection with his own body.

What's going on? How did Orochimaru know about my ability?

Did the White Zetsu leak the secret? That shouldn't be the case. The White Zetsu clone I placed next to Orochimaru were all newly created; these White Zetsu clone don't know anything about our past.

Even Orochimaru's Genjutsu against the White Zetsu clone was useless.

Just as Black Zetsu was speculating about Orochimaru's source of information, Orochimaru once again said in a sinister tone, "I want a part of your body."

Orochimaru didn't say anything threatening, but Black Zetsu knew this was an ultimatum.

If he refuses, the cooperation between the two parties will have to be terminated.

Although Black Zetsu gained nothing from the collaboration, however...

He recalled what the White Zetsu clone said before he came, "Orochimaru recently used the Impure World Reincarnation, but I didn't see it clearly and haven't figured out the details yet."

Black Zetsu took a deep breath and told himself that it wasn't time to turn against him yet.

So Black Zetsu painfully separated a small part of his body.

Seeing Orochimaru eagerly begin his experiments with his body, Black Zetsu gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

He originally had another very important piece of information to tell Orochimaru, but now he no longer had that intention.

Black Zetsu's current thought is that he needs to go to Konoha and start making arrangements as soon as possible.

At this moment, Orochimaru, who had his back to him, asked again, "Tell me more about the moon."

Black and White Zetsu, who was already half-buried in the ground, suddenly paused, then emerged from the ground again and told Orochimaru about the Sage of Six Paths and the Hamura Otsutsuki brothers.

Of course, Black Zetsu's excuse was: Madara Uchiha told him everything.

The plan for Iwagakure to Moon Immigration Plan has been confirmed by all parties in the Ninja World.

Because the Land of Snow, which is closest to the Space-Time Tunnel, has already completed its immigration process.

Both Kirigakure and Kumogakure took action, just like Konoha.

Their operations were all similar: sending intelligence ninjas among the immigrants.

Besides these major Great Ninja Village, Iwa ninja's actions have also attracted the interest of many small and medium-sized countries.

For example, medium-sized countries like the Land of Fields and the Land of the Moon couldn't resist seeing that countries like the Land of Hot Water, which were originally similar to their own, had the opportunity to expand their territory to the moon.

They expressed, either openly or covertly, their willingness to submit to Iwagakure and their hope that Iwagakure would lead them in developing the moon.

Especially the Land of the Moon, located between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning.

An envoy sent by the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon to the Iwagakure told the Iwa ninja that their country possessed information about the star the Iwa ninja had been searching for.

The order to find the star of the original Hoshigakure was personally given by Tsuchikage, Yichen; no one else knew how much importance Yichen attached to this matter.

Therefore, the matter of the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon was reported directly to Yichen.

Yichen personally received the envoy of the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon and promised him that if he could obtain the star, the Iwagakure would establish a branch in the Land of the Moon and cooperate with the Land of the Moon in developing the moon.

In short, the Land of the Moon receives the same treatment as the Land of Hot Water.

The envoy was overjoyed and immediately relayed a series of intelligence reports to Yichen.

Originally, the Land of the Moon, backed by the Land of Lightning, was arrogant and haughty in front of the Land of Hot Water.

However, in recent years the situation has reversed, with the Kumogakure suffering several defeats at the hands of the Iwa ninja Village.

However, the Land of Hot Water successfully gained the protection of the Iwa ninja. Suddenly, the Land of Hot Water completely suppressed the Land of the Moon.

The Daimyo of the Land of the Moon were deeply distressed by this, and they were all eager to join the Iwagakure.

If the Fourth Raikage were still alive, no one would dare to discuss it openly, for who knows what drastic things that reckless man might do.

However, now that the Fifth Raikage is the good-natured Darui, everyone feels the time is almost ripe.

Coincidentally, the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon received intelligence that remnants of the Star Ninja had appeared within his territory, and the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon felt that his opportunity had finally arrived.

He originally planned to wait until the next defeat of the Cloud ninja before joining the Iwagakure, but after hearing about the Moon, he couldn't sit still any longer.

After hearing the messenger's words, Yichen left Iwagakure alone without saying a word.

Yichen wasn't worried that the messenger was lying. With his perception abilities, he knew that no one in the Ninja World could ambush him.

That afternoon, Yichen arrived in the skies above the Land of the Moon.

Yichen once led a group of people to move the rocks beneath two lakes in the Land of the Moon.

Besides the two lakes that Yichen and his group moved away from, there are many other lakes like this in the Land of the Moon.

The hiding place of the remnants of the Hoshigakure that the messenger mentioned was beneath one of the lakes.

Yichen guessed that the Star Ninja, like himself, must have discovered that the rocks beneath the lake were exceptionally hard.

The Star Ninja used the rocks at the bottom of the lake as a defensive barrier and made their home there.

Yichen flew to the lake the messenger had mentioned and landed there.

With his Mind's Eye, he could perceive the location of the Star Ninja directly through the lake water and the hard rock at the bottom.

"Each of them has more volatile Chakra than a normal ninja, there's no mistake." Yichen muttered to himself.

The Chakra ninjas trained through star cultivation is abnormal.

Then Yichen Hand Seals and slammed his hands on the ground, unleashing a large-scale Water Release.

Yichen drained the water from the lake and moved it to the ground not far away.

Then, with another Earth Release is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels), the solid rock at the bottom of the lake was split in two and pushed apart.

From the huge crack that split in two, Yichen could see the Star Ninja stronghold below.

Yichen was taken aback when he saw the Star Ninja exposed because the rock had been split in two.

Judging from the positions of these Star Ninja, they appear to be in a standoff.

The already few Star Ninja stood clearly on both sides.

Both sides drew their weapons, and the weapons were pointed at each other.

However, because the rocks above them suddenly split apart from the sides, the Star Ninja all looked up at the sky in astonishment.

While Yichen was still in a daze, the lake water that he had moved away with Water Release began to slowly flow back along the terrain.

Yichen shifted his gaze from the two opposing sides and landed on the so-called star between the two groups.

The star, about ten centimeters in diameter, was entirely black and placed on a platform between the two opposing sides. It was emitting a strange, purple energy fluctuation.

With a wave of his hand, Yichen activated the Banshō Ten'in, drawing the stars to his front before the Star Ninja could react.

Yichen used Porcelain Release to apply a seal that isolated Chakra, and then slowly sealed him into a scroll.

Only then did the Star Ninja realize that their treasure had been stolen right under everyone's noses.

Just now everyone was arguing about whether to stop using star cultivation because of its side effects.

Now it's all over, the star is gone.

A few brainless individuals immediately formed hand Hand Seals and shouted, "Mysterious Peacock Method!"

Suddenly, a large amount of tangible Chakra appeared behind these people, forming Chakra that carried them rapidly towards Yichen.

Among the remaining people, one of them immediately cried out, trembling, "Come back quickly! That's the Tsuchikage!"

The group that flew towards Yichen paused for a moment, then one of them gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone attack together, he's all alone."

"There are many of us, and we all know the Mysterious Peacock Method. It's the perfect opportunity to kill him and avenge our fallen predecessors."

Yichen put away the scroll, then looked at the Star Ninja underground. The next moment, Yichen made a cross with his hands, and a beam of blue light shot out from his hands.

Boom~~

After a loud bang, the Star Ninja's hiding place turned into gas.

The Star Ninja who remained below also disappeared.

The first few people to fly out of the ground were lucky; they were far enough away that they escaped unharmed.

However, upon seeing this terrifying Light Release, the figures rushing towards Yichen suddenly stopped, then quickly turned around and fled in the opposite direction.

Yichen Hand Seals and used a celestial technique— Storm Release— to quickly catch up with the group and knock them down.

After dealing with the Star Ninja, Yichen took Xing back to Iwagakure.

The entire battle, except for the time spent traveling, lasted only a few seconds.

The Star Ninja's resistance did not cause any ripples in Yichen's heart; he hadn't cared much about disbanding the entire Hoshigakure back then.

These weak ninjas from small villages failed to attract Yichen's attention in the slightest.

Upon returning to Iwagakure, Yichen had Ikura arrange for some people to study the star, and then left it for the time being.

Although the Sage of Six Paths said this stuff would be useful for fusing the five attributes, Yichen hasn't officially started experimenting with it yet, so he doesn't need it for the time being.

It would be better to have the village help us find out the basic information about the star first.

Yichen is an honest and trustworthy person, and he cannot go back on his promise to the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon.

Yichen instructed Kawakita to lead a group of ninjas into the Land of the Moon to disband Land of the Moon existing ninja villages and then prepare to establish a new branch in the Land of the Moon.

At the same time, Yichen also agreed to let the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon organize the civilians of the Land of the Moon and prepare to immigrate to the Moon along with several other countries.

Disbanding a ninja village and establishing a new branch involves many trivial matters, but Iwagakure has long since developed a very systematic and efficient method.

These tasks were very easy for the people in Kawakita to do, and Yichen didn't need to worry about them at all.

Arranging the immigration was simple; it could be left to Tomoko to handle.

Ikura and the others did not raise any questions about Yichen's sudden takeover of the Land of the Moon, Iwagakure had indeed not established a new branch for a long time.

Because of the continuous expansion of the army, the village has a surplus of ninjas, so having multiple branches is a good thing.

This time, Iwagakure will build both a Moon Branch and Land of the Moon Branch simultaneously, with both branches being constructed together.

This would not only create many more positions for these ninjas, but also allow them to train newcomers effectively using the wandering ninjas in the Land of the Moon.

However, everyone expressed concern about Yichen's decision to allow the people of the Land of the Moon to immigrate to the moon together.

Ikura believes that the Land of the Moon has always been within the sphere of influence of the Kumogakure.

Although the Cloud ninja did not directly control the Land of the Moon, it has always been the Land of the Moon Kumogakure's backyard.

It is easy for intelligence ninjas from the Cloud ninja to infiltrate among the civilians who immigrate to the Land of the Moon.

Therefore, Ikura suggests that if ordinary people insist on immigrating to the Land of the Moon, they should conduct a thorough investigation.

However, Yichen waved his hand and refused, his answer consisting of only three words: "No need!"

Ikura glanced at Yichen's expression and seemed to understand something, so he stopped insisting.

From beginning to end, no one, including Yichen, considered whether suddenly annexing the Land of the Moon would provoke discontent from the Kumogakure and lead to war.

Because the higher-ups in Iwa ninja all know that the current Cloud ninja doesn't have that kind of guts.

Unlike the Fourth Raikage, the Fifth Raikage Darui was not irritable; he dared not offend the powerful Iwa ninja at this time.

As for Konoha, Danzo is enough to give them a headache. Neither Kakashi nor Shikaku Nara would be foolish enough to go head-to-head with Iwagakure at this time.

The remaining Kirigakure, although it showed great ambition after becoming the leader of the alliance of the three clans of Konoha, Cloud ninja, and Mist ninja.

But one hand cannot clap; they alone cannot make any waves.

As Yichen and the others had predicted, only Kirigakure issued a negligible protest regarding Iwagakure's sudden annexation of the Land of the Moon.

There wasn't a sound from Konoha or Kumogakure.

Konoha completely turned a deaf ear; Kakashi, Shikaku Nara seemed utterly unaware of the change of leadership in the Land of the Moon.

The Cloud ninja adjusted their deployment, moving some of their forces, originally stationed along the Coastline, towards the Land of the Moon, and then there were no further developments.