The Uchiha traitors

Tsunade stared at Shazo in disbelief.

The blood vessels around his eyes bulged, and his black pupils quickly faded in color; he had actually Awakening the Byakugan.

The changes that the Kekkei Genkai Dual Rings brought to the body's root marrow not only affected the Pineal Gland, but also made his eyes sharper and gave him keen dynamic vision.

Shazo didn't pay attention to the enhancement of his eyes at first, because his body was being enhanced in all aspects. In addition to vision, his hearing, smell, touch and taste were also being enhanced simultaneously.

The enhancement of his five senses was nothing compared to the changes in his Pineal Gland. Until today, when he suddenly gained X-ray vision, he was utterly shocked.

Shazo merely tentatively injected Chakra into his eyes, and they naturally Awakening into Byakugan.

Therefore, he brought forward the operation against the Hyuga Clan to yesterday, and the methods used to attack the Hyuga Main Family became more direct, almost to the point of beating up all the Hyuga Main Family Ninja.

Tsunade asked incredulously, "You actually Awakening the Byakugan? Do you also have the bloodline of the Hyuga Clan?"

Shazo snorted, "I don't have the bloodline of the Sunwalker. I Awakening the Byakugan naturally by relying on my own Kekkei Genkai to push my body towards a primal transformation."

Tsunade asked, "Shazo Sa, your Talent is unmatched. Now that you've Awakening the Byakugan, you can research on your own. Why do you need to refer to the two Hyuga Clan children?"

Shazo explained helplessly, "I had no choice. The advancement of the Byakugan is different from that of the Sharingan. There is no step-by-step advancement ladder; there is only success or failure in one step."

"The leap is just too big; I'm not confident I can succeed on my first try."

"Having two Byakugan Ninja climbing upwards with me at this moment is my greatest help."

Tsunade understood perfectly and marveled at it with envy.

Then she couldn't help but start studying Shazo's body; she also wanted to Awakening several useful Kekkei Genkai.

Outside Konoha, right next to the Konoha's Barrier, stood a Ninja Akatsuki Uniform.

A Spiral Pattern suddenly appeared in the air in front of him, and as the Spiral Pattern rotated and unfolded, Obito Uchiha jumped out of the Kamui Dimension.

As soon as they appeared, Obito Uchiha complained, "This is unbelievable! There's not a single gap in Konoha's Barrier!"

Uchiha Itachi, who was waiting for his reply, said, "This is not surprising. The Fifth Hokage Shazo, was a very capable leader. The Konoha under his leadership was completely different from the Konoha under the Third Hokage."

"You should have known this already, after all, we experienced his prowess firsthand five years ago."

Obito Uchiha sighed, "I know, but I'm just unwilling to accept it."

"That way, only Zetsu and I can go in. Uchiha Itachi, you, and Kisame Hoshigaki will have to wait outside the Barrier, or enter through the Main Gate of Konoha."

Uchiha Itachi pulled down his straw hat and said calmly, "It's alright, Kisame and I will enter Konoha through the main gate."

"The Ninja guarding Konoha are at most Chunin; they won't detect anything amiss with my eyes."

Then Uchiha Itachi suddenly asked, "Madara Uchiha, let's assume you are Madara Uchiha, do you really think that the four of us can defeat the Fifth Hokage Shazo?"

His tone was full of doubt, and he even directly questioned Obito Uchiha without any hesitation, asserting with great certainty that he was not the real Madara Uchiha.

But Obito Uchiha, wearing a mask, wasn't angry. He had gotten used to it over the past five years, or rather, he was numb to it from Uchiha Itachi's constant teasing.

Most importantly, he had come to a complete understanding that Uchiha Itachi was simply too brilliant.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make, and the more flaws this kid will seize upon.

So no matter what questions or probing remarks Uchiha Itachi made, Obito ignored them all and continued talking about his own affairs.

Obito scoffed, "I admit, the Fifth Hokage Shazo, is practically Hashirama Senju, but if the two of us work together, we still have a chance to take down this rising star of the Ninja World."

Uchiha Itachi sneered, "The two of us? We only have three Mangekyō Sharingan combined. We'd have a hard time even dealing with Shisui, let alone Big Brother Fifth Hokage, who's known as the 'strongest Ninja World '?"

"Besides, Konoha Sannin are in Konoha. They have plenty of manpower. No matter how I look at it, there's absolutely no chance of them winning."

Obito Uchiha laughed, "It's precisely because the Konoha Sannin are all in Konoha that we have the opportunity to deal with the Fifth Hokage."

"Zetsu has learned some intelligence: a rebellion is brewing within Konoha, led by Konoha Sannin, one of the Orochimaru."

"Uchiha Itachi, I know you once controlled Orochimaru with just a glance, but you won't underestimate Orochimaru's abilities because of that, will you?"

Uchiha Itachi replied, "I'm not that shallow."

"Orochimaru's strength is actually far superior to mine, but his soul has too many flaws, which are countered by my Mangekyō Sharingan, which is why he was defeated by me so easily."

"But when facing powerful Ninja whom I cannot contend with, his performance far surpasses mine."

"If Orochimaru was planning a rebellion against the Fifth Hokage, he would have acted very secretly. But how did he obtain the intelligence?"

Obito Uchiha asked, "Are you asking about this detail because you're worried it's a trap?"

Uchiha Itachi said, "There's no evidence yet to prove it's a trap, but I don't think Orochimaru would leak information so easily."

"Orochimaru was once a member of the Akatsuki, and he still has a ring on his hand. I don't think he would be completely unprepared for Zetsu's investigation."

A mimosa plant sprouted from the ground, revealing the Yin-Yang face of the Black and White Zetsu.

He said to Uchiha Itachi, "You're right. I've never had a chance to get close to Orochimaru. I got this information from the Fourth Kazekage."

"Orochimaru's rebellion was large-scale, involving not only Jonin Konoha but also recruits from outside the village, including the Fourth Kazekage Rasa."

Uchiha Itachi frowned in thought, then pressed further, "The Fourth Kazekage is involved too, so will the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage also get involved?"

Black and White Zetsu shook his head and said, "I can't be sure. The Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage have very strong guards, so I can't get too close."

Obito Uchiha said, "That's enough. With the Fourth Kazekage involved, if Orochimaru can catch the Fifth Hokage off guard, they still have a chance to win."

"If we join in during the chaos, our chances of the rebellion succeeding will be much greater."

"Even if it doesn't fail, it's fine. We won't suffer any losses, but Konoha will definitely suffer heavy losses, and its upward momentum will likely be interrupted."

Uchiha Itachi said, "I feel something is wrong. The Fourth Kazekage was involved in the plan, so why didn't Sunagakure mobilize any forces? They only sent a small team to Konoha."

"Aren't they afraid that the Fourth Kazekage will die in Konoha?"

Black and White Zetsu replied, "The death of the Fourth Kazekage's entire family in Konoha was originally Sunagakure's objective."

Uchiha Itachi: "Hmm?"

Black and White Zetsu explained, "This is what the Fourth Kazekage himself said. Even if he successfully killed the Fifth Hokage, even if Konoha was thrown into chaos, he would still have enough power to raze Sunagakure."

Obito Uchiha sighed, "Konoha is too strong. In the past two years, they've cleared out a large number of veteran Ninja through assessments, but the number of officially registered Ninja has still exceeded 20,000."

"If the evaluation criteria are relaxed even slightly, the number of Ninja in Konoha could double in just a few days. This is a formidable force that no other ninja village could withstand."

"Furthermore, with the Fifth Hokage dead, all the Konoha Ninja will vie to avenge him, using it as leverage for their own advancement."

"Therefore, the Fourth Kazekage had long been prepared for death; he considered his life as Sunagakure's way of giving back to Konoha."

Uchiha Itachi breathed a sigh of relief, "I see, that explains it."

"It's truly unbelievable that the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, who attempted to assassinate the Fifth Hokage, was prepared to pay with his life in repentance beforehand."

His eyes were filled with confusion. "How could Konoha have become so powerful in just two years?"

"Could it be that the Third Hokage really dragged Konoha down? If so, wouldn't it be a huge mistake for me to believe in the Third Hokage?"

"No, no, that's not how it is!"

"I did nothing wrong. Father, Mother, the elders, and the Jonin did not sacrifice themselves in vain, absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

After a few minutes of silence, Uchiha Itachi gathered his chaotic thoughts and asked again, "Why didn't you bring Nagato?"

"Even if Orochimaru and the Fourth Kazekage join forces, it will be difficult for them to defeat the Fifth Hokage. Even with the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage deciding to participate, their chances are still not very high."

"Only Nagato, who possesses the Rinnegan, truly has a chance to defeat the Fifth Hokage."

Obito Uchiha felt extremely heartbroken.

He's not stupid; how could he not know that he can't beat Shazo? If he really wanted to deal with the Fifth Hokage, it would be best to have Nagato involved.

Since Shazo suddenly emerged after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, he has maintained an undefeated record, easily crushing his opponents each time.

Even the Fourth Raikage and the Cloud Ninja Army couldn't last an hour against Shazo.

In recent years, only Nagato has been able to fight Shazo to a standstill, with the outcome of the battle lasting a long time.

The Fifth Hokage Shazo, didn't even defeat Nagato. Rather, after a long stalemate, Nagato ran out of steam and chose to back down.

Therefore, if you really want to defeat or even kill the Fifth Hokage, you still have to look to Nagato.

However, after Nagato's battle with Shazo, and after hearing something from Shazo, he and Konan became more wary of Obito than ever before.

Even though Obito healed Nagato's body using White Zetsu Cells, it couldn't dispel Nagato's vigilance.

Obito Uchiha and said, "This operation is taking advantage of Orochimaru's rebellion. We don't have a clear plan or objective ourselves, so there's no need to involve Nagato."

Uchiha Itachi remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement with Obito's assessment.

Fate is always a strange thing.

Despite all the changes, the First Battle the Third Stage of the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams was still Gaara Rock Lee from Konoha and Sunagakure from Sunagakure.

Gaara's Magnet Style Release Sand Manipulation was amazing and powerful, while Rock Lee's speed and punches after discarding his weights were astonishing. The battle between the two was so intense and ferocious that it was as if two Jonin in a fierce battle.

This was a battle like Mars, setting the tone from the very beginning.

The final battle mirrored the historical outcome; Rock Lee seemed to be just a step away from victory, but in reality, he almost forced Jinchuriki to reveal his identity as Gaara.

In the end, Gaara was stronger, relying on his own Chakra reserves and his impeccable Sand Manipulation Secret Technique to achieve final victory.

But this time was different. After Rock Lee was suppressed by Gaara, his stubborn persistence did not arouse Gaara's murderous intent.

Rock Lee could not avoid the outcome of failure, but he did avoid the result of being permanently disabled.

Perhaps it was because when Shazo gave Sunagakure a Forest Style makeover, it left such a deep impression on Shukaku that Shukaku became severely withdrawn, and the torment he inflicted on Gaara wasn't as intense as before.

The Fifth Hokage Shazo, had actually forgotten about the incident. After seeing Rock Lee's defeat, he was still thinking about the original plot, and couldn't help but sigh, "How interesting. Are those two Bonds of Fate?"

The First Hokage smiled and said, "This child is quite good. His foundation in Taijutsu is very solid. He will definitely be able to become Jonin in the future."

When Rock Lee unleashes his full power, he already possesses the strength of Special Jōnin. The First Hokage said that he would definitely become Jonin in the future, which actually meant that Rock Lee would have little chance of becoming Kage-level Ninja.

The Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, nodded in agreement, saying, "This child's physique isn't very compatible with the Eight Gates Formation, and he's nowhere near as good as his Jonin leader Jonin Might Guy."

"It's a pity. He invested too much in the [Eight Gates Formation], and even I can't bring his physical condition back to normal."

No one said anything more, and the Secret Chamber fell silent again as everyone watched the next match with rapt attention.

Unfortunately, the battle that followed was not as intense.

A typical Genin battle consists of throwing a few Shuriken and then engaging in some strenuous Taijutsu fighting; the entire battle might not even see them manage to unleash a single Ninjutsu.

It looks really boring.

The top-tier Genin from the Five Great Shinobi Villages could completely overwhelm ordinary Genin; the audience couldn't even see what happened before the battle was over.

It's fair to say it's completely devoid of any entertainment value.

In particular, compared to the intense and exciting first match, the average viewer found it much more bland.

Actually, Shikamaru Nara's battle of wits was quite exciting, Temari's Wind Style Great Fan was also very interesting, and Shino Aburame's Kikaichū were also bizarre and difficult to understand.

However, only Ninja can appreciate and perceive such brilliance; ordinary people simply cannot understand the intricacies involved, and the atmosphere at the scene became quite subdued.