Sai

Kurama Unkai, the head of the Kurama Clan's branch family, had come to Satomi Hill Villa in the original anime after Yakumo Kurama's parents died, intending to abduct her.

After Naruto and the others stopped him, he put on a show of righteous self-sacrifice.

He pretended he wanted to kill Yakumo Kurama, claiming that the monster inside her was too terrifying, and that the Third Hokage and Kurenai only wanted to seal it away, which would surely lead to disaster.

So he claimed he had brought people there to kill Yakumo, lest the monster inside her harm Konoha.

Heh. In the original, Naruto, Kurenai, and the others just believed him.

But what was the truth?

They had clearly gone there to capture Yakumo in the first place. Only after they failed and Naruto and the others stopped them did they lie and pretend they were making a righteous sacrifice!

What a bastard. He'd put on quite a show.

He'd even deliberately burned himself to lead Naruto out of the illusion, winning his sympathy and trust.

Kimura Takuya had been keeping an eye on him all along!

He'd been secretly on guard, and when he saw Unkai slip away, he knew the man was up to something.

Kimura Takuya used the Silent Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind him.

He patted Unkai on the shoulder, and a stream of Soul Energy flowed into his body.

"Unkai, are you going to prepare lunch for everyone? I want roast chicken! Roast chicken!"

"Ah! Oh, ha ha ha! Yes, that's right. Everyone must be tired, and it's about lunchtime. Our friends here helped save the head of the Kurama Clan and the hope of our clan.

"We're truly grateful. The clan head and his wife have only just woken up, so they can't host our guests. As the head of the branch family, I'll have to do it in their stead.

"I'll go prepare a feast. Please wait here, everyone. I'll be right back."

With that, he looked toward Yakumo's parents and gave them a nod, as if asking for their permission.

Only after receiving their response did he leave.

He acted as if he had great respect for the head of the Main Family and his wife.

Kimura Takuya couldn't help sighing.

Life really was like a play, and it all came down to acting!

Since this minor villain still wanted to add another scene for himself, Kimura Takuya decided to give him the chance.

He'd let him keep acting and see what tricks he had up his sleeve.

Kimura Takuya turned and sat on the bed. He said he was a little tired and wanted to rest, then lay down.

In truth, he was using the Soul Energy he'd just sent into Unkai to monitor his every move.

After absorbing the monster, his soul had grown stronger, and his recovery seemed to have improved by about a third.

Not only that, he'd also learned a little about how to use Soul Energy.

Given enough time, perhaps he could even achieve eternal life through chakra, just like the Sage of Six Paths.

Outside Satomi Hill Villa.

Kurama Unkai first returned to the clan compound and sent people to the villa to prepare a feast.

But he himself headed straight to the Hokage Building.

Just as he was about to enter, an Anbu member coming out stopped him.

"Kurama Unkai? The Third Hokage has ordered a ceremony to appoint the Fifth Hokage tomorrow morning. Please inform your clan head. I still have to visit the other ninja clans. I'd appreciate it."

"What? They're appointing the Fifth Hokage?"

Kurama Unkai grabbed the Anbu member and asked him to explain. The Anbu clearly knew him and didn't get angry; he spent quite some time explaining everything.

After hearing the whole story, Kurama Unkai paced around anxiously.

During a sensitive period like a change of Hokage, the Third Hokage wouldn't meet people easily. And he wasn't familiar with Tsunade, the new Fifth Hokage, so he had nowhere to turn.

Was his plan to report the clan head to the Hokage and use that to eliminate the Main Family's hope really going to fall through?

That was right. In Kurama Unkai's eyes, Yakumo was nothing more than the Main Family's hope.

Without her, the Main Family was doomed!

Once the Main Family was gone, the Kurama Clan could finally truly belong to Kurama Unkai.

As a great clan that had once rivaled the Uchiha, the Kurama Clan owned plenty of assets in Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Every ninja clan had its own private forces. There was no shortage of ways to make money.

As a once-great clan, their family businesses were spread throughout the Land of Fire.

Although they had fallen into decline and hadn't produced an elite jonin in over twenty years—not even a Chunin—they still had the people they'd trained before.

Yakumo's parents were both jonin, after all.

So even a starved camel was bigger than a horse.

The Kurama Clan's wealth was still considerable.

And forget the rule that ninja couldn't leave the village whenever they wanted.

The clan could issue a mission and have one of their own members accept it. That would let them leave the village, wouldn't it?

The family member would collect the mission reward as their salary, while also gaining mission experience to help them get promoted later.

Meanwhile, the village received the mission fee, which counted as the clan paying taxes.

Everyone benefited. What could be better?

Only civilian ninja were restricted at every turn, and they were the ones who got all the truly dangerous missions.

You didn't want to accept one?

Too bad. Ninja had to obey orders, so you had no choice.

What's more, compulsory missions came with no pay. Not only that, you had to provide your own expendable supplies, such as weapons and military ration pills.

If you were injured, your teammates could treat you if the team had a medic.

If not, you had to pay your own medical bills after you got back.

No health insurance, no workers' compensation, nothing.

Even capitalists would weep at that!

That was why Kurama Unkai was so determined to kill off the Main Family and seize the Kurama Clan's assets.

He paced back and forth in front of the Hokage Building.

He wanted to see the Hokage, but the Anbu on guard stopped him.

He was reluctant to leave, too.

Suddenly, he saw someone emerge from the Hokage Building.

His eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

"Lord Danzo, Kurama Unkai has something to report."

"Oh?"

"It's not convenient to speak here. Please come somewhere safe, Lord Danzo."

The two of them then went to Root headquarters.

Kurama Unkai told Danzo about the monster inside Yakumo.

Inside Root headquarters.

In the dim shadows all around them, countless figures seemed to lurk.

The atmosphere was dark and sinister.

Standing before Danzo, Kurama Unkai felt that the man before him was surrounded by endless darkness.

After a long while, Danzo finally made his decision.

"Just a single thought can create a monster powerful enough to destroy Konoha?

"If such a dangerous person is allowed to grow unchecked, won't she become another Demon Fox?

"Someone!"

A black-haired boy stepped out of the darkness behind Danzo. He wore a short, midriff-baring shirt and carried a short sword on his back. A Root mask covered his face, and his pale skin revealed nothing of his features.

But if Kimura Takuya had been there, he would have recognized the boy at a glance.

This was Sai, who had greeted Naruto by asking about his little dick on his very first appearance!

"I've arranged for you to join the team led by the jonin Kurenai Yuhi. Your mission is to assassinate Yakumo Kurama.

"Be discreet. With the Fifth Hokage just taking office, you're less likely to be discovered by the Anbu.

"From this moment on, your name is Sai. Take off your mask."

"Yes."

The black-haired boy removed his mask, revealing a youthful, delicate face.

A smile hung on his young face, but there was no warmth in his eyes. They were as cold as a deep pool.

"Don't make that fake smile in front of me."

"I'm very sorry. The textbook says that to earn someone's trust, you must first learn to smile. I've practiced, but I still can't control my expression very well."

The boy lowered his head apologetically. Danzo said nothing more and simply waved for him to leave.

He turned and walked away.