Shisui: I'm a Konoha Ninja! / Danzo's New Ally, Hanzo!

Even if Uchiha Gin found out, he wouldn't care.

After all, he had never intended to hide it from Konoha. He had openly let Sarutobi Hiruzen's people join in, and had barely taken any precautions. Several times, it was Hiruzen's people who discovered suspicious individuals and arranged for the Anbu to investigate.

Uchiha Gin's plan now was to keep investing in the research and conduct it openly.

As long as he didn't break any rules, Konoha couldn't punish him. If Konoha secretly obtained the data and started its own project, then Uchiha Gin wouldn't follow the rules either. He'd simply copy them and steal other clans' money-making methods. Many things in Konoha Village were monopolized, and others weren't allowed to do them. The Military Police Force was the same: without the Uchiha's permission, even the Hokage couldn't interfere. After all, those were rules laid down by the First and Second Hokage.

The Scientific Ninja Tools Uchiha was researching were the same. It was like patents on Blue Star: if you didn't respect them, then we'd just have to play dirty.

Besides, Uchiha Gin wasn't researching Scientific Ninja Tools for himself. He was giving the Uchiha Clan a way to survive in the future, making them arms dealers, and, while he was at it, supporting Orochimaru's bid to become Hokage. So he wasn't afraid of Sarutobi Hiruzen planting people among them. If anything, he hoped Hiruzen would send in more skilled people to work for him.

He only needed to remain in charge of the actual operations.

Chapter 45: Shisui: I'm a Konoha Ninja!

"So I can't obtain the Eternal Mangekyo?"

Shisui and Obito were standing face-to-face in the forest.

After Obito had fled last time, he rested for three days before coming to see Shisui again.

He had come to confirm Shisui's goals. If they wouldn't interfere with his own, he would try to bring Shisui under his control and make him work for him.

As soon as they met, Shisui attacked. Obito stopped him and then rattled off a string of reasons to explain his loss of strength. Besides, Obito hadn't used his full power last time. The cramped room had simply made it difficult for him to fight.

In an open area, Obito would have a better chance of winning. He could use plenty of cover to ambush his opponent, and Shisui would have almost no chance of beating him.

Obito's Kamui intangibility was just as unfair as Uchiha Gin's ability to foresee the future.

When Obito learned that Shisui wanted greater power so he could stop the conflict between Konoha's High Command and the Uchiha, he told him outright that it was impossible for him to use Uchiha Gin's Mangekyo to turn his own eyes into the Eternal Mangekyo.

"That's right!"

"Only the Mangekyo Sharingan of brothers can awaken the Eternal Mangekyo!"

Obito said with absolute certainty.

Uchiha Madara had held almost nothing back from Obito. Aside from what he had done to Rin Nohara and the fact that Madara had arranged the incident that left him injured, he had told Obito everything else.

Madara had truly been raising Obito as a version of himself, shaping him into a fanatical man who would make the Infinite Tsukuyomi a reality.

So, aside from his strength, Obito was almost Uchiha Madara himself!

"Is that really the only way?"

Shisui frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

Obito continued.

"Peace confined to a single village is a shallow ambition."

"Akatsuki is an organization I secretly control. Its goal is to protect the entire Ninja World!"

"Back then, Hashirama refused to accept my proposal to unite the Ninja World and put an end to war. That's why things have turned out this way. As soon as he died, the other villages immediately waged war against the Land of Fire!"

"But my body was also weakening, and my strength had fallen drastically. I had no choice but to replace it with a new one. Without the power to keep them in check as before, I could only rely on more people to bring peace to the entire Ninja World!"

As he spoke, Obito spread his arms.

His voice rang with fervor, as if every word he said were true.

Akatsuki's stated goal had always been to gather the Nine Tailed Beasts and use them as a nuclear deterrent, forcing the nations to maintain peace.

In truth, hardly anyone knew about the Infinite Tsukuyomi. At the very least, Nagato and Konan didn't know. Obito was now using the same stated goal to fool Shisui and recruit him into Akatsuki.

This hypocritical, real-world peace couldn't last. Only the Infinite Tsukuyomi could bring everlasting peace, letting everyone live in a perfect world!

"?"

"What do I care about the other villages?"

"I'm a Konoha ninja!"

Shisui's reply left Obito frozen in place.

This wasn't what he had expected.

He had thought Shisui would be someone with great ambitions, but he was nothing more than a guy who cared only about Konoha.

Hah, just like me!

That answer actually made much more sense to Obito.

After all, how many people would care about the entire Ninja World? Everyone was in it for themselves!

"You're a rogue ninja. Isn't this a little out of character for you?"

"But if you're willing to serve me and help me achieve my goals, I can help stop the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha's High Command. What do you say?"

Obito formally invited Shisui to join him.

Obito clearly valued Shisui's strength. He knew how powerful the Mangekyo's abilities were, after all—he had already been hit by one of Shisui's techniques.

More importantly, the Mangekyo Sharingan was highly effective at suppressing Tailed Beasts. After a Jinchuriki was dealt with, it could reliably control the Tailed Beast. It was a very useful ability.

When Obito wasn't there, Shisui could play a major role. That was why Obito was willing to recruit him.

"You're the one who orchestrated the Nine-Tails Incident, and you failed. Besides, if you show up, Konoha's High Command will target the Uchiha even more!"

Shisui looked wary and didn't trust him at all.

He was speaking exactly what he thought. He genuinely didn't believe Obito.

"Hmph. As long as there's enough pressure from outside, they won't dare fight among themselves, even if they want to."

"Akatsuki's goal is to gather the Nine Tailed Beasts and use their power to bring peace to the Ninja World. If anyone refuses to listen, we'll use the Tailed Beasts' power to knock some sense into them!"

"Hashirama made the mistake of trusting those villages and distributing the Tailed Beasts among them. It was useless. Those beasts are only truly terrifying when they're gathered together!"

Obito snorted and explained his plan.

He revealed Akatsuki's public goal to Shisui.

When Shisui heard this, his pupils contracted.

He clearly believed it was true. The Nine-Tails Incident only reinforced his suspicion: this Uchiha Madara and the mercenary organization called Akatsuki were trying to gather the Tailed Beasts!

He hadn't expected to learn such a core secret so quickly.

Even Akatsuki's outer members knew nothing about this. They only knew Akatsuki was a mercenary organization that took on all kinds of profitable jobs, from war and assassination to protection. They had no idea Akatsuki was working to bring peace to the Ninja World.

"So you want to use the Tailed Beasts' power to intimidate Konoha, give the village a new external enemy, and force Konoha's High Command to stop targeting the Uchiha and focus all its efforts on Akatsuki?"

Shisui continued playing his part.

He had to urgently inform the village that Uchiha Madara was after the Tailed Beasts.

"Hah, there's no need for that. As long as I'm alive and hidden in the shadows, the people of Konoha won't dare wipe out the Uchiha Clan."

"But after those two idiots, Hashirama and Tobirama, died, the Senju Clan began to decline. So understand this: as long as I'm alive, that brat Sarutobi Hiruzen won't dare truly move against the Uchiha!"

Obito spoke with great confidence.

Shisui only half-believed him, because he trusted Uchiha Gin's judgment more.

If Konoha's High Command had the power to wipe out either the Uchiha Clan within Konoha or the Uchiha Madara hiding in the shadows, they wouldn't hesitate to strike.

But Shisui didn't press Obito on that point.

He knew Obito probably didn't have much patience left. If he refused to join Akatsuki, Uchiha Madara would attack him with everything he had and kill him.

Obito had brought more than a hundred White Zetsu with him this time. He wanted to make sure Shisui's Body Flicker Technique didn't let him vanish from sight, so he had arranged for a large number of White Zetsu to hide nearby and track Shisui's location.

"I hope you keep your word!"

"I won't take on any missions that threaten Konoha or the Uchiha. But I won't hold back against shinobi from other villages."

Shisui's answer sounded like a concession, and Obito finally relaxed.

After all, he didn't think getting rid of Shisui would be easy. It would surely take a lot of effort.

"Of course!"

"I'm the strongest Uchiha in history. There's no need for me to deceive you, kid."

Obito was fully immersed in the role by now.

Shisui didn't believe a single word he said!

Chapter 46: Danzo's New Ally, Hanzo!

Danzo brought a few of his trusted subordinates and snuck into Amegakure, where they contacted one of Hanzo of the Salamander's men.

Only after passing through several layers of security did Danzo finally get to meet Hanzo of the Salamander.

"A Konoha rogue ninja comes to see me? What do you want, Danzo?"

In the dim room, a curtain hung between Hanzo and Danzo. Hanzo's voice came through it, already faint by the time it reached Danzo.

Hanzo had little interest in meeting his former ally. Danzo had already lost his position as Hokage Assistant in Konoha Village and become a rogue ninja.

If they hadn't shared a history, Hanzo wouldn't have bothered to see him at all.

"Rogue ninja is just a cover. I'm still a Konoha ninja in private. There are simply some things I can't do in Konoha."

Danzo was extremely displeased.

He didn't want to be a rogue ninja. He wanted to become Hokage, and he believed he was no less suited to the role than anyone else.

So he had never admitted to being a rogue ninja. He simply claimed that he had gone abroad to serve Konoha. And Konoha truly hadn't sent anyone to assassinate him. The only ones who came after him were bounty hunters who had seen the Black Market's wanted notices.

The Uchiha who had left Konoha were no stronger than Two-Tomoe, so they posed no threat to him. As long as Uchiha Gin didn't come after him, he could stay safe in the Ninja World.

But now Uchiha Shisui had also defected and awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. Danzo suspected that the Uchiha Clan had deliberately sent him out as a decoy, intending for him to hunt Danzo down.

"I see."

"So, what do you want?"

Hanzo had no interest in making small talk with Danzo.

Even if Danzo had been sent by Konoha, his standing there had plummeted. He was no longer of any use to Hanzo.

As far as Hanzo could tell, Danzo might have been brought down by Konoha's factional infighting, or perhaps, as the rumors said, the Uchiha Clan had forced him out.

After all, Danzo was no decent man. Hanzo knew that very well. Danzo had nearly tricked him several times.

"Do you remember the organization called Akatsuki?"

Danzo asked directly.

After all, he had been the one to suggest that Hanzo eliminate Akatsuki.

The blame wasn't entirely his. The organization called Akatsuki really had threatened Hanzo's position. Otherwise, Hanzo wouldn't have acted. The failure to finish them off had been Hanzo's own mistake. If he hadn't failed, there wouldn't be so much trouble now.

"What about it?"

"I've already dealt with almost all of Akatsuki's members, and I used a scheme to kill its leader. Two survivors remain, but one of them used a forbidden technique and was badly injured. His legs can no longer move, so he's no threat. The other is a woman, and she's weak too."

Hanzo remembered that organization well.

Especially Nagato's final outburst, and the monster he summoned. Hanzo had suffered heavy losses and lost many elite subordinates.

Still, he believed Akatsuki had been destroyed. Only one cripple and one woman had escaped. Everyone else was dead.

"That organization has been reestablished. Haven't you heard?"

Danzo asked, puzzled.

He felt that Hanzo had lost his former sharpness. He no longer seemed like a formidable leader, but more like the head of a small ninja village.

"I've heard a little about it. But they're a mercenary organization now, and they haven't appeared in the Land of Rain. They haven't affected me, so I haven't pursued them."

"So what is it you want?"

Hanzo asked impatiently.

Though he was known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World, years of fierce battles had taken a toll on his body. Using poison had inevitably affected his health as well, and his strength had declined considerably.

That was why he hadn't shown himself in a long time and stayed in Amegakure. He also hadn't let Amegakure get too involved in the Third Shinobi World War, choosing instead to stand aside and watch.

Thanks to the reputation Amegakure had built during the Second Great Ninja War, the three neighboring Great Villages hadn't used it as a battleground, allowing Amegakure to pass through that period in peace.