Land of Cedar Mission!

"But that guy isn't stupid, so why would he leave the protection of the Akatsuki?"

For no apparent reason, Shimura Danzo felt a bit irritable.

Knowing there was a hidden threat but being unable to deal with it was simply too stifling!

"Achoo!"

Far away on the sea of the Land of Waves, Uchiha Ye felt a sudden chill down his back and let out a sneeze.

Why do I feel like someone is watching me?

Uchiha Ye rubbed his nose, feeling a sense of trepidation.

Three days later, the group returned to the Land of Rain.

"Welcome, Momochi Zabuza."

Pain Deva Path assembled all the members, welcoming Zabuza's arrival via a Magic Lantern Body meeting.

"Thank you."

Facing the welcome from Pain Deva Path, Momochi Zabuza expressed his humble gratitude.

"Yo, Zabuza, I didn't expect us to meet here of all places!"

At this moment, Biwa Juzo, who rarely appeared or spoke, took the initiative to greet Zabuza.

"It has indeed been a long time, Senior Juzo."

Both of them had defected from their village because they could no longer endure the Mizukage's high-pressure policies. Now, they had met again here. One had to admit that life's encounters were sometimes truly wondrous.

Immediately after, Momochi Zabuza inherited the codename "Genbu," once again bringing the Akatsuki to its full roster.

"Since Genbu has joined, there is a mission that needs to be entrusted to you and 'Kuchin' (Deidara)."

As if to test Zabuza's strength, Pain Deva Path assigned the task: "A certain dignitary in the Land of Woods has recently learned that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Woods, who has always been wary of him, intends to hire the Hannya Group to assassinate him. Therefore, they have hired us to protect him and eliminate the Hannya Group."

Facing such a mission, Zabuza did not see any issues. In particular, he had dealt with the Hannya Group before and knew their strength was quite decent. It was a good mission to prove his own capabilities.

Since Zabuza had no objections, Deidara was even more eager.

"This is the perfect opportunity to test my new technique!"

At only twelve years old, Deidara was clearly fearless, and he naturally did not hold the Hannya Group in high regard.

Of course, the fact that Uchiha Ye had encountered Raiga Kurosuki and seized the Thunder Blades was no longer hidden from the others. Firstly, it couldn't be hidden, as there were two eyewitnesses: Zabuza and Haku. Secondly, the organization's rules allowed members to keep spoils of war obtained outside of missions. Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable for Uchiha Ye to acquire the Thunder Blades.

Pain Deva Path did not feel there was anything wrong with this. Even though Uchiha Ye did not possess the Lightning Release and using the Thunder Blades felt a bit strange, he did not care as long as Uchiha Ye could complete his missions well. Perhaps Uchiha Ye just liked the Thunder Blades and wanted them for his collection?

However, just because Pain Deva Path wasn't surprised didn't mean Uchiha Obito wasn't. After all, in his view, it was bizarre for a Lava Release user like Uchiha Ye to seize and use the Thunder Blades.

What exactly is this guy's goal? Is he really just using the Thunder Blades to increase his strength, or is there another motive?

He found it inconceivable and completely incomprehensible. Therefore, he felt there was something fishy going on. Uchiha Ye was already mysterious in his eyes, and now that he had done something so baffling, how could his vigilance not increase significantly?

He attempted to take some time to understand the reasons behind Uchiha Ye's actions.

In a room somewhere in Amegakure.

"With this, I have already secured a master of Lightning Release for the ninja village I intend to build in the future!"

His purpose in obtaining the Thunder Blades was simple.

It was to prepare for the founding of his village by cultivating strong individuals and increasing his foundation!

"However..."

Looking at the documents on the desk, he sighed in admiration: "As expected of Orochimaru's research results; they are truly obscure and difficult to understand, yet they make one unable to help but become obsessed with them!"

He created one Shadow Clone to train and another to keep watch, preventing surveillance by Zetsu.

While his main body rested, he spent some time studying Orochimaru's research materials.

Then, he accidentally became a bit too engrossed.

Within these pages, he witnessed many mysteries of the Ninja World and the human body, which could be said to have greatly broadened his horizons.

But his state of tranquility was soon interrupted.

Three days later!

'Byakko' Konan arrived in person to convey Pain's orders, assigning the two a new mission.

"A mission in the Land of Cedar..."

Taking the mission scroll from Konan's hand, Uchiha Ye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow after reading it: "This is interesting. Their secret techniques have actually managed to attract the covetous eyes of the Cloud Village; it seems to be something quite good!"

The content of the mission was simple!

The secret techniques of the Land of Cedar had been targeted by the Cloud Village.

To prevent their ancestral techniques from being snatched away by the Cloud Village, which had been frantically scavenging for ninjutsu lately, they hired the Akatsuki organization—which had recently been making a name for itself among the smaller nations—to protect their techniques and fend off the Cloud Ninja.

"We are to go up against the Cloud Village? How exciting!"

Sasori of the Red Sand didn't even pay much attention to the mission itself, becoming far more interested in the enemies this time around.

Of course, this was consistent with Sasori of the Red Sand's personality.

After all, what if he happened to encounter some high-quality 'materials' for his Human Puppets!

"However, the plot has changed once again!"

If he remembered correctly, in the original story, this event would not have occurred for several years, and it would have been led by the Raikage himself!

When the Land of Cedar faced this crisis, they had chosen to hire an organization called the 'Xuanyuan Clan' to oppose the Cloud Village.

Is the original plot starting to deviate from its track more and more? Uchiha Ye thought, feeling a sense of trepidation.

This also meant that the plot advantages he could rely on would become fewer and fewer.

Eventually, all that would remain would be his intelligence advantage regarding the various characters.

He should seize this window of time to gain greater strength before his advantages diminished.

The Land of Cedar, an island nation to the southeast of the Land of Lightning.

According to the mission description, the two needed to intercept the Cloud Ninja in the forest outside the Daimyo Palace of the Land of Cedar.

"Who will be coming?"

Sitting in a tree, Uchiha Ye closed his eyes to rest his mind, thinking: I hope it will be interesting!

Below the tree!

Sasori of the Red Sand was performing maintenance on his puppets, seemingly completely unafraid of being ambushed.

"I hope they aren't all just trash; that way, I might be able to pick out a few more to perfect my puppet army!"

After muttering this, he also faded into the forest, waiting quietly for the arrival of the enemy.

They did not have to wait long!

Just two hours later, movement could be heard in the forest.

"I heard the Land of Cedar hired a group of experts to deal with us. Do you think this mission will be difficult?"

This was the voice of a somewhat timid man, who did not sound very old.

"Hmph! Oroi, you are being too cowardly. So what if the Land of Cedar hired others? Could they possibly be a match for us Cloud Ninja?"

This was the voice of an older woman.

"Exactly, Oroi, you are being far too cautious."

"What kind of formidable characters could the mere Land of Cedar possibly hire? We are here with the Jinchuriki, Lady Yugito, this time. It would be impressive enough if those people could even block our three Jonin, but they could never be a match for Yugito."

Another slightly deep male voice rang out, growing clearer as the distance closed.

"The Two-Tails jinchuriki, Yugito?"

Hearing these words, Uchiha Ye, hidden in the shadows, couldn't help but lick his lips, his eyes burning with intensity: It seems a formidable enemy has truly arrived!

Just as he said this, the three Cloud Ninja who had been advancing suddenly came to a halt.

The female ninja in the lead glared fiercely toward the position of Sasori of the Red Sand, shouting as if facing a grave threat: "Who's there? Come out!"

The next moment, Sasori of the Red Sand slowly emerged from the shadows. Hiruko's gaze swept over the three of them, and he immediately displayed a look of satisfaction: "Excellent materials for puppets!"

The reason Sasori of the Red Sand was discovered was not because these three Cloud Ninja were particularly skilled.

It was simply because Sasori of the Red Sand had never bothered to hide his presence at all.