Taking Advantage of the Chaos

The situation changed so quickly that no one but the mastermind behind it had expected it.

The Nine-Tails, with eight tails unleashed, rampaged through Konoha. Sarutobi was doing his best to draw it toward the outskirts, while the ANBU sent to provide support greatly reduced the intensity of the fighting around the Uchiha compound. The odds were slowly tipping in the Uchiha Clan's favor.

Hearts were in turmoil, and panic spread.

No one noticed that Ning Qi, who had exposed Fugaku, had quietly withdrawn far from the battlefield.

Using the Transformation Technique to alter his appearance, he hid among the panicked crowd. Watching the clash between the Konoha Allied Forces led by Sarutobi, the Nine-Tails, and Fugaku in the distance as though admiring an exquisite work of art, he could not help revealing a satisfied expression.

To manipulate people's hearts and the situation, precise control over both direction and force was indispensable.

After news of the rebellion leaked, the Uchiha Clan's only chance to defeat Sarutobi and the other Konoha higher-ups had been the Nine-Tails, this weapon of war.

And the Nine-Tails had long carried the dark legacy of becoming a plaything for powerful Uchiha, so this was not difficult to foresee.

The only difference was that Naruto, the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki in this generation, was far more unusual than Kushina.

His seal had not been weakened by pregnancy.

Moreover, within him were two immensely sturdy safeguards jointly created by his parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina, before their deaths—when Naruto was first completely consumed by the Nine-Tails' hateful consciousness, the chakra Minato Namikaze had left within Naruto's seal would be triggered and repair the seal.

Then, when Naruto was consumed by the Nine-Tails' consciousness a second time, Kushina's remaining chakra would likewise be triggered. Born into the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina's mastery of sealing techniques surpassed even Minato's. Sealing the Nine-Tails again—and perhaps even sealing Fugaku's consciousness if it entered Naruto's body—would not necessarily be a problem while her chakra remained.

It was not that Ning Qi believed Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan was too weak to overpower two dead people, but that would clearly take time. Fugaku obviously did not have the stamina or ocular power to fight Minato and Kushina within a single day, break the seal three times, and use genjutsu three times to control the Nine-Tails.

The Uchiha Clan needed time, and the mountain of corpses and sea of blood at the Hyuga clan head family's residence being exposed was likewise only a matter of time.

Rather than exhausting himself to cross the two mountains named Minato and Kushina in pursuit of that last shred of perfection, it was far more cost-effective to have Fugaku directly summon the Nine-Tails in its eight-tailed state.

In terms of the destruction inflicted upon Konoha, the two were essentially equivalent.

That was also why Ning Qi felt Fugaku ought to thank him.

—If he had not brought Sarutobi and the others here early, this fellow would surely have triggered the mechanism Minato left behind by now. Forget summoning an eight-tailed form; faced with a suddenly restored seal and all his efforts reduced to nothing, he would probably have suffered a crushing blow.

"So... enjoy it all." As the chief director of this splendid performance, Ning Qi gave a gentlemanly bow.

"Hey, don't stand there. Hurry over here and take shelter... Hm?" Iruka, who was directing the crowd, froze slightly and scratched his head as he stared at the empty spot where Ning Qi had just been.

So he was a ninja...

After only a moment's pause, he immediately threw himself back into his work.

"Children, come over here!"

Inside a secret chamber on Konoha's outskirts, the forbidden area that had once been guarded by numerous ANBU had become utterly silent.

Most of them had been recalled to Konoha to deal with the Nine-Tails Rebellion.

Only after killing the last ANBU secretly stationed nearby did Ning Qi leisurely open the chamber door, wiping the blood from his hands as he did so.

He paid no attention to the scrolls piled nearby, filled with all manner of confidential intelligence. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the lowest shelf of the bookcase.

→

Ning Qi removed the scroll and smiled faintly.

"The Scroll of Seals is mine."

After Konoha and the Uchiha Clan completely ignited their war, Root, which had hidden in the darkness, became extremely busy as well, leaving its underground headquarters nearly empty.

Under the Byakugan, Root's once heavily guarded headquarters no longer possessed its usual oppressive atmosphere. The sparse guards made Ning Qi's lips curl slightly.

He walked through the long underground corridor.

"I would like to see Lord Danzo," Ning Qi said.

"Lord Danzo isn't at headquarters right now. Captain Ning Qi, please come back another time," the ANBU guard at the entrance said, shaking his head.

Not here?

Ning Qi smiled and drew his long blade.

"Captain Ning Qi?" The guard became alert.

Squelch.

The blade pierced his heart.

"Don't speak."

Ning Qi covered his mouth and slowly lowered him to the ground.

"This world is cruel. Don't come back next time."

Without alerting the few nearby guards, Ning Qi smoothly entered the headquarters.

With the Byakugan activated, nothing could remain hidden. Ning Qi quickly found the concealed passage leading to a secret location.

Following the passage to the deepest part of the chamber, he was met with the sharply pungent scent of evaporating chemicals. Pinching his nose, Ning Qi surveyed the underground laboratory before him.

More than ten transparent glass containers held human bodies submerged within them. The closest was a girl about Neji's age. Ning Qi recognized the emblem on her arm—it was the symbol of the Rain Ninja Village.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her legs had completely turned into roots, and her face was twisted in agony, as though silently telling of her suffering.

The people in the other glass containers displayed nearly identical symptoms, with parts of their bodies becoming fibrous. Some had even blossomed and borne fruit from their bodies.

Ning Qi read the data charts beside the containers. The dates stretched back as far as eight years ago.

Just as he had expected.

The Wood Release research Orochimaru had left behind when he defected five years ago had been taken over by Danzo without hesitation. Having learned from Orochimaru's mistake, Danzo had used experimental subjects almost entirely from other small nations, effectively avoiding risks from within Konoha.

It made sense. Although Danzo did not possess the fundamental scientific aptitude of a shinobi-world scientist like Orochimaru, there was no way he could abandon something as powerful as Wood Release.

Though the two no longer cooperated after Orochimaru's defection, it was not difficult for someone with Danzo's influence to find several scientists to continue the research.

Danzo had long since been implanted with Hashirama Cells. That was why his body could withstand so many Sharingan.

But clearly, the formidable vitality brought by Hashirama did not come without side effects.

The full-body plantification Danzo underwent before his death in the anime was proof that he could no longer restrain the Hashirama Cells within him.

"What are you doing here?"

A researcher in a white lab coat, who had been recording data on the experimental subjects, noticed Ning Qi.

Ning Qi glanced at him. No chakra—just an ordinary person.

With a wave of his hand, he cast a simple genjutsu over the man.

"I need a sample of Hashirama Cells."

Ning Qi intended to grab as many benefits as possible before leaving Konoha. Who knew when he would return next? Besides, after exterminating the Hyuga clan, he had already thoroughly offended all of Konoha.

One more Scroll of Seals made no difference.

Neither did one sample of Hashirama Cells.