You Can Absolutely Trust the Crow

No exaggeration, no slander—Shimura Danzō was genuinely formidable.

At the very least, he was exceptionally good at making things up.

Not only had he taken responsibility for what Kitahara had done, he had also gone to great lengths to cover up the lie. He had even fabricated intelligence for a nonexistent person—and somehow actually found someone who looked similar!

Incidentally, this rogue ninja had a very distinctive name, one that made Kitahara feel that fate had ordained it all along...

The rogue ninja registry and wanted posters both listed Konoha's newly announced S-rank rogue ninja... His name was...

"Yin-Yang, sixteen years old, a Flying Thunder God user..."

Uchiha Itachi softly read the rogue ninja's information aloud and asked doubtfully, "Sensei, a Flying Thunder God user... must be very strong, right?"

The little boy did not know much about the Flying Thunder God Technique... In fact, there was currently only one person in the ninja world capable of using it, and he had seen that person use it several times right in front of him.

"Throughout the history of the ninja world, there have only been two Flying Thunder God users..." Jiraiya put down the wanted poster and began his lesson. "The Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage."

The implication was clear: both Flying Thunder God users had been Hokage.

His expression was rather grim. The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had developed the Flying Thunder God Technique, while the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had improved and popularized it.

This third Flying Thunder God user had hidden himself far too well... Using this space-time ninjutsu placed tremendous demands on one's reflexes. Without long-term training, it was simply impossible to master.

As Namikaze Minato's teacher, Jiraiya knew quite a bit about the drawbacks of training in the Flying Thunder God Technique. He patted Itachi on the shoulder and continued leading his disciple down the road back to the village.

Kitahara was practically filled with admiration for that elderly man who persevered despite his disability. It could not have been easy to fabricate such convincing information about Konoha's S-rank rogue ninja, Yin-Yang.

If it had not known that it was responsible, it would have surely believed Konoha had gained an S-rank rogue ninja named Yin-Yang.

The question was, how had Konoha found a Zetsu who looked similar? Danzo's face was a little too... big... wasn't it?

In truth, Shimura Danzō had found this incredibly difficult to arrange... During the period when Hiruzen Sarutobi had stripped him of his position, he had been so wronged he nearly shed tears.

If he really had a Flying Thunder God user under his command, would he have tolerated Hiruzen Sarutobi dumping blame on his head?

To regain his authority, Danzo had no choice but to sacrifice a successful Wood Release experiment subject and admit that he had once had a Flying Thunder God user under his command... He merely defined that user as a rogue ninja.

This would not only temporarily resolve Hiruzen Sarutobi's overt and covert suspicions, but also allow him to regain control over Root...

His goal was to find the Flying Thunder God user who had made him take the blame.

Not only would it clear his name, but he might truly capture that strange person... because Danzo possessed one piece of information.

There really was a ninja in the Land of Grass with an unusual appearance, and very few people had ever seen him. Rumor said his name was Zetsu... a wandering ninja who had joined the Land of Grass.

Uchiha Itachi could not help asking, "Sensei, are we going to the Land of Grass?"

"It would be useless to go there..." Jiraiya shook his head. "We'll return to Konoha first and ask the old man what intelligence he has!"

"Caw!"

Kitahara happily hopped about on Itachi's shoulder. Ask me... Ask me... Hurry up and ask me...

I'll tell you everything I know about Zetsu.

Anything that could make things difficult for them... was a good thing.

"Huh? Kitahara, do you know something?" Uchiha Itachi stroked the crow's wing, making Jiraiya's brow twitch.

His disciple had not been spoiled by this crow to such a degree, had he...? Personal protection was one thing, but did he not even need to gather intelligence anymore?

Of course there was no need to gather it... Kitahara knew perfectly well what tricks every notable ninja in the ninja world with even a hint of threat possessed.

As for nameless ninjas who posed no threat... there did not seem to be any need to gather intelligence on them, either.

"Caw! Caw!"

It certainly could not reveal everything about Zetsu. Jiraiya in front of it would probably suffer a complete collapse of his worldview, so it needed a little artistic embellishment...

After hearing the intelligence relayed by Uchiha Itachi, Jiraiya was still stunned, even though the information had been heavily embellished in wording...

"The First Hokage's Wood Release?"

"Appearing anywhere, anytime?"

"Is this... real?"

Jiraiya stared at Itachi and Kitahara in disbelief. The little boy and the crow on his shoulder both nodded their little heads in unison.

This information was far too shocking... That Zetsu truly sounded like a Flying Thunder God user, but who would have expected him to be hiding Wood Release as well?

The Flying Thunder God Technique was a forbidden technique unique to Konoha.

As for Wood Release... that went without saying.

If one claimed he had no connection to Konoha, probably no one among Konoha's upper ranks would believe it... Zetsu was definitely the product of Konoha human experimentation.

"That Orochimaru really knows how to cause trouble. Just what kind of monster did he create?!" Jiraiya slapped his forehead and said sternly, "Let's pick up the pace and get this information to the old man!"

"Yes!" Uchiha Itachi nodded forcefully... The crow on his shoulder blinked its little eyes. Had it forgotten to mention something? Or had it said something wrong?

Why had this somehow come back to Orochimaru again?

Kitahara briefly explained some of Zetsu's abilities, including the effects of the Wood Release: Thousand Needles Technique and the Mayfly Technique...

They were all real... It simply did not explain the origins of Wood Release or Zetsu. After all, it could not say too much about Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's existence yet...

But as a result...

The Black Zetsu and White Zetsu that Princess Kaguya had painstakingly created before being sealed away, along with that great filial son of the ninja world for a thousand years, would probably soon be publicized as experiment products that had escaped from Konoha.

At this moment, Zetsu was rather bewildered as well... It had been exposed...

How had Konoha suddenly set its sights on it overnight...? It was still merely an ordinary wandering ninja who had joined Kusagakure!

It had never displayed any special abilities, nor had it shown particularly great strength. It had only joined Akatsuki so it could have an identity with some sort of affiliation...

The Land of Grass could no longer serve as its hiding place...

The Land of Grass was nearly being turned inside out by Konoha's infiltrating ninja. Kusagakure repeatedly protested to Konoha, but Danzo suppressed every complaint.

This was no small matter, and since it did not involve any of the Five Great Nations, Danzo's handling was extremely forceful. He pressured Kusagakure to hand over the ninja named Zetsu at all costs...

"No matter how Kusagakure explains it, that ninja named Zetsu is a rogue ninja who escaped from our Konoha! Furthermore, this concerns Konoha's secrets. They must hand him over!"

This was the order Lord Danzo issued to Root and the Anbu.

Jiraiya and Uchiha Itachi returned to Konoha at breakneck speed. Before they even had time to go home, they rushed straight to the Hokage Building... After all, Zetsu possessed Wood Release, which meant Konoha's assessment of his strength had been inaccurate.

"Is the intelligence reliable?" Hiruzen Sarutobi still held his pipe between his teeth, his face filled with worry. In truth, he already believed Jiraiya's words.

No matter how one looked at it, Zetsu's existence made perfect sense...

Quite a few of the First Hokage's cells had been left behind, and his Anbu had also recently gained Wood Release ninja seized from Danzo's hands.

It seemed Danzo was still hiding things from him...

Jiraiya nodded. He trusted Mount Myōboku's judgment and said seriously, "Old man, we can absolutely trust the Crow Great Sage."

"Since that rogue ninja now calls himself Zetsu, then spread this information!"

Kitahara: "..."

Had I forgotten to say something again? Or did I say something wrong? When did Zetsu become a Konoha rogue ninja?

Believe me, there'll be a second update, so could I get some votes?