You Can Absolutely Trust the Crows

No exaggeration, Danzō Shimura was truly formidable.

At the very least, his talent for fabricating stories was impressive.

Not only did he take responsibility for what Beiyuan had done, but he also went to great lengths to cover up the lie, even creating intelligence for a non-existent character and somehow finding someone who resembled them!

Incidentally, the rogue ninja's name was quite unique, making Beiyuan feel as though fate had a hand in it…

The rogue ninja handbook and wanted poster both displayed the information for Konoha's newly declared S-rank rogue ninja… the name was…

"Yin Yang, 16 years old, Flying Thunder God Technique user…"

Uchiha Itachi softly read the rogue ninja's information and asked, "Teacher, a Flying Thunder God Technique user… they're very strong, right?"

The young boy didn't know much about the Flying Thunder God Technique… In fact, there was only one person in the ninja world currently capable of using the Flying Thunder God Technique, and he had used it several times in front of him.

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

The implication was clear: both of those Flying Thunder God Technique users were Hokage.

His expression was grim. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had developed the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had improved upon this ninjutsu and made it widely known.

The third Flying Thunder God Technique user was too well hidden… The usage of this space-time ninjutsu required incredible reaction speed; without long-term training, it was impossible to master.

As Minato's teacher, Jiraiya knew a great deal about the drawbacks of training the Flying Thunder God Technique. He patted Itachi's shoulder and continued on the path back to the village with his disciple.

Beiyuan was truly impressed by the resilient old man with his disabilities; it was no small feat to fabricate such a convincing profile for Konoha's S-rank rogue ninja, Yin Yang.

If it hadn't known that it was responsible for the actions, it would have believed that Konoha had gained an S-rank rogue ninja named Yin Yang.

The question was, how did Konoha find a Zetsu with a similar appearance? Was Danzō's face perhaps a bit… too much?

In reality, Danzō Shimura's maneuvering was incredibly difficult… He had felt so wronged during the period when Hiruzen Sarutobi stripped him of his position that he wanted to cry.

If he had a Flying Thunder God Technique user under his command, would he have tolerated Hiruzen Sarutobi framing him like that?

In order to regain his power, Danzō had to sacrifice a successful Wood Style experiment and acknowledge that he had a Flying Thunder God Technique user under his command… he just labeled that user as a rogue ninja.

This way, he could not only temporarily resolve Hiruzen Sarutobi's overt and covert scrutiny but also regain control of Root…

The goal was to find the Flying Thunder God Technique user who had framed him.

Not only could he clear his name, but he could also genuinely apprehend that strange individual… because Danzō had a piece of information.

In the Land of Grass, there was indeed a ninja with a peculiar appearance, and very few people had seen him. It was rumored that his name was Zetsu… a wandering ninja who had joined the Land of Grass.

Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, are we going to the Land of Grass?"

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

"Caw~"

Beiyuan happily hopped on Itachi's shoulder, Ask me… ask me… hurry up and ask me…

It would tell them all about Zetsu.

Anything that could cause them trouble was a good thing.

"Huh? Beiyuan, do you know something?" Uchiha Itachi stroked the crow's wings, causing Jiraiya's brow to furrow.

Could his disciple be so doted on by a crow… Protecting him was one thing, but did he not need to gather intelligence anymore?

Of course, he didn't need to gather intelligence… Beiyuan knew exactly what methods any ninja with a name and a degree of threat in the ninja world possessed.

As for nameless, faceless ninjas with no threat… there seemed to be no need to collect intelligence on them.

"Caw~ Caw~"

It couldn't reveal everything about Zetsu, as Jiraiya would likely have his worldview shattered and require some artistic embellishment…

After listening to the intelligence Uchiha Itachi relayed, despite the significant linguistic embellishments, Jiraiya was still terrified…

"First Hokage's Wood Style?"

"Appearing anywhere, at any time?"

"Is… is this true?"

Jiraiya looked at Itachi and Beiyuan in disbelief. The young boy and the crow on his shoulder both nodded their little heads.

This news was simply astounding… It seemed that Zetsu was indeed a Flying Thunder God Technique user, but who would have thought he also possessed Wood Style?

The Flying Thunder God Technique was a unique forbidden jutsu of Konoha.

And Wood Style… was even more so.

If he claimed to have no connection to Konoha, it was unlikely any high-ranking Konoha official would believe him… Zetsu was undoubtedly the product of Konoha's human experimentation.

"That Orochimaru, he really causes trouble. What kind of monster did he create!" Jiraiya smacked his forehead and said sternly, "Let's speed up and get this news to the old man quickly!"

"Yes!" Uchiha Itachi nodded vigorously… The crow on his shoulder blinked its small eyes. Did it forget to say something, or did it say something wrong?

Why did it go back to Orochimaru?

Beiyuan briefly explained some of Zetsu's methods, including the ninjutsu effects of Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence and the Mayfly Technique…

These were all real… but it didn't explain the origin of Wood Style and Zetsu, as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's existence couldn't be mentioned too much at this time…

However, doing so…

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, painstakingly created by Kaguya before her sealing, along with that millennium's greatest filial son of the ninja world, will likely soon be publicized as experimental products that escaped from Konoha.

At this moment, Zetsu was also a bit confused... it had been exposed...

It seemed that overnight, Konoha had targeted it... it was currently just an ordinary rogue ninja who had joined Kusagakure!

It hadn't displayed any special abilities, nor had it shown any particularly strong power, all it wanted was a prefix identity to join Akatsuki...

The Land of Grass could no longer be its place of refuge...

The Land of Grass was being thoroughly searched by Konoha ninjas... Kusagakure had repeatedly protested to Konoha, but Danzō suppressed it all.

This was no small matter, and since it didn't involve the Five Great Nations, Danzō's methods of handling it were very forceful, compelling Kusagakure to hand over the ninja known as Zetsu...

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

This was the order Lord Danzō gave to Root and the Anbu.

Jiraiya and Uchiha Itachi, who had rushed back to Konoha day and night, went straight to the Hokage's office without even going home... After all, Zetsu still possessed Wood Style, indicating that Konoha's assessment of its strength was somewhat off.

"Is the information accurate?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, still puffing on his pipe, wore a troubled expression, though in his heart, he already believed Jiraiya's words.

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

There were quite a few First Hokage's cells left behind, and his Anbu had also gained new Wood Style ninjas snatched from Danzō's hands.

It seemed Danzō was still hiding something from him...

Jiraiya nodded, trusting Mount Myōboku's judgment, and said earnestly, "Old man, we can absolutely trust the Great Sage Toad."

"Since that rogue ninja now calls himself Zetsu, then let's spread this news!"

Beiyuan: "..."

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

Believe me, there's a second update, so please vote for me?