Uchiha Kazekawa in the Crosshairs

The Queen of Roran thought for a moment, then looked at Douyang and voiced her doubts. "The people of Rōran move wherever there is grass. Leaving the Land of Wind isn't out of the question, but as vast as the world is, where else could we go?"

Where they would live was indeed a problem.

Douyang rubbed his chin, pondering carefully.

The people of Rōran were connected to the Ryūmyaku, so the Land of Fire was not a suitable place for them to live.

If someone with an agenda discovered this, it would cause a dispute between the two great nations, with equally terrible consequences.

That left only the smaller countries as suitable places to live.

After turning it over in his mind, Douyang thought of the Land of Rivers.

The Land of Rivers lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. In wartime, both great nations tacitly treated it as a buffer zone.

But the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire would not go to war for the next decade or more, so the Land of Rivers would be very safe.

Besides, unlike the Land of Wind, with its deserts everywhere, the Land of Rivers had fertile soil and a pleasant environment, making it better suited to human habitation.

Douyang shared his thoughts with the Queen of Roran and said he would secretly escort them out. Once they reached the Land of Wind, he would also pay a large sum for the transaction.

The Queen of Roran's eyes lit up when she heard they would go to the Land of Rivers.

Given somewhere suitable to live, no one would want to remain in the desert, moving wherever there was grass.

At the mention of payment, the Queen of Roran, who had come to dread poverty, swallowed and asked tentatively, "How much are you planning to pay for the Ryūmyaku?"

Douyang considered for a moment, then said solemnly, "Ten million."

Over his years of treating illnesses and saving lives, he had accumulated a fortune of roughly fifty million.

Ten million was no small sum even for Douyang.

The Queen of Roran exclaimed in shock, "What? Ten million?"

Never mind her years of wandering-even before the ancient city of Rōran declined, she had never seen so much money.

Douyang glanced at the Queen of Roran, who had grown accustomed to hardship, and could not help chuckling.

To a ninja, the Ryūmyaku was practically priceless. Not just ten million-even a hundred million would be more than worth it.

Had his savings not been limited, Douyang would not have minded adding another zero.

Douyang added, "There's no time to lose. Tell your people now to pack their belongings and head for the Land of Rivers overnight. Once I've dealt with Sunagakure's pursuers, I'll catch up immediately."

In making proper arrangements for the people of Rōran, he also intended to get the Queen of Roran to keep his secret.

The Queen of Roran was, after all, a leader responsible for several hundred people. She understood that if the Ryūmyaku's whereabouts were leaked, it would be bad for both herself and her people.

So the Queen of Roran did not hesitate. She immediately ran toward the tents to gather her people.

The people of Rōran moved wherever there was grass, so migration was commonplace.

The Queen of Roran took the precaution of not telling her people their exact destination, saying only that they were to keep heading east.

Before long, rows of wagons set off eastward.

Douyang trailed several kilometers behind the caravan.

As he escorted the caravan, he quietly kept watch on their rear.

Logically, once Sunagakure noticed something amiss with the Ryūmyaku, it would first send a small elite unit to the ruins of Rōran to investigate.

After the Sunagakure squad established what had happened and informed the village's higher-ups, those higher-ups would mobilize their forces to search for suspicious individuals.

The whole process would take roughly two days.

With luck, Sunagakure's pursuit force might never even encounter Rōran's caravan.

A day and a half later, Fourth Kazekage Rasa finally learned that the Ryūmyaku had been stolen.

Reading the intelligence sent back by the Anbu squad, Rasa's expression was thunderous. He glanced at the two advisors, whose expressions were equally grim, and asked, "Who do you think did this?"

Ebizo said darkly, "The Ryūmyaku was sealed by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. We couldn't break the seal even after studying it for so many years. For that mysterious person to steal the Ryūmyaku in such a short time, they most likely have a thorough mastery of the Four Symbols Seal."

Chiyo slammed the table and said furiously, "It must have been Konoha ninja."

Rasa abruptly tore the intelligence scroll to pieces and said coldly, "Damn them. They've gone too far."

In a rarely visited patch of dense forest within the Uchiha Clan Compound.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"

With a fierce shout, Uchiha Kazekawa spat out twelve balls of fire that hurtled into the wooden posts.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

A string of explosions rang out.

A smile appeared on Uchiha Kazekawa's lips as he looked at the wooden posts, burned to nothing.

Although he was utterly exhausted and close to collapse, he still had no intention of stopping to rest. He merely wiped away his sweat, then drew his Ninja Blade and began practicing his swordsmanship.

Ever since his crushing defeat at Uchiha Douyang's hands, Uchiha Kazekawa had been removed from Uchiha Setsuna's list of trusted confidants.

For a time, he had even become a laughingstock among the Uchiha hardliners.

Everyone knew that Uchiha Douyang was a medical ninja who was poor at combat, had only awakened his Sharingan at seventeen, and still had only one tomoe.

Most of the clansmen believed Uchiha Kazekawa had lost to Uchiha Douyang partly because he had been careless and partly because he was not strong enough.

His clansmen's doubts and ridicule had driven Uchiha Kazekawa to the verge of a mental breakdown.

Over the past few days, he had more than tripled his training load.

He intended to improve himself and numb himself through training beyond his limits.

Deep in the forest.

Space warped, and Obito stepped out of the vortex. He glanced at Uchiha Kazekawa practicing his swordsmanship and asked indifferently, "He's the one you found?"

Black and White Zetsu poked their heads out of a tree trunk and nodded in reply:

"He was once a trusted confidant of the hardliners' leader, Uchiha Setsuna. He awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at fourteen. Recently, his clansmen's ridicule and doubts have gradually bred hatred in his heart, and he may not even have noticed that hatred himself."

As the Akatsuki's finest scout, Zetsu's professional skills were beyond reproach. In less than a month, he had found a suitable candidate within the Uchiha Clan.

And that was with the need to avoid exposing his identity holding him back. Given enough time, Zetsu could uncover every last secret the Uchiha had.

Obito looked at Uchiha Kazekawa and nodded slightly. "He's a promising prospect, but the hatred in his heart isn't strong enough yet."

Seeming to see through Obito's thoughts, Black Zetsu chuckled sinisterly. "So, shall we give this child a hand?"

Obito nodded. "Does this child have any family, close friends, or a lover?"

White Zetsu said cheerfully, "Obito, this child's a pitiful one. His parents died in the war long ago, and he has no other family to speak of. As for friends, he has none now. Oh, right, he has a girlfriend who's his childhood sweetheart."

"A girlfriend?"

At those words, Obito thought of Rin Nohara.

He loved Rin Nohara deeply, but when she died, she had not yet become his girlfriend.

Of course, Obito was confident that, given enough time, he would have won Rin's heart.

Unfortunately, Rin had been cruelly killed by Kakashi.

He had lost his beloved forever.

Drawing his thoughts back, Obito said quietly, "Start with his girlfriend and help him awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Only with the Mangekyo's power will he barely qualify as a useful pawn."