With his heart full of hatred for the world, Obito's thinking grew increasingly twisted.
Although the other villages had taken precautions, Akatsuki still broke through some of their poorly defended areas.
As the villages harboring tailed beast Jinchūriki confronted Akatsuki, they gradually learned more about their opponents.
After a period of observation, the villages gradually uncovered the identities of Akatsuki's members.
Put simply, this once-mysterious Akatsuki was a gathering of rogue Shinobi from various countries.
Each had their own goals, and those goals brought them together.
As rogue Shinobi, they naturally acted without regard for the consequences. They would use any means necessary to achieve their objectives.
Their complete lack of restraint left the villages seething with hatred for Akatsuki.
Xuan Zhe, however, saw nothing strange about it.
He would have found it odd if Akatsuki had acted any other way.
After the Chunin Ninja Exams ended, everything remained quiet, with no particular stir.
Sasuke Uchiha showed up at Xuan Zhe's place on time every day with money in hand, even more enthusiastic than Nawaki.
Xuan Zhe took particular care with Uchiha Sasuke and held nothing back in teaching him what he needed to learn.
Still, it was virtually impossible for Sasuke to reach Xuan Zhe's level-Xuan Zhe himself relied on a combination of training and support from the system.
Nevertheless, the training methods Xuan Zhe taught genuinely worked for Sasuke.
Being accepted as Xuan Zhe's personal disciple was already enough to make people in Konoha green with envy.
Naruto, for instance, clamored all day long to learn ninjutsu from Xuan Zhe. Yet as soon as the Chunin Ninja Exams finals ended, his own hellish training doubled instead.
His days were sheer misery.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto had practically had a target on his life ever since Akatsuki appeared.