On a distant rock, Black and White Zetsu and Obito stood quietly watching the battle between the two.
"Completely outmatched? I didn't expect this guy to have such a trump card hidden away," Black Zetsu said.
Obito squinted, offering no comment.
"How's Itachi doing? Has Orochimaru made a move?"
Anyone could see Orochimaru's covetousness towards Itachi; a greedy snake will eventually succumb to its lust.
White Zetsu replied, "He was defeated by Itachi, lost an arm, and fled in a sorry state."
"Now he can't stay in Akatsuki anymore, hehe..." Black Zetsu said gloatingly.
"Hmph, the troublesome guy is finally gone."
Obito breathed a sigh of relief. His impersonation of 'Madara' might scare others, but it wouldn't scare Orochimaru. He was still a potential threat.
Itachi is really capable; he got rid of the people who gave him a headache in such a short time after joining Akatsuki.
"Given Itachi's cautious nature, he probably won't make a move until he's fully figured out Aoki Tsuki cards," Black Zetsu said.
"It's only a matter of time; I have plenty of patience."
His frequent actions had revealed a lot of information, so Obito decided it was safer to stay behind the scenes.
Because the Akatsuki members hadn't gone far, many people secretly watched the battle from a distance.
This is a good opportunity to gather intelligence.
"This guy seems to have gotten stronger again."
Scorpion felt uneasy. The other party hadn't dared to fight him when they first met, but now he was catching up.
Kakuzu say a word, silently turned and left, secretly comparing this attack with the Chakra Cannon that combined the wind, fire, and lightning attributes.
Each of the S-rank rogue ninjas has their own trump cards; it's hard to accept their fate without a fight.
Among everyone, Konan and Pain had the most complicated feelings, Aoki Tsuki's current appearance stirred up memories in their hearts.
Deva Path Pain spoke up, "A scene that seems so familiar... it truly brings back memories."
"Mmm," Konan replied softly.
During the Second Shinobi World War, they witnessed the battle between Hanzo of the Salamander and the Sannin from the cliff, and that's what happened.
In this battle, Kisame's strength was recognized by many, which helped him establish a firm foothold in the organization.
Soon, Zetsu informed them of Orochimaru's defection.
Pain immediately convened another meeting to formally convey this intelligence to everyone.
"I knew that kid was unreliable, putting his personal matters before the organization."
Sasori appeared angry, but was actually overjoyed, because this meant he would never have to partner with Orochimaru again.
Pain said, "Although I don't want to let Orochimaru escape either, we're too busy with our mission right now and don't have enough manpower to hunt him down."
"Can I join too?" Tobi asked, seizing the opportunity.
"Get out of here," Scorpion snapped.
"Leave Orochimaru to me. I've planted a spy among his men; we'll find his hiding place soon."
"No rush. Orochimaru isn't so easy to deal with. Let's find you a new partner first."
"Alright, let him live a little longer."
"Moon, you've monitored Orochimaru before, so you should know his whereabouts. You'll continue to monitor him, but don't act rashly."
"Knew."
Pain never intended to actually capture Orochimaru. As one of the Sannin, capturing him would be time-consuming and laborious, and he believed that the latter was unaware of Akatsuki's core plans.
With the organization nearing full capacity and having lost two members in quick succession, it's difficult to find suitable replacements in the short term.
After the meeting, Aoki Tsuki went back to Amegakure and stayed for a few days.
One reason was to check on Karin's training progress, and the other was to see if Pain had made any substantial progress in his research on the Thunder God Mask.
For now, his Water Release are limited; he lacks the talent to innovate and can only rely on external forces.
Karin has quite a bit of talent; she even learned the Water Formation Wall technique quite well. So, I'll just teach her ' Water Trumpet ' and ' Water Shockwave ' as well.
Given the characteristics of the Chaton, the force of its Water Shockwave is probably equivalent to that of a landslide or tsunami.
"Teacher, I'm going to tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," Karin whispered.
What secret?
"I've discovered a very capable person in the village, far more capable than you and that cold-hearted woman. He's on the tallest tower to the west."
Aoki Tsuki was secretly surprised and said, "You've awakened your sensory abilities?"
"I don't know either, but when I close my eyes I can feel points of light all around me, some big and some small. Teacher, you're the second biggest in the whole village."
"Nonsense, besides the village chief, I'm the strongest. I was just going easy on the Lady Angel last time, she's my female boss, after all."
Aoki Tsuki asked suspiciously, "You must have awakened the Uzumaki Clan's ' Mind's Eye of the Kagura,' which is the most powerful sensory technique, possessing the power to escape from any danger."
"They're either teaching me to lie or to run away. How can I become a powerful ninja like that?" Karin complained.
"You silly child, all I've taught you is how to survive. What's so great about fighting? Being a sensory ninja isn't so bad."
"Okay, actually I know whether other people are lying to me or not, humph."
After saying that, Karin jogged away.
'Is this also Mind's Eye of the Kagura? Oh dear, it'll be harder to fool her now.'
Knock knock knock...
" Konan, are you there?" Aoki Tsuki opened the door to the acting village chief's office and found Konan looking at him speechlessly.
"Excuse me, I have confidential information to report."
Aoki Tsuki's behavior doesn't seem like a serious matter.
"Explain!"
"My lovely student has discovered the leader's hiding place."
"What?!" Konan nearly jumped out of her chair. "Are you serious?"
"I already told you it was classified information. I'm turning myself in to you, even at the cost of family ties."
What exactly is going on...?
"That's how it is. She awakened the Uzumaki Clan's sensory technique ' Mind's Eye of the Kagura,' which allows her to accurately detect Chakra fluctuations within a ten-kilometer radius."
You can even tell if someone is lying by their Chakra. Pretty amazing, right?
In reality, Karin is far from reaching that level, he said on purpose, exaggerating.
"That child actually has such an ability," Konan exclaimed in amazement.
It's more than just powerful; even Pain using the Rain Tiger at Will Technique wasn't this exaggerated. It can heal people, has super sensory abilities, and detect lies.
A god-tier support player.
"I told you long ago that this child has pure blood and great potential. As the village's advisor, you should listen to me."
"Are you here to report something, or to show off?"
"Haha... they're here to register. I've already told Karin to keep it strictly confidential, and the kid knows what she's doing."
He said the leader had the most Chakra in the whole village, and I was second.
"I know you're very capable now, there's no need to emphasize that," Konan said, frowning.
That despicable guy!
"Oh, and you're not allowed to drink her blood, understand?"
Aoki Tsuki smiled bitterly, " Konan, I haven't drunk blood in a long time. As my only disciple, I simply can't bring myself to do it."
Based on Aoki Tsuki's character, not a single punctuation mark in this statement can be trusted.
Konan strongly suspects that Aoki Tsuki's reason for taking Karin as a student is to exploit her.
"Your only disciple? Didn't you get another student?"
Clearly, Konan had already noticed the Ajisai's presence, Aoki Tsuki probably had his eye on one of its talents again.
"That child was just a war orphan. I took pity on her, so I hired her as a child laborer. I couldn't just watch her starve to death."
You know me perfectly well; I'm a complete mess myself, yet I can't stand seeing the suffering of others.
Sigh, actually I'm just what other people call a pushover.
"Alright, I know what you're talking about. I'll be more careful in the future. You can go back now if there's nothing else."
Konan waved him away; she didn't want to listen to someone bragging.
"Alright, I'll head back now."
Aoki Tsuki turned and left. It seemed he hadn't quite figured out the Thunder God Mask yet, which was really worrying him.
Passing by the training ground, I indeed saw Ajisai meditating and cultivating. As for who taught her Chakra refining, I don't need to guess, it must be Karin.
Karin's refining techniques were also taught to her by Konan, Konan techniques originated from Jiraiya, the true Hokage lineage of Konoha.
Hokage originated from the Senju, Senju traced back to the Ninshu.
Fate is a strange thing, which is why the ninja world is always inseparable from fatalism.
"Hey kid, what are you doing? I've caught you."
Aoki Tsuki suddenly appeared in front of Ajisai, startling her. "Lord Tsuki, I... I'm not..."
He stammered, his words becoming incoherent, clutching the hem of his clothes, completely at a loss.
"Haha... Look how nervous you are. It's a good thing to be ambitious. You remind me of when I was a kid, I also worked so hard to become stronger."
Hearing that Aoki Tsuki wouldn't pursue the matter, Ajisai was slightly relieved.
"Did you cultivate like this before, Lord Yue?"
"Of course, all powerful ninjas rely on diligent training day after day. A ninja is someone who endures all kinds of suffering and perseveres."
Realizing your dreams is the process of practicing the Ninja Way. You're working so hard, there must be something you want to do, right?
"I... I want peace," the Ajisai said cautiously.
Holy shit!
Aoki Tsuki felt a headache coming on. Are all the kids in the ninja world so concerned about the common people?
Despite his Tenten talk of peace, Konan sees things very clearly; he doesn't care about so-called peace at all.
Even a small child has a greater capacity for understanding than him.
"Sigh... kid, your dream is quite extraordinary; it requires immense strength. Have you refined your Chakra yet?"
"Yes, someone else taught me." Ajisai was still loyal and didn't betray Karin.
"Then I'll teach you a Ninjutsu, consider it the key to realizing your dream. Watch carefully, I'll only teach you once."
"Um."
Ajisai knew that another chance to change her life had come. She stared wide-eyed at Aoki Tsuki's every move, afraid of missing a single detail.
Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei.
Summoning Technique: Ibuse
Thud...
A wisp of white smoke drifted by, and the mountain-sized body of the Ibuse suddenly appeared in the training field. The oppressive feeling brought by the giant beast made the Ajisai gasp for breath.
However, what happened next completely shattered her sense of mystery about Lord Yue.
"Excuse me, Brother Ibuse, I was demonstrating Ninjutsu to my students. Sorry to bother you, but it's nothing else, you can go back now."
His servile manner was no better than that of the beggars she saw on the street.
"No wonder Karin isn't afraid of him at all; she really has no teacher's authority whatsoever."
The Ibuse tilted its head and glanced at the tiny girl at its feet, exhaled, and looked very dissatisfied. Before leaving, it didn't forget to flick its tail and send Aoki Tsuki flying.
If we don't teach it a lesson, it might be treated like an ox in the future; it's quite intelligent.
Splash...
Aoki Tsuki's body was slapped into a pool of water that splashed everywhere.
It turns out that the Water Clone had fooled Ibuse.
"See that? That's a summoning beast. Remember those hand seals. Later, when you find your own summoning beast and form a blood pact, you can summon it to help you in battle."
"Where can we find a spirit beast?" Ajisai asked the crucial question.
Aoki Tsuki scratched his head. He hadn't looked for it himself, because he rarely even used Ibuse.
There is actually more than one Ibuse; it's a whole group. This creature has a specific significance and cannot be shown to others casually.
"Summoning beasts generally live in specific areas and possess considerable intelligence. Birds and beasts can all generate Chakra and become summoning beasts."
Of course, they don't necessarily have to be alive. Special ninja tools can also be summoned to fight. In short, just run around, and you'll have a chance to encounter them.
That's just kidding. Anyway, he's been to many places over the years and hasn't seen a single intelligent wild tribe.
"Yes, I will definitely find my own summoning beast."
Ajisai clenched her fist with confidence, determined to collect more spirit beasts in the future.