West section, top of the tower.
As always, Deva Path Pain stood atop the statue's tongue, overlooking the entire Amegakure.
Noticing Konan staring at him, Deva Path Pain turned around. "What's wrong?"
Danzo is dead.
"What?!"
Konan delivered the shocking news in a calm tone, leaving anyone who knew Danzo in awe.
" Orochimaru attacked Konoha, and Tsuki took the opportunity to assassinate Danzo. He just showed me the body, and although it's hard to believe, it's definitely him."
"Ha, I never expected... that someone like that would be assassinated. It seems Konoha has truly declined."
Pain's tone revealed a hint of joy. The two masterminds who killed Yahiko back then had now been eliminated, which could be considered a great revenge.
"This was done very well!!!"
"Yue also brought back concrete information about the One-Tail and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Combined with the other Tailed Beast we already know about, we're not far from the final operation."
"Now is the weakest time in Konoha, indeed a good time to make a move. Let's have a chat with Madara next time he comes."
Plans can't keep up with changes, and Pain wasn't a rigid person.
As time passed, Danzo's death finally attracted the attention of some interested parties, leading to various speculations.
There were rumors that the assassination was carried out by someone sent by Sunagakure, but this claim was quickly refuted. If Sunagakure had that kind of ability, they wouldn't have gotten involved with the rogue Orochimaru.
Rumors suggest that the assassins were hired by Orochimaru, with Akatsuki being the prime suspects.
As the largest assassination organization in the Shinobi World, its core members have always been mysterious and powerful. Orochimaru had previously joined this organization.
Akatsuki immediately declared that Orochimaru had defected from the organization years ago, and Akatsuki could not take the blame for Orochimaru's actions.
Everyone should keep their eyes open, not believe or spread rumors.
At this moment, Orochimaru was lying on the hospital bed, howling in pain, "Ah... you old bastard, it hurts so much!"
His body had lost the nourishment of his soul, his hands were rotting and emitting a foul odor, Orochimaru was beginning to hate the Third to death.
" Lord Orochimaru, we've found Tsunade's whereabouts."
"I hope she can heal my hand. Is there any other information worth noting?"
"Indeed, there is important information: on the day of the attack, it seems that Danzo of Konoha was assassinated."
Orochimaru was taken aback for a moment, then sneered, "Heh... Yue is quite capable."
He said he'd help him beforehand, but it turns out he was just waiting for this, quietly doing something big.
How's Sasuke doing?
"He seems to have been provoked; his attitude has changed. Hatred will urge him to make a choice quickly; it should be soon."
"Okay, send someone to meet them. Let's go see Tsunade first."
Orochimaru paused here, pondered for a moment, and then instructed, "Time might be running out. We need to prepare for the worst. First, get Zetsu's incubation body ready for me."
"You mean...?"
"Trying out unusual containers once in a while can be a great experience."
"Hi."
In the Land of Rivers, at Akatsuki's stronghold, Pain convened Astral Projection Technique meeting.
"Huh? There's a new member."
Hidan, not one to keep a low profile, tilted his head and shouted back, "Hey, I'm not a new member, I've been promoted!"
"This is Hidan, the tenth member of Hidan." Pain then introduced Hidan.
Kisame asked curiously, "Now that everyone's gathered, are we about to begin the next phase of the mission?"
"Indeed, Xiao's reputation is widespread, Five Great Nations have already set their sights on us, making further hiding pointless."
So what's the next step?
"The target is the Tailed Beast!"
Scorpion was overjoyed. "Hehe... this is indeed very challenging!"
"What are we going to do with collecting the Tailed Beast?" Kakuzu asked.
"Manufacture the ultimate weapons of war, lease them to various countries, and let them witness the destruction brought by absolute power and personally experience the pain of war."
Only when people dare not start wars casually will true peace truly arrive.
Which one should we start with?
"We need to seal them one by one in order. Next, we will assign tasks. Deidara and Sasori, you are responsible for the One-Tail and Three-Tails. Kakuzu and Hidan, you are responsible for the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails."
Itachi and Kisame, you two are in charge of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. Konan and Tsuki, you two are in charge of the Six-Tails and Eight-Tails.
The Nine-Tails is the most powerful of all the Tailed Beast, so naturally, its leader Pain, personally took action against it.
Kisame said, "Capturing the Tailed Beast is truly a challenging task; I'm really looking forward to it."
"I've said it before, Akatsuki's goal is peace in the Shinobi World. Everyone, we must succeed."
"Hi!!"
Soon, another earth-shattering piece of news spread throughout the Shinobi World: Princess Tsunade, Sannin appointed as the Fifth Hokage.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, he took over the mess left by Orochimaru's attack.
Tsunade's appointment as the Fifth Hokage was widely supported, as most of the ninjas in Konoha had received her kindness, either directly or indirectly.
In addition to its reputation and the Senju bloodline, it is the popular choice.
The deaths of the Third and Danzo were something Branch Family in Konoha had been eagerly anticipating; they were practically killed off by those two old geezers.
Do you know how everyone has been living all these years?!
After taking Tsunade, Tsunade continued the Third's peaceful diplomatic policy in foreign affairs and made good use of young ninjas, especially clan ninjas, in order to win over various clans.
Sasuke, a survivor of the Uchiha, defected.
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, chose to have Shikamaru lead the Konoha 12 to persuade them to return, rather than listing them as rogue ninja and hunting them down.
Sasuke managed to escape thanks to the desperate efforts of the Sound Five. It seemed the matter was over, but something unexpected happened along the way.
"What? Neji has disappeared!"
Tsunade was about to explode. There were endless things to deal with every day, and the files were piling up, which was driving her to the brink of collapse.
Not only did the Konoha 12 fail to retrieve Sasuke, they also lost Neji.
"What exactly happened? Can someone explain it to me?"
"We investigated the scene. Neji must have killed the enemy in the end, but he was wounded himself and is probably recuperating somewhere."
Shikamaru had some suspicions, but dared not speak them aloud. His first mission after being promoted to Chunin had been fraught with setbacks.
'Sigh, being a ninja is too much trouble. Maybe I should just quit.'
" Neji has always been trapped in the constraints of the Main Family and Branch Family, suffering greatly. This Chunin tournament..."
Rock Lee didn't care about anything else and told everything he knew in a few words, hoping that the Fifth Hokage could step in and mediate.
If even Neji were to defect, it would be a huge blow to everyone, showing that the bonds weren't strong enough to hold back their hatred.
"Hmph, so that's the reason after all?"
Tsunade was naturally aware of the Hyuga Clan's system.
The Hyuga clan is very ancient, on par with the Senju Konoha, they still retain autonomy.
The Hokage cannot interfere in his family's private affairs, and the Hyuga's Caged Bird Seal is only beneficial to Konoha, a fact that has been tacitly approved by successive Hokage.
Thump... thump... thump
There was a knock on the office door, and then the Hyuga clan leader walked in with a serious expression.
" Fifth Hokage, I heard Neji has gone missing?"
"Yes, Hiashi, you've come at the right time. Neji's situation still needs further clarification, I'll make the arrangements..."
"The Hyuga Clan will handle this themselves," Hiashi said firmly.
Upon hearing Tsunade's forehead veins bulged.
The Byakugan's role is reconnaissance, and they often boast that they belong to the strongest clan in Konoha. Have they started believing their own lies after telling them so many times?
The Third Hokage and Danzo were both killed in the village. Hyuga chased after them, they would only be easy prey. The enemy might even use Neji bait.
"This is no longer a matter for just one clan; do not make decisions on your own."
"But..."
Bang!
Tsunade slammed her fist on the table and roared, "Shut up! I'm the Hokage!!"
I'm starting to understand a little why the teacher always liked to say that. These people are really stubborn and stupid, and they don't care about the village at all.
"Uh..." Hiashi's heart skipped a beat, and he dared not utter a sound.
In the presence of ordinary ninjas, he was the head of a clan, with overwhelming bloodline advantages, but in front of Tsunade, he was at a complete disadvantage.
Even if we only consider age, he should call Tsunade" senpai".
"Since Neji is a member of the Branch Family, there's no need to worry about losing his Byakugan for now. He's probably been misled. I'll have someone investigate him secretly."
In short, put his matter with Sasuke aside for now; the most important thing right now is to keep things stable.
"Hey, it was my oversight. But I request that a member of the Main Family be sent to join the investigation team."
This time, Tsunade didn't refuse; that was her original plan, as only Byakugan Byakugan could track it.
By simply getting close enough, Neji can be locked up using the Caged Bird Seal.
Amegakure.
Aoki Tsuki is working on a brand new technique. His experience watching the Chunin Ninja Exams Konoha last time inspired him once again with his Taijutsu from the Hyuga Clan.
A talent inherited from the soul, a desire to copy anything good.
Imitation is not simply copying and imitating; it's about elevating it to a higher level and then adding your own unique label.
The concept of Chakra points had not previously caught his attention, but this time he would focus on studying it.
Gentle Fist attacks by targeting pressure points, and conversely, the Hyuga Clan can control Chakra to erupt from these pressure points, forming an absolute defense through high-speed rotation.
" Rotation? What a waste of Chakra."
It is entirely possible to shorten the time required to enter the Sage Mode by absorbing Natural Energy through acupoints.
The prerequisite is the ability to precisely control the closure of acupoints throughout the body.
This is not difficult for Aoki Tsuki, who has already mastered the cellular level. With a little optimization, he can quickly enter Sage Mode next time.
Many people can release Chakra through acupoints, but none can achieve the kind of abnormal control that Hyuga over all 361 points of his body.
For example, Tree Climbing or Water Walking requires Chakra to come out from the acupoints on the soles of the feet.
Aoki Tsuki's real purpose was to see if he could use this to achieve the goal of flying with his Okatana. As a ninja who cultivates immortality, it would be unworthy of his name if he couldn't fly.
The biggest advantage of being able to fly is that you can always run away if you can't win a fight.
Collecting the Tailed Beast will inevitably trigger a Fourth Shinobi World War. Who knows how many enemies we'll face?
The enemy can fly, but he can't; he can't escape.
Ōnoki uses anti-gravity Ninjutsu to fly, Gaara uses sand to fly, Konan uses Paper Release to fly.
He can also fly on Okatana; Futsunomitama, as a divine weapon, certainly possesses this ability.
This falls under the category of manipulating ninja tools.
The key is to solve the problem of prolonged Chakra output; the energy consumption of long-distance flight should ideally be balanced by absorbing Natural Energy.
The theory of acupoints comes in handy here.
Aoki Tsuki tried to use Chakra Flow to the blade and control its levitation, performing some simple movements. The downside was that it consumed a lot of chakra, and he would lose control if the distance was even slightly too far.
"I wonder if those researchers from the Jashin Cult have completed the tasks I assigned. I need to go back and check their work."
The task assigned to them was to continue modifying the ' Fury ' technique for absorbing and storing Chakra, and to research other applications of Natural Energy.
The Uzumaki runes on the palms of both hands are one of the results.
As the leader of Jashin Cult, one cannot always rely on one's own efforts; as the boss, one only needs to come up with an idea on a whim.
How to do it? How long will it take to produce results? Those are questions for the lower-level staff to consider; their job is to urge the project to move forward.
You absolutely must change your mindset.
Just then Kikuno Momo sent a message saying that a guest from the Jashin Cult had arrived and was waiting for him.
It took two days to reach the Land of Hot Water, which made Aoki Tsuki even more eager to develop the technique of flying with Okatana; time could not be wasted on the journey.