"Huff... huff..."
When Aoki Tsuki arrived breathlessly at a secluded cave, Ryōta, Shinichi, and Shioame were already waiting there.
In addition, Nonō was performing Chakra surgery on Hannya Corps, the leader of the Oniki sect, who was lying on the ground.
"Captain, are you alright?"
None of them had ever seen their captain like this before, which showed how powerful their opponent was.
Aoki Tsuki waved his hand, "I'm fine, it's just that my Chakra was used up a lot. My opponent was Uchiha, there was nothing I could do."
"You're amazing. You managed to escape from a one-on-one fight with the Uchiha," Nonō exclaimed in admiration.
She had fainted after being glared at by someone.
Aoki Tsuki said, "The target is now in your hands. Whether to kill him or spare him is up to you. Our mission is complete."
Ryōta and the others took out the scroll containing the corpses of the Hannya Corps, handed it to Nonō, and then left the cave on their own.
At this moment Nonō said, "I will report the truth to Danzo. Don't worry, you Amegakure will receive every penny of the benefits due."
"I naturally believe that. The Uchiha are truly despicable; they almost ruined Danzo Danzo's plans. You must give them the truthful feedback."
Damn you, Uchiha! I'll have Danzo bite you to death!
Nonō was incredibly clever; she immediately picked up on the hint.
'Could this guy also be a member of Root...?'
She had previously assumed that the other party was someone sent by Danzo to carry out an assassination mission, since that was Amegakure's specialty.
"Understood. Leave the rest to me."
"Okay, let's head out first."
After Aoki Tsuki Squad left, Nonō immediately relayed the information back to Root through special channels. Danzo, upon receiving the confirmation, immediately went to find the Third.
" Hiruzen, the leader of the Hannya Corps, secretly went to Iwagakure in an attempt to form an alliance with Ōnoki. This is the evidence. See for yourself."
As he spoke, he took out the alliance treaty he had obtained from Oniki.
Hiruzen Sarutobi the scroll and quickly glanced through it. He sighed; he had long suspected that Danzo would secretly send someone over.
Without beating around the bush, he asked directly, "What's the situation now?"
"The leader of the Hannya Corps sect, Oniki, has been captured by my men. He has realized his mistakes and decided to continue to stand on the side of Konoha," Danzo said smugly.
The process of recognizing one's mistakes is undoubtedly full of twists and turns and pain.
His original plan was to kill the target, but he didn't expect the people from Amegakure to be so capable, managing to capture the target alive, which made him very satisfied.
"That's settled then. I'll pass the message on to Minato."
"Snort."
Danzo snorted coldly and turned to leave.
Hokage isn't easy. You think you can push him out of the center of power? You're too naive!
Upon seeing Danzo emerge, the Root members hurriedly approached and whispered, " Danzo, we've found him. It's Shisui Uchiha; he just returned to the village."
"So it was him. No wonder the Third was so confident. But that's not important anymore. In the end, a ninja's strength is what matters."
Having said that, he slowly walked into the dark corridor.
In the Hokage Building, the Fourth sat behind his desk listening to Shisui's report on the mission.
"Did it fail?"
"It was my dereliction of duty," Shisui Uchiha replied frankly.
"Well... this matter involves Danzo, so there's nothing we can do. It has nothing to do with you. You've already done very well."
"I've heard that the war between the village and Kirigakure is not yet over, and I'd like to apply to go to the front lines to hone my skills."
Minato Namikaze nodded and said, "Alright, I hope you can use this opportunity to enrich your combat experience. You've worked hard, go back and rest now."
"I'll take my leave now."
Not long after Shisui Uchiha left, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked into the Hokage's office.
The Uchiha Clan Compound, located in the central area of Konoha, was brightly lit. Shisui first went to the clan leader to explain the situation, and on his way out, he encountered a four- or five-year-old child in the garden.
" Shisui, you're back from your mission."
Shisui smiled. "It's Itachi. Yes, I just got back and am reporting to the clan leader."
Itachi keenly noticed Shisui's unnatural smile and asked, "Is there a problem with the mission?"
There was no point in hiding anything from this precocious younger cousin, so Shisui explained, "Yes, I encountered a troublesome fellow who broke my Genjutsu."
"Can even the Sharingan's Genjutsu be broken?" Itachi asked in surprise, having witnessed Shisui's mastery of Genjutsu.
"Itachi, remember this: every technique has a weakness. The Sharingan, as the Kekkei Genkai of our clan, is undeniably powerful."
However, this doesn't mean you can ignore all opponents; constant vigilance is the way of a ninja's survival.
In response to Shisui's warning, Itachi nodded emphatically, keeping it in mind.
"I'm planning to go to the Southeast Kirigakure Front for some training in a while. Don't slack off in the village, and get along well with your classmates at school."
"Yes, you should be careful too."
Itachi, who had been taken to the battlefield by his father when he was four years old, had a deep understanding of the horrors of war.
'I also want to strive to become stronger and keep up with Shisui's pace.'
Meanwhile, Aoki Tsuki led his team back to Amegakure. The mission was successfully completed, and the village received a considerable income.
To show his kindness, Konan gave his team a few days off.
For the next few months, Amegakure remained peaceful without any further attacks, and people's lives returned to normal. However, the Land of Rain underwent a dramatic transformation.
Pain began a secret sweep, eliminating forces large and small one by one from south to north.
Whether they are righteous or evil, no matter what banner they wave, they will all be wiped out.
The Amegakure Guard has taken on several new tasks, including expanding its reconnaissance squads into an intelligence department to conduct comprehensive monitoring of the Land of Rain.
In addition, a separate corpse collection team was set up to handle the corpses of the enemy after the suppression of the rebellion, and to dispose of them in a unified manner.
This was to conceal intelligence.
The particularly valuable corpses would be transported back to the village and stored in a tall tower in the western district.
At first, the various organizations in the Land of Rain didn't take this matter seriously. This wasn't the first time Amegakure had launched a crackdown on them; over the past decade or so, they had carried out numerous similar anti-gang and anti-crime operations.
Which one didn't start strong but end weakly?
No one expected that Amegakure would be serious this time; six months later, all the major and minor factions had been basically wiped out.
Pain fulfilled his promise of peace to the daimyo, but before he could send anyone to explain the situation, the daimyo proactively sent people to the village to offer assistance and financial support.
Iron Rain Avenue.
Rain Butterfly Karaoke.
" Eiji, come on, I'll finish this one first, you can drink as you like."
Aoki Tsuki picked up a wine glass, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp before saying, "Please stay a couple more days this time and experience the unique services of Amegakure."
"Hahaha... You guys are so enthusiastic, I can't accept this!"
Eiji Ishida, as the finance minister of the Daimyo's prefecture in the Land of Rain, came here for two reasons: first, to reopen the communication channels between the Daimyo and the village, and second, to see the current state of the village.
Does this new village chief, Pain, really have the ability to manage Amegakure well?
What I saw was much better than I had imagined. Compared to the Hanzō era, the economy, people's lives, and their mental state were all much better.
At that moment, the proprietress led the girls in.
"Master Yue, these are the most beautiful women in the shop, you've all seen them, they're all... yes... their names are BBW. Tonight they will only serve you and this distinguished guest."
"Hmm... Oh... Xi... Ayaki, Moeko, Yui, Kana, you four stay here for a moment, the rest of you wait a moment..."
"Hi, Lord Yue."
" Eiji, it's a pleasure to meet you. What are your tastes...?"
"I trust my judgment, bro, haha..."
Eiji Ishida doesn't look young, and he's actually not young at all; he looks to be close to Xiaoqi.
The older these people get, the more they prefer young, shy girls.
Aoki Tsuki specifically chose two girls in their twenties and two girls in their thirties, and sure enough, the old lecher's gaze lingered on Moeko and Kana for a moment.
Although Moeko and Kana were young, their ability to read people was well-honed, and they quickly walked over to Eiji Ishida's side and sat down on either side of him.
Moeko was in charge of pouring the drinks, while Kana was responsible for feeding the customers with the drinks; their roles were clearly defined.
"My lord, let's drink together, you take a sip... I'll take a sip..."
"Okay, okay... but I'd prefer you drink first... then I'll drink yours..."
Compared to playing around, Eiji Ishida had been in officialdom for decades and knew quite a few tricks up his sleeve. If it weren't for his status, he would have shown off his many other skills.
"You're so... annoying..."
Kana pretended to be angry and lightly punched Eiji Ishida in the chest with her small fist, the force perfectly controlled, as if afraid he wouldn't be able to catch his breath and would suddenly pass out.
I reckon that apart from his fingers, nothing else on this old man's body is hard.
He's just showing off his verbal skills!
When it comes to real skills, who hasn't heard of Master Yue's abilities among the women in Amegakure's famous brothels, karaoke bars, and bubble rooms?
Ayaki and Yui then sat down next to Aoki Tsuki to keep him company while he drank.
Aoki Tsuki waved to the proprietress and said, "Take the other beauties out to rest first. Everyone who shows up will receive a tip of 10,000 taels, put it on my tab."
"Thank you so much, Lord Yue!!" the beauties exclaimed happily.
You get a tip just for showing up; where else can you find such a good deal?
"Lord Yue, please let me know if you need anything." The proprietress quickly left the private room with her entourage.
Ayaki gestured for Yui to continue drinking with Aoki Tsuki, then stood up and walked to the front of the group, saying, "Lord Tsuki, what song would you like to hear this time?"
Aoki Tsuki turned to him and asked, "Brother Eiji, what kind of songs do you like?"
"Waaaaah..."
Eiji Ishida, who had just been fed a sip of wine by Kana, muttered upon hearing this, "I'm fine with anything, but seeing them reminds me of my first love."
"I understand! Ayaki... just sing ' Love Only One Person in a Lifetime '."