On a large tree in the distance, Aoki Tsuki had quietly arrived at the battlefield at some point, watching the clash between the two geniuses with a secret envy.
"Holy crap! Scorpion Bro, you're awesome... I knew there would be a way..."
Most people Susanoo for the first time, but Sasori quickly responded after the initial shock.
He truly deserves to be called a top-tier rogue ninja capable of single-handedly destroying an entire nation.
Comparison is the thief of joy!
Aoki Tsuki has been in the world for several years now. With the help of cheat codes, he is currently only at the threshold between elite Jonin and Kage Level.
His fists clenched so tightly they cracked... He hated his own mediocrity.
"But it won't be long... I will soon possess such great power as well."
A faint Uzumaki pattern appeared in his blue pupils; this was the Sage Mode that was about to take shape.
Since being struck by lightning and paralyzed, he unexpectedly mastered the skill of Body Activation. Perhaps he broke through a bottleneck, which led to breakthroughs in both his mental and physical abilities.
The Sage Mode, which was originally planned to take several more years to master, is nearing completion.
In the arena, Shisui struggled to control Susanoo, but failed to break free.
"No... this technique is still too much for me right now... every cell in my body aches..."
Blood kept seeping from Shisui's eyes, turning his vision a blood red.
This technique consumes not only eye power, but also Chakra and stamina, making it unsuitable for prolonged battles.
Every technique has its weaknesses; the Mangekyou Sharingan is no exception, nor is the Sand-Magnet Release.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique
roar...
A gigantic dragon head of fire spewed from Susanoo's mouth, its terrifying temperature, amplified and amplified by Susanoo, enough to melt steel.
Pfft...
The Iron Sand turned red rapidly at extremely high temperatures, turning into molten iron that dripped down.
Following the fire dragon, Shisui unleashed several more Great Fireball, melting away the surrounding sea of Iron Sand and mist.
"What?... They actually broke my technique with Fire Release... Damn it!"
Scorpion was secretly alarmed. The enemy's Yamato and intelligence were no less than his own, which meant that today's assassination attempt might fail.
Just then, Susanoo's form changed again. Muscles and skin quickly covered the bones, and a red Tomoe appeared on its chest, slowly opening.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Countless green Chakra coalesced into thousands of arrows, which were then fired at Sasori's main body.
Without the fog obstructing his view, he was exposed to the enemy's sight.
Sasori hurriedly gathered the remaining Iron Sand into an iron wall in front of him, gaining a chance to catch his breath. Before Susanoo fall, he quickly ran away.
Thud...
When the smoke cleared, only a deep pit remained on the ground; the scorpion was gone.
"Did they escape? Ah..."
Shisui Uchiha suddenly knelt on the ground in pain, covering his eyes and letting out a wail, as the green Susanoo around him gradually dissipated.
The pain subsided after quite some time.
Shisui, looking up again, discovered his eyesight had deteriorated, thinking, "So this is the price of Susanoo..."
This was the first time he had used this technique at full power.
The scorpion had already fled quite a distance before stopping to rest.
Looking up, he saw a person sitting on a huge rock in front of him, which startled him. He thought Shisui Uchiha had caught up with him.
"Brother Scorpion, you look quite disheveled."
"Hmph, so it's you..."
Sasori, of course, wouldn't admit defeat, and spoke first, "Judging from your unscathed appearance, your mission to assassinate the Third Hokage has failed, hasn't it?"
"Yes, we were tricked. The Third Hokage was cunning and used a decoy to fool us."
Aoki Tsuki readily admitted, "It seems things aren't going very smoothly on your end either."
Scorpion was a proud man, so he pretended not to see it.
" Body Flicker Shisui is indeed legendary; I can't defeat him. This place is close to the front lines of Konoha, and reinforcements could arrive at any time. It's not advisable to prolong the battle."
Aoki Tsuki nodded in agreement with Sasori's explanation.
"You're right. The enemies on both missions are formidable, and failure was to be expected. I believe the leader understands our predicament."
So the two returned together and reported the truth to Pain.
"If we fail, there's nothing we can do about it!" Deva Path Pain replied in a completely emotionless voice.
The failure of both missions was expected. If the Sharingan were so easy to obtain, there wouldn't be a single pair of Sharingan left out to this day.
Konan asked, "Tsuki, have you found out what happened in Konoha? What exactly happened...?"
"After finding out the general situation, it can be summarized as follows: it seems that someone from the Uchiha Clan released the Nine-Tails through some unknown means, which destroyed half of Konoha."
The Fourth Hokage died while sealing the Nine-Tails, Uchiha was consequently banished from the village center to a remote prison, where they were placed under 24-hour surveillance.
"So that's how it is! Uchiha..."
Konan seemed to have thought of something, and turned to look at Deva Path Pain. The two of them tacitly guessed that it was the same person.
Pain said, "This is a good thing for us. Konoha won't be paying attention to the Shinobi World in the short term because they're dealing with internal troubles. We should take this opportunity to accelerate our expansion."
"The leader is right. Based on my understanding of Konoha, the Uchiha is not far from being wiped out. The village's deterrent power over the Shinobi World will continue to decline in the future."
"This is a great opportunity for our organization to achieve great things!" Aoki Tsuki said happily, clenching her fist.
He's the villain now, so he should do what villains do.
"I hope so. Keep an eye out while you're out there, and if you meet anyone suitable, bring them into the organization."
Pain was very satisfied with Aoki Tsuki's business capabilities and had already regarded him as Akatsuki's HR, specifically in charge of talent recruitment.
"Clear."
"By the way, Kakuzu's partner died while on a mission with him," Konan reported.
"Don't assign him a partner for now; let him handle the affairs of the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls on his own."
"Um."
In the dungeon of Amegakure, Aoki Tsuki once again brought daily necessities to visit the widow.
"Sister Mimoto, do you know? The Uchiha is about to be wiped out."
"Why?"
"I just returned from a mission in Konoha. Someone released the Nine-Tails from the Jinchūriki, causing great casualties. The Fourth Hokage died trying to seal the Nine-Tails."
That night, many people saw the Sharingan mark in Nine-Tails's eyes.
"What...!!" Kikuno Momo was so shocked by the news that she couldn't close her mouth.
"In other words... the Nine-Tails' rampage was controlled by someone from the Uchiha."
"Impossible. Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and Senju; they loved this village more than anyone else..."
"But people were more willing to believe what they saw with their own eyes. After the Nine-Tails' Disturbance, the Uchiha were driven to live on the edge of the village and were monitored 24 hours a day like prisoners."
"Is everything you're saying true?"
Kikuno Momo could no longer sit still and stood up nervously.
Aoki Tsuki continued, " The Uchiha has long been disliked by the villagers because of their work in the Police Force, and those higher-ups who were already dissatisfied with them will have even more malicious speculations about the Uchiha."
It's easy to imagine what will happen if things continue like this...
Why did this happen? There must be some misunderstanding.
" Konoha suffered heavy casualties this time, and these grudges will probably all be pinned on the Uchiha. I only get to visit Konoha occasionally, but next time I'll come earlier."
"What exactly do you want from me?" Kikuno Momo asked.
She couldn't believe that Aoki Tsuki was helping her so enthusiastically without expecting anything in return.
"Well... I really didn't have any ulterior motives, why don't you believe me?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Tell me... if there's anything I can do to help."
Upon hearing this, Aoki Tsuki hesitated for a moment before finally saying, " Mimoto, do you know where Lord Hanzō's summoning Ibuse, is hiding?"
"Hehe... Little Tsuki, this is the real you."
She could tell that Aoki Tsuki had come to the restaurant for the first time.
I've been paying attention to this child ever since then; he's very goal-oriented.
As expected, Aoki Tsuki later grew into Jonin at an extremely rapid pace.
"Sister Mimoto, stop stringing me along. You definitely know where the Ibuse are hiding. Just tell me, and I'll tell you anything you want to know."
Having reached this point, Aoki Tsuki no longer wanted to hide anything and decided to lay all his cards on the table.
He wanted to enhance his own strength, and after thinking it over, he realized that he was missing a summoning beast.
"I haven't been back to Konoha for a long time. Tell me about the current situation of the Uchiha."
"No problem. The current Uchiha clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, is powerful, but he is indecisive and belongs to the dove faction. After the Nine-Tails' Disturbance, he was coerced by the hawk faction."
It was only a matter of time before they embarked on the path of a coup. Besides, the Uchiha had a genius named Shisui...
Aoki Tsuki told him most of what he knew to show his sincerity.
"I didn't expect you to know so much about the Uchiha."
"Hahaha... This is the number one powerful clan in the Shinobi World. We ninjas need to know who we can mess with and who we can't."
Kikuno Momo didn't think much of Aoki Tsuki's statement and slowly replied, "Actually, I'm not a member of the Uchiha Clan, but I have some connection with them."
The Uchiha Clan has multiplied for over a thousand years. Apart from those direct descendants who still bear the name Uchiha, other branches have long since abandoned the Uchiha surname.
For example, Izumi's mother married an ordinary resident of Konoha. If Izumi hadn't awakened the Sharingan, she wouldn't have been able to return to the Uchiha.
Kikuno Momo is a descendant of such a branch, but she was later chosen by Root to become a spy.
"Actually, I have no one I care about anymore..."
"Uh... this..." Aoki Tsuki felt at a loss.
"Hehe... don't worry, I'll tell you the whereabouts of the Ibuse. This is information I spent a long time obtaining, and I haven't told anyone before."
Kikuno Momo doesn't know the exact location either; she's just speculating on a few possible spots based on the limited information she has.
The location of the Ibuse in Amegakure is a secret, and Satō Ichirō only learned about it after becoming a core guard.
"Sister Mimoto, you truly are my benefactor, thank you so much!"
Aoki Tsuki was so happy that he knelt down immediately.
She truly deserves to be called his benefactor; she always manages to provide a divine assist when he needs help.
"If possible, please show mercy when you encounter members of the Uchiha in the future," Kikuno Momo replied.
"Okay," Aoki Tsuki replied solemnly.
God knows how much of a blow he suffered on this trip; as long as there's a way to make him stronger, that's all that matters.