"It clearly states that to activate Infinite Tsukuyomi and drag everyone in the world into a Genjutsu, you must gather the Nine Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails!"
At the mention of gathering Tailed Beasts, every hair on Jiraiya's body stood on end.
He shot out of his chair.
"The Akatsuki!"
Jiraiya roared.
"That organization I've been investigating-the Akatsuki-their current objective is to secretly collect the Tailed Beasts from every nation!"
Xin immediately picked up the conversation, his tone icy.
"That explains it."
Xin spoke bluntly.
"Someone wants to gather the Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, grow the God Tree, and activate Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"And to control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Ten-Tails, they must possess the Rinnegan."
Xin looked at Jiraiya.
"Lord Jiraiya, the leader behind the Akatsuki may be someone with the Rinnegan!"
The three were left utterly speechless by the sheer scale of the conspiracy.
The safety of the entire Shinobi World was hanging by a thread.
The Third Hokage sank limply into his chair, gasping for breath.
It was simply too much information, so much that even a Shinobi Hero who had weathered countless storms felt suffocated.
"Everything heard here today is classified as Konoha's highest secret. No one is to breathe a single word of it to anyone outside this room!"
The Third Hokage gave the order sternly.
He looked at the two stone tablets on the floor.
"Leave these two stone tablets here. I will keep them safe myself."
The Third Hokage turned to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, depart immediately and devote every effort to tracking down Nagato and the Akatsuki. You must uncover the truth about the Rinnegan!"
Jiraiya nodded solemnly.
"Kakashi, your Mangekyō has drained you too severely. Return to the hospital immediately to recover. You are not to use that eye without my orders."
Covering his left eye, Kakashi respectfully acknowledged the order and withdrew.
After Jiraiya and Kakashi left.
Only the Third Hokage and Uchiha Xin remained in the office.
The Third Hokage looked at the boy before him, who was only thirteen yet already possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and had uncovered the Shinobi World's greatest secret.
His eyes were filled with admiration and relief.
Fortunately, this genius had not turned against Konoha.
"Xin, you've done very well."
The Third Hokage's tone was gentle, yet carried unquestionable authority.
"With your current strength and contributions to the village, the mere rank of Special Jōnin is no longer worthy of you."
The Third Hokage stood, walked over to Xin, and patted his shoulder.
"The village has countless things to rebuild right now. I need you to do something extremely important."
The Third Hokage looked Xin straight in the eye, then issued his latest mission.
"Go bring Tsunade back!"
Xin froze.
His eyes widened as he stared at the Third Hokage in disbelief.
He was actually being sent to bring Tsunade back.
Uchiha Xin looked at the Third Hokage, filled with resignation.
I just made up a whole bunch of myths and had the Third and Jiraiya completely fooled.
And now I've been saddled with a troublesome mission like this.
Find Tsunade and bring her back to the village.
Xin had originally wanted to refuse outright, but then reconsidered.
With his current strength-the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and a max-level Eight Gates Released Formation-Tsunade could not hurt him in the slightest, no matter how explosive her temper or how monstrous her strength.
The old Third had probably entrusted him with this mission precisely because of his strength and ability to take a beating.
"Fine, I'll take the mission."
Xin sighed and reluctantly agreed.
A gratified smile appeared on the Third Hokage's face.
"Good. Go back and rest for a day, then depart first thing tomorrow morning."
Xin nodded, turned, and left the Hokage's office.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Xin walked along Konoha's streets.
He had originally planned to rest in the village for a day and visit Hinata to spend some time together.
Only after asking at the Hyuga Clan compound did he learn that Hinata had gone on a mission with Team 8 and had yet to return.
As for that loudmouth Naruto, Xin had no desire whatsoever to see him right now.
He did not want to hear Naruto ramble about that hot-blooded Will of Fire, much less learn any Talk no Jutsu.
"Since Hinata isn't here, there's not much point staying in the village."
With his hands in his pockets, Xin headed straight for the Konoha Gate.
Without even saying goodbye, he left Konoha ahead of schedule that very afternoon.
Inside the Hokage's office.
An Anbu knelt on one knee, reporting Xin's early departure to the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage puffed away on his pipe, his aged face full of gratified smiles.
"That boy complains about the trouble, but he's so eager to act."
The Third Hokage blew a smoke ring.
"He really does care deeply about the village's safety."
Meanwhile.
Uchiha Xin had already traveled far beyond Konoha.
To him, finding Tsunade in the vast Shinobi World was hardly difficult.
Tsunade had a nickname known throughout the Shinobi World-the Legendary Sucker.
He only needed to make the rounds of the casinos in the major towns and cities, and he would definitely pick up her trail.
A few days later.
In a bustling town on the border of the Land of Fire.
The largest underground casino in the entire Land of Fire was located here.
Inside the casino, voices clamored and smoke swirled.
Xin sat at the largest gambling table, with chips piled high before him.
To his surprise, he discovered that the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's perceptive ability was simply an unbeatable cheat in a casino.
Even the specially made gambling equipment engraved with Chakra-blocking runes was effectively useless under the gaze of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
He could see every movement of the dice inside the cup and every suit on the cards with perfect clarity.
"Place your bets! Hands off!"
The dealer called loudly.
Xin casually pushed a large handful of chips onto the high section.
The dice cup was lifted.
"Four, five, six! Fifteen, high!"
Even the dealer's voice was trembling.
The gamblers around them all sucked in a cold breath, looking at Xin as though he were a monster.
"Who is this kid? He's won more than a dozen rounds in a row!"
"This is unreal. It's like the god of gambling has possessed him!"
Listening to the whispers around him, Xin remained perfectly calm.
He was not actually short of money at all.
But he suddenly remembered that the Land of Snow had just been through a war, had countless things to rebuild, and had a severely strained treasury.
Kazahana Koyuki had mentioned before that improving and mass-producing Chakra Armor urgently required a large sum in research funding.
For the sake of his woman's endeavors, Xin used gambling to rake in money.
Whenever he reached a town with a casino, he would go in and win a little.
Of course, casinos were never places that played by the rules.
When Xin had won thirty million ryō in chips and was preparing to leave.
Several broad-shouldered, thick-waisted casino thugs with brutish faces blocked his path.
"Brat, you think you can just leave after winning that much?"
The lead thug held a gleaming Ninja Blade, his gaze vicious.
"Leave the money and a hand, and I'll spare your life."
With the local gang backing the casino, these men were used to throwing their weight around.
Xin looked at these fools courting death and sneered.
"If you don't want to play by the rules, we'll play by mine."