RoseWhisky
patreon
Chapter 124: A Major Reshuffle in the Ninja World, Destroying the Other Villages
🕑 Added 2024-12-14 06:17:55 +0000 UTCIn Hiruko's castle.
In the brightly lit laboratory, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared out of thin air.
A distorted figure emerged from the vortex, quickly taking the form of Uchiha Obito.
"You're pretty fast," said Hundred Faces, who was experimenting with a White Zetsu clone. He teased, "You're even more enthusiastic than Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki. You guys catching the tailed beasts... Is there another purpose behind it?"
"It's simply to bring peace sooner and end the conflicts in the ninja world once and for all," Obito lied effortlessly, not batting an eye.
Even without his mask, his expression would likely remain unchanged.
"I'll believe you for now. After all, the Asura of the ninja world and the God of Shinobi both had the power to bring peace to the ninja world—only their choices differed, and the God of Shinobi ultimately won," Hundred Faces remarked while taking off his mask and white coat. He put on the Akatsuki's black cloak with the Uchiha fan symbol on his back and asked Obito, "The Two-Tails jinchuriki and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki are Yugito Nii from the Hidden Cloud and the Raikage's brother, Killer Bee. Should we just storm into the Hidden Cloud and grab them?"
"That's too aggressive. Pain wouldn't agree," Obito replied, frowning slightly. "The Hidden Cloud is not like the Hidden Sand. Right now, their overall strength is the greatest among the ninja villages, and I'm not even at half of my former power."
"Is that so?" Hundred Faces teased with a smirk, "More aggressive than you releasing the Nine-Tails in Konoha to cause chaos?"
"You know quite a bit," Obito's gaze sharpened, and he said coldly, "I didn't expect that during the Second Ninja War, the most remarkable figure wasn't 'Demi-God' Hanzo or the Sannin of Konoha, but you, a small fry from the same generation, who remained unnoticed."
"Of course!" Hundred Faces boasted arrogantly, "I broke through the limits of an ordinary civilian and became the perfect being in the ninja world. How could they compare to me?"
Obito, seeing Hundred Faces's arrogance, felt relieved.
This guy knew a lot but hadn't yet grasped the true secrets of the world. That meant he wasn't a real threat and could be a valuable pawn. Perhaps Hundred Faces could become his strongest piece.
If Hundred Faces had known Obito's thoughts, he would have smirked internally, thinking, My acting skills are better than yours.
After finishing his preparations, Hundred Faces asked, "Where's the target? How do we proceed?"
"The Two-Tails jinchuriki is still in the Hidden Cloud. We'll wait until she goes on a mission before making our move," Obito said, heading toward the door. "We'll walk there. Sasori and Deidara won't act until tomorrow, and it takes days to seal a tailed beast, so there's no rush."
"Fine, you're the mastermind. I'll follow your lead."
---
Even though Yagyu knew the Akatsuki had started moving, with their first target being his future brother-in-law, he didn't inform Temari or the Hidden Sand Village, nor did he tell Tsunade.
In Naruto: Shippuden, Konoha's greatest crisis was the attack of Pain's Six Paths.
The deadliest event, however, was the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Yagyu planned to prevent Pain's invasion but had no intention of stopping the outbreak of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The Fourth Ninja War was the final chapter in a millennia-old game of chess. Yagyu not only wanted to use it as an opportunity to ascend to another level of power but also to reshuffle the entire ninja world.
He wasn't interested in unifying the ninja world. He had no desire to govern it or ensure peace for its people.
Yagyu was perfectly content with the current system—his future goal was simply to be the leader of a military base.
He would leave politics to the daimyo.
And if the daimyo didn't cooperate, he'd simply replace them with someone else.
However, Yagyu had no intention of being so friendly toward other countries and the great ninja villages.
He planned to use the Akatsuki and the Fourth Ninja War to decimate the major ninja villages, reducing them to ruins.
That way, they'd never recover, and once he became the Sixth Hokage, his work would be much easier.
But for all that to happen, Gaara, the key to awakening the Gedo Statue, was essential.
That's why Yagyu had decided to let his future brother-in-law face danger without stepping in—after all, Gaara wouldn't die anyway.
The next morning, Yagyu went to Kurenai Yuhi's house and knocked on her door.
Knock, knock, knock... creak!
Soon after the knocking, the wooden door opened from the inside.
A mature woman in a red nightgown appeared in front of Yagyu.
"Come in. What brings you here today with so much free time to visit your teacher?"
Kurenai brushed back her fluffy black hair and headed back to the living room, pointing to the shoe cabinet by the entrance. "Shoes are over there. Help yourself."
Yagyu closed the door, changed into indoor shoes, and followed Kurenai into the living room.
As usual, Kurenai went to the kitchen and poured Yagyu a glass of milk.
When she bent over to place the glass in front of Yagyu, she didn't seem to mind the glimpse of her cleavage that was visible.
However, Yagyu's attention wasn't on the enticing sight but rather on Kurenai's face and the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead. He smiled and said, "Kurenai-sensei, even after two years, you haven't changed a bit—you're still just as young and beautiful."
"Such a sweet talker."
Kurenai smiled at the compliment, then touched the seal on her forehead and sincerely said, "Thanks to the Yin Seal you gave me. It was the best birthday gift I've ever received."
"As long as you like it."
"You go ahead and drink your milk; I'm going to wash up."
Kurenai turned and walked away, her curvy figure and thin red nightgown practically inviting temptation.
Although Yagyu's influence had kept Kurenai from being romantically involved with Asuma Sarutobi, she still exuded a mature, wife-like charm—like a perfectly ripe peach.
"Don't you need to spend time with those little girlfriends of yours? Or are they out on missions, and you came to your teacher out of boredom?"
Kurenai soon finished washing up, changed into comfortable home clothes, and sat across from Yagyu with her legs crossed elegantly.
"I came to invite you, Kurenai-sensei."
Yagyu smiled and said, "Yakumo's physical condition has reached the level of a qualified ninja, and her strength is incredibly powerful. Would you like to bring her along with us on a joint mission?"
"A joint mission?"
Kurenai was surprised. "You, me, Yakumo, and the three other jōnin? You're not planning an S-rank mission, are you?"
"An S-rank mission will do."
"...Alright."
After a few seconds of silence, Kurenai nodded. "Recently, Yakumo has been pestering me to take her on a high-level mission, but I've been afraid my strength wasn't enough to protect her. I didn't want to agree."
"If you're coming along, maybe she can experience a high-level mission for the first time."
Kurenai was clearly aware of her own limitations.
In the past, the physically weak Kurama Yakumo had easily defeated Kurenai.
Now that Yakumo was healthy, she could pull enemies into her genjutsu space while attacking in the real world. Without the ability to break through her illusions, opponents wouldn't even find her real body.
Unless they could outlast Yakumo's chakra, they were doomed.
Not even Hinata or Shino could defeat Yakumo if they were caught in her genjutsu space.
Such is the brilliance of a prodigy who appears only once every few generations!
"None of us would be here without you, Kurenai-sensei. You're our pillar of support."
Yagyu stood up, smiling. "Go ahead and inform Yakumo. I'll gather Hinata and Shino. Meet me at the village gates."
"Alright, you're an elite jōnin now, technically my superior. You call the shots," Kurenai playfully winked at Yagyu, her expression filled with mature allure.
Yagyu felt his mouth go dry. He should've spent more time with Kurenai after all.
An hour later, at the gates of Konoha.
Yagyu handed the village exit permits to Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, who were on duty again. Then he led Kurama Yakumo, who was brimming with excitement, along with Kurenai and Team 8, out of Konoha.
At the same time, in a small country within the ninja world, two figures had just met and were heading toward the Land of Wind.
They wore black cloaks embroidered with red clouds, with straw hats tied with small bells—a unique look for none other than Sasori and Deidara.
