Orochimaru never cared about making small sacrifices.
For Orochimaru, giving a birthday gift was a trivial matter; but for some children, it could be a rare moment of warmth in their lives, drawing them in involuntarily, depending on this bit of warmth to get through tough times.
Orochimaru knew well that the child, Akihara Kugura, might not seek it anymore, but this child had already developed a habit of relying on him, which suited him perfectly. If he could win people over with more subtle means, who would prefer extreme measures?
"Akatsuki."
After Orochimaru had placed another pawn in Konoha, he began to explore a matter of recent interest to him: "This organization could even complete a mission to destroy a country so effortlessly; it seems there are many of my kind within..."
The Akatsuki organization was indeed extraordinary.
Perhaps due to Uchiha Obito's guidance, the Akatsuki's pursuit of Orochimaru was faster than Orochimaru's pursuit of them.
While Orochimaru was still trying to draw out the Akatsuki, an invitation for a meeting appeared at Orochimaru's research base.
Moreover...
The invitation appeared without Orochimaru's notice, and even the small white snakes scattered throughout the base detected no anomalies.
It was an impressively effective move.
This meant that Orochimaru could be attacked by the Akatsuki in his sleep.
Yet, the organization did not attack Orochimaru but instead invited him to meet, clearly confident in their power, and Orochimaru was naturally unafraid.
Then...
Orochimaru encountered a power beyond his understanding.
A man with orange hair and Rinnegan eyes effortlessly defeated Orochimaru and, with a face full of pride, asked if he would join the Akatsuki!
"One of the three children I met back then..."
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised to recognize the orange-haired man with the Rinnegan!
If he judged by appearance, he had encountered this orange-haired man during the Second Great Ninja War, but back then, he was not the master of the Rinnegan!
The real master of the Rinnegan...
Should be a red-haired person...
Faced with unknown doubts and the temptation of the Rinnegan, Orochimaru had no choice but to agree, hoping to gain the power of the Rinnegan in the future.
Orochimaru had no idea.
How his joining the Akatsuki would cause such a storm in the ninja world.
Inside Konoha village.
Yakushi Nono returned to the Konoha orphanage and received a sum of money allocated by Sarutobi Hiruzen as compensation; Yakushi Kabuto became an honored Genin of Konoha, teaming up with Orochimaru's low-level spies placed within Konoha.
Akihara Kugura had just settled his bonds and unpacked the gift from Orochimaru, a beautiful shuriken, only to discover some major problems, as his system suddenly alerted him of two strange new superiors.
[System Prompt]: [You have a new superior (Tendo Pain), rewarded with a newcomer's welcome package, unlocking new features!]
[Rinnegan (Provisional)]: The legendary eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths, possessing mysterious and formidable power, capable of mastering Yin-Yang Escape Technique, creating six Path puppets, summoning the outer path Gedo statue of the legendary Ten-Tails, and casting extremely powerful Dojutsu!
When the host truly acquires their own Rinnegan, it will merge ocular powers into one, giving a chance to awaken the Rinnegan's true terrifying power!
[System Prompt]: [You have a new superior (Nagato), rewarded with a newcomer's welcome package, unlocking new features!]
[Ten-Tails (Shell)]: The legendary shell of the Ten-Tails, the trunk of the Divine Tree, also known as the Outer Path Gedo Statue, capable of easily casting sealing techniques that suppress the Tailed Beasts!
The Ten-Tails shell sealed within the host's body, the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai will be enhanced, which can be used to cultivate White Zetsu, and also consumes the host's chakra considerably when utilizing the Ten-Tails shell!
The host can use Wood Release to absorb chakra to supply the Ten-Tails husk, enabling it to revive and transform into the Ten-Tails Divine Tree, thus truly becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, mastering the power of the Ten-Tails!
"..."
What's going on here?
Akihara Kagura looked somewhat bewildered at his new features.
He recognized these terms combined together, even felt something sealed within him, a dead silent monster, felt an extra pair of eyes to switch to, felt his Wood Release becoming as easy to command as his own limbs...
Is this...
Did he level up?
Akihara Kagura quickly used the "Ninja in the Shadows" to investigate information about his two new superiors, only to see the scene of his first superior, Orochimaru, defecting to the Akatsuki organization.
Is this...
The first company he worked for was acquired!
Akihara Kagura couldn't help but speculate about the system's determination of superiors. By aligning himself with Shimura Danzo, it was as if he was passively aligned with Sarutobi Hiruzen; Orochimaru's choice to defect to the Akatsuki meant he was now considered a subordinate of the Akatsuki?
On the other hand,
Nagato is his highest-ranking superior, with Tendo Pain merely being Nagato's puppet, yet the system still listed them as two separate superiors.
However,
This situation brought considerable benefits to Akihara Kagura.
Even though the Rinnegan Akihara Kagura suddenly acquired couldn't unleash its full power, just creating Six Path puppets and mastering Yin-Yang Escape was already a significant help to him!
Moreover...
There's also a path to the power level of the Six Paths.
Now, all the ninjas in the ninja world are merely beneficiaries of the legacy left by the Sage of the Six Paths, whose power is the strongest in this world.
Ninjas today may still distinguish between jonin, chunin, and genin, at most dividing the strong ones into the category of those on the level of Kage by using chakra. However, when truly judged by outcomes...
This world has only two levels.
The Sage of the Six Paths.
Ordinary ninjas.
The legendary Sage of the Six Paths has long since died and become history.
However, Akihara Kagura knows that the dead are not incapable of affecting the present world. The chakra of that Sage of the Six Paths still resides between the pureland and the present world, watching over the world's crises like a true deity, and even capable of descending upon the world.
Or...
His appearance might not even be necessary.
The Sage of the Six Paths only needs to find the right person, bestow a little of the chakra of the Six Paths, and that could change everything, solving the crises of the ninja world.
Akihara Kagura was originally worried about the Ten-Tails' husk sealed within himself, concerned about whether the sealed Ten-Tails' husk inside him would affect anything. When he used the "Ninja in the Shadows" to check on his new superior, he saw that behind his new superior, Nagato, there was an Outer Path Gedo Statue.
Akihara Kagura was considerably relieved.
The days ahead might not be so boring. Apart from training, he also had to figure out a way to use Wood Release to absorb the chakra of ninjas, nurturing the revival of the sealed Ten-Tails' husk within him.
Although absorbing the chakra of ninjas was slow, it was a sustainable yet slow benefit because ninjas could still reconstitute after their chakra was absorbed.
Is this something...
Worth trying?
It would be best to determine how much chakra is needed for the true revival of the Ten-Tails' husk.
Naturally.
The most suitable person is definitely Hatake Kakashi, the chakra measurement unit of the ninja world.
Akihara Kagura simply dragged his superior, Hatake Kakashi, to the training ground for training, and under the guise of training, was taught a lesson in taijutsu by Hatake Kakashi.
However, Akihara Kagura, in a fit of pique, used Wood Release to absorb Hatake Kakashi's chakra, and the Ten-Tails' husk inside him showed no reaction at all, deeming the amount of chakra insufficient even to fill the gaps between its teeth.
"Your taijutsu is a bit poor, huh!"
Hatake Kakashi, devoid of strength, leaned against a tree and shrugged his shoulders: "Your Wood Release has been improving faster and faster, to the point that I didn't even notice when your vines caught me…"
"But…"
After saying this, Hatake Kakashi continued: "For other Kekkei Genkai users with abundant chakra, the benefits of practicing taijutsu are too little."
In anyone's view, Akihara Kagura seems to have no need to practice taijutsu, because his Wood Release techniques are extremely powerful, and he need not worry about being approached by anyone.
Akihara Kagura's eyes twinkled, very aware of his own shortcomings. Regardless of the level of combat, taijutsu is indispensable. Now, he is able to suppress everything with Wood Release, simply because the strength of ninjas today is not strong enough...
"This won't do…"
As a qualified employee, Akihara Kagura must continually improve himself to have the opportunity to work for a better boss in the future and not to be inexplicably dismissed by the boss.
Akihara Kagura took Kakashi's advice and casually asked Hatake Kakashi, "How is your practice of the Flying Thunder God Technique going?"
"I'm working hard on it…"
Hatake Kakashi's eyes betrayed a hint of helplessness.
Sometimes, Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but admire the genius of Akihara Kagura, who could easily learn any technique.
The Flying Thunder God Technique is extremely demanding of talent.
Hatake Kakashi felt that the more he learned, the more difficult it became.
Once considered a genius, Hatake Kakashi was someone many of his peers aspired to catch up with. Now, however, he increasingly feels powerless, whether it's Akihara Kagura by his side or Uchiha Obito stirring up storms outside, Hatake Kakashi feels he must work even harder to keep up with them…
"I don't know if this counts as finding a clue…"
Hatake Kakashi took out a soldier pill from his pocket, bit into it to restore his chakra, and slowly extended his hand.
A black magic circle, similar to the Summoning Technique, floated uncertainty in his hand, enlarging and shrinking, appearing somewhat eerie.
"This…"
Akihara Kagura's eyes flashed with confusion, trying to understand, "Don't tell me, this is your Flying Thunder God mark."
"It's still unstable…"
The black magic circle in Hatake Kakashi's palm flickered and suddenly dissipated, he said helplessly, "I can feel the spatial-temporal coordinates contained in this mark. As long as it stabilizes, I will try to use it for Flying Thunder God spatial-temporal travel…"
"But…"
Akihara Kagura looked at Hatake Kakashi, trying to persuade him, "This Flying Thunder God mark has a diameter of about thirty centimeters, right? Are you planning to tattoo it directly on the enemy in the future?"
"Hey, you…"
Hatake Kakashi looked at his subordinate helplessly, hoping the genius would understand his struggle, "It was not easy for me to take the first step, and I have you to thank for your advice. Lately, I've been trying to find a way to condense spatial-temporal coordinates from the Summoning Technique, nearly driving Pakkun and the others mad…"
Pakkun is a ninja dog.
Hatake Kakashi's summoned beasts are eight ninja dogs, with Pakkun being the most commonly used. Clearly, he used the Summoning Technique to find inspiration, causing no small amount of trouble for his summoned beasts.
"By the way, we can't go out lately."
After exchanging their recent training achievements, Hatake Kakashi suddenly reminded Akihara Kagura, "Because you kidnapped the Third Tsuchikage, it made Lord Hokage feel that our investigation into Uchiha Obito could easily trigger a great ninja war..."
"On the other hand..."
"The situation in the village has become tense again."
Hatake Kakashi looked towards the bustling Konoha, his voice gradually lowering, "Summer is approaching, and a storm is coming again..."
The Uchiha clan's base.
The higher-ups in the Konoha and the Uchiha clan are all aware that Uchiha Obito was the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' disturbance, yet there's no sign of easing tensions.
The Konoha's leadership is still torn between easing up on the Uchiha clan or continuing to suppress them, because Uchiha Obito's control over the Nine-Tails seems to prove that as long as one possesses a Mangekyō Sharingan, they can control the Nine-Tails, not only someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara.
A former dead last of the Konoha, simply because he was an Uchiha, evolved his Sharingan to a Mangekyō Sharingan, and created so much chaos in the ninja world...
What if the Uchiha clan has another Mangekyō Sharingan wielder? What if this Mangekyō Sharingan wielder also takes the wrong path? Can the Konoha endure such turmoil again?
The Uchiha clan...
Naturally, they will not bow their heads either.
The head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku, hopes everyone can stay in line, even if it means kneeling, to prevent a war between the Konoha and the Uchiha clan.
Unfortunately.
Others do not think so.
Last year, Uchiha Shisui demonstrated Susanoo, using it to suppress Akihara Kagura's Wood Dragon, giving the Uchiha clan greater confidence.
Most of the Uchiha clan believes that Shisui's Susanoo is enough to single-handedly solve all enemies, perhaps even control the Nine-Tails with genjutsu, eliminating all enemies against the Uchiha.
However...
Uchiha Shisui is a pacifist.
To prevent the Uchiha clan from falling into the abyss, Uchiha Shisui became significantly worn out, even contemplating suicide several times.
Just at that time, Uchiha Itachi returned from a mission with Danzō and rushed to a clan meeting, only to see his tired friend.
"Shisui? What happened to you?"
"Itachi, you're back!"
Uchiha Shisui met his friend, and the oppression in his heart was greatly eased, a smile also appeared on his face: "I really envy you, I haven't been out on a mission for a long time."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head, understanding his meaning, and comforted him: "It's okay, all of this will pass soon. I have already joined the Anbu, even directly under Lord Danzo's Root. We will change all of this..."
"It's almost too late..."
A pained expression appeared in Uchiha Shisui's eyes.
As his words fell, the entire Uchiha clan suddenly became lively!
"Why continue to be weak!"
"Konoha was founded by the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan together! We have always been oppressed by them, but now we finally have the power to change the situation!"
"This is not the founding period of Konoha!"
"We have Shisui, who is as powerful as our ancestor Uchiha Madara. There is no ninja god in the village like Senju Hashirama to stop the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
"There are still Wood Release ninjas in the village..."
Uchiha Fugaku hoped to make the clansmen sober.
"Captain!"
An Uchiha clansman, far from being calm, even spoke more fervently: "That Wood Release kid is no match for Shisui, we all saw it, even his most powerful Wood Release techniques would be easily ended by Shisui's Susanoo!"
~~~
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