The pursuit by the four Hokage…
What an immense lineup this is!
Each of these Hokage alone could stir up a storm in the ninja world!
Even though the Akatsuki organization is claimed to be a formidable group in the ninja world, composed of S-rank rogue ninjas and even possessing the Rinnegan, Black Zetsu still feels that the Akatsuki is unlikely to be a match for the four Hokage…
If a confrontation is inevitable…
Black Zetsu thinks the best course of action would be to preemptively remove Nagato's Rinnegan and place the hope of the Eye of the Moon Plan directly on Akihara Kagura…
"Can the Edo Tensei not be undone?"
White Zetsu's main body wondered if there might be another way and asked, "Can't we just undo the technique and let them return to the Pure Land?"
"It's completely useless."
White Zetsu Awei shook his head lightly and said, "The boy has privately attempted to undo the Edo Tensei, but it had no effect whatsoever…"
"So, what you're saying is…"
Uchiha Obito frowned impatiently and said, "I have to deal with the four Hokage myself and clean up the mess caused by that brat?"
Although his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities are indeed formidable…
Uchiha Obito felt that facing the four Hokage would be somewhat troublesome.
Akihara Kagura, this subordinate, was truly a big problem, creating such a huge mess for him!
"The boy can provide you with intelligence."
White Zetsu Awei glanced at Uchiha Obito and continued, "At least with the boy's intelligence, avoiding their pursuit shouldn't be too difficult…"
"…"
Uchiha Obito still looked somewhat displeased and annoyed: "Even without that brat's intelligence, I can still handle those troublesome guys!"
This guy…
Was somewhat ungrateful.
White Zetsu Awei didn't know what to say to him.
Since Uchiha Obito didn't want Akihara Kagura to provide him with intelligence on the four Hokage, then they might as well let the boy provide the four Hokage with detailed intelligence on Uchiha Obito!
Konoha Village.
Inside the Hokage Building.
With the forced resignation of the two Hokage advisors, the Konoha high command now consisted only of Tsunade, Akihara Kagura, and the four reanimated Hokage, who made up the current decision-making body of Konoha.
As expected.
The five Hokage held almost equal status.
The Fifth Hokage Tsunade could only sit at the lowest position and solemnly talked about the two major problems Konoha had to resolve: "Konoha's most pressing enemies are three, two of whom are Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi, both hidden within the Akatsuki organization. Uchiha Obito caused the Nine-Tails incident that led to the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and Kushina, while Uchiha Itachi slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan…"
"…"
The four reanimated Hokage looked at Akihara Kagura.
"…"
Akihara Kagura stared intently at the teacup in front of him.
"And the other one…"
"Is Orochimaru…"
Tsunade mentioned her former teammate with a serious expression: "Orochimaru has always been obsessed with researching forbidden jutsu and aims to master all techniques in the ninja world. He is likely digging up the corpses of powerful individuals to reanimate them as his puppets, which poses an even greater threat to Konoha…"
"…"
Akihara Kagura continued to stare at his teacup.
"…"
The four reanimated Hokage once again looked at Akihara Kagura, seemingly all the most troublesome enemies of Konoha had connections to this person, who appeared to be slacking off during work hours.
"Why are you all looking at me?"
Akihara Kagura gave the four Hokage a puzzled glance and put down his teacup: "I think we should pursue Orochimaru first…"
"We will go after Uchiha Obito."
Tobirama interrupted Akihara Kagura, not wanting to waste time arguing. There was no way he would allow them to go after Orochimaru, an ally of Akihara Kagura.
Today's meeting was to finalize the decision that the four reanimated Hokage would hunt down Uchiha Obito, a plan they had agreed upon earlier.
Holding the meeting today was simply to accommodate Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.
With an overwhelming majority, the four Hokage passed the decision to pursue Uchiha Obito, leaving Tsunade and Akihara Kagura somewhat isolated in their opposition.
"We can't just ignore Orochimaru…"
Tsunade frowned, dissatisfied with the outcome.
"At the very least, we need to locate Orochimaru's whereabouts first…"
Akihara Kagura proposed his own plan, "Orochimaru had shown interest in Uchiha Sasuke during the Chunin Exams, so why not use Uchiha Sasuke as an undercover agent by sending him to Orochimaru…"
"This is too dangerous, isn't it?"
Tsunade was reluctant to sacrifice an innocent child and shook her head: "Uchiha Sasuke has just graduated. Sending him as an undercover agent…"
"We can teach him the Flying Thunder God Technique…"
Akihara Kagura tilted his head and slowly explained his plan: "If Uchiha Sasuke encounters danger, he can use the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape quickly…"
Akihara Kagura added, "I also threatened a kid named Hozuki Suigetsu from the Mist Village to defect and become an undercover agent by Orochimaru's side. If anything happens, the two kids can look out for each other…"
"!!!"
Tsunade recalled a report from the Mist Village about Hozuki Suigetsu, a candidate for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who had defected with the Kubikiribōchō.
"Was that your doing?"
Tsunade felt a headache coming on, hoping this wouldn't be exposed in the future.
"Indeed."
Akihara Kagura nodded.
Tobirama had no objection to Akihara Kagura's arrangements. Remembering his encounter with Uchiha Sasuke, he couldn't help but snort, "Can that Uchiha kid learn my Flying Thunder God Technique…"
Tobirama was somewhat dissatisfied!
The sight of Uchiha Sasuke's face was particularly irksome to him!
Moreover, Tobirama couldn't quite imagine it—Uchiha Sasuke, the kid who looked exactly like his nemesis Uchiha Izuna, using the Flying Thunder God Technique he had developed. Could there really be another Uchiha capable of learning his techniques?
"Let's give it a try..."
Akihara Kagura had some confidence in Uchiha Sasuke, believing in Sasuke's spatial-temporal abilities. "That kid is Kakashi's favorite student. In the future, he'll be seen as Kakashi's successor..."
Tsunade pondered for a while and then spoke softly, "If Uchiha Sasuke can learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, I will agree to let him infiltrate Orochimaru's ranks as a spy..."
Late at night.
Root base.
This was Uchiha Sasuke's first time setting foot here.
Karin, Sasuke's classmate, was naturally responsible for leading him in. She felt somewhat uneasy about Akihara Kagura bringing Sasuke into Root.
After all...
Root was full of Uchihas.
Sasuke seemed more suitable to be the future leader of Root than she did!
"Sasuke."
As Karin led Sasuke down a deep well into the underground base, she spoke, "Even though Lord Kagura invited you, I am his most trusted assistant. Don't try to compete with me for the position of future leader of Root..."
"I don't care about that..."
Sasuke scoffed, showing no interest in the position of Root leader. His sole focus was on avenging Uchiha Itachi, the murderer.
"Then I assume you won't change your mind!"
Karin slowly nodded, leading Sasuke deeper into the Root base, "Lord Kagura values you highly and has prepared a surprise for you..."
"What surprise?"
For Sasuke, just meeting Akihara Kagura was surprising enough.
Sasuke believed Kagura had summoned him to assign a challenging task or teach him a new technique.
In any case!
It was going to be a surprise!
Sasuke needed Kagura's help to hone his skills!
However, as Sasuke followed Karin deeper into the Root base, he sensed something was off. Finally, he saw the surprise Kagura had prepared.
A group of people in traditional Uchiha attire stood in the base corridor, their eyes glowing red with Sharingan. Many had familiar faces from his memories of long-deceased clansmen!
Many of them...
Had watched him grow up!
"Sasuke..."
"Sasuke..."
"Sasuke..."
One by one, the Uchihas greeted him, acknowledging the lone Uchiha who could still walk in the light.
"What is this..."
Sasuke was overwhelmed, barely able to speak, "What... What is happening? Everyone... Everyone..."
"Lord Kagura saved them."
Karin explained calmly beside Sasuke, "On the night of the clan massacre, Lord Kagura saved many. Itachi thought he killed all the Uchihas with the Tailed Beast Ball..."
"But these people must remain hidden from Itachi and Obito. They lack the talent to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan and are no match for Itachi and Obito. They constantly face the threat of assassination by those two rogue ninjas and can only stay hidden in Root. Lord Kagura has been protecting them, and they've adapted to life here. They don't want to leave..."
"Enough."
After her explanation, Karin waved the Uchihas away, "You're lucky to see your clansmen. Now, go fulfill Lord Kagura's mission! Survival is paramount!"
"Yes!"
The Uchihas swiftly dispersed.
Karin watched them leave and continued, "They are now Root ninjas, evading rogue ninja pursuits while also protecting Konoha from the shadows. This is why Lord Kagura wants you to join Root..."
"No wonder..."
Sasuke suddenly understood.
No wonder Kagura wanted him in Root!
Because there were his clansmen!
"Why... Why didn't anyone tell me!?"
Sasuke's excitement hadn't subsided. Finding his living clansmen made him feel less lonely, no longer the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan.
"Because..."
Karin looked at Sasuke and continued calmly, "Are you sure you wouldn't reveal their whereabouts, drawing Itachi and Obito's attention? Are you sure you wouldn't keep coming to the Root base?"
"!!!"
Sasuke took a deep breath.
At that moment, a thought emerged: should he compete with Karin for the future leadership of Root and revive the Uchiha clan?
Once this idea formed, it was impossible to ignore!
Of course!
To compete for Root leadership...
He had to first kill Itachi, the demonic man! Only by killing Itachi could they step into the light...
Sasuke's eyes turned scarlet with Sharingan, evolving into the three-tomoe Sharingan!
His Sharingan first awakened on the night of the massacre and advanced during the battle in the Land of Waves against Zabuza...
Unexpectedly...
It evolved again now.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan..."
Karin frowned, seeing Sasuke's eyes evolve before her. "Lord Kagura always believed in your talent, even thinking you could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan and kill Itachi..."
"I will definitely kill that man!"
Sasuke's face showed resolute determination. His eyes no longer cold and indifferent but excited, "I will kill him, become Root's leader, and lead the Uchiha clan's revival!"
He immediately forgot his promise to Karin!
Though Sasuke only cared about killing Itachi, he hadn't thought about what to do after...
This time...
He knew what to do after killing Itachi!
"..."
Karin adjusted her glasses, her voice icy, "Didn't you just say you wouldn't compete with me for Root leadership?"
"I... I didn't mean..."
Sasuke's expression became awkward.
If he hadn't met his clansmen, he wouldn't have wanted to become Root's leader. But now, with his clansmen here and Kagura accepting him, how could Sasuke not have any thoughts?
"Let's go."
Karin led Sasuke deeper into the base, her voice cold, "Lord Kagura found a teacher for you. This teacher will teach you a powerful technique. Once you master it, you can start undertaking Root missions…"
~~~
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