Six Paths Puppets.
This is one of the abilities of the Rinnegan.
In a certain sense, it's also one of the most troublesome ways to use it.
This is because utilizing the Six Paths Puppets consumes the user's chakra, and when chakra is used directly by the body, it is far more powerful than when channeled through the puppets.
It wasn't until the second leader of the Root, Akihara Kagura, extracted the puppet's soul using the Human Path, reinserted it into the puppet's body for combat, and imprinted a seal on the puppet to continuously supply chakra, that the practicality of the Six Paths Puppets was greatly enhanced.
Uchiha Sasuke's basic method for creating Six Paths Puppets also originated from Akihara Kagura, to the extent that one could say he gathered the strengths of many others.
After all…
Akihara Kagura wasn't particularly powerful when he made his puppets.
However, Uchiha Sasuke had already mastered all the forbidden jutsu and ninjutsu collected by the Root in the real world, essentially encompassing the secret techniques of all the major ninja villages, including some forbidden jutsu created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama, that targeted souls.
Under the power of the Rinnegan, Hoshigaki Kisame's soul was slowly extracted. After his body was transformed into a Preta Puppet, his soul was once again inserted into the puppet using the forbidden jutsu left behind by the Second Hokage, with a seal inscribed on the puppet's body.
"Awake?"
Uchiha Sasuke's voice sounded in Hoshigaki Kisame's ears.
No…
It should be said…
Now he was the Preta Kisame.
"What is this…"
Hoshigaki Kisame raised his arm, not feeling any sluggishness, as if his body was exactly the same as before.
But no…
This *is* his body.
Kisame suddenly realized something was wrong. Instinctively, he tried to attack Uchiha Sasuke, but then he sensed a dark and massive figure looming in his mind.
That was…
Uchiha Sasuke!
This kid has taken control of my body and soul!
"Hmph…"
"You're still not being obedient…"
Uchiha Sasuke sneered coldly, snapping his fingers to freeze Hoshigaki Kisame in place: "Alright, behave yourself a bit. You who thought you could see through reality are just tools to be used in this false world…"
"..."
Hoshigaki Kisame looked at Uchiha Sasuke's face, filled with arrogance and coldness, and at the Rinnegan in his eye socket, unable to suppress a heavy breath.
However…
Even breathing was a luxury.
Kisame couldn't feel his heartbeat; his body was as cold as a corpse, and his palms felt no warmth.
Meanwhile.
The Anbu had already regrouped with Uchiha Itachi and the Third Hokage.
These Anbu ninjas were sent to capture Shimura Danzo under orders, and when they saw Uchiha Itachi and the Third Hokage, they were startled.
Fortunately…
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly calmed them down.
As the Hokage who had ruled the longest, Sarutobi Hiruzen was very familiar with the members of the Anbu, and these Anbu ninjas were long accustomed to being instructed by the Third Hokage.
Even if they had doubts, they did not question him directly and chose to follow the Third Hokage's orders to escort him and Uchiha Itachi back to Konoha.
The Anbu.
Don't ask unnecessary questions.
After all, the S-rank rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi and the Third Hokage revived through Edo Tensei clearly had some secrets, and only the two Hokage advisors could understand the truth.
"We're returning to Konoha…"
The Anbu captain immediately planned to take them back to Konoha.
"Wait a moment…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and looked in another direction.
Over there…
A fierce battle had erupted!
Everyone soon saw a terrifying fight between a Water Release ninja and a Fire Release ninja, with enormous water spheres like lakes and terrifying flames like tidal waves…
But…
The battle ended quickly.
Everyone saw a young black-haired boy return.
"Let's go."
Uchiha Sasuke's face was dark, not wanting to say much: "Let's return to the village and deal with Itachi's matter…"
"Kisame…"
Uchiha Itachi wanted to ask about his former teammate's situation.
"Don't worry."
Uchiha Sasuke glanced at his brother, shaking his head: "He no longer has the opportunity to reveal any secrets he heard."
"..."
So Kisame was ultimately killed by Sasuke?
Uchiha Itachi knew very well that Kisame couldn't possibly be Sasuke's opponent. He just recalled that all his teammates had met the same inevitable fate of death…
"What secrets?"
An Anbu ninja reflexively asked.
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shot a glance at the Anbu ninja, suppressing the questions in his mind, before leading the group back to Konoha.
Meanwhile.
There were two others who witnessed this battle.
These two nearly had an internal conflict as well.
Orochimaru silently waited until the Third Hokage, Uchiha brothers, and the Anbu ninjas left before he turned his attention to Yakushi Kabuto, his former subordinate.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Yakushi Kabuto, fully aware of Orochimaru's temperament, directly stated his position: "As long as I use Summoning Jutsu, I can bring back the Third Hokage revived by Edo Tensei. Orochimaru-sama wouldn't want to fight his former teacher again, would he?"
This threat…
Indeed left Orochimaru at a loss.
Because Kabuto's own strength was not weak, his combat skills were not inferior, and with his improved Edo Tensei, Orochimaru was temporarily unable to deal with Kabuto.
"Kabuto."
But Orochimaru wasn't one to sit idly by. His eyes gleamed with a chilling light as he casually asked: "Are you helping that kid Uchiha Sasuke to keep an eye on me?"
"Orochimaru-sama."
"Please trust in my respect for you."
Yakushi Kabuto remained composed, lowering his head slightly with a hint of humility, before slowly raising it again to ask: "Orochimaru-sama, do you wish to violate your agreement with Sasuke-kun at this time?"
"With all due respect."
Kabuto looked directly at Orochimaru, softly advising the man he greatly respected: "Orochimaru-sama, offending Sasuke-kun by breaking your agreement now would bring no benefits…"
"Let's go."
Orochimaru snorted coldly.
He hadn't found a way to deal with Uchiha Sasuke yet, and with Uchiha Itachi now aiding Sasuke, and even rising to a high position in Konoha…
To deal with these brothers…
He needed a strategy to eliminate them!
Orochimaru could only adhere to his agreement with Uchiha Sasuke, planning to head to one of his bases to resume his research on Edo Tensei.
At the very least…
Orochimaru knew there was still much room for improvement in Edo Tensei.
He had to quickly improve Edo Tensei, summon and control a group of powerful ninjas, to free himself from Kabuto's surveillance and from Uchiha Sasuke's control.
Meanwhile.
In a dark cave.
The Akatsuki had not received any news from Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, leading them to believe that the two could be considered missing.
"Disappeared in the Land of Fire…"
"It can be basically confirmed that Konoha is involved."
The leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, stood atop a large, dead tree-like creature, his expression particularly indifferent, as if he cared little about the life or death of his subordinates. "Zetsu, it's up to you. Find out exactly where they are. Even if they were killed by Konoha's ninjas, we need to know what happened."
"I will."
A black-and-white figure silently sank into the ground.
"Let us go!"
A young man with blonde hair eagerly volunteered to take on the mission, a trace of excitement on his face. "Maybe they betrayed the organization!"
"…"
The other members of the Akatsuki present had subtle expressions. This blonde-haired youth was Deidara, who had been defeated by Uchiha Itachi using the Sharingan. To this day, he harbored resentment over Itachi's victory...
However…
His desire for revenge was quite obvious!
Pain glanced at Deidara and spoke in a deep voice, laying out his plan: "You and Sasori continue with the assigned mission. Until Zetsu finds out what happened to Itachi and Kisame, entering the Land of Fire recklessly would be extremely dangerous..."
After all...
If Konoha had really captured Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, they might have extracted some information about the Akatsuki from them.
"What about Orochimaru?"
A hoarse, elderly voice emerged from the mouth of the ugly puppet Hiruko—it was Sasori of the Red Sand, a genius puppeteer within the Akatsuki.
Sasori was less concerned with the fate of Itachi and Kisame and more interested in his former teammate, Orochimaru, with whom he had significant grievances.
"Gathering funds is our top priority."
Pain dismissed Sasori's desire to pursue Orochimaru, continuing, "Orochimaru has caused a major incident in Konoha, and their ninjas won't let him go. Pursuing him could draw unwanted attention from Konoha..."
At least until they received more intelligence on Kisame and Itachi, Pain had no intention of sending anyone to engage with Konoha, as the Akatsuki's plans were of utmost importance.
Within the village of Konoha, the higher-ups had largely become aware of the Akatsuki's activities.
When Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, resurrected through Edo Tensei, they were initially shocked. After some time, they finally gathered themselves and carefully extracted some truths from Sarutobi.
Or rather…
Sarutobi told them his version of the truth.
There were certain things that Sarutobi Hiruzen needed to keep to himself, possibly because his old friend, Shimura Danzo, was already dead. Hiruzen chose to conceal the fact that Danzo had taken Uchiha Shisui's eye and used it to control Sasuke.
After all...
The fewer people who knew about these things, the better.
Uchiha Sasuke stood in the Hokage's office, watching as the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, glossed over some of Shimura Danzo's crimes while fiercely condemning others. It was clear he had his own agenda.
But…
This little scheme was also within Uchiha Sasuke's control.
Because Sasuke knew that if Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted Uchiha Itachi to return to Konoha, the village's leaders should no longer trouble the Uchiha brothers over the former threat posed by their clan. After all, the once formidable clan of Sharingan users had been reduced to just these two brothers…
After Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed what he had learned, including how Danzo had been killed by Orochimaru after attempting to assassinate him, he questioned the two Hokage advisors. From their answers, he pieced together Danzo's plan to ally with the Akatsuki to attack Konoha and seize the Hokage's position. Combined with what they already knew—Danzo's collusion with Orochimaru to harm the Hokage—they came to a single conclusion.
Shimura Danzo's death was the best outcome for Konoha.
"Fortunately."
"Itachi is still infiltrating the Akatsuki…"
Koharu Utatane mentioned Danzo with lingering fear. "We never expected that Danzo would go so far as to attempt to collude with the Akatsuki to attack Konoha, just to secure our support for him becoming Hokage…"
"Indeed…"
Homura Mitokado sighed with some lingering anxiety. "It's a good thing Kakashi and Shikaku reported Danzo's actions in time…"
Luckily, there was still time.
Fortunately, the Uchiha brothers had worked together to kill Danzo and even brought back the Edo Tensei-resurrected Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, helping Konoha avoid a crisis.
However...
An Edo Tensei-revived Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer continue as Hokage.
After all, if it were discovered that Hiruzen was a product of Edo Tensei, this technique that could resurrect the dead might be seen as sacrilege by some. For others, it might mean a chance to reunite with their most important loved ones…
Orochimaru had always been skilled at manipulating people's hearts, and many Konoha ninjas had already wanted to follow him. Now that he had mastered Edo Tensei, it would inevitably stir unrest within the village.
Of course.
The two Hokage advisors agreed to allow Uchiha Itachi to return to Konoha, where he would take over Danzo's Root, hoping he could learn from Danzo's experience in protecting Konoha from the shadows.
These two advisors knew some of the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. At the very least, they knew that Itachi had indeed resolved the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's higher-ups.
Neither Uchiha Itachi nor the temporarily resurrected Sarutobi Hiruzen were suited to be seen in public; they could only remain hidden within the shadows of Root.
After all...
Konoha had no more suitable place for them.
Even Konoha's Anbu couldn't match Root when it came to keeping secrets.
In the end…
Just as Konoha's higher-ups was discussing arrangements for Sarutobi Hiruzen, the voice of Yakushi Kabuto suddenly emerged from Hiruzen's mouth.
"Alright."
"Our agreement ends here."
"Third Hokage, I'll take back what is mine. The next time we meet, we'll be enemies."
As Kabuto's voice faded, the body of the Third Hokage suddenly dissipated into a cloud of smoke!
"!!!"
Everyone was shocked!
"That guy… he's still dangerous!"
Koharu Utatane immediately raised her guard against Orochimaru, preparing to issue new orders for Anbu to continue hunting him down. "We must immediately find out Orochimaru's whereabouts and prevent him from using Sarutobi to attack Konoha…"
"Leave this to Root."
Uchiha Sasuke looked at Koharu Utatane and volunteered for the task.
"You…"
Koharu frowned, not looking at Sasuke but turning to Uchiha Itachi instead. "Itachi, you are now the head of Root. Take control of Root first, and the task of hunting down Orochimaru will be yours…"
"Advisor! As for Root..."
An Anbu ninja quietly reported the current state of Root to those present: "In the past couple of days… there have been some disturbances."
Since Root had always been directly under Shimura Danzo, they were absolutely loyal to him. After the two advisors ordered Danzo's arrest, they had sent two teams of Anbu to monitor Root.
"What happened?"
Koharu Utatane furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Recently…"
The Anbu ninja seemed somewhat puzzled but remained loyal as he reported, "The Root ninjas have been frequently going out on missions, and they seem to be growing more irritable…"
"…"
Everyone exchanged uncertain glances.
"Itachi."
Homura Mitokado turned to Uchiha Itachi, handing the responsibility to him. "You are the future head of Root. Go take charge of your division first…"
"Understood."
Uchiha Itachi felt a bit uneasy as well.
This would be his first time officially leading a division, a role much higher in rank than that of an Anbu squad leader. Moreover, given his status as a rogue ninja, it was uncertain whether the Root members would be willing to obey him, making the situation rather difficult to manage…
When he had not yet defected, Uchiha Itachi had also served in the Root division, so he was familiar with its base. Upon receiving the order, he planned to head there directly.
However...
Uchiha Sasuke quickly followed him.
This was because Uchiha Sasuke was also nominally a member of Root.
"Hmph..."
Walking beside Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke snorted coldly, "Nii-san, it seems that everyone thinks you are the shackle that can control me..."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Uchiha Itachi asked, "Root... is it still the same as before?"
"There's no need to bother with that group of worthless people."
A cold smile played on Uchiha Sasuke's lips, full of disdain for the Root ninjas.
Root.
Ever since Shimura Danzo's death, the Root ninjas discovered that the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on their tongues had been completely lifted. They immediately fell into a leaderless state.
All along, they had followed Shimura Danzo's orders, and everything they did revolved around him. Suddenly losing this superior, they didn't know what to do, nor could they even see a way forward.
Fortunately.
Someone made a suggestion.
"I remember that Danzo-sama once considered choosing either Uchiha Sasuke or Sai as his future successor, didn't he?"
"Since Danzo-sama is missing, or possibly met with an accident, why don't we let Sai take charge of Root's affairs for now..."
"Huh? Me?"
Sai was shocked by his comrade's suggestion.
What a joke!
What qualifies me to become the leader of Root!
"A mere kid..."
Some of the Root ninjas even opposed Sai.
After all, Sai was only twelve years old, not at all like someone capable of taking on such a heavy responsibility. In fact, his behavior had often been overly kind.
"Do you want Sasuke to become the future leader instead?"
The Root ninja who made the suggestion silenced all opposition with one sentence, as they had all experienced Uchiha Sasuke's oppression.
"..."
The group of Root ninjas fell into silence.
This really was...
Do they really have to choose between Sai and Sasuke?
In their hearts, every Root ninja subconsciously leaned towards Sai, because at least Sai was genuinely trained in the Root program, and unlike Uchiha Sasuke, didn't have a habit of randomly killing people...
"But we can't let a kid become the leader, right?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Let's break out and first find out what's happened to Danzo-sama!"
"..."
When Uchiha Itachi arrived, this group of Root ninjas was causing a disturbance.
However...
Uchiha Itachi couldn't think of a way to handle it.
Aside from suppressing them...
It seemed there was no other option...
The crimes Shimura Danzo committed were too great, and if these Root ninjas found out the truth about Danzo's death, it wouldn't be surprising if some of them turned extreme. Killing the troublemakers would be the fastest way to solve the problem...
"Shut up!"
Uchiha Sasuke's voice echoed through the base.
The black-haired boy held his ninja sword, his voice brimming with killing intent, and he stepped forward to stand in front of the group of Root ninjas: "You worthless scum, do you want to rebel at a time like this?"
"..."
The group of Root ninjas involuntarily took a step back, trembling with fear.
"..."
Uchiha Itachi sensed something strange.
These Root ninjas, who had once been utterly fearless, often spoke disrespectfully even to him, always using Shimura Danzo's name to intimidate others, sometimes even disregarding the Hokage...
But now...
Why did they seem so afraid of Sasuke?
"Return to your rooms."
Uchiha Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his ninja sword slowly drawing from its sheath: "If anyone wants to die, just stay where you are..."
"..."
The group of Root ninjas gritted their teeth but ultimately could only retreat to their rooms.
Although they were eager to inquire about Shimura Danzo, they knew that this kid, Uchiha Sasuke, really would kill them...
If Danzo could come back...
He probably wouldn't blame the kid for killing people either.
"They're really afraid of you?"
Uchiha Itachi looked at his younger brother in surprise.
"Hmph..."
When Uchiha Sasuke mentioned these Root ninjas, a trace of disdain was evident on his face: "It's only natural to fear the strong. They are just a group of worthless people, far from truly embodying the Will of Root..."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi had never thought that Root would fear the strong.
For Shimura Danzo's orders, these Root ninjas had never hesitated to sacrifice their lives.
"Enough."
Uchiha Sasuke looked at Itachi beside him and said, "I have to leave the village for a while. During this time, drive these worthless people out of Root and scatter them into the Anbu, where they can be monitored by Anbu members..."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi frowned.
If that happened...
Wouldn't Root become an empty shell?
"When I return..."
Uchiha Sasuke stared at Itachi, speaking coldly, "I will bring a group of ninjas who are truly fit for Root. I hope that when you see those ninjas, you will still be able to sit securely as the leader of Root..."
"Where will you find people?"
Uchiha Itachi's brows furrowed tightly as he thought of a possibility: "Do you plan to hire or recruit rogue ninjas from the ninja world? But their combat skills don't even match those of the village's ninjas..."
"That's not something you need to worry about."
Uchiha Sasuke slowly turned around, walking step by step toward the stairwell leading out of Root: "The people I bring won't obey your orders, and perhaps they may not even be willing to obey mine..."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi felt something was off.
If that's the case...
Why bring them into Root at all?
A group of ninjas who refuse to follow orders—what use could they be?
However, Uchiha Sasuke seemed unwilling to discuss it further with his brother. He simply continued walking toward the exit.
"..."
Uchiha Itachi wanted to follow quietly, but was suddenly stopped in his tracks by a kunai thrown in his direction.
"Don't follow me."
Uchiha Sasuke did not look back, but coldly warned, "This time, I'm going to kill."
"A lot of people."
"No matter what, it won't be more than the number you killed that night."
"If you want to do something, then help me prepare a transfer report to bring a girl named Karin from the village into Root…"
~~~
On god, a massacre is about to happen !