In a corner near Logan's courtyard, two masked Root Ninjas quietly waited.
"Has the target not returned yet?"
"He's still outside the city, 'Mountain Wolf' is watching him."
The hiding place fell silent again. Since their previous inquiries with Logan had yielded no results, Root had dispatched a three-person team to monitor his daily activities. Under Danzo's instruction, this action was solely to track Logan's movements discreetly.
In addition, in order to avoid detection, surveillance range was very broad, resulting in the fact that sometimes they couldn't spot Logan. Nevertheless, for Root, this level of reconnaissance is already enough.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans. As the night infiltrated Konoha and a crescent moon hung in the sky, the Root's members stationed around Logan's home noticed something unusual.
Root's actions this time were very careful, and they secretly monitored Logan to the point where he was not aware of them for the time being, but their concealment was still in vain in front of powerful perception.
A man wearing long clothes, walking with his head lowered and his face covered by a hat, arrived at Logan's doorstep. He looked at the closed door and paused slightly.
"Who is that person?" The two Root members exchanged glances. From the distance, they were ready to take action...
But suddenly, the unknown man turned his head and looked at their hiding place, and his direct gaze made them tremble.
The eerie vortex mask.
'How is it possible? We're already so far away! When was we discovered?'
Before such thoughts could fully form, a ghostly voice came from behind them, "How long are you planning to hide?"
Hearing a voice coming from such a close distance, the Root's members swung out their kunai with all their strength.
Cold steel flashed in the night, and blood was spilled in the next moment. One person covered his neck and fell, the terrifying face of black and white combined appeared...
The remaining Root's member wanted to scream out in shock. But when his mouth was halfway open, his throat seemed to be strangled by ghostly hands.
The man in the vortex mask appeared in front of him at some point, and he got so close that the Root's member even saw the eye under the black hole of the other man's mask, a scarlet three-tomoe... 'Is that the Sharingan?!''
His consciousness dissolved amidst the swirling chaos.
'This attire... How could there be Root near Raiden Hattori's home? Hahahaha, it seems that Konoha doesn't really trust him." White Zetsu looked at the two corpses on the ground with amusement, "He's being monitored by the assassination squad of the village he serves. It seems that your chances of persuading him to join Akatsuki are a little higher now."
Obito found the unfolding situation slightly strange, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him. With a faint smirk beneath his vortex mask, he remarked, "Konoha is really good at playing the game."
"Raiden Hattori still hasn't returned yet?" Obito redirected his gaze to the closed gate of the courtyard, expressing his doubts.
"He'll be back soon." White Zetsu stretched lazily, but his other half, Black Zetsu, remained uncooperative, still feigning depth. This made White Zetsu's actions seem rather foolish.
Ever since learning he had to cooperate with Uchiha Itachi, White Zetsu had made preparations in Konoha Village. With numerous clones at his disposal, along with his Mayfly and Spore Technique, he had the vital means to secretly gather intelligence.
…
Outside the village, Logan diligently practiced Fire Release Ninjutsu. It was only when it's almost time for dinner that he stopped to rest.
After eating the food he prepared during the day and replenished his Chakra, Logan returned home as the dim twilight descended.
Along the way, Logan looked at the lights on many houses on the street and walked towards home. Frowning slightly, he felt a strange sensation that he was being watched... But this feeling was very weak, and Logan couldn't be sure. Despite searching for signs of surveillance around him several times, he found nothing and could only dismiss his suspicions.
The moon hung amidst dark clouds, intermittently obscured, casting an ominous shadow.
When Logan came to the street where his home was, his steps unconsciously slowed down... Seeing the long street was empty, he felt something was amiss.
A gentle breeze brushed past, and his nose twitched as his gaze shifted.
Yet, just as he tensed his body, the impending danger didn't originate from the front, but from behind.
"Ah!" A scream pierced the air.
A figure dressed in long clothes, with a truly bizarre appearance, emerged from the street corner, dragging a motionless body in his hands. The arm of the corpse, clad in Root's attire, limply trailed on the ground.
Logan narrowed his eyes, casting a fleeting glance at the deceased. Under the moonlight, he easily recognized the Root's attire.
The unsettling feeling he had experienced in recent days was finally answered.
Logan then looked at the person who helped him. When the other person approached with a smile, he was stunned.
The unmistakable half black and half white features immediately made Loga recognize this person as Zetsu.
"Hello." White Zetsu greeted him casually.
Seeing Zetsu appeared here, Yu Logan immediately thought of the night of the Uchiha Clan's genocide, 'Could it be today? Then, that person...'
"Long time no see, Raiden Hattori." A somewhat familiar voice rang in his ears.
Obito, wearing a vortex mask, crouched on the fence of Logan's courtyard and said calmly.
At this time, Zetsu had already reached his side, tossing the corpse of the Root's member, 'Mountain Wolf' on the ground, "It seems like I've solved a problem for you as soon as I arrived."
Logan took a deep breath, focused his full attention on the presence of two core members of the Akatsuki. He was more composed than during the time in Amegakure, and he looked directly at the two people without fear, "You actually dare to come to Konoha Village?"
Although he knew the purpose of their visit to Konoha, Logan still needed to play along and ask.
Looking at the way Obito and Zetsu stood under the night wind, how they killed one person as soon as they appeared, Logan had to maintain some cooperative awareness.
"I just came to do some errands and happened to pass by here." Obito replied nonchalantly.
'Who would believe such a stupid lie?' Logan complained in his heart. However, seeing the other party did not participate in the 'exciting' genocide, and took the time to come to him, he had to be vigilant, 'Could it be that he came to take revenge for the incident in Amegakure? But it doesn't look like it.'
Glancing around, Logan noticed no one had noticed them yet, 'If the villagers saw me talking to these strange individuals late at night, it would definitely lead to misunderstandings.'
Logan glanced at the corpse on the ground before pushing the door and entering the courtyard.
"Don't worry, the body will be taken care of." White Zetsu saw through Logan's inner thoughts and said with a smile.
Then, after some fiddling with the corpse for a few seconds, he and Obito followed Logan into the courtyard's empty space.
"Oh," Obito, who originally crouched on the fence, jumped in directly.
"I actually don't welcome you here." Logan cut to the chase, directly expressing his thoughts. He didn't want to provoke the Akatsuki too much, but at the same time, since they're in Konoha, he was not afraid of them at all.
"Raiden Hattori, are you interested in joining Akatsuki?" Obito pondered for a moment, then straightforwardly asked. Such a person would definitely be scolded to death by his leaders if he engaged in MLM in modern society.
The last time he was in Amegakure, Obito hadn't had a chance to extend the offer before Logan and Itachi fought desperately and made him swallow his words. This time, he said it out normally.