IMPORTANT: For every 30 POWER STONES there will be an extra chapter!
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How much can change in half a year?
With Ye Zi's supposed death, Team Nine did not disband. Instead, they got a new teacher, Shinku Yūhi, Kurenai's father. Guy trained harder than ever, driven by his determination. Kurenai, influenced by Guy, did not lose her fighting spirit, even after losing the one she wanted to prove herself to. She continued to work hard. As for Kotoe, after Ye Zi's death, she no longer felt any sense of belonging to Konoha. However, she didn't want to return to Kusagakure either. The only reason she stayed was because Ye Zi's memorial was in Konoha.
Once someone dies, the impact they leave behind is limited.
Minato continued his efforts to become Hokage, while Kushina resumed her training under Tsunade. Though she eventually recovered from the grief of Ye Zi's death, her usual carefree smile had become less frequent.
Knowing he had no chance at the Hokage title, Orochimaru threw himself fully into his experiments. Amid his deepening research, he took on a new disciple—Anko Mitarashi.
Everyone's lives were affected, some more than others, but none had stopped moving forward due to Ye Zi's death.
Half a year later, Ye Zi and Zetsu found themselves on the path outside Konoha's gates. Despite feeling no sense of belonging to Konoha, Ye Zi's emotions were conflicted at this moment.
He knew, deep down, that his belief in treating the people of the village as insignificant passersby was just a lie. People aren't machines, and no one can be entirely emotionless. After so many years spent together, how could there be no attachment at all?
"What's wrong? Afraid to go in?" Zetsu teased, sensing Ye Zi's inner turmoil.
"We'll go in after nightfall. It's wartime now, walking in during the day would only draw attention," Ye Zi replied coldly.
Though there had been no clear signal for war, the tension between the villages was palpable. All eyes were on Konoha, located in the wealthiest region, just waiting for a trigger.
As night fell and the world grew quiet, two figures snuck through an ANBU-exclusive hidden passage, slipping past the barrier to enter Konoha.
No one knew that Ye Zi, who was supposed to be dead, had returned to Konoha in this manner.
He sent a reluctant Zetsu to steal the Forbidden Scroll, while he headed alone to the secret base of the Root.
Once a member of the Root himself and possessing sensory abilities, Ye Zi easily avoided detection as he infiltrated the base, searching for his target—a boy who Orochimaru had deemed an important test subject, named Shin.
Ye Zi had seen Shin once before. Back then, Shin had four Sharingan implanted into his arm, which hinted at his body's uniqueness. After glimpsing a piece of the Rinnegan's secret, Ye Zi began to consider the Sharingan as a crucial factor in his plans.
If a boy could have four Sharingan implanted without experiencing rejection, then he might also be compatible with Hashirama's cells. This could potentially allow Ye Zi to forcibly awaken the Rinnegan—a theory he was keen to test.
The Forbidden Scroll and Shin were the reasons Ye Zi had decided to stop by Konoha before returning to the Land of Rain.
Once inside the Root, it didn't take long for Ye Zi to find Shin's room, thanks to his familiarity with the place.
In a small room, there was a bed with a short-haired boy sitting against the wall, his head lowered.
Ye Zi opened the door, and the candlelight illuminated the boy's side profile.
Attracted by the light, the boy looked up toward the door, only to see a masked stranger.
"Who are you?" Shin asked coldly.
Ye Zi glanced at Shin's arm, confirming the presence of the four Sharingan, and then spoke, "Do you want to stay here, or leave with me?"
Shin's previously vacant eyes gradually regained focus. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "I'll go with you!"
Shin had always been obsessed with cloning technology. He had volunteered to become one of Orochimaru's test subjects just to gain access to the knowledge behind that door. However, the harsh reality shattered his hopes—once he became a test subject, that's all he was. As for learning cloning techniques? Orochimaru never intended to teach him.
Shin didn't know who this masked man was, but he knew that leaving here meant another chance.
Stepping out of the room, Shin looked at the man in front of him.
"Let's go," Ye Zi said, glancing at him before taking the lead. Shin followed obediently.
"This boy is one of my important test subjects, you can't just take him," a hoarse voice suddenly echoed down the hallway.
Shin's body trembled at the sound, while Ye Zi stopped in his tracks and turned toward the source.
Orochimaru emerged from the shadows, his cold, snake-like eyes fixed on Ye Zi as if he had found a delectable prey.
"It seems that someone within the Root has failed in their duties if an outsider has discovered this boy's existence. How unexpected," Orochimaru licked his lips. Very few knew about Shin's existence, so the fact that someone was here to take him suggested that someone close to Danzo had leaked information.
Behind the mask, Orochimaru didn't recognize Ye Zi as his voice was alter from the position of his mask, nor did he realize the man in front of him, wearing a black cloak with red clouds, was the supposedly dead Ye Zi. But the fact that this intruder had entered Konoha undetected and made it into the Root meant that, if he were an enemy, he was one deeply familiar with Konoha. He couldn't be allowed to leave.
Looking at Orochimaru, Ye Zi sighed inwardly. If it had been anyone else who found him, he might have been confident in escaping with Shin, but against Orochimaru, without revealing his identity, he knew his chances were slim.
"Looks like I can't take you with me," Ye Zi said regretfully to Shin.
"Trying to leave?" Orochimaru, sensing Ye Zi's intention to escape, narrowed his eyes. From his sleeves, a dozen snakes shot out like lightning, fangs bared, aiming at Ye Zi.
Hiss, hiss!
The snakes bit into Ye Zi, but his body turned into a thick sludge.
"The trail's gone… A mud clone? Iwa shinobi?" Orochimaru muttered, frowning as he stared at the mud left behind, then turned his attention to the terrified Shin.
Meanwhile, Zetsu had managed to steal the Forbidden Scroll using his unique abilities, but he too ran into a massive problem.
Although he no longer needed to hide his identity or leave any traces, encountering the man with golden hair standing in his path was not good news.
Zetsu glanced at the scroll in his hand, then at the cold-eyed Minato standing before him, and sighed bitterly.
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