IMPORTANT: For every 30 POWER STONES there will be an extra chapter!
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A shadow moved swiftly through the dark forest, the sound of footsteps growing louder as it approached. This figure was Ye Zi, just leaving Konoha after personally killing Kato Dan. His expression beneath the mask remained calm.
At that moment, White Zetsu suddenly emerged from a tree, falling in step beside Ye Zi.
Though Ye Zi prided himself on his sensory abilities, he could never quite detect White Zetsu's elusive presence.
"I've seen plenty of ninjas who've defected after killing their close companions, but I'm still curious how you feel right now," White Zetsu said with a sly grin, his tone laced with obvious schadenfreude.
Ye Zi glanced at him through his mask and asked, "You were watching the whole time?"
White Zetsu replied, "Of course. You're not mad that I didn't help, are you?"
Ye Zi turned away and remained silent.
If White Zetsu had helped earlier, he could have easily shaken off Kato Dan's pursuit. But when Ye Zi had stopped, he had already made his decision.
He knew how dangerous the Spirit Transformation Technique was. When faced with Kato Dan, someone who could also use the same technique, holding back would have been the most foolish option.
But what was done was done. At least he had eliminated a future threat. Kato Dan wasn't just a strong warrior; his strategic abilities were on par with Orochimaru's. By eliminating him, Konoha had lost a key figure, a setback that would weaken them in the upcoming war—a result Ye Zi was happy to see.
Based on the intelligence gathered by White Zetsu, the other major ninja villages were all preparing for war, with Konoha in the strongest position. Ye Zi couldn't control the course of the upcoming Ninja World War, but he could exploit it to weaken the great ninja villages. Leaving behind the scroll containing the Iwa defenses and supply routes wasn't a deeply calculated move, but if it weakened Iwa, all the better.
"Hey, are you upset?" White Zetsu asked, noticing Ye Zi's silence.
Ye Zi ignored the question and asked, "Did you get the Forbidden Techniques scroll?"
White Zetsu shrugged, disappointed. "I had it in my hands, but a tough guy showed up and took it back."
Ye Zi frowned slightly. "With your abilities, who could stop you?"
White Zetsu felt a bit embarrassed. If he hadn't been so overconfident, escaping wouldn't have been a problem. Of course, he didn't mention that and instead replied, "It was Minato Namikaze. This guy is probably going to be famous soon."
"Him..." Ye Zi mused. Not getting the scroll was a small setback, making this trip to Konoha a failure. However, it didn't matter. With the war looming, and after the war ended, there would be plenty of opportunities to return to Konoha.
While Ye Zi's desire for the Forbidden Techniques scroll wasn't as strong as before, he was still curious to see its contents.
White Zetsu then shared his assessment of Minato's abilities with Ye Zi, warning him to be careful if they crossed paths again. In the past, Ye Zi would have been excited to hear about Minato's space-time techniques. But after his encounter with Madara, such things didn't interest him as much anymore. He simply kept the information in mind, in case he ever encountered Minato.
The two of them continued to distance themselves from Konoha, heading toward the capital of the Land of Fire.
The first step for the Akatsuki was to accumulate wealth. In the current climate, making money from war was unrealistic. The quickest way to gather wealth would be through high-value bounties from the black market or tapping into the immense fortune of the Yunhe family.
Ye Zi had once told Moko Kumokawa that they would never meet again, but now, circumstances had forced him to seek her help.
The Kumokawa family, one of the wealthiest families in the Land of Fire, had considerable resources. Moko Kumokawa, as the wife of the current Daimyo, managed these assets.
"It's a shame that your bounty was pulled after your 'death.' Otherwise, I could've turned you in for a big payout instead of all this running around," White Zetsu joked, filling the quiet journey with his usual pointless banter.
Ye Zi, as usual, ignored him. White Zetsu, however, seemed to enjoy talking to himself…
Kato Dan was dead. His funeral proceeded as scheduled.
The black garments worn by the attendees stretched from the gravestone out of the cemetery, forming a somber procession, contrasting starkly with the scene at Ye Zi's own supposed death.
Kato Dan had a wide network of connections in Konoha, and with his outstanding abilities, he had been one of the candidates for the Hokage position. Naturally, many people attended his funeral.
Tsunade looked like she had lost her soul, silently gazing at Kato Dan's gravestone. Kushina stood by her side, offering quiet support.
Even the strongest individuals have their moments of vulnerability when they are confronted with their weaknesses.
Hiruzen was also present, dressed in black, standing among the front rows of mourners.
With the tensions of war growing, Kato Dan's sudden death was a significant blow to Konoha.
According to the investigation, Kato Dan's body bore no external wounds that could explain his death—consistent with the results of an attack by the Spirit Transformation Technique, which was often used by Kato Dan himself.
While other jutsu could have produced similar effects, the notion that the Spirit Transformation Technique had been turned against its own master seemed unfathomable.
The battlefield left behind few clues, aside from a severed tree root and the human-shaped wood left in the aftermath. However, what caught Sarutobi's attention most was the wooden clone.
This wasn't just any clone, but a Wood Clone—a product of Wood Release, the legendary jutsu of the First Hokage.
Konoha had once conducted an experiment injecting cells from Hashirama into test subjects, hoping to recreate the Wood Release. However, the experiment had failed, as the subjects' bodies were torn apart by the power of the cells, leaving no survivors.
The experiment had been shelved, and the idea of creating a ninja who could use Wood Release had been deemed impossible.
But now, Wood Release had reappeared without warning. Whoever was behind this had a connection to Konoha, which explained how they were able to infiltrate the village so easily.
Hiruzen stood before the flower-adorned gravestone, feeling a growing sense of unease.
After the memorial service ended and the mourners dispersed, Tsunade remained at the cemetery, surrounded by her close friends: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Kushina, and Minato.
They stood silently, dressed in black.
Kushina watched Tsunade and sighed softly. She glanced over at Ye Zi's gravestone in the distance, her thoughts lingering.
Perhaps, the weight of a person's life could be measured by the funeral they leave behind.
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Currently on Chapter 221 - A Reunion that Defied Logic