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As the mask was removed, Ye Zi's true face was revealed to Sasori.
Ye Zi had short black hair, with bangs messily hanging over his forehead, just short of his sword-like eyebrows. His dark eyes remained calm and emotionless, lips pressed into a tight line, his expression cold and indifferent. It was a face that had been hidden for some time, now once again exposed to the sunlight, destined to be remembered.
Sasori was quite surprised to see Ye Zi. In the underworld of many ninja villages, Ye Zi was infamous, known as a "mission machine." The fact that he was still alive astonished Sasori.
"The old man Tsuchikage must be senile," Sasori sneered. Many knew that Ye Zi was believed to have been killed by Ōnoki himself. If news spread that Ye Zi was still alive, Ōnoki's reputation would certainly suffer.
Ye Zi glanced at Sasori without saying anything. If it hadn't been for Madara's intervention back then, he would have certainly died.
"You two will temporarily form a team," Nagato decided, establishing the two-man team structure to increase mission efficiency.
Considering their compatibility, Ye Zi and Sasori weren't exactly the best match. Ideally, Ye Zi would be paired with an illusion specialist to create a formidable team. However, illusion specialists were not easy to find, as it required more than just resources and time to train one—it required natural talent.
Even though White Zetsu was actively searching for such talent, no results had come through. Illusion specialists were rare, and it was even rarer to find one among missing-nin.
As a result, with no better options, Ye Zi and Sasori were teamed up, forming the early prototype of the two-man squads. Both of them accepted the arrangement without objection. After all, having a partner on missions made things easier.
Following the team formation, Nagato handed Ye Zi another mundane money-collecting mission.
Time flew by, and two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
The Land of Rain remained in perpetual storm, while in Konoha and other villages, subtle unrest was brewing beneath the calm surface.
In Konoha, Ye Zi's name was added to the list of wanted criminals within the village. He was classified as an S-rank missing-nin. Originally, Minato had suggested classifying him as A-rank, not a death warrant. However, with Danzo's interference, Ye Zi was ultimately labeled as S-rank due to the sensitive information he possessed, which made him a major threat.
Minato couldn't find a reason to oppose the decision, so he eventually agreed to it.
Through its unique intelligence network, other ninja villages quickly learned that Ye Zi was alive and labeled a missing-nin. Most villages, except for Iwagakure, didn't react much to the news.
Though a peace treaty had been signed after the war, some factions within these villages were dissatisfied with the agreement and sought to reignite conflict. However, given the post-war recovery efforts, none of the villages had the resources to deal with this issue immediately.
The only exception was Konoha's Root. They took this matter very seriously.
As soon as Danzo learned Ye Zi was alive, he ordered his intelligence units scattered across the world to monitor Ye Zi's movements, intending to send a kill squad after him as soon as they found him. Danzo's goal was simple: to erase Ye Zi from existence.
Danzo believed everything he did was for the sake of the village. However, some of his decisions inevitably harmed the village's interests.
Far away in another country, Ye Zi had no idea that Danzo was already so eager to take his life. He and Sasori continued to carry out the missions assigned by Nagato, plundering wealth with ruthless efficiency over the past two weeks.
In the ninja world, chakra gave people power, and with power came ambition and control. That desire for power was the foundation of nations.
Small countries, caught between the larger nations, often faced destruction due to the fallout from wars. Yet, the clans that had established these countries rarely disappeared with them. Those who survived found ways to persevere, always waiting for an opportunity to rise again.
Nations might fall, but their lands remained. Like resilient weeds, they would keep growing back.
The rise and fall of small countries was a constant cycle, something the larger nations were content to observe from a distance. These small territories often remained neutral, though many dreamed of carving out their own domain in the chaotic world.
After the recent war, many small nations were naturally destroyed, while those that survived clung to life, hoping to recover in the peace that followed.
Between the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Iron, and the Land of Fire lay a small, neutral territory. Though its area was small, similar in size to the Land of Grass, it was home to three different nations. These nations constantly fought over control of this neutral land, continuing their struggle even after the larger nations had ceased their conflicts.
In the end, two of these three nations would inevitably fall.
Militarily, the small nations were weak. As a result, they frequently hired mercenaries, and much of a hidden village's income came from these small nations that cycled between ruin and rebirth.
Within this neutral, unnamed land, there was a vast plain, long used as a battlefield and a crucial passageway to the central hub.
"Nearly a hundred ninjas, huh? That's the military force of a small country? I wonder if there's any decent material among them," Sasori, with his hunched back, stood on a large boulder overlooking the plain, watching the approaching group of ninjas. By "material," he meant suitable subjects for making human puppets.
"Ye Zi, if there's good material out there, try not to destroy it. Leave them alive if possible," Sasori said, glancing at Ye Zi, who had been silently standing beside him. After two weeks of working together, Sasori had become familiar with Ye Zi's combat style, which typically involved using his long sword imbued with lightning chakra to cut enemies apart. The sharpness was so intense that after every battle, the enemies were reduced to mere scattered remains.
While Sasori preferred using live subjects for his puppets, even corpses with sufficient strength could be turned into useful puppets.
"These weak nations, what kind of material could they possibly have?" Ye Zi replied indifferently.
"You never know," Sasori said.
As the wind carried away their words, the two turned their attention back to the approaching force.
The group of nearly a hundred ninjas belonged to the strongest of the three small nations. The other two nations, weaker militarily, had allied and spent a fortune hiring Akatsuki to destroy the stronger nation's military force.
The price they paid was an immense amount of wealth, all scraped from their citizens.
If their nation fell…
The people would be displaced, either living or dying, but eventually, they would find a new home.
Once the strongest nation was defeated, the remaining citizens and resources would more than cover the cost of hiring mercenaries.
The group of nearly a hundred ninjas spotted the two figures standing atop the boulder and immediately went into battle formation.
"Let's get to work," Sasori said, jumping down from the boulder and walking slowly toward the approaching force.
Ye Zi glanced at the palanquin in the center of the group, then leaped down from the boulder, following Sasori as they both moved toward the hundred-strong ninja force.
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Currently on Chapter 265 - The Calm Before the Storm