In a dense forest of Konoha, a squad of four was moving swiftly, having completed their mission and heading back to the village.
Leading the group was a young man with violet hair, appearing to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old.
"Captain Uzuki, I heard your wife is about to give birth. Congratulations!"
One of the team members spoke up, causing the violet-haired man's lips to curl into a small smile.
"Yes, her due date is next month," he replied, his tone full of anticipation and joy. After all, he was about to become a father soon.
"Next month? That's perfect timing! The village's new policy to encourage childbirth takes effect next month, too. This little one will bring in quite a bit of income for your family right from birth, hahaha!"
Another ninja chimed in with a light-hearted laugh, as he himself had started planning to have a child with his wife to answer the village's call for increased population.
"Pro-natalist policy… Only someone like Hui-sama could come up with such an idea. I feel like it won't be long before Konoha becomes much bigger than it already is."
"Exactly. Ever since Mochizuki Hui-sama became the head of the Administration Department, the village has been changing every day. It fills people with hope for the future."
"With Hui-sama around, Konoha will never see war again. The future of the village is bound to be bright!"
"We're so lucky that Hui-sama is part of Konoha. Having someone like him here is truly a blessing for the village."
"Absolutely! People from other villages are green with envy!"
At the mention of Hui, the conversation became… animated, and the ninjas couldn't help but sing his praises. As a true national idol, his impact in the village was no joke.
The violet-haired man's smile widened.
Mochizuki Hui…
To him, Hui was more than just a revered figure. He preferred to call Hui "Light," just as Hui always referred to him as "Lightning" instead of Uzuki Ryogawa.
"Captain, you used to be in the ANBU, right? That means you've worked with Hui-sama before. What was it like?"
One of the ninjas asked curiously. They were unaware of Uzuki Ryogawa's past, let alone that he was the same ANBU ninja known as "Lightning" in the stories of Hui's exploits.
"Light… He's someone who truly lives up to his name. Back then, he was the light of the ANBU, just as he is now the light of Konoha. Today, he's become the light of the entire ninja world. He lights the future for everyone and leads the ninja world toward a brighter tomorrow."
Lightning spoke with deep emotion.
He had accompanied Hui through one of the most critical stages of his life, and the bond they shared was profound.
He was perhaps one of the people who understood Hui best.
"Exactly. Hui-sama really is like a beacon of light, always bringing hope and brilliance to people. I remember during the last mission in the Land of Rain, we were almost ready to give up. It was the constant stream of good news from Hui-sama that kept us going, and his display of power in the Land of Lightning that secured our victory!"
One ninja remembered, the image of Hui controlling lightning in the skies to create a heaven's calamity still vividly etched in his mind.
Hearing this, the others couldn't hold back their admiration either. They broke into another round of praises and commendations for Hui.
However, at a certain point, their chatter suddenly stopped.
They froze in place, standing on tree branches, staring down at a figure on the path below with wary expressions.
"Uzuki Ryogawa? I've finally found you," the man below said in a deep voice.
"Who are you? You've been waiting for me?"
Lightning leaped down from the tree, his body tense and ready to react. This kind of encounter in such a place was certainly suspicious.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that your life is worth a lot of money. Someone has paid me handsomely to take it."
The man spoke. it was Kakuzu.
Previously, Black Zetsu had approached Kakuzu with a target: Lightning—Uzuki Ryogawa.
Black Zetsu wasn't foolish enough to send Kakuzu directly after Hui.
For Kakuzu, the task seemed simple. Killing a Konoha Elite Jonin wasn't a big deal.
As long as it wasn't Hui, he didn't care much. However, Kakuzu initially hesitated, fearing that eliminating a Konoha ninja might draw Hui's attention.
Therefore , he opted to attack black zetsu and get his money.
Unfortunately, he found it to his dismay that his attacks were useless against Black Zetsu.
The person was quite strange, his attack power was at most at an ordinay jonin level, but his ability to resist attacks were amazing.
Kakuzu had to give uo his idea.
But when Black Zetsu paid a substantial deposit, Kakuzu's reservations vanished. It wasn't like he was killing Hui himself.
Kakuzu investigated Uzuki Ryogawa's background and found him to be a regular Elite Jonin with no direct ties to Mochizuki Hui. As He didn't wanto assassinate someone with direct relationship with Hui. Not that he didn't dare to, he just didn't want to.
Confident in his findings, Kakuzu moved forward with the mission, unaware that Black Zetsu had deliberately manipulated the information he uncovered.
For Black Zetsu, targeting Lightning served a greater purpose. Knowing that Hui was deeply sentimental, he aimed to exploit this by killing someone close to Hui outside the village.
Lightning's death would undoubtedly drive Hui to leave Konoha in search of the culprit.
Black Zetsu's plan was to lure Hui into a specific location where a stronger foe awaited him—Uchiha Madara.
One would be a defector of Konoha, one of the founding fathers of Konoha who faked his death, and the other would be the successor of the other founder, Senju Tobirama, the future son-in-law od the Senju Clan.
Once Hui and Madara crossed paths, the result was inevitable, it would be a battle of epic proportions.
Whether Hui was killed or escaped gravely injured, it worked in Black Zetsu's favor.
A dead Hui meant he could continue to manipulate Madara, while a wounded Hui could become another pawn in his game.
As for Hui the possibility of Hui killing Madara, that possibility didn't even cross his mind.
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