Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

by Little Merger

The trembling Hyuga Kuroto finally got the treasure that he dreamed of! How exactly will the world of Naruto be perceived with his glowing Royal Blue Tenseigan

6. 162

Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan #Chapter 162 - – 159 The Art Of Inducing Infighting - Read Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan Chapter 162 - – 159 The Art Of Inducing Infighting Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

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Someone like Orochimaru who doesn't even care about the position of the Hokage naturally doesn't give a damn about the Akatsuki, his entire purpose of joining the organization was to gather more knowledge from the group and his interest in the Rinnegan eyes of Pain.

However, the cruel reality soon made him understand that with his current strength, he wouldn't be able to seize the Rinnegan from Pain, which is known as the eyes of the Sage of Six Path.

With that realization, all he could is to look at the next best Dojutsu which just happens to be the Sharingan, at least in his knowledge.

When he heard of the news that Shinichi of the Uchiha Clan awakened the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan, he was really ecstatic and felt that the Mangekyou Sharingan was already in his pockets.

But during his follow up investigation, he soon found out that Uchiha Shinichi with just the powers of his Mangekyou Sharingan stirred up Konoha upside down, this does have a lot to do with the lack of strong combat power in Konoha, but the main reason was because of the unusually powerful abilities he awakened with the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The basic information that it is very difficult to kill Shinichi was obviously passed to him, and this made Orochimaru more eager to obtain those eyes, but at the same time, it also made him understand that obtaining Uchiha Shinichi's Mangekyou Sharingan wouldn't be so easy!

Due to this, Orochimaru has been waiting for a perfect opportunity to make the shot and take away both the eyes in one fell swoop, but it's a pity that the Akatsuki members operate in a two-man team, and unfortunately, Uchiha Shinichi is not his partner, therefore, Orochimaru could only covet those eyes from a distance while waiting for the opportunity to come.

And now that such a golden opportunity has appeared before Orochimaru, how could he not take the chance?

Suijin didn't turn his head to observe Orochimaru, he didn't need to turn his head to know how restless and eager Orochimaru's heart would be at this moment to take Shinichi eyes, after all, no one knows Orochimaru better than him, Orochimaru's desire to Obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan is much deeper than one might imagine.

And this greed of Orochimaru is the most important key to Suijin's escape plan.

He knows that if presented with the opportunity, Orochimaru wouldn't hesitate to attack Shinichi, and the moment he does so, the current five members that are present here will fall into a chaotic state which will give Suijin the best chance to make an escape out of this predicament.

Looking at Uchiha Shinichi who was very eager and planning an attack to attack him, Suijin cursed under his breath, 'Idiot, don't be so eager to kill me that you really end up having your eyes gouged out by Orochimaru!'

Not even a second later, Suijin and Orochimaru quickly approached Uchiha Shinichi.

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Just before he was a few meters away, Suijin quickly used hand seal and spoke,

"Water Clone Technique!"

Instantly, Suijin used the Water Clone technique to create a water clone and changed the course, one body went to the left side and the other went to the right side separately.

"What!?" – Shinichi frowned slightly, and even with his Mangekyou Sharingan, he couldn't exactly distinguish between the real Suijin and the Water Clone.

Similar was the case with Juzo, Kakuzu, and Sasori, as they too couldn't tell which one was real and which one was the water clone.

While Orochimaru who was running just a few steps behind Suijin didn't respond to the sudden change as his entire attention was focused on Uchiha Shinichi.

At this point, he was less than eight meters away from Uchiha Shinichi, such a short distance is close to nothing for a ninja of his level.

Shinichi also noticed that Orochimaru didn't continue to chase Suijin, who changed his direction of escape but was rushing straight towards him, so he immediately asked, "What do you want to do…?"

But before Shinichi could complete the sentence, Orochimaru jumped straight towards Shinichi like a cannonball and stretched out his right hand to take away the Mangekyou Sharingan off Shinichi's sockets.

In the short span of time from the moment Orochimaru jumped, Shinichi didn't panic as expected by Orochimaru, instead, he printed the hand seals instantly and opened his mouth to fire a large fireball at Orochimaru.

The heat emanating from the fireball evaporated all the nearby water giving a red glow to the forest.

Orochimaru who was very just a step away from the fireball didn't dodge it and dived right into the fireball technique. Even if this body is melted and burned by the high-temperature flame, he didn't care at all. Passing right through the fireball while resisting the burning pain, Orochimaru's right hand reached Shinichi's eye sockets and touched his eyeballs!

"Now your Mangekyou Sharingan is min-… 'Bang'…!" – But before he could celebrate for taking out those eyes… Shinichi's body disappeared by turning into white smoke.

The sudden disappearance of Shinichi left Orochimaru stunned and he muttered in a daze, "A… a s-shadow Clone!?"

How could it be a Shadow Clone? Orochimaru has been paying close attention to Uchiha Shinichi from the moment they arrived here. He can be sure that Shinichi didn't use the Shadow Clone Technique, so the only possibility that remains is that Uchiha Shinichi in front of him was a Shadow Clone from the very beginning!

The first person to react to the sudden change was Shinichi's partner Biwa Juzo, before Orochimaru could come out of his stupor, Juzo had already rushed towards him with the Kubikiribocho, "Orochimaru, how dare you betray the Akatsuki!"

Finally regaining his self, Orochimaru spits out the Kusanagi Blade to meet Juzo's slash with a sly smirk on his lips.

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And for some reason, Juzo was increasingly annoyed by that sly smirk…

Kakuzo glanced at Orochimaru and Juzo duking it out, then turned to look at two Suijin escaping in the opposite directions and finally said, "Your matter, solve it yourself, I am going to chase after that guy!"

With that said, Kakuzu along with the four-thread monsters randomly choose one Suijin and chased after him.

On the other hand, Sasori deeply stared at Orochimaru, and without saying much, he manipulated the Ice puppet and chased after the other Suijin.

Since they can't distinguish between the real Suijin and the Water Clone, so Kakuzu and Sasori separated to chase after each of them individually.

Suijin who maned to break out of that siege also noticed everything that happened with his Byakugan and smirked while thinking of what would Orochimaru be thinking at this moment.

He was also happy to see that Shinichi hadn't forgotten the instructions Suijin gave him, and never dropped his guard against the other Akatsuki members, so he was sort of prepared for Orochimaru's sudden attack.

And finally, he was extremely happy that his plan to induce infighting went unexpectedly well. The original 1 vs 5 has now become 1 vs 1.

After turning to look at Sasori who was chasing after him, Suijin started to think of the next step to take, in fact, he is a little sad, if only he had the Tenseigan in this clone body then he would be able to again take away that Ice Release puppet, but alas, luck won't always be by your side.

Shaking his head, Suijin began to analyze the situation while still continuing the 'Naruto Run.'

Currently, he literally didn't have much chakra left as the Natural Energy from Ryuumyaku has started to slowly invade his body the more Ryuuumyaku Chakra he uses, so urging the Ryuumyaku to borrow chakra is not an option. Now it's not that he can't continue to fight Sasori with the amount he has left, but it would still be better not to engage because Kakuzu would soon figure out that he is chasing after the Water Clone. Therefore, escaping is the best course of action.

What's more, Sasori's strength should also be close to the level of Kakuzu, even though he no longer has the Sandaime Kazekage puppet, but Suijin still wouldn't underestimate Sasori. Not to mention, the Ice Release has a natural restraint over Water Release, therefore, escaping would be the most prudent option.

While Suijin turned his head to look back, Sasori spoke in a mocking tone, "You can't escape!"

Suijin ignored Sasori's comment and increased his speed.

At this time, Sasori flicked his fingers following which the Ice Puppet suddenly performed an Ice Release ninjutsu.

Instantly, a smooth and clear ice track appeared on the ground and extended towards Suijin at an extremely fast pace.

Sasori and the ice puppet slid on the Ice track that increased their chasing speed, thus the relative distance between Sasori and Suijin kept decreasing.

Seeing such a method being used, Suijin's eyes widened in surprise, "Ice Release can also be used like this!?"

...

Read up to Chapter - 346 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: /Milta_translations

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Noticing that the relative distance between the two was continuously decreasing, Suijin's face sank, he suddenly stopped, and jumped on a tree.

Seeing that Suijin stopped, Sasori too stopped and said with a chiseled grin, "Heh heh, I'll kill you here and no one will know!"

Sasori didn't care about Pain's order to capture the target alive, this is because Sasori didn't believe that the 'Amatsukami Organization' that Suijin was talking about could threaten the Akatsuki.

In his opinion, it is obviously better to kill them directly and use their corpse to make puppets instead of wasting a lot of time capturing them.

Suijin focused on his surroundings and after confirming that there was really no one chasing him other than Sasori, he breathed a sigh of relief while simultaneously thinking of the countermeasures.

However, Sasori didn't give Suijin any breathing period and immediately flicked his fingers manipulating the chakra line, and said softly,

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Ice Needles of Death!"

Instantly, the moisture in the air condensed into thousands of ice needles, hovering in the air all pointing straight towards Suijin.

Suijin's face stiffened, and with his insight, he could see that the suspended ice needles were cutting off all his retreat routes leaving him with no choice but to fight Sasori.

'Damn, it seems that I wouldn't be able to escape so easily!'

Initially thought that provoking internal conflict would give the best chance to retreat, but didn't think that Sasori's mobility would be so high with the Ice puppet.

"It seems that from my previous feats, I started to underestimate the Akatsuki!" – muttered Suijin with a sigh.

Now focusing his mind, Suijin devised a strategy on how to effectively deal with Sasori.

Seeing the other person just standing on the opposite tree, Sasori said, "Already lost the fighting spirit? Heh, it's a pity that I still won't capture you alive, so you will only be becoming a part of my collection!" – leaving that sentence, Sasori waved his hand fiercely.

Swish… Swish… Swish… Swish… Swish…

Thousands of ice needles suspended in the air rushed straight towards Suijin standing on the tree.

"Water Release: Water Severing Slash!"

Almost at the same time, Suijin used the Water Severing Slash to cut the tree next to him, then reverse kicked the broken half of the tree trunk towards Sasori.

At the same instant, he jumped on the tree trunk that was rushing towards Sasori.

Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk… Tuk…

Thousands of ice needles hit the spot where Suijin was standing with a piercing momentum causing the tree to break and sawdust to fly off.

Even Suijin wasn't spared as several of the needles pierced his back causing blood to leak out of the wounds.

Be that as it may, Suijin just gritted his teeth while focusing his attention on Sasori.

Boom…

With a booming sound, the tree trunk slammed into the position where Sasori just stood a moment ago.

Hidden behind the tree trunk, Suijin stomped on the tree and leaped up using the reaction force, and again made a reverse kick at Sasori who was still in mid-air.

At this time, Sasori had a playful look while still in mid-air but his fingers kept flickering.

"Ice Release: Ice Lock!"

The Ice puppet that was on the left side of Suijin immediately turned around and fired a stream of freezing water that entangled Suijin's left arm.

Suijin didn't even turn his head to look and waved the Kunai in his other hand to cut off his left-hand bound by the Ice ninjutsu, then again rushed towards Sasori.

The sudden action of abandoning the arm; left Sasori a little dazed and before he could react, Suijin was already in front of Sasori with his Kunai piercing Sasori's chest.

Although Sasori couldn't block the Kunai, he managed to barely avoid the core area then kicked Suijin violently sending him flying and himself too flew back using the reaction force.

Both flew out on the opposite side but neither was idle while in mid-air.

Suijin bit his finger and slowly made several hand seals from his only hand and spoke,

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Bang…

With a loud burst of white smoke, a sturdy large wild boar suddenly appeared in the forest.

Suijin steadily landed on OkinaButa's back and shouted, "Run!"

OkinaButa with a large tiger in its mouth was a little confused as to how come he suddenly appeared here, obviously, he wasn't used to being summoned, however when he received Suijin's order, he stood up on its hooves and ran wildly with loud thumping sounds.

On the other side, Sasori looked at the Kunai piercing through his chest with a few detonation charms (that made a burning sound), tied to the kunai.

Immediately, removing the Kunai off his chest, Sasori threw them away while he unfolded a scroll with the other hand.

Bang…

A salamander-type puppet named Sanshouo appeared out of the scroll and the moment Sasori landed on the ground, he rolled sideways and hid inside Sanshouo, which is a defensive puppet created by him.

Booom… Booom… Booom…

Not even a second passed when Sasori hid inside the puppet and the detonation charms caused a loud explosion.

After a while, when silence covered the field, Sasori got out of the damaged puppet with a gloomy expression with a burning anger in his eyes.

Even his defensive puppet couldn't withstand the explosion and was damaged to a certain extent and this greatly angered Sasori.

After coming out of the puppet Sasori looked around for a while but there was no longer any sign of Suijin around, only the cut-off arm that was frozen in ice lied nearby a broken tree.

Disappointed that even he let the enemy get away, sullenly walked towards the arm, Sasori controlled the Ice puppet to release the Ice Jutsu and picked up the arm.

However, the moment he picked up the arm, he suddenly heard the familiar 'hissing' sound and he subconsciously lifted up the sleeve and found that there were several detonation charms stuck on the inner sleeve or the hand.

"This…!"

…

On Suijin's side.

While tiredly lying on the back of OkinaButa, Suijin took out a bandage roll to wrap it around the arm and simply treated the wounds around the back of his shoulder.

With all that done, he sat up and looked back with the Byakugan to confirm that there was no follow-up.

Seeing that Sasori didn't catch up, Suijin breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, he noticed the large tiger that was still held by OkinaButa in its mouth, and Kuroto was annoyed while trying to calm himself down Suijin shook his head helplessly and said, "Just throw that tiger, you can eat so much later, this is an escape, you can't keep that tiger in your mouth!"

OkinaButa groaned, seemed to be complaining to Suijin that it had spent quite a bit of effort to catch the big one this time, small ones no longer fill the belly.

Suijin patiently spoke again, "Throw it away it's important to escape now!"

OkinaButa was again groaning, as if thinking whether to throw it away or not, but then it opened its mouth wide and swallowed the whole tiger in one bite and continued running.

Suijin was left speechless, "You idiot pig, you are still thinking about eating when the enemy might chase after us any time and you'll definitely be the first one to die if he comes after us!"

Booom… Booom… Booom… Booom… Booom…

As soon as Suijin's voice fell a series of explosions came from behind.

Suijin finally nodded at this moment as he knew the trap he had left behind has activated.

This is the advantage of fighting using Clones, as long as the user wants, he can deploy more cunning and deceptive tactics to fool even the strongest of the Shinobi…

...

Read up to Chapter - 348 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: /Milta_translations

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Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…

Accompanied by the sound of breaking wind, three figures appeared in the messy forest.

The three of them were dressed in Konoha shinobi gear, and the leader of the team, carried a mud pot on his back, wearing sunglasses, and looked very calm.

The two accompanying him were two teenagers, a boy, and a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old.

After taking a casual look around the forest, the young man with short brown hair dark-colored eyes with markings under his eyes carrying a long sword on his back muttered with a disbelief look, "This… did a war broke out here?"

The young girl with a Konoha Forehead protector and straight purple hair that reached down to her waist, and warm brown eyes, coupled with a shade of red lipstick on her lips, nodded as she was also shocked by the sight before her.

What lied before three shinobi was the forest that looked as if it was a battleground for a war not long ago. With just a casual glance, one can easily find the traces of all ninjutsu of all five chakra natures.

Even the size and range of the battlefield appeared as if the battlefield was a site of a small-scale war involving several Jonins in the battles.

The Jonin captain of the team said with a solemn voice, "Yugao-Chan, Hayate-Kun, search around the parameter and see if you can find any useful clues!"

"Yes, captain!"

With the captain's order, both Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate immediately dispersed.

After a while, Uzuki Yugao landed on a big tree while in search of any possible clues.

"Huh… this is!" – looking at the corpse of a snake lying on the ground near a burning tree, Yugao muttered in surprise.

After checking the snake corpse, her face immediately changed, "This is a snake from Orochimaru, could it be that Orochimaru was also involved in this battle!?"

With that conclusion, Yugao sealed the corpse in a storage scroll and continued to look around.

After the three reunited, the captain asked, "So, did anyone find anything?"

Yugao nodded and brought out the snake's corpse and explained, "Captain, I found this, from what I can guess, this should have been used by Orochimaru, that means we can conclude that Orochimaru too was part of what happened here!"

Picking up the snake's corpse, Captain frowned slightly, "The news received from the black-market bounty officer states that what happened here is the result of a feud between two bounty-nin organizations, so how could Orochimaru be involved?"

"Cough-cough…" – after recovering from his coughs, Hayate said with an unpleasant expression, "If two bounty-nin organizations had a feud that could affect such a large scale battlefield, then the total number of people involved should be well over a few hundred!

The captain nodded, agreeing to Hayate's guess.

After all, ordinary bounty ninjas are only at the level of a genin or a chunin, just three or four bounty ninjas can't affect such a large battlefield. Therefore, the most reasonable analysis points towards the involvement of more than a hundred bounty-nin here.

At this time, the captain states, "There is also no smell of blood in the air, this shows that the winning side not only strictly cleaned-up the battlefield but also made the corresponding disguise to mask their presence here, but what need did they have to do this? What are they trying to hide?"

Yugao asked, "Captain, what should we do now?"

After thinking a little, the Jonin captain replied, "The movement of bounty-nin is quite strange but there is also the involvement of S-Class missing-nin Orochimaru, the matter can't be taken casually, it would be prudent to report the situation to Hokage-Sama as soon as possible, and then decide on the further course of action as per his orders!"

…

Inside a dark cave in the land of Rain.

Under the call of The Magic Lantern Body Technique, the spiritual projections of all the Akatsuki members that were part of the capturing mission of Suijin appeared at the top of the fingertips of the Gedo Statue.

Pain looked at the four members and questioned in a deep voice, "Why was the mission failed?"

Uchiha Shinichi stretched out his hands helplessly, "You can't blame us for what happened if you want a reason, then blame Orochimaru!"

Biwa Juzu also nodded gently, "Orochimaru betrayed the organization, while we were still surrounding the target in a siege, he suddenly attacked Shinichi, wanting to seize Shinichi's Mangekyou Sharingan, which disrupted the entire round up."

At this time Sasori added with a cold snort, "I said earlier that he shouldn't be recruited, all he would do is steal the information and try to take advantage of us!"

The Pain was silent upon hearing this.

He naturally knew that the purpose of Orochimaru joining the Akatsuki wasn't pure, but Pain thought that his strength would be enough to deter Orochimaru and keep the snake in check, and therefore, 'It was better to keep these types nearby rather than let them run around on loose.' However, it seems that Pain underestimated Orochimaru's greed and the fact that Orochimaru would dare to betray so soon.

After a little contemplation, Pain questioned, "Is the identity of the other party confirmed?"

This time it was Kakazu who hasn't spoken anything from start, "The other party claimed to be 'Suijin,' part of an organization known as 'Amatsukami' and the mysterious ninja named 'Yama' is their leader, other than these we only know that he only uses Water Style and taijutsu for combat, what he looks like, other affiliations, age, and everything else is a total mystery.

One thing to note is that there was a symbol of Water Chakra Nature around the chest part of his cloak, which was different from that of 'Yama' as described by Hiruko and Shinno."

"Amatsukami…" – Pain chewed these few words with a gloomy expression.

'Amatsukami' refers to a 'Category of Gods,' which is something unacceptable, Pain firmly believes that only he with the Rinnegan is the Shinobi capable of bringing peace to this Shinobi world, this is his responsibility. He must fulfill Yahiko's dream!

While Pain was mulling over the matter, Shinichi folded his hands and said with an exaggerated smile, "Heh, that 'Suijin' isn't easy I tell you, look at how the three teams involved on the mission ended up with such an embarrassing result against just one guy, one of us ended up dead in friendly fire, one rebelled, while the two of us couldn't suppress him, it was a shameful defeat…" – Shinichi was obviously very happy by the defeat of the Akatsuki Organization at the hands of Amatsukami.

The members of Akatsuki are all rogue-nin with extraordinary combat power, therefore, they don't even put any of the five great Shinobi Villages in their eyes.

In this small mission, the organization dispatched six of its members, of which five had the extraordinary combat power of close to or higher than the level of the Kage of the great Villages.

And even with such an absolute advantage of six to one, not only did their mission of catching the target alive failed, but they ended up two members down, this is the biggest defeat Akatsuki suffered since Pain came into power.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Pain asked indifferently, "What is Suijin's strength level!?"

Kakuzu said, "I hate to say it but he was very strong, although he only used Water Style and basic taijutsu along with some use of tools, taijutsu alone surpassed the level of a Jonin, but the most exaggerated was his proficiency in Water Style, what's worrisome is that he appeared inexperienced in Water Style at the start and gradually improved during the combat, if he is allowed to grow, I wouldn't be surprised if he even surpassed Konoha's Nidaime Hokage in Water Style!"

After Kakuzu finished talking, everyone looked towards Sasori, after all, among the various people, only Kakuzu and Sasori were the ones who basically fought against Suijin.

Sasori hummed lightly, "The next time I meet him, he will die!" and turned away his face, refused to speak any further.

Sasori was very embarrassed about what happened this time, not only did he let the other party escape but also damaged his defensive puppet with those explosive charms, and this all happened when he was assured of his victory, this routine reminded him of the time when he lost the Kazekage puppet to that damn Hyuga Kuroto, and this greatly frustrated him!

Pain nodded and after a bit of thinking he ordered, "Sasori, Kakazu, you both will temporarily form a team."

Kakazu and Sasori glanced at each other and finally nodded in acquiescence to Pain's arrangement.

Akatsuki operates in a team of two members, and since both Kakazu and Sasori have lost their team members, so it is reasonable for them to form a team together.

With this out of the way, Pain ordered, "Next, everyone will make sure to keep interrogating about any intel on 'Yama,' 'Suijin,' and 'Amatsukami,' we have close to no information about the enemy and that is unacceptable, so apart from all your missions, keep searching for all the information you can find about their organization, we need to know everything about them, the location of their base, number of members in their organization, their objective, identities, from smallest to biggest, anything and everything,. Also, no one will take reckless actions if they encounter any of the members of the 'Amatsukami'!"

"Yes!"

At this time Sasori added, "I suspect that Orochimaru might have something to do with 'Amatsukami, the timing of his rebellion was too coincidental!"

After a little consideration, Pain spoke, "The task of chasing and eliminating Orochimaru would be left to Sasori and Kakazu!"

Sasori nodded, "Heh, It will be done!"

After finally taking a look at the several members of the Akatsuki, he spoke, "Disperse!"

After deactivating the Magic lantern Body Technique, Pain's consciousness appeared back on the tallest tower on the Rain Village.

Sitting on the top of the tower in a light drizzle and looking into the distance, Pain had a thoughtful look.

The sudden appearance of the Amatsukami gave him a bad premonition, but he still firmly believed that his strength was enough to put down the five great powers and control everything.

While he was thinking, a spiraling whirl appeared behind him, out of which came the masked man. This person was none other than the mastermind behind the Kyuubi's rebellion and many other problems that Konoha has been facing for a while now, the one who claims to be Uchiha Madara.

Pain didn't look back or reacted to the arrival of 'Uchiha Madara' and just stated lightly, "The mission failed!"

...

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Hearing from Pain that the mission was a failure, 'Madara Uchiha' was disappointed, "Even the identity of the target has not been investigated?"

"Any trace of 'Yama' has disappeared, while the three teams failed to catch 'Suijin,' the only intelligence obtained states that they are part of an organization called 'Amatsukami,' and 'Yama's is their leader!"

"Amatsukami?" – muttered 'Madara,' while thinking to himself, 'Is the person I met at the Root base also part of this organization? But if that's the case, why do I feel that I somehow know that person!'

"You have been alive for such a long time 'Madara,' are you sure you have no clue about the Amatsukami?" – asked Pain.

Madara shook his head with a sigh, "Not that I can remember."

"Well fine, from now on, investigating Amatsukami is also part of the objective of all teams."

"That sounds reasonable!" – 'Madara' nodded.

With that discussion completed, Pain added, "Orochimaru has rebelled."

This wasn't surprising to 'Madara' and this time said after pondering over it a little, "It seems that we need more manpower to achieve our objective!"

Tendo Pain was silent and stated flatly after a while, "No one can stop me!"

…

Konoha Village, At the outskirts of the Death Forest, Hyuga Kuroto's Secret Laboratory.

After escaping from the Gokatsuki's clutches, Suijin sneaked into his laboratory and immediately transferred his soul back to the main body.

"Sigh, the damage is really too much!" – Rubbing his chin Kuroto sighed while looking at the State of Suijin body.

He didn't realize it before due to the adrenalin rush, but now that he was back in his main body, and observed the Clone-A's state that was laid on the Test Bench, he discovered that Clone-A was more damaged than he initially thought.

"The right arm is missing…"

"The muscles at the back are ruptured and frozen solid due to being penetrated by Ice needles…"

"Several of the rib bones are also broken…"

While carefully observing the state of the Clone-A, Kuroto recorded the injuries in detail.

Initially thought that losing the arm was the most serious damage, but now he realized that frostbite caused by the Ice Release at the back is the most severe.

This is because the muscle damage caused by the Ice needles has also damaged Chakra Veins and acupuncture points.

"The destructive power of Ice Release on the human body is much higher than I expected!"

Although these injuries may not be very eye-catching when all these small injuries were combined, it made the clone unusable anymore.

After collecting all the data, Kuroto thought a little and finally destroyed the Clone-A, as it has already lost all its function.

The encounter with Akatsuki has made Kuroto understand that simply Water Release wouldn't be enough to deal with the enemies of the level of the members of the Akatsuki. If he wants to ensure his safety of the Water Clone, he must learn Ice Release and master it thoroughly.

With that thought in mind, Kuroto looked at the Clone-B still floating in the nutrition tank and after nodding to himself he brought out that clone to the test bench.

After recording all the basic stats of Clone-B, Kuroto again used the 'Tenseigan Soul Descend' to transfer his soul into the Clone-B body.

It only took some time to get used to the new body with simple auxiliary movements.

While he got used to the Clone-B body, Kuroto also discovered that despite what the test data states about Clone-A and Clone-B having similar stats, that is actually not true.

While his soul is actually present inside the Clone-B, he could feel the obvious differences between the two.

The major difference is that the intensity of the primary Chakra Nature of Clone-A and Clone-B is different compared to the secondary Chakra nature of both the clones, i.e., the Water Chakra nature of Clone-A was extremely dominant over Wind Chakra Nature which is not the case in Clone-B as the ratio is slightly balanced.

This fact did increase the power of Water Release Techniques of Clone-A significantly superior then what Clone-B would perform with the same amount of effort, but Kuroto can be sure that this balanced ratio of the Chakra nature of Clone-B will make it easier for him to learn the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Regardless of whether Clone-A or Clone-B, both of them are the results of the fusion of his and Haku's cells, and since Haku has awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, therefore, theoretically both the Clone bodies should be able to use the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai because the Ice Release is actually the fusion of Water Release and Wind Release.

It's not like it is only limited to those with special bloodline inheritance like the Sharingan or the Byakugan, therefore awakening Ice Release should be possible as it is more dependent on the Chakra fusion, so the difference is only the amount of effort it would take.

After a while when Kuroto was used to the Clone-B body for a while, he again dressed as 'Hyuga Kuroto' and came to the underground residence where Haku lived.

Bringing Haku to a distant forest from Konohagakure, Kuroto ordered him immediately, "This time I want you to use Ice Release Techniques, take it slowly from how you form ice from the basic level."

Haku nodded and gently stretched out his right hand with the palm facing upside, and slowly a snowflake took shape in Haku's hand.

Kuroto observed the entire process with his Byakugan and observed the direction and method of Chakra flow while Haku formed the small snowflake in his hand.

In his field of vision, he could see that when Haku used Ice Release, the ratio of fusion of Water Chakra Nature and Wind Chakra Nature is 8:2.

Out of which, the major role is of Water Chakra; related to the shape transformation while the Wind Nature is only added for the Nature integration.

After recording this data, Kuroto ordered, "Now show me your Ice Release ninjutsu!"

Haku asked, "Ano, Kuroto-Sama, what kind of Ice ninjutsu do you need me to perform?"

After a little bit of thinking, Kuroto stated, "The strongest!"

Haku nodded and after taking a deep breath he shouted,

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Instantly, smooth and clear Ice mirrors appeared one after another around the two out of thin air and a huge ice dome was formed that enclosed Kuroto and Haku inside it.

Looking at the Ice mirrors around him, Kuroto asked curiously, "Haku, can you control these ice mirrors floating in the air?"

"Yes, Kuroto-Sama!" – Haku nodded and after making a leap, he merged inside one of the mirrors.

Immediately afterward, the ice mirrors started circling around Kuroto, giving the dome an optical illusion as if the entire ice dome itself was spinning.

Kuroto was surprised, although he could find Haku's true body if he were to use the Tenseigan, however, solely using the Byakugan, it was quite difficult as Haku's chakra was equally distributed through all the mirrors.

After giving a short demonstration, Haku stopped the rotation of the ice mirrors and leaned out half of his body from one of the ice mirrors, and asked Kuroto while panting lightly, "Kuroto-Sama, w-what else I have to do next?"

Kuroto shook his head stating 'nothing for now,' and carefully recorded the Chakra flow mechanism of this secret technique.

In the puzzled gaze of Haku, after putting away the scroll that he used to record data, Kuroto printed the same series of hand seals that Haku just performed to cast 'The Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.'

Understanding what Kuroto was doing, Haku asked in a surprised tone, "Y-you can also use Ice Release Kuroto-Sama?"

Kuroto didn't give an answer and just focused on the Chakra Flowing mechanism to control the Water Chakra in his body.

After printing all the hand seals, Kuroto shouted,

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

With Kuroto's shout, several curtains of water appeared around him instantly.

'The basic shaping is completed, now onto the next step!' – after glancing at the thin water curtains that were very close to Haku's ice mirrors, Kuroto began to infuse Wind Nature Chakra into them.

Splash…

But the moment he manipulated wind Nature Chakra in his body to infuse into the water curtains, the floating water curtains fell apart and collapsed, as a result, splashing on the ground…

...

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Kuroto had a thoughtful look while looking at the Water Curtain that splattered on the ground.

In the trial just now, Kuroto copied the exact Chakra movement as it was when Haku cast the Jutsu, from the direction of Chakra flow to the volume of Chakra used and ratio to be followed, all of them were kept exactly the same as Haku, and yet the result was a complete failure!

'It seems that this approach wouldn't be the best method to learn Kekkei Genkai; even if it is present if the blood.' – thought Kuroto with his hand on his chin.

After all, if learning a Kekkei Genkai was so easy then their value wouldn't be so high!

Even if Ice Release is the result of a simple fusion of Water and Wind Chakra Nature, it would be far from as simple as it sounds.

It seems that the key point is not the Chakra flow mechanism, nor is it the perfect ratio but it is the perfect Nature fusion of Water and Wind Nature at the basic level.

While Kuroto was thinking and theorizing, Haku released the two Jutsu as he didn't have enough Chakra to maintain them any longer because of his young age.

But seeing that Kuroto-Sama was busy thinking something important, Haku didn't dare to disturb Kuroto and obediently stood at the side.

Even after storming out his brain to figure out a method, Kuroto couldn't think of any approach for a short while so he decided to use the next best option, turning towards Haku he asked, "Haku when you use Ice Release, do you feel anything different?"

"Uh… different!?" – Haku was a bit ignorant and couldn't understand what Kuroto was asking, what does it mean by some different feeling?

Understanding this, Kuroto changed his question, "Remember, what is the difference between Ice Release and Water Release when you use them? Anything out of the ordinary that you would say characterizes and differentiate the two styles!?"

After a bit of thinking, Haku replied, "Well there are indeed some differences, it's just that…"

Kuroto asked hurriedly, "Just what?"

Turning his head down downwards Haku spoke slowly, "It's just that… I can feel the differences, but I don't know how to word them…"

Kuroto patted Haku's hair and gently urged the kid, "Don't worry, think about it for a while and then speak… try to explain as clearly as possible, there's no hurry so take your time."

After calming down a little and thinking about it, Haku said, "I think that the biggest difference is that when I use Water Release, I only need to print the hand seals and guide Chakra flow and the ninjutsu would work, but when I use Ice Release, it doesn't work with only hand seals, I can't be distracted even a little bit or else the ninjutsu would fail." – After explaining this, Haku looked at Kuroto wondering if he was satisfied by the explanation.

Kuroto frowned slightly, 'So is it focus? Uh…, this doesn't help me at all! I am already putting all the focus I can… sigh, looks like I'll have to use that method!'

It is probably impossible for Haku to summarize the actual differences between the Ice Release and Water Release as of yet. Considering his young age and lack of in-depth understanding of various Natures, most likely it was his talent and emotional stimulation that led him to awaken the said Kekkei Genkai, but it looks like he hasn't yet grasped the essence of Ice Release!

So, now that Kuroto only has the last option which he didn't want to originally use, but it appears that is the only choice.

With that decision, he took Haku back to the Death Forest and said, "Haku wait here for a little while, and I will be using a technique so relax and don't resist, otherwise it could be a bit painful, understand?"

Haku promised, "U-understand!"

With Haku's nod, Kuroto immediately withdrew his soul from the clone-B body and transferred it back to the main body in the secret lab not far away.

Haku saw that the 'Kuroto-Sama' before him suddenly lowered his head and closed his eyes as if he went unconscious, as a result; he was surprised.

However, thinking of the previous instructions that Kuroto gave him, he didn't move from the spot where he was sitting nor did he attempted to disturb Kuroto-Sama who was probably using the technique he mentioned before.

Not long after, Kuroto in his main body rushed towards the spot where Haku and Water Clone-B body were sitting.

Since the 'Tenseigan Soul Transfer' instantly returns the soul to the main body, therefore he brought Haku near his secret laboratory so that he could rush here as soon as he can.

Hiding behind a tree not very far away, Kuroto stared at Haku who was looking around and glancing at the Clone body from time to time.

Activating the Tenseigan, Kuroto again used the 'Tenseigan Soul Descend' to transfer his soul, but the target this time wasn't the Clone body nor was it the puppet body, but it was Haku who sat in a cross-legged position on a small rock boulder in front of the Water Clone-B body.

As if affected by a Genjutsu, Haku suddenly felt very sleepy.

At this time, Kuroto's voice suddenly sounded in his mind, "Haku concentrate!"

He was shocked suddenly, and the sleepiness disappeared. Looking around in surprise, he checked the 'Kuroto-Sama' before him but it seemed as if he was still unconscious.

In a confusion, he asked in a low voice, "Ano, Kuroto-Sama, were you the one who spoke to me just now?"

"Yes, it was me, don't care about all this, now demonstrate an Ice Release technique to me…" – Kuroto urged eagerly. He didn't want to spend much time inside Haku, as this is the first time, he has transferred his soul inside an alive person, so maintaining will be a bit troublesome, besides it's not like he wants to take over the body control.

There is not much difference between the 'Tenseigan Soul Descend' and Orochimaru's 'Living Corpse Reincarnation,' both the abilities allow the user to transfer their soul to other vessels, although Tenseigan Soul Descend is much advanced in this field.

However, Kuroto knows that this technique also has its own flaws and repercussions, if the user tries to take control over the bodies of others' then a battle of the soul has to be conducted and the user has to devour the target vessel's soul, but here comes the problem, devouring other soul changes the soul signature of the user as well as damages it, which makes the soul unstable as is the case with Orochimaru in the main story.

Due to repeatedly transferring his soul from one vessel to another, his soul had actually become highly complicated that had decreased his spiritual power, therefore mental attacks like Genjutsu became his weakness.

In this case, Kuroto is very cautious to not do anything that would damage his soul, and this is one of the reasons he was hesitating to use Tenseigan Soul Descend to transfer his soul inside Haku's body, but now that he was left with no other option, so he chose to do it, but Kuroto is still very cautious and doesn't dare to have a spiritual battle with Haku's soul.

Kuroto understands that even if he can easily take over Haku's body, it is inevitable that there would be some small cracks that may appear on his soul which might expand over time.

That is why he only attached his soul to Haku's for a short while, and no doubt Haku would feel a huge burden because of this, his young body isn't suitable to bear the burden of Kuroto's soul, for this reason, Kuroto urged Haku eagerly because being attached for too long would most likely cause irreversible damage to both the parties.

Under Kuroto's urging, Haku took a deep breath to relieve the sudden heavy pressure he was feeling and quickly performed Ice Release Techniques.

Hand Signs printing.

Chakra Mobilization.

While simultaneously, he shouted, "Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystal!"

Whoosh!

However, even when everything was in order, by the time he completed the seal there was no change in the surrounding except for the light breeze that blew by the side, blowing away the scattered leaves in a roundabout curl.

Haku was confused, "Huh…!?"

Even Kuroto who was attached to Haku was at a loss and asked, "What happened?"

Listening to Kuroto's question, Haku replied hurriedly, "I… I don't k-know what's going on, it was clear before, it… it should have worked like always…"

Kuroto thought a little about the possible cause and said, "Don't use Demonic Crystals, try using simple ninjutsu with low chakra cost!"

After a short nod, Haku again printed the hand seals and shouted, "Ice Release: Ice Mirror!"

This time finally the ninjutsu didn't fail and a transparent Ice Mirror appeared in front of Haku instantly.

Because Kuroto's soul is attached to Haku's body while he performed the technique, Kuroto also had a clear feeling as if he has himself performed the Ice Release Jutsu.

This kind of personally experiencing the entire casting process of the Jutsu is undoubtedly the best learning method.

After experiencing this, Kuroto again ordered Haku to perform other Ice Release Techniques to gain more understanding of the Kekkei Genkai.

And when he was satisfied, he decisively pulled back his soul to the main body.

The moment Kuroto was back to his own body Haku lost consciousness, and Kuroto separated a Shadow Clone to send him back to the underground residence and himself returned to the secret laboratory with the Water Clone-B body.

Kuroto was confident that now that he has personally experienced the entire casting process of the Ice Release, it wouldn't take him much time or effort to learn Ice Release Kekkei Genkai…

...

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Code Names:

Dog: Hatake Kakashi Anbu Code

Eagle: Hyuga Kuroto Anbu Code

Monkey: Might Guy Anbu Code

Cat: Uchiha Shisui Anbu Code

...…

Now Kuroto understood that he had initially misunderstood Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Before he thought that in the Ice Release, the first to be used will be Water Nature Chakra as it is responsible for shaping the ninjutsu, and later the Wind Nature Chakra will be added for the final Ice nature integration.

However, it turns out that this was the wrong method.

If someone wants to actually use Ice Release, he/she must first complete the Chakra Nature fusion of Water and Wind into Ice Nature.

Hand sign printing, Chakra flow mechanism, and shape transformation of the ninjutsu are all after steps that are to be used when the Nature fusion is completed.

This is precisely why Haku mentioned that he has to use all his concentration and can't afford to get even a little distracted when performing Ice Release Techniques, therefore one can't be distracted and needs to pay full attention.

This sentence tells Kuroto that Nature Fusion isn't a one-time process, rather it is continuous, although, one would eventually get used to it and wouldn't need to be that focused after having a mastery.

After understanding this point Kuroto knew how to learn and practice Ice Release.

Kuroto is confident that it is only a matter of time before he masters Ice Release.

…

Time is a continuous river and it keeps flowing. In the blink of an eye, 3 months have passed.

In these 3 months, the peace negotiations between Konoha and Kumo made progress and as per the news Kuroto received from Anbu, in the near future, Kumogakure will be sending their envoys to Konohagakure for the final signing of the peace treaty between the two great shinobi Villages.

For this purpose, Team-11 of the Anbu Black Ops is summoned to the Hokage Office.

After passing over the scroll detailing all the information to the captain of Team-11, Sandaime-Sama said in a deep voice, "This scroll contains the map highlighting the route Kumo envoys would be taking, Team-11 will be responsible for 'protecting' them during their time in the Land of Fire, you all must understand that no 'Harm' should come to the envoys!"

Dog as well as the rest understood that there was some strangeness in the mission from the words of choice Hokage-Sama has used. So after carefully checking the information contents on the scroll handed over by Hokage-Sama, Dog asked, "Hokage-Sama, does anyone else knows the route that the Kumo envoys would be taking?"

Sandaime exhaled the tobacco smoke and answered, "No more than four people other than your Team-11 knows of their route in Konoha, and you can rest assured that they are all reliable, so you don't have to worry about the information leakage."

After listening to Hokage-Sama's words, Dog re-sealed the map in the scroll and spoke, "Please rest assured Hokage-Sama, Team-11 will ensure Kumo envoys 'safety' in this trip!"

Leaving the Hokage Building, Dog ordered the rest of the members of Team-11, "This task is very important as everyone already knows, so without any delay, everyone will prepare and gather at the meeting point in thirty minutes!"

The rest of the members of Team-11 nodded and went to their homes to prepare for the mission.

At this time, the Eagle Anbu of the team-11, i.e., Hyuga Kuroto was actually using Water Clone Body.

In the past three months, he has been using the water Clone body most of the time, and this has increased the soul and body fit between Kuroto's soul and Water Clone-B, and it has also given Kuroto enough opportunity to practice Ice Release, Water Release and some extent of Wind Release Techniques to further cultivate Water Clone-B's strength.

However, considering that this mission was quite important with a probability of several accidents that could happen, so after weighing it out a little bit, Kuroto decided to transfer his soul back to the main body for this mission.

With that done, Kuroto did some preparation and soon left his house and went towards the meeting spot.

There was not much need to wait for others as all four arrived around the same time, so after a brief-over of the objective, they soon set off.

Since this mission was very important and they had a good amount of time in their hand, so Team-11 didn't hurry all the way and traveled slowly in order to preserve their strength for any emergency as a result of which it took two weeks of trekking to reach the border of the Land of Fire and Land of Hot Water, and even then the Team-11 was already at the dedicated location one day prior to the arrival of the Kumo envoys.

Standing atop a steep cliff, Dog pointed towards the path in the distance, "If there is no accident, tomorrow the Kumo delegation will enter the Land of Fire from this path."

While Dog explained, Eagle activated his Byakugan and carefully observed the surroundings, "There is nothing abnormal here."

At this time, Monkey asked, "Are we going to meet the Kumo envoys here or protect them from shadows?"

The dog said after thinking a little bit, "We are only responsible for their safety, let alone meeting them, then don't even need to know of our presence!"

With the Dog's words, everyone nodded and prepared.

Soon night fell.

Team-11 chose a small cave as a temporary camping site.

While chewing on the dry food, the four members of the Team-11 indulged in some light chatting about all sorts of topics.

While they were talking, Dog casually mentioned, "Did you all read the report about that small-scale conflict that occurred between two bounty-nin organizations? It seems the resulting impact of that feud is quite severe and the Black-market circle seems to have been affected by this feud."

Cat also added with an annoyed tone, "Yes, the bounty ninjas are really causing too much trouble, the most annoying is that they dare to resolve their conflict in the territory of our Land of Fire!"

The Uchiha Clan has increased its effort to collect the information of the happening of the Shinobi World to search the whereabouts of Uchiha Shinichi and the most powerful of the Uchiha Clan, at least officially, Cat is naturally aware of most of the information.

Therefore, he was really not happy that just two small bounty-nin organizations dared to cause trouble in the Land of Fire.

At the time, Monkey asked, "We won't be encountering Bounty-nin in the mission, right?"

Dog's face sank upon hearing Monkey's question.

Even the Cat was also silent.

Konoha's control of the Land of Fire has been affected due to their internal and external issues, and the fact that Land of Fire is a really big nation with most of it is covered in thick and dense forest, therefore, it is difficult to guarantee whether the Land of Fire could be considered completely safe.

As such it is more difficult to say whether any bounty-nin wouldn't dare to attack if they heard of the news.

That is the reason for Dog and Cat's worry.

After all, the battle between Konoha and Kumo has already consumed too much manpower and material resources, making Konoha a little overwhelmed when it was recovering post third Shinobi War and Kyuubi's Rebellion, and in such case, if the peace treaty isn't successfully signed due to some unlikely accident, then the burden of Team-11 will be too much.

Even Eagle who has been indifferent about most of the Anbu missions was also a little worried.

He knows that just because the Kumo envoys managed to arrive in Konoha safely in the original story doesn't mean it will smoothly go in this time-space.

After all, the changes caused because of the butterfly effect are getting bigger and bigger as time passes.

It is really hard to guess the events from here on out.

But considering that he didn't receive any news from Shinichi must mean that Akatsuki isn't focusing on this mission.

'I just hope that things go smoothly!' – was the thought of all four of Team-11.

…

Early next morning, the members of Team-11 were stationed around the border waiting for the arrival of Kumo envoys.

It wasn't until the Sun was high did signs of movement appeared along the route.

Observing the approaching unit that consisted of twelve ninjas, Eagle confirmed that it was the Kumo team. "Twelve Kumo Shinobi, it should be the unit of Kumo envoys!" – But after continuous observation, Eagle frowned, "This is strange…"

Listening to Eagle's mutter, Cat asked quickly, "What happened Eagle-San?"

"It doesn't seem right!" – Answered Eagle.

At this time, the captain of the Team, Dog questioned, "What did you find?"

"From the perspective of Chakra Volume, only two of the twelve Kumo ninjas are at the level of Jonin, while the rests are only chunin or genin class, such a configuration of manpower is too trifling to carry out the peace treaty signing between two great powers!" – said Eagle.

...

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Listening to Eagle's doubts, Dog and the others of the team frowned.

The signing of the peace treaty is a very important matter for a great shinobi village, even if the villages don't value the treaty itself, but the other side has to show their sincerity.

For this very reason, the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha personally went to the Kumogakure for the signing of the peace treaty after the first great shinobi war, although both Nidaime Hokage and Nidaime Raikage died at the hands of Kinkaku Forces who initiated a Coup in Kumogakure, that's another matter altogether.

Even at the end of the third great shinobi war, it was Namikaze Minato responsible for the signing of the peace treaty, the purpose of sending such elites is to show their sincerity as well as deter the other side.

So even if the Yondaime Raikage didn't come forward in person, Kumo should have sent at least a few strong elite Jonin along with head ninja to lead the team, but that wasn't the case here.

It was Monkey to point out this fact in a straightforward manner, "From their approach, Kumo doesn't seem to trust us much."

Dog nodded.

Kumo's approach obviously made them understand that Kumo is probably worried that if they sent many elite ninjas along with their head ninjas, then they would most likely be trapped in Konoha, therefore Raikage doesn't seem to trust Hokage.

Thinking of this Cat said with a sigh, "Will they even be sincere in upholding the peace agreement this time?"

Even Eagle's expression was solemn.

In the original story, after the signing of the peace treaty, the leader of the Kumo peace delegation took the opportunity to sneak into the Hyuga Clan grounds on the eve of the third birthday of the future heiress and attempted to kidnap the eldest lady of the Hyuga Clan, i.e., Hyuga Hinata.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the uninvited guest was discovered by the Patriarch before he could escape and was killed. This led to many troubles for Konoha and the Hyuga Clan, as the incident later came to be known as the 'Hyuga Affair.'

The death of the Cloud Head ninja caused a series of diplomatic disputes between the two great powers as Kumo denied all the allegations of the attempted kidnapping and shamelessly accused and threatened Konoha to restart a full-scale war if the body of the convict of the crime, i.e., Hyuga Patriarch is not handed over to them as the compensation for the death of their Head Ninja as per the stipulation of the treaty.

Under the pressure from Kumo, Hyuga Hizashi chose to sacrifice himself in his brother's stead despite his brother's protest and his father's behest, not only for the sake of his own Clan and the Village but also for his brother.

Although Hyuga Hizashi's sacrifice prevented the war, it did cause the relationship between the main Hyuga family and the branch family to become sour.

But thinking of this memory, Eagle felt that there was something amiss in this situation.

It couldn't be that Kumo really didn't want peace, could it?

After all, they have also gone through a series of wars one after another, although Konoha was weakened, the Raikage has to constantly watch out against Tsuchikage too, so the situation couldn't be a one-sided war, if Kumo really went all out, Iwagakure wouldn't sit still.

'Perhaps there are internal disputes in Kumogakure? One faction may choose to continue the war while the other wants a respite period for Kumo to regain their strength.' – this was Eagle's conclusion.

After all, at the time of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, their faction did have much influence in Kumogakure, so their supporters may still be there.

Because destroying a hard-won peace between the two nations just for a pair of Byakugan isn't reasonable, what's more, the probability of the kidnapper escaping the territory of the Land of Fire after the Kidnapping of the Heiress of the Hyuga Clan is actually very low.

So, taking such a big risk for a probability of such a low return is not worth breaking the peace treaty.

Therefore, Eagle can only think that the Hyuga Affair probably only happened because of the internal conflict within Kumogakure.

Be that as it may, Eagle can't let such a situation repeat here.

Therefore, he decided to find some method to resolve it without breaking the peace between the two great nations, as for how he will do it, currently, he has no idea, but he will think of something.

With that out of the way, Team-11 silently escorted as well as guarded the envoys of Kumo throughout their journey from the shadows, and fortunately enough there were no issues they encountered along the way which greatly relieved Team-11.

Only two weeks later, the delegation arrived at Konoha smoothly without any issues.

The village has also organized a grand welcome ceremony for the welcoming of Kumo envoys. Many villagers also came to the streets to express their friendship with the Kumo delegation.

People may hate Kumo shinobi for starting a war, but nobody hates the hard-won peace.

The third great Shinobi war and the following events caused too much bloodshed, almost everyone lost someone close to them in the war.

This is why, even if everyone knows that the conflict this time was initiated by Kumogakure, the majority of the villagers were still willing to bear the pain and extend the hand of friendship, all because they don't want the war to continue.

It does sound a bit too cringe, but it is what it is…

After completing the month-long escort mission, Team-11 was given a short break to recover their spirits.

Back to his home, Kuroto changed to his everyday gear and after thinking it over a little he walked out of his house and came deeper into the Hyuga Clan grounds.

Greeting and nodding towards the familiar and unfamiliar people of the Hyuga Clan along the way, Kuroto finally reached the mansion of the head of the branch family, Hyuga Hizashi.

As the younger brother of the current patriarch and one of the top elites of Konoha Jonin Council, the mansion of Hyuga Hizashi is also much larger, elegant, and traditional looking compared to Kuroto's house.

Coming at the gate of the mansion, Kuroto knocked at the gate, but then he suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten to bring a gift when he came to the head's house for the first time.

While he was cursing himself, the door slightly opened and a three or four-year-old kid stuck out his head from the small crack, looking at Kuroto up and down, analyzing and thinking of the identity of the visitor, when he realized that he doesn't know the person, the kid asked tentatively, "Oni-sama, are you looking for Otou-sama?"

Before Kuroto could answer, the door was completely opened and Hyuga Hizashi who stood behind the doorframe said with a smile, "Ah, it's Kuroto-Kun, come on in."

"It's been a while Hizashi-Sama!" Kuroto greeted Hizashi, as he stepped inside the house.

"Indeed, it has been, Kuroto-Kun, if not for Yui-chan to update me from time to time about you, I wouldn't even be aware of many things, but be that as it may, you have become a splendid ninja and made the Hyuga Clan proud!"

"I don't deserve your praise Hizashi-Sama, I have much to learn in the ways of a shinobi!"

"Hahaha, as humble as always before your seniors aren't you Kuroto-Kun, alright we can continue our conversation, but first come on in, and make yourself at home!"

"In that case, I will welcome myself!"

After taking his seat on a Zabuton, Kuroto glanced at the kid sitting beside Hizashi-Sama, the little guy who sat in the same manner as his father, probably trying to act mature before him.

Seeing this Kuroto can't help but chuckle slightly and asked Hizashi-Sama, "He is Neji?"

Hizashi-Sama who sat with his arms folded over his chest smiled and nodded towards Kuroto's question.

As soon as Hizashi-Sama nodded, Neji saluted Kuroto while trying to keep his father's stern look, "Oni-San, I am Hyuga Neji, please advise!"

Aside from the knowledge from his memory, Kuroto knew about Neji thanks to Yui keeping him updated on such basic information.

Now looking at Neji carefully, Kuroto's eyes finally landed on Neji's clear forehead that didn't yet have the mark of the 'Cage Bird' cursed seal.

Hizashi also noticed Kuroto's gaze and could only sigh when thinking about it.

According to the rules of the Hyuga Clan, when the next heir of the Clan turns three years old, the other children of the same generation will be engraved with the cursed seal of the 'Cage Bird.'

And it just so happens that the next heir of the main family of the Hyuga Clan will be turning three years old in one month, in other words, Neji will soon be engraved with the cursed seal of the 'Cage Bird.'

While stroking the mark of the 'Cage Bird' that was covered with a piece of white cloth, Hyuga Hizashi asked in a low voice, "Kuroto-Kun, do you… do you hate it?"

Listening to Hizashi-Sama's question, Kuroto turned towards him but didn't give an answer and only chose to remain silent.

Kuroto knows very well that 'Cage Bird' has always been a thorn in the heart of Hizashi-Sama, once this topic is opened up, it wouldn't result in a good ending, therefore choosing silence is the best option.

Hizashi also understood this and could only sigh, it's not that he doesn't understand the implication of 'Cage Bird' but which father would be willing to let the fate of his son be restricted by a seal? That's why Hyuga Hizashi has been unable to come to terms with this.

But if Kuroto is being honest then his opinion of the 'Cage Bird' curse seal is actually neutral.

In Kuroto's opinion, the 'Cage Bird' has its own advantages as well as disadvantages for the members of the Branch family. After all, not every member of the branch family is as strong as Kuroto or Hizashi-Sama, there are even women and children who don't opt to live the life of a shinobi, but the Byakugan as a Kekkei Genkai is still in the hands of everyone born of the Hyuga blood, therefore there are countless people to covet the Hyuga Kekkei Genkai, and in such a scenario if there is no means to ensure their safety then the Hyuga as a Clan will perish, and even if not perish, the member of the Clan will always live in a panic.

So, the 'Cage Bird' Curse seal is also a protection for the weak of the Hyuga Clan, the geniuses of the Hyuga Clan may resent the 'Cage Bird' for losing control of their fate from their grasp but the mediocre people of the Hyuga Branch family are still grateful of the security that the 'Cage Bird' provide them from the fate of being gouged out of their eyes.

Unfortunately enough, Kuroto too was part of the mediocre group not until a few years ago, therefore, his feeling for the "Cage Bird' curse seal is quite different, in fact, he even used the cage bird seal mark on his forehead as a means of protection against the enemy.

So, it wouldn't be a lie to say that the Cage Bird, in fact, saved his life quite a few times during the third great shinobi war.

At this time, Hizashi looked at Neji sitting next to him and said with sadness in his tone, "Neji's talent is unquestionably the best among his peers, but it's a pity that he was born in the branch family."

Looking at his father's sad face, Neji asked hurriedly, "Otou-Sama, why are you sad?"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Hizashi just shook his head with a loving smile and ruffled Neji's hair, it seems as if he didn't seem to want to tell Neji, what the 'Cage Bird' means, at least not now!

...

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Regarding the mention of Neji's talent, even Kuroto agrees that Neji's talent was evident from his tender age, there is also the mention of him being the most talented Hyuga to have ever existed, not only was the kid able to learn the secret advanced techniques of the main family without any formal guidance; but he, in fact, graduated from the academy at the top of his class and was the first of the Konoha-11 to become a Jonin.

Neji's raw talent and rapid growth despite being self-taught; so deeply impressed the Patriarch that he came to believe that Neji should have been the successor of the Main Branch and would eventually come to surpass all the other Hyuga to ever exist.

And unsurprisingly enough, Neji did surpass all the other Hyuga's to ever exist!

Kuroto understands that such achievements are not easy!

Take him as an example, before he activated the Tenseigan. Back then even if he had the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, he was still mediocre, when put against the geniuses like Kakashi, even if he could see through the other party's moves, thanks to his Byakugan, but his body just couldn't keep up with the opponent's actions, therefore he was often defeated in a few moves during their academy days.

That's why he understands Hizashi-Sama's unwillingness to accept Neji being bound to the life of service to the Hyuga Main Family when his son is more than capable of greater things.

Looking at the pair of Father and Son, Kuroto worded for both of them to hear, "One's destiny will always remain in their hands, all you have to do is to work your way out to seize it! At least, that's what I believe."

Hizashi was surprised by Kuroto's words and said quietly, "Sigh, maybe you are right, but let's not talk about this anymore."

Kuroto nodded.

After a maid brought out tea for the two, Hizashi asked, "By the way, you came to meet me this time, was there something you specifically wanted to talk about, Kuroto-Kun?"

Taking a sip of the warm tea, Kuroto said, "The fact that Kumo has always expressed great interest in seizing other Kekkei Genkai of Konoha isn't unknown to Hizashi-Sama, this time the Kumo envoys have come to the Konoha Village, I think it would be best if we strengthen the security of the Hyuga Clan grounds."

Hizashi's face was a little doubtful and he asked in confusion, "Why do you believe that such a thing is necessary? Aren't the Kumo envoys here for signing the peace treaty, I don't believe they would be rash enough to take such actions, besides if we do strengthen the security of the Hyuga Clan, it could be taken as a negative message that we don't trust the other party."

Kuroto knows that simple doubt is not enough to convince Hizashi-Sama so he decided to give out some information, "If I am being honest Hizashi-Sama, I doubt whether Kumo is entirely sincere to keep the peace treaty, it was our Team-11, that was responsible for escorting the envoys from the border of the Land of Fire to Konoha, and I have a feeling that their objective is more then just signing the peace treaty, this is clearly indicated with the fact that they didn't even send appropriate people in their team to match the purpose of this task."

Hizashi understood that the matter is not so simple so after a little hesitation he finally nodded, "Alright, if you believe that is the case, then I will arrange extra manpower to strengthen the patrol of the Clan grounds."

"I believe that would be the best choice."

With this out of the way, Kuroto discussed some other topics with Hyuga Hizashi and soon left.

On the way home, Kuroto was thinking about how to effectively deal with the possible kidnapping incident.

He is now more than sure that Kumo's intentions are clearly wrong, so the kidnapping incident is likely to happen.

Even if he didn't consider the Village's or Clan's interest and think from his own stand, Kuroto didn't want the conflict between Konoha and Kumo to escalate any further.

It is simply because once a full-scale war starts, Kuroto's actions will also be highly restricted, and more than likely he would need to go to the battlefield to participate in the war against Kumogakure.

And if this happens, Kuroto wouldn't be able to continue his experiments for his ascension as long as the war continues.

What's more, if the conflict between Konoha and Kumo turns into a full-scale war, the conflict will continue to intensify, and the direction of the events of Shinobi World would become more and more unpredictable, therefore, it is very likely that the fourth Shinobi Great War might also break out much before the original timeline.

And as such, the five great powers whose vitality and strength have seriously depleted would be more powerless in the face of the Akatsuki, each and every event of the Naruto story are co-related to one another, and changing even minor events could lead to such drastic consequences.

Therefore, the approach for solving this incident has to be well thought out, if somehow, any of the Konoha citizens is convicted, then the result would still be the same.

'Sigh, how to solve this trouble?' – thought Kuroto with a troubled sigh.

In fact, the trouble of solving this kidnapping attempt is not that difficult, but the political disputes that might arise could be troublesome, as long as the kidnapper is caught alive, things could be resolved easily.

'Looks like I'll have to keep an eye on them!'

…

In the courtyard where the Kumo envoys are staying at.

Kumo Head ninja stood by the pond in the yard, throwing cereals in the pond to feed the koi carps, when he suddenly whispered in a light voice, "Have you brought it?"

A light whisper came to his ears, "It is dangerous for me to come into contact with you like this!"

Staring at the Koi carps in the pond that flapped their tails carelessly, he spoke, "Don't worry, Konoha wouldn't dare to provoke Kumo so openly, I have checked and confirmed, there is no surveillance at such close proximity!"

After a short silence, the whisper was again heard, "Have you decided?"

"Yes!"

"In that case, you should be aware of the consequences!" – after a short pause, the whisper continued, "No matter whether you succeed in the plan or not, you can't go back alive!"

His face returned to calmness, "Do not question my determination, I am prepared to die!"

"Is that so!?" – the whisper.

He didn't continue talking about it anymore and directly spoke, "Give it to me!"

As he spoke, there was a silence on the other side, then a scroll floated upwards from the pond.

The scroll was picked up by him and hidden in the pants of his Kimono.

Finally, the whisper returned, "I don't think I need to remind you to destroy it after reading the information, make sure that it doesn't fall in the hands of Konoha, otherwise there is a possibility that my identity will be exposed!"

With a solemn face, he nodded and said, "You can provide me with such important information, I am really curious about your true identity!"

"I am just a ghost who hasn't died yet!" – said the voice as it disappeared, the yard returned to silence, while the head ninja continued feeding the koi carps in the pond as if nothing happened.

…

Uchiha Clan Grounds,

Patriarch Uchiha Fugaku quietly sat by the courtyard in a meditative state.

Suddenly a figure appeared before him and reported, "Patriarch, our people are all blocked by the Anbu!"

Uchiha Fugaku's face sank hearing the report.

After the Kumo delegation arrived at Konoha, the people of the Uchiha Clan have made several attempts to contact them, but the Anbu ninja under Hokage have prevented all the attempts without any exception.

The purpose of initiating contact is naturally to inquire and confirm the whereabouts of Uchiha Shinichi.

As one of the two officials Uchiha to have the Mangekyou Sharingan, Shinichi's whereabouts have been a matter of concern for the people of the Uchiha Clan.

Most of the clansmen believe that as long as Shinichi returns to the clan, the Uchiha Clan can seize the position of Hokage without any issues.

After a light sigh to calm himself, Fugaku asked again, "What is the status of the report from the Black-Market Circle?"

The ninja replied, "Since the report that Shinichi was spotted as a part of some bounty-nin organization, there is no follow-up!"

Fugaku nodded and said, "Continue the attempt to make contact with Kumo ninjas, it is unlikely that Shinichi would join some small-time bounty-nin organization, it's most likely a ruse that Kumogakure has used to hide Shinichi!"

"Yes!" – The ninja nodded seriously and then disappeared.

...

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In the blink of an eye, one month passed.

This month Konoha and Kumo delegation conducted three negotiation meetings and finalized the terms for signing the peace treaty after which they officially held the signing ceremony of the peace agreement.

When the peace treaty between the two great powers was finally signed, a large-scale peace celebration was also held in the Village.

On this day, almost all the villagers took to the streets, enjoying the hard-won peace, the streets were crowded with people, and the whole village was cheerful and full of laughter.

But the atmosphere of the Hyuga Clan was not so good, as many of the families of the Hyuga Clan were gloomy and depressed, there was no cheerful atmosphere.

Under the leadership of Hyuga Hizashi, a group of Clansmen of the Branch family all came to Hyuga Shrine with a cold face.

Looking at his brother Hiashi, who was standing at the front of the Shrine, and Hyuga Hinata, the eldest lady of the Hyuga Clan standing behind Hiashi, her eyes dodging others, and she looked timid at first glance, Hizashi said indifferently, "Hinata-Sama is three years old today, Congratulation!"

As the elder brother and Patriarch, Hiashi nodded faintly, "Yes."

At this moment, the young Neji tugged his father's Kimono and said, "Otou-Sama, Hinata-Sama… …is a cute child!"

"Neji… It is your destiny to protect her, and to protect the Hyuga bloodline." – said Hizashi with an inexplicable expression as he rubbed Neji's forehead.

Neji was confused by his father's actions and asked, "What's wrong, Otou-Sama?"

"No… nothing." – Hizashi just turned his head to the side and sighed lightly.

Kuroto who was standing behind Hizashi just shook his head slightly.

Hyuga Hizashi has yet to tell Neji the meaning of the 'Cage Bird' curse seal, from this alone it can be seen that deep down in his heart, Hizashi cannot accept his son being engraved with the cursed seal.

But no matter how much unwilling he is for it to happen, the moment has finally come.

Hyuga Hiashi didn't seem to notice his younger brother's cold attitude or maybe even if he did, he didn't seem to care about it and said indifferently, "Leave Neji to me."

Hizashi bowed down before the patriarch and nodded, "Yes."

Watching the patriarch taking Neji away, Hizashi's face was gloomy.

No matter how much he rejected or resisted, but when this moment finally came, he had no way to prevent it from happening.

While Kuroto was watching everything happen, a member of the Hyuga Clan appeared in a corner on the wheelchair, his face had signs of vicissitudes and he appeared to be in his mid-forties with a strange calmness.

Noticing the middle-aged man in the wheelchair, Kuroto asked Hizashi who stood on his side, "Who is he?" – Hizashi who was somewhat absent-minded answered lightly, "He is Hyuga Aoki, another member of the branch family."

"Hyuga Aoki!?" – Kuroto was surprised, this name was very unfamiliar to him and even if he tried to recall, he could hardly remember this person, not to mention he has never heard others talk about him.

Noticing Kuroto's doubts, Hizashi explained, "It is normal that you haven't heard of him or know him, he has been stationed in Hyuga restriction Cell for the past few years and was released only a few days ago."

Kuroto was again surprised and asked curiously, "What did he do?"

"Dereliction of duty!" – after a short pause, Hizashi continued with a lonely expression, "In the third great shinobi war, he and his brother Aoba were the personnel responsible for protecting the members of the main family, however, they didn't fulfill their duty, as a result of which the Byakugan was stolen by the enemy, as a punishment for their mistake, Aoba was executed for his negligence and failure to fulfill his duty, Aoki was lucky enough to not be penalized with the death penalty because he had already lost his legs, however, he was imprisoned."

Hearing this Kuroto remembered that there was indeed the case of one Byakugan being stolen by the Kirigakure, but the matter is regarded as taboo to be discussed because it brought great shame to the Hyuga Clan, and since Kuroto was still very young at that time, so he isn't very clear of the old clan matters.

When he again turned to look at the position where Aoki sat on his wheelchair, Kuroto found that he had already left.

…

In the afternoon, the patriarch invited Hizashi, Neji, and Kuroto to his house.

In the practice room.

Hiashi-Sama was strictly instructing young Hinata-Sama in Hyuga-Style taijutsu while, Hizashi, Neji, and quietly sat at the side watching Hinata's training.

"Entire pace is messy…"

"Increase the speed…"

"What are you hesitating for? There should be no hesitation when you strike…!"

Scolding of Hiashi-Sama continued to be heard, he was like an extremely strict teacher, pointing out all of his daughter's shortcomings one-by-one.

The young Hinata didn't seem to have the courage to speak and could only nod timidly.

Young Neji looked at 'Hinata who was practicing tirelessly under her father's guidance with a faint smile on his face, it appears as if the first time he met his sister, he seemed to have fallen in love with his shy sister.

Hizashi glanced at his son who already had a white piece of cloth wrapped on top of his forehead and said lightly, "Neji, you must remember that it is your foremost duty to protect Hinata-Sama, this is your destiny, your fate!"

However, Neji didn't seem to realize the heavy tone of his father as his eyes were turned towards Hinata and he nodded, "Yes Otou-Sama!"

Neji's straightforward answer simply made Hizashi's heart more guilty as he turned towards Hinata and his expression became colder.

In the eyes of Hyuga Hizashi, the weak and timid Hinata is unworthy and inferior to his son, and yet Neji was engraved with the cursed seal of the 'Cage Bird' because of the incompetence of the father, on the other hand, Hinata, a timid and mediocre child was able to enjoy the privilege of being the head of the Clan just because she was born as the child of elder brother!?

At this moment, his heart was feeling incredulously guilty and he seemed to really hate his destiny and h=those that put his child under such a destiny, feeling this hate, Hizashi didn't realize it as driven by his instinct, the meridians around his eyes bulged and he activated the Byakugan subconsciously!

'Uh-oh' – thought Kuroto, as both he and Patriarch noticed the killing intent subconsciously leaking from Hizashi.

Having immediately discovered the source of killing intent, Patriarch released a soft sigh and muttered, "Stay down!"

In an instant, Hizashi's Byakugan deactivated and the 'Cage Bird' curse mark glowed greenish-blue.

"AHhhhhhhhhh….!!!"

Immediately following the glow of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, Hizashi clutched his head with both hands and rolled over the floor in pain.

Neji was suddenly panicked and rushed towards his father, "O-otou-sama, w-what happened!?"

Although the young Neji didn't exactly understand what happened, it didn't stop him from crying because he could feel his father's pain, tears started flowing out of his eyes as he tried to ask his father.

Kuroto who sat on the side didn't do anything, watching all this happen calmly.

'Is it actually possible to activate the cursed seal without even the need for the specific hand seals?'

This is the first time he has seen the activation of the caged bird cursed seal, and Kuroto noticed that Hiashi-Sama activated the curse in an instant.

Moreover, the moment the cursed seal was activated, Hizashi's Byakugan was immediately sealed.

This clearly implies that even if the strength of the two people is the same, the members of the branch family clearly don't have any ability to resist in the face of the Hyuga Main family.

'If even Hizashi-sama couldn't bear the pain, and can only cry in agony so terribly, then the pain inflicted must be extremely harsh, and it really affects the brain nerves!'

Hyuga Hizashi is an elite Jonin, and like all other ninjas, Hizashi has also been trained from a very tender age to resist the pain, therefore, it wouldn't be wrong to say that his pain tolerance is very high, and if such a person could only wail in agony by clutching his head, must mean that it is really unbearable.

After a short while, the patriarch stopped the cursed effect and said lightly, "Go back, I will forgive your foolishness this time for stepping out of your bounds, remember not to make the same mistake again, you are a member of the branch family, accept this fact, the sooner you do, the less pain you'll have to go through!"

Leaving these words, Hiashi-sama led the panicked Hinata and left the training room…

...

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While walking on the road to home, the pale-faced Hyuga Hizashi said to Kuroto, "I showed you a disappointing site this time…"

Kuroto just shook his head slightly and said, "Sigh, it's alright Hizashi-Sama!"

Even though watching Hizashi-Sama suffer wasn't a very good sight, but Kuroto couldn't have done anything about it, besides, he also got to see the 'Caged Bird' in action, which could, in fact, be considered a new insight, it's just a pity that Kuroto didn't have his Byakugan activated at the scene. Otherwise, he could have made a clear observation of the chakra flow in the meridians of Hizashi-Sama, who cast the curse.

There was a long silence as the father and son duo, as well as Kuroto, walked side-by-side.

At this time, Hizashi finally broke the silence, "Kuroto-Kun, there is a favor I want to ask of you…"

"A favor? What's the matter?" – asked Kuroto in confusion.

Taking a glance at Neji, Hizashi finally made up his mind and said, "I hope that you can accept Neji as your disciple!"

Kuroto just smiled and waved his hand, "Hahaha, you are kidding Hizashi-Sama, right!?"

However, contrary to what Kuroto expected, Hizashi shook his head and said with a solemn expression, "No, Kuroto-Kun, I am perfectly serious, from what I understand about you, I believe you are the only person who could guide Neji to be a great Shinobi, a shinobi that the Hyuga Clan can be proud of!"

Kuroto's eyes widened in surprise, but after calming himself down, he asked with a serious expression, "But why, Hizashi-Sama? No matter how you look at it, you are more proficient in Hyuga taijutsu than I am, as such your teachings will be much better for Neji!"

While the two were talking, Neji looked at his father then looked at Kuroto, with a feeling of a little loss.

Hizashi stroked Neji's head lightly and continued with a sigh, "What happened today made me understand my lack of strength and calmness, especially the calmness you showed is what I Iack, my actions although subconscious and driven by emotions, were shameful nonetheless, however, you were calm Kuroto-Kun!"

Kuroto smiled lightly and said, "I wasn't calm at all, Hizashi-Sama!"

"No, Kuroto-Kun!" – Hizashi directly stared into Kuroto's eyes and said in a deep voice, "You can't hide it from me Kuroto-Kun, unlike others who try to gloss over the fears in their heart with a calm façade, your calmness is not a pretence, Kuroto-Kun, although I don't understand how you could be so calm in the face of the Cursed Seal, your calmness makes me understand what I lack, I don't wish for Neji to be like me, if bound by the fear of his heart, Neji wouldn't be able to develop into what he is truly capable of, therefore, I have come to believe that your guidance will be crucial for him on his path as a shinobi!"

Kuroto was silent upon hearing Hizashi-Sama's explanation.

Hizashi-Sama's feeling about Kuroto is more or less correct, but there is still one thing he fails to understand, or more like he may have overestimated Kuroto.

The reason for Kuroto's calmness in the face of the 'Caged Bird' is only because he has found a way to get nullify the cursed seal for quite some time already if that was not the case, and if his life would have still been bounded by the cursed seal, his mood may not have been any different than Hyuga Hizashi.

"You don't have to worry Kuroto-Kun, I will still be teaching Neji the basics of Hyuga Style taijutsu and most of our clan techniques building up a solid foundation, after that, I want you to be his Sensei to guide him on his path ahead as a shinobi, as well as let him understand and I also want you to teach him the meaning of Nindou!"

Glancing at Neji, Kuroto thought for a while and finally nodded towards Hizashi-Sama, "If you or Neji don't change their mind in the future, then… I will take Neji as my disciple!"

Hearing Kuroto's reply, Hizashi finally breathed a sigh of relief, "I am relieved!"

With that decided, Kuroto bid farewell to the father-son duo and slowly walked out of the territory of the Hyuga Clan.

Although it was near dusk already, the village was still lively and cheerful, the last few years of tension and sufferings were finally relieved when the peace treaty was concluded.

All the Izakaya, barbecue stalls, ramen shops were filled with the energetic and celebrating crowd.

Walking on the brightly lit street as he watched people drinking, beating, bickering, and laughing Kuroto thought to himself, 'It seems that everyone is really tired of wars!'

While passing by the street, there was suddenly a call from the second floor of an izakaya in the distance, "Ah, Kuroootooooo, here-here, this way!"

Kuroto turned to look upwards and found that Guy was calling him while energetically waving his hands back and forth from the windowpane, and beside him stood, Gekko Hayate and Mitarashi Anko.

Kuroto responded by waving his hand and walked over to the second floor of the said izakaya.

Taking his seat at the said izakaya, Kuroto noticed that it wasn't only Guy, Anko-chan, and Hayate, but there were also, Kurenai-chan, Kakashi, Genma, Ebisu, Morino, and others of the same generation.

Guy said, "Kuroto, I went to check at your house, but didn't find you there, where did you go?"

"Yeah-yeah, even Yui-chan wasn't at her home, c-could it be possible that you two were out on a d-d-d-date!?" – Anko teased from the side.

As soon as Anko's sentence was completed some of the people blushed, imagining the scene of Kuroto and Yui on a date.

However, Kuroto wasn't fazed by Anko's teasing as he was already used to it, "Not really, there were some Clan matters, so I was busy, and Yui too had to see through some things, so not this time." – After giving a small explanation, Kuroto asked curiously, "By the way, how come everyone gathered around this time, doesn't everyone have tasks to complete?"

It's already been many years since the companions of the same generation have graduated from the ninja academy and looking at them now, everyone has grown into splendid shinobi. Each one has their own problems and tasks they have to deal with but here, in the presence of friends, they can still act as carefree as ever.

"Cough-cough…" – after a short cough, Hayate replied, "Because of the peace celebration, except for the members who have necessary duties, most of us decided to take a rare holiday." – Ever since he injured his lungs in the third great shinobi war, Hayate has always looked weak and sick, even speaking is slightly difficult for him.

Anko put her arm over Hayate's shoulder and said with a smirk, "By the way, Hayate, what about Yugao? Why didn't you call her?"

Hayate blushed and after a moment of silence, he turned his head on the other side and said, "S-she is on a mission!"

"Is she really on a mission or did you not have the courage to call her?"

"That's *cough* that's not it!"

"Hahahahahah!!!"

Everyone laughed at Hayate's shy reaction. Because they are of the same generation, there are often no taboos or restrictions on how they act, therefore, things quickly became messier.

Sitting by the window, Kuroto looked at the brightly lit village, thinking to himself.

Kakashi approached and took a rest at the wall and muttered with some emotions, "Peace is really good, don't you think Kuroto!?"

Kuroto also nodded with a smile, "Yes, this celebration has eased everyone's accumulated tension and relaxed their spirit, maybe this atmosphere and those cheerful faces are exactly what truly represent peace!"

"I guess you are right about that!" – nodded Kakashi.

There was a short silence between the two, as this time, Kakashi looked around and noticed that nobody was paying attention, so he spoke with a light whisper, "Did you received the report? The Uchiha clan has been continuously trying to make contact with the Kumo envoys, for this reason, several conflicts have already occurred between the Uchiha and the Anbu!"

Kuroto has also been secretly paying attention to Kumo's movements and naturally received the report, "Yeah, I received the report!"

Kakashi was a little worried, "If this continuous, the rift between the Uchiha and the Village will continue to grow bigger and bigger to the point of no return!"

Even Kakashi has a deep bond with the Uchiha Clan.

His best friend and rival Uchiha Obito sacrificed himself to save him, then he also gave his precious Sharingan to Kakashi, while his colleague Uchiha Shisui has been bearing tremendous pressure by keeping the secret of his awakening of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Therefore, Kakashi really hopes that the Uchiha Clan can coexist peacefully with the Village.

Kuroto also sighed lightly thinking of the matter of the Uchiha Clan.

'You can resolve the Uchiha Clan, or deter them, but this issue will never be solved unless both sides are willing to accept the other, the curse of hatred has to be resolved and trust has to be born on the other side to accept the Uchiha!'

But with how the situation is progressing, any peaceful reconciliation of the Uchiha Clan and the Village seems to be impossible.

The problem now is not that the Uchiha Clan might initiate and Coup d'etat and seize the power, because, since the establishment of the framework of one-village-one-nation, Uchiha Clan has been fighting against the biased and unjust attitude they received at the hands of the Hokage faction.

Uchiha Madara may have become a rebel, but he did leave behind a lot of problems for the Uchiha Clan in Konoha, this unjustness and unfairness prompts the Uchiha Clan to want to take the position of the Hokage for a long time, but either because of the lack of the suitably strong person or no desire of their leader, they have always been unable to.

Now the real problem has appeared when the power of the Hokage faction that has always suppressed the Uchiha Clan has declined the most but the suppression has only increased more, but because the Uchiha Clan has not declined in strength so they don't want to be suppressed any longer.

The previous attitude where they could only sigh and try to coexist peacefully in the village has become unacceptable.

Therefore, there are only two solutions possible from a broader perspective.

Either strengthen the power of the Hokage faction so that the Uchiha Clan, like previous few decades, dare not act rashly.

Or weaken the Uchiha Clan, don't give them enough strength to realize any of their ambitions.

But the Uchiha Clan right now is like a nuclear, if Village tries to take any action against the Uchiha Clan to weaken them, the nuclear will explode and burn the entire village in its fury.

And if such a thing happens then, either village will exist without the Uchiha Clan or the Uchiha Clan will take over the Village, of course, it is possible that both the Village and the Uchiha Clan, cease to exist.

While Kuroto was thinking, the drunk Anko came towards him and started beating his chest, "Kuroto, I want to challenge you!"

Looking at her, Kuroto shook his head and said lightly, "Don't make trouble Anko-Chan, you have drunk too much!"

"Hic… I am not d-drunk, hic…!" – loudly banging the table with the Sake-bottle, Anko continued, "Y-you come with me… hic… to the practice ground where we used to train, I-I want… hic… to challenge you!"

Leaving that sentence, Anko jumped out of the window and disappeared.

Kuroto helplessly looked at her and said, "Sigh, I'll go and see what's going on with her!"

Kakashi asked, "Should I come with you?"

Kuroto just shook his head and jumped out of the window following Anko, he has a pretty good idea where this matter is going to go so involving Kakashi who is already struggling with his darkness, wouldn't a good idea to involve in it…

...

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Shuttling through the lively streets, Kuroto seems to be in a leisure and contented mood, but he was traveling surprisingly fast, in the blink of an eye, he passed through several crowded streets and not long after came to a secluded practice range.

Looking at Anko who still seemed to be slightly tipsy, Kuroto said helplessly, "Come on Anko-chan, don't make trouble will you!??"

However, Anko ignored Kuroto's words and spoke, "Why?"

"What… 'why'?" – asked Kuroto in confusion.

"You know what I am talking about!" – because of the effect of alcohol she took, Anko was really emotional today, and her agitation was now clearly visible as her expression became more and more unstable and she shouted, "Why can you face others as if everything is normal? How can you not care about how others look at us? Orochimaru abandoned us, others look down upon us, don't you care even the slightest?"

Kuroto sighed when Anko mentioned these things, as he knew full well that Anko can't get over the fact that she was 'abandoned' by Orochimaru.

And unlike other contemporaries of the same generation, Kuroto and Anko have been labeled as Orochimaru's former subordinates, so it is inevitable that they will be pointed out with some sort of distrust by others, after all, their Jonin sensei became a rebel!

However, the difference between Kuroto and Anko is that Anko has been silently enduring the criticism for a few years now, however, that's not the case with Kuroto because he simply doesn't care what others think, moreover, he has been so very busy with his project and all sorts of Anbu mission, that he doesn't even have time to focus on meaningless things.

With a light sigh, Kuroto said, "Anko-chan, why do you really care what others think?"

Anko was a little puzzled, "I… I don't know, how about you, how can you not care!?"

Kuroto shook his head with a bitter smile and silently thought to himself, 'In a way, they aren't wrong, after all, I was Orochimaru's spy when he left the village so when people point their fingers towards me, they aren't wrong, although my relationship with Orochimaru has changed from subordinate to a partner.'

Seeing Kuroto's silence, Anko took out two Kunai from her bag and said, "I want to challenge you Kuroto, accept it!"

Looking at Anko's expression Kuroto nodded, "Alright!"

He could see that the so-called challenge from Anko is just a method to vent out her depressed emotions and he just happens to be someone she can trust, after all, both were part of the same genin team!

Anko's eyes narrowed and she immediately threw the kunai at Kuroto.

Whish…

Kuroto didn't even need to activate the Byakugan and cut through the kunai, but without waiting for him any chance, several Shadow Snake Hands rushed towards him one-after-another.

Hiss… Hiss… Hiss…

Kuroto was unperturbed by the shadow snakes and brought out a kunai in his other hand and easily cut through the several snakes.

Looking at Kuroto who didn't even move from his spot and defended against the Shadow Snake Hands, Anko was stunned.

She knew that Kuroto has become very strong in the past few years and it wouldn't be strange if his strength has already reached the same level as Hatake Kakashi, the genius of their generation but not that she personally saw him easily counter her strongest move, she couldn't help but be shocked!

Putting away the Kusanagi Sword, Kuroto said with a mocking smile, "If that's the best you can do then there's no point in continuing this battle anymore, you won't be able to do anything to me!"

Anko's expression was filled with rage, she quickly printed the hand seals and shouted,

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

The flames spit by Anko rushed towards Kuroto's position in a straight line burning everything in its path to ashes.

Kuroto's expression was still indifferent and he simply used the Body Flicker to disappear from his position to avoid Anko's Fire Style Jutsu.

At this time, Anko rushed towards Kuroto and started a pure taijutsu battle.

Bang… bang… bang…

The sound of the fist to fist and fist to feet collision resounded throughout the practice field.

Anko was taking the offensive furiously, using every ounce of her power to try to beat the hell out of Kuroto as if she wasn't fighting her former teammate but an enemy she must kill, but it wasn't working as all her attacks were easily countered by Kuroto who didn't initiate the offensive from start to finish, only dodging, or stopping her moves silently.

Kuroto let her vent out her frustration and after an hour of continuous attacks Kuroto finally asked Anko who seemed too tired to continue any longer, "Feel better now?"

As soon as Kuroto's words fell, Anko couldn't hold it any longer and slumped on the ground weakly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Looking at her crying, Kuroto just pat her head softly and let her cry out.

When her crying stalled, Anko finally spoke lightly, "I hate him!"

Kuroto knows that she was talking about Orochimaru so just asked indifferently, "Do you hate him for leaving Konoha or do you hate him for not taking you with him?"

These words struck her like a thunderbolt and she didn't know how to reply.

Looking at her silence Kuroto chuckled and spoke while he turned around and started walking away, "If it's the former, you don't need to blame yourself, it wasn't your fault, our teacher has some dreams and goals that he couldn't have accomplished if he stayed in Konoha as his actions would just be limited, but if it's the latter work hard to get stronger, and let him understand that by not taking you with him, he made a big mistake!"

Leaving these words, Kuroto disappeared from the practice range and left Anko to digest what he meant.

After leaving the practice range, Kuroto didn't immediately go home and wandered around the streets of Konoha.

When passing by the lake, he found the young figure of Itachi sitting next to a brown-haired Kunoichi with the Uchiha Clan symbol on her clothes, both Itachi and the girl are of the same age, talking and eating the famous three-colored Dango dumplings.

Even the kid Itachi, who always has a serious face showed a rare smile at this time.

"That's right, I should bring back some three-colored Dango dumplings with me too, Yui likes them after all!"

With that decision, Kuroto changed the direction and walked towards the street where the famous Dango Shop of Konoha is located.

While passing by the Ichiraku Ramen Stall, Kuroto was surprised by the long queue.

'Hmm, Ichiraku's ramen is as famous as ever!' – thought Kuroto when he looked at the long line of people waiting for their turn while passing through the queue, Kuroto found the young figure with flashy yellow hair.

The little guy was scratching his head eagerly with the Ichiraku discount coupons in his hand that were wrinkled and deformed and looked at the long line of people before him again and again.

'Uzumaki Naruto!' – As soon as Kuroto recognized the young kid, he subconsciously observed the surroundings.

And sure enough, on a tree not far away, he found the presence of an Anbu ninja.

This Anbu ninja is undoubtedly responsible for the task of protection of Uzumaki Naruto, after all, half of Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto's body, so the existence of Uzumaki Naruto is an important strategic weapon for the village.

Activating his Byakugan while trying not to attract any attention, Kuroto looked at Naruto's figure.

'Seriously!?' – Kuroto can't help but be stunned, in his Byakugan vision, he could see that the Chakra in Naruto's body was like a raging flame, huge and fierce, filled with anger and rage, realizing the negative chakra, Kuroto can't help but suck a cold breath.

Even if he anticipated such a thing, the result still surprised him.

Kyuubi Chakra aside, Naruto's own Chakra far surpassed ordinary ninjas. From this alone, it can be judged that the Uzumaki are really worthy of being comparable to Senju in terms of physique.

And Kuroto can see that aside from Naruto's own Chakra as well as Kyuubi's chakra there was also the presence of his father's and mother's chakra sealed within him, and if he counts the presence of the fifth chakra that was hidden deeper, 'the Chakra that probably belongs to Otsutsuki Asura', then there are a total of five Chakra sealed within Naruto's body.

'Uzumaki Naruto really deserves to be called the Child of the Prophecy!' – Even at the starting line, Naruto had already far surpassed the majority of shinobi by miles, now all he needs is to train his 'Talk no Jutsu' to the max level and he would become the perfect 'Child of the Prophecy!'

...

Read up to Chapter - 364 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: /Milta_translations

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Encountering Uzumaki Naruto on the street, Kuroto suddenly realized that the protagonists of the story have gradually grown up one after another and it wouldn't be too long before they strike their presence in the Shinobi world.

With his hands in the pocket of his Kimono, Kuroto walked past the Ichiraku ramen shop, as usual, he wasn't in a hurry to make a contact with Uzumaki Naruto, 'Child of the Prophecy,' as of yet!

As for the reason, because it's not the right time yet

Not long after, Kuroto reached his home empty-handed.

Originally, he planned to buy Dango on his way back, but Kuroto obviously underestimated the villager's enthusiasm towards Dango, by the time he reached the Dango Shop, the shop already hung the 'Sold Out' sign.

Disappointed Kuroto had to return home empty-handed.

When he reached home, Yui greeted him, "Welcome home, Kuroto-Kun!"

While he was changing his Shinobi sandals to Uwabaki (Home Slippers), Kuroto sniffed the pleasant scent and asked curiously, "It smells good, did you prepare barbecue Yui?"

Yui nodded with a smile and then dragged Kuroto into the dining area while pulling his arm.

Being dragged into the dining area, Kuroto could only helplessly follow, and as soon as he entered, he saw the large table filled with all sorts of dishes and asked in surprise, "Oh, what's so special today? Looking at the table, you seem to have prepared a feast!"

While taking her seat next to Kuroto, Yui spoke with a long sigh of relief, "The war is finally over, so of course, we must celebrate! You don't know Kuroto-Kun, every time you go to the battlefield, I am always afraid, afraid that… No, I shouldn't cry now, it will ruin all the mood… come on Kuroto-Kun let's celebrate!"

Kuroto smiled slightly and rubbed Yui's head lovingly.

He was happy with this peaceful atmosphere, but Kuroto knew this better than anyone, the clouds of war haven't disappeared, no, to be exact, the real troubles that Konoha would be facing in the future haven't even begun yet!

But be that as it may, Kuroto felt that as long as there are people around him for whom he cares and who cares about him, Kuroto is sure to work his way towards a better future.

…

A few days later, Anbu Team-11 was responsible for protecting the Kumo envoys during their stay in Konoha.

Kuroto was satisfied by the mission arranged by Sandaime-Sama, now he could openly monitor Kumo envoys.

But there was one thing that surprised many, contrary to what most expected, Kumo envoys didn't immediately leave Konohagakure to return to Kumogakure after the signing of the peace treaty, instead, they chose to temporarily stay in Konoha.

During this period, the head ninja of Kumo was like an active tourist, traveling and sightseeing the streets of Konoha, it can be said that he traveled throughout the village except for the restricted areas.

And unfortunately, enough, since he is the head of the Kumo envoys, Konoha can't actively stop or restrict his movements as that would leave a bad impression, so Team-11 could only follow him all around to make sure that he doesn't cause any trouble.

Although most are doubtful about his activism, Kuroto is certain that this guy is not just sightseeing, but probably mapping out the village, it is now confirmed that he must be planning something, however, whether it is the same as in the original series or not is unclear, after all, too many changes have occurred in the story so Kuroto can't be sure what sort of effect will it have here.

At the same time, Kuroto is also not sure of the identity of the Kumo spy hidden in Konoha, so Kuroto can't rule out the possibility that this head ninja is moving around the village, probably to make contact with that spy.

This routine continued for a few days, but then one day, the head ninja didn't run around the village and choose to quietly stay in the assigned mansion.

As the sun was setting, the night was getting darker.

Outside the assigned mansion, Eagle and Cat sat on a tree chatting about the movements of Kumo envoys for the past few days.

When suddenly, Cat's expression changed and pointed towards the mansion where the Kumo envoys were staying, "Eagle-San, look at that!"

Eagle nodded, "Yeah, I see it!"

At this moment, wearing dark gear, a figure sneaked out from the mansion.

Byakugan…

Immediately activating Byakugan, Eagle recognized that it wasn't someone else but the head ninja of Kumo, who was in charge of the signing of the peace treaty.

Realizing the identity of the person, Eagle informed Cat, "It's Kumo's head ninja!"

Listening to Eagle's information, Cat wasn't too surprised and spoke with a knowing expression, "I knew this guy was wrong!"

However, Eagle continued observing the figure and finally spoke with a frown, "His chakra is a bit strange; it looks like it's a Shadow Clone!"

After understanding this, Eagle turned to look towards the mansion and only noticed eleven presence there, seeing this, Eagle was a bit confused, "Is it not the Shadow Clone!?"

After thinking a little, Cat spoke, "Eagle-San, I'll follow him and see what does he intend to do!"

"However, Eagle shook his head and spoke, "No, let's just stop him here, there's no need to take unnecessary risks!"

No matter what the other party intends to do, Eagle was not interested in finding out, the only thing he now cares about is to send the Kumo envoys out of Konoha as soon as possible to avoid any trouble!

Whoosh… Whoosh…

With that decision, both Eagle and Cat used the body flicker technique to appear in the front and back of the head ninja and blocked his way from both the front and back.

Appearing in front of Kumo's head ninja, Eagle spoke with a clod and indifferent tone, "Where are you going at this hour?"

The Kumo head ninja who was forced to stop in his tracks smiled and tore off his mask as he spoke, "Ah, stopped me so quickly, really deserved to be the members of the most elite Anbu Team of Konohagakure!"

Cat said solemnly, "You do realize that your actions are going to destroy the hard-won peace between the two nations!"

The Kumo had ninja smiled and was going to speak something, but before he could continue, Eagle narrowed his eyes and punched the head ninja through the heart!

Cat was shocked that Eagle-San made such a rash move and spoke, "Eagle-San you?…wait… WHAT?!"

Poof…

But before he could complete his sentence, Cat was shocked to find that the figure of the head ninja whose chest was pierced by Eagle-San's hand exploded into white smoke.

Noticing this, Cat's expression changed, "A Shadow Clone!?"

Eagle's face also changed and he spoke, "Who was responsible for monitoring them during the day?" Team-11 can't monitor them for twenty-four hours a day, so the mission was assigned to many teams combined and they take their turns in multiple shifts.

Therefore, the head ninja probably used this loophole and used the Shadow Clone Technique.

Cat recalled a little and answered, "It seems to be Team-5!"

Eagle knew that it wasn't time to blame others and said, "Follow me!" – after that, his figure flashed and hurried towards the territory of the Hyuga Clan.

Cat also understood the seriousness of the matter and followed quickly.

Both Eagle and Cat are excellent in terms of physical skills and their speed is also extremely fast, so it didn't take very long and they arrived at the territory Grounds of the Hyuga Clan.

Arriving at the Hyuga Clan territory, Eagle immediately approached the patrolling Hyuga ninja and said, "I am Eagle, of the Team-11 of the Anbu Black Ops under Hokage-Sama, it is very important and concerns the safety of Village, did you notice any suspicious person in the Hyuga Clan grounds?"

The patrolling Hyuga ninja observed the two Anbu ninja and then replied without any hesitation, "No, what happened, there was nothing unusual and no suspicious person appeared here!"

Sighing in relief that it didn't happen yet, Eagle spoke, "Take me to the Hyuga Patriarch!"

The patrolling Hyuga nodded and led Eagle and Cat to the ancestral house, the residence mansion of the Hyuga patriarch.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance on the Hyuga Patriarch's mansion, Eagle who has his Byakugan activated noticed that the Kumo Head ninja who was dressed in the same night gear was coming outside of the house with unconscious Hyuga Hinata in his hand, and not far away, the patriarch Hyuga Hiashi who had a murderous look had already caught up!

At such a critical moment, Eagle didn't hesitate any longer and directly rushed into the mansion to prevent the Head ninja's death…

...

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As soon as he entered the mansion, Eagle shouted hurriedly, "Hygua Patriarch, don't be impulsive, he is Kumo's Head Ninja!"

When the voice reached Hyuga Hiashi's ears, his face turned more serious but he calmed himself and didn't make any rash move.

As the patriarch of one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure, Hyuga Hiashi naturally understands how sensitive the identity of the Kumo's head ninja is, if something were to happen to the other party in the territory of the Hyuga Clan or Konoha per se, then the consequences would be terrible.

Seeing that both the parties stop and didn't make any moves, Cat shouted in anger at this time, "Watanabe, what do you think you are doing, do you intend to cause another war between the two nations!?"

Cat didn't expect that Watanabe, the head ninja of Kumogakure responsible for the signing of the peace treaty would dare to sneak inside the territory of the Hyuga Clan and also try to kidnap the princess of the Hyuga Clan!

Watanabe was unperturbed by Cat's question and just took out a Kunai and put it against Hinata's throat.

The young Hinata who was unconscious didn't know anything about the events but when the sharp Kunai was placed against her throat, the immature face did show signs of pain she felt because of the Kunai's sharp edge.

Seeing the Kunai almost piercing his daughter's neck, the Hyuga Patriarch hurriedly shouted, "STOP!"

Watanabe didn't take immediate action but said with a chiseled grin, "Heh, I didn't expect to get noticed so early, I guess that's what you would expect from the elite Anbu of Konoha!"

Eagle's face was solemn as he noticed Watanabe's calmness given the situation, he was in.

He was already caught red-handed while attempting to kidnap the heir of the Hyuga Clan, this should have made him panic at the very least, and yet the dude had the calmness to talk in the presence of the Hyuga Patriarch, two elite Anbu as well as many Hyuga Clan guards that were present around the mansion, this greatly puzzled Eagle and gave him a faint sense of uneasiness.

But what made Eagle more confused was how was Watanabe able to sneak inside the Hyuga Clan territory, manage to enter the Patriarch's mansion that lies at the center of the Clan territory and not to mention how the heck was he able to enter inside Hinata's room, that should be one of the most secure places in the Hyuga Clan territory.

'This isn't right, how did he bypass all the guards responsible for guarding the Hyuga territory?' – This doubt started to plague Eagle.

After all, the Hyuga's have the Byakugan therefore, the security of the Hyuga Clan's patriarch's house isn't any inferior to the Hokage's Office itself, even Eagle isn't sure to be able to bypass without being noticed.

Moreover, Watanabe shouldn't have any information about the layout of the Hyuga Patriarch's mansion, so even if he succeeded in sneaking in, he shouldn't have been able to find Hinata's room, as it should be under the high restricted section.

But the fact was right before his very eyes, not only Watanabe managed to bypass all the Hyuga Security, sneaked into the Patriarch's mansion, and actually found Hinata's sleeping quarters and almost kidnapped her, this sort of achievement is nothing to scoff at.

While Eagle was considering the reason, Cat was highly angered by Watanabe's action. When he thought of the peace that finally came to Konoha after such a long time, Cat couldn't restrain his anger and shouted, "Why! Why are you Kumo shinobi, always… always so eager for war!? Don't you people care about the lives of your people!?"

"Shut up, Kumo isn't eager for war, never has been!" – Growled Watanabe in anger.

"If that's the case then why are you doing this!" – Asked Eagle coldly, and then said with a chuckle, "Is it just for a pair of Byakugan? Don't tell me the great Kumogakure would stoop so low as to kidnap a three-year-old girl so they could finally obtain a Kekkei Genkai?"

"You think I care about the Byakugan!? Humph, in my eyes, you Kekkei Genkai heirs don't hold any meaning considering the big picture!" – Watanabe said as he put more pressure on the Kunai against Hinata's throat, and the Kunai's sharp blade cut through her skin causing the blood to flow out.

However, nobody had the right mindset to focus on the blood as Watanabe's words confused everybody, Cat was the one to ask in doubt, "If your purpose isn't the Byakugan, then why did you sneak into the Hyuga Clan territory? And why try to kidnap the young lady of the Hyuga Clan?"

When questioned by Cat, Watanabe's expression gradually turned cold and he stated with indifferent calmness, "You malignant tumors of the Shinobi world wouldn't understand!"

'Seeing Watanabe busy in explanation, Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan looking for a chance to rescue his daughter.'

After pondering a little, Eagle said tentatively, "You let the young lady of the Hyuga Clan go, we promise to ignore your actions and treat it as if nothing happened!"

Watanabe chuckled when he heard Eagle's words, "It is indeed the village that is too soft, even my actions of kidnapping the Hyuga Princess can be ignored, hahaha!"

The cat was more angered, "We are letting you leave out of here alive even after what you tried and broke the peace treaty, are you still not satisfied? You guy…!"

Before Cat could finish his sentence, Eagle interrupted him midway, "Don't bother asking him, I bet he never thought of leaving out of here alive, in short, his purpose is to die…"

At this point, Eagle was able to comprehend the meaning of Watanabe's attempted kidnapping of the princess of the Hyuga Clan, but what confused him was the purpose for which he intended to die, what does he seek by doing all this!? Unless…!!!

"Hooh, you seemed to have figured it out didn't you, color me impressed!" – Watanabe looked at Eagle as if he was impressed by the other's insight and thinking.

Cat asked with a doubt, "What do you mean!?"

Watanabe stated with a strange calmness, "All I do is to rid this Shinobi World of the Malignant Tumor that has been plaguing it for many years!"

"Malignant Tumor!?" – muttered almost all the people at the scene.

"What does he mean by that!?" – questioned some of the Hyuga guards standing around.

"And the 'Malignant Tumor' according to you happens to be Konohagakure? Is that what you are saying?"

Watanabe answered frankly, "You can't deny it, can you? Isn't it Konoha that has been maintaining the Shinobi Village system? If Konoha isn't the cancer of the Shinobi World then who is it? Your Shodaime Hokage obviously had the power to unify the entire Shinobi World, but no, he just had to design the framework of one village and one nation and sit back and watch as other villages took root in other countries and developed a hostility towards each other, wasn't it Konoha the source of all war, because most of the resources are located in the Land of Fire?"

The cat was speechless, "But that…" he didn't expect Watanabe to mention such a thing.

"Shut up, don't interrupt while I am talking! Your Shodaime Hokage, he was and is still hailed as the God of Shinobi, the strongest shinobi to ever exist, why did he not unify the world of Shinobi and completely eliminate the war? – after a short pause, Watanabe continued, "Why to build a war machine like Shinobi Villages that don't hesitate to send their young children, elderly, and even their disabled to the battlefield to die!? Huh, just WHY!?"

In the face of Watanabe's question, everyone was left speechless, no one had the answer to this, nobody could figure out the thinking process of the God of Shinobi, it's said that he dreamed to establish a village where people could feel secure, where children didn't have to go to the battlefield at a young age but did that succeed?

For those who have experienced the first, second, and third great shinobi wars, they can't help but be left horrified when the memories are brought back.

The tragic war they have experienced is not some part of a tale, it's not as glorified as when described in the scrolls for the future generation to read, the pain of losing their loved ones has been personally felt by almost everyone.

This experience is so unforgettable that many ninjas still can't overcome the trauma and remembers the mountains of corpses and rivers of blood when they close their eyes, many have quit their life as shinobi and many in fact, need psychological counseling to be able to continue working as a shinobi.

As for the source, there can be many, human greed, different opinion, loss of loved ones, desire to protect, materialistic desires, and many more reasons that might just be the cause of war, but there is still one source, the establishment of Shinobi Villages, facts have proven that ever since the Shinobi Villages were established the intensity of war has only increased more than ever, and never decreased in the slightest.

It is said that the chaotic times of the Warring States Period were unbearable that even revealing one's identity and affiliation was a matter of seeking the death, but taking into account that matter of continuation and inheritance of the Clans, the conflicts between major clans did end in moderation and rarely went to the level of total annihilation of a clan

Therefore, although the number of conflicts during the Warring States Period was high, it was still not too unbearable.

However, after the establishment of the Shinobi Village system, the intensity and scale of wars have increased with the years passing, the previous numbers of hundreds of Shinobi parting in conflicts have increased to thousands and tens of thousands participating in wars.

Countless Clans have become prey to the wars, many Kekkei Genkai Clans with a history of hundreds of years have disappeared or annihilated within just fifty or so years since the establishment of the shinobi village system.

The Yuki Clan with Ice release Kekkei Genkai, Kaguya Clan with Shikotsumakyou Kekkei Genkai, The Uzumaki Clan, known for their monstrous Chakra Volume, strong physique and most of all for their proficiency and incredible mastery of Fuinjutsu, Kurama Clan with their unique Genjutsu type Kekkei Genkai, etc., that were all prominent and strong noble shinobi Clans with their Kekkei Genkai are now all but perished with only a few members remaining that are also struggling to survive.

The Senju Clan who founded Konoha is all but extinct with only Senju Tsunade being the only last known member of the Senju Clan to still be alive.

Then there are, the Hatake Clan famous for its Kenjutsu style, the Kato Clan known for their proficiency in Spirit Transformation Technique are also near extinction and debilitated.

And the Uchiha Clan? It too will be near extinction if their contradiction with the village is not resolved.

Therefore, what Watanabe said is a bit reasonable.

"Since you people of Konohagakure are too soft to unite the Shinobi World, then let us Kumo do it!" – With the fanatical smile, Watanabe added, "For the sake of final peace and the big picture of the future, a small sacrifice of mine is nothing. My death here would be nothing if the peace can finally come to the world!"

Eagle immediately realized that Watanabe was going to do something, he immediately shouted towards Cat standing next to him, "Use Genjutsu to stop him immediately!"

Cat nodded and instantly activated the Sharingan to cast a Genjutsu on Watanabe to put him in a sleep…

...

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For the Genjutsu of Cat, Eagle is quite confident, even if one doesn't count the ultimate Genjutsu Koto Amatsukami, Cat's Genjutsu Skills are undoubtedly unmatched in the Shinobi World.

However, what surprised both Cat and Eagle was that the Genjutsu cast by Cat didn't affect Watanabe, who lifted the Kunai in his hand and directed it to pierce the heart of unconscious Hinata in his grip.

Hyuga Hiashi was panicked and almost subconsciously rushed towards Watanabe and hit him with the Gentle fist strike.

At the moment when the Kunai was only an inch away from piercing Hyuga Hinata's heart, he stopped midway and grinned fanatically as the Hyuga Patriarch's Gentle Fist Strike landed on his chest.

Bang…

Watanabe made no attempt to counter or dodge the Gentle fist strike.

Puff…

With a muffled sound, Watanabe fell on the ground, and the Kunai he held in his hand was like a bell that shocked everyone.

Looking at Watanabe's corpse that lay on the ground lifelessly, the Hyuga Patriarch's face was gloomy, he has long understood that he was caught in a trap… but what could he have done when his daughter's life was at stake?

Cat frowned in confusion, "Why did my Genjutsu not work on him!?"

Eagle answered after a bit of thinking, "I did notice that his chakra flow was strange, initially, I thought he was going to use some ninjutsu, but it seems like that wasn't the case, most likely he has cast some sealing technique in his brain that negated the chakra disruption!"

Using sealing technique on the brain can of course prevent him from being controlled by Genjutsu and protect intelligence to be spied by anyone, but there is obviously a disadvantage in this as it damages the brain cells, so only the shinobi that are going on a mission where their deaths are all but assured with no chance of survival would opt this method to protect the intelligence from their brain.

And considering that Watanabe dared to do such a thing, it means that he didn't intend to leave out of here alive.

While the Hyuga Patriarch picked up his daughter from the ground, loud noises started to come from the other side of the village.

The harsh noise was like a drop of a metal pin in a silent hall and resounded throughout the quiet village in the night.

Cat looked in the direction of the noise and said solemnly, "The noise is coming from the Kumo mansion where the Kumo delegation is staying!"

Eagle wasn't surprised by this and nodded, "They should have been prepared to cause a fiasco, so it's only natural!"

Watanabe deliberately 'Touched the Porcelain' this time, so it is only natural that the Kumo delegation cooperates, otherwise, wouldn't his death be meaningless?

Eagle now walked towards the Hyuga patriarch.

Hyuga Hiashi anxiously said, "This time, I am afraid the situation has gotten so troublesome!"

Eagle nodded.

From the beginning, Watanabe's purpose has been very clear, to die in the Hyuga Compound, and it is best to die in the hands of the Patriarch of the Hyuga Clan, so Kumo can use his death and excuse to attack Konoha.

In the face of this situation, Konoha only has two options, either hand over the body of the Hyuga Patriarch as compensation for the death of Kumo's Head Ninja or choose an all-out war.

If Konoha chooses the former and surrenders the body of the Hyuga Patriarch, then it would be equal to the Hokage betraying and offending Hyuga.

That on a larger scale would mean that the senior management of Konoha would offend both Hyuga and Uchiha Clan at the same time.

If such a thing happens, then Kumo only needs to sit on their thunder mountain and watch the internal struggle and chaos of Konoha to look for a better opportunity to land a perfect blow.

And if Konoha chooses the latter, goes for an all-out war, and refuses to hand over the body of the Hyuga Patriarch, then the radicals of Kumo can use this excuse to persuade the conservatives of Kumogakure to start a full-scale war that would not only involve Konoha but also the other Shinobi Villages who wouldn't hesitate to dirty their hands in the muddy water.

Therefore, no matter the option, Konoha choose, the radicals of Kumogakure would always be in a win-win situation as their objective would be accomplished.

Understanding this, Eagle was more doubtful.

Such a comprehensive plan is not something just anyone could make, and the person must have a comprehensive understanding of Konoha's current situation.

The person must understand the conflict between the Village and the Uchiha Clan, at the same time, he/she must also understand that Uchiha alone isn't enough to fight Konoha.

Therefore, dragging the Hyuga into this matter at such a sensitive time is definitely a smart move to induce infighting in Konoha.

This also cleared another one of Eagle's doubts about how the Hyuga Patriarch easily killed Watanabe in the original story?

Hyuga Hiashi's strength as the Hyuga Patriarch is naturally very high, but she shouldn't be strong enough to Kill, Watanabe who is also a Head Ninja with just a single strike who should have been defensive, now this is explainable if Watanabe intended to die from the beginning!

But one thing confused him, the Kumo spy could have an understanding of the situation of Konohagakure, but how could he know the layout of the Hyuga Patriarch's mansion?

However, there was no time to consider this, as the distant noise was gradually getting closer and closer as the seconds passed, so withdrawing all his thoughts, Eagle solemnly said to Hyuga Patriarch who held his daughter, "The other party came intending to die here, the purpose was not the Byakugan but to induce internal conflict!"

Hiashi nodded in silence.

Now Hiashi understood that the other party's death was impossible to prevent because even if Hiashi didn't personally kill him, he would have just committed suicide at the right opportunity to put the blame on the Hyuga Patriarch.

Stopping his death was close to impossible as Watanabe was just a ticking time bomb who needed the best opportunity to explode to cause the maximum damage, unfortunately enough, his actions movements couldn't be restricted because of being the head of the peace delegation sent by Kumogakure.

At this time, Cat who jumped on the eaves, looking into the distance spoke, "A lot of people are coming here!"

Hiashi's face was gloomy and he said with a sigh, "Both of you go, I will be responsible for resolving things here!"

"I am sorry but that isn't going to happen. Hyuga Patriarch, please forgive me for overstepping my bounds, but considering the seriousness of the matter, as an Anbu under Hokage-Sama, I order you to make sure that all of the Hyuga Clansmen who witnessed anything here will not disclose it to anyone, no matter the case!" – said Eagle while he brought out a storage scroll and stored Watanabe's corpse.

Hiashi nodded and then asked worriedly, "What are you going to do!?"

After making sure that the seal was completed, Eagle spoke seriously, "Hyuga Patriarch, you needn't know anything from here on, you haven't seen anything, didn't witness anyone's death, if anyone asks anything, just tell them that since your daughter was feeling a bit restless, so you were out on a walk with her; to help her calm down, and since she fell asleep midway, so you were only bringing her back, is that understood?"

Hiashi nodded and didn't speak anything more.

With Hyuga Patriarch's nod, Eagle and Cat nodded towards each other and disappeared leaving no trace of either their or Watanabe's presence in the surroundings.

With the disappearance of the three, the Hyuga Patriarch breathed a sigh of relief and then quickly instructed everyone around him, "Restore everything as the original state, the patrol teams will be back to their designated spots, and as mentioned by the Anbu, nobody is allowed to talk anything they witnessed here, is that clear!"

"Yes, Hiashi-Sama!" – with that said, all the Hyuga dispersed.

Not long after, the Kumo ninja under the escort of Konoha Anbu rushed to the Hyuga Clan.

Another Jonin who was part of the team said with anger, "I saw the ninja wearing the crest of your Hyuga Clan kidnap our leader Watanabe-San!"

Hyuga Hiashi frowned and after handing over Hinata to the maid, he asked, "What do you mean!?"

"Don't try to act innocent, your Hyuga Clan ninja kidnapped our leader, tell us, where is he?" – said the Jonin impatiently.

Hiashi face turned cold but he still said calmly, "I haven't seen your leader, and why do you think the Hyuga would do something so ridiculous as to kidnap the leader of the peace envoys?"

The Kumo Jonin sneered, "Don't speak nonsense, I personally witnessed that it was a Hyuga, are you trying to protect the criminal!?"

The Konoha Anbu who followed the Kumo ninjas looked back and forth between the two parties and silently asked if Hiashi-Sama really ordered the kidnapping of Watanabe?

In the original story, Hyuga Hiashi regarded it as an act of self-defense so he didn't dispose of Watanabe's body in time as a result he suffered at the hands of Kumo's shamelessness by being caught in a dilemma.

But now that Watanabe's body has been taken away by Eagle and Cat, so there was no panic, and he calmly spoke, "I suggest that you pay attention to your wordings and remember who you are speaking to! The ninja of the Hyuga Clan has no reason to partake in such a meaningless and shameful action of kidnapping or harming the leader of the peace delegation, it would be better that you reprocess your memory and try to remember whether it was really a Hyuga!"

Seeing that the Hyuga Patriarch didn't intend to budge, Kumo Jonin's face turned dark and he stated coldly, "I want to search your Hyuga Clan territory!"

...

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Kumo Jonin's request made the Anbu squad captain who followed him embarrassed.

On one side is the Kumo Jonin who is the second most senior member of the peace delegation, while the other is Hyuga Hiashi, the Patriarch of the Hyuga Clan, either party can't be offended, therefore the Anbu has no idea what to do.

While the Anbu squad captain was silent, Hiashi shook his head and coldly stated, "It's impossible!"

Although Watanabe's corpse was taken away by the two Anbu ninja by the code of Eagle Cat, therefore even if the search is conducted; nothing is to be found, but that still doesn't mean that Hyuga Patriarch would allow the Kumo ninja to search the entire Hyuga Clan territory.

Because this matter involves the honor of the Hyuga Clan, if the Hyuga Patriarch were to easily give in to the Kumo's request, it will not only directly reduce the prestige of the noble Hyuga Clan but also expose some flaws in the eyes of discerning people.

Therefore, Hyuga Hiashi wouldn't easily budge here, especially since the other party had actually planned this all out.

Following Hyuga Patriarch's denial, the captain of the Anbu squad tried to persuade the Kumo Jonin, "Let's go search the other places, as Hyuga Patriarch stated, the shinobi of the Hyuga Clan has no reason to attack or kidnap the head of the peace delegation, there might have been some sort of misunderstanding."

Kumo Jonin was already prepared for a conflict, so he didn't budge either and threatened viciously, "Your Konoha ninja attacked and kidnap the leader of our team, this is a blatant breach of the peace agreement between the two villages! If you don't let us search now, then I will have no choice but to immediately return to Kumogakure and report this matter to Raikage-Sama as per the facts, then the decision will only be in the hands of Raikage-Sama!" – the Anbu squad leader's face turned stiff and he was totally annoyed by the threat the other party gave them.

But even if he was angry at the Kumo Jonin, he can't make any reckless decision, and the matter now is not small anymore, if a wrong step is taken then the hard-won peace achieved between the two nations will crumble.

Left with no choice, the Anbu squad leader came to the side of the Hyuga Patriarch and requested, "Hiashi-sama, please allow them to search the territory of the Hyuga Clan, I will make sure that they stay in control and do not get out of hands."

Hyuga Hiashi considered a little and finally cast a cold glance towards the Kumo Jonin and nodded, "Alright, but notify Sandaime-Sama about this matter immediately and also pass on the message that I would like to have a private meeting with him!"

Kumo Jonin was pleased, it was as if the Hyuga Patriarch backed down and cowered to the name of their Raikage-Sama, and after snorting coldly, he quickly led his subordinates into the Hyuga Clan territory and started searching the perimeter of the Hyuga Clan under the watch of both the Anbu and Hyuga ninjas.

While the search was being conducted, Hiashi cast a glance in the distance with a thoughtful expression.

The Anbu squad captain who accompanied the Kumo Jonin partook in the search and was finally relieved when there was no sign of either of Watanabe or any fighting in the Hyuga Clan grounds.

Although he believed that the Hyuga Clan wouldn't attack the leader of the peace delegation without any significant reason, the direct accusation that the other Jonin put on Hyuga Clan still worried him until a few moments ago.

While the Anbu squad captain was relieved, Kumo Jonin's face was gloomy because of the result.

The Anbu squad captain went towards the Hyuga Patriarch who was still overlooking everything and bowed seriously, "I apologize for making the Hyuga Clan go through this, please forgive us, and I also am grateful for the cooperation that the Hyuga Patriarch showed and allowed the search, Hiashi-Sama can rest assured that the result was exactly the same as what Hiashi-Sama said previously!"

Hiashi only nodded and didn't speak any further.

With no result obtained after the search, the Anbu squad captain who accompanied the Kumo Jonin was no longer polite at this time and said seriously, "Since you didn't find anything here, then let's go search other possible places Watanabe-san could have gone!"

Kumo Jonin snorted coldly, "Don't bother!"

With that said, he made a few hand seals, sensed a little, and soon cast his gaze into the distance with a confused expression.

The Anbu squad captain questioned immediately, "What did you find?"

…

Eagle and Cat, who had the corpse of Watanabe stored in a storage scroll were running towards the edge of the village.

Eagle has yet to figure out how to deal with the corpse of Watanabe, but it must be taken away from the territory of the Hyuga Clan.

Silent on the entire route, Cat couldn't hold it any longer and asked, "Eagle-San, what do you think what Watanabe said, was it right or wrong?"

Without a doubt, the words of Watanabe before his death had a great impact on Cat, causing him to have doubts about the peace he has believed so far, but he didn't know whether Eagle also thought the same or not.

Eagle just sighed lightly and said, "Some of the things he said were indeed correct."

Eagle partly agrees with the views of Watanabe.

It has only been a little over five decades since the establishment of Konohagakure and the other great Shinobi Villages, in other words, the framework of one nation one village has only come into existence a little over five decades ago.

However, the peace only lasted for the first few years while the Shodaime-Sama was alive.

But after his death, the situation of the Shinobi World immediately changed.

If the first decade of Shodaime Sama's term of power is ignored then in the past four decades; three shinobi wars have broken out, each one being more terrifying than the previous, that is to say, on an average basis, a terrifying war broke out in the shinobi world after every thirteen years.

And since every war will cause the death of an entire generation of shinobi, this implies that after a recuperation of every thirteen years, an entirely new generation would partake in the cruel war and will be lost.

This cycle has already taken place thrice!

Cat asked, "Does that mean Shodaime-Sama was wrong?"

Eagle shook his head, "Shodaime-Sama indeed missed the best period of unifying the shinobi world, but it doesn't give us any reason to blame him!"

Senju Hashirama experienced the chaos of the Warring States Period and wanted to bring a change upon the catastrophic shinobi world, therefore he created the Shinobi Village system with his friend and rival, Uchiha Madara, in this matter nobody can say with certainty that Senju Hashirama did something wrong or foolish.

Criticizing the actions of predecessors based on the current situation is unfair, no one could say with certainty that the war would have disappeared even after the unification of the Shinobi World, after all, Senju Hashirama was only a mortal, he would die sooner or later.

Since no one can tell the future clearly, so blaming the actions of predecessors is actually a sign of the incompetence of the successors.

Eagle believes that, if anything Shodaime-Sama shouldn't have done, then it was the distribution of the tailed beasts to the great villages.

The intentions of Shodaime-Sama may have been noble and he did this to balance the combat power of each village so that they can all restrain each other, to maintain a frail balance.

But the balance was indeed frail and ended up counterproductive, the distribution of tailed beasts actually intensified the degree of wars as a result of which Konoha suffered the most.

Even taking the current situation for analysis, if Kumo didn't have two perfect Jinchuriki of Hachibi and Nibi, then would they dare to have the confidence of starting a war?

Obviously, NO!

Cat thought for a while and asked again, "Then do you think that what the Kumo is trying to do now is the right approach?"

"What Kumo intends to do!?" – With a cold smirk, Eagle said disdainfully, "Heh, Kumogakure may have the desire to unify the Shinobi world, but unfortunately for them, they don't have even half the strength needed to accomplish this feat!"

Desire is indeed important, but if there is no corresponding strength to match, then all that desire is just an empty talk.

If Eagle was to compare the strength of Konoha with other villages, then without a doubt, Konoha is still much stronger than any of the great village.

The only problem is that Konoha has to guard against all four nations at the same time. If that wasn't the case then Konoha can still unilaterally crush the entire Kumogakure, after all, if worst comes to worst, there's Sandaime-sama himself, then there are people like Shimura Danzo, Mitakado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Brothers, Ino-Shika-Cho trio, as well as the patriarchs of other clans, aside from this, there are also a large number of secret and forbidden techniques left by Nidaime-sama, that if used, can cause devastating damage to other villages, if Konoha unites, then Kumogakure would disappear from the face of the Shinobi World.

But given the current situation, such a thing happening is very unlikely.

Konoha's major problem is that in every war, the single village has to face the combined threat of all the other great villages.

So, in the face of Kumo's provocation, Konoha has to not only guard against other shinobi villages that would be waiting for the perfect opportunity to take the advantage of the fire, as well as guard against the Uchiha Clan, therefore, Konoha appears to be so weak currently.

Cat thoughtfully muttered, "Is Kumogakure really not strong enough?"

Eagle didn't reply directly and said quietly, "The waters of the Shinobi world are much deeper than we think!"

,...

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In the Shinobi World, countless individuals have achieved little power and jumped out impatiently believing that they are the epitome of everything and will be the ones to unify the Shinobi World.

There is no shortage of examples like Seimei: the founder of the Village of Artisans, Hiruko: the creator of Chimera Technique, Shinno: the creator of Reibi, Yomi Moryo the demon, the four council members of the Hozuki Castle of Kusagakure who believed in the Box of Ultimate Bliss, Mukade, who tried to steal the Ryuumyaku, Haido, who tried to take control of the Stone of Gelel, and so on.

But what was the result in the end?

All these people without exception became clown figures and died!

The Shinobi World has never been as simple as it may seem on the surface!

After the death of Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara who rewrote the fate of his death using Izanagi was almost invincible in the Shinobi World, but the proud and arrogant Madara stayed dormant in a gloomy cave for decades to come, and even until his death, he did not show his face to the Shinobi World, just silently controlling things from the dark, and when he finally had both the chess pieces as he intended, in the form of Obito and Nagato, he died with the plan of being revived in the Shinobi World in his prime form.

Uchiha Obito awakened the Kamui, a technique that made him undefeatable in the Shinobi World, and yet he stayed hidden and controlled the things from the shadows, it wasn't until almost the entire Akatsuki was defeated that he chose to reveal himself to the Shinobi World.

Another example is Nagato who has awakened and got used to the transplanted Rinnegan, with the formation of the Six Paths of Pain, Nagato is almost invincible, but he still stays silent in Amegakure and silently controlling things. Even in the original story, it was only after most of the Akatsuki members were dead that he attacked Konoha to capture the Kyuubi.

Then there are the Otsutsuki descendants on the moon, even when they have the giant Tenseigan that is comparable to the ultimate tressure of the Shinobi World, and have the power to easily destroy the Shinobi World if they so much as desire, and yet they lay dormant on the moon, silently spying on the events of the Shinobi World, seeking the perfect opportunity.

Each of the big three unexplored Sage regions, the legendary places that house the Senjutsu knowledge of over a millennium has the strength no less than any great shinobi village, but they are shrouded with mystery, forbidden to be stepped in, and don't easily interfere in the matters of the Shinobi World.

The evil God Jashin, who bestowed the immortal body to Hidan, giving Hidan the ability and strength to fight against combat powers to the level of Sarutobi Asuma and Yugito Nii, the strength of the so-called evil god is also nothing to scoff at and yet there was close to nothing Konoha found about Jashinism even after several investigations because the teachings of Jashin were so secretly followed and spread that no signs were left, leaving Konoha to initially believe that Jashinism was created by Hidan.

Why do such strong people stay dormant and silently control things, waiting for the perfect opportunity?

It's because they understand that their own strength is not yet enough to sweep everything in one wave. They will only choose to take action when they know that now they can accomplish what they desire, otherwise, once they make a move with an uncertainty of the chances of success, the result would be unpredictable, so staying dormant is the safest choice until they are all absolutely sure!

The same is true for Hyuga Kuroto, even if he doesn't take the Sage of Six Path who observes the events of the Shinobi World in the soul form into account, Kuroto is neither confident enough to deal with the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon, nor is he confident enough to kill the current Nagato.

It must be known that when Jiraiya summoned the Two Great Sage Toads and entered into the Senjutsu mode, he has already surpassed the level of a high tier Kage class powerhouses, and yet he was easily killed by the Six Paths of Pain!

There could be people saying that Jiraiya was unaware of the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain, but that's also the case with Nagato, who didn't know about Jiraiya's Senjutsu, therefore, in terms of intelligence, neither party had an advantage over the other, and yet the result was clear.

Jiraiya died in the battle and Nagato only suffered a small loss that could be recovered.

Moreover, Nagato didn't go all out from the start, didn't use techniques likes Chibaku Tensei or summoned the Gedo Statue, if Nagato used either of these, then Jiraiya would have died even before the fight began!

Sometimes, even Kuroto questions himself if he has the confidence to break away from the Chibaku Tensei if Nagato cast it with all his strength.

After all, in the Pain's Assault arc, Uzumaki Naruto only managed to break free of the Chibaku Tensei seal, because of Kyuubi's unparalleled Chakra and also because Nagato had consumed too much chakra.

And even if Kuroto could break free of the Chibaku Tensei Seal and defeated Nagato, he would have consumed a great deal of Chakra and will be vulnerable to Obito who could make a surprise attack any time leading to Kuroto's defeat.

Therefore, to rise in the Shinobi world, one has to tread cautiously, if anyone tries to be an early bird, he will be the first to be hunted as was the case with Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato!

Withdrawing his thoughts, Eagle spoke to Cat, "Alright, we are already far enough, leave the rest to me."

Cat hurriedly said, "Eagle-San, I know that Kumogakure has the wrong intentions this time, so no matter what you do with Watanabe's corpse, I promise I will not give out the details!"

Helplessly shaking his head, Eagle explained, "It's not that I don't trust you, but you have to remember that we two are the ones who were responsible to keep a watch over the Kumo delegation, therefore, both of us can't disappear at the same time, that's why you must return back and provide a cover for my absence!"

When Cat heard this, he understood that it made sense, so he quickly used the Shadow Clone technique and used Genjutsu transformation to change the appearance of the Shadow Clone to that of Eagle!

Eagle patted Cat on the shoulder and said, "Go ahead, don't worry about me, later I'll let you in on all the details."

Cat nodded and said, "Be careful, Kuroto-San!"

With that said, Cat and the Shadow Clone Eagle disappeared towards the direction where the Kumo delegation was supposed to be staying.

With Cat gone, Eagle finally started the preparation he ought to do to resolve this matter as peacefully as possible!

…

Kumo Jonin was leading the other members of the peace delegation and Konoha Anbu members towards the edge of Konoha Village,

While running, the Anbu asked suspiciously, "Are you sure that the direction is not wrong?"

Kumo Jonin didn't say anything just nodded with a doubtful face.

The current situation has completely deviated from their predetermined plan, and he was caught off guard, but fortunately enough, Watanabe's body had several seals engraved so tracking his whereabouts wasn't difficult.

The Anbu squad leader frowned and after thinking a bit he said, "After passing through this area we will soon reach the outer wall, and if the direction we are moving is correct as you say, then the person who kidnapped Watanabe-san will probably be trying to escape out of the village."

Listening to the Anbu squad leader's words, the Kumo Jonin said coldly, "Huh, our captain was attacked in your Konoha Village, so Konoha's Hokage must take responsibility for his death!"

The Anbu squad leader didn't argue but motioned his subordinate to report the news to Hokage-Sama.

Judging from how the situation has developed, the Anbu squad leader can only conclude that Watanabe has indeed been attacked by someone, as for who the other party is and what purpose they have, he is not clear yet!

Under the command of the Squad captain, two Anbu members left the team and went towards the direction of the Hokage Office.

After that, the rest of the group continued chasing and finally arrived in a small forest territory on the edge of the village.

The forest was filled with dense vegetation and when they were passing through, they suddenly found the silhouette of a person quietly standing.

The person was wrapped in a midnight cloak with the symbol of Water Chakra around the chest part of the black cloak that had a complex sealing pattern sewn from the golden thread, at the back are the symbols of the five Chakra natures printed evenly around the Yin-Yang Gossip symbol.

And, a blue evil spirit mask was donned on the face with a blue jewel on the forehead.

In the silent night, the figure of the person was illuminated by the cold moonlight giving him a mysterious vibe.

To top it off, at the feet of the mysterious man lied the corpse of a person in black clothes.

The attention of the entire group was directed towards the mysterious person and they surrounded him from all sides, cutting off all of his escape routes.

Upon closer inspection, Kumo Jonin immediately recognized the identity of the corpse lying at the feet of the mysterious person, it was none other than the missing Watanabe, seeing this, his heart sank.

The Anbu squad leader cautiously looked at the mysterious person and silently gestured to his subordinates, deploying a siege formation.

Surrounded from all side, the mysterious person seemed unfazed and indifferently took out a storage scroll from the inner part of his cloak and muttered, "Heh, the guy had a bounty of 50 million Ryo on the Black market, I didn't expect his to be so pathetically weak, that the task turned out to be so boring!" His words clearly had contempt for Watanabe.

And exactly as he spoke, Watanabe did have a bounty of 50 million Ryo on his head in the Black-Market Circle, such a reward is actually quite high if anything!

And there was no need to guess on the identity of the party who placed such a high bounty on his head, it is none other than Iwagakure.

After all, Iwagakure, who has hatred towards both, Kumogakure and Konohagakure, is the most unwilling to let the two villages conclude a peace treaty, Iwa wants the war between them to continue so that Iwa-nin can use the best opportunity to deal heavy damage to both the Konoha and Kumo at the same time.

And if a mere 50 million Ryo can buy the head of the leader of the peace delegation and destroy the peace between Konoha and Kumo, then such an amount is actually a very good investment that would reap many profitable results for Iwagakure in the future…

...

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The Fact that Watanabe is dead is hard to change.

Even if Kuroto controls Watanabe's corpse with the Tenseigan Soul Descend or with the Puppet Technique, it would still be impossible to fool the Kumo delegation members as they might have arranged a secret code for the identification, which is something Kuroto doesn't know.

Therefore, Kuroto gave up that plan.

After all, Kumo ninjas aren't idiots, given that there are countless methods to manipulate the dead in the Shinobi World, therefore they too can figure out that the corpse is being controlled, so instead of wasting time taking such a huge risk, it is better to divert the most blame towards a third party and resolve the contradiction between Konoha and Kumo with a need of forced cooperation irrespective of their choice.

Anyway, as long as Watanabe didn't die in the Hyuga grounds and the person responsible for his death wasn't a Konoha shinobi, Kumo's conspiracy would be a failure.

When he heard the mysterious person mention the bounty on Watanabe's head, Kumo Jonin's heart tightened.

The Anbu squad captain on the side shouted furiously, "Damn it, you bastard, dare to sneak into Konoha!"

The leader of Kumo envoys was killed in Konoha, even if the deed wasn't done by a Konoha Shinobi, Konoha still has to be somewhat responsible for Watanabe's death, and now that Watanabe's death has been confirmed at the hands of a bounty hunter, the Anbu squad captain's heart was filled with indignation.

Looking at those fierce eyes under the Hawk Anbu Mask, Suijin lips curved and said playfully, "Who told Iwagakure to put such high bounty on his head? If you want to complain, do it to the Tsuchikage!"

As soon as Suijin said this, Kumo ninjas gritted their teeth in anger, "Iwagakure!"

Kumo's hatred towards Iwa is completely unmasked, after all, Kumo was betrayed by Iwa, as a result of which the Sandaime Raikage died in the hands of ten thousand Iwa Shinobi.

The Anbu squad leader didn't hesitate anymore, what he cared about now was to kill the mysterious man and recapture Watanabe's body.

The leader of the Kumo peace delegation was killed in Konoha once this news is spread out, although Konoha's reputation would be affected, this kind of thing is still inevitable given the situation, but if even the culprit responsible is not killed and the corpse isn't recovered then Konoha would completely lose its face.

Therefore, the Anbu squad leader silently signaled his colleague through routine gestures in order to kill the target.

Immediately, the two Anbu used the Body Flicker technique and rushed towards Suijin from both sides, Suijin just smiled lightly as he could easily make out every attack because he has already activated his Byakugan long ago.

At the same time, the Anbu squad leader with the Hawk Anbu Mask threw seven Kunai in a series.

If one was to observe very carefully; he would be able to notice that each of the Kunai was tied with a specially treated metal wire.

These metal wire not only have a very high tensile strength but also doesn't reflect any light, making it very difficult for any normal Shinobi to find them.

'Oh… so they are using formation: 324-AZ-12!' – Suijin is also an Anbu, therefore, he knows almost all these sets of Coordinated attack formations, after all, he too has practiced these attack formations many times, while conducting Anbu training so he also knows how to break-through them.

Suijin instantly threw several shurikens that accurately hit the incoming kunai while he simultaneously used the Body flicker technique to meet the incoming attack of the Anbu coming from the right.

The Anbu on the right was wielding a sword and waved it harshly.

This attack is just a feint, the purpose of which is to force Suijin back to his original place, i.e., the siege circle.

Suijin chuckled lightly and neither did he backed off nor dodged or hide or met the attack, just accelerated further.

"This!?" – The Anbu who waved his sword was surprised, after all, who would rush straight towards an oncoming sword slash?

But before he could recover and make a follow-up offensive, 'Bang!' he flew out with a muffled sound by being heavily punched on the cheek that even broke the Panda Anbu mask he wore, knocking him out in just one blow.

With the Panda knocked out, Suijin didn't stay there any longer and used the inertia of momentum that his body was in and directly exerted force on his toes and made a big jump to make a leap out of the encirclement and ran towards Konoha outer wall.

While all this happened in a very short moment, the Hawk Anbu's face under the mask sank, after again instructing his subordinates to call for reinforcements and pass on the latest news to Hokage-Sama, he hurriedly took the other colleagues and chased after Suijin.

The other party was able to break through the Konoha Anbu's collective attack formation as if it was a piece of cake, this shows that either the other party is very familiar with the Anbu formations or is an exceptionally strong shinobi.

In either of the case, he can't be allowed to live anymore!

By now the situation is already far beyond what an Anbu squad leader can handle. He could only report the latest news to the Sandaime-Sama and wait for the reinforcements from the village.

Escaping out of the Anbu siege circle, Suijin came near the outer wall, after some ups and downs.

"Who!?"

The guards on duty immediately spotted Suijin and identified him as a suspicious individual based on the outfit he was wearing.

The Shinobi team responsible for guarding this section of the outer wall is also a four-man team, consisting of two chunin and two genins.

But what Suijin didn't expect was that of the two Chunin, one turned out to be Hyuga Yui, his fiancé, recognizing her, he couldn't help think silently, 'Uh… what should I do now!?'

Yui didn't recognize the identity of the mysterious person, immediately took on the Gentle Fist stance, and asked in a clear voice while the meridians around her eyes bulged, "Who are you?"

Suijin didn't answer but thought to himself, 'Can't let her get involved in this, in the first place, Yui is responsible for the internal Hyuga matters, so she shouldn't even be present here!'

Although Suijin was thinking this, that didn't stop his movements and within a fort few moments, he appeared near the two genins and knocked them out cold with furious fist strikes in the gut then immediately went towards the other chunin and knocked him out cold similarly.

In just a few short moments, the three other ninjas were lying unconscious.

Yui was shocked at the speed and strength the suspicious person displayed here and immediately rushed towards him.

As a member of the Hyuga Clan, Yui is naturally very apt in Gentle Fist Style taijutsu, so she tried to stall the other party.

But unfortunately for her, the person she was up against was much more experienced and had much more knowledge of the Hyuga Style Combat, not to mention he was much stronger compared to her, therefore all the strikes she made were either dodged or countered with minimal movements.

As the battle progressed, her breathing started to get rugged, taking this opportunity, Suijin immediately hit her abdomen with a palm strike, although Yui managed to bring her palm to greet the attack, however, the strength used by Suijin in that attack was much more than she initially estimated so was sent flying.

With a bang, she used the tree to stop herself and looked at Suijin with more caution.

Suijin knew this much wasn't enough to make her give up, but he can't be too hard on her…

So without waiting for her to rush towards him, he flickered before her and tapped at the back part of her neck with his hand, knocking her unconscious.

Suddenly losing consciousness, Yui fell forward and landed on Suijin's shoulder, out cold.

Picking her up lightly, Suijin gently laid her on the ground with her back resting on the tree trunk and muttered slowly, "Please forgive me Yui, if I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have given up…"

Being done with that he glanced at the increasingly noisy village and then jumped past the Konoha Outer Wall without looking back and moved outside the village.

At the bottom of his heart, he has already made up his mind, after this matter was over, he has to find a way to increase Yui's strength.

Although Yui has an innocent and kind nature, the Shinobi World is very cruel and doesn't care about innocent and kind people.

Yui has the potential to reach the elite Jonin level, but this isn't enough, her strength has to be much higher.

While Suijin was still thinking about Yui's matters, suddenly two figures stopped in front of him.

Both of them were dressed in Konoha's Anbu gear and Suijin was incredibly familiar with the two of them as they both were none other than the Dog and Monkey of the Team-11 he is part of.

Hatake Kakashi wearing the Dog mask took a closer look at the other party wearing a mysterious outfit and said coldly, "It's time you stop running, you won't be going any further from here!"

Might Guy, wearing the Monkey mask also said loudly, "You who wants to ruin the hard-won peace between the two nations, I will never allow you to extinguish the flames of youth of Konoha's future!"

...

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With a depressed mood, Shisui wearing his Cat Anbu mask led the Shadow Clone that changed into the appearance of Hyuga Kuroto's Eagle Anbu guise and quietly returned to the Mansion where the Kumo delegation was officially staying at.

Currently, only two Kumo ninjas were left here while the rest followed Kumo's Jonin searching for Watanabe.

"Sigh, I was a step late!" – Cat frowned noticing that both Dog and Monkey were no longer in their position, implying that they too went in search for Watanabe.

Since it was a team task, and considering that the mansion Kumo envoys were staying in is pretty large, so Team-11 was divided into two teams, with Eagle and Cat in one team and Dog and Monkey in the other.

And since both Dog and Monkey are now gone, it could only mean that they went to search for Watanabe, shaking his head helplessly, Cat sighed, "I hope Kuroto-San wouldn't be blocked by the Captain Kakashi and Guy-San…"

…

In the forest beyond the outer wall of Konohagakure.

Suijin, who was stopped by Dog and Monkey Anbu folded his hands over his chest and chuckled, "You two, are you really confident that just the two of you can stop me!?"

Being provoked by Suijin's words, Monkey couldn't stomach his desire to fight.

"Calm down!" – But before he could move, Dog blocked him halfway while his eyes remained on Suijin.

The dog didn't rush to start the battle but first asked tentatively, "Who are you and why to kill Kumo's head ninja?"

"Heh, doesn't Konohagakure claims to be the strongest of the five great shinobi villages, so figure it out and find the details about me yourself!" – Dog wanted to speak something but was interrupted midway by Suijin who spoke after a pause with a soft chuckle, "You know it is useless to stall time and wait for the reinforcements to arrive because the result isn't going to change any better!"

When Suijin said that, Dog didn't wait anymore and immediately started printing hand seals and shouted, "Earth Release: Multiple Collapsing Earth Style Walls!"

Boom…

Instantly, Suijin was surrounded by walls from the four sides, the walls kept coming closer as if they intended to trap and kill, Suijin within it.

With the enemy's sight blocked, Dog again printed hand seals in coordination with the previous ones, Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The fierce great fireball technique spurted by Dog shot towards the sky above the four earth walls.

With the speed at which Dog printed the hand seal, there was almost no break between the two ninjutsu, the intention of releasing the great fireball technique were naturally so that the moment the enemy tries to escape out of the siege of the collapsing four earth style walls, he would be burned to a crisp by the blazing hot fireball.

But unfortunately for Dog, Suijin has the Byakugan, so at the moment, Suijin was able to understand Dog's plan based on the hand seals and Chakra flow.

Therefore, he didn't make any attempt to jump upwards do to escape out of the siege of the collapsing walls.

Instead, he made the hand seals at the same time as Dog and shouted in low voice,

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

Splash…

A thin high-speed jet of water was sprayed out of Suijin's mouth and like a sharp knife, it easily cut through all the collapsing walls in small boulders.

At this moment, the sound of flicker echoed, and instantly Suijin ducked sideways to avoid the incoming kick from Monkey.

Boom…

The heavy kick, Monkey made was avoided by Suijin and since the kick was avoided, so Monkey rapidly kicked the rock boulders towards Suijin.

Between the incoming flying rock boulders towards him, Suijin's figure flickered and flashed across multiple points, dodging the rock pieces, the speed was so fast that it almost left multiple after images behind as he rushed out of the thrashed walls.

Suijin didn't choose to entangle with Monkey in close combat, the reason for this is simple, his Water Clone body is not as proficient in taijutsu that it could compare with Might Guy whose keenness in close-quarter taijutsu is so high that it's almost inexplicable, sometimes it makes him wonders whether Might Guy has some special ability that gives him insight comparable to that of a fully matured Sharingan, which is almost unreasonable.

With the embedded Sharingan in his left eye, Dog saw that Suijin rushed towards him, and he made no pause as, after just a few hand signs, dazzling lightning flickered with a piercing sound.

Chiiiiiiiiiirp…

The sharp sound of thousands of birds singing echoed throughout the forest as Dog also rushed towards Suijin.

Almost at the same time, the two figures rushed towards each other, their speed so fast that it seemed that they were teleporting.

Drip…

After the two figures passed each other, Suijin looked down and found that his arm was lightly rubbed by Dog's Chidori as a result of which, his sleeve was cut and a light trail of blood dripped down to the ground along the cuff.

On the other side, Dog staggered a few footsteps and half-kneeled on the ground as he coughed out blood from his mouth.

Monkey noticed that Dog was injured and instantly rushed towards him and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Dog nodded but his left hand was still tightly clutched over his abdomen while the right hand had some blood over his fingers!

At this time Suijin turned around and looked down at Dog and Monkey and said with an impressed voice, "Unexpectedly, you were able to hurt me!"

Gritting his teeth, Dog stood up and once again repeated, "I said previously, you won't be able to escape!"

"Are you sure about that? It looks to me as if you are quite hurt a lot internally, you may try to cover it by putting on a tough guy act, but these water fists are quite damaging!" – Said Suijin as he lifted his hand to show the water present over his hand.

Suijin's attack was a bit similar to how Slug Sannin Senju Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Power works, however, it's also quite different from her style as instead of pure chakra that causes overall damage, Suijin uses high-pressure water that revolves around his fist directly inflects internal injury when using it with conjunction to the Byakugan's prowess.

"It doesn't matter, my injury is nothing, with the two of us here, you have no way of getting past us!" – said Dog, as he drew out his kunai and took the fighting stance.

"You said it, my friend, this is the way to go, we will not let the likes of you people let the youth of Konoha be wasted, now it's time for us to go full throttle and show them what Konoha Shinobi are capable of!" – Shouted monkey as he drew out the nan-chaks.

Looking at the two figures before him who were ready to fight to the death here, Hyuga Kuroto in his Suijin disguise was in a trance and suddenly remembered his ninja academy days.

…

Hyuga Patriarch's Mansion, in the Hyuga Clan grounds.

Hyuga Hiashi was sitting on a Zabuton and leisurely sipping tea while he was busy with some thoughts.

After hearing about what happened, the shocked Hyuga Hizashi hurried to his brother's mansion and noticed that the elder brother was calmly sitting, sipping on tea and busy in some thoughts, seeing this Hizashi was a little relieved and asked hurriedly, "What happened, why did Kumo delegation search through our clan grounds!?"

Upon being broken out of his thoughts, Hiashi sighed lightly and said, "Sit down, and have tea first."

Hizashi curtly sat down and poured himself some tea and took a sip.

But before, Hiashi could begin explaining, a shinobi of the Hyuga Clan appeared outside the room and said, "Patriarch-Sama, I have received the news, that the Kumo delegation and leading Anbu Black Ops found the leader in a forest zone near the eastern outer wall, the news states that the Kumo Head ninja Watanabe was attacked by a mysterious man!"

Hiashi nodded and ordered, "Continue investigating!"

"Yes!" – with that said the ninja disappeared.

However, Hizashi who sat on the side was shocked, since, Hiashi had ordered for any information about the even to not be spoken, nobody dared to explain to Hizashi therefore, the younger sibling was clueless and spoke hurriedly, "What, the leader of Kumo delegation was attacked by someone in the village!?"

Again, before Hiashi could begin explaining, another member of the Hyuga Clan appeared outside the room with the latest report, "Patriarch, the latest news, chasing Anbu failed to capture the mysterious man, and the other party seemed to have escaped past the outer wall!"

"Alright, continue!" – Hiashi nodded

Hearing this news, Hiashi sighed in relief and thought silently, 'Fortunately, Kuroto-Kun took care of the matter, otherwise, things would have become very problematic!'

If the body of Watanabe was to be found within the Hyuga Clan territory, then the consequences would have been unimaginable, and the Hyuga Clan might have got involved in the disaster.

However, Hizashi didn't know the story behind and he stood up hurriedly and stated, "Damn it, I'll go after him!"

Hiashi who had just taken a sip of tea lifted his cup and stopped Hizashi, and at this time another Hyuga ninja appeared outside the room with the report, "Hiashi-sama, Hokage-sama, himself has gone to hunt down the mysterious man responsible for attacking and killing Kumo Head Ninja!"

Puuufffff...

Hearing this news, the mouthful of tea was spat out in a panic…

...

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Uchiha Patriarch Mansion, Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Uchiha Fugaku quietly sat by the lake, thinking over some things.

At this time, an Uchiha Shinobi rushed in and whispered lightly, "Patriarch, we heard that the Kumo delegation leader, Watanabe was kidnapped and killed by a bounty-nin for the high bounty placed on Watanabe's head!"

"He was kidnapped and killed!?" – Fugaku's face turned solemn after listening to the news.

After these past few days of attempted trials, the leader of the Kumo delegation finally agreed to meet the Uchiha Fugaku tonight.

For that purpose, Fugaku has been patiently waiting for midnight to come, but now he has received such a piece of absurd news.

Watanabe was going to utilize this opportunity and send the Shadow Clone tonight and use this chance to further provoke the internal conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Hokage faction.

Watanabe never would have thought that the moment his Shadow Clone sneaked out of the assigned mansion, it was spotted by the pair of Eagle and Cat Anbu.

Fugaku was obviously a bit frustrated and spoke after a little bit of thinking, "Where is Shisui, wasn't he responsible for protecting the Kumo delegation tonight?"

The Uchiha ninja shook his head, "There is no clear information, the situation there has been taken over by other Anbu ninja and Chunin, the process of Watanabe's disappearance is also very strange, there are no signs of fighting near the assigned mansion, which is completely unreasonable!"

Hearing this, Fugaku also frowned slightly and finally ordered, "Find Shisui and get the details about what happened exactly, I want every detail!"

"Yes!" – The Uchiha ninja nodded respectfully and disappeared.

At this time, Fugaku looked towards the full moon in the distant sky, his face filled with hesitation and confusion.

After some evaluation, Fugaku has confirmed that Uchiha Shisui is leaning on the side of the Hokage faction, for this reason, the Uchiha Clan has been continuously failing in their attempt to make a contact with the Kumo delegation. Otherwise, if Shisui was on the side of the Uchiha Clan, then using his identity, making a contact with the Kumo delegation was a piece of cake.

Shisui's attitude has further strengthened the Uchiha Patriarch's determination to bring Shinichi back to the Uchiha Clan, in his plan, once Shinichi comes back to the Uchiha Clan, and the Uchiha Clan attempts to launch a Coup d'état, then the Konoha Elder Council will no longer trust Shisui and distance him from the Hokage faction, left with no choice, Shisui would have to come back to the family he belongs to and apologize to all the Uchiha whose trust he has been breaking.

For this reason, Fugaku has never confronted Shisui about his intentions, nor has he thought of fighting Shisui.

Because for Fugaku, Shisui is not only very precious combat personnel of the Uchiha Clan, but the kid is also akin to his nephew, and which parent wouldn't forgive his child if they make a mistake?

Therefore, Fugaku is willing to let Shisui understand that only Uchiha Clan is where he would truly belong.

And Fugaku also knows that once both Shisui and Shinichi return to the Uchiha Clan, then with the combined power of three Mangekyou Sharingan users, coupled with all the elite Jonin and other top Uchiha Combat personnel, the Uchiha Clan will be able to completely defeat the Hokage faction and take over the position of the Hokage without any trouble that the Uchiha has desired for so many years.

But is that really what he wants? Fugaku is unsure, after all, he too loves his village, if there is a chance, he wouldn't want to take over the position forcefully!

Therefore, there is doubt and hesitation in his eyes, and it will only manifest when he is alone!

A moment later Fugaku sensed the presence of another Uchiha ninja rushing towards him and his face returned back to the usual.

The Uchiha ninja arrived with the latest report, "We have discovered that the Sandaime himself took a large number of Anbu ninja to hunt down the bounty-nin responsible for killing Kumo head ninja."

Fugaku wasn't surprised by this and immediately got up and ordered, "Assemble the Konoha Police force with Jonin level members!"

The Uchiha ninja was stunned and asked, "Patriarch, are we also going to be involved in the round-up!?"

Fugaku nodded, "Sandaime himself is going after the bounty-nin, this shows that the matter is undoubtedly serious, our internal conflicts should be put aside for now, if the bounty-nin escapes easily, then Konoha's reputation will be affected, besides this will also be a good opportunity to make contact with the Kumo ninjas!"

The Uchiha ninja understood and immediately nodded, "Yes, in that case, I will issue the assembly ordered on behalf of Patriarch!" – with that said, the ninja disappeared.

"Hmm!"

Using this chance, inquiring from the Kumo delegation, whether Shinichi really defected to Kumogakure would also be the best opportunity.

…

New Root Base.

The root leftover Root ninjas were constantly coming and going, reporting all kinds of information to Shimura Danzo, who sat on his chair.

After hearing that the Sandaime himself led the Anbu to hunt down the mysterious bounty-nin, Danzo showed a thoughtful look and asked the men next to him, "Have you found out the identity of this mysterious bounty-nin?"

The Root ninjas next to him nodded and passes a copy of a file recording the information about the mysterious bounty nin, "From the description of the outfit, he was wearing, the party seems to be a bounty-nin that goes by the name 'Suijin,' who has recently amassed quite a bit of fame in the black-market circle, for his efficiency and strength and perfection of completing the tasks."

"Suijin!?" – Shimura Danzo frowned when he looked at the copy in his hands.

After a brief glance, he threw the file heavily on the ground and shouted in anger, "You collected this information!?"

"In addition to the brief description of the outfit he wears, and his name, the information only stated that he is a top tier bounty-nin, besides these three details, there was no other useful information.

Seeing Danzo's anger, the root ninja immediately knelt on one knee and hurriedly explained in panic, "Please forgive me Danzo-sama, but this, 'Suijin' character appeared out of thin air, prior to this, there is no information about him any of our data files, therefore, we couldn't find any information!"

"Incompetents!" – scolded Danzo heavily,

"..." The root ninja stayed silent and dared not lift his head, afraid that he would only anger Danzo-Sama more.

After a little while, Danzo calmed himself and went on to say, "Continue investigation, I want to know who is hidden behind that mask, the other party has the gall to enter my Konoha so unscrupulously and cause such chaos, I want to know who gave him such courage! Find out everything about him, from his identity to his background, the person he working for, family, his strength, weakness, secret, anything to everything we can exploit, is that understood!"

"H-hai, crystal clear, Danzo-Sama!" – the Anbu hurriedly nodded and disappeared.

With the room silent, Danzo stood up and looked outside the window at the full moon with an inexplicable expression.

…

In the forest outside the easter outer wall of Konoha.

Suijin glanced at Dog's right hand and then his gaze moved towards the bloodstain on the ground.

In the previous confrontation, Dog's Chidori slightly rubbed through Suijin's right arm, therefore, a small cut appeared on his arm that leaked out a trail of blood.

Although it's not something to get worried over, it's still a bit troublesome if not dealt with quickly.

After all, as long as, these few drops of blood are dealt with, Suijin can avoid being tracked and pursued because of the odor.

This is something to be heavily guarded when facing the Dog masked Anbu, i.e., Hatake Kakashi, after all, he has a highly apt group of eight ninken as his summon beasts, moreover Hatake Kakashi's own sense of smell is also extremely terrifying therefore, one has to be careful against him.

After making up his mind, Suijin quickly printed the seals and muttered,

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!"

Instantly, a large amount of water formed a surging vortex around Suijin that kept rising upwards and exploded from the top in the form of a massive wave covering the entire battlefield.

The momentum of the wave was so high that it seemed to almost submerge the entire surrounding forest area.

Dog Anbu's face behind the mask was inexplicable and he hurriedly shouted towards his companion, "Be careful!"

The monkey responded with a nod, "Yeah!"

The two tacitly jumped up at the same time, but they didn't look away from the body of Suijin, continuously paying attention to his moves.

The Water Colliding Wave washed up the ground and increase the moisture content in the surroundings. With that, Suijin again printed hand seals and shouted, "Water Release: Multiple Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Three water dragons with their diameter over a meter; condensed from the surrounding water and instantly rose up hovering around Suijin providing a protective cover.

Suijin waved his hand towards the Dog and Monkey Anbu on the tree, and the two of the three large dragons immediately rushed towards the two Anbu.

The Dog Anbu didn't dare to be careless and immediately printed hand seals,

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Instantly, a water dragon was also raised by Dog Anbu, using the surrounding water, and the water dragon collided with the opposite water dragon, protecting the Dog Anbu.

The Monkey Anbu was also not careless and continuously dodged the homing water dragon, seeing that the Water Dragon didn't give up the chase, the Monkey Anbu, kicked the trunk of a tree with all his power breaking it in one shot and then again kicked away the broken trunk towards the incoming water dragon, neutralizing the attack.

However, this short opportunity in which the Dog Anbu and the Monkey Anbu backed away was not wasted by Suijin, who exploded the third Water Dragon obscuring the two Anbu's sight and immediately turned around and flew towards the depth of the forest.

At this time, the Dog Anbu's voice came from behind,

"Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique!"

Puff… Puff… Puff… Puff… Puff… Puff… Puff… Puff…

Instantly, eight pits appeared on the ground around Suijin, the eight Ninken jumped out of the ground and pounced on Suijin from all sides.

...

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Seeing the eight nin-ken biting him from all sides, Suijin was a bit speechless.

For some reason, Suijin was inexplicably calm about being bitten by these nin-ken, as if he wasn't at all surprised by the sudden turn of events, but as far as the matter was concerned did he really expect for such a thing to happen?

At this moment, Monkey Anbu rushed over, "Leaf Great Whirlwind!"

Just as Monkey Anbu was about to attack Suijin, the eight nin-ken hurriedly jumped back to avoid being swept over by the attack.

Being free for movement, Suijin barely avoided the taijutsu kick attack with a backflip, but he wasn't so lucky as the follow-up taken by the Dog Anbu in the form of, "Leaf Strong Whirlwind!" still hit him.

As a result of the spinning reverse kick, Suijin's body exploded into the water, shocking everyone at the sight, and not even a second later, another Suijin emerged from the water and punched the Dog Anbu in the gut with water flowing fist, that sent him flying away and crashing into a tree, severely breaking it.

But Suijin wasn't any lucky either as the Monkey Anbu who has just landed over, again pounced at him with more strength, as the green aura of the Hachimon Tonkou radiated around him like a fire,

"Violent – Leaf Adamantine-Strength Whirlwind!"

Suijin didn't have enough time to dodge and could barely resist the roundhouse kick with his hands, but that wasn't enough, as he was also sent flying and crashed several trees, breaking them all.

"Cough- cough…"

"Cough-cough…"

Both Dog Anbu and Suijin spurted out blood from their mouths as they made all their attempt to stand up again.

Both of them recovered almost at the same time and stood up while wiping away the blood.

At this moment, Suijin was surrounded from the three sides, with the Dog mask Anbu on the left, the eight ninken on the right, and the monkey mask Anbu on the front.

The two Anbu and the eight ninken were ready to continue the next wave of offensive.

Seeing this scene, Suijin thought to himself, 'The eight ninken have already smelled my odor, so using the usual methods of escaping can't be used to get rid of the pursuit of Kakashi and Guy!'

However, he didn't have time to consider anything as his expression turned serious.

Because at this moment, Suijin noticed several chakra signs emerge in Byakugan's vision, this implied that a large number of ninjas were rushing here!

'Damn, are all the elites coming here!?' – in a flash, Suijin reached this conclusion.

Because the insight of the Water Nature Clone's Byakugan is not as high as that of the main body, therefore, by the time, Suijin noticed their presence, they were already here!

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…

Amidst the sound of breaking through the wind, a series of silhouettes using the Body Flicker technique appeared around Suijin, surrounding him at the center.

The one leading them was none other than the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha in his black combat gear, Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Sandaime took a glance around the battlefield and then nodded towards the two Anbu, "You both did well!"

The Anbu with the Dog Mask appeared at the side of Sandaime and said courteously, "The strength of the enemy is very strong, and he mostly relies on Water Style combined with a good level of taijutsu!"

Sandaime nodded slightly and then turned towards Suijin with eagle sharp eyes, as he spoke in a deep voice, "Say, who instructed you to kill the leader of the Kumo delegation!?"

The Anbu elites, as well as the Kumo ninjas that also arrived at the same time at the battlefield, stared at Suijin closely, waiting for his answer.

Suijin just shrugged, "Of course it was the 50 million Ryo bounty on the head of Watanabe that arose my interest, I hope this answer satisfies the Honorable Sandaime Hokage-sama!" – the last part was said with a bit of a mocking tone which didn't escape the eyes of all those present here.

"I see, in that case, you will have to face the consequences of your actions, for attacking and killing a guest of Konoha, you will be judged with death, resistance is futile, surrendering will let you earn a peaceful death!" – Said Sandaime indifferently.

The surrounding Anbu elites were very eager to fight the enemy, everyone knows that this bounty-nin was doomed, who could escape alive when facing the Sandaime Hokage?

After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen is not entitled to the epithet 'God of Shinobi' for nothing!

However, Kumo Jonin, frowned, he has a feeling that something has been amiss in the situation, but he hasn't been able to figure out what that is!

Contrary to what most expected, Suijin put one hand on his waist and said with a leisure smile, "I didn't expect that even the Hokage-Dono will personally come here, I am afraid I am shaking down to my boots!"

"Really? I, however, cannot see any trace of fear from the calmness that you exude!" – Sandaime said with a solemn face.

"Heh, that's because you have no way of stopping me!" – said Suijin with a smirk as he started printing hand seals, and shouted, "Ice Release Secret Technique: Straight Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

With an icy chill, the moisture present in the air condensed into a crystal-clear Ice Mirror before everyone.

'W-what, Ice Release Kekkei Genkai!?' – Everyone, including the Sandaime Hokage, was shocked when they saw the ice mirrors floating in the air.

It stands to reason that the Yuki Clan has been annihilated by the Kirigakure, therefore, Ice Release Kekkei Genkai should have disappeared from the face of the Shinobi World, but unexpectedly, the mysterious bounty-nin could use the Ice Release, does that mean he is one of the survivors of the Yuki Clan?

Seeing this scene, the Kumo Jonin was also finally convinced that the death of Watanabe should have nothing to do with Konoha.

While he was hateful towards the mysterious Bounty-nin, Black-market Circle, and most of all towards the Iwagakure for placing such a bounty on Watanabe's head, he was more regretful that their plan to make Konoha suffer in internal strife using Watanabe's death, was now useless because of the intervention of a freaking bounty-nin.

Although Konoha would still be held responsible, they wouldn't be much accountable or under pressure as they might have been if Watanabe would have died at the hands of the Hyuga Patriarch.

Experienced Shinobi who have had a previous encounter with the shinobi of the Yuki Clan will find that the Ice Mirrors used by this mysterious bounty-nin are quite different from the normal ones used by the Yuki Clan.

The Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals generally form in a circular perimeter, forming a hemispherical ice cover, covering a circular area, and trapping the enemy in it.

However, the ice Crystals formed by Suijin were different as they lined up one after the other in the mid-air forming a long queue that extended down to the horizon.

Taking advantage of everyone's stupor, Suijin leaped lightly, merged into the Ice Mirror, and waved back enthusiastically, "Everyone, goodbye, until we meet again!"

As soon as the voice fell, the ice mirrors that hung at the last burst with cold air.

The mirrors at the end would dissipate into the cold air and will be reshaped at the beginning of the long queue, this process continued like a non-ending cycle.

And Suijin who has merged into the Ice mirrors flashed from one mirror to the other at a frightening speed that was difficult to match.

Looking from a distance, this queue of the Ice Mirror appeared as if it is a speeding train!

"This…!?" – No one expected the bounty-nin in front of them to use such a method and it undoubtedly left everyone stunned.

Sandaime was the fastest to recover and took the lead in using the body flicker technique to try to catch up to him.

Sandaime's actions were like a signal, and the large number of Konoha Anbu immediately recovered from their stupor and followed after him, the Dog and Monkey mask Anbu were obviously no exception to this.

And since Watanabe's corpse was in the hands of the bounty-nin, therefore, Kumo ninjas also had no choice but to follow as they can't show any signs, that might allow the discerning eyes to figure out anything they don't want to.

While following Sandaime, the Monkey asked the Dog, "How come, Eagle and Cat haven't come here for so long?"

The Dog was also somewhat confused, after all, usually, once an accident occurs during a mission, Eagle and Cat are the ones to react the fastest, but now that such a big deal happened tonight, and either of them has yet to show up!

Monkey asked again, "That person obviously had the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, why didn't he use Ice Style when fighting us?"

The dog said after a little bit of thinking, "The most likely reason is that he didn't need to, from the way he fought against the two of us at the same time and still had time in his hands, his strength should be higher than what we expect, therefore, we should be more careful of him now!"

Monkey looked at the back of Sandaime at the front of the team and said with laughter, "Hokage-Sama himself is present here, there is nothing for us to worry about!"

...

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Translator's Note: Okay that was a mistake, and I apologize. I did post the correct chapter initially, but during an edit, I mistakenly copy-pasted the previous chapter.

Gomen nasai.

...

In the quiet night, a long curtain of light illuminated by the full moon in the sky flew over the dense forest, making the entire sky dreamy and illusory giving off a surreal feeling; if not for a large number of shinobi in the dark gear chasing after the curtain of light that gave off a chilling cold air.

Upon closer look, one can find that the light curtain leaping over the forest was in fact a long queue of ice mirrors that made the surrounding forest extremely cold.

And the moonlight from the full moon was responsible for giving this queue of ice mirrors a fairy tale vibe.

This queue of moving ice mirrors was obviously, the Suijin specific, 'Ice Release Secret Technique: Straight Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals'

After months of practice and training, Suijin has finally able to fuse the Water Nature Chakra and Wind Nature Chakra and finally mastered the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Of course, the main reason why he managed to do so is the 'Tenseigan Soul Descend Technique.' In not for that, Kuroto wouldn't have been able to personally experience the entire process of using the Ice Release, so learning Ice Release was majorly thanks to the Tenseigan Technique.

After finally attaining the fusion of Water Release and Wind Release into Ice Release, he spent a lot of time and effort studying the mechanisms of the various Ice Release Jutsu over the course of the past few months.

The last lesson from losing the Water Clone-A made him understand that, it doesn't matter if he can't beat the enemy, what's important is that he must always have an escape in every situation; if he can't escape, then all the effort will be worthless.

Why did Namikaze Minato, who grew up later overwhelmed the momentum of the three Sannin, and attained the position of the Hokage?

The reason is very simple, all his strengths, knowledge, weakness, character, charisma, loyalty, and talent aside, it was majorly because of the 'Flying Thunder God Technique,' this technique was thoroughly mastered by him and it gave him control of the entire battlefield.

When to fight, where to fight, who to fight, the option of retreat and everything was in the hands of Yondaime, he had the final say. Making him someone capable of even being able to kill a thousand shinobi alone without suffering any damage.

In the third Shinobi war, in any of the battlefield, if Konoha had a disadvantage, Namikaze Minato had the power to turn that disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one, if the situation was already advantageous then he could expand that advantage infinitely.

The main reason for all this was his mobility.

Therefore, after mastering the Ice Release, Kuroto didn't focus on learning or creating the strongest offensive ice Release techniques that would give him more firepower, no, he spent more effort in learning descent Ice Release Techniques that would increase his mobility.

In the last battle against Sasori, Sasori's ice Release puppet used the Ice Release Technique to make a path and smoothly moved on that track and therefore, easily caught up with him.

Although this type of use of Ice Release can also increase a ninja's mobility, the user would still be restricted by the terrain as treading on a complex terrain with the same mobility could be a bit difficult.

And among the enemy, he faced up to now or might be facing in the future, Obito has the ultimate technique Kamui, grating him as much mobility as he needs, Zetsu can travel through the earth, Pain can summon and un-summon himself, Konan can fly and hide using her Paper Style, Kakuzu can also fly to a certain extent using the thread monsters, there will be Deidara in the future who might also join the Akatsuki, he can fly using his 'Art.' So the mere Ice Track can't keep up with the likes of S-Class shinobi, therefore, Suijin needed another technique.

His 'Yama' form can use the 'Tenseigan Chakra Mode' to hover and fly, 'Hyuga Kuroto' form can use the 'Ryuumyaku Chakra Mode' that he has been trying to master, to fly, so, how can the 'Suijin' form be left without a unique technique that would grant him high mobility?

Therefore, he developed a new variant of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, changing it from a certain kill technique to a technique granting Suijin very high mobility.

And the result was very good, exceeded what he initially expected.

Not only did it give Suijin enough mobility, which is akin to flying, but the Ice Mirrors also grants him high protection against other techniques as breaking the ice mirrors is not an easy feat.

Unless someone can destroy all the ice mirrors at once, it will be difficult to inflict any damage upon him as he could just transfer himself from the fragments to the other mirror as they continuously form.

The only drawback of this technique is that the Chakra Consumption is very high, if this technique is maintained for a very long time, it would cause a serious burden on the user!

'Heh, but that's not a trouble for me!'

After all, the Ice affinity of the Water Clone-B body is very high, and adding the Ryuumyaku Chakra that he has access to, even such a large volume of Chakra consumption is not a big deal for him.

Making it a cheat ability that is difficult to match.

Sandaime who was unable to catch up with the disappearing sight of the bounty-nin had a gloomy face.

As the Hokage, Hiruzen has to consider much more than any average Konoha Shinobi.

Tonight's events must be dealt with extreme caution, otherwise, it would again lead to more trouble for Konoha.

The biggest doubt at the moment was, 'How did he get inside the village without alerting anyone? He couldn't have used this similar Ice Technique to sneak inside Konoha as that would have alerted the barrier! The other question is whether his purpose is really the bounty on Watanabe's head as he says or something else because something leads me to believe that's not the entire story, and the final question is, where did he fight and kill Watanabe, or better yet, how did he get past Team-11!?' – Sandaime's mind was filled with so many questions.

From the report he has received up to now, there were no signs of fighting in and around the mansion where the Kumo delegation was staying, which means Watanabe wasn't attacked there, this also shows that Watanabe who should have stayed at the assigned mansion somehow managed to sneak out of there getting past the Anbu, and there are also no signs of the presence of Cat and Eagle.

All these signs indicate that Kumo undoubtedly had some shady plans, 'I can only hope that it had nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan!'

Hiruzen is also worried whether Uchiha Clan and Kumo would collide together to deal with Konoha.

Although he knows that Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't do something so foolish, he still can't help but worry, because if such a thing happened then Konoha would disappear.

Shaking his head helplessly, Sandaime decided to put away these thoughts for now, and focus on the enemy at hand, looking at his back, he was able to see that chasing at such a fast pace for so long is undoubtedly a burden for the shinobi following him, only the elites have managed to keep up while the newcomers that have only recently joined the Anbu department have been left behind.

The same is also the case with the Kumo ninjas since most of them are Chunin and Genin, therefore, they were all left behind, and only the Jonin closely followed at the end of the team.

Frowning his brows, a trace of helplessness appeared on the aging face of Sarutobi Hiruzen, but that helplessness was soon replaced by a resolute look.

He is the current Hokage, as the Konoha's 'Hokage,' he must not show any weakness and set an example for the rest, otherwise, would only lower the morale of his followers, he can't have his Shinobi lose their faith in his strength!

With that resolute look, Sandaime muttered, "Can't drag any longer!" – Biting his finger, Hiruzen performed the hand seals and shouted, "Ninpou: Kuchiyose!"

"Appear! Monkey God-King Enma!"

Puff…

With a puff of white smoke out came the Monkey God-King, Enma!

After a few ups and downs, the sturdy Ape caught up with Sandaime who didn't stop for even a second, and asked, "Sarutobi, who is the opponent?"

Sandaime pointed at the queue of ice mirrors in the air and said, "The enemy is hidden within those Ice mirrors, he can't be allowed to escape, transform into the Adamantine Staff!"

"Transformation: Adamantine Staff!"

...

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The Monkey King nodded and immediately shouted, "Transformation: Adamantine Staff!"

With another puff of white smoke, the monkey king disappeared.

Almost at the same time, Enma performed the transformation technique, Sandaime leaped high in the sky, it was as if he flew up momentarily.

When the body of Sarutobi Hiruzen was midair, the Adamantine Staff elongated rapidly as it penetrated the white smoke, reached the feet of Sandaime, and extended further at the lightning speed.

The speed of elongation was far beyond the imagination of anyone, and in just a few breaths, Sandaime caught up with the flying queue of the Ice Mirrors.

'Uh… is that also how it works!?' – Suijin saw that Sandaime used the Adamantine Staff and almost caught up with him, and he was taken aback!

Without waiting for Suijin to recover, Sandaime who was just behind the ice mirrors printed some hand seals at a fast pace, took a deep breath, his chest bulging to the limit, and then shouted,

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

WHooooosh!

The moment Sandaime spit out the hot billowing fire Jutsu, the red-hot bellowing fire swallowed the long line of ice mirrors floating in the air.

However, Suijin had already reacted before, the moment Sandaime's seals were completed, he had already used the Water Clone Technique and his Suijin body had already escaped under the fluorescent cover of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals in the moonlight.

Therefore, although the Ice mirrors were damaged, because the Jutsu used by Sandaime was very powerful even though it is just a B-Class Fire Jutsu, Suijin still wasn't swallowed by the flames.

Gently landing on a tree in the forest, Suijin raised his head to see the flames that illuminated the dark forest with orange translucent light and muttered, "The old bones have not deteriorated yet!?"

Sandaime also landed on a big tree on the opposite side not far away, holding the shrunken Adamantine Staff, and stared coldly at Suijin.

Seeing the cold look he was getting, Suijin chuckled, "Hokage-Sama is really very experienced, surprisingly, he forced me to come out of the Ice Mirrors, it appears that you still haven't gotten old, huh, Sarutobi Hiruzen-dono!?"

Sandaime coldly glared at Suijin and said, "You dare to enter my Konoha and cause such chaos, no matter your identity and affiliation, you will not escape today!"

Looking at the murderous intent of Sandaime, Suijin smirked and decided to play with him for a bit. "Don't be so sure, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the person responsible for the Kyuubi's chaos, and the death of Konohagakure's beloved Yondaime Hokage and his wife is still on the loose, your words don't hold much weight!"

"What, you are…!?" – before Sarutobi could ask anything, Sauijin interrupted him, "Hahaha… does that shock you? You want to know more about it, don't you? Too bad Hokage, coz' I ain't giving out anymore!"

Frankly speaking, Kuroto has never liked Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen is unworthy of the epithet, 'God of Shinobi!' After all, his strength is too weak compared to Shodaime-Sama!

How many people are capable of defeating Senju Hashirama in the history of the Shinobi World, even if the Otsutsuki of the mythical era are taken into account?

The answer may not be clear, but one thing is clear, it is that Sarutobi Hiruzen is not among them!

Not to mention, Sandaime acts like an amiable old grandpa, but in actuality, he is a hypocritical old coot, who just silently let Konoha deteriorate, in the name of his personal kindness!

Where was that kindness, when Uzumaki Naruto had to bear the hatred of the entire village!?

Where was that kindness, when Uchiha Itachi had to bear the burden of killing his entire clan, hatred of the only brother he loved so much, and the fate of death as a rogue-nin!?

Sarutobi Hiruzen isn't kind!

If he was, then he couldn't have let such cruelty befall the citizens of his village!

He is just an old coot, who is hesitant to get rid of the tumor plaguing and deteriorating Konoha internally because he believes that the tumor is still necessary for the stability of the village!

Whether in terms of personal strength or character, he is unworthy of being a Hokage!

Calming himself down, Suijin focused at the front, because no matter how weak compared to the Shodaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen is still not someone to be taken lightly, after all, his teacher Orochimaru also suffered so miserably at the hands of Sandaime in the main story, and currently the geezer is a decade younger, not someone Suijin can casually ignore, with the current strength of Suijin body!

Just the Fire Style Jutsu overhead clearly indicates that Sandaime has an immense chakra pool!

Coupled with being hailed as the 'Professor' because of his proficiency and mastery of all the ninjutsu Konoha has to offer, be that Bokijutsu, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Fuinjutsu, Kinjutsu, Juinjutsu, and more!

Anyone with a non-overwhelming strength will feel a headache when dealing with him.

Thinking of this, Suijin suddenly thought, 'I don't know when will Shisui arrive?'

Since he didn't want Sandaime to take the opportunity, so making up his mind, Suijin started printing hand seals, "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Suijin expelled a large volume of water high in the air from his mouth, that cascaded down like a giant waterfall at Sandaime.

Sandaime's expression remained unchanged and he easily avoided the attack by leaping back using the Adamantine Staff.

Suijin naturally expected such a thing to happen and didn't expect the 'Great Waterfall Technique' to cause any harm to the Professor, the only reason he used this technique was that he needed a huge amount of water vapor that would be produced because of the heat left by the previous Fire Release Jutsu used by Sandaime.

Without waiting for a moment, Sauijin printed the hand seals and stomped heavily on the ground with his right leg, "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

As soon as his feet landed, a wall of water rose from the ground and shot high, but Suijin wasn't finished yet, as he put his palm against the high-pressure water wall and shouted,

"Ice Release: Ice Condensation!"

Under the action of the Ice nature chakra, the high wall of water was instantly frozen into an ice wall.

On the other side of the wall, Sandaime stared at Suijin's action with a shocked, and doubtful expression.

He was really shocked at the volume of the Chakra the other party was using in all of his techniques, but he was doubtful as to why would he make an ice wall between the two of them?

It couldn't be that he thinks that just a mere wall of ice will give him the opportunity to escape, right?

However, without giving him much time to wait, feeling the sudden drop in the temperature because of the cold ice wall. Sandaime looked at the sudden darkened sky that hid the full moon behind a layer of dark clouds.

With a thinking expression, Sandaime analyzed, the 'Fire Dragon Flame Bullet' I used heated the air too much, the 'Great Waterfall Technique' he used increased the moisture in the surroundings creating hot vapor, and finally the Ice Wall he used cooled down the rising vapor leading to the formation of rainclouds above us, that will rain at any moment… oh no!'

The clouds were blocking the moonlight and Sandaime immediately, guessed the intention of the enemy, but it was already too late to stop him.

Pitter-patter…

Without making them wait too much, it soon began to rain.

Suijin hiding on the other side of the Ice wall laughed loudly, "Will the one entitled as the 'God of Shinobi' be able to resist the power of nature!?"

At this time, a lot of the Anbu appeared at the side of Sandaime.

Looking at the huge ice wall before them, everyone had a solemn expression!

The arrival of the Anbu made Suijin frown and immediately said, "Hokage-dono, I suggest that you better send away these miscellaneous fishes, or…" – Suijin didn't need to speak any further, as he knew Sarutobi Hiruzen was wise enough to understand what could be the consequences if not.

Suijin doesn't want to kill the Anbu ninjas, after all, everything he is doing is to make sure that the damage Konoha suffers is the least, and if he; himself was to kill the Anbu Shinobi, then there would be no point in doing everything!

Besides, Suijin is already tired of keeping his strength on the same level as Sandaime, he isn't sure whether he would be able to control his strength to the level that he doesn't hurt the Anbu members.

Sandaime also knew what it means to fight an Ice Style shinobi on a rainy day, and understands that the Anbu wouldn't able to do much in this level of battle, therefore, he told them, "Step back!"

Some of the Anbu tried to retort,

"Hokage-Sama, please let us fight him!"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama, it is our duty to protect Konoha from the likes of him!"

"We will not let the 'Will of Fire' we inherited from our predecessors to be trampled upon, nor will we let some bounty-nin, disrupt the peace that so many of our own died for!"

Sandaime shook his head, "It truly warms this old man's heart that each of the Konoha Shinobi inherits the 'Will of Fire' in their hearts, but let your Hokage protect you this time, the enemy is not someone to be taken lightly, I do not wish for my people to die before me, therefore, you will all spread around to make sure he doesn't escape, while I will personally deal with him! This is an order!" – The majestic momentum displayed by Sandaime left everyone in awe, and they subconsciously couldn't refute Hokage-Sama's command.

All the Anbu members, including the Hokage Guards, spread far away in a huge circle, enclosing both Sandaime-Sama and Suijin within it.

Although everyone was far away, each one was at the battle-ready state. If there was even a single moment where the fight turned against the favor of Sandaime-Sama, they wouldn't hesitate to kill the enemy!

At this moment, Sandaime turned towards Suijin and said, "I guess I am grateful towards you for not killing any of my Shinobi, as a sign of my thanks I will give you a chance to surrender yourself peacefully, you will not be killed, that I can assure you!"

Suijin shook his head, "Thanks but no thanks, I am fine as I am!"

With a sigh, Hiruzen's gaze hardened as he said, "In that case, this old man will finally have to move his old bones to bring you down for disrupting the hard-won peace that so many of my Shinobi died to bring!"

"But the question is, can you?" – Suijin asked.

"You will know soon enough!" – Sandaime said.

"I guess, I will!" – with that said, Suijin nodded, and printed the hand seals, "Be careful Sandaime Hokage-dono!"

"Humph!" – Sandaime coldly snorted, while holding the Adamantine staff at the back.

Suijin completed the hand seals as an icy cold Chakra swept the entire battlefield,

"Ice Release: The All Killing Rain!"

The Icy cold Chakra violently exploded with Suijin at the center, all the raindrops falling from the sky momentarily halted in their path and turned into countless sharp Senbons!

...

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Looking at countless Ice Senbon hovering in the air, Sandaime had a look of surprise, although he had expected something similar to happen; when the thing really happened, he couldn't help but have a solemn expression.

Such large-scale ninjutsu is nothing short of an S-Class technique that can instantly turn the tides of a battlefield.

At this moment, Suijin indifferently waved his hand vertically downwards.

Instantly following the command, the countless hovering Ice Senbon shot downwards towards the forest and Sandaime like high-speed bullets, causing a rain of icy cold explosions.

Sandaime didn't wait any longer and immediately shouted,

"Earth Release Barrier Technique: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"

With a roaring sound, the mud, gravel, and rocks rose from the earth forming a self-repairing barrier that protected Sandaime inside it from the rain of Ice Senbon.

Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha… Sha…

By the time, the Earth Prison Dome took shape, the countless Ice needles hovering in the air broke the speed of sound and shot at it with an exploding momentum.

Boom… Boom… Boom…

Crash… Crack… Break… Whoosh… Freeze…

Wherever the Senbons hit, the deep pits will be left on the grounds, the trees were broken into small wood chunks, the Earth dome itself continued collapsing and repairing.

Although the Senbons themselves aren't very strong, when they hit their target at the speed of breaking the sound barrier, then there isn't much that can be sustained in the face of such an attack.

The Earth Dome however kept breaking and repairing at an astonishing speed, Sandaime, who was hidden inside the Earth Dome Prison, pressed his hands on the dungeon wall and actively poured his Chakra with everything he had to maintain the barrier.

But it was getting difficult as each Senbon will burst with chilling cold air, freezing the surrounding area.

The surrounding Anbu looked at the battlefield from a distance with horrified expressions, they all had a gloomy look under their masks, only now did they understand that why Sandaime-Sama ordered them to not intervene in the battle.

If they had to resist such a barrage of countless Ice Senbon, they would undoubtedly die!

Even the Kumo ninja's gaze flickered.

Similar to the Konoha Anbu around him, he really didn't expect the strength of the Bounty-nin to be so high that even the Sandaime Hokage, known as the 'God of Shinobi' was having trouble dealing with him!

"The identity of this bounty ninja is not ordinary, this matter must be reported to Raikage-sama, as soon as possible!"

In the Shinobi world, every powerful ninja deserves the attention of major shinobi villages, not to mention, the one in front of them who can even make the 'God of Shinobi' have so much trouble.

At this point, Kumo Jonin paid more attention to mysterious bounty-nin's every move.

On the other side of the encirclement ring, the Monkey mask Anbu crouched on the tree looking at the battlefield, and muttered, "He is really so strong!"

The face of Dog mask Anbu was also dignified, no matter how much he overestimated the strength of the mysterious bounty-nin, he still didn't expect it to reach such a high level.

However, Hatake Kakashi wasn't one of the best analysts for nothing and easily understood that the terrifying Ice Release ninjutsu was cast using the power of nature, therefore, he wasn't much scared by the scene and pondered how to be able to crack it!

…

In the Konoha Village.

A member of the Uchiha Clan quickly located Uchiha Shisui, who still stayed near the assigned mansion, and asked the detail about Watanabe's kidnapping.

Naturally, Shisui wouldn't be telling the truth, so he gave the excuse of not knowing the exact details and only casually said a few words.

The Uchiha ninja didn't have any doubt about the information, Shisui is an Uchiha highly respected within the Uchiha Clan, as everyone knows, an Uchiha wouldn't betray his Clan. So, he said casually, "The Patriarch has summoned the Police Force, and is about to hunt down the Bounty-nin who attacked the Kumo head ninja!"

Shisui was startled, as most wouldn't expect the Uchiha Clan to help out in the internal matters, given the situation they have been put into.

Calming his surprise, Shisui inquired "Was it an order from Hokage-Sama?"

The Uchiha ninja shook his head, "No, Sandaime-sama has long set off to hunt down the bounty-nin, himself!"

Hearing this, Shisui froze, instantly his thoughts turned, and after casting a Genjutsu on this Uchiha Shinobi to make him forget seeing Shisui here, Shisui disappeared without saying anything more.

…

On the Battlefield.

Suijin who was hiding behind the cover of a massive Ice Wall saw that Sandaime used the Earth Prison Dome that is generally used to trap the enemy, to trap himself inside the enchantment for the protection against the All Killing Rain.

'Hooh, now that is somewhat impressive, to say the least!'

The Earth Dome Prison indeed turned out to be a good Jutsu to prevent the damage from the All Killing Rain, but Suijin knew that it actually wasn't the best choice, and if not for him to not cause too much damage on the Dome, because he doesn't want to kill the Hokage-Sama, Sarutobi Hiruzen might have suffered some serious injuries.

And Suijin can be sure that Sandaime also realizes this.

After a while, the Rain of Ice stopped, and the Earth Dome barely managed to get by.

As soon as the All Killing Rain stopped, Suijin noticed in his Byakugan vision that Sandaime printed some hand seals as the Dome mud fell.

"Which ninjutsu is he using now?' – Suijin frowned, although he has seen a lot of ninjutsu, it is still far from the level of the one known as the Professor of ninjutsu!

Only a moment later, Suijin understood as he saw Sandaime's Chakra invading the earth, and only a moment later, his feet staggered and fell inside.

The Jutsu Sandaime used is the 'Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!' As a result of which the ground beneath his feet has become a muddy swamp that swept his feat, and as soon as his body sunk a little the mud started becoming sticky trapping him inside it.

"That's it then!" – With that understood, Suijin allowed his body to sink within and quickly printed the hand seals, "Ice Release: Freezing Wave!"

The moment Suijin shouted, an icy cold wave swept over causing the 'Swamp of the Underworld' to be frozen.

Suijin, whose body was half trapped inside the frozen ground breathed a sigh of relief but found that Sandaime had already rushed over towards him with the Adamantine Staff.

With a Chakra flush, Suijin managed to break free of the frozen ground.

At this time, Sandaime has already bypassed the Ice Wall and while still in mid-air he waved his Adamantine staff towards Suijin with all the might.

Suijin didn't yet have the opportunity to stabilize his body, but he hurriedly took out two Kunai from the inner part of his sleeves, covered them in Ice to increase the hardness of both Kunai, and tried to resist the attack from the Adamantine Staff!

Since Kunai are made of metal, so it was really difficult to resist the Adamantine Staff, which is as hard as Diamond, but they still managed to block the staff, courtesy to the low temperature, as we all know, metals become harder at low temperature [Basic Physics].

With the ear-piercing golden symphony, accompanied by the sparks upon the collision of metal, Suijin felt the huge force on his hand that even shattered the ice below his feet in a series of spider web cracks because of the force transfer.

Not being able to withstand the whole momentum, Suijin's feet staggered, and Sandaime didn't let that opportunity go to waste and swept a hard kick in Suijin's stomach that sent him flying and collided with the rubble of broken trees.

'Cough-Cough-Cough… Such strength, makes me wonder just how monstrous is Shodaime-Sama's physical strength!?' – thought Suijin while wiping the blood as he still felt the numbness in his both hands because of resisting that blow.

At this moment, Suijin also understood, that Sandaime may look thin and old, but his physical strength is really no joke, coupled with Adamantine Staff, and the high-level mastery of Taijutsu and Bokijutsu, the character description of him being similar to the Son Wukong fits quite accurately, especially with that Adamantine Staff, that is an imitation of the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

With the Suijin disguise, it is difficult for him to overwhelm the Sandaime in close quarters.

Sandaime didn't give Suijin enough time to recover his bearings and shot several shurikens along with printing the hand seals immediately after throwing the shurikens, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

In the blink of an eye, the several shurikens became hundreds and continually increased.

Suijin didn't dare to be careless and quickly printed,

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Straight Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

...

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Looking at a large number of Shuriken shot towards him, Suijin's heart was a little worried, although he knows that the Demonic Ice Mirrors are extremely sturdy, he still can't help but worry, after all, the Shuriken shot by Sandaime isn't an ordinary one but the giant Fuma Shuriken!

WHiiiiish… Whiiiiish… WHiiiiish… Whiiiiish… WHiiiiish… Whiiiiish…

One Shuriken aligns with the Ice mirrors, the momentum was so high that even if the Demonic Mirrors are extremely sturdy, they couldn't withstand it.

The outermost Ice Mirror was cut into two fragments and fell apart.

The Fuma Shuriken still continued on its path and cut through the inner ice mirrors one after another, the cold air released upon the mirrors collapsing was chilling, the Fuma Shuriken enhanced with the Wind Chakra Nature was like a devil's cleaver, and under its sharpness, the inner ice mirrors kept collapsing.

Crack… Shing…

After breaking through seven layers of ice mirrors in a row, the momentum of Shuriken was finally exhausted and it fell to the ground in the face of the eighth one.

As soon as the Shuriken fell to the ground, several cracks spread all over it and it broke into multiple fragments.

Just shows how much power was used in throwing it that even the specially designed shuriken couldn't bear it.

The other Shuriken shadow avatar also caused too much damage to the surroundings as they all faded away into white smoke after hitting their targets.

At this time, the last layer, i.e., the eighth ice mirror also couldn't bear it any longer, and cracks spread all over it, undoubtedly, it managed to resist the Fuma Shuriken, but it still wasn't spared and a large spider-web shape cracks appeared on it.

Suijin who was hidden inside this Ice mirror breathed a sigh of relief, 'Thank goodness, it was finally blocked!'

However, he didn't seem to have enough time to be relieved, as the last Ice mirror was shattered into countless fragments with a crisp sound by the Adamantine Staff.

Suijin fell out of the ice mirror and spurted out blood, at the same time, Sandaime didn't give the enemy any opportunity and pressed his hands on the ground after printing some hand seals.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's Chakra flooded the mud, and under his command, the mud was like a snake that rose up rapidly and wrapped around Suijin's body in its grip, trapping him instantly, and restricting his movements.

Sandaime still wasn't finished, as he extended the Adamantine Staff and the Monkey King Enma's arm, which appeared out of the front end caught Suijin by the throat, giving him no chance to breathe.

With Suijin caught, Sandaime walked over slowly and said, "Finally caught yo-!"

However, he didn't have time to finish, as an eye appeared on the Adamantine Staff and the voice of the Monkey King Enma came out, "No Sarutobi, this is a clone!"

"What!?"

As soon as, Sarutobi's words fell, Suijin's body turned into water that froze rapidly and exploded into Ice Spikes that shot out in a three hundred sixty degrees circle.

Sandaime barely jumped up using the adamantine Staff and avoided the Ice Spikes.

Landing on the ground with a backflip, Sandaime observed the battlefield.

At this time an Anbu member shouted loudly, "Hokage-Sama, something is coming at your nine o'clock!"

Sarutobi's expression turned sharp, and he immediately lifted the Adamantine Staff and blocked an attack that even sent him flying because of the huge momentum it carried.

Regaining his balance, Sandaime looked over and found nothing at the sight, however, the fact remains that he was indeed attacked, and yet he is unable to see the enemy!

'What was that just now? Where did he go?' – thought Sandaime with a frown.

"Hokage-Sama, he is coming from your right!" – Another voice of the same Anbu came.

Unsurprisingly enough, Sandaime suddenly felt the sharp wind coming from the right and hurriedly blocked in the same way, and again he saw nothing and was again sent flying!

Most of the Anbu ninjas watching this were shocked, it's like something invisible is attacking Sandaime!

The same thing kept happening, the same Anbu ninja kept giving directions, and Sandaime kept trying to defend himself yet it seemed as if no one was able to understand what was happening!

Sandaime, who tried again and again but failed to defend thought at this moment, "It's as if he has gone invisible-! Wait, invisible! That's it, but how did he become invisible, and why is Dog able to see his tracks!? Does he possess another Jutsu to turn himself invisible?" muttered Sarutobi, as he was sent flying to the other side of the battlefield and heavily collapsed in the rubble.

The Anbu ninja had cold sweat on their foreheads, couldn't fathom just what in God's name was happening here.

Sandaime came out of the collapsed rubble while wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the battlefield with sharp eyes.

At this time, a sound resounded on the battlefield, "What do you say, Sandaime Hokage-Dono, would you like to continue? Or shall we put an end to this farce?"

"I have understood the principle of the technique you have been using!" – Said Sandaime as he rotated the staff in his right hand.

"Oh, do enlighten me?" – Came out Suijin's curious voice.

"It is simple actually when one calmly thinks about it, somehow, you are able to change the characteristics of your body from opaque to translucent and then lower the refractive index of your body to that of the surrounding air, this way, no light is reflected or refracted from your body, making you invisible, isn't that right!?"

"Hohoho, as you'd expect from the one known as the 'Professor' your analysis ability is really beyond incredible!" – Suijin said as if he was genuinely impressed.

"This also explains why only one Anbu is able to see and understand what is going on, you can make yourself invisible, but you can't hide from dojutsu that can see chakra itself, can you!?"

"Sigh, unfortunately, I am unable to, but I still have a huge advantage over you, as you don't have either of the two dojutsu Konoha is famous for!" – said Suijin with a mocking tone.

These words greatly irked Sarutobi Hiruzen, indeed he doesn't have them, and yet never felt the need, never thought that he would be facing an opponent that only someone with dojutsu will be able to deal with.

"So, what do you say, Hokage-dono, would you like to continue or shall we put an end to this farce!?"

"This old man has just warmed up; I can keep going!" – said Sandaime with a confident smile.

Seeing that smile, Suijin's face darkened.

As early as he used the Ice Mirrors to defend against the barrage of Shuriken Shadow Clone, Suijin used that opportunity to cast Water Clone Technique and it was the water clone that hid inside the Ice Mirror, while he; himself changed the opacity of his body to make it translucent ice and then lowered the refractive index to match that of air, this requires a great deal of chakra.

Suijin was inspired to create this technique from the other similar techniques like Gekko Hayate's 'Transparent Escape Technique,' 'Dustless Bewildering Cover' of Nidaime Tsuchikage Mu, and other similar camouflage techniques.

Anyway, after using the Ice Camouflage, Suijin hid away and waited for the attack of Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to end, since he didn't actually want to kill or injure Sandaime, he had to be careful with his attacks, initially thought that once Sandaime realizes the severity of the situation, he would end this farce, but Suijin was expecting too much, it appears, that as a Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen can't afford to back off, in front of his Shinobi as that would lower their morale.

Honestly, he wants to retreat, but Sandaime isn't giving him enough opportunity.

Thinking of this, Suijin deactivated the Ice Camouflage technique and appeared before Sandaime, waving an Ice Staff that appeared to be similar to that of Sandaime's Adamantine Staff.

Looking up, Suijin saw that although the clouds were no longer there, the night still appeared gloomy.

'Huh, just how much more troublesome this matter will become?' – thought Suijin with a soft sigh, Suijin calmed his mind and thought of the ways to retreat.

…

At this time, Uchiha Shisui, in his cat Anbu gear kept running towards the direction where the battle between the said mysterious bounty-nin and the Sandaime-Sama was taking place.

With his fast speed, Cat encountered many Anbu colleagues who were also rushing towards the site of the battle.

Through some casual inquiry from those Anbu members, his doubts not only didn't disappear but were further increased.

'A bounty-nin with Ice Release Kekkei Genkai!? But it was Kuroto-san who took away Watanabe's body!' – he thought doubtfully.

Initially, he thought that Kuroto-san himself was being hunted down by Hokage-Sama and the Anbu elites, so he hurried over, although he knows that with Kuroto-San's strength, even if he fought against the combined might of the entire Anbu force, he wouldn't be defeated.

But Shisui also knows that Kuroto-San, can't go all out against the shinobi of his own Konohagakure, therefore, Shisui was incredibly worried and hurried over!

And now that he heard the Anbu Shinobi mentioning an Ice Release user, he was increasingly confused, because Shisui doesn't think that Kuroto-San uses Ice Release, does he?

'Does that mean this bounty-nin is someone else helping us out? But if that's the case, then where is Kuroto-San? Regardless of who this person is, as long as he isn't an enemy, I have to hurry and help him out!' – With this thought, Shisui used the Body Flicker technique and his speed became so fast that not even an after-image was left behind.

The other Anbu looking at the disappearance was also amazed, 'Who was he?!'

After a while, he finally arrived on the battlefield.

However, Shisui didn't actively venture on the battlefield, nor did he revealed his presence to the other Anbu Shinobi guarding the periphery. Instead, he hid in the canopy of a tree far away and looked at the battlefield carefully.

On the Battlefield, at this time, Suijin and Sandaime were engaged in battle.

Because Suijin had used all sorts of Water Style and Ice Style Jutsu, therefore, the entire battlefield was filled with mist, water, and ice.

Seeing this scene, Shisui muttered, "Sure enough, Sandaime is fighting a bounty-nin who has the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai." – After conforming to this, Shisui hesitated whether he should intervene, and if he should, then which side should he help out?

It stands to reason that as a Konoha Shinobi, Shisui should assist Sandaime to capture the bounty-nin, but if the bounty-nin was entrusted by Kuroto-San to help in dealing with Watanabe's corpse, then Shisui isn't sure.

If the bounty-nin is captured, and if he is carrying the dead body of Watanabe, then the fact of Watanabe's death at the hands of the Hyuga patriarch will be exposed.

If the truth is exposed, then Kumogakure will take the initiative to pressure Hokage-sama, and Konoha will be in the dilemma to either sacrifice the Hyuga patriarch or go to war with Kumo.

Shisui doesn't want Konoha to go through either of the situations, therefore he has only one option left.

"For the sake of the peace of the village, this bounty-nin must not be captured!" – After making up his mind, Shisui calmed himself and put on a black cloak.

With that done, his figure disappeared and came to the side of two Konoha Anbu guarding at the periphery.

"Who is-!?"

The two Anbu were startled by the sudden presence next to them, but before they could react, both of them fell asleep.

After dealing with two Anbu, Shisui looked at the battlefield. With a retreat route secured, he immediately jumped to the canopy of the tree and immediately shouted,

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

In an instant, a huge sea of fire exploded out from Shisui's mouth and covered the entire battlefield.

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The sudden sea of fire from the periphery of the encirclement circle stirred up the situation on the battlefield.

With his rich experience, Sandaime knew that resisting such a large-scale fire release ninjutsu is not a wise action and, therefore, he sank on the ground slightly, and extended the Adamantine Staff to make a high backward leap, and dangerously avoided the sea of fire.

Suijin on the other hand smirked and made a few hand seals, his chest expanded to the limit, and shouted, "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

The sea of fire collided with the huge waves of water that led to the formation of water vapors, and the entire battlefield was instantly covered by mist.

Suijin could instantly make this move was because, in his Byakugan vision, Suijin noticed Shisui's arrival the moment two Anbu ninjas were put to sleep, therefore, the moment, Shisui used the Fire Style Jutsu, Suijin used that opportunity and covered the entire battlefield in water vapors.

The dense cover of mist didn't hinder his Byakugan vision, and after disappearing from his spot, Suijin immediately flickered next to Shisui and whispered lightly, "Come on, let's go!"

Shisui however, put a knife at the throat of Suijin, and asked in a deep voice with his Mangekyou Sharingan spinning and Chakra brewing in those eyes, "Who are you!?"

Suijin was left speechless and flicked Shisui's forehead in annoyance, "Is that how you are going to talk to me now!?"

Shisui was confused, and then as if realizing something he asked carefully, "A-Are you Kuroto-San!?"

"Well, yeah!" – Nodded Suijin, and added, "Don't be in a daze, if the old man catches us, let alone us, even the Hyuga and the Uchiha Clan will be in great peril!"

"B-but, when did you learn, Ice Release!?" – Asked Shisui as he followed after Suijin.

"Not too long ago!" – Suijin just lightly answered.

And the two people disappeared away in the thick cover of mist.

…

In the middle of the Battlefield.

In the thick cover of fog, Sandaime's face gradually turned gloomy.

The night is already very dark, making it difficult to look through eyes, and now the battlefield was covered in thick mist, not to mention the enemy has a Jutsu that turns him invisible, therefore, Sandaime has to be very cautious.

What's more, the sudden appearance of Fire Release Jutsu shows that the enemy has accomplices with him, and if that's the case then how many, is there only one or are there more than one?

Is the strength of the accomplice the same level as this bounty-nin?

So many questions, and each more worrying than the other!

What's more, the timing of the use of Fire Release and Water Release Jutsu was in tacit coordination, this shows that the thick cover of mist was a planned tactic!

The mysterious bounty-nin was already so tricky if others of his level are present here, then Sandaime isn't sure whether he can deal with them or not!

He has to also ensure his personal safety, given the current situation of Konoha, if anything happens to him, then he is sure that a civil war will erupt in Konoha, which will burn the village!

…

The Anbu ninja noticed such a change in the battlefield, and now that there were signs of another enemy, they couldn't watch it anymore and broke into the battlefield one after another.

In the thick cover of mist, the members of the Hokage Guard Platoons shouted, "Hokage-Sama, where are you!"

Now that the Anbu members have entered the battlefield, Sandaime immediately instructed, "Everybody standstill, nobody will move from their position!"

The Anbu shinobi is also no novice, they understand that the enemy wouldn't hesitate to take the advantage of the cover of thick mist and attack them, so following Sandaime's orders, they all stood at their spot.

At this time, Sandaime who was observing his surroundings vigilantly formed hand seals,

"Wind Release: Passing Typhoon!"

When Sandaime finished the seal, an extremely powerful gust of wind blew away the mist, and in a short while, the view of the battlefield cleared up.

With the disappearance of the aerosol, Konoha Anbu recovered the vision of the battlefield; soon discovered the position of Sandaime-Sama, and gathered around him.

Sandaime looked around and frowned slightly when there was no presence of the enemy around.

Sandaime turned towards the Anbu with the Dog mask who shook his head indicating that the enemy was no longer present here.

The previous use of Fire and Water Release Jutsu was a very tacit one and the enemy was easily able to get rid of the siege.

"Did anyone see the person who used the Fire Ninjutsu?" – questioned Sandaime.

The two Anbu who were previously put under Genjutsu by Shisui hurriedly stood up and reported, "Please forgive us Hokage-Sama, it was our incompetence that led to this situation, an enemy suddenly appeared next to us, he was wearing a mask and used a Genjutsu on us!"

"Genjutsu!?" – When Sarutobi heard this, his frowned expression deepened.

In the crowd, the Anbu ninja with the Dog mask also thought about what that implies.

The Anbu present here are all elites, even the weakest are High Chunin class at the very least, and if the opponent can use Genjutsu to subdue two Anbu ninja in an instant, then the opponent has to have an incredible mastery of Genjutsu.

Although no one said it, everyone had only one word in their mouth, 'Uchiha?'

At this time someone asked, "Was it a visual Genjutsu?"

The Anbu captain approached Sandaime and lightly whispered, "Hokage-sama, maybe an Uchiha!?"

Sandaime glared at him and sternly said, "Don't make a random guess without any solid evidence!"

Although the identity of the attacker is unclear, even if it is an Uchiha Shinobi, this kind of matter cannot be spoken in the presence of Kumo ninjas.

The Anbu Captain immediately apologized, "Please forgive me!"

Sandaime sighed and angrily asked the Dog and Monkey masked Anbu, "Where are Eagle and Cat!? Wasn't Team-11 responsible for the protection of Kumo Delegation, where are the two of them!?"

Just because there is was no one with the Byakugan on the encirclement field, the attacker easily approached the battlefield, therefore, Sandaime was more annoyed at Team-11.

Being the Captain of Team-11, Dog could only lower his head and explain, "Our Team-11 was divided into two groups for the mission, Eagle and Cat were in that group, maybe they are more enemies, and they were caught up in dealing with them!"

Sandaime commanded, "Find out about their situation now, we need Byakugan to chase after the enemy!"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama!"

At this time, one of the Hokage guards whispered lightly, "Hokage-sama, the Uchiha patriarch is here together with the Uchiha Police force!"

Listening to the guard's words, Sandaime turned towards the direction of the village and observed the Kumo Jonin from the corner of his eyes.

Not long afterward, Uchiha Fugaku led the geared-up Konoha Police Force to the battlefield.

Noticing Sandaime standing in person surrounded by the Anbu, and no presence of the Bounty ninja, the faces of the Uchiha elites had clear traces of contempt for the Hokage faction's failure.

Uchiha Fugaku came to the side of Sandaime and after a courteous greeting, he said, "Hokage-sama, we heard that Kumo delegation was attacked, so we came to support the Anbu in search and hunt!"

Sandaime swept his gaze across the members of the Police force and nodded with a smile, "Very good, with the police force here, rounding up will be easier, Racoon, give a brief over of the entire situation to the Police Chief!"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama!" – As per the orders, an Anbu with the Racoon mask, briefly explained the entire situation to Uchiha Fugaku and also explained the abilities displayed by the enemy until now.

"A master of Water Style, and Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, and the other one uses Fire Style and Genjutsu?" – Uchiha Fugaku didn't care too much about the ninja with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, because in the eyes of the proud Uchiha Clan, Ice Release is just and ordinary Kekkei Genkai, not worth too much concern, but when he heard the Anbu mention another one with powerful Fire Style and Genjutsu mastery, Fugaku frowned slightly.

Everyone knows that the Uchiha Clan is best known for being good at Fire Style and Genjutsu.

Additionally, Fugaku also received the report about Uchiha Shinichi joining a bounty-nin organization, and now that he heard such a piece of information, he couldn't help but wonder whether it is Uchiha Shinichi, who he has been searching for quite some time!

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'Is it Shinichi?' If what Fugaku guessed is correct then he no longer needs to continue to contact the Kumo Delegation.

With that thought in mind, Fugaku quickly said to Sandaime, "Hokage-Sama, please allow the Konoha Police Force to assist in the round-up and hunt of the enemy!"

Since the Uchiha Clan has already arrived, Sandaime no longer has any reason to refuse Fugaku's request, he nodded with a light smile, "Very well, with the assistance of Konoha Police Force, there will be no shortage of manpower during the round-up!"

With that decision, Sandaime divided several teams to search the various directions and he too went in a direction.

Konoha's Anbu and the members of the Uchiha Police Force didn't voice out any opinion once their leader reached an agreement and followed the arrangements as per the orders.

Kumo Jonin groaned for a while and he decided to follow the Hokage and see how the situation turns out.

…

On the other side.

Shisui ran along with Kuroto and couldn't help but ask again, "Kuroto-san, how did you use Ice Release?"

Theoretically, it isn't impossible for a shinobi to master the fusion of two or more Chakra Natures, however, the probability of such a thing happening is too low because it's not an easy feat, therefore, it's regarded as almost impossible.

Kuroto sighed, and said again, "We'll talk about this later when the current trouble is solved." After a short pause, he asked, "Since you knew that Sandaime personally came to catch the culprit, why did you come so late, if you didn't show up when you did, things would have become more troublesome!"

Shisui was a bit guilty and said, "Sorry, I didn't know that Hokage-Sama personally went to catch the culprit, it was sort of unexpected."

Kuroto sighed and shook his head helplessly, let alone Shisui, even he didn't expect Sandaime to personally take the initiative and hunt down the Bounty-nin, but now that he thinks about it a little, it does seem reasonable.

Officially, the leader of the Kumo delegation who is a guest of Konohagakure was kidnapped and killed in Konoha Village, although it wasn't a Konoha Shinobi, however, Konoha does have a responsibility for the death of Watanabe, in such a situation Sandaime has to show a serious attitude and nip the bud in the right sense.

"Forget it, even I didn't expect Sandaime-Sama to personally take action!" – said Kuroto.

Shisui thought about the scene just a few moments ago and said with some worry, "Kuroto-san, I am afraid that Hokage-sama might discover that it was me who just interfered in the battle!"

Kuroto shook his head and said, "Don't worry, it's not so easy for him to reach that conclusion, at most Sandaime-sama may suspect that it was a shinobi of the Uchiha clan, which would imply that the Uchiha Clan is colluding with the outsiders."

Listening to Kuroto's words, Shisui turned back and said with a frustrated look, "Kuroto-san, you really aren't comforting here!"

Kuroto sighed and said with a straight look, "Shisui, it's about time you stop being naïve before you suffer hard!"

Shisui was a little confused, "What do you mean?"

"You and I both know that Sandaime-Sama is very much aware of all the movements the Uchiha Clan is trying to make behind the scenes, even the recent attempt to make contact with Kumo delegation wasn't hidden from him, and I think that you too realize that the main reason why you are being kept in Anbu is so that you don't support the ideology of the Uchiha Clan if the situation gets worse."

Shisui fell into silence.

Kuroto continued, "The movements of Uchiha Clan have become more active, and these movements aren't hidden from the Anbu, the fact that the Uchiha Clan has been buying a large number of weapons and explosive tags is well known to the Konoha elders, in fact, even the elites of our Hyuga Clan are somewhat aware of these things."

Shisui didn't know what to say, he was really sad and disappointed with how things were turning.

At this time Kuroto asked in a puzzled manner, "I have always wondered; if the Uchiha Clan knows that they are being watched, then how can your clan let such a serious matter be exposed? If the intentions of a Coup d'état are already exposed to the Konoha Council, will it even succeed?"

This thing has always puzzled Kuroto.

In Kuroto's view, before you are absolutely ready and confident, you must not show or expose even the slightest of intentions, and only when it is the right opportunity, you should strike a decisive blow and seize the position at once, if this approach was used by the Uchiha Clan, then things would have turned out much differently.

Shisui said lightly, "In fact, there were still many of the clansmen who are resistant to the idea of Coup d'état, but after Shinichi defected, their thoughts have also started to change, so the situation has started to get increasingly messy."

Just one Uchiha, who has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan easily broke through the Root Base and turned the village upside down, not only that, Uchiha Shinichi easily got rid of the hunting and round-up organized by the village.

With how much uproar Shinichi caused, the Uchiha Clan deeply felt the weakness of the Hokage faction.

'The Village is far from being as strong as it used to be, we have a great advantage!'

This thought has deeply taken root in the mind of most Uchiha Shinobi and is also casually spoken in almost every Uchiha Clan meeting.

If it is said that before only the radicals of the Uchiha Clan were insistent on the Coup d'état for being excluded from the power center of Konoha and wanted to take the risk.

Then after Shinichi's defection, even the pacifists have started to have other thoughts, because they find that there is a great possibility of the success of the rebellion.

Kuroto jokingly said, "So that's why the Uchiha Clan is so insistent in finding the whereabouts of Uchiha Shinichi and bring him back?"

Shisui nodded helplessly, "Yes, the Patriarch seems to have such intentions."

Kuroto said thoughtfully, "Well he is right to think that with three Mangekyou Sharingan users, taking over the village would be incredibly easy, but will his indecisive temperament really choose the option of Coup?"

"Three pairs!?" – Shisui was startled and spoke, "Y-you don't mean that e-even the patriarch…? Even F-Fugaku-sama has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan!?"

Kuroto nodded, "It isn't surprising, he should have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan long ago, after all, he too is a legendary shinobi, the 'wicked-eye Fugaku' is no inferior to the 'Yellow Flash' it's just that his credit in the war was curbed, otherwise, he was an equally strong candidate for the seat of the Yondaime Hokage! And since, the higher-ups of the village were always distrustful of the Uchiha Clan, so he chose to not reveal his Mangekyou Sharingan, after all, Uchiha Madara left deep shadows in the heart of all!"

At that time, Fugaku faced a situation where the Yondaime couple was alive, two of the three Sannin were also present in Konoha, and finally, Sandaime, as well as Danzo, were also in the village, therefore, it was best to not reveal his Mangekyou Sharingan.

But now the situation is entirely different, Yondaime couple is dead, Orochimaru defected, Jiraiya is hardly ever-present in the village, moreover, there are also Shisui and Shinichi of the Uchiha Clan who have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, so stopping the momentum of the Uchiha Clan is hardly possible for the village.

The difference in the overall strength is eminent.

Shisui was at a loss at this moment, all he could see was the sight of the Uchiha Clan rebelling.

Shaking his head to shut the horrifying thought, Shisui quickly said, "Kuroto-san, you promised that you would help me out, right?"

Kuroto nodded and took out a storage scroll from the inner pockets of his cloak, and passed it to Shisui.

Receiving the scroll, Shisui took out the contents, only to find a midnight black cloak with various designs on it, it looked very similar to what Kuroto-san was wearing, with the only difference being the center of the chest part, there was a symbol of Fire Chakra Nature, instead of the Water Chakra nature.

Then there was an evil spirit mask with flame patterns.

Looking at the articles he received, Shisui looked at Kuroto in a confused manner.

Kuroto said, "Put this on, from now on, you are an official member of 'Amatsukami' and your alias will be 'Homusubi' the 'God of Fire.'

Shisui was more confused, "Amatsukami? Homusubi? What do you mean Kuroto-san?"

Kuroto smiled lightly, "You asked a way to save the Uchiha Clan, didn't you? I am giving it to you!"

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Holding the mask and the cloak in his hand, Shisui asked in a confused manner, "How is it going to save the Uchiha Clan?"

Kuroto said, "The tension between the Uchiha Clan and the Hokage faction has become increasing day-by-day, the dissatisfaction towards the village is growing among the Uchiha, if the village doesn't change, the Uchiha won't stand for it much longer, if the village changes so will the Uchiha, but if the Uchiha don't change, neither will the village, as long as the two sides distrust each other, things will only get worse!"

"So, what do you suggest Kuroto-san?" – asked Shisui.

"Using, Kotoamatsukami can indeed solve the problem but it may not be the best option, therefore, we have to work our way with a different approach."

"And what is that?"

"For now, we can only delay the conflict as much as we can and wait for the situation on both sides to change!" – Kuroto said.

"How to delay the conflict?" – Shisui asked while replacing his cloak with the one Kuroto gave.

Kuroto pointed at the mask and said, "Find them a common enemy!"

Looking at the mask in his hand, Shisui muttered doubtfully, "You mean the 'Amatsukami'?"

Kuroto said, "The alias for this disguise I am wearing is 'Suijin,' a member of 'Amatsukami,' already famed in the Black-Market Circle, tell me, if the Bounty-nin named 'Suijin' change the body of Watanabe with the bounty on his head in the Black-Market Circle, what do you think the Konoha Council will do about it?"

Shisui replied immediately, "If you really managed to do it despite the hunt and round organized by Hokage-sama, then the village's reputation will be deeply affected, and if that happens, Konoha would put all their effort to hunt you down!"

"Yes, the village will put all their effort, from putting a heavy bounty on Suijin's to sending hunter-nin, just to kill the culprit responsible for the death of Watanabe!" – after a short pause, Kuroto continued with a smile, "That's it, come on let's completely offend the leaders of the strongest Shinobi village!"

"And then?" – asked Shisui with a frown.

Kuroto looked directly into Shisui's eyes and said, "It's obviously not enough to just offend the Hokage faction, therefore, next we will offend the Uchiha Clan, start by getting rid of some of the most radicals."

"What!?" – Shisui was taken aback and looked at Kuroto with an incredulous expression, "You want me to kill the shinobi of my own clan?"

Looking at Shisui's expression, Kuroto said coldly, "That's why I asked, when will you grow out of your naïve nature?"

"I…" – Shisui opened his mouth but no words came to him, being unable to retort Kuroto's words he could only lower his head.

Using force to stop the rebellion of the Uchiha Clan is taboo for Shisui, for that very reason he hasn't yet used Kotoamatsukami because it would mean a betrayal if such a day comes, he will undoubtedly use but he would rather not want to retort to such measures.

And Kuroto's words directly pierced the taboo in his heart, and Shisui has to face it, as no other option seems possible to curb the rebellion.

Looking at Shisui, who seems hesitant Kuroto said, "If you don't make up your mind only annihilation awaits the Uchiha Clan!"

Shisui argued, "Hokage-sama wouldn't do it!"

Kuroto shook his head, "You are wrong Shisui, Sandaime-sama wouldn't want to do it." Kuroto continued after a short pause, "But if the Uchiha Clan makes the first move, Sandaime wouldn't be merciful, let alone the Uchiha shinobi, even the elderly, women, and children will all be killed without a second thought!"

If the Clan rebelled, no matter which shinobi village, they wouldn't be merciful.

Even in the Rebellion of the Kaguya Clan, the authorities of Kirigakure weren't any merciful and wiped away the entire clan only leaving one kid who was taken away by Orochimaru, before they could deal with him.

Shisui understands that with just Fugaku and the Uchiha elites, the Coup will never succeed, he doesn't know what are Shinichi's intentions, but he knows that he doesn't support the idea of Coup d'état.

Moreover, even if he supports the Uchiha, Shisui knows that even the combined might of the Uchiha Clan will not be able to face Kuroto-san.

Obviously, the strength displayed by Kuroto for only a few seconds during their mission to destroy the Kumogakure warehouse in the Land of Lightning has been deeply engraved in Shisui's mind.

Therefore, compared to the idea of the entire clan being wiped out, Shisui seemed more acceptable to clean out the most radicals.

After some hesitation, Shisui finally sighed and asked, "Then… h-how many people do you suggest be killed?"

Kuroto thought a little and said, "Kill until the entire Uchiha Clan is madly pointing their weapons at Amatsukami." – Kuroto's idea is straight and simple.

Slap the face of the top authorities of the village, ridicule, and anger the Uchiha Clan, therefore attracting resentment from both sides to Amatsukami.

Anyway, the so-called, 'Amatsukami' is just an empty shell organization that Kuroto made up, therefore it's most suitable to attract the hatred of both parties.

Shisui held his head in distress, "But I… I can't do it; how can I kill my own clansmen!"

"If you are worried about that, then you have to think of it in the manner that it is not Uchiha Shisui who is doing such a thing but Amatsukami's Homusubi." – Kuroto continued after a short pause, "If you are still reluctant to be the one killing them, then let me take care of that part"

Every Uchiha Shinobi with a fully matures Sharingan is valuable.

One will generally find the Uchiha with the fully mature Sharingan to be the extremist and radicals, after all, if one doesn't even have the necessary strength then how can they voice out their opinion actively?

And since these radicals are harmful to both the village and the Uchiha Clan, so torturing them should not be a problem, right?

Shisui was silent after what Kuroto said, finally making up his mind, he asked, "Will this method really save the Uchiha Clan?"

Kuroto nodded without any hesitation, "That is something I can guarantee."

After all, this method is tried and tested. Even in the original story, when the five great villages were pushed to a desperate state by the Akatsuki Organization, the five villages were left with no choice but to put their individual hatred aside and form a coalition in the name of 'Shinobi Alliance' to fight the threat.

Therefore, this method has been tested and can obviously be used here.

Getting a positive reply from Kuroto, Shisui grit his teeth and finally put on the 'Homusubi' mask.

With Shisui's acknowledgment of his new secret identity, Kuroto smiled and patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, I assure you that you would never regret this decision."

"I hope so, Kuroto-san." – said Shisui.

"One thing to keep in note, never call the other member by their original name when you are wearing this disguise, so currently you are 'Homusubi' of the Fire Chakra Nature or better yet, God of Fire, and I am 'Suijin,' of the Water Chakra Nature or better yet, God of Water also, '-san,' '-chan,' '-Kun,' '-sama,' '-dono,' etc will not be used, just simple and straightforward alias, understood?" – Kuroto.

"Understood, Suijin!" – said Homusubi.

"Alright, now that, that's clear, we will be going to the Black-market bounty exchange shop." – said Suijin.

Homusubi nodded and the both of them disappeared from their spot.

Suijin thought of something and said, "When we start with the radicals of the Uchiha Clan, make sure to pick out pair of siblings as the priority target."

"Why?" – Homusubi asked in confusion.

Suijin thought about it a little and didn't reveal the real reason and said casually, "Eliminating sibling pair should have a much greater impact."

His real purpose is obviously to torture out the siblings with fully mature Sharingan to see if the both of them awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, and if they do awaken, then obtain a pair of Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

Since the probability of such a thing happening is too low, therefore, Suijin didn't explain it.

But after the idea was born, Suijin felt that it was worth trying.

Throughout the story of Naruto, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke were the only two people shown to have ever awakened the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, so the probability is extremely low.

But it's not a bad idea to try it, after all, an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan although not comparable to his Tenseigan and the Rinnegan, is still worth it…

...

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Rushing all the way for the entire night, Suijin and Homusubi soon arrived at the nearest Black-market bounty exchange branch.

The Bounty Exchange branch is a large stone house with a wooden pier. The pier looks very dilapidated with only a few fishing boats around. It seems as if the place has been abandoned for a long time.

Standing at the gate of the Black-market branch, Homusubi hesitated for a while and asked "Suijin, do you really want to exchange Watanabe's body for the bounty on his head? Are we not going a bit too far?"

Suijin just calmly stated, "We are enacting a show here so we should not leave it halfway."

"But…" – Homusubi was a bit worried.

Suijin glanced at Homusubi and questioned, "Hey, you don't happen to think that I care about the 50 million Ryo bounty on his head, do you?"

"Of course not!" – Homusubi quickly waved his hands.

Suijin nodded with a snort, "How could I care about a mere 50 million Ryo?" – and continued after a short pause, "Since we are the members of Amatsukami, a bounty-nin organization, we have to follow the behavior pattern of a bounty-nin, just imagine, if a real bounty-nin worked hard to kill his/her target but in the end didn't exchange its corpse for the bounty, wouldn't that be suspicious?"

Homusubi nodded, "Now that you mention it if the village were to find about this, they will definitely be suspicious of our objective and identity!"

"That's it!" – patting Homusubi's shoulder, Suijin continued with a smile, "To not leave any flaws, we must exchange Watanabe's corpse for the bounty on him, only in this way can the village put the blame of death on the bounty-nin organization, Amatsukami, and then claim that Iwagakure is responsible for issuing such a high reward. As for the mere 50 million Ryo bounty, 'it's obviously not important'" – The last part was said with a particular emphasis as if Suijin was justifying his actions.

If Watanabe's corpse doesn't flow into the Black-market circle, Kumo will remain doubtful whether Watanabe was really killed by bounty-nin.

But once Watanabe's corpse has flowed into the Black-market circle and it is confirmed that a third party was responsible for the death of their Head ninja, no matter how much they want to blame Konoha they can't pressure the village to hand over the culprit, after all, even if Konoha showed a bit of neglection, the main responsibility still falls in the hands of the bounty-nin who killed and Iwagakure who put the bounty.

Looking at the gloomy entrance of the stone house, Homusubi sighed and said, "Alright, but I still don't want to go in."

Suijin didn't care and said, "That fine, so you can stay outside and keep watch, I will come as soon as I finish the exchange."

…

On a small boat not far from the pier.

Sasori of the red sand wearing the Akatsuki traditional black cloak with red clouds print; glanced at the corpse placed on the corner of his foot and said with a frowned expression, "Can't you put this corpse in a sealing scroll? It's almost rotting!"

Kakuzu replied with a gruff tone, "Why bother, we will be there soon enough."

"Humph, I must change the partner after dealing with Orochimaru!" – Sasori snorted and turned to the side.

Sasori feels upset when he looks at Kakuzu who has absolutely no understanding of art and doesn't care about anything aside from money, the more he has been traveling with Kakuzu, the more annoyed he has been getting.

In Sasori's view, any corpse is a great puppet material, so when he watches the corpse before him gradually rotting and smelling, it makes him feel displeased.

Kakuzu didn't care about Sasori's complaint and was looking at the bingo book in his hand to decide on the next target he will be eliminating.

Suddenly Sasori sitting on the boat stood up and looked in the distance with a cold expression oozing out killing intent.

This didn't go unnoticed by Kakuzu and turning to look in the direction Sasori was looking, he found a figure wearing a very similar outfit he remembers very well.

…

Inside the stone house.

Suijin took out Watanbe's corpse from the storage scroll and placed it on the autopsy table.

"If it isn't Suijin-sama, what are your gains this time?"

The bounty master of the exchange office greeted Suijin with a respectful smile.

The name of Amatsukami has become very famous in the Black-market Circle ever since Suijin's last face-off against the members of the Akatsuki organization, everyone knows that Amatsukami is a very strong organization, and it would be wise to not offend them.

Suijin curled his lips and said, "How about you see it for yourself?"

How can the bounty master dare to disobey? He quickly took out the bounty book and matched the identity of the corpse with the one on the reward page.

With just one glance, the bounty exchange master was stunned, "He… he is the leader of the Kumo delegation responsible for the signing of the peace treaty between Konohagakure and Kumogakure!"

The huge reward of 50 million Ryo is not a common occurrence even in the Black market, therefore, for people like Watanabe to have such a high bounty, almost every Bounty Exchange Master knows about him.

Noticing the Bounty Master's shocked face, Suijin said lightly, "Sigh, in order to bring him, I had to actually fight the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, it was a really troublesome job."

"You… you r-really… have no…" – The bounty Master wanted to say 'no scruples,' but didn't dare to. After all, this person dared to kill and cause trouble for two of the great shinobi villages at the same time, who can be more foolish than him?

Seeing that the other party was left speechless, Suijin urged, "Hurry up with the verification and process the payment."

Coming out of his stupor, the bounty exchange master nodded and quickly verified the identity of the corpse.

Not long after, he said cautiously, "Suijin-sama, according to the regulation, 10% of the reward will be charged as the processing fees, you see…"

However, before, he could continue, Suijin interrupted him midway, "Don't waste my time talking this nonsense, just process the amount after taking your cut, I have better things to do than to entertain you here."

"Yes-yes, I will immediately complete the processing." – Understanding that Suijin has no intentions of breaking the black-market circle rules, the bounty master breathed a sigh of relief and got busy with the work.

Although there is a descriptive code of conduct of the Black-market circle, the really strong individuals often tend to ignore these rules. And since Suijin didn't have any intentions of breaking the code of conduct, the bounty master was undoubtedly relieved.

Soon after, he brought out a wooden box carrying the processed amount in cash.

Receiving the box, Suijin coldly said, "In the last payment I received, many bills were worn out and damaged, this time it won't happen, right?"

Bounty master shook his head quickly and said, "There will no such problems, you can check it out to make sure!"

Suijin activated the Byakugan and carefully scanned the box, and found that the bills were indeed fresh this time. Giving a nod, Suijin prepared to leave.

However, at this time, he suddenly sensed the presence of two huge chakra sources that came outside the stone house.

…

At the gate.

Seeing the two ninjas in similar outfits aggressively coming towards him, Homusubi asked carefully, "Who are you two?"

Sasori sneered, "Hmm, it isn't the Suijin we were looking for…"

Although Homusubi didn't know the previous grievances between the Akatsuki and Amatsukami, the open hostility expressed by the opposite two was obvious to him, so again asked, "What do you two want to do?"

Looking at the different patterns on the face and the mask, Kakuzu questioned, "Are you another member of Amatsukami? But you don't look very strong at the first glance!"

At this time, Suijin walked out of the stone house, but his eyes were not looking at the two people of the Akatsuki Organization, rather, he was more focused on the forest past Kakuzu and Sasori.

Out came Sandaime Hokage together with many Konoha Anbu towards the bounty exchange branch…

...

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"Shit!" – Cursing heavily while looking at the incoming monsters, Suijin placed the wooden box containing money in front of Sasori and Kakuzu and quickly took out a storage scroll from the inner part of his cloak to seal the money.

Kakuzu glanced at the familiar box and judging by the size alone, he calculated the possible amount it contained and said, "It seems that you took care of a rather good target!"

While Kakuzu was looking at the box of money, Sasori's attention was on the left arm of Suijin.

'Huh? His left arm was obviously cut away by me, did he attach a fake arm or did he possess a technique to regenerate the said arm?'

In the previous battle between the two, Sasori used his Ice puppet to cut Suijin's arm as well as severely injured the other party, not he sees that the rm seemed to be perfectly intact, so he couldn't help but be surprised.

While sealing away the cash box, Suijin said with a smile, "The two of you will have to forgive us for the upcoming trouble you will be facing!"

Sasori said with a frowned expression, "What do you mean?"

His words didn't fell and the sound of breaking wind appeared from the woods at the back.

And with the sound of breaking wind, the Anbu as well as the Uchiha Police Force shinobi came out of the woods.

The person leading them was none other than Sandaime with his Adamantine Staff in his hand, followed by Uchiha Fugaku, the patriarch of the Uchiha Clan.

Both Kakuzu and Sasori were taken aback by the sudden appearance of such a large force.

Sarutobi Hiruzen may have been getting old, but his reputation is unquestionable.

And even if Kakuzu and Sasori are lawless and rebellious, both of them still have to be very careful in the face of the 'God of Shinobi' and the 'Wicked Eye.'

Puff…

With a cloud of white smoke, the wooden box was sealed in the scroll by Suijin and placed inside the inner part of his Amatsukami Cloak.

After doing the work, Suijin said to Sandaime with a chuckle, "Hokage-dono, I advise you to be careful before you make any move, all four of us are here are Kage level shinobi, it would be better that you think this through."

Hearing Suijin's warning, Sandaime observed the two and instantly the identities of the two flashed were confirmed, 'Kakuzu, S-Class missing-nin from Takigakure, and Sasori of the Red Sand, S-Class missing-nin of Sunagakure…"

Kakuzu has been alive and working as a bounty-nin for decades already, so his information is not that hard to find, and has been recorded in the archives of Konoha, and Sasori is the famous genius puppet master of the Sunagakure puppet brigade, so Sandaime easily recognized the both of them.

While Sandaime was observing the two members of the Akatsuki, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes fell of Homusubi.

Being watched by the Patriarch, Uchiha Shisui, who was wearing the Homusubi disguise was very guilty and nervous, his heart almost came out of his throat, he didn't expect that not only would Sandaime chase, but even the Uchiha Police Force would catch up so quickly.

Neither Kakuzu nor Sasori are idiots and understood that the two members of Amatsukami have probably offended and caused some big trouble that even led the Sandaime Hokage to personally chase after them. At the same time, they were also thinking about how to make their way out of this trouble as staying here would be rather troublesome.

Noticing Kakuzu and Sasori's expression, Suijin said, "I am afraid to scare you by revealing this, but I sincerely believe that there is something you must know before you decide on your further actions Hokage-dono."

"And what is that, your last wish before death?" – Sandaime questioned coldly.

"I am afraid not, but it is of grave importance, you see, the person next to me, the young-looking kid with red hair is Sasori of the Red Sand, I am sure you know this but what you may not know is that he is responsible for assassinating the Sandaime Kazekage of Sunagakure, and is an indirect fuse to starting the third great shinobi war, in fact, you will more surprised to hear that he turned the corpse of the Sandaime Kazekage into a human puppet!"

"What!!!???" – Everyone couldn't help but shout in shock.

"And that's not it, the person with the corpse in his hand is one of the strongest and most experienced shinobi, and probably the oldest one to be currently alive, a member of the Akatsuki Organization, and I am sure you would again be surprised to hear that he attempted to assassinate the Shodaime Hokage-dono of Konohagakure!"

"Nani!!!???"

Hearing Suijin's description of Sasori, everyone exclaimed in shock but hearing the deeds of Kakuzu, the Anbu elites, members of the Konoha Police Force, the Uchiha Patriarch, Sandaime, as well as, Homusubi exclaimed in shock.

As the elites of Konoha, they have more or less heard the names of the two S-Class missing-nin, but the fact that one is responsible for the death of the strongest Kazekage and the other attempted to assassinate the Shodaime Hokage, this is the first time they heard such a piece of serious information.

Not to mention, Anbu and Police force, even Sandaime and the Uchiha Patriarch were highly surprised.

The inexplicable disappearance of Sandaime Kazekage has been a mystery for a few years now, and it was the disappearance of the strongest Kazekage that Suna blamed Konoha and declared war in the name of revenge.

Hearing such critical information, even Uchiha Fugaku has to pay attention to Sasori and Kakuzu.

Suijin suddenly held his forehead and said with a fake tone of guilt, "Ah, I am sorry, I forgot that Konoha and Suna are allies, it seems that I shouldn't have leaked such important information!"

Konoha has already been under pressure from Kumo, now they can't afford to let go of their ally i.e., Sunagakure.

Therefore, Sandaime must catch the culprit responsible for the death of the ally's missing Kazekage, because if he doesn't it would be difficult to explain this to the Yondaime Kazekage and seek assistance from Sunagakure in the future.

With every word that came out of Suijin's mouth, Kakuzu and Sasori's expression turned gloomier.

When Suijin mentioned them killing Sandaime Kazekage and attempting the assassination of Shodaime Hokage, both of them were very surprised and suspicious, they understood that Suijin knows the information about their shadows but couldn't figure out how he knows that?

Sandaime observed the four and finally made up his mind.

One side is the combination of the two missing-nin who attempted the assassination of Shodaime Hokage-sama and killed the Sandaime Kazekage of the allied village, while the other side is the combination of two unknown individuals who dealt with just a mere head ninja of Kumogakure, now that he has encountered such a choice, Sandaime will obviously not allow the first party to escape, there is not even a matter of consideration and the choice is clear.

With that decided Sandaime took a deep breath and shouted, "Don't let the two of them escape!"

With Sandaime's order, the opposite side rushed here, Suijin turned towards the two Akatsuki members who were fuming at him and said with a chuckle, "I am grateful for the two of you acting as decoys for us and hope that you two make it through alive!"

""You bastard!!!"" – cursed Kakuzu and Sasori.

Suijin raised his hand to say thank you and then flickered at the side of Homusubi and whispered lightly, "Let's go!"

Instantly, Suijin and Homusubi ran in one direction.

Uchiha Fugaku's attention was on Homusubi from the start to end, he obviously thought that it was Uchiha Shinichi wearing that disguise, although he couldn't understand how come Shinichi has been acting so quiet, whatever may be the case, as soon as Suijin and Homusubi broke out in one direction, he led the Konoha Police Force and chased after them.

Seeing that the Uchiha Patriarch went after the two, Sandaime led the Anbu members towards Sasori and Kakuzu.

Sasori and Kuroto glanced at each other, and after nodding to each other, both of them turned around and fled in the opposite direction, even the corpse Kakuzu was carrying was discarded and thrown aside.

Homusubi glanced back and noticed Uchiha Fugaku at the tail and questioned in a panic, "Suijin, w-what should we do next!?"

Suijin noticed that Sandaime-sama led the Anbu members to chase after Kakuzu and Sasori, and sighed in relief, "Don't worry, let's just introduce Amatsukami to the prideful and arrogant Uchiha Clan!"

Homusubi nodded but with a great amount of guilt. Although he has made up his mind to take action against the extreme radicals of the Uchiha Clan, when the time really came, he still had hesitation in his heart.

Sighing heavily, he made up his mind inwardly, 'The one doing this is not Uchiha Shisui, but Homusubi, the member of Amatsukami!'

Repeating this sentence several times in his mind, he finally hardened his eyes.

With that decision, two battle circles gradually opened up, the two members of Amatsukami were in the middle of the dense forest, while the two members of the Akatsuki fled downstream along the river.

With Sandaime too far away, Suijin immediately said to Homusubi, "We can start!"

After immediately turning around Suijin printed several hand seals and shouted,

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Homusubi also flickered, stepped on the great waterfall, and directly pounced on Uchiha Fugaku.

...

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Ding…

A piercing sound of metal clash echoed.

Homusubi leaped backward and landed on a tree, he noticed that a large part of the Kunai blade was missing and several cracks on the metal extended up to the handle.

Turning his head to look in the opponent's direction, Homusubi noticed that the short knife in Fugaku's hand was undamaged, meaning that the sword is of a high grade, which is not strange considering that Uchiha Fugaku is the patriarch of the Uchiha Clan.

At this time, Fugaku who was holding the short knife looked up as his eyes turned red with three black tomoe spinning in them.

The brief confrontation just now was a loss of Homusubi, but Homusubi didn't suffer any damage because of the timely retreat.

All the Uchiha Clan members who have awakened the fully matured Sharingan are generally masters of Taijutsu, good with almost all kinds of weapon, as Sharingan allows the user to easily replicate any kind of technique with perfection as long as the physique of the user is up to it.

At this time, Suijin printed the hand seals and pressed his hands on the flowing water waves, and shouted, "Ice Release: Freezing Wave!"

Whiiish…

Instantly under the influence of cold Ice nature Chakra, the water of the Great Waterfall previously used by him instantly froze turning the surrounding forest into a cold field.

Suijin can obviously create such an effect by directly using the Ice Release, but he has found that by first using the Water Style to create a large source of water and then use Ice Style to freeze the said water consumes less Chakra than the direct use of Ice Release with the similar effect, which is why using a Water Technique to fill the surrounding battlefield in water has become a sort of habit for him.

The Uchiha shinobi all leaped away from the incasing cold ice, and looking at the giant field of ice, not only were they not afraid or shocked but more excited and more zealous to fight.

"Patriarch, you don't have to action, let us be the ones to deal with these two!"

"Yes, just two bounty ninjas, this would be a perfect exercise!"

"Sandaime has really started to get old, he couldn't even solve two bounty ninjas!"

The geared-up elites of the Konoha Police Force, either had one hand over their waists or crossed over their chest, each one more confident than the other.

The Patriarch Uchiha Fugaku had a frowned expression.

He clearly felt signs of Uchiha's fighting skills in the short clash just now with Homusubi.

Although the other party tried his best to cover it, Fugaku was able to see through courtesy of his experience.

Listening to the unscrupulous taunting and teasing from the elites of the Konoha Police Force, Suijin sneered, "Ne, Homusubi, we have a lot of Uchiha here, it's a good opportunity to gouge out some of their Sharingan, don't you think?"

The best method of offending the Uchiha is by trampling over their pride, the Sharingan is the pride of the Uchiha Clan, so speaking about gauging out their Sharingan is the most effective.

Homusubi knew that Suijin was deliberately angering the Uchiha clansmen but still felt a bit uncomfortable by the straight-off approach. Sighing lightly at his helplessness, he nodded nonetheless.

On the opposite side, the faces of the Uchiha elites changed as if they had been cursed.

In normal times, Uchiha may have not been so offended as they are now, but with how they are being treated in the village, their anger was instantly raging and fuming.

"You want to die so badly!?"

"Scumbags, you dare eying the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan!"

"That's it, you both will die here, even Sandaime will not say anything!"

Fugaku ignored the clansmen's shout, stepping forward to look at Homusubi, he questioned, "Who are you, people?"

"Hooh, might it be that the Uchiha Patriarch is interested in who two meager bounty-nin are? I think we should be proud of such an achievement and as a sign of gratefulness I would definitely like to introduce, I am Suijin, and he is Homusubi of the Amatsukami, we are what you may refer to as bounty-nins/mercenary, as long as it is for money, we are willing to do anything, would you like to give us some task?" – replied Suijin.

Uchiha Fugaku pondered for a moment and asked tentatively from Homusubi, "Are you Shinichi?"

Homusubi was a bit surprised that Fugaku mistook him for Shinichi but shook his head.

Suijin said, "I am afraid that you are mistaking us for someone else Uchiha patriarch, no one with the name Uchiha Shinichi is part of our organization."

Fugaku had a thoughtful expression upon hearing the reply, although, he is still not sure whether both of them are speaking the truth or not.

The Konoha Policemen couldn't hold back anymore because of the constant disrespectful tone of the other side, said, "Patriarch since that person is not Shinichi, then there is no further need for hesitation, after mocking the great Uchiha Clan, they can never be forgiven and must be dealt with the appropriate measure!"

Uchiha Fugaku suppressed his doubt as his eyes turned cold and he nodded silently.

That was the signal the Uchiha Elites needed and suddenly took action one after another.

"Fire Release: Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

The three leading Uchiha elites were divided into three sides, the one in the middle used the Fire Ball Technique, the one on the left used the Dragon Fire Technique, while the one on the right used the Phoenix Fire Technique.

The three-fire-style Jutsus were released instantly rushing towards Suijin.

Suijin obviously didn't dare to be careless and immediately sealed,

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A tall wall of water immediately rose from the grounds that covered Suijin and Homusubi, protecting the two from the three fire Jutsu.

Boom… Boom… Boom…

The three fire ninjutsu collided with the water wall creating the roaring sound of water vapors that enveloped the field.

The thick layer of mist again covered the battlefield.

With the Byakugan activated, Suijin warned Homusubi, "Be ready, they are coming!"

Homusubi nodded he knew better than anyone that these elites are nothing to be taken lightly!

Whiiish… Whiiish… Whiiish…

Both of them were ready, suddenly the sound of Shuriken cutting through the wind reached Suijin's ears.

Suijin did a backflip and caught six of the shuriken with extremely perfect ease while still in mid-air and shot them back the moment he landed back on the ground.

Almost the same moment Suijin landed on the ground, two figures jumped out of the mist and rushed towards him, one with a large broad sword while the other that wrapped thin metal chains over his knuckles.

Suijin had already noticed their arrival and tapped his foot on the ground as an ice wall rose to momentarily block the incoming Uchiha with the chains, Suijin then created an ice Adamantine Staff which wasn't as strong as the real Adamantine Staff but was useful nonetheless and used it to block the incoming sword slash from the sword carried by the other Uchiha.

Blocking him midway, the two started a battle of Kenjutsu vs Bokijutsu.

The opponent is a proficient Kenjutsu user and Suijin was able to keep up with his movements courtesy to the Byakugan, which allowed him to see the flow of chakra of the other party.

At this time, there was a red light that flashed a glimmer of scorching heat coming from the side and the rising mist, Suijin understood that the enemy's plan.

With the fireball coming to his side, the Kenjutsu user increased the intensity of his strikes, intent on not giving any opportunities for him to dodge and the great fireball swallowed the both of them.

The three Uchiha standing nearby glanced at each other, when one of them, the one in the middle asked the one on the right, "Did it work…?"

Before he could answer, a figure appeared out of the mist and punched him in the gut sending him across.

The two Uchiha didn't need to be signaled as they pounced on him with their respective weapons.

On the other side, Homusubi led the battle deeper into the forest as the Uchiha also chased after him.

Not far away Uchiha Fugaku along with the other Uchiha elites stood on the canopy of a tall tree with his hands crossed over his chest looking at the two battlefields with deep concentration.

The resounding symphony of the metal collision, fist, and feet collision from time to time, the scorching heat of the Fire Jutsu, the chilling cold of the Ice Techniques, thundering Lighting, and splattering mud made the battlefield extremely chaotic, and he could judge that the battle was indeed quite fierce.

"It seems that the two of them are indeed good!"

The elite Force that Fugaku brought with him consists of 17 Jonin Class Shinobi, with an absolute advantage in numbers besieging the opposite team, Fugaku wasn't worried, but the result was still a bit unexpected.

"Humph, even if they are somewhat good, but they still won't be able to defeat all the elites!" – muttered Fugaku.

Although the strength that the other party displayed surprised him, Fugaku still wasn't worried, besides it's not like the Fog is the 'Hidden Mist Jutsu' therefore, the Uchiha are perfectly capable of seeing through it.

...

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Being forced to separate from Homusubi, Suijin was under the siege of multiple Uchiha at the same time and didn't have time to take care of any thought then to defend himself.

After ducking down to avoid a heavy punch from the burly Uchiha, Suijin turned around and punched him heavily in the ribs, at the same time, kicked his left knee to trip the balance of the other party, with the Uchiha almost losing his balance, Suijin's ice-covered hand was rushing towards opponent's throat.

Whiiiish…

But before he could pierce through, the sound of kunai cutting through wind sounded and Suijin had to lean back to safely avoid the attack.

Although Suijin leaned back he was able to see the thin metal wire tied to the Kunai.

Immediately afterward, the metal wire was slammed backward, entangled the burly Uchiha restrained by Suijin, and pulled him out of the direct attack range.

"Tch!" – Annoyed for being letting the prey escape, Suijin clicked his tongue and printed the hand seals and shouted, "Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Accompanied by the freezing sound, the crystal clear ice mirrors started appearing on the battlefield one after another.

This time, Suijin used the conventional technique, so the ice mirrors appeared in a hemispherical shape, the sheer number of mirrors was so high that it covered a large part of the battlefield inside.

Every Ice Mirror is an extension of his Chakra; therefore, he was able to sense everything within the territory, giving a subtle yet not so similar effect as that of the Byakugan perception.

While Suijin was able to effectively able to cope up with the situation quite well, Homusubi was having a hard time, the teachings he has been indoctrinated with from his childhood are restraining him from lifting his blade against fellow villagers and clansmen, so when fighting against the fellow villagers, he was only able to use about thirty to forty percent of his strength, and that too only for parrying and dodging.

In this regard, both Itachi and Shinichi are undoubtedly much better and would never let their teaching affect their combat power.

But then again, they are different people with different ideologies.

The sudden appearance of so many ice mirrors immediately attracted the attention of the members of the Konoha Police Force.

One of the Uchiha elite who has previously dealt with such a Jutsu immediately shouted out the warning, "Everyone, be careful, this ice Jutsu is very troublesome!"

One of the shinobi who is particularly proficient in Fire Release said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of these mirrors!"

Said, and in an instant, he printed his hand seals and released a burst of flames that were as hot as boiling lava.

Boom…

Out came the explosive sound when the flames collided with the ice mirrors but much to the surprise of many there was not even a tiny water droplet on the ice mirror, indicating that neither the heat was enough nor was the impact enough to break the ice mirror.

The main reason for this is that the surrounding ice was constantly lowering the temperature of the forest, therefore, the fire style Jutsu was not up to the task.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Realizing that just Fire Style isn't going to work considering the cold surroundings, two Uchiha shinobi combined together and used a combination technique of Fire and wind to flame the fire.

With the added boost from the Wind Style Jutsu, the Fire Dragon was really gigantic and fiercely pounced on the ice mirrors, easily smashing through them in one fell swoop.

Just when the Uchiha elites were trying to break free of the ice mirrors siege, Suijin hiding inside them was not idle.

He traveled from one mirror to the other like a ghost and swopped out knocking out one individual after another.

It is said that the speed of traveling from one mirror to the other is instantaneous, or better yet, light speed, which is obviously not true otherwise the Sharingan wouldn't able to capture the movement, but even if his movements were being captured by the Sharingan, Suijin was still able to knock out the members of the police force one after another. Although he had to endure some injuries, nothing too serious

At this time, Uchiha Fugaku, who hasn't yet moved from his position and was standing outside the Demonic Ice Mirrors formation frowned.

The muffled sound of people falling one after another, made him realize the seriousness, now he even started to doubt that the two bounty-nin could escape from Sandaime-sama, perhaps not just because of luck.

Finally decided to take action, Fugaku quickly printed the hand seals and shouted,

"Fire Release: Fireball Technique!"

Boom…

A raging flame ball pierced through the sky, engulfing the ice mirror completely, the heat of the flame was so high that it almost melted the entire top in a moment.

Whoosh…

As soon as a gap appeared in the formation, the figure flickered and firmly landed on the ground.

With Fugaku's arrival, the Uchiha gathered around the patriarch, supporting each other, and their heads down due to the embarrassment of not being able to deal with just two bounty-nin even with such an overwhelming advantage of numbers.

Fugaku didn't look away just said indifferently, "Retreat, I will deal with the two of them!"

The Shinobi no longer hand their previous arrogance and stepped back one after another leaving room for the patriarch.

Fugaku looked at the two bounty-nin on the opposite side and said in a deep voice, "I seem to have underestimated the two of you, but this is as far as you go…"

Suijin smiled softly, "I…" – he was about to say something…

However, before he realized the surrounding became black and white, everything disappeared, and even the Demonic Mirror Formation that was an extension of his perception was cut off.

All he could see was just a combination of black and white.

'Genjutsu!?' – was his only thought.

There are very few times when Suijin had to deal with Genjutsu, the first was a simple demonstration by the teacher in the ninja academy, the second was by Genjutsu Pill used by Orochimaru to give him certain experience.

Other than these times, nobody bothered to use Genjutsu to deal with small-time chunin. Later he awakened the Tenseigan, therefore, ordinary Genjutsu became meaningless.

Therefore, Suijin doesn't have much experience in dealing with complex Genjutsu. The moment Suijin understood that he has been hit by Genjutsu the first thing to do was cut off his thinking, this could be any type of Genjutsu, and since Suijin didn't know its mechanism, therefore, it was best to not think anything it might give away some information he doesn't want to leak.

And Suijin isn't much worried, there is also Homusubi with him who is actually Uchiha Shisui, and who is Uchiha Shisui?

Uchiha Shisui is someone who awakened Kotoamatsukami, and his Genjutsu shouldn't be any inferior to Uchiha Fugaku and is unlikely to be subdued to Fugaku with just a Genjutsu.

For that reason, Suijin analyzed the Genjutsu spread before him with great interest, 'Is it possible that it is a Mangekyou Sharingan ability of Uchiha Fugaku?'

Even if he is actually using a Water Clone Body, Kuroto's spiritual strength that has gone through Tenseigan awakening is still very high, not something that would easily be affected by Genjutsu, and since Fugaku could take him in a Genjutsu with just a glance, even before Suijin could realize, must mean that what he used isn't an ordinary Genjutsu.

While Suijin was mulling over, a purple Chakra invaded the black and white world from the sky.

"Hmm, this…?" – To Suijin's surprise, the purple chakra gathered more and more, slowly taking the form of a figure, it turned back and faced Suijin

"You are!" – Suijin was really surprised again as he knew what it was.

...

Read up to Chapter - 396 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: /Milta_translations

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Fugaku glanced at Suijin who has lost consciousness but was standing still as if he was a stone statue.

This scene scared Homusubi.

In his cognition, Hyuga Kuroto is the strongest in Konohagakure, even Sandaime-sama may not be as strong as him.

This is why Homusubi didn't expect Suijin to be taken in by Fugaku's Genjutsu so easily.

In shock and panic, Homusubi's three tomoe Sharingan instantly turned into a four-pointed pinwheel.

At this time, Fugaku sheathed the shinobi sword in his hand, at his waist, and asked in a deep voice while slowly walking towards Homusubi, "Answer me, who are you?"

The absent-minded Homusubi glanced at Suijin who was still standing like a rock.

Looking at Homusubi's action, Fugaku coldly said, "Don't bother, he is under Genjutsu!"

Attracted by Fugaku's cold voice, Homusubi turned towards him and noticed the three dots followed by three curves spiraling counter-clockwise around the pupil. Seeing those cold eyes, Homusubi gulped with a guilty conscience and took a step back in fear that Fugaku will figure out that it is him.

Fugaku kept walking forward calmly, giving off an intimidating aura, "You don't need to enact anymore, you may have tried your best to hide it, but your taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, Kenjutsu, all styles have the shadows of Uchiha Clan written within them, others may not be able to see through this, but I am perfectly capable, put down that mask and reveal just who are you, I am still willing to give you a chance to explain yourself!"

Fugaku feels familiar with the person behind that mask and cloak.

Initially, he thought that it was Uchiha Shinichi who defected from Konoha and joined some bounty-nin organization, at least according to the rumors, but after observing the so-called, 'Homusubi' for a while, Fugaku realized that this person is indeed not Shinichi, but he is undeniably an Uchiha, so his thoughts turned onto other possibilities.

'Maybe Shisui?'

But this absurd thought was soon removed from his head because with the upright, loyal and kind nature Shisui has, it is impossible to betray the village no matter how much he suffers, Shisui might not choose the clan over the village but he will never betray both at the same time and join some bounty-nin organization, moreover doing something like killing the head ninja of Kumo delegates is impossible with Shisui's character, firstly because Shisui was responsible for protecting them and secondly because Shisui should very well understand that such an action could lead to war, and peace-loving Shisui wouldn't want to take such risk, just for a meager bounty!

For this reason, Fugaku has been a little confused, he couldn't figure out who could be the person.

In the face of Fugaku's aggressive questioning, Homusubi chose to remain silent.

"Do you still not understand? You have no chance of escaping, seeing that you are an Uchiha, I am willing to look over your actions, but you must show sincerity and reveal yourself, answer my question and take off that mask on your own, else the consequences will be far more disastrous than some light punishment for you." – warned Fugaku.

Homusubi was still silent.

Fugaku sighed, and the next thing Homusubi discovered was that everything around him had become black and white, all the solid materials and view before him was a shade of black and white.

Suddenly a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan with the same pattern as that of Fugaku appeared in the sky.

At this time, an indifferent omnipotent voice resounded in the Black and White World, "It's your last chance, take off the mask and explain yourself!"

Seeing that everything before him becoming pure black and white, Homusubi asked doubtfully,

"What kind of Genjutsu is this?"

The indifferent voice came again, "It's not a complete Genjutsu."

"Not a complete Genjutsu?" Homusubi muttered in confusion.

"Indeed, Taikyokuzu, that is the name of this Dojutsu. In simple terms, it's a Yin-Yang prison world, a semi-genjutsu world. Once your soul enters here, you will fall in an eternal Genjutsu bound by the struggle of good and evil in your heart.

A human has both good and evil in his heart, good and evil constantly struggle for dominance, and this struggle is something humans can not rid themselves of. As long as someone has even a bit of both in their hearts they will never be able to break free of this Prison World.

Once your soul enters this prison world, it will forever be trapped here, thus your body will be devoid of your soul, which is akin to death. But you will not die, you will be alive, bound eternally by the struggle of good and evil in your heart. There is no escape unless I wish for it, or you rid yourselves of either good or evil in your heart, which is impossible. As such there is no esca-." – halfway through the conversation, Fugaku suddenly stopped.

It's because he suddenly found that the black and white which symbolizes evil and good, Yin and Yang, that was about to invade the opponent suddenly dispersed, and the space filled with the caw of countless crows, thousands of crows flew and circled around Homusubi's spiritual body protecting from inside and out.

The omnipotent vice was no longer omnipotent and spoke in a manner of surprise, "Absurd… how is this possible, you are able to break free!… Does that mean you rid yourself of either good or evil? But such a thing is simply impossible!"

"It's actually simple, the Yin-Yang Prison World you speak of is actually the subjects' own spiritual world, what you do is cut off the link of the soul with the body, therefore, trapping the person here eternally in the struggle of two conflicting ideologies, where, one will only question himself.

As you said, a human can not rid himself of either of the two, so there is no escape, as such he is forever trapped here, alive, yet dead at the same time. The black and white are the disordered Yin-Yang energies, they also symbolize conflicting ideologies in one's heart.

The more black, the more evil, the more white the more goodness. A Genjutsu that traps its victim in an eternal struggle of two conflicting ideologies, indeed an extremely powerful Dojutsu. But not something that can not be broken. All I did is cast a Genjutsu on myself to break the struggle in my heart, by doing so, the struggle of conflicting ideologies in my heart disappears, and thus I can re-establish that connection and take control of my own spiritual world, therefore, successfully breaking free." – Homusubi explained.

"But to be able to do that, you must have cast a genjutsu that can change ideologies itself… any normal Sharingan Genjutsu is incapable of such a thing, and would never be able to do change ideology no matter how skilled you are. Which can only mean… don't tell me… you have them too? But if that's the case, just who are you!?" – the omnipotent voice questioned solemnly, "A… Are you Uchiha M… Madara?"

"Uchiha Madara? No, I am not him! I… I am… sigh… I am Homusubi, the one who holds the seat of Fire in Amatsukami!" – This was the moment.

For the peace of village that he loves.

For the glory of the Clan that he loves.

The final hesitation started to disappear, now what remained was the determination to fall, no matter how deeper, for the clan and for the village!

"So, you don't deny that you have the Mangekyou Sharingan!?" – After a pause the voice became furious, "Neither you are Shisui nor you are Shinichi or Madara, then who are you? Why do you have Mangekyou Sharingan? Answer my question, was it you who attacked Konoha and released the Kyuubi? Are you the person behind that disaster? Are you the one responsible for the death of Yondaime?"

It is not just a rumor that Kyuubi was being controlled by the Sharingan on the night of the Kyuubi's attack, Fugaku himself knows that it was true as he witnessed the scarlet three tomoe ring in Kyuubi's eyes. Which signified that Kyuubi was indeed being controlled by someone of the Uchiha Clan.

And Fugaku knows that anything remotely below the Mangekyou Sharingan is incapable of controlling a Bijuu, therefore, he has always suspected that there might be an Uchiha with Mangekyou Sharingan, possibly hidden inside the village or maybe outside the village. There exists a shinobi who bears the name Uchiha and harbors deep hatred towards the clan and the village, at the same time, possess necessary power to be able to cause chaos.

The first guess is obviously Uchiha Madara! Why did Fugaku conclude it to be Madara who is supposed to be dead? Obviously, because Fugaku knows of the existence of Izanagi, therefore, he can not deny the possibility that Uchiha Madara may still be alive, and only Madara possesses enough hatred and necessary power to control Kyuubi and destroy Konoha.

And now that there stands a person before him who has the Mangekyou Sharingan, with the visual prowess superior to him must mean that it is him. But from the behavior of the other party, Fugaku doesn't think that he is Madara, this is because Fugaku's father had told him about what kind of man Madara was or is?

And if this person is neither Madara, nor Shisui, or Shinichi, then who is he?

Fugaku was now seriously angry, it is only because of this damn Homusubi of Amatsukami that the Uchiha Clan has been suffering from all the blame.

In anger, Fugaku put more strength in the Genjutsu, the other party must not be allowed to live anymore. One might be able to temporarily fool himself out of his ideological struggle, but this fooling can never be forever. Within the human heart lingers these struggles, he just has to incite it.

With Fugaku's urging, the pair of Mangekyou Sharingan in the sky started circling along their central axis. As a result, the entire space again started to turn black and white, the white endless ground and the black endless sky, no sign of the horizon as the two seem to never intersect, there were also countless White and black Kanji characters floating above the ground and in the sky. This is Taikyokuzu's dimension, the Eternal Yin-Yang Prison, a prison that eternally restricts you.

At the same time, Homusubi's Mangekyou Sharingan under his mask also started rotating as a trail of blood flowed from his two eye sockets, resisting the eternal prison.

As a result, a tug of war started between the two of the strongest Uchiha.

…

Downstream along the river.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

Amidst the sound of water stepping, a group of Shinobi flew across the river.

While running, Sasori turned his head and glanced back at the Konoha Shinobi following him, as well as the Kunai and shuriken tied with exploding tags as well as other throwing ninja tools being shot towards him.

While continuously running, Sasori didn't stop flicking his fingers that had the Chakra Strings tied to them and controlled the puppet in red robes.

Ding… Ding… Ding…

The puppet waved the sword as per Sasori's directions and all the Kunai Shuriken et cetera were sent off the track so that they would not harm him.

At the same time, the fingers of his other hand flicked, the other puppets controlled by him suddenly opened their mouth and shot out countless Senbon at the pursuers.

Sandaime's face sank seeing this, and he hurriedly used the Adamantine Staff in his hand to block the Senbons shot towards them, the Konoha Anbu officers were also not behind, some simply dodged, some used defensive ninjutsu to block, while the other countered with Kenjutsu or Bokijutsu, and other suitable methods.

Pierce…

Suddenly an Anbu Shinobi who wasn't able to defend against all the Senbon and was pierced by a Senbon that managed to get past his defense fell head-on into the river.

The Anbu next to him didn't wait and immediately helped him only to find that his skin had turned purple, indicating the symptoms of poisoning, having some knowledge of poison, he tried extracting the poison while also warned, "Everyone, be careful of the poison!"

Sandaime shouted at this time, "The Hokage Platoon will stay with me, while the rest will chase after Kakuzu!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" – The Anbu members responded, and chased after Kakuzu.

Kakuzu, who was gradually moving away from Sasori saw the large number of Anbu rushing towards him and cursed inwardly at the two bastards… sighing lightly, he increased his speed and dived into the forest on the opposite bank of the river.

...

Read up to Chapter - 397 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: /Milta_translations

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