Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

"Heave-ho, heave-ho..." Large beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his vision was blocked by the water curtain, but Xiao Li's running steps never stopped. Despite being sentenced to death by his teacher, he did not feel disappointed.

Touching the angel statue in his pocket, Lee's slightly sluggish steps picked up again, like a car with a full tank of gas. He had finally gotten the chance to become a ninja, and he was determined to keep going even if it took a hundred times the effort.

"You've been watching for a while now. Is a kid with no talent really that interesting?" Jue said to Shengren from a large, leafy tree.

"Such talent is rare in this world, yet you don't appreciate it," Sheng Ren shook his head.

He was not moved by Shengren's words at all. He understood what Shengren meant, but over thousands of years, there have been countless people who have worked hard like this, but in the end, how many of them have made a name for themselves in the history of the ninja world? Not one!

Black Zetsu glanced at Lee as he ran, but kids like him were more likely to work hard on a whim, and would slack off after a couple of days once their enthusiasm waned.

The ninja world belongs to geniuses! Just like Sheng Ren opposite him, or Orochimaru whom he came to recruit tonight.

"They're almost here," Sheng Ren suddenly said. Jue sensed the direction Sheng Ren was looking and indeed, a massive amount of chakra was approaching the two of them.

Zetsu glanced at Shengren with apprehension, then turned and said, "Let's go." Shengren grabbed Zetsu with one hand, sensing Orochimaru's location, while forming a hand seal with the other. Whoosh, the two disappeared from the tree and arrived at a quiet lakeside in the next moment.

Three breaths later, a figure leaped out from the forest, flipped over, and landed in front of the two, its eyes as dark as a snake's as it stared at them.

"Orochimaru?" After a long silence, Zetsu took the initiative to speak.

"The Akatsuki?" Orochimaru finally spoke. "What do you want with me?"

"We would like to invite you to join the Akatsuki organization," Zetsu said, while Sheng Ren watched the show.

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, his eyes widening as if watching a farce. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course I know," Jue said calmly. "We are inviting a genius with the potential to change the world to join an organization that also wants to change the world."

Orochimaru's sarcasm deepened: "Change the world? With your obscure mercenary organization? You think you can get the Legendary Sannin of Konoha to join you with your so-called daydream of achieving peace?"

Zetsu wasn't angered by Orochimaru's taunts; instead, he laughed: "That depends on who leads Akatsuki. If it's an ordinary person, it's just wishful thinking. But what if it's someone with the Rinnegan?"

Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted.

Rinnegan!

Legend has it that the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, the progenitor of the ninja world, can belong to either a creator god who opens up the future or a god of destruction who destroys everything.

"How is this possible?" Orochimaru couldn't believe it the moment he heard about the Rinnegan, because even a ninjutsu master like him thought it was just a legend.

But what if it were true? The next moment, a greed called the thirst for knowledge overwhelmed him. He wanted the Rinnegan, and he would do anything to obtain it.

"Why should I believe you?" Orochimaru thought, his heart filled with a mixture of greed and caution, his pupils fixed on Zetsu.

Sheng Ren watched the two of them with amusement. One was luring the other into a trap, while the other was willingly taking the bait. They were truly a pair of star-crossed lovers. He sighed. This was the time to use the information he had obtained.

"It's very simple. You can go and see the owner of those eyes in person. Of course," Sheng Ren paused, took out a document from his black trench coat embroidered with red cloud patterns, and handed it to Orochimaru, "This letter is enough to convince you of our sincerity. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

Orochimaru took the letter, tore it open, and the first line alone made his eyes widen in fury. The letter began, "Respectfully informing the Hokage, the cause of the recent series of disappearances in Konoha has been found: it was the work of Lord Orochimaru of the Anbu."

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he looked at the detailed evidence, repeatedly muttering the name Danzo. Apart from his long-time collaborator, no one could explain his actions so clearly and in such detail. It was truly a case of using someone and then discarding them.

A tiny flame ignited on the envelope, quickly engulfing it. Orochimaru looked at the two people opposite him. "I'll join you."

Zetsu laughed after hearing Orochimaru's words, then took out a ring from his trench coat and tossed it over, saying, "This is the organization's insignia, used to identify members. This 'Void' ring is yours from now on."

Orochimaru took the ring, which was engraved with the character "空" (emptiness). He put the ring on his right pinky finger, and it immediately adjusted to fit perfectly.

"So, what should I do next?" Orochimaru asked, his tone no longer carrying the arrogance he had before.

"First, leave Konoha," Zetsu said. "Your 'comrades' have betrayed you, and Konoha will soon be hunting you down. Go to the Land of Rain; the Akatsuki headquarters is there. Once you get there, someone will tell you what your next mission is."

Orochimaru nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to leave.

"Let's go," Zetsu thought, watching Orochimaru walk away.

"You should go first," Sheng Ren said, somewhat unexpectedly. Jue looked puzzled and said, "Now that the mission is complete, it's only right that we part ways."

Jue looked at Sheng Ren and saw that he refused to explain the reason to him. He immediately became suspicious, but he was helpless because he could not do anything to Sheng Ren. He considered himself to be almost invincible in the world when it came to stealth and reconnaissance, but the person opposite him was the number one in the world.

By spreading the visualization method, Sheng Ren expanded his network of faith to the entire ninja world. Anyone who practiced the visualization method was essentially marked by him. In addition, with his chakra reserves increasing rapidly over the years and his Nine Palaces Divine Travel Technique becoming more and more refined, he can now appear in any corner of the ninja world instantly.

With infrared sensing and instantaneous teleportation, it's safe to say that their defeat was entirely justified.

Watching Zetsu's figure completely disappear into the night, Sheng Ren turned and walked towards Konoha.

As night deepened at the Uchiha compound, most of the Uchiha clan members, including Uchiha Shisui, had already gone to bed.

As a genius of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Shisui was renowned throughout the ninja world as "Shisui of the Body Flicker." He was not only incredibly strong, but also one of the few Uchiha clan members who were not bound by narrow-minded clan values ​​and who cared deeply for the peace of Konoha.

However, this young powerhouse did not sleep well tonight.

In his dream, he saw the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership escalate, saw his close friend Itachi Uchiha struggling painfully between his clan and the village, saw a bloody night, and saw the annihilation of the Uchiha clan...

"No!" Shisui sat up abruptly in bed, his pajamas soaked with cold sweat.

He was panting heavily, and the Sharingan with its three tomoe appeared involuntarily in his eyes. The dream he had just had was too real, so real that it seemed like a prophecy.

"It was just a nightmare..." Shisui muttered to himself, trying to convince himself.

"What if that wasn't a dream?" A voice suddenly appeared, making Shisui's hair stand on end. "Who is it?" How could someone appear so silently in his immediate vicinity?

Following the sound, a figure stood at the doorway. The moonlight illuminated the person's appearance clearly, and upon closer inspection, the person appeared to be about ten years old.

Looking at Shisui, who was so surprised he couldn't speak, Shengren asked again, "What if...it wasn't a dream?"