Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Things are getting more and more complicated. You should go back and rest. Keep this a secret and don't tell anyone else..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a few deep drags of his opium pipe, inhaling deeply into his lungs and exhaling, making the office feel even more like paradise. Then he spoke to White Fang, though his words were vague. He believed that Touma understood his meaning: this matter must not be known to the Uchiha.

How the three-tomoe Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan has been a mystery ever since Madara's death. Even Madara himself was confused about it, let alone the current Uchiha clan. The reason why the Uchiha are known for their ability to take on five opponents at once is because Madara used these eyes to achieve that feat. The current Uchiha would have difficulty taking on three opponents, let alone five.

If those Uchiha clans who are obsessed with restoring their ancestors' glory found out that there are still members of their clan outside, and that they have awakened the incredibly powerful Mangekyou Sharingan, then things would be in trouble. Who knows if they would want the child to come back to acknowledge their ancestors or invite him back to be their father? In any case, this is something they don't want to see.

"Hiruzen, we have to find this guy! It's too dangerous to leave an Awakened Mangekyou Sharingan Uchiha out there!!"

As soon as Sakumo Hatake left, Danzo knew it was time to put on his real acting skills!

He immediately put on an upright and incorruptible face and stood up, looking solemnly at his best friend. His voice, his tone, his excited expression, and his classic villainous face were filled with righteousness in the next second, and his eyes were full of justice!

So exciting!

Danzo seemed to think that this was a blessing from the heavens. Just half an hour ago, Orochimaru was discussing with him what it would be like to have a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan. Unexpectedly, the Mangekyou Sharingan actually appeared. It seemed that the heavens were going to promote him to the top!

So, opportunity favors the prepared mind. Twenty years ago, he might not have been prepared and missed it once. This time, he absolutely cannot miss it again. It's just a kaleidoscope, it's not like he's never done it before. One word: Damn!

"Danzo is right. We absolutely cannot let this person stay outside. It's terrifying how many Uchiha are hiding here!"

Perhaps influenced by Danzo's upright appearance, Mitomon Homura also stood up and spoke quite excitedly, almost spitting saliva onto Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.

"this....."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely swayed by this. Seeing his two friends so excited about the village's safety, he was deeply moved. Indeed, friends are always closer than parents!

What his friend said made sense. Although he didn't quite agree with the Second Hokage's statement that all Uchiha were dark people, he had followed the Second Hokage for so many years and knew the basic common sense that the evolution of the Uchiha Sharingan required the stimulation of negative emotions. Awakening to the Mangekyou Sharingan showed how much negative emotion was involved. Moreover, this Uchiha had been hiding outside for so many years and was definitely up to no good. So, he definitely wanted to find this guy. What he really needed to consider was who to send to do this job. After learning from the lesson of Mitarashi Shishou, he basically ruled out anyone below the level of Double Flower Red Staff. And there were only a few villages with Double Flower Red Staff. Jiraiya, that traitorous disciple, was still outside. Since Orochimaru joined Root, he could more or less feel that his beloved disciple had changed and wasn't as good anymore.

Tsunade was absolutely out of the question. If anything happened to her, he'd have to commit suicide at the Hokage Rock in front of the two lords' heads as atonement. That would leave only his trusted lieutenant, Sakumo. But he was really worried about him. Although Sakumo could go toe-to-toe with Shiki, it was because Sakumo understood Shiki's methods. He knew whether Shiki was farting or defecating the moment he took off his pants. But this wild Uchiha, Sakumo had no experience in that area. Double-flowered red-hat clerks were already few and far between, and losing even one would break his heart...

380. Hiruzen Sarutobi: Danzo has always been incredibly lucky.

"Hiruzen, leave this to me! I'm confident I can find him!"

Seeing his best friend's hesitant expression, Danzo immediately knew what he was thinking. He looked at him with a firm and powerful gaze, thinking, "There are no great generals in the village, so I, Danzo, will be the vanguard!"

"Danzo... thank you for your hard work!"

Seeing his best friend's upright and incorruptible demeanor, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes welled up with tears. He patted his best friend's shoulder heavily and remained speechless for a long time, everything understood without words!

Although his best friend has all sorts of flaws, his unwavering love for the village makes Hiruzen Sarutobi overlook everything else. Whenever the village is in trouble, his best friend is always the first to stand up, even if it's not very helpful. Hiruzen has felt his heart though.

For example, this time, the opponent was a wild Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan!

Since this person has been wandering the streets for years without returning to the Uchiha clan to acknowledge their roots and become their father, they must harbor resentment. Such a person is dangerous. He even suspects this wild Uchiha might be someone who escaped during Madara's era or his descendant. After all, since Kagami's demise, no one in the Uchiha clan has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. Only in that era of great upheaval, when the Uchiha were the protagonists, would such talent emerge. If that's the case, the hatred this wild Uchiha harbors for Konoha is terrifying. Moreover, according to the leader, this wild Uchiha is ruthless and taciturn when facing Shiki, unlike the typical opening line in the ninja world. The fact that this wild Uchiha is considered a "traditional" person suggests that his inner world is filled with negative energy. Without top-tier verbal skills, it's pointless to waste words on such a person. Therefore, going after this wild Uchiha is extremely dangerous; he wouldn't even send his most capable lieutenant. However, his best friend is an exception. His best friend was beaten twice in the Second World War, and although his injuries were severe, he survived while everyone else died, demonstrating his incredible resilience and good fortune. If he were to encounter this wild Uchiha, he would likely only get a beating and then lie in bed for ten days to half a month before recovering. That wouldn't be a bad outcome.

As long as we can find him and secretly bring him back, without anyone noticing, so what if he gets caught? At worst, we can have a long talk with him when we get back and make it up to him...

"I'll arrange it right now!"

Seeing his best friend nod in agreement, Danzo instantly beamed with excitement, like he'd been injected with adrenaline. He gave Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu a righteous glare and strode away from the Hokage Building with a light step, leaving his men on guard duty bewildered. The men on guard duty wondered if they were dreaming. In their minds, Danzo always left the Hokage Building with a dark face, as if someone owed him millions. Today, he was actually so happy! They were even wiggling their butts...! (⊙_⊙)

A kaleidoscope!

God is truly his lucky star; he gets exactly what he needs. If this still doesn't help him reach the pinnacle of life, he might as well retire and become a truck driver. ヾ(^?^)?

.......

"Hiruzen, wouldn't it be dangerous to send Danzo? That's the Kaleidoscope..."

Inside the Hokage Building, Minato Homura and Koharu Utatane watched their friend's cheerful steps and asked worriedly. They did support Danzo's statement, but they never expected Danzo to personally take to the field. That was a Mangekyou Sharingan that could go toe-to-toe with Shiki! Back then, you were just a cat and a dog; you were beaten to a pulp by Hanzo the Salamander alone. Now you want to fight monsters above your level? They completely couldn't understand Danzo's thought process. When the Second Hokage was still alive and Danzo was still in their clerical team, wasn't he quite normal? How did things turn out like this now?

Are you addicted to getting beaten up? (⊙_⊙)?

The two of them couldn't help but shudder at the thought...

"...I'll have someone follow them. As long as Danzo can find them, that's fine. For the sake of the village's peace and prosperity, I'll have to trouble Danzo..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a couple of puffs on his pipe and said that he certainly wouldn't let his best friend lead his haphazard Root forces into battle. He knew his best friend's skill level all too well, and while those Root underlings trained by his best friend were emotionless and fearless, their skill level was really not up to par. They were purely for his best friend to show off, so he didn't expect his best friend to be able to either recruit or kill this wild Uchiha.

The reason he entrusted this task to his best friend was simply because he saw how proactively his friend was helping the village, and he really didn't want to dampen his friend's enthusiasm. He had already decided that after his friend left with his men, he would have Sakumo lead the men to follow Danzo. This way, he wouldn't discourage his friend, and with his friend drawing the monsters head-on, he could make good use of Sakumo's strengths. Sakumo was never the type to fight head-on. The reason he could face off against Shiki was because he was so familiar with Shiki's fighting style that he could almost instinctively predict Shiki's attacks and use his extremely skillful movement to maneuver around Shiki. It wouldn't be so easy against other unfamiliar opponents, especially since this Kaleidoscope was only the second pair in decades. When Madara was alive, Sakumo was still a baby and had no idea about the Kaleidoscope's abilities. So, even if Sakumo's movement was incredibly skillful, he would still be at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation.

However, with Danzo drawing fire from the front, Sakumo could easily take advantage of his ability to flank and deliver a fatal blow, making the situation much simpler.

Although he felt a little bad for his best friend, he was willing to give up his wife and children for the sake of the village's stability and prosperity, so what did it matter if his best friend suffered some grievances?

He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the strongest Hokage in Konoha's history and the greatest Hokage in Konoha's history, had that kind of courage!

Shocking!!! (⊙_⊙)

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stared wide-eyed in shock at their righteous-minded friend, as if they were seeing him for the first time. "You weren't saying this when Danzo was here. Now you're using Danzo as bait."

The two silently mourned for Danzo for thirty seconds. Having a friend like that was the worst luck imaginable. Both were products of the Second Hokage, so why couldn't he be a little more shrewd? He was being sold out and was still helping this guy count the money...

...

"Ryoma, gather men and set off for the Land of Water. This time, I will go myself!"

Meanwhile, at Konoha's Root headquarters, Danzo, unaware that his best friend had been used as bait, excitedly returned without a word and immediately ordered his leader to gather reinforcements, fearing any unforeseen circumstances. This time, he planned to lead the team himself!

381. Danzo's dream is within Orochimaru's grasp.

"Judging from Danzo's expression, it seems he knows who the person from the Land of Water is fighting against Golden Shiki..."

When Orochimaru came out and saw Danzo's hurried appearance, he knew with his own eyes that Danzo had heard some good news from his teacher and was going to personally lead people to the Land of Water. So it must be related to the Land of Water. Considering the major events that had recently happened in the Land of Water, Danzo was probably planning to go there to rape people.

However, there was one thing he was very curious about: who could make Danzo, who always had a deadpan expression as if everyone owed him millions, so excited that he would personally "take the risk"?

That's right, it's risky. With Danzo's strength, apart from being safe in Konoha, even going to the neighboring Land of Waves would be risky, not to mention the Land of Water, a place known for its powerful figures.

"Orochimaru, go and make preparations. The person who fought the Golden Lion in the Land of Water is from the Uchiha clan. Didn't you say that the success rate would be much higher if you needed the Mangekyou Sharingan? This person is not only from the Uchiha clan, but he has also already awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. Once I bring him back, I will immediately transplant the mangekyou Sharingan!"

Danzo, who was promoted to power by divine intervention, wanted to keep a low profile, but he simply couldn't!

Since the matter of the mysterious person from the Land of Water awakening the Kaleidoscope Sharingan couldn't be kept from Orochimaru anyway, he figured he might as well tell him while they were still in their honeymoon period. The news was brought back by Hatake Sakumo. Although Orochimaru's arrival at Root had created some distance between him and his best friend, it wouldn't affect Orochimaru's status as a beloved disciple in his best friend's heart, at least not until that idiot Jiraiya proved himself. Besides, since the news was brought back by Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, with his level, could easily find out by asking around.

"Oh? Is that so? Then congratulations to Advisor Danzo on his fruitful journey..."

Upon hearing the name "Kaleidoscope," Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a blinding light that vanished in an instant. He then chuckled and said to Danzo, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.

Mangekyou Sharingan! I never expected that there would be a Mangekyou Sharingan in the ninja world. After studying the Sharingan for so long, I can say that no one in the entire ninja world understands the Sharingan better than me. Even some Uchiha people don't understand it as well as I do. Through my research, I found that although the Sharingan has a very magical evolution function that the Byakugan has, the upper limit of the ordinary Sharingan is still not high. Evolving to the three tomoe is not that amazing. In fact, it's just so-so. The Mangekyou Sharingan is the one that is not magical at all.

Unfortunately, the extent of the kaleidoscope's wonder can only be gleaned from fragments of records left by the second generation. Madara was still in his formative years at that time, and it is a regret for a great scientist as he could never witness it.

Who would have thought that another Mangekyou Sharingan would suddenly appear? He was actually more excited than Danzo. No matter how many pairs of ordinary Sharingan there were, they were useless against Shiki. But just one pair of Mangekyou Sharingan could go toe-to-toe with Shiki. This made him understand the wonder of the Mangekyou Sharingan more directly. However... seeing Danzo so enthusiastically leading people to the Land of Water.

However, he really wanted to ask Danzo who gave him the courage to lead these nobodies to try and capture that wild Uchiha. Knowing his teacher as he did, if his teacher agreed to Danzo's plan, there must be a backup plan. Who in the ninja world didn't know that Danzo, who constantly boasted about leading Konoha to the moon, was a mediocre ninja? His hypocritical Hokage teacher couldn't possibly be unaware of this, so he was certain his Hokage teacher had some other plan. Perhaps Danzo was just a cover, and the real mastermind was someone else, like Sakumo. And Sakumo... it seemed... in the entire Konoha, only Sakumo had experience dealing with top-tier double-wielding ninjas...

However, seeing Danzo's confident demeanor, he couldn't bear to crush Danzo's fragile spirit. After all, Danzo was a man with dreams, and there was nothing shameful about striving for them, even if Danzo's dreams were within his grasp...

Danzo went to deliver the body, but with Sakumo there, the success rate of bringing the person back would be at least 80%, provided they could actually find them. According to Danzo, if that person really was from the Uchiha clan and was still wandering outside, not returning to be a father, then that person must harbor some kind of hatred towards Konoha or the Uchiha clan to prevent them from returning to be a father and enjoy wealth and glory. Moreover, the fact that they had been wandering outside for so many years without being discovered, and that Shiki only encountered them by chance, shows that their concealment methods were quite outstanding. With Danzo going to the Land of Water so openly, it's hard to say whether they could even find the person. Besides... the Land of Water had just announced its closure, and Danzo immediately led a group there—what the hell was he doing?

"Hahaha! I never thought Orochimaru would say something like that. I'm off...! ヾ(^?^)?"

Danzo, already carried away by his own thoughts, couldn't decipher Orochimaru's tone anymore. At this moment, he was already imagining himself successfully awakening Wood Release by transplanting Hashirama's cells into the Mangekyou Sharingan, then conjuring a small forest with a wave of his hand and crushing Hiruzen Sarutobi underfoot. When he heard Orochimaru's words, he thought Orochimaru was actually cheering him on as a teammate.

Then, after what he considered a hearty laugh, he turned and left with his underlings, thinking himself dashing.

Orochimaru: (⊙_⊙)?? ? ? ?

......

"Nephew, listen to your uncle's advice. The world of tailed beasts is very complex; you can't handle it. Besides, girls are meant to be cherished, not constantly running off to fight them. What's the point? Look, three more have been ruined this time. Uncle believes you'll be able to defeat the Seven-Tails... and Shuri in the future, but not now. You're still young. The Seven-Tails has lived for over a thousand years; its experience far surpasses yours. The future is yours, but not now..."

Because of Shinto's words, a large number of the heads of Konoha's Root and Anbu secret service were mobilized. Their departure was a major concern for Konoha's three leaders. If Shinto knew that Danzo had taken all of his hard-earned Root members with him to the Land of Water because of his reckless fabrication, he definitely wouldn't have gone to the Land of Water to cheer for Danzo. Half of Konoha's leaders are just that bad. Others can't even run away from Madara, but this old guy risked his life to get himself killed.

Although Uncle Ban is old, his skills and awareness are still top-notch; it's just that his aging body can't keep up with his top-notch awareness. However, taking down Danzo and his cats and dogs is still a piece of cake. With a blink of an eye, they're reduced to ashes...

That guy Ban is really awesome!

382. Your future self will thank you for getting beaten up now.

However, Shinto, unaware of the situation, is currently comforting his nephew, whose handsome face has swollen considerably after being severely traumatized by Karin's mother in the future. He doesn't have the time to go to the Land of Water to cheer on Danzo.

That's right!

Handsome Sasori was once again... wait, not quite! by Karin's future mother... It seems that Sasori has been defeated again by someone disguised as Karin's mother. This is probably the umpteenth time. Ever since he was first thrashed by the Seven-Tails disguised as Karin's mother, Sasori, after returning from Konoha, was spurred on by his shame. Relying on his time in Konoha to study and improve the Iron Golem, he immediately went to challenge Karin's mother to a duel the very next day. At first, Karin's mother refused to comply, but for the next few days, Sasori kept a deadpan expression on his face. Eventually, Karin's mother gave in and started fighting him. Needless to say, although Karin's mother had learned some sealing techniques, her strength was no match for Sasori. She surrendered in less than half a minute. However, while Karin's mother surrendered, the noble Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was not happy. The Seven-Tails, Chongming, who had been infamous since ancient times, always preferred to die standing rather than live on his knees. Unless he was beaten to a pulp, when had he ever been seen to admit defeat?

So every time Karin's mother was about to surrender, Nanami immediately took control of her body. "I can't beat this brat's uncle, but surely I can beat this brat?"

Don't be fooled by the Seven-Tails' cowardice in front of a real fight. That's because Armament Haki is incredibly effective against special creatures like it that are formed from energy. When it attacks them, the characteristics of Armament Haki are maximized. But against those iron lumps that Sasori developed in Konoha, that mighty beetle is back!

Even the latest iron lump of handsome scorpion couldn't withstand the Seven-Tails for more than two minutes, and then it entered a wonderful one-sided beatdown. The Seven-Tails was already at a lower level against handsome scorpion who had a puppet in his hand, let alone handsome scorpion who didn't have a puppet in his hand.

Fortunately, Nanami was smart enough to know that this handsome kid had someone backing him, so she didn't go too far, just beating him up until his head was a pig's. As for Sasori, after being trained by Shinto for more than half a year, his ability to withstand blows had reached the limit of human strength. Although Nanami's punches were heavy, she didn't dare to go all out, so although Sasori was beaten up, it was nothing compared to the damage from that bastard uncle's punches.

So the stubborn and handsome Scorpion was not discouraged by his failure. Instead, it made him even more resilient. Failure is the mother of success. How can you see a rainbow without going through the storm? The future you will thank the present you who got beaten up... After drinking a whole vat of toxic chicken soup he had learned from who-knows-where, he continued to stay at home to recover from his injuries and research even more awesome puppets. Then he went back to find girls to start battles.

Chiyo and Sasori's parents were initially quite worried that their finally excellent heir might be beaten senseless. However, after several intelligence tests and physical examinations, they discovered that although the child looked badly beaten, the injuries were only superficial, and his intelligence had not declined. So they simply stopped worrying about it. Perhaps this is just how the young couple gets along!

As long as it's not broken...

Moreover, they also felt that the child's inner strength had indeed become stronger, especially his ability to withstand pressure, which had reached its peak. In the past, the child would occasionally lose his temper when they argued, but now he would not at all. He had truly mastered the art of keeping his temper in check. The child's growth was a good thing for them in every aspect.

However, this time, Shinto was truly heartbroken to watch. It wasn't that Sasori was beaten so badly by the Seven-Tails; it was the same injuries as before. What pained him was that every time Sasori got a severe beating, he would rebuild and improve his puppet. And the raw materials for these puppets were all imported from abroad, and they were incredibly expensive. Moreover, the raw materials Sasori needed each time were of increasingly higher quality and more expensive. Where did he get the money to buy these materials? Chiyo's allowance wasn't enough, so he had to get money from his parents. Although Sasori's father was the Crown Prince of Sunagakure and the current head of the Miyako clan, Chiyo hadn't given him any allowance since he got married. The family lived on their salaries and year-end bonuses from working in the puppeteer unit.

Handsome Scorpion used his parents' salaries to buy raw materials. Unable to make ends meet, his father, being a father himself, was too embarrassed to ask his mother for money. If word got out, people would think that this dignified young master couldn't even afford to raise a son and yet wanted a second child...

So Sasori's father could only turn his attention to his older brother. His older brother was neither married nor moved out, so even though he was in his thirties, he received both pocket money and a salary from the ninja class every month. The key was that he didn't have any bad habits, so he was naturally quite wealthy. Moreover, back in Konoha, he used his pocket money to help his older brother pick up girls.

Since his younger brother had already asked, considering that he had indeed used his allowance to woo Tsunade back then, he really couldn't refuse. Watching his wallet shrink little by little, Shinto was also very distressed. Recently, he had been researching how to kill Nawaki's brother-in-law and make Tsunade disheartened and leave Konoha. Only after she was free from the village's ties would his opportunity come. Tsunade, who was now the director of Konoha Hospital, had such strong defenses that it was impossible to break through them. In his previous life, he was a traditional craftsman and didn't like watching those romance dramas, so he was indeed a bit behind Sasori's handsome father when it came to flirting with girls.

When Tsunade left Konoha, sincerity alone wasn't enough for her to take action. She needed a lot of real money to support her actions. Otherwise, why would she have been so frugal all these years, patching and mending her "Uchiha Great Sword" for decades, even after it had several chips after she slew Madara's Blue Giant?

Isn't it all just to save up for a wife?

But the operation hasn't even started yet and the funds have already shrunk drastically. But seeing how motivated his nephew is now, he can't very well discourage his nephew's ambition, which he's developed from being beaten up, by saying something like, "Don't go looking for girls to fight. You can't beat the Seven-Tails until you and Sunagawa become puppets!"

If Chiyo found out, she would definitely kick him out of his ancestral home. So, for the sake of his own wallet and to free his hands that had been working hard for decades, he could only come to Handsome Scorpion's toy shop and gently comfort and persuade him while looking at Handsome Scorpion, who had a swollen head and was working hard while muttering formulas that he couldn't understand.

383. Handsome Scorpion's tragic love story is about to begin.

"My affairs are none of your business!"

The handsome scorpion, whose head had been smashed into a cantaloupe shape by the Seven-Tailed Fox, gave this bastard uncle a cold look, then turned away with a touch of arrogance and continued his puppet-making project. He held a small iron hammer in his little hand and started hammering away at a lump of iron. Judging from the sound, iron was no longer enough for him; this time, he switched to steel...

If any other kid heard this, they would have been moved to tears, but Handsome Scorpion wasn't buying it at all. What the hell is this about the future being yours? I want not only the future but also the present!

"Hey, why won't you listen to me, you little brat? That guy is the Seven-Tails, six more tails than the One-Tails. Do you know what that means? Before I grew up, your grandpa, your grandma, and the Second Hokage couldn't handle the One-Tails going berserk. Don't be fooled by how cowardly the Seven-Tails looks at me; that's because I'm exceptionally talented. Throughout history, how many people in the ninja world have reached my level? The Seven-Tails is still pretty tough. The only ones in the entire ninja world with more tails are the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails. Listen to your uncle, give up for now. After all, Shuri is your girlfriend, so you're family now. It's fine for family to have a little fight, but a big fight is not good. The key is that if you get married one day, you'll be the head of the family. You don't want to lose face in front of your girlfriend, do you?"