Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Third! And most importantly, he felt that the feng shui of the previous headquarters was bad. If failing once was an accident and failing twice was a coincidence, then failing so many times over the decades was not because he was incompetent, but because there was really a problem with the feng shui.

Therefore, after recovering from his injury, based on the three reasons he summarized above, he had to make changes.

First and foremost, you must keep a low profile and not reveal that you've recovered from your injuries or awakened Wood Release. Don't be fooled by your good buddy's dignified demeanor in public; you're all students of the second generation of the old schemer, everyone knows who you are.

Therefore, he must not let his best friend know that he has recovered from his injuries, and even more so, he must not let him know that he has awakened Wood Release. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if the fact that he transplanted the First Hokage's cells were exposed. Given the First Hokage's prestige, his dream of becoming Hokage would truly be just a dream. So, during this period, he still maintained the appearance of someone who had just recovered from a serious illness.

The second point is about the faction of his best friend. Although Minato Namikaze has risen to the position, he is still young and inexperienced. Although he has a high reputation, being Hokage is about tactics, not strength. Even with his best friend supporting him, his position is not very stable. So he still has a chance. As long as his best friend loses a few of his double-flower red sticks, he is confident that with the popularity he has gained in the village over the years, he can remove Minato Namikaze from the position of Hokage.

The people around my best friend are all extraordinary. First of all, Hatake Sakumo is difficult to deal with. This guy has become the faith of the villagers and his underlings. Moreover, the contributions he has made to the village over the years are too great. Last time, a small mission failure almost caused a village riot. He wants to weaken my best friend's power, but that's not going against the village. Besides, if Hatake Sakumo is taken down, and Sunagakure suddenly launches a war, even if he really becomes Hokage, no one will stand up to Golden Lion.

Although Sakumo Hatake is his best friend's right-hand man, he cannot be touched. The Hatake clan has always been straightforward. Once he becomes Hokage, won't the Hatake clan have to listen to him?

Therefore, we can't mess with Sakumo Hatake's sharp short blade.

The remaining three were his best friend's three disciples. Tsunade had already left with Nawaki. Moreover, Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First Hokage. After his experience of assassinating Nawaki last time, he really didn't dare to touch the Senju clan again. When he was injured and hospitalized by Tsunade last time, if it weren't for his younger brother finding out, he would have been given the wrong medicine by the attending physician and turned into a madman.

Furthermore, Tsunade and Nawaki have already left Konoha and are gambling heavily in the capital of the Daimyo, so it won't have much of an impact on him.

That leaves only Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

To be honest, if he had a choice, he would rather target Jiraiya than Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru was his best friend's disciple, Orochimaru was far too useful to him. Orochimaru's depth of scientific knowledge was unmatched by anyone else. Furthermore, after awakening Wood Release, he had even greater faith in Orochimaru's research methods. He genuinely wanted to continue cooperating with Orochimaru indefinitely—he would provide the technology, and he would provide the funding—until the end of time...

But as he pondered how to deal with Jiraiya, he suddenly realized that this Jiraiya was definitely Hiruzen Sarutobi's alternate account. He even began to wonder if the rumors that Jiraiya was Hiruzen Sarutobi's illegitimate son were true.

Because the two are so damn similar, they're practically one big pervert and one little pervert. Moreover, Jiraiya is even more ruthless than his best friend. He has no money, no power, and even the house he lives in now was allocated by Konoha back then. In other words, the house belongs to Konoha, and he can only live there.

This guy, a dignified Konoha double-flower red stick, the Fourth Hokage's teacher, has actually managed to get to this level, which is just amazing. Apart from having a shared hobby with Hiruzen Sarutobi, he's a complete nobody, so you can't even target him. What makes him better than Hiruzen Sarutobi is that he never hides his true self, while Hiruzen Sarutobi knows how to package himself. Few people in Konoha know that he has this nickname.

I don't know where to start!

As for being lecherous and liking to squat in bathhouses... these are negligible compared to Jiraiya's contributions to the village during World War II and World War III. Moreover, the entire Hidden Leaf Village knows that Jiraiya has this interest and hobby, so it's not a big problem at all.

Jiraiya had absolutely no idea how to deal with this.

In the end, having no other choice, they had to reluctantly cut Orochimaru.

He had cooperated with Orochimaru for so many years, and he had a lot of dirt on Orochimaru. Moreover, Orochimaru had been experimenting on living people for a long time, and he had people find those living test subjects. So it was easy to target Orochimaru.

Moreover, Orochimaru is his best friend's beloved disciple and most prized student. If you were to mess with Orochimaru, it would indeed be a blow to his best friend and would also damage his reputation in the village. After all, using villagers for experiments is a serious crime. Not to mention his best friend, even if the Second Hokage were resurrected, it wouldn't be enough to save him!

Unless Orochimaru's surname is Senju...

758. When it comes to creating babies, Luo Sha is still the best.

Fifty years in Konoha, forty-nine years in Sunagakure.

Inside a hidden barrier in Sunagakure, the chilling screams of a woman could be heard from time to time, sending shivers down one's spine. The barrier was surrounded by layers of ANBU, with the Fourth Kazekage and his guards personally guarding the entrance. His expression was serious, and he was on high alert. All the village's top fighters stood around him, watching their surroundings nervously.

It's impossible not to be nervous. Today is the day the village's hope is born, and the mother of this hope is the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. Since Shinto's generation, no one has ever witnessed the destructive power of a Tailed Beast going berserk. However, those slightly older than Shinto have experienced Tailed Beasts going berserk, and not just once or twice. Although it happened decades ago, it's still vivid in their minds. Even Rasa, Conan's father, gets a chill down his spine just hearing about it, let alone the Seven-Tails. When the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki gives birth, the seal weakens. If the Seven-Tails takes the opportunity to escape and wreak havoc, rebuilding the village won't just be a matter of money.

Moreover, this child is the son of Sasori, the former hope of Sunagakure, and also their Super Fourth Hokage. Whether for safety reasons or to give face to Lady Chiyo, the pillar of the nation, a grand spectacle is essential. If they weren't worried that the spectacle would be too grand and make Lady Chiyo think they were just putting on a show, they would have wanted to send out all the best fighters from their families.

Now, all the two-star red-robed members in the village, except for the Kazekage, are in the Miyamoto clan. There's also the Golden Lion Shiki, who can make tailed beasts cry, and Kudo Yusaku, who also became a two-star red-robed member after emitting green light, is Shiki's disciple. They all feel this is too small...

"My God, is it really that exaggerated for Jinchūriki to give birth?"

The screams coming from inside the barrier made Conan's father, who was standing next to Luo Sha, shudder. He was a father and had experienced something similar before, but when his child was born, the noise wasn't this loud. Even with a barrier in place, the sound was still so eerie.

"Yeah, bro, nothing bad will happen, right?"

Handsome Scorpion's father was extremely nervous outside the barrier. His future grandson or granddaughter was about to be born, but the screams inside were too loud. It seemed that his son's arrogant personality meant there was no hope. He wanted his grandson or granddaughter to inherit such a large family business, so he hoped nothing would happen.

"I'm right here, what could possibly happen? The Uzumaki clan has strong vitality, and Shuri has a top-tier bloodline. Giving birth is nothing, how could it cause any problems? After all, she's a Jinchūriki, so it'll definitely be a bit more troublesome. With me here, that cowardly Seven-Tails won't dare to act recklessly. Besides, it gets along so well with Shuri; even tailed beasts have feelings..."

Shindou spoke leisurely, showing no sign of tension. However, he was now fully activating his Observation Haki, covering the entire village. He only discovered several white substances that were constantly searching for their presence underground, but they had already been stunned by his Conqueror's Haki. He had not yet found any trace of the masked man who resembled Obito.

Although Madara's world-destroying plan was mostly aimed at Konoha, he remembered Madara very well back then. Given Madara's personality, which is not magnanimous and even a little vengeful, who knows if he might give Sunagakure special treatment because of the appearance of this little butterfly? So it's better to be on the safe side.

Chiyo and Yusaori are both inside. Both are puppeteers. Chiyo is too old, and Yusaori's melee combat skills are too poor. Plus, there's Karin's mother who just gave birth. If Obito were to join them, they could easily get a triple kill or even a quadra kill right from the start.

It's better to play it safe.

Hearing Masato's words, the others breathed a sigh of relief. Although this guy was usually a bit eccentric, he was quite steady when it mattered. Hearing him say that, they weren't so nervous anymore.

"Lord Jie, is this child Scorpion's?"

As Luo Sha breathed a sigh of relief, he noticed that Handsome Scorpion's father was still a bit nervous. As if he had thought of something, he came to Handsome Scorpion's father's side and asked in a low voice.

He had actually wanted to ask this question since Shuri was heavily pregnant. Shuri was a national treasure of their village, so of course the Kazekage was concerned. He had wanted to ask her about her pregnancy ever since he learned about it, but he didn't know how to bring it up. All the village's leaders knew that this Jinchuriki was Chiyo-sama's chosen granddaughter-in-law. If she was pregnant, it would undoubtedly be the child of the Crown Prince Sasori. But the key point was that Sasori had disappeared with the Third Hokage several years ago, and the village had sent countless people to search for him over the years without any success.

Logically speaking, if someone leaves the village without cause for more than a year without any news, they would either be defined as dead outside or as a rogue ninja. However, Sasori's parents are all meritorious members of the village, and they occupy the top spots in the village's Hall of Fame. So, no one has mentioned this matter in recent years, and Rasa naturally won't bring it up either. He'll just turn a blind eye. After all, if Sasori were still alive and were designated as a rogue ninja by the village, the village's reputation would be greatly affected.

But now that Uzumaki Shuri is pregnant, it proves that Sasori is still alive and has returned. After the child is born, he will definitely be a super fourth generation. Then the problem arises. It's okay among the higher-ups, most of them will turn a blind eye. The toughest old guy from the previous generation, Umekawa Hakuchi, has already passed away for more than half a year. The current higher-ups are not so old-fashioned and will not put things in the open. But it's hard to explain to the villagers and civilian ninjas.

Everyone knows that Sasori and the Third Hokage went missing. Now that Sasori's sister has given birth, where did Sasori go?

He has to give the villagers and his cronies an explanation. This is the age of democracy; the Third Hokage of Konoha was besieged by villagers countless times back then, significantly diminishing his historical standing. He's only been in power for a few years; he doesn't want to be besieged again...

"Ah, Scorpion came back a year ago, but he hid it well. He probably ran out of money and came back to ask Xiuli for money, and then left again. We only discovered the traces of his return afterward."

"Handsome Scorpion's father said calmly."

The fact that Handsome Scorpion has been trying to conceive at home for several months is currently only known to his family. Family scandals cannot be aired in public. It would be too embarrassing to say that his son's marksmanship is just as bad as his, especially in front of the seemingly invincible Luo Sha.

This guy just had a daughter last year, and now he's already pregnant with his second child. One baby a year is more impressive than the Meichuan family's...

He's been working so hard for over a decade and nothing's happened, while other people have their second child like it's nothing. It's infuriating to compare yourself to others!

759. From the perspective of valuing relationships and loyalty

They had already discussed it when Xiuli was pregnant. Handsome Scorpion insisted on going out to pursue his dream. Even if they could save face in the village, the title of traitorous ninja would still fall on his head. This was a rule set by his father. His mother would not change this rule for the sake of her grandson, let alone them. It would also give the villagers an explanation. If he left the village for several years without any explanation, the villagers would definitely be dissatisfied. He and his older brother had already prepared themselves for this when they laid the groundwork for Handsome Scorpion.

So when Luo Sha asked, he simply told him the answer according to the original plan.

Being a rogue ninja is much less serious than killing the Third Hokage and triggering a world war. Even if Sasori repents in the future, the title of rogue ninja is nothing; he can easily find an excuse to get away with it. Those are all minor issues.

Does the village not accept such a super genius as Handsome Scorpion?

The village isn't Konoha, where geniuses are as common as dogs.

"Lord Kazekage, please don't worry. If you want to give the villagers an explanation, then classify Sasori as a rogue ninja..."

Old people are shrewd and cunning. Having served as a Grand Councilor for decades, Hai Laozang naturally understood Luo Sha's predicament, so he spoke to him first.

"Sigh.....! This is the only way."

Rasa sighed helplessly. His ability to become the village leader was inseparable from Sasori. If Sasori hadn't left, he would probably be succeeding Ebizo as the village's second-in-command now, and he certainly wouldn't be as prestigious as he is now. However, if Sasori hadn't left, the village would have had one more double-flowered red-robed leader, making it even stronger than it is now. If you include the Jinchuriki, the village's high-end configuration would be almost on par with Konoha, which would definitely be the peak of its history.

Just as the Third Raikage and his chief steward led the Hidden Cloud Village to its peak, not only the Third Raikage, but also the previous chief steward will surely be remembered in the history of the Hidden Cloud Village.

Now that he has taken over, the village's strength is not much different from when his teacher was in power. In fact, before he took over as the Kazekage, the village was even weaker. Now that he has taken over, he has not been able to establish himself as the strongest Kazekage like his teacher. So although the configuration is the same and there are still the same number of Kazekage, his reputation is much smaller than before.

Previously, when people mentioned Sunagakure, they would first think of Lord Shinto, Lord Chiyo, and his teacher, followed by Lord Kagami and Lady Yusaori. However, now, the Prime Minister thinks of Lord Shinto, Lord Chiyo, and Lord Kagami, only then mentioning the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. Therefore, Rasa felt quite conflicted about Sasori, a much more famous and much better-known figure from a similar era, who was always the "model child." Before learning that his teacher had died for love, Rasa even suspected that Sasori had killed his teacher and then defected...

.......

In the Land of Rain, in the luxurious toy house of handsome Scorpion, all sorts of puppets are displayed, making it look like an exhibition hall.

Since Kakuzu joined the Akatsuki and became the Minister of Finance of the Land of Rain, everyone in the Land of Rain has changed every day. Kakuzu is a person with a strong sense of responsibility. This is why, when he was still a junior Jonin of Takigakure, he accepted the mission to assassinate Hashirama Senju assigned by his superiors. Even though he knew that Hashirama Senju was invincible, he still dared to go to Konoha and shoot him from 800 miles away. Instead of, like others, he accepted the mission to assassinate Hashirama Senju, wandered around the ninja world, and returned to the village to report the mission failure.

Although he has been wandering the ninja world since being abandoned by Takigakure, Kakuzu, who received a traditional education, has always adhered to the principle of the older generation of the old era: if you're going to do something, do it to the best of your ability. Even when he's just doing business, he's willing to be hunted down by the entire ninja world for a few million.

So after joining the Akatsuki, he took on all the responsibilities, turning the Land of Rain's accounts, which had been in the red for several years, into a positive balance in just one year thanks to his massive financial injection. Those Akatsuki's peripheral underlings who were previously starving and freezing were now being fed and fat by Kakuzu alone. Even Nagato, who had carried too much rice, had swollen up. Although he was still skinny, he was no longer in a state of near starvation due to the depletion of his life force. At least he wouldn't have to worry about starving to death in the future.

Whenever they think about these things, Nagato and the rich girl are more than once glad that they made the right decision to bring Kakuzu into the gang. Their education level is not high, and they can barely support a gang, let alone a country!

If we're talking about who experienced the biggest change in life after Kakuzu joined the Akatsuki, it would undoubtedly be Sasori. After Sasori successfully created a human and returned to the Land of Rain, initially, since Kakuzu hadn't joined yet, his food, drink, and even the expenses for his puppet research were all covered by the wealthy woman. The wealthy woman's only way to make money was by selling explosive tags. These were in high demand during wartime, and every ninja village was short of them. However, in peacetime, except for Sunagakure, all other ninja villages could produce and consume them to their own capacity, resulting in saturation. Sunagakure also had two sellers, the Land of Iron and the Land of Craftsmen, and with Sunagakure focusing on elite production, the production from those two countries was sufficient.

Those small ninja villages and countries don't have a great need for explosive tags, so providing food and drink for Sasori is not a problem. After all, Sasori isn't a glutton. However, puppet research is not so easy.

While Scorpion's puppet research wasn't as expensive as Snake's scientific research, it was still quite costly. You see, all sorts of exquisite small parts and rare metals are quite expensive. Moreover, Scorpion has always used high-quality items since he was a child, so he definitely wouldn't be comfortable using common ones. Therefore, the list of materials he gave to the rich girl was all high-quality items, just like what he used to have at home. Even the wrench had to be a limited edition.

Back then, the rich girl and Nagato promised to cover all his expenses, including food, lodging, and research costs, to lure him into joining the club. So, no matter how expensive it was, the rich girl had no choice but to buy it for him. This put even more pressure on the Land of Rain's economy. Even the handsome Sasori lived in a decades-old house that was cramped, dark, and damp. Only a high-end individual like Sasori, who didn't care about material things and was focused on pursuing art, could endure it. Any other normal person would have run away long ago. Although they knew that starting a business was tough, they didn't even have a place to live. No matter how ambitious they were, they couldn't achieve anything.

After Kakuzu arrived, not to mention that he and Sasori had been teammates for a period of time, Sasori was also his good brother's nephew. He always treated Sasori like a son or nephew. Kakuzu, who was loyal and righteous, would naturally not let his son or nephew live in such a dilapidated environment, so he generously built an exhibition hall for him.

760. Handsome Scorpio had a daughter.

"Scorpion, Masato said your baby is due to be born tonight. Aren't you going back to see him?"

In Handsome Scorpion's luxurious exhibition hall, Kakuzu usually only comes to sit with Handsome Scorpion when he comes back from running missions all over the world. Today, he took a day off and didn't go out to do business. Miss Slug had told him before that Handsome Scorpion's child would probably be born tonight. However, seeing Handsome Scorpion still quietly typing away meticulously, he thought he had forgotten and asked with a helpless expression.

My good brother's nephew's temperament is really frustrating. To put it nicely, he's aloof; to put it bluntly, he's heartless and untrustworthy. If you gave him a book on forgetting emotions, he wouldn't be surprised if he flew away on the spot.

He knew it was his child's birth day, and he couldn't believe Handsome Scorpion didn't know. Yet, even after his own child was born, this guy could still calmly fiddle with his so-called art...

"...Just a little brat, nothing to see here. The Uzumaki clan isn't that easy to mess with..."

Scorpion paused for a second, then continued fiddling with his little parts, speaking calmly. A flicker of excitement flashed in his unseen eyes, followed by panic, as if he were recalling those days that felt like living in hell.

He's not a wooden man. Although he was passive at first, the child was still his. Blood is thicker than water. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, let alone a human being. Of course, he was excited and looking forward to the birth of his child and wanted to see him.

The Tu family's path to enlightenment sounds simple, but it's not that easy. He grew up in a happy family. Apart from his uncle being a bit of a scoundrel, everything else was fine. His extreme thoughts were only for pursuing art. The biggest setback he experienced was being beaten black and blue by that scoundrel every day. Being aloof doesn't mean he has no feelings.

However, the thought that his bastard uncle would definitely find him as soon as he entered the Sand Village's territory, and that he would be dragged home to keep that tigress company, made him tremble with fear whenever he recalled the days and nights he had been tormented by that tigress...

"...I thought you would go. If you are going, please help deliver some gifts. In that case, I can only ask Slug for help. It's not convenient for me to go to those major ninja villages with my identity."

Kakuzu helplessly shrugged. After all, Sasori's parents were his underlings, and they were all acquaintances. Since they were the fourth generation, he felt he should send them something out of courtesy.

"......"

Handsome Scorpion remained silent. Having spent so much time with Kakuzu, he knew Kakuzu was an absolute man of loyalty and righteousness. Kakuzu had taken meticulous care of both him and that bastard's summoned beast. Aside from his somewhat frightening appearance and obsession with money, he was practically flawless. He simply couldn't understand how the genuinely kind-hearted Kakuzu could consider such a despicable, shameless, and unscrupulous scoundrel as a brother...

.......

"Wow! Wow!!"

"Phew...it's finally out."

From within the barrier where screams had been going on for some time, the innocent cries of a child echoed, allowing those outside the barrier, whose nerves were on edge, to breathe a sigh of relief. The Jinchuriki giving birth was just too damn exciting; even with top-notch fighters present, they were incredibly tense.

The baby has been born, and nothing unexpected happened; everything went smoothly...

"Congratulations, Lord Jie..."

"Yes, the Gong Lie family finally has a successor..."

"..."

Since Handsome Scorpion's biological father wasn't there, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, though feeling a little awkward. But they still had to turn around and congratulate Handsome Scorpion's dad; even if his biological father wasn't there, it wouldn't matter if his grandfather was...