The Master of Konoha's Legacy

More than ten monks from the Fire Temple sat cross-legged on a high platform, chanting sutras with their eyes closed. Behind them was a Buddha statue that was more than three meters tall.

Hundreds of small items, such as Buddha statues and Buddhist implements, are displayed on the ground in front of the stage.

Several monks stood beside the donation box, their hands clasped together, smiling as they looked at the people kneeling in prayer before them.

After each person who comes forward to pray donates money to the donation box, they can choose a small item to keep as a souvenir.

Uchiha Tonan squinted at the young monk at the very center of the high platform.

I vaguely remember meeting this young monk once.

If I'm not mistaken, this young monk should be the new abbot, Dilu.

Uchiha Tonan had no connection with Jiraiya, so he naturally had no intention of going up to talk to him.

He went straight to the platform, put his hands together, and looked directly at the Buddha statue on the platform.

[Chapter 421. Before Departure, the Clone Returns]

"If possible, please bless me so that my trip goes well."

Uchiha Tonan simply recited a sentence, then lowered his gaze and glanced at the small objects on the ground.

But they discovered a rather interesting item.

But then Uchiha Tonan pointed to a golden Buddha statue the size of a palm and said:

"How much does this Buddha statue cost?"

The monk put his hands together, shook his head, and said:

“Benefactor, no money is required; you can take it away if you are sincere.”

Uchiha Tonan nodded, reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a thick wad of banknotes, worth at least tens of thousands of taels.

The moment the money was put into the donation box, the monk, with a smile on his face, presented the Buddha statue to Uchiha Tonan with both hands.

Uchiha Tonan took the Buddha statue and then bent down to pick up a half-unrolled painting.

Then he waved the painting in his hand at the monk and said:

"Can I take another painting?"

The monk smiled but said nothing, only nodding slightly.

"Thank you, Master." Uchiha Tonan said his thanks, stepped aside, and turned to leave.

The next person to pray stepped forward.

“Only those who are sincere can take it away.”

"Didn't that person just donate money and take away a Buddha statue?"

I gave him some too, just not as much as he did.

"It has nothing to do with money; that benefactor's heart is more sincere."

These Buddhist implements are more suitable for you, benefactor.

.......

As Uchiha Tonan walked further and further away, he examined the Buddha statue in his hand.

The Buddha statue has two sides, front and back.

The front features a compassionate and dignified golden Buddha, seated cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees.

On the back is a black yaksha with a hideous face, twin fangs, and wings that cover each other.

There's nothing mysterious about this Buddha statue; Uchiha Tonan took it simply for good luck.

As for the yakshas on the back of the Buddha statue, that's a perfectly normal thing in this world.

The gate to the Fire Temple is also decorated with Yakshas, ​​and even the gates of the Anbu and Root are engraved with Yakshas.

Uchiha Tonan casually stuffed the Buddha statue into his ninja tool bag, and then unfolded the scroll he had just received.

What truly caught Uchiha Tonan's attention just now was this painting.

The painting depicts a swimming dragon.

There are also a few lines of scripture written in the upper right corner of the painting.

Judging from the handwriting and the texture of the paper, it must have been drawn recently.

Uchiha Tonan carefully examined the dragon in the painting, marveling at it in his heart.

The patterns on these dragon scales...

At first glance, there seems to be no problem, but upon closer inspection, it gives off an awkward feeling.

It does resemble a sealing technique I've studied before.

However, they only look somewhat similar overall.

Perhaps the origin of sealing techniques comes from the rare and exotic beasts of ancient times.

Uchiha Tonan secretly thought that when he was preparing to improve the sealing technique next time, he would try to modify the dragon scale pattern on the dragon in this painting.

Let's see if there are any special effects.

Apart from that, the painting is quite ordinary and nothing special.

Shortly after Uchiha Tonan left, Jiro, who was chanting sutras with his eyes closed on the high platform, suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at the crowd with a look of surprise and uncertainty.

An old monk beside him noticed Di Lu's unusual behavior and asked in a low voice:

"Host, what's wrong?"

Di Lu frowned and muttered:

"I just sensed a very evil aura through my inner eye."

The Mind's Eye is a special ninjutsu that only the abbots of the Fire Temple have mastered throughout history, and the old monk doesn't know exactly how much evil aura Riku has described.

After a moment of silence, the old monk said thoughtfully:

"This is Konoha. Those ninjas have been living on the edge of death for years, so it's only natural that they have evil hearts."

Let's not meddle in other people's business.

Dilu hadn't left the temple many times in recent years, and he wasn't sure what level of evil aura he had just sensed belonged to.

But the strong sense of rejection in his heart kept him alert.

"But...it's really different, a vast and pure evil."

Upon hearing this, the old monk frowned and looked around.

Suddenly, the old monk seemed to remember something, and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"Could it be a tailed beast?"

After thinking for a moment, Di Lu nodded and said, "That should be it."

Since it's a tailed beast, it's naturally not something that Jiraiya and the others should be thinking about.

The two closed their eyes again and began reciting scriptures.

Meanwhile, at the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth.

Most of the land in the Land of Rain is either low-lying or flat, except near the border of the Land of Earth, where the terrain rises abruptly, with continuous towering peaks and ridges.

This place also serves as a new hideout for the Akatsuki organization.

Inside a cave on a mountain peak.

A transparent glass coffin was placed in a flowerbed filled with white roses.

Yahiko's body lay quietly in the glass coffin, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, a peaceful smile on his face.

Nagato and Konan stood in the flowerbed with gloomy expressions, seemingly lost in thought.

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded behind me.

"The new year is approaching, and it's time to rebuild the Akatsuki organization."

Nagato and Konan turned around to look.

They saw that the instant clone and Zetsu were walking towards them.

Nagato bowed deeply to the instant clone and said:

"Teacher, what do you want me to do?"

The instant clone snorted heavily upon hearing this, its tone cold and indifferent:

"You are the leader of Akatsuki, so I should be asking you what to do."

I've taught you so much lately; it's time for you to stand on your own.

Nagato lowered her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes, and said, "I will try my best."

Seeing Nagato's lifeless appearance, the instant clone immediately said in a deep voice, "Dreams can't be achieved just by hard work; you need to find the right direction."

Nagato took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked at the instant clone with a solemn expression, saying:

"But with my current strength, I am not strong enough to capture the tailed beasts."

Especially the Nine-Tails of Konoha.

The instant clone slowly approached the flowerbed, its crimson Sharingan fixed on Yahiko's corpse, and said in a deep voice:

"After capturing the tailed beast and merging it with the Gedo Mazo, he became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and gained unparalleled power."

This is the final step in realizing the dream of peace.

What you need to do now is to be grounded and find your direction.

Upon hearing this, Nagato frowned and began to ponder deeply.

After a long while, the confusion in Nagato's eyes faded, and he said, word by word, "Increase our strength and expand our organization."

The instant clone glanced sideways at Nagato's resolute expression and uttered softly, "Specifics."

But Nagato, deep in thought, said in a solemn voice:

“Strengthening our capabilities takes time and effort; I’m in charge of recruiting the organization’s elites.”