Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

He couldn't argue with Lady Tsunade about this, and of course, his doubts wouldn't disappear just because of Lady Tsunade's words.

"I know you may have doubts." Before Kakashi, Itachi, and the others could say anything, Tsunade continued, "If it were me, I would definitely have some doubts too, but... I think I might know who is behind this."

"Huh?"

"who is it?"

Kakashi, Man Yue, and Itachi all showed obvious emotional changes at this moment, and even Kimimaro's pupils shrank.

Instead of answering their questions, Tsunade asked, "Kakashi, what are you planning to do next?"

"Next... let's see if the sensory unit can provide any useful clues! Our mission this time is to hunt down Kazuma, a traitor among the former Twelve Guardian Ninja. If we can find any clues, we'll definitely keep chasing him, but if we can't, we'll probably go back to the village, right? So, Lady Tsunade, is there anything you can do for us?"

"I'm planning to go back to Konoha. If you're also planning to go back, you can come with me."

"Huh? Lady Tsunade, are you telling the truth?"

Shizune, holding her pink pet pig, had been quietly following behind Tsunade. When she suddenly spoke, she startled Tsunade. Tsunade was preoccupied with her thoughts and, with Kakashi and the others nearby, she didn't think she was in any danger. She had indeed neglected to pay attention to her surroundings.

The result was that I was startled by the silence.

"Jingyin, what are you yelling about in surprise?"

"No, you said you want to go back to Konoha... is that true?"

"When have I ever lied to you? And it's just going back to Konoha, why are you getting so worked up?" Tsunade scolded her disciple and follower in an annoyed tone, then looked at Kakashi and the others and said, "Of course, if you want to continue your mission, I'll go back by myself."

"No, well, let's go back together. It's good to go together, it's good to go back together."

Kakashi hurriedly replied.

In other words, the mask concealed his facial expressions, preventing anyone from seeing the cold-blooded Kakashi's smile. He was genuinely happy at the moment. He had been worrying about how to persuade Lady Tsunade to return to the village, and had even sought advice from other members of the team, but in the end, it was all in vain.

Before he could even speak, Lady Tsunade took the initiative to ask to go back to the village.

"Um... Lady Tsunade, is your return to the village related to what's happening here?" After his initial surprise subsided, Kakashi immediately realized that Lady Tsunade's request to return to the village must have a reason.

Judging from the current situation,

This reason is most likely related to what they are currently facing.

"That's right. Although some things can be explained in the letter, I should still go back! That fat old man Akimichi Torifu has health problems again. I estimate that the Anbu will gather here like flies, no, like moths, before long. It's incredibly troublesome. I might as well take advantage of this trip back to deal with them all at once."

Kakashi had already told Tsunade about Akimichi Torifu falling ill again.

Kakashi didn't press further about who was researching such a forbidden thing as synthetic beasts. Anyway, Lady Tsunade was going back to the village, and once she returned, the Hokage would naturally assist her in handling the matter. Their responsibility was to ensure that Lady Tsunade returned to the village safely and as quickly as possible.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Milou Mountain.

Kazuma stood on the balcony, silently gazing at the hazy scenery outside shrouded in a light drizzle. He had been here for half a month since returning from the hunting expedition to the Land of Water, but fortunately, his experiences over the past few years had made him accustomed to waiting.

This is the first time I've been alone.

Tianmu did not enter this place with him, but stayed outside Milou Mountain. So when Beiluhu disappeared, he was the only living person left in the huge palace. Of course, there were many monsters kept in the palace, but he could not communicate with them.

"You don't seem to be used to being alone."

An unfamiliar, somewhat immature voice, like that of a child, came from behind.

He Ma turned around and saw a white-haired, red-eyed boy wearing a white high-necked robe walking step by step toward the balcony.

"You... Beiruhu?"

Even though he knew this guess was absurd, given that there seemed to be only two living people in the palace, him and Hiruko, and that Hiruko had white hair and red eyes (not Sharingan, of course), such a unique appearance was not common, so no matter how absurd it was, it might be the truth.

"What? Is it hard to be sure?"

"Isn't that obvious? The way you look now... is too different from before, isn't it?" Kazuma couldn't help but look the 'child' who walked up to him up and down. The high-necked white clothes couldn't hide the bandages on his face. From his eyes down, his face was wrapped in bandages. Perhaps Hiruko's condition hadn't been adjusted yet?

"Don't worry too much about the differences in appearance. For me, changing the form is not difficult, nor does it have much significance. This appearance is just the most suitable posture at the current stage before the evolution is completely completed. When the final step of evolution is truly completed, a brand new perfect posture will naturally be born."

"The final step... the Sharingan?"

"of course."

"Konoha is not easy to deal with!"

“I know this better than you do, don’t I? After all… I used to be a Konoha ninja, and you didn’t really want me to attack Konoha, did you? According to our agreement, you brought me prey, and I should repay you with Konoha as my reward.” Hiruko glanced slightly at Kazuma beside her.

"Hmph! Don't be so sure of yourself! I don't expect you to destroy Konoha in one go. It would be good enough if you could just help me collect enough data." In fact, Kazuma did sense an extremely dangerous aura from Hiruko, and his intuition warned him to stay away from the source of danger in front of him.

only--

He doesn't live by intuition.

Although Hiruko was not a kind person, he was not the kind of person who liked to betray his promises. He did not think that Hiruko would kill him for no reason at this time, even though he, as a pawn, seemed to be of no use anymore.

"It seems you still don't quite believe in my abilities."

"I generally have a certain degree of skepticism about things that I haven't seen or tested myself!"

"I see! Then I think you'll see it soon."

Hiruko stared at Kazuma. "More than this, I really want to ask you where the gift you gave me came from. That kind of thing is definitely not something you could have. Tell me honestly, who is behind you? What do you want to do by giving me that kind of thing?"

Is this matter important?

He Ma smiled and asked in return.

That's right. The reason he dared to stand here and chat with Hiruko, who was exuding a truly monstrous aura, was because of that gift, that thing called White Zetsu, which had basic intelligence and the Wood Release bloodline limit. He believed that Hiruko could see what that thing really represented.

Before figuring out whether there were deeper entanglements behind him, Hiruko would never rashly take action against him.

"Whether I took that thing or not, it doesn't affect our next move, does it? Destroying Konoha is what we need to do next. As for what happens after we destroy Konoha... we can discuss or fight about that after we destroy Konoha."

"You make a lot of sense."

Hiruko gave Kazuma a deep look. "Once our deal is done, I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer. Otherwise, I don't mind using some rather crude methods to get the answer I want."

"Don't worry, you'll get an answer by then, although I'm not entirely sure if you'll like it."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

The conversation ended there, and the two stood on the balcony in silence for a long time.

He and Ma took the initiative again to ask, "The plan... how exactly do you plan to do it? When do you intend to start?"

"It won't be long. I can't endure this incomplete form for long. I'm eager to complete the final step of evolution, so the plan won't be delayed for too long. Also, you don't need to worry about your body. Although it's an incomplete form, I have to admit that the gift you brought me has helped me beyond my imagination. I think... before the plan begins, it won't be difficult to completely solve your problems."

Hiruko gave Kazuma some good news.

"Oh! That sounds... really good!"

Kazuma squinted his eyes, and his smile grew even brighter.

This issue,

That's definitely good news.

The incomplete fusion with the forbidden techniques of the Earth Spider Clan had caused him a great deal of trouble. Just being able to completely resolve this problem would make all his hard work and the loss of his companion, Zizi, worthwhile.

[Chapter 305. Have you ever heard of the name Hiruko?]

Yinyin Village.

This is a ninja village that has been established for less than five years.

It is also the only newly established ninja village in the ninja world in the past fifty years.

In the years following the establishment of the one-country-one-village system and the initial formation of a new ecosystem in the ninja world where the five great nations checked and balanced each other, ninja villages sprang up one after another like mushrooms after rain, with almost every country establishing its own ninja village. However, this prosperity was short-lived.

The outbreak of the First Shinobi World War became the most rigorous test.

Many small ninja villages were merely swept away by the aftermath of the great war and were completely wiped out physically. Apart from the five great ninja villages, only a few small ninja villages such as Takigakure, Amegakure, Shimogakure, and Yugakure survived. But to be honest, apart from Takigakure, which was lucky enough to inherit the Seven-Tails, and was doing relatively well, the rest of the small ninja villages all depended on the five great ninja villages for survival, and their lives were quite difficult.

The most stubborn Amegakure endured the most brutal war. Even the ambitious and powerful 'demigod' was completely exhausted and reduced to mediocrity.

After the First Shinobi World War

Having witnessed a different and cruel environment from the Warring States period, the ninjas gave up the idea of ​​forming new ninja villages, stopping at the form of 'ninja villages' where multiple ninja families united. In fact, many families were unwilling to even join ninja villages, always maintaining their family traditions as a way of life.

I do not seek prosperity and flourishing, but only longevity and endurance.

Therefore,

The birth of Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village) is seen by many as nothing short of a miracle.

In the heart of Otogakure, in a relatively new and luxurious mansion, Haku gracefully knelt on the tatami mat, gazing at the people before him with a gentle yet aloof look.

"Lord Bai, please have some tea!"

The middle-aged man wearing the Sound Ninja headband forced out an exaggeratedly enthusiastic smile.

He is the nominal leader of Otogakure.

Besides this leader, there were several elders in the room who held real power, representing the current visible power structure of Otogakure.

As for the reason why these powerful figures from the Hidden Sound Village gathered together.

Very simple.

It's because of Bai's arrival.

"There's no need for tea. You'd be better off handing over your investigative intelligence as soon as possible. I personally have no ill will towards you, but Lord Orochimaru's orders are absolute. You may waste your time trying to please me, but that won't lessen Lord Orochimaru's wrath."

Bai calmly uttered words that terrified everyone.

"Lord Bai, it's not that we were negligent or careless, but our intelligence units are simply not as good as those major ninja villages. The intelligence we gathered was incomplete, and we had no way of connecting these attacks at first!"

The leader of Otogakure loudly lamented his grievances, his sorrowful and indignant expression making one feel as if tears were about to fall at any moment.

"is it?"

Bai chuckled, “Let me remind you again, I am only sitting here on behalf of Lord Orochimaru. Lord Orochimaru doesn’t care what your reasons are. He didn’t establish Otogakure to hear how hard or aggrieved you were. If you can’t meet Lord Orochimaru’s needs, then… Otogakure has no reason to exist.”

His smile was so gentle and charming, but the words that came out of his mouth were as cold as the coldest north wind on the winter solstice.

The leader of Otogakure froze.

He felt frozen, and the tears that seemed about to fall at any moment were held back. A deep fear gripped his trachea like a noose, and he forgot how to breathe. If he angered Lord Orochimaru, death might be a luxury he could only dream of.

but--

Not everyone was scared.