Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Was this speed achieved using the Flying Thunder God Technique? That's incredible!

"The Anbu sorted through some old files and found records about the Akatsuki organization in the sealed files of the Root organization. According to the records, the Akatsuki organization first appeared in the Land of Rain and was an enemy of Amegakure. The leader was a man named Yahiko. I wonder if you have heard of this name, Jiraiya-senpai?"

Zongxian looked at Jiraiya and asked, word by word.

[342. Chapter 339 Lies and a New Storm]

“Root… Danzo, that old guy, has really long ears! Yahiko, I haven’t heard anyone mention that name in a long time, assuming the person you’re talking about is the kid I knew.” Jiraiya’s expression turned melancholy. “The Yahiko I’m referring to, I heard he sacrificed himself many years ago.”

"That old man Danzo not only has long ears, but his arms also have a long reach!"

Zongxian glanced at Jiraiya.

"If the data compiled from Root is not fabricated, it can be confirmed that Danzo and Hanzo of the Salamander colluded and once joined forces to deal with Akatsuki. For this purpose, Danzo secretly dispatched a large number of Root's elites to the Land of Rain, but they were all wiped out in the end."

"..."

Jiraiya's expression froze.

He had never known such a thing.

"Although the Root elites were all wiped out, Hanzo of the Salamander survived in Amegakure. However, for some reason, after that joint operation, Hanzo of the Salamander suddenly began to live a reclusive life and almost completely cut off contact with Danzo. Afterwards, Danzo sent his subordinates to Amegakure many times to find Hanzo and demand an explanation, but in the end, he only got... the Rinnegan, such a vague explanation."

Jiraiya remained silent.

But a tremendous storm was brewing in his heart.

The Rinnegan... is it Nagato's?

Zongxian didn't care and continued, "Hanzo's perfunctory answer naturally couldn't satisfy Danzo, but for some reason, Amegakure suddenly became a black hole. He never contacted Hanzo of the Salamander again, and all the people he sent never returned, not even a single bit of information was sent back."

"Not long after, the village was also in trouble. Danzo had no choice but to let it go for the time being. After all, Hanzo the Salamander was not easy to deal with. If he couldn't go all out, it was better not to provoke Hanzo the Salamander. He could settle his grudges with Hanzo the Salamander later when he had time."

"Of course, Danzo is no longer around; his bones have long since rotted away. But the Akatsuki, an organization that Danzo and Hanzo of the Salamander couldn't destroy even when they joined forces, is still thriving. In fact, it seems to have grown into a formidable behemoth, a mercenary organization that has gathered several S-rank rogue ninja, including Orochimaru... Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

lie,

Zongxian could do it effortlessly.

The so-called headache was a complete lie. Apart from Nagato, the rest of the Akatsuki members were not worth his attention. This included Orochimaru, Zetsu, and Obito Uchiha. Their strengths lay in their excellent survival skills, as well as their proficiency in many strange and unpredictable methods.

However, when it comes to their ability in direct combat... they are completely inadequate!

After defeating Obito Uchiha, Sogen no longer cared much about this guy who could only use space-time techniques to carry out assassinations. Only Nagato, who possessed Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan, was the opponent he needed to take seriously at the moment.

"In short, based on this information, my advisors speculate that the Akatsuki's headquarters is likely still within the Land of Rain."

At this point, Zongxian stared intently at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-senpai, the purpose of telling you this information is only one: please do not act rashly. I know you stayed in the Land of Rain for a long time. Regardless of whether this Akatsuki organization is related to Yahiko's Akatsuki organization, I have my own ideas on how to deal with the Akatsuki organization. I don't want to ruin my plans because of some accident."

"Feel free to gather intelligence if you want, but please don't put yourself in danger. If you alert them..."

The rest of the sentence was left unsaid.

There's no need to continue.

Stirring up trouble would mean all plans would fall apart. If the Akatsuki were to hide deeper into the darkness, then Sogen would really have a headache. After activating the Rinnegan, Sogen was unable to sense the Gedo Mazo, which is the body of the Ten-Tails and the God Tree that lost its original form after going berserk.

For this,

Zongxian guessed,

It is very likely that the Gedo Mazo has formed some kind of close contract with Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan. Madara, who was one step too late in activating his Rinnegan, could no longer sense the existence of the Gedo Mazo. Of course, it is also possible that Black Zetsu tampered with it, which allowed Madara Uchiha to summon the Ten-Tails.

The underlying principle is no longer important.

The important thing is that Sogen was very interested in the Outer Path Demon Statue.

However, he doesn't know where the Gedo Mazo is now. The only clue is Nagato, who is currently hiding in Amegakure. He has already started preparing to deal with Nagato. However, what he didn't expect was that even though the future has been completely changed, Jiraiya still managed to gather information about the Akatsuki organization from somewhere.

then,

After careful consideration, Sogen decided to give Jiraiya a word of advice.

Don't ruin his plans.

To prevent this highly capable Sannin from stirring up a hornet's nest in Amegakure prematurely.

"Aren't you going to ask about the Rinnegan?"

"no need."

Zongxian shook his head and refused.

"Everyone has secrets. The Rinnegan... to many people it may be a myth. But Jiraiya-senpai, don't forget that I am an Uchiha, and our Uchiha clan has the longest history in the ninja world. Even if some secrets are buried, it is not impossible for future generations to dig out those buried histories. So-called myths may actually have happened in the past, but their original form has been distorted by time."

"...Is it a secret?"

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief.

He never revealed to the village that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, because he knew that once the Rinnegan was exposed, Nagato's future would certainly not be bright. At the time, he also believed that Nagato was the child of prophecy spoken of by the Great Toad Sage, so he concealed his discovery of the Rinnegan.

"Alright, that's enough for now. Jiraiya-senpai, please don't forget what I said. If you really can't resist going to the Land of Rain to find out what's going on, please let me know before you leave so I can be prepared."

After finishing his speech, Zongxian took his leave.

The drizzling spring rain was still falling, and even standing on the treetops, one couldn't avoid getting wet. If one stayed any longer, one would truly become a drowned rat.

Jiraiya was left alone, lost in thought.

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.

More than a month has passed since the graduation exam. It is said that only three-fifths of the graduates from this year's class successfully graduated and became genin. One-fifth returned to the ninja academy to continue their studies, while another one-fifth gave up on becoming ninjas and left the school to make a living on their own.

"Alright, Naruto, Sasuke, give it your all."

"Keep going, it'll be over soon."

"Just a little bit more."

In late spring and early summer, the scorching sun high in the sky was already quite powerful. The boys working under the blazing sun were exhausted and sweating profusely, looking extremely disheveled. Of course, the girl in red in the group did not stand idly by. She was preparing lunch for them and their employers.

If we're talking about a relaxed lifestyle, Kakashi is probably the only one.

Sitting under a tree, sipping herbal tea, and reading my favorite 'Icha Icha Paradise' series.

"Damn it! We shouldn't have taken on this river dredging project in the first place."

Sasuke, standing in the water, complained aloud.

"Sigh! This job is really hard."

Naruto nodded in agreement, the sweat on his forehead falling off and shattering into eight pieces as he nodded.

This morning,

They took on a collective commission from Konta Village, a small village not far from Konoha. Because all the young people in the village had gone to Konoha to work, only a group of elderly people remained in the village. If it was just farming, the elderly could barely manage to do it for two years.

However, the problem of the river next to the village being blocked by various kinds of garbage and silt from upstream, namely Konoha, was a problem that their old arms and legs could not handle.

Although the village has a well,

However, those two wells could only meet the drinking water needs at most; farming still required river water for irrigation.

The village chief then went to Konoha to post the commissioned task.

The unlucky Seventh Squad was assigned this task and, under the scorching sun, painstakingly dredged up to their chests in the deepest part of the river to retrieve trash. Their shadow clones couldn't withstand the rushing water, and their human wave tactics were useless; at most, they could only help clean up the trash on both sides of the river.

Fortunately, the ninjas' physical abilities were indeed monstrous.

Compared to ordinary people, their work efficiency is obviously extraordinary. In less than three hours, they cleaned up the garbage accumulated in the river, and the turbid water in this section of the river returned to its clear state in the blink of an eye.

When they returned to shore,

Sakura has also prepared lunch.

Compared to the boys, Sakura's life wasn't easy either. It was the first time the girl had realized that cooking was actually a physically demanding task, because Kakashi-sensei casually remarked while chatting with the employers that he might as well have his subordinates help prepare lunch!

Then, with the help of several elderly people who were walking with trembling feet, Xiaoying began to prepare lunch for the four of them, as well as for the dozens of elderly people in the village.

Undoubtedly

The young girl was forced to become the head chef, washing and chopping vegetables, cooking rice... she was assigned almost all the work. The old ladies who could barely walk offered no help other than verbal instructions.

"Phew! Naruto, Sasuke, you guys are done too!"

The girl, her face pale with exhaustion, sat on a wooden stool, too tired to move.

"Yes, everything is done."

Naruto said with a strong voice.

He's the epitome of physical prowess!

"Next time, I will never take on a D-rank mission like this again." Sasuke, gritting his teeth, stumbled over and plopped down on the empty stool, panting heavily. He was feeling a bit dizzy from the sun.

Although he had previously undergone high-intensity training.

but,

Even if you're going to get tired, you'll still get tired!

During intense training, he was exhausted like a dog. Today's task was not only tiring, but also dirty and smelly... It was absolutely amazing!

"Hey, is it finished already?"

Kakashi strolled over leisurely, carrying a book.

"Well done!"

"Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke struggled to lift his head. "I think we can take on missions of D rank or higher now. In the past month or so, we've caught cats, carried water, repaired roofs, helped look after children, and even helped gather medicinal herbs... Kakashi-sensei, I've almost forgotten how to wield a sword!"

"Can't wait any longer?"

Kakashi looked at the exhausted boys and girls in front of him and laughed, "Not bad! I thought you would have complained to me a week ago that this kind of mission was too boring! It's good that you've kept going until today. Next time, I will choose a more advanced mission that suits us."

To be honest, Naruto and his friends are strong enough to take on C-rank or even B-rank missions.

just,

Kakashi believed that instead of frantically completing a large number of high-level missions to earn rewards and fame, it would be better to proceed steadily and cautiously, using these tedious missions to temper the boys' impetuous nature. Furthermore, during this time, they could try to help make up for Sakura's weakest link in the team and improve the level of this shortcoming.

Climbing trees, wading in water, doing other things with leaves on their foreheads... These training methods, which the girl had never experienced before, greatly improved her basic skills. During the training, Kakashi witnessed firsthand the girl's excellent learning ability and control over chakra.

The tree-climbing training involved only one instruction, and the girl climbed to the top of the tree in one go.