I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

Ino said angrily, having finally mustered the courage to speak, only to be met with ridicule.

"It's nothing, Ino, thanks."

Ye Lan turned and left the flower shop without lingering, her usual cold gaze returning. "It's truly an ignorant statement," she thought, "too naive, and you'll always be the one who gets hurt."

Leaving the bustling streets, we arrived at the most remote Uchiha clan territory in Konoha.

Having not returned for a long time, the weeds here had grown quite a bit again. Ye Lan arrived at the cemetery, looked around among the nameless tombstones, and finally found his target before walking to an inconspicuous little grave mound.

Through his perception of natural energy, Ye Lan had figured out a few people he was familiar with in the Uchiha clan. The one in front of him was Uchiha Yakumi, who had taught him and Shisui.

A somewhat stubborn old man, recalling the old man's past evaluation of him, couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

"Uchiha Yelan, you have a resentful heart and are not suitable to be a bridge between the Uchiha clan and Konoha. Leave these matters to Shisui..."

Remembering the old man's words, Ye Lan said in a low voice.

"The man I always praised, Shisui, is now dead and his body is torn to pieces. The man called the bridge couldn't even protect his family in the end. I really don't know what you were feeling when you died..."

The old man was stubborn, but he still taught himself and Shisui without reservation and treated them equally. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to graduate from the Ninja Academy at the age of 8 and become the new Uchiha genius after Itachi.

There was another thing that puzzled Ye Lan: he hadn't found Fugaku's body, and the bodies of all the Uchiha elites in the security department had also disappeared. He hadn't told Sasuke about this yet.

If Sasuke knew that the grave he visits every year is just an empty one, things would probably get messy. Even though Sasuke's mind has become much more peaceful, he would still lose his temper.

Ye Lan poured a pot of wine in front of the grave. He had brought it specially, knowing that the old man used to like to have a couple of drinks. No one had brought it for him before, so now that he remembered, he wanted to let him have his fill.

But after that night, Ye Lan made up his mind never to touch that thing again in his life, otherwise he wouldn't even know how he died.

"Kakashi, why was someone sent to spy on me?"

Ye Lan put away the wine jug and said unhurriedly, "With my current sensory abilities, I sensed Kakashi as soon as he appeared beside me. There are very few people in Konoha who can monitor me right now."

He could sense a subtle, imperceptible spying while he was resting, but he didn't react. Now, he might as well use Kakashi to give a warning to the Konoha leaders.

"You found out about this." Kakashi walked out with a helpless expression, he had just arrived and he was discovered.

"Don't joke like that. Who in the village would spy on their companions?"

"Perhaps." Ye Lan didn't look up and remained squatting in front of the tombstone.

"It seems you are paying respects to someone very important to you..."

Kakashi, who often stood in front of the Konoha Monument, was somewhat moved.

"But they don't even have names. Every year, I'm the only one who remembers them. You're not the only one who goes to pay respects to them."

Hearing Ye Lan's slightly mocking tone, Kakashi was surprisingly angry.

"I'm not here to argue with you, Ye Lan."

Ye Lan remained silent and didn't continue the topic, realizing that she had gone a bit too far, and took the initiative to ask.

"Speak, what do you want from me?"

Seeing that Ye Lan was no longer assertive, Kakashi softened and sighed.

"I have an S-rank mission right now. Interested in teaming up with me?"

Chapter 97 Unveiled

Tick-tock...

A drop of water fell from a stalactite in the cave, and the tiny sound was so clear that it traveled throughout the entire cave.

This is an underground laboratory far from Konoha. Half a year has passed since Sasuke's attack. Ye Lan, who is still in the developmental stage, has grown another centimeter or two, while Sasuke's growth has been even more rapid, and he already looks somewhat mature.

For the past six months, Ye Lan and Sasuke have remained silent, perfectly executing every mission. Sasuke is almost a Jonin, and Ye Lan, along with Kakashi and several other Jonin, has been racking up S-rank missions. Their personal reputations are even greater than they were six months ago.

The only thing that has bothered me in the past six months is that Danzo, that old dog, has started promoting himself among the people of Konoha through some unknown means.

He recounted all the contributions he made on the battlefield, presenting a glorious and noble positive image, no longer the little-known leader of the Roots.

Tsunade and her two advisors confronted Danzo, who brazenly claimed he simply wanted to maintain a good reputation in preparation for retirement. Tsunade and her team were helpless in the face of this explanation; since no damage had yet been done, they ultimately had to let the matter drop.

"Are you ready?" Ye Lan stopped thinking about the troubles in the village and asked Sasuke beside her.

Sasuke nodded upon hearing this. He felt a little nervous at this moment, a feeling he hadn't experienced during the Chunin Exams.

"Then, the Summoning Jutsu, Impure World Reincarnation!"

After half a year of experimentation, Ye Lan finally figured out the complete method of using the Impure World Reincarnation. The bandit who died in the previous summoning had regained his consciousness from his previous life. Now, this was the first time he had used the Impure World Reincarnation to create a ninja. At this moment, he also called Sasuke over.

A coffin rose from the ground, and under the watchful eyes of Ye Lan and Sasuke, the coffin lid was finally opened.

After a long while, the ninja in front of them finally opened his eyes. His sharp gaze was filled with doubt and some surprise as he looked at Ye Lan and Sasuke.

"Uchiha Yelan? I should be dead."

The person in front of him directly stated Ye Lan's name, who was none other than Shuang, who had gone to Wuyin to carry out a mission together.

Ye Lan had his own reasons for first bringing Shuang out of Edo Tensei. First, Shuang might know some secrets of the Akatsuki organization, and these secrets might be related to the Uchiha clan, including the mysterious person who previously controlled the Fourth Mizukage. These were all important pieces of intelligence.

Furthermore, there were no corpses of the Uchiha masters, so even if they were resurrected using Edo Tensei, the information would be very limited. At the time, not many of Frost's cells were taken, and they might be damaged if not used soon. Therefore, it would be safer to resurrect Frost sooner rather than later.

"That's right, you did die. This was the Second Hokage's forbidden technique, Impure World Reincarnation, which can revive the dead and retain some of their fighting abilities."

Ye Lan explained that he felt he needed to be honest to get information about Shuang, since the Impure World Reincarnation could only control the body, not the mind.

"You call this preserving combat capability?"

Frost already had a deathly face, and now his complexion was even worse. He tried to sense his own strength and found that it was less than a tenth of what it was when he was alive. He estimated that he couldn't even beat some experienced Chunin now.

"Ahem, don't worry about that. I didn't expect you to bring me much fighting power."

Ye Lan was somewhat embarrassed. His Impure World Reincarnation was still far inferior to Orochimaru's. Although the sacrifices were just some mountain bandits he randomly chose, their strength was so weak that it felt even less effective than Orochimaru's first use of Impure World Reincarnation. This really surprised him.

Upon hearing Ye Lan's words, Shuang instantly understood what was happening, crossed her arms, and snorted coldly.

"It won't be so easy to get information about my head."

"Konoha and Kirigakure have formed an alliance," Ye Lan said after a moment's thought.

"So what? The alliance is just a piece of waste paper to me, let alone a dead man like me."

Shuang didn't shy away from revealing her identity and spoke directly.

"Mei Terumi told us about what happened before Kirigakure, including how the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by a mysterious person with Sharingan."

This intelligence came like a bomb, catching Frost somewhat off guard.

"How could Mei Terumi tell people from other villages about something like this!"

Seeing Shuang's somewhat angry expression, Ye Lan was not surprised. Shuang herself was a traditional ninja, and she would never expose such family scandals to outsiders.

After Shuang finished venting, Ye Lan spoke.

"You can't really blame Mei Terumi. I traded Akatsuki's information for her back then."

"You know Xiao very well?" Shuang looked at Ye Lan with some surprise and uncertainty.

"The person I fought back then claimed to be a god and had the Rinnegan. I almost died at his hands back then. I guess that person was the leader of Akatsuki."

Frost was basically convinced of Ye Lan's statement, except for some doubts about it from his Rinnegan. The commotion caused by Ye Lan's fight with Pain was much greater than that caused by him and Obito; it was not something that could be done by ordinary ninjas.

"Moreover, I have also encountered other members of Akatsuki, and apart from you, their goal was the tailed beasts."

Seeing the silent Shuang, Ye Lan decided to add fuel to the fire.

"The Fourth Mizukage, being a perfect Jinchuriki, was definitely their target. You saw through their scheme and ruined their plans. Not only that, you also killed the Fourth Mizukage with your own hands, causing the Tailed Beast to die directly. The Akatsuki organization had no choice but to go into hiding again."

After hearing that Ye Lan already knew that she had killed the Fourth Mizukage, Shuang stopped talking and silently faced Ye Lan and Sasuke, her eyes constantly shifting between the two.

"Uchiha Yelan, what exactly is your purpose in doing all this?"

Ye Lan knew there was a chance, but she still controlled her expression and said calmly.

“Itachi Uchiha is in the Akatsuki organization. He slaughtered the Uchiha clan. I swear I will kill him. Moreover, the mysterious person who controlled the Fourth Mizukage is likely also involved. I need to know everything about this organization.”

Shuang's expression was somewhat moved. He had thought that Ye Lan would give some lofty reason, such as for the peace of the ninja world, for Konoha, etc. He was even prepared to hear Ye Lan say that it was for the future development of Konoha and Kirigakure. He did not expect Ye Lan to be so frank.

"Kill that mysterious man. If you can do it, I'll tell you Akatsuki's biggest secret."

Shuang had already learned that the mysterious man was not dead either; the fatal blow he had left behind had actually allowed that guy to survive. Now, all he wanted was for this scourge of Kirigakure to die. If it weren't for him, Kirigakure wouldn't be in its current state, having even allied with Konoha.

If this had happened twenty years ago, the entire village would have opposed it.

"Okay, I promise you."

Ye Lan thought for a moment and agreed. Although there was no direct evidence, Ye Lan knew that the masked man was definitely involved with the Uchiha clan. Just based on the fact that he possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, Ye Lan would have a good talk with him.

Shuang sighed deeply, finally letting go of some of the burdens in his heart. He understood that Ye Lan would definitely do his best to fulfill his promise, not for any other reason than that he was an Uchiha.

"You and I both know about Akatsuki collecting the Tailed Beasts, but have you ever thought about where they got so many ninjas who could withstand the power of the Tailed Beasts?"

Shuang is right. Tailed beasts are not something ordinary ninjas can withstand. Ye Lan had also thought about this issue, but in the end, he just felt that the other party must have mastered some kind of powerful sealing technique that could perfectly seal the tailed beast.

"I heard this when the Fourth Hokage was being controlled. They collected the Tailed Beasts not to make them Jinchūriki."

Shuang's eyes widened; even now, hearing about this still sends chills down his spine.

"They have a container that can gather all the tailed beasts together and create an ultimate weapon of war!"

Chapter 98 The Second Chunin Exams

Ye Lan remained silent. He recalled what Tiandao had once told him: the ultimate goal of the Akatsuki was world peace. If they were to gather all the tailed beasts and create something like this, they might achieve that goal temporarily.

Why did Pain obtain a container capable of sealing all the tailed beasts? Was it because of the Rinnegan?

Ye Lan thought about many things in an instant. From the Akatsuki's actions, Shuang's intelligence was highly credible.

"This is the biggest secret I've heard about their organization. I don't know anything more. After that, Mei Terumi and I broke the Fourth Hokage's control. At that time, that mysterious person wanted to take the Fourth Hokage away. You probably know what happened after that."

Actually, Shuang had intended to reveal the information after hearing about the alliance between Kirigakure and Konoha, but hesitated and didn't tell Mei Terumi, which she deeply regretted after his death. The Akatsuki's goals would cause turmoil throughout the entire ninja world, and telling Yelan would at least allow them to prepare.

Ye Lan seems to have his own ideas. Konoha is definitely unaware that he's secretly learning this ninjutsu, but judging from his behavior, he's not a madman. He also has a deep-seated hatred for the Akatsuki members. It would be ideal if he could disrupt Akatsuki's operations.

Sasuke had been listening to everything, and he was incredulous at Akatsuki's purpose; he hadn't expected them to be such a daring group.

If the target is a Jinchūriki, then Naruto will also be in danger. No wonder Jiraiya always takes Naruto with him. With one of the Legendary Sannin protecting him, at least Naruto won't be in any real danger.

"In a way, you've also disrupted Akatsuki's plans. The Three-Tails will probably take another two years or so to revive, and by then..."

Recently, there has been very little information about Akatsuki in the ninja world, as if they have disappeared. Ye Lan understands that a major change will occur in the ninja world in the future.