Starlight glittered, spanning the night sky.
The Hawk Falcon flapped its wings rapidly in the night, transforming into a dark phantom, advancing at top speed towards the Rain Country.
Yamanaka Kei crossed his legs, lying on the Hawk Falcon's back, feeling the whistling wind around him, staring blankly at the boundless starry sea.
In the afternoon, Uchiha Kazushima invited him to a tea room opened by the Uchiha clan.
The other party's purpose was not complicated.
They simply hoped that Yamanaka Kei could select some ninjas from the Uchiha clan to enter Root.
The Uchiha clan would also fully support any actions Yamanaka Kei initiated in Root afterward.
"Old people are crafty."
Yamanaka Kei murmured, closing his eyes.
During this period, Shimura Danzo had been going to Konoha Hospital too frequently, leading many to suspect that the Root leader was not long for this world.
After that, although his body seemed to have recovered, he tried his best to win him over to Root.
He even paid a considerable price for this with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Anyone with a slightly flexible mind would guess whether Danzo had already begun preparing to cultivate a successor.
Orochimaru could not stay in Root forever.
Judging from the current situation, this Cold Lord was the only candidate with the ability and qualifications to become the Fourth Hokage!
Yamanaka Kei was born into the Hokage staunch faction, his strength was recognized by Jiraiya, and he was valued by Lord Hokage, and he also gained Danzo's favor.
Entering Root in advance, familiarizing himself with Root operations, and then getting to know Orochimaru and cultivating tacit understanding.
The future high-level structure of Konoha seemed clear at a glance?
Although the Uchiha were not yet being directly monitored and targeted by the Konoha high-level officials as they would be after the Nine Tails Rebellion, many people had already realized their estrangement from Konoha's core circle.
The Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's assignment of the police force to the Uchiha clan seemed to grant the Uchiha great power.
But after such a long time, many people had already realized the drawbacks of being limited to the police force.
And although the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi allowed the Uchiha to join normal ninja combat teams, the Uchiha were nowhere to be seen in the Anbu or some confidential departments.
Uchiha Kazushima chose to support Yamanaka Kei's rise at this time.
One reason was to gain the friendship of a future Konoha high-level official in advance, the second was to try to deepen the connection between the Uchiha and Konoha, and the third, perhaps, was to try to break the situation from him.
Of course, there may be the most important point, to cut off some clansmen from the Uchiha!
The ninjas who joined Root would be branded with the Curse of Root's Silence and undergo the emotion-erasing training created by Danzo.
Absolutely obeying the Root leader, and unable to put the family first from then on, they were already different from normal Uchiha clansmen.
This behavior seemed to damage the family's interests.
But from a long-term perspective, was it not a guarantee for the continuation of the family!
An Old Man who could survive from the Warring States Period to this day.
There isn't a single one who's simple!
"Mikoto is meticulous and perceptive, and her strength is passable. Shisui will only be five years old after the New Year, which is a bit early..."
Yamanaka Kei's mind flashed through the names of various Uchiha Clan members.
Danzo wouldn't allow Uchiha to join Root because, like Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, he was full of vigilance and wariness towards this clan, and even harbored some covetousness.
Although Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't as extreme as Danzo, how could he, as the person in power, not be wary of the strongest ninja clan?
All their fears essentially stemmed from a lack of strength.
Yamanaka Kei didn't need to consider so much at all.
He had just changed the Curse of Root's Silence control rights for the core department heads of Root.
Next, he not only had to change the Curse of Root's Silence on other members, but also use the Curse of Root's Silence and memory alteration in tandem to deal with those Danzo loyalists.
Plus, he still had to handle all the affairs of Root.
There were simply too many things to do.
Since the Uchiha were offering themselves up, he might as well pick a few useful ones!
Want to cause trouble under him?
Open a Mangekyō Sharingan first.
Otherwise, he was afraid that if he used too much force, a single slap would kill them.
"Klee~ Klee~"
The Hawk Falcon Pidgeot let out a cry.
Hearing the sound, Yamanaka Kei turned his head to look in the direction it was heading.
At a glance, the continuous dark clouds in the sky gradually obscured the stars in the night sky.
The fine rain and mist made the Rain Country under the night seem to be enveloped by the darkness of the entire world, oppressive and dull.
He casually threw a Kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God Technique Formula into the unmanned dense forest below.
Feeling the light rain falling on his body.
Yamanaka Kei activated the Water Transformation Technique, changed to a comfortable position, and continued to lie down.
...
Rain Ninja Village, Rain Country.
In a steel building far from the center of Rain Ninja Village, Konan, wearing a black robe, stood on the balcony, reaching out to feel the raindrops falling on her palm, staring blankly at the gloomy sky.
Behind her, several young people who had just joined the Akatsuki organization sat around a brazier, chatting about the future with Akatsuki leader Yahiko, with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Nagato, who was somewhat introverted, sat quietly in a corner, watching his companions laugh and talk.
"Leader, I heard that a lot of guys want to join us recently!"
"Because we are walking on the right path, someone will always see us!"
"Aren't you going to absorb them?"
"We always need to observe more! Don't worry, we will have more and more companions!"
"Hehe~ That's right! I really want to talk to Lord Hanzo as soon as possible! That way our ideas can spread throughout the Rain Country faster!"
"As long as we keep working hard, we can definitely do it!"
"..."
Listening to Yahiko's energetic voice behind her, Konan's lips curled into a faint smile.
She was about to turn around and walk into the room.
A ninja wearing Hidden Mist Anbu attire, with a strange large sword on his back, slowly condensed his figure from the water flow.
Whoosh
Konan jumped back, her hands quickly forming seals, and pieces of palm-sized paper surrounded her.
The Akatsuki members in the house who heard the movement also quickly got up.
Yahiko and Nagato arrived at Konan's side at the first moment.
Frowning, they looked at the ninja standing quietly on the edge of the balcony.
Hidden Mist Anbu?
The Hozuki Clan's Water Transformation Technique?
That big sword... seems to be the legendary Mist Village's great sword Samehada?
"Hidden Mist? What do you want here, Your Excellency?"
Yahiko took the lead in asking, his right hand behind his back quietly making gestures to his companions.
"...Taking something."
Yamanaka Kei replied casually.
His powerful perception swept over these initial Akatsuki members.
Strange!
These people are not parasitized by White Zetsu?
Previously, Yamanaka Kei had already experimented with those White Zetsu he had caught.
The White Zetsu who used the Transformation Technique could not be distinguished even by his perception ability.
But the failure of perception ability does not mean the failure of the system.
None of these people in front of him were disguised by White Zetsu, and none of them were parasitized by White Zetsu.
This is not right!
"We don't have what you need here, please leave immediately."
The leading Yahiko frowned.
One hand was already on the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist.
"It's troublesome to explain, so... I'll just do it directly."
Whoosh!
Yamanaka Kei's figure flashed, already appearing beside Nagato.
Bending over, his right hand pulled the hilt of the greatsword Samehada, using his shoulder for leverage.
The whooshing greatsword Samehada instantly swelled several times in size, the thorns on its surface standing upright, smashing down on Nagato's body!
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