Apart from Uchiha Yoru, no one could understand the connection between the seats and their corresponding animals.
However, three of the four people were satisfied with their animal codenames.
Konan felt that she truly resembled a bat, capable of spreading her wings and soaring through the sky. She was very pleased to receive such a codename.
Yashamaru possessed a gentle yet resilient personality. His favorite animal was the goat, which could survive tenaciously in the desert and climb Sunagakure's cliffs to lick salt from the rocks.
Momochi Zabuza was proud and unsociable. He liked leopards, which were equally proud and accustomed to living alone.
A black panther would have been even better.
He had just received an enormous benefit and was now completely satisfied. Laughing heartily, he declared smugly, "I'm a leopard! So I'm the most handsome one after all!"
Only Tsunade remained bewildered.
She felt nothing toward the codename she had suddenly received, but quickly realized that it could conceal her identity, so she silently accepted it.
[Hmph. I'm nothing like a horse. A cow, on the other hand... Pah, pah, pah! I don't resemble one at all!]
According to Uchiha Yoru's calculations, the Zhurong alternate identity had already been maintained for seven minutes.
He couldn't wait for everyone to finish digesting the information about their codenames and continued, "Miss Horse comes from the Land of Fire, the center of the current 'shinobi world.' You should be able to provide me with considerable intelligence about the Land of Fire."
He looked toward Yashamaru and explained, "I did indeed summon all of you this time because there is something I wish to ask."
"I witnessed a change in fate. It should have occurred several days ago, and the location was the Land of Rain."
Then he looked at Konan.
"Miss Bat, I wish to know what exactly happened in the Land of Rain to cause such a powerful disturbance in fate."
"If you answer this question, part of the excess value from your previous reward can be offset."
Now that Konan knew there was hope of resurrecting Yahiko, her faith in Uchiha Yoru had become extraordinarily devout.
Upon hearing the question, she immediately lowered her head and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, what happened in the Land of Rain was that my companions and I..."
Uchiha Yoru suddenly raised a hand and stopped Konan.
"Intelligence has value. It cannot simply be given to everyone for free."
He turned toward the other three.
"If you wish to obtain this intelligence, you must offer intelligence of your own in exchange."
"Of course, other things may also be exchanged, as long as their value is equivalent."
Tsunade asked, "Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, can I purchase the intelligence with money?"
"You may."
"Then how should I give the money to Miss Bat? Should she provide me with an address?"
"No. You may offer it as a sacrifice to me, and I will naturally bestow it upon her."
Tsunade was so shocked that her hands and feet went numb.
Only after taking a moment to recover did she ask again, "How much should I pay to purchase this intelligence?"
Uchiha Yoru answered, "That is something you and Miss Bat must negotiate yourselves. I have little concept of money."
Konan froze and subconsciously replied, "I don't know how much this intelligence is worth either."
Immortal Zhurong suddenly spoke.
"Intelligence that interests His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor cannot be ordinary. Calculate it according to the reward for an S-rank mission—one million five hundred thousand ryō."
"One million five hundred thousand ryō?!" three voices exclaimed at once.
Konan, Yashamaru, and Zabuza were all extremely young.
They had either grown accustomed to poverty and displacement or had only just begun earning money, so they understood deeply how important and difficult money was to obtain.
To the three of them, one million five hundred thousand ryō was an unimaginable fortune.
But to Tsunade, who had long since become famous, inherited an enormous estate, and was skilled at borrowing money without repaying it, one million five hundred thousand ryō wasn't even enough for her to lose during half a night of gambling.
It was pocket change.
She smiled and nodded.
"That is reasonable. I'm willing to purchase the intelligence at that price."
She then looked toward the two boys and the Monkey Sage.
"Do you also wish to hear it? The price of the intelligence is fixed. If we purchase it together, we can divide the cost."
Zabuza said resentfully, "Tch. The Land of Rain is so far away. I don't care about it!"
Yashamaru hurriedly shook his head and stammered, "N-no, thank you. I don't have that much money!"
Tsunade asked, "If you and I divide the cost, you would only need to pay seven hundred and fifty thousand ryō. You don't even have that much?"
Yashamaru looked as though he had been struck by lightning.
His entire body nearly shrank beneath the long table as he murmured, "Only seven hundred and fifty thousand ryō... Only... seven hundred and fifty... Only..."
On the other side, Zabuza's face had turned deathly pale.
He stared at Tsunade as if she were a monster and muttered something beneath his breath.
Clearly, the wealthy woman's casual display of extravagance had utterly defeated the two boys.
However, when the wealthy woman looked toward Zhurong, her momentum immediately collapsed.
No matter how much money she possessed, it couldn't compare to actual power.
Tsunade cautiously asked, "Monkey Sage, are you also uninterested?"
Zhurong answered coldly, "My roots are already established in the Southern Sea. Matters in the north have nothing to do with me."
Tsunade shrugged helplessly.
"Fine. It seems I'll have to pay for it alone. I thought I could save a little."
Uchiha Yoru nodded and said to Konan, "You may begin. Only Miss Horse and I can hear your words now."
Konan lowered her head and bowed again.
"Yes."
"Five days ago, we killed Hanzō, exterminated the fallen and corrupt Amegakure ninja, and occupied Amegakure."
"Afterward, we killed more than one hundred ninja from the Three Great Ninja Villages. Every one of them was a bastard who slaughtered civilians without restraint."
"The day before yesterday, an Iwagakure ninja calling himself Aoiwa came to kill me, but my companion killed him as well."
"Now the fighting in the Land of Rain has stopped. We don't know why."
Uchiha Yoru nodded slightly after listening.
"Good. I understand what happened."
"This intelligence is extremely valuable."
"Miss Bat, you only need to provide me with one more piece of intelligence that interests me, and the value of the pill I previously bestowed upon you will be completely repaid."
The price Uchiha Yoru offered truly wasn't low.
Although he had already guessed this possibility beforehand, it certainly hadn't been the only possibility.
Previously, he had arranged for his faction to refuse the village's conscription based solely on speculation and had even resolved to openly break relations if necessary.
For Uchiha Yoru, that had also been a gamble.
Even he had felt uncertain.
Uchiha Yoru was familiar with the plot, but his understanding of history only covered the general course of events.
He knew nothing about the specific twists and turns.
He couldn't determine whether the current incident in Amegakure had truly been caused by Hanzō.
Perhaps something like this had also occurred in the original history.
If so, Hanzō would merely be seeking a formal concession. Once the Three Great Ninja Villages promised not to attack Amegakure, he would withdraw and continue pretending to be dead.
If Nagato wasn't responsible, then the front lines wouldn't suffer any major losses.
Once the incident ended, that power would surge back, uniting the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Setsuna, and the others.
Then they would launch a counterattack against the small faction led by Uchiha Yoru.
It had to be said that such a development would be extremely troublesome.
Unless Orochimaru returned in time and managed to persuade the Third Hokage to halt his actions, even in the best possible outcome, Uchiha Yoru would be exiled from Konoha and lose the Uchiha clan of Konoha as his nest.
Could he tolerate that?
Of course Uchiha Yoru wouldn't tolerate it.
Such a tremendous loss of interests would be more than enough for him to cast aside all pretenses.
He would inevitably reveal many of his hidden cards and lead the younger clansmen willing to follow him into battle against his enemies within the clan and the Third Hokage.
Since he was destined to lose the Uchiha clan as his nest, he might as well smash the jar completely.
He would directly ignite a civil war and reduce the entirety of Konoha to ruins.
If I can't have a safe and comfortable home, then none of you can have one either!
Destroying Konoha, the source of so much chaos, might even prevent the future Fourth Shinobi World War from ever occurring, giving him more time to grow through his turbulent path.
However, the price he would have to pay after doing so was impossible to estimate.
Before he possessed enough power to part the shinobi world's hair down the middle, he would have to arrange for the younger clansmen to live in other ninja villages while he wandered outside alone.
No ninja village would dare accept a rogue ninja capable of destroying Konoha.
Even the Cat Castle couldn't shelter him.
Like Orochimaru and Uchiha Madara, he would be forced to dig hideouts throughout the shinobi world and conceal himself cautiously, avoiding the terrifying predators hidden within its depths.
If he created another enormous disturbance, he would inevitably attract the Sage of Six Paths' attention.
Then that thousand-year-old schemer would manipulate him, and without realizing it, Uchiha Yoru would become a pawn in his hands.
Merely thinking about such an outcome was infuriating.
Now everything was fine.
Someone directly involved had personally confirmed that his speculation was correct.
The plan he had arranged regardless of the cost was also correct.
With Nagato's strength, his foul temper after falling into darkness, and no "Ultimate Weapon Plan" restraining his actions, an unimaginable war was certain to erupt.
Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure ninja would experience Six Paths-level combat power eighteen years early, reliving the horror of the Shinobi World's Asura crushing ninja villages forty years ago.
When intelligence reporting tens of thousands of severe casualties returned, every petty maneuver performed by the Third Hokage would become meaningless.
They would resemble maggots suddenly exposed beneath sunlight, disgusting everyone who saw them.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku, who had actively cooperated with the Third Hokage, would see his faction collapse completely.
Even if he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to retain the position of clan head.
Did Fugaku truly believe that he was the only one who possessed the Mangekyō?
Was Uchiha Yoru's Golden Core really so worthless that it couldn't stimulate the awakening of a Mangekyō after so many days?
What a joke!
As long as a force capable of restraining it existed, what was so remarkable about the Mangekyō?
Back when Konoha possessed Senju Hashirama, even Uchiha Madara couldn't secure the position of clan head through his eyes alone.
Facing another pair of Mangekyō, Uchiha Fugaku certainly wouldn't be able to do so either.
Once Uchiha Fugaku fell, Uchiha Yoru, who possessed both the greatest strength and the strongest faction, would naturally take power.
He would completely seize control of the Uchiha clan and complete the construction of the First Den several years ahead of schedule.
Therefore, this intelligence had arrived at precisely the right moment!
To Uchiha Yoru, its value was absolutely immeasurable.
...
The same intelligence produced an entirely different kind of shock for Tsunade.
A single sentence repeatedly echoed inside her mind:
We killed Hanzō.
That was Hanzō.
The Demigod Hanzō.
Hanzō of the Salamander.
Hanzō of the deadly poison.
Hanzō, the strongest ninja in the shinobi world.
The man who had beaten her, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru so thoroughly several years earlier that they couldn't fight back, then bestowed upon the three of them the title of "Konoha's Sannin."
He had actually been killed just like that.
How was that possible?
Tsunade looked at the blue-haired Miss Bat.
Although she couldn't remember the girl's appearance, she could tell that she was at most seventeen or eighteen years old.
Her companions should be around the same age.
Yet they had killed Hanzō while still so young?
What kind of joke was this?
Hanzō had been killed so easily by a group of youngsters.
Then what did that make Tsunade, who had been beaten helplessly by Hanzō and survived only because of her identity and background?
What did that make... Konoha's Sannin?
Tsunade didn't hear anything Konan said afterward.
Her thoughts were a complete mess, and her entire body felt numb.
Even after Konan finished delivering all the intelligence, Tsunade still hadn't recovered.
Only when Konan asked about her condition with concern did Tsunade finally awaken from her daze.
She smiled bitterly.
"To purchase intelligence like this for merely one million five hundred thousand ryō... That money was far too well spent."
"Still, should I report such shocking intelligence to the village?"
Uchiha Yoru wasn't worried in the slightest about Tsunade reporting it.
However, to prevent any problems from occurring with Tsunade, whom he had finally managed to bring here, he still manipulated his alternate identity into speaking.
"You had better not report it."
Tsunade was startled and hurriedly asked, "Monkey Sage, will there be a problem if I report the intelligence?"
Zhurong didn't even look at Tsunade.
"I don't know the intelligence's exact contents, but judging by your reaction, it must be extremely shocking."
"You are correct. It is incredibly shocking."
"Then consider this: neither the Konoha ninja in the Land of Rain nor the Hokage in Konoha knows such shocking intelligence, yet you, who are currently in the south, somehow know it."
"How will you explain the source?"
"The more shocking the intelligence, the more unreasonable and illogical it becomes."
"If you cannot explain its source, who will believe you?"
"Huh?"
Zhurong's words were extremely reasonable, leaving Tsunade deeply disappointed.
Her idea of selling the intelligence back to her teacher for twice the price had collapsed.
Moreover, she had been away from Konoha for too long and knew nothing about the turbulent undercurrents of conflict within the village.
She couldn't imagine the fierce confrontation that might erupt in the future, so she abandoned the idea of informing her teacher.
Now, how Zhurong knew she was in the south became the question she cared about most.
Tsunade couldn't help examining herself from head to toe.
No matter how carefully she looked, she couldn't discover any flaw that might have revealed her presence in the south.
She looked toward the indifferent Zhurong.
Although the blue-faced baboon's appearance was extremely ferocious, once she connected that face with the small figure who had stood with his back toward the River Capital and faced countless showers of fire, Tsunade no longer felt that the Monkey Sage was as cold or savage as he appeared.
[The Monkey Sage bravely and handsomely resisted the disaster. He must be an Immortal who appears cold and merciless but is actually kind and courageous!]
[Right. He even wears a mask before others to conceal his frightening face. Perhaps he's actually a gentle and good person inside... Mm... a good monkey. Should I test him?]
Tsunade's current appearance was a disguise resembling a woman in her early twenties.
She raised her eyebrows in a manner suited to that age, then cutely stuck out her red tongue.
Finally, she adopted a pitiful expression and stared eagerly at Zhurong without saying a word.
Uchiha Yoru originally had no intention of answering the question.
A gentle heart didn't fit the persona of the Zhurong alternate identity, and adding it would inevitably create some slight inconsistency.
However, while Tsunade stared at Zhurong, her faith in him began to weaken.
That change caused Uchiha Yoru to reconsider.
Zhurong glanced at Tsunade and snorted coldly.
"Hmph. Although your clothes possess no distinctive characteristics, the texture of your hair shows damage unique to prolonged exposure to direct sunlight in the south."
"Although I don't know your exact location, you are unquestionably somewhere in the south and have been there for quite some time."
After hearing Zhurong's explanation, Tsunade frowned and repeatedly examined her hair.
She still couldn't find anything, but nevertheless believed the Monkey Sage's solemn nonsense.
After all, the Monkey Sage was an Immortal.
Tsunade knew that her grandfather had also been an Immortal, and she understood that an Immortal's senses were extraordinarily sharp, allowing them to discover details she couldn't perceive at all.
[The Monkey Sage really is gentle.]
Tsunade's heart inexplicably softened.
In a sweet voice, she quietly said, "Thank you, Monkey Sage."
After finishing his nonsense, Uchiha Yoru watched with satisfaction as Tsunade's thread of faith toward Zhurong broke.
Her faith directed toward Uchiha Yoru himself became the only remaining thread.
At this moment, he failed to notice that the karmic thread between Tsunade and himself had suddenly become extraordinarily thick.
It had even been dyed a faint pink.
Although Uchiha Yoru had paused the passage of time relative to the outside world, time still passed normally within the Purple Mansion world.
The alternate identity had now existed for more than eighteen minutes.
It had exceeded the period of absolute safety and entered the dangerous interval that made Uchiha Yoru deeply uneasy.
Although the probability of danger remained below one percent, much of his attention had already begun shifting toward it.
The objective of convening the Divine Court meeting had been achieved.
There was no reason to continue taking risks here.
Uchiha Yoru said, "Very well. We shall end here today."
"I originally intended to learn some intelligence concerning the Land of Fire and Konoha, but Miss Horse's condition is poor."
"We will leave that for the next meeting."
Tsunade immediately felt relieved.
The intelligence that Hanzō had been killed—especially by young people—had dealt far too great a blow to her.
Even now, her thoughts remained chaotic.
When the heart was disordered, the spirit became disordered.
When the spirit was disordered, one lost control of one's words and actions.
Tsunade's recent behavior had been far too improper and completely unlike her usual self.
She desperately needed some time alone to organize her chaotic emotions.
If she remained in this mysterious place any longer, Heaven only knew what else she might do.
If these people discovered her identity in the future, all of this would become humiliating history!
Tsunade only wanted to leave immediately and become completely drunk by herself.
Uchiha Yoru noticed Tsunade's absent-mindedness and reminded her, "Miss Horse, remember to sacrifice the money to me after you return. Do not forget."
Tsunade nodded repeatedly, appearing increasingly impatient, like a worker waiting for the end of the day on Friday.
Uchiha Yoru no longer hesitated and prepared to end the meeting.
At that moment, Yashamaru suddenly spoke.
"Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, I have a suggestion..."
Under the gazes of everyone present, including the colossal deity, Goat Boy became so nervous that his heart nearly leaped from his chest.
Nevertheless, he persevered and voiced his suggestion.
"C-could you schedule a time in advance before convening the next meeting?"
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