"Kakuzu's been captured by Madara, but he's refusing to cooperate. He wants us to find a way out."
Orochimaru whispered.
[Nora's Snake Summoning] enabled long-range communication.
He had been hunting down test subjects from the Yashin Cult previously and hadn't had time to deal with these matters until now—when the group finally regrouped and had a chance to report back to Akaba.
Refusing to work with Madara?
Akaba showed a flicker of surprise, then fell into thought.
It seemed Madara's terms weren't beneficial enough for Kakuzu's personal interests—but could it be a trap set by Madara?
Worth considering.
He didn't respond immediately, only giving a silent gesture signaling understanding.
Then Hyuga Mayuko spoke, "Most of what we eliminated today were relatively weak. The test subjects encountered tonight were clearly stronger. And I suspect that Sunagakure on the west side may soon make a move as well."
"If Sunagakure acts, the Yashin Cult might temporarily retreat. At that point, most forces can withdraw temporarily to support the Land of Rivers, while a smaller team monitors the border situation."
Orochimaru said in a low voice.
Logically, as just a Chunin, he shouldn't hold much authority here. But being one of the Sannin and head of the Research Institute gave him considerable standing.
After hearing him out, Hyuga Mayuko paused briefly and asked, "If we put you in command here, what would your plan be?"
"After today's battle, we've basically grasped the Yashin Cult's tactics. Future combat won't be as dangerous as today. With half our numbers, I'm confident I can keep the Yashin Cult out of the Land of Fire."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.
Normally, he wouldn't volunteer for such tasks, but every member of the Yashin Cult made perfect test subjects—powerful regeneration abilities and unusual physiology.
More importantly, these people have committed countless atrocities—criminals who've earned death a hundred times over. There'd be no ethical issues at all.
Therefore, he wanted command authority.
Everyone fell silent, even Akaba.
Currently, Orochimaru was barely thirteen years old—maybe turning fourteen soon. For a child to directly command an entire war effort?
Too reckless.
Kozuke pondered briefly and said, "Lord Hyuga, I do have some battlefield experience. Perhaps I should remain behind and support Orochimaru, sharing my knowledge where needed."
"If Senior Kozuke is willing, nothing could be better."
Hyuga Mayuko felt delighted.
Despite the incident from years ago, Kozuke's strength and experience could be trusted—his ability clearly surpassed his own. Calling him "Lord" wasn't just politeness; it was well deserved.
When it came to rank and power, the man was truly a seasoned master.
But from start to finish, Akaba had played no real role.
Well.
Now that they understood the Yashin Cult's methods, dealing with them was relatively easy—no longer requiring Akaba's involvement.
Having seen Akaba's power in person, they were fully confident in his abilities. Asking him to handle low-level Yashin Cult grunts felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
However—
For the Yashin Cult itself, news from this front couldn't be described as good at all.
Within just one day, eighty percent of the Yashin Cultists who entered the Land of Fire were dead, leaving only twenty percent to lie low and wait for their chance.
However,
Hiding from the Byakugan wasn't an easy task either.
By the next day, when the Yashin Cult received news again, another large portion of their followers had already been captured or killed. This was the true power of the Byakugan in reconnaissance.
Of course,
Akaba had already returned to Konoha by now.
There was no need for him to remain at the frontline—staying any longer would've just been reckless, right?
Although Kozuke's Wild Ingredient Stew tasted great, why bother eating that Wild Ingredient Stew outdoors when he could stay home, relax, and enjoy a proper meal?
The first thing he did after returning to Konoha was deliver five OVA chapters drawn at the battlefield.
Shige and Izumi Yamano had grown used to twenty or thirty chapters a day; cutting down to just ten in total felt like losing a part of their routine. These five OVAs filled the gap perfectly.
Therefore, by the next day,
Kozuke went viral.
This "viral" meant among the younger generation—the newbies hadn't even heard his name before, nor did they know Konoha had such a hidden expert lurking around.
Thus, once someone exposed him, he became popular.
With one eye blinded and one leg lame, maintaining such combat ability even in old age truly made him incredibly powerful.
"I once bought some wood carvings from him. I never imagined he'd be such a high-level master."
Uchiha Ryo was astonished.
When he met Kozuke before, he thought the man was merely a decently skilled genin with a talent for knife work—not even remotely this powerful.
"That kind of carving isn't something anyone can produce; only someone who's spent decades mastering sword techniques could reach such a level."
Eno Uchiha glanced at his son, Ryo.
Regarding this son,
He couldn't really be called untalented—he'd already unlocked Double Tomoe, and might soon awaken Three Tomoe too.
Yet somehow, he always fell slightly short in both personality and strength.
After deep contemplation, he asked, "Son, if Elder Kozuke gets promoted to jonin, would you be willing to serve under him?"
They read between the lines.
To ordinary people, this manga was just a simple comic book—but they clearly understood that Kozuke's strength had long surpassed that of an average jonin.
This OVA episode likely served as a signal indicating that the legendary perma-genin, Kozuke, was about to be promoted to jonin.
"Eh?"
Uchiha Ryo blankly replied, then hesitated briefly afterward.
Kozuke definitely was strong.
But judging from the manga, the guy showed many flaws. Becoming his subordinate—if anything went wrong...
"The Konoha Nagare Style was founded by The Second. Among them, [Willow] is the sword style most suited for us Uchiha. If you're really unwilling, forget it."
Eno Uchiha sighed softly.
Why did the Uchiha want to maintain a good relationship with Kozuke?
Because they hoped that should Kozuke ever become a jonin, the Uchiha could send a future generation under his guidance to learn his ultimate sword technique—[Willow].
The Uchiha possessed inherited sword skills and genjutsu, but lacked their own unique [Genjutsu Sword Style]. Kagami did master one such technique, but he died without passing it on.
"No! No! I'm willing!"
Uchiha Ryo clenched his teeth and agreed.
Though dangerous, if it meant learning [Willow], then everything would be worth it!
At the same time, many clans had also begun pulling strings and making arrangements for their own young members, with the Gekko Clan and the Shimura Clan being the most aggressive.
However, according to the new four-man squad rules, only one of the three genin could come from a clan family, another had to be selected from non-clan civilians, and the third must possess medical ninjutsu skills.
That meant among all those families eager to have their children join Akaba's team, only one would succeed.
It wasn't just them—Sakuma Goro was somewhat tempted too, though he was talked out of it by Akaba.
What are you weaklings thinking? You don't belong anywhere near Akaba's squad.
Still...
For The Third, although this OVA edition was important, what interested him more was the main storyline—Akatsuki.
In this volume, Asuma officially left the stage. At the same time, through Pain's words, the "goal" of Akatsuki was revealed—to control war, and thus control the world.
And from this volume alone, it was easy to see where Akatsuki thrived most.
Small nations.
Only smaller nations needed Akatsuki, needing such a force that broke the existing order.
When everything reshuffled, small countries would regain their voice, because even the major nations were equally weak without Akatsuki.
Based on the plot, The Third could confidently conclude that the leader of Akatsuki must have originated from a minor village.
A minor village.
The Third swept his gaze across the map.
Amegakure. Taki village.
Those were practically the only two villages capable of nurturing powerful ninja.
Of course,
there was no need for guesswork at all. From the background shown in the "Akatsuki Leader" section of the manga, it clearly pointed to Amegakure.
Amegakure remained isolated, but other villages already knew quite well what went on inside.
At this moment, Hanzo — known as 'The Semigod' — sat in his office, surrounded by a pile of seized Naruto manga volumes.
These were obtained by confiscating the copies from captured Konoha ninja.
Page after page.
He flipped through each page, his fury growing with every line.
To him, these comics were nothing but blatant propaganda for Konoha and the major nations, while places like Amegakure only appeared as a few background characters instantly defeated by Gaara.
How unacceptable!
Naturally, what really enraged him was why the Akatsuki leader had to be from Amegakure?
What the Akatsuki leader said made sense indeed—in some aspects, Hanzo agreed with his views. However, given Amegakure's current strength, it simply could not openly oppose the greater nations, so they could only bide their time and lie low.
The Land of Whirlpools conflict originally had nothing to do with Amegakure, but they forced their way in anyway—and lost territory in the Land of Bird for it.
To be honest, Hanzo's real reason for sending troops into the Land of Whirlpools was purely profit-driven.
But now the problem was that Konoha had smeared a huge amount of dirt onto them. Akatsuki's first phase was making money, the second phase was seizing control over "weapons," and the third phase was controlling the world.
Participating in the Land of Whirlpools conflict belonged to Phase One, which also included collecting sealing techniques.
If the leader of Amegakure hadn't been Hanzo himself, nobody would've suspected this so strongly. But Hanzo—
he carried the title of 'The Semigod.'
Nowadays, with The First and Second Kage long deceased, Hanzo's strength stood unrivaled across the entire ninja world. Except for lacking the Rinnegan, he possessed enough might to carry out exactly what Akatsuki did in the manga.
Once the manga came out, who wouldn't suspect him?
Even Hanzo himself nearly believed it, which was exactly why he wore a gloomy expression.
"Leader, should we send a message to Sunagakure Village to explain?"
"Explain? Sunagakure won't listen to explanations now. The more we explain, the more trouble we'll get into. We can only wait for their response and see what they plan to do."
Hanzo was in a foul mood.
Right now, Sunagakure was like a rabid dog, attacking anyone it met. And this rabid dog clearly understood that Shamon's disappearance had little to do with most of their enemies.
That was just a flimsy excuse to kick off a war and cash in on it.
Originally, nobody would have thought about involving Amegakure, but after this manga came out, even innocent connections turned suspicious.
Just because it was a manga didn't mean reality wasn't affected. However, Hanzo, who bore the title "Demigod," was perfectly capable of taking the half-crippled Shamon away, and had strong motives too.
What annoyed him most was that Hanzo couldn't even explain.
After all, if Sunagakure hadn't accused Amegakure, why would you jump out voluntarily? Could it be guilt making you confess?
Talk about getting stuck with the blame!
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