At that time, the people of the Land of Rain will be like the Uzumaki Clan now, becoming mice that cannot see the light in the shadows.
When people see the individuals from the Land of Rain, they will also be referred to as slaves of a fallen nation.
As for the so-called alliance, it is nothing but a piece of paper.
Just a worthless piece of paper.
"I sympathize with your plight. That heart-wrenching feeling of seeing your homeland ravaged is the same for everyone."
Insect Man spoke with deep understanding.
"Our organization is recruiting talented individuals. If you are willing to join, we will become companions henceforth. Your living conditions, clean water, food, and safety will be secured, but at the same time, we need your loyalty. If you disagree, we won't force you; you can live your own lives."
The faces of these people showed indecision, a mix of worry and hope.
Their nerves had long been fragile; giving them hope only to snatch it away could drive them to despair, even suicide.
Insect Man laughed and said, "As our Leader said, he won't save those who only pray for miraculous rain. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. In doing good, we obtain greater benefits; this gives us more motivation to do good."
The benefits the Uzumaki Clan can provide are undoubtedly their bloodline and their vast store of Sealing Techniques.
Even though they've lost their nation, sooner or later, they will prove useful.
"Whether living like a human or a dog, there is no need to feel shame. What matters is the future. As long as you're alive, there's a chance to change fate. Anyway, your country is gone, and you have nothing left to lose. Who hasn't been a stray dog at some point?"
Insect Man shook his head in lament.
Because of the war, his family was shattered. Then he relied on robbery and murder to survive, only to be captured for horrific experimentation. Thinking about those years still sent shivers down his spine.
Fortunately, after the storm comes the rainbow, and he saw many things more clearly, no longer as naive as before.
The world is just like this.
He hoped these remnants of the Uzumaki Clan would make a choice they wouldn't regret later.
What's important is to coax them into joining the organization first.
In doing so, money, women, mansions, and more would all be theirs.
This was Insect Man's principle of doing good.
◎
Hakushi's daily routine involved reaching the Ninja School by three to assist Tsunade in instructing the experimental class students in Medical Ninjutsu knowledge.
Apart from this, he was sometimes dragged to the hospital to be a laborer.
Most of the time, though, he stayed in the lab, quietly conducting research.
Of course, not infrequently there was a troublemaking kid named Uchiha Obito who would come looking for a problem with him at school.
Kids these days are truly terrifying, getting jealous at just five or six years old.
The issue was he hadn't done anything to the girl named Lin, only taught her some medical knowledge after school daily.
The Ninja Realm, in many respects, defies common sense.
The more you try to deduce, the more bizarre the answers become.
For example... the white humanoid creature lying on his lab table now.
It was a person of unidentified status that Insect Man and his group had captured; discovered while monitoring 'Akatsuki', they killed it and sent it here.
Since then, Hakushi had been fascinated by this simple life-form's white structure.
However, after dissecting the entire corpse and revealing its secrets, the answer made Hakushi even more perplexed.
The energy extracted from this creature could revitalize a withered branch, causing it to sprout new buds.
Wood Style?
And it even had an aura somewhat similar to that of a Tailed Beast.
What exactly was the origin of this creature?
A combination of Tailed Beast and Wood Style powers?
So weak.
According to Insect Man, the combat capability of this creature was extremely weak, subdued with a single hand move, not even needing Ninja Techniques.
"It seems Akatsuki has issues."
Despite the creature's weak strength, its secrets shocked Hakushi.
Wood Style and Tailed Beasts, each possesses extraordinarily legendary status.
The former was the power of the God of Ninja who pacified the chaotic world.
The latter was a Chakra monster from ancient times, with an immortal body, a transcendent being beyond human opposition.
Tied to these two elements, Hakushi believed there was a significant story here.
Who was behind the white creature?
Why monitor Akatsuki?
Was this creature truly made with Wood Style and Tailed Beast Power?
If so, where did the Wood Style come from?
Since the death of the First Hokage, the Wood Style that could suppress the Tailed Beast Power had vanished in the Ninja Realm, becoming a legend.
Hakushi thought of a significant possibility.
The Konoha high-ranking officials!
They were secretly researching the revival of Wood Style.
Just like this, extracting hidden cells from the corpse—this certainly wouldn't be difficult for Konoha.
Access to the First Hokage's body was exclusive to only a few individuals from their group.
Extracting cells carrying Wood Style power from the First Hokage's body, then using them for human experimentation, mass-producing Wood Style Ninjas.
The entity before him was their research result.
So the question arose, why monitor Akatsuki?
A group consisting of only eight or nine members, all of them youngsters; if they genuinely posed a threat, sending Anbu to eliminate them would suffice.
No need for such effort and energy in surveillance.
Hakushi found himself with a headache. So many aspects were contradictory, but according to the information he had acquired, this was the most reasonable deduction.
What were the Konoha high-ranking officials secretly planning?
As Hakushi pondered on what the Konoha high-ranking officials intended to do, the soil on the floor loosened, the earthen humanoid head formed from the yellowish mud emerged from the ground, its empty eyes staring at Hakushi.
A scroll emerged from the mud, placed on the ground, and then continued to act as a perfect communication tool, disappearing into the earth.
Hakushi paid little attention to this 'dumb son' disappearing without a word. Regarding its intelligence, Hakushi harbored no expectations for the time being.
Using Jutsu to unlock the scroll, unsurprisingly, it was from Insect Man's group.
The scroll contained simple information; a glance told Hakushi the gist of it.
"The Uzumaki Clan? I thought this clan's people were entirely wiped out."
Hakushi pondered for a moment, then immediately took out a blank scroll, scribbled a few words, rolled it up, and sealed it using Jutsu.
"Deliver this scroll to them."
It was an instruction directed at the earthen humanoid.
The earthen being surfaced again, its empty eyes seemed to momentarily hold a touch of humanlike grievance.
Despite this, it readily accepted the mission Hakushi entrusted.
At just half a year of existence, this entity had already achieved a great feat of traversing half the Ninja Realm alone.
Undoubtedly, it was the perfect tool being Hakushi had envisioned.