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[Konoha] Chapter 267: Who’s the Mastermind Behind the Scenes?
🕑 Added 2024-12-12 06:30:00 +0000 UTC“So, only the Nine-Tails and Six-Tails remain?”
Madara Uchiha asked.
White Zetsu nodded. “Yes, as you know, Konoha’s strength is formidable.”
“The Fourth and Third Hokage working together, plus the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki has already mastered its power. They are even more astounding than Uzumaki Mito back then. Even if Nagato and Obito team up, they couldn’t win.”
“Of course, the most crucial point is that Shūichi has left a clone in Konoha. You should know, at your level, Lord Madara, a clone’s strength is not significantly inferior to the original body in the short term.”
Madara nodded slightly. “Let’s go then.”
He had to admit, there was no way to deal with Shūichi Hoshita.
If that was the case, taking down anyone else here would be impossible, let alone seizing the Nine-Tails and Six-Tails from Konoha.
White Zetsu’s figure sank into the ground, and Madara leapt to Orochimaru’s side. “Let’s leave.”
Orochimaru chuckled. “It seems you’ve failed.”
Madara smiled faintly. “This is just the beginning.”
Orochimaru replied meaningfully, “You’ve exposed your connection to the Rinnegan. Convincing Nagato to cooperate willingly won’t be easy.”
Madara, full of confidence, said, “Don’t worry about that.”
“But,” Orochimaru continued, “though you’ve acquired Hashirama’s cells and my contributions, awakening the Rinnegan will still be extremely difficult.”
Seeing Orochimaru’s ambitions, Madara laughed. “When the Ten-Tails is fully formed, I’ll let you study Shūichi’s power.”
Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled. “Then I’ll eagerly await that day.”
He didn’t trust Madara, but the current situation indeed worked in his favor.
Whether it was the Rinnegan or the immense power of Shūichi Hoshita, these were things he had always desired.
If he could study the Ten-Tails, it would be even better. But for now, it was wise to keep quiet about that.
The two retreated, while Shūichi silently observed, making no move to stop them.
This inaction, however, greatly displeased the Fourth Raikage. Upon arriving, he demanded, “Shūichi, why didn’t you take those two down? With your strength, you could have done it!”
By this time, Senju Hashirama and Konan had also arrived. Hearing the Fourth Raikage’s question, they looked at Shūichi with curiosity.
Without sparing the Fourth Raikage a glance, Shūichi explained to Hashirama and Konan, “The key isn’t Madara Uchiha in his Edo Tensei form, but rather the Rinnegan.”
Konan said, “Nagato would never resurrect Madara Uchiha.”
Shūichi shook his head. “You’re underestimating Madara Uchiha—or rather, the one behind him.”
Konan frowned, while Hashirama and the others were collectively shocked. Ōnoki said gravely, “Isn’t Madara the mastermind behind the Eye of the Moon Plan?”
Shūichi did not answer but instead asked Hashirama, “First Hokage, you know about the Uchiha clan’s Naka Shrine and its stone tablet, right?”
Hashirama nodded.
Shūichi continued, “That tablet can only be deciphered by Uchiha clan members using the Sharingan. It’s said to have been left by the Sage of Six Paths.”
“It reveals the secrets of the Sharingan, from its awakening to the Mangekyō, the Eternal Mangekyō, and finally the Rinnegan.”
“To awaken the Mangekyō, one must suffer the loss of their dearest loved ones. To achieve the Eternal Mangekyō, one must transplant the Mangekyō of a blood relative.”
Hashirama said gravely, “Madara did transplant his brother Izuna’s Mangekyō back then.”
Ōnoki asked, “Then what’s the secret of the Rinnegan?”
“Why does Akatsuki’s Nagato have the Rinnegan, and Madara Uchiha as well?”
Hashirama was shocked. “Is there someone else with the Rinnegan?”
Shūichi replied, “Nagato has the Uzumaki clan’s bloodline, possibly even the Senju bloodline.”
“But Nagato’s Rinnegan was actually Madara’s. There’s only one true pair of Rinnegan, and they belong to Madara Uchiha!”
“What?”
Except for Konan, everyone—Hashirama, Ōnoki, the Fourth Raikage, and the Fourth Kazekage—was visibly shocked.
Shūichi explained, “The tablet records that to awaken the Rinnegan, one must combine the powers of the Uchiha and Senju, gaining the force of creation itself.”
Hashirama nodded in realization. “I see.”
“During our final battle, Madara did injure me.”
Shūichi silently gave Hashirama a thumbs-up in his heart: What a perfect setup!
He continued, “Awakening the Rinnegan, gathering the nine tailed beasts, and sealing them into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—that is the Ten-Tails’ vessel. Reviving the Ten-Tails and becoming its Jinchūriki allows the wielder to cast the ultimate genjutsu, Infinite Tsukuyomi, trapping the entire ninja world in a dream.”
“This is the Eye of the Moon Plan. It’s called that because Infinite Tsukuyomi projects the Rinnegan’s power onto the moon, covering a vast range.”
The Fourth Kazekage asked, “But you still haven’t said who’s behind Madara Uchiha.”
Shūichi replied unhurriedly, “I’ve studied both the cells of the First Hokage and the Sharingan extensively—more so than the Uchiha clan or even Orochimaru.”
“The content of the tablet, left by the Sage of Six Paths, couldn’t have been so misleading.”
“The evolution of the Sharingan—from three tomoe to Mangekyō—is well known. But originally, there was no distinction between Mangekyō and Eternal Mangekyō; there was only Mangekyō.”
“The differentiation arose because of the bloodline’s degradation over time. As a result, overusing the Mangekyō now leads to blindness, while the Eternal Mangekyō does not.”
“But transplanting cells from the First Hokage can compensate for this defect.”
“For the Uchiha, awakening the Sharingan often requires intense emotional trauma. The Mangekyō, in particular, is accompanied by the loss of one’s dearest, earning it the name ‘the Cursed Eye.’”
“However, Shisui awakened his Mangekyō without any such tragedy. He did it through his own will and effort.”
Hashirama was amazed. “For someone to achieve that... it’s incredible and of great significance.”
Shūichi nodded and continued, “Awakening the Rinnegan isn’t as simple as having both Uchiha and Senju power.”
“Currently, three individuals possess both the Mangekyō and Hashirama’s cells: Madara Uchiha, Shisui, and Obito.”
“But only Madara has awakened the Rinnegan, and Shisui shows no signs of doing so.”
“And according to the tailed beasts, the Sage of Six Paths’ Rinnegan is linked to the Ten-Tails.”
“The Ten-Tails?”
Everyone was stunned again.
Shūichi explained, "The two direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths are Indra, the elder son who inherited the Sharingan, and Asura, the younger son who inherited the Sage’s body. These two represent two extremes of power: Yin Release and Yang Release—spiritual energy and physical energy."
Everyone nodded thoughtfully, processing the explanation.
"The descendants of Indra are the Uchiha Clan, while the descendants of Asura are the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan. However, not every Uchiha can awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, nor does every member of the Senju or Uzumaki Clan possess the same formidable physical power as the First Hokage, or the full extent of Yang Release."
"Rather than simply combining the powers of the Uchiha and Senju Clans, it’s more accurate to say it requires the fusion of the extremes of Yin and Yang Releases," Shūichi continued, his tone slightly amused. "I've researched many historical records and spoken with the tailed beasts."
"Since the Warring States period, the Senju and Uchiha have been at odds. Does that seem natural?"
Hashirama Senju nodded. "Indeed, for families that were once brothers, such lasting enmity might suggest deeper secrets. However, as the Sage of Six Paths is the origin, he wouldn’t leave misleading information."
Shūichi smirked. "The key point is that the inscription on the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine has already been tampered with by Madara Uchiha."
"And if Madara could alter it, others could as well."
"This may sound speculative, but..." Shūichi looked up at the sky. "Do you know where the shell of the Ten-Tails—the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—is sealed?"
The group raised their heads in confusion until Ōnoki’s eyes widened in realization. "Could it be... the moon?"
Shūichi nodded. "Madara’s technique, Chibaku Tensei(Planetary Devastation), gives us a glimpse of this. You saw its effects earlier. If I hadn’t broken free, I would’ve been turned into a massive stone orb and launched into the sky."
The Fourth Kazekage exclaimed, "Impossible!"
Hashirama’s expression turned serious. "Shūichi, are you suggesting that the moon was created by the Sage of Six Paths to seal the Ten-Tails?"
"That’s my hypothesis," Shūichi confirmed. "The tailed beasts were created by the Sage later, but they are essentially the chakra of the Ten-Tails. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is its husk. If the chakra and body exist, where is the consciousness of the Ten-Tails?"
Ōnoki interjected, "So you believe the Eye of the Moon Plan is a conspiracy by the consciousness of the Ten-Tails, using Madara as its pawn to resurrect itself?"
Shūichi gave him an approving nod. "Many discrepancies can only be explained with this conjecture. Nagato was chosen as Madara's pawn, but how can we be certain Madara himself isn’t someone else’s pawn?"
The Fourth Raikage cut in, "Even if that’s the case, there was no reason to let Madara go earlier! Capturing him could’ve provided valuable intel."
Ōnoki countered, "Even if we sealed him now, his soul would return to the Pure Land once the Edo Tensei technique is released. The Akatsuki could just use the Rinnegan to revive him."
The Fourth Raikage grew impatient. "Shūichi, you didn’t share this intel with us beforehand!"
Shūichi’s voice remained calm. "Would you have believed me? If you trusted me, you wouldn’t have come here today, nor would the Akatsuki have been able to capture the tailed beasts so easily. With my power, I could have collected all the tailed beasts myself, but I refrained to avoid a massive war."
"Unfortunately, all you care about is your own interests."
"Raikage, Tsuchikage, didn’t I warn you not to cooperate with the Akatsuki?"
Both Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage looked grim.
The Fourth Kazekage hesitated before speaking, "What do we do now?"
Before Shūichi could answer, he noticed a flying creature approaching from the south. The Fourth Kazekage recognized it immediately. "It’s one of our village’s messenger ninja beasts!"
His expression darkened as a Sand shinobi landed nearby, handing him a scroll. Upon reading it, his face twisted with anger. "The Akatsuki attacked the village, captured the One-Tail Jinchūriki, and caused massive casualties!"
"They were members of the Akatsuki that Konoha had listed as wanted: Kakuzu and Kohai, known for assassinating attempt the Daimyō of the Land of Grass."
Ōnoki's expression stiffened as he processed the news.
Shūichi interjected calmly, "Kakuzu and Kohai. Kakuzu, I believe, might be familiar to the First Hokage. He’s a rogue ninja from Takigakure who once tried to assassinate you."
Hashirama blinked in surprise, then scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah... I think I do recall someone like that."
Shūichi continued, unfazed, "Kakuzu is a master of all five chakra natures and has five hearts, each representing a nature transformation: Wind, Lightning, Fire, Water, and Earth. To kill him, you need to destroy all five hearts. He uses Takigakure's forbidden technique, Earth Grudge Fear."
"As for Kohai, he’s a rogue ninja from Yugakure who stole a forbidden technique from the Jashin cult, granting him immortality. Even if his body is cut to pieces, he remains alive. If he obtains your blood, he can curse you, synchronizing your injuries with his own."
Hashirama nodded. "Those two indeed sound troublesome if encountered without prior knowledge. But now that we’re aware, shouldn’t we pursue them?"
He looked at Shūichi.
Shūichi nodded. "Relay the message to Konoha. We’ll need reinforcements for this pursuit."
"You all handle Kakuzu and Kohai. As for rescuing the Jinchūriki, my clone will take care of it personally."
The Fourth Kazekage let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Meanwhile, another report arrived, this time from Iwagakure. Upon reading it, Ōnoki's face turned pale, sweat rolling down his forehead.
The report detailed not only the capture of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchūriki but also the massive destruction of the village and heavy casualties.
"Unforgivable!" Ōnoki growled, his voice trembling with fury.
The Fourth Raikage was restless, and seeing Ōnoki's grim expression, he immediately asked, "Tsuchikage, what happened?"
Ōnoki gritted his teeth and replied, "The Akatsuki took control of the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki, causing the beast to go on a rampage in the village."
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage felt a sense of foreboding. He knew the Eight-Tails well—its power was second only to the Nine-Tails. If such a beast went berserk...
"I’m returning to my village immediately. We’ll discuss working together against the Akatsuki another time!" The Fourth Raikage turned and left in a hurry.
However, he hadn’t gone far before a message arrived from Kumogakure via a messenger beast.
Boom!
The moment he read the message, the Fourth Raikage exploded with rage, releasing such immense chakra that the ground beneath him cracked and sank.
"Those bastards!" he roared.
"Akatsuki, I’ll kill every last one of them!"
Watching his outburst, Shūichi mused, Did Nagato unleash a major attack on Kumogakure? Based on Ōnoki’s earlier description, Shūichi had already deduced that Uchiha Obito was involved. That meant Nagato had likely gone to Kumogakure himself.
If that were the case, making Kumogakure feel pain to "understand pain" would align perfectly with Nagato’s ideology.
And from the looks of it, the Fourth Raikage was indeed deeply experiencing pain. Though, understanding it? Probably not.
Ōnoki turned to Shūichi and said, "Shūichi Hoshita, please inform the Hokage to prepare for a Five Kage Summit so we can plan how to deal with the Akatsuki."
Shūichi gave Ōnoki a wry look and teased, "Aren’t you afraid Konoha might take advantage of this and annex your villages?"
Ōnoki replied gravely, "If we don’t defeat the Akatsuki, there won’t be any villages left."
He wasn’t even sure how many of his villagers had survived.
The Fourth Raikage bellowed, "Even if we must sacrifice everything, the Akatsuki must be destroyed completely!"
Nagato’s near destruction of Kumogakure was an unforgivable offense.
Shūichi calculated the time and said, "Let’s move out! First, we need to rescue those captured."
"I’ve placed Flying Thunder God markers on the tailed beasts, but the Akatsuki are aware of this. For me to use the technique, I’ll need to sense them first."
"Gather sensory ninjas to locate the Akatsuki’s hideout!"
Ōnoki and the other Kage nodded in agreement. "Understood!"
With that, the three Kage led their teams to act.
Though Shūichi knew where Madara’s hideout was, he naturally couldn’t reveal that now. Besides, Nagato and his team wouldn’t stay in one place while extracting the tailed beasts. They’d likely set up barriers and use projections to save time and minimize risks.
What Shūichi didn’t tell the others was that the Akatsuki couldn’t block his connection to the tailed beasts. Even Kamui’s dimension couldn’t sever it.
As Ōnoki and the others left, Shūichi turned to Konan and said, "Get ready to join the Allied Shinobi Forces."
Konan nodded, though her expression remained worried.
Shūichi, understanding her concern, reassured her, "Madara won’t make a move against Nagato yet. When he chose Nagato, he was well aware of the lack of trust between them. It’s a relationship of mutual exploitation."
"In the end, it’ll come down to who outmaneuvers whom."
Still, Shūichi thought, Nagato wouldn’t be able to outplay Madara. The only question was how far he could go before losing.
Hashirama Senju, listening to their conversation, looked puzzled. Sensing this, Shūichi explained, "Konan was originally a member of the Akatsuki."
"Madara implanted the Rinnegan into Nagato to manipulate his life. While we oppose Nagato, we also share a common enemy, so cooperation is possible."
"Also, Uchiha Obito, manipulated by Madara, didn’t truly betray the village. And Orochimaru, the one who summoned you back from the dead, is the Third Hokage’s disciple. Though he’s with the Akatsuki now, he’s also collaborated with us."
Hashirama was dumbfounded by the convoluted relationships. After pondering for a moment, he joked, "Shūichi, why do I feel like you’re the one secretly pulling all the strings behind Madara?"
Shūichi’s expression stiffened.
"Impossible! Don't Slander ME!"
Seeing his reaction, Hashirama burst into hearty laughter. "Haha, just kidding!"
(End of Chapter)
Comments
Legallysane1
Shuichi: Gasp, I say. Accusations without proof is nothing but Slander! And I left no proof! 😤😤
