Land of Rivers, Amegakure.
The rain drizzled down. Sheets of paper danced between the gray clouds, eventually converging into a human form atop the tallest building in Amegakure.
A short while later.
Inside, the orange-haired Pain emerged from the shadows.
"How is it?"
"According to my observations, Konoha is indeed serious this time, but Danzo has already relocated. What's left is just an empty shell."
Konan replied.
Pain spoke expressionlessly, "Regardless of the relationship between Konoha and Danzo, Danzo being in the Land of Rivers will certainly affect our plans."
"Then... let Shisui go and kill him?"
Konan asked.
Pain was silent for a moment before saying, "Who is Shisui paired with now?"
"After the death of Jūzō Biwa, we haven't selected a replacement yet."
Konan answered.
She thought for a moment and said, "I remember he has already headed to the Land of Rivers. Do you need me to go as support?"
"Let him act on his own."
Pain finally spoke, "In any case... for the time being, we cannot initiate operations against the Tailed Beasts. If he dies at Danzo's hands, it's simply his own incompetence."
"Fine."
Land of Fire, inside a forest.
Sasuke leaned against a tree, quietly resting to recover his spirits.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked upward.
The next second, Sasuke frowned slightly.
Above, a crow sat quietly perched there.
It was looking down, silently staring at Sasuke.
A crow?
Sasuke felt it was strange. He quietly activated his Sharingan and saw that the other party's Chakra was in human form, crouching on the branch.
In the next moment, a flash of crimson appeared in its eyes, and the tomoe began to spin.
Sasuke's eyes widened significantly.
That's a Sharingan?!
He arched his body in disbelief.
The next second, the other party's Sharingan rotated, and the ocular power within was released—
An illusion appeared before Sasuke's eyes.
In front of him, a blurry figure moved rapidly, its blade striking slowly while releasing Chakra.
The next moment, flames erupted from the blade.
"It's the Uchiha Style Kenjutsu!"
Sasuke was incredulous, and then a hint of joy flashed across his face.
It's Shisui-ge!
He watched with rapt attention as Shisui in the illusion repeatedly taught the secrets of the Uchiha Style Kenjutsu.
After several repetitions, the illusion automatically vanished.
Sasuke opened his eyes; the crow above had disappeared without a trace.
He stood up and looked around, then felt a sense of loss.
It was Shisui-daige's Shadow Clone!
"What's wrong?"
Below, Shin heard the movement.
Sasuke shook his head and lowered his voice, changing his tone: "Nothing, I just... woke up suddenly."
"Did you just graduate not long ago?"
Shin used Body Flicker to come up. Thinking he was a newly graduated Genin, he said in a low voice, "It's like this when you first kill someone. You'll get used to it."
"Yeah, I'll get used to it."
Sasuke replied quietly.
The other said: "It's already quite good now. If you were under that person..."
"What would happen?"
Shin froze on the tree, forced a smile, and said nothing.
Sasuke leaned back against the tree.
After a moment of silence, he said: "Were you... in the Root Organization before?"
Shin didn't answer, just smiled and said: "No, just hearsay."
"Okay."
Sasuke closed his eyes and didn't reply.
He felt that the other person had wanted to speak just now, but some kind of power had stopped him.
Is it some kind of technique formula?
In the nearby mountains, Shisui slowly exhaled.
He had come for Danzo, but he hadn't expected to see Sasuke's Chakra on the way. Thus he followed him, and unexpectedly, he even saw the Sharingan on Sasuke's person.
"Sasuke..."
"This is all I can help you with."
Shisui sighed softly.
He hadn't expected that Sasuke, at only eight years old, had already awakened the Sharingan.
The events of that night must have been a huge shock to Sasuke!
He really wanted to know the whole picture, but unfortunately, from then until now, the time he and Itachi could spend alone was pitifully short.
—
On the few occasions they were together, there were always outsiders present, making communication inconvenient.
He knew very well—Madara intended to keep them apart to prevent them from exchanging information.
Compared to him, Danzo was actually easier to deal with. Konoha Village, Ninja Academy.
"Sensei—"
"Sasuke, come with me."
Masahiko pulled "Sasuke" aside privately.
The current Sasuke was not the real Sasuke, but someone else in disguise.
To avoid being seen through, Masahiko tried his best to prevent him from staying in front of everyone for too long.
As for him—
The one in the Land of Rivers was merely his Shadow Clone; the one here now was the original body.
Naruto had a face full of indifference, but his mouth was whispering and grumbling.
Masahiko's attitude had always been clear—the superior ones move up, the inferior ones move down.
Everyone was already used to it and had no doubts about his behavior of giving Sasuke extra lessons.
"Actually, I'm taking Sasuke out alone not just for individual guidance, but because the gap between your progress and his is too large—"
Masahiko smiled and said, "By taking him out, you guys actually have a chance to take first place."
"Ahhh! Sensei, you're looking down on us too much!"
Naruto couldn't help himself.
He was naturally very envious of Sasuke's treatment.
Although Sasuke was no match for him in terms of physical stamina, his Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were much stronger. Overall, Naruto was simply no match.
Ninjutsu was one thing.
Naruto knew he had no talent for Ninjutsu, but in terms of Taijutsu, he felt he could compete with Sasuke.
"I'll defeat him sooner or later!"
"Is that so?"
Masahiko looked at the others, "Well then, if you can defeat everyone else today, I'll teach you a Taijutsu move."
"Really?"
Naruto's eyes lit up, and his whole being became energized.
Masahiko nodded: "Of course it's true. But it's the same for all of you; as long as you take first in this Taijutsu test, I will give you individual guidance."
"Alright!"
Naruto immediately became high-spirited, "This time, I will win against everyone!"
His Chakra was even more chaotic than before due to the Five Elements Seal.
But at the same time, as the Nine-Tailed's Chakra slowly merged into his body, combined with the stimulation of the Uzumaki Clan physique, Naruto's physical fitness was becoming stronger and stronger.
Over the past year or so, he had never slacked off.
Aside from Sasuke, if it was just Taijutsu, Naruto was indeed very strong.
But when it came to running—
"Damn it! Kiba, can't you just let me win?"
"I want to win too! I also want one-on-one guidance from Sensei!"
Kiba Inuzuka exerted his full effort, constantly attaching Chakra to his feet.
Even as he turned corners, he placed one hand on the ground, turning and accelerating like a wild beast, instantly pulling away a large distance.
"Sensei, he's cheating!"
Naruto shouted.
In the face of benefits, there are no classmates.
However—
"That's not their clan's secret technique; it's just simple landing and power-exertion technique. You can learn to use it too."
"Damn it!"
Naruto actually did try to use it.
But as a beginner, he ultimately couldn't beat a professional.
He suffered a regrettable defeat.
Masahiko smiled slightly and was about to praise Kiba when Iruka arrived using Body Flicker.
His smile faded.
"Iruka, does Hokage-sama have something?"
"Yes, he wants you to go over immediately."
Iruka's expression was serious, then he leaned in and said, "There might be something important and urgent. I heard Lord Mitokado went as well."
"Alright, I understand. Help me look after these students for a bit."
Masahiko nodded.
Afterward, he looked at Kiba Inuzuka: "When you get back, talk with your family about what you want to learn, and come to my house tomorrow morning."
Kiba Inuzuka was stunned for a second, then nodded repeatedly in wild joy: "Yes!"
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