Chapter 209: 210. Chapter 206: Reply, Plot, and Encircle Obito!

210. Chapter 206: Reply, Plot, and Encircle Obito!

"Lord Hokage, the Mist Village troops of the two withdrawn islands have begun to take the initiative, but Rizhan Jonin was already prepared, and the Mist Village's several surprise attacks all returned empty‑handed."

In the Hokage's office, Shisui, Hui, Danzo, and Mizukado were all listening to Nara Suzaku's report.

Shisui's forehead veins throbbed; the thing he most dreaded still happened.

Obito's exposure brings no benefit to the Village at all; now the Mizukage and the Three‑Tails have both been abducted, the mastermind Obito remains missing, and yet the Mist Village high command has seen that Copy Wheel Eye.

For the Mist Village high command, it is better to redirect their hatred toward the Uchiha and the Village rather than waste effort hunting the mysterious masked man whose whereabouts are unknown.

Thus, after a round of propaganda by the Mist Village high command, all the internal complexities that had been building up surged toward the Village; the Mist ninja, previously lacking any will to fight, instantly turned their fury into strength upon learning that the root cause of their misfortune was not the Mizukage but the Village, and they reassembled and charged back onto the battlefield.

This left Shisui feeling very helpless.

"What does this have to do with us? That guy once harmed the Village; how can we take the blame?"

Hui was extremely dissatisfied, feeling it was too unjust: the Mist Village, lacking strength and being controlled, seeks trouble with the Village; now they can't catch them yet still cause trouble for the Village—what does that make them to us?

When Danzo heard Hui mention past incidents involving the masked man, his eyes also changed; the Night of the Nine‑Tails had always been their excuse to criticize the Uchiha, and they never expected the Uchiha to become Hokage, only to be trapped by the mastermind using a similar method.

"Hehe, the Copy Wheel Eye is already exposed; who would care about such talk?"

Danzo's insinuating remark irritated Hui, but since they were in the Hokage's office, he couldn't directly lash out at the advisor.

Hui could only continue, "Lord Hokage, can't we explain things clearly to them?"

Mizukado nodded beside them; if war could be avoided, that would be good, and the Village should recuperate for a while.

Shisui shook his head, "Useless. For the Mist Village, the exact truth doesn't matter; what matters is having a hateful target to channel their internal conflicts and reunite their scattered hearts. So even if we capture the masked man and rescue the Mizukage, they won't accept it."

The Mizukage can be replaced; as for the Three‑Tails, they've lost it before, and right now the Village's stability is more important.

Having been trained by Sima Yi, Hui now had some insight; hearing Shisui's explanation, he instantly understood and could only sigh helplessly.

Danzo lowered his gaze slightly, looking at Shisui in surprise; Shisui's explanation was simple yet pinpointed the issue, making Danzo further recognize Shisui's exceptionalness—perhaps Shisui's success would not be mere luck.

He then proactively asked, "What does the Hokage plan to do next? Continue negotiations with the Mist Village?"

Shisui was taken aback, then gave a helpless smile, "We must talk."

"In the end, he's just an ignorant Uchiha, foolish and weak, much like Rizhan."

Before Shisui could finish, Danzo shook his head silently.

"However, the Mist Village will definitely refuse; this war remains unavoidable, and no one should pin their hopes on it.

What we need to do is make both the Village and the Mist people know that the Village does not desire war; even if they don't believe it, we must repeatedly state, repeatedly say that we are only protecting our home and loved ones—this is all out of helplessness."

Obito's actions have slapped Shisui in the face twice in a row; the first time Shisui thought the war would end, but the war expanded again.

The second time he wrote a letter urging the Mist to surrender, bluntly stating their misfortune stemmed from the Mizukage; then Obito's exposure caused the hatred to return to the Village.

Whenever he thought of this, Shisui couldn't help but blush, wishing to dispatch troops to eliminate Obito early, but for the greater picture he could only endure his anger.

Mizukado's eyes widened, and after a long pause he said blankly, "The Hokage truly is a benevolent person."

Danzo fell silent, saying nothing more.

Nara Suzaku and Hui, both moved by Shisui's thoughts, exclaimed, "Lord Hokage, you are wise!"

"I didn't expect that after your exposure there would be such benefits; was this in your plan?"

On the Eastern front battlefield, atop a reef, Jue watched the Mist, once again failing to land and retreating by sea, and was suddenly moved to speak.

Due to earlier operational errors, the Mist lost its foothold on the continent, so even in anger it still wasn't a match for the Village, but its actions could greatly distract the Village's forces and attention, thus achieving its goal.

Obito, wearing his mask, paused, then after a moment of silence said in a deep voice, "It's just a petty trick; we can ignore the Mist for now. How are the people we scouted for Akatsuki doing?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly; Nagato has already brought Orochimaru into the organization. Scorpion is gathering puppet materials near Kyoto, where a minister funds him; the group's funds might also be sourced there. However, Kakuzu has gone to the Land of Wind on a mission, and I've also located the immortal Hidan's trail, ready to act at any time."

"To deal with the Village, these people alone aren't enough; what about Pipa Juzo?"

"Unfortunately, he's been recruited by the boss of an underground gambling den in Kyoto. Scorpion also once gambled there, and according to my intel, that boss is Uchiha Izayoi, the Uchiha's second pair of Mangekyou Sharingan."

Mentioning the Mangekyou, a hint of apprehension flashed in Obito's eyes.

If possible, he doesn't want to fight any Uchiha who possesses a Mangekyou; the risk is too great.

So far, he still doesn't know what kind of eye technique resides in that person's eyes; if he unfortunately meets someone who can counter him, it would be troublesome.

"What should we do, Obito? The Village seems increasingly thorny."

"Call me Madara; I will guide Nagato to deal with them, but not now."

A deep voice resonated, and recalling those eyes, Obito calmed down; no one could stop him from realizing his dream.

"This world is false; only I can bring true peace to it!"

In September of the Village's fifty‑second year, although the Eastern front conflict failed to subside as hoped, the Mist high command likewise refused to commit heavily, and certainly would not, like the controlled Fourth Mizukage, mobilize the Mist Elite Forces to expand the war.

After a month of continuous fighting, the Eastern front's convergence line fell into a stalemate; the war did not expand, so the Village had no need for large‑scale reinforcements, and Sima Yi remained in the Village.

That day, after a long silence, Orochimaru finally replied, and Sima Yi curiously extracted a viscous scroll from the little white snake's mouth.

Inside the roll were several scrolls and a reply letter.

The letter plainly stated the results of the experiments Sima Yi had recently commissioned, as well as recent events.

The main points were as follows:

First, the final batch of cells delivered a few months ago matched Shisui extremely well; even without First Generation cells they can spontaneously fuse with Shisui's eye power, and if the cell's donor awakens a Mangekyou, it might help Shisui ascend to the legendary Eternal Mangekyou.

Second, Fugaku sent an overwhelming number of Uchiha clan cells; he hasn't yet built a proper database and needs time, but the Uchiha students sent are still very useful.

Third, he refined the method that originally helped Izayoi awaken the Mangekyou and analyzed possible causes of the side effects; in short, Izayoi, while trapped in an illusion, only achieved mental evolution, his body did not partake, leading to yin‑yang imbalance and eye power eroding the flesh.

Thus First Generation cells are needed to balance yin and yang, and the low probability of a five‑in‑one might be due to emotional fluctuations, though this is merely speculation and requires verification.

Orochimaru's new method, however, discards illusion and focuses on role‑playing in the real world, constructing something the Uchiha cannot accept; if it fails, the memory is sealed and the process restarts.

Fourth, Orochimaru has recently been studying tailed beasts and hopes Shisui can send over some Two‑Tails specimens.

Fifth, the scroll from the Dragon Earth Cave has arrived.

Sixth, an organization calling itself Akatsuki approached him again, revealing the Rinnegan—only the Sage of Six Paths possesses it. Orochimaru was drawn to those eyes and voluntarily joined Akatsuki. Additionally, Orochimaru fully disclosed his identity as Pain, stating he was one of the three disciples that Zui Lai once took in the Rain Country.

Finally, pay the money.

A letter, sprawling over a thousand characters, was read by Sima Yi, who felt instantly intrigued.

"So that means Hui and Shisui could swap the Kaleidoscope; if that's the case, after the East Tower is reinforced, it should also match Shisui."

Sima Yi guessed in his mind that it might be because of that mysterious power; otherwise it wouldn't be so coincidental.

"This awakening method sounds safe; even if the awakening fails, there would be no side effects, so perhaps it could be tested on Hui."

Sima Yi stroked his mustache, gradually digesting and analyzing the letter's contents.

The second tail isn't needed for now; if an organization can be arranged, sending it to Orochimaru later would be fine.

The scroll from Dragon Earth Cave might be considered for Hui after the experiment; if the Kaleidoscope awakens successfully, it can be studied for a while, but if it fails, let Shi Liu Ye accompany Hui on a trip, at least to preserve Hui's life.

As for the news about Akatsuki and the Samsara Eye, the Sage of Six Paths' eye indeed attracted Sima Yi, but he cared more about the Rain Country.

"He and Jiao Du also appeared in the Rain Country; this Akatsuki and the Samsara Eye are also in the Rain Country. It's a small Rain Country yet hides so many figures—coincidence?"

Probably not! Sima Yi grew suspicious, suddenly recalling that Rain Hidden had shown some activity before, though it was only a provocation without direct war, yet stationing troops at the border drew many Konoha forces.

"If Akatsuki dominates Rain Hidden Village and teams up with him, then these actions make sense—they want to weaken Konoha!"

Sima Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, lightly brushed his long mustache, then a faint smile rose at his mouth as he, hands behind his back, looked at the Ninja World map hanging on one side of the study.

Jin Huo.

Butler!

Jin Huo, who was training in the backyard, instantly teleported over the moment he heard the call.

Go find the Hokage, tell him I have urgent matters to discuss, and have him and Hui return as early as possible today.

Yes!

Jin Huo set off immediately, and after a moment of thought, Sima Yi summoned another person.

Then he calmed himself and wrote a letter to Yan Shifan, and a moment later, two figures flashed across the courtyard, rushing straight to the study, while farther away Jin Huo was desperately chasing.

"Grandfather, why summon me so urgently? What happened?"

The study door was left open, and Shisui ran straight in, with Hui following closely, his expression odd.

"Weren't you supposed to come after you finish your business?"

"Haha, I left a clone, and Senior Suzaku is there; he'll handle it~"

Shisui laughed, and of course his grandfather's matter was more important.

Sima Yi shook his head with a smile, not overly entangled, and only Hui helplessly said, "Aren't you the Flying Thunder God? Why do we still have to run back!"

Shisui: "Hehe, alright, Shisui, take a look at this letter."

Because the letter involves the awakening method, Hui shouldn't be alerted early, so Sima Yi didn't let him read it together.

Hui didn't mind, found a spot and sat down to wait.

"Akatsuki, Samsara Eye, Rain Country!"

Shisui quickly grasped the point, his brows heavy.

That is the legendary Sage's Eye; opposing such a person, even Shisui felt the pressure multiply.

"Akatsuki invited Orochimaru to join; it seems they're still developing, we must not let them continue to grow!"

Shisui said resolutely, his eyes filled with murderous intent that was hard to suppress.

"Indeed, Obito can't be left; such a powerful person hiding in the shadows is too dangerous, it's time to eliminate him."

"But…"

Shisui sighed helplessly; he also wanted to get rid of Obito, but the opponent's abilities are unique—if he tries to run, there's no way, and they can't locate him.

"I understand your concerns; I summoned you today to discuss this matter."

Shisui, pleased, hurriedly asked, "Grandfather, do you have a solution?"

"Since the two have contact, it suggests the Rain Country may be more important to them; we can force him out through Rain Hidden."

"Grandfather, you mean declare war on Rain Hidden?" Shisui was a bit uneasy, but it wasn't unacceptable; after all, Rain Hidden has already stationed troops at the border, and everyone in Konoha knows Rain Hidden's intentions are off.

"Indeed, but rest assured, a war must have a clear cause; I've already sent a letter to the East Tower, and he will handle it."

"Truly worthy of a grandfather, so thorough!"

Shisui exhaled, having reason to mobilize Konoha ninjas.

"By the way, the scroll from Dragon Earth Cave was also sent to Orochimaru, but unfortunately the war with Rain Hidden is imminent; we need to prepare quickly now, and there's probably no time for Hui to train slowly."

Sima Yi shifted the conversation to Hui, and Shisui immediately responded, "I'm uneasy leaving Rain Hidden to others, but fine; although Rain Hidden concerns Konoha's survival, Hui's safety is more important, so I'll let Tie Huo."

"Wait!"

Upon hearing himself mentioned, Hui perked up and quickly interjected, "What do you mean uneasy? It's just a minor task; just trust me with it. The sage technique can wait until I return this time to train."

"Brother Hui, you shouldn't overexert yourself."

"Shisui, just trust me with it!"

"Alright."

Sima Yi seized the chance, saying, "The Clan Elite are insufficient; I'll have Yang Zhe and Yi Zheng go with you."

"Huh? I can understand Yang Zhe going, but why send my old man? At his age, can he still go to the battlefield?"

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Just as Hui was questioning, a familiar voice suddenly came from outside the door; the newcomer was Hui's father, Yi Zheng of the Uchiha! (End of chapter)