Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 223 The Traitors of the Uchiha Clan

Tsunade stared at Xia Zuo in disbelief.

The blood vessels around his eyes bulged, and his black pupils quickly faded, revealing that he had actually awakened the whites of his eyes.

The changes that the bloodline double rings brought to the body's root marrow not only affected the pineal gland, but also made his eyes sharper and gave him keen dynamic vision.

Xia Zuo didn't pay attention to the enhancement of his eyes at first, because his body was being enhanced in all aspects. In addition to vision, his hearing, smell, touch and taste were also being enhanced simultaneously.

The enhancement of his five senses was nothing compared to the changes in his pineal gland. Until today, when he suddenly gained X-ray vision, he was terrified.

Xia Zuo merely attempted to inject chakra into his eyes, and they naturally awakened into Byakugan.

Therefore, he brought forward the operation against the Hyuga clan to yesterday, and the methods used to attack the Hyuga main family became more direct, almost to the point of beating up all the Hyuga main family ninjas.

Tsunade asked incredulously, "You actually awakened the Byakugan? Do you also have Hyuga clan blood?"

Xia Zuo snorted: "I don't have the bloodline of the Sunwalker. I relied on my own bloodline limit to push my body towards a primal transformation, and naturally awakened the Byakugan."

Tsunade asked, "Xia Sa, your talent is unmatched. Now that you've awakened the Byakugan, you can research it on your own. Why do you need to refer to the two Hyuga children?"

Xia Zuo explained helplessly, "I had no choice. The advancement of the Byakugan is different from that of the Sharingan. There is no ladder of advancement step by step. There is only success or failure in one step."

"The leap is too big, and I'm not confident that I can succeed in one go."

"At this moment, having two Byakugan ninjas climbing upwards with me is the greatest help I can receive."

Tsunade understood perfectly and marveled at it with envy.

Then she couldn't help but start studying Xia Zuo's body; she also wanted to awaken several useful bloodline limits.

Outside Konoha Village, right next to the village's barrier, stood a ninja dressed in an Akatsuki uniform.

In the air in front of him, a spiral pattern suddenly appeared. As the spiral pattern rotated and unfolded, Obito Uchiha jumped out of the Kamui dimension.

As soon as he appeared, Obito Uchiha complained, "This is unbelievable! There's not a single gap in Konoha's barrier!"

.

Uchiha Itachi, who was waiting for his reply, said, "This is not surprising. The Fifth Hokage, Natsuzo, was a very capable leader. The Konoha Village under his leadership was completely different from the Konoha Village under the Third Hokage."

"You should have known this already, after all, we experienced his prowess five years ago."

Obito Uchiha sighed, "I know, but I'm just unwilling to accept it."

"In this way, only Zetsu and I can go in. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki will have to wait outside the barrier or enter through the gates of Konoha Village."

Uchiha Itachi pulled down his straw hat and said calmly, "It's alright, Kisame and I will enter Konoha through the main gate."

"The ninja guarding Konoha are at most Chunin; they won't detect anything wrong with my eyes."

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Then Itachi suddenly asked, "Madara Uchiha, let's assume you are Madara Uchiha, do you really think that the four of us can defeat the Fifth Hokage, Sasuke?"

His tone was full of doubt, and he even directly questioned Obito Uchiha without any hesitation, asserting with great certainty that he was not the real Madara Uchiha.

But Obito Uchiha, wearing a mask, wasn't angry. He had gotten used to it over the past five years, or rather, he was numb to it from Itachi Uchiha's constant teasing.

Most importantly, he had come to a complete understanding that Itachi Uchiha was simply too brilliant.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make, and the more flaws this kid will seize upon.

So no matter what questions or probing remarks Itachi made, Obito ignored them all and continued talking about his own affairs.

Obito snorted and said, "I admit that the Fifth Hokage, Sasuke, is practically a carbon copy of Hashirama Senju, but if the two of us work together, we still have a chance to take down this rising star of the ninja world."

Itachi Uchiha sneered, "The two of us? We only have three Mangekyou Sharingan combined. It would be difficult enough to deal with Shisui, let alone the Fifth Hokage, who is known as the 'strongest ninja in the world'?"

"Besides, all three legendary Sannin are in Konoha Village. They have plenty of manpower. No matter how I look at it, there is absolutely no chance of them winning."

Obito Uchiha laughed and said, "It's precisely because the Legendary Sannin of Konoha are all in Konoha that we have the opportunity to deal with the Fifth Hokage."

"Zetsu has learned some information: a rebellion is brewing within Konoha, led by Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha."

"Uchiha Itachi, I know you once controlled Orochimaru with just a glance, but you won't underestimate Orochimaru's abilities because of that, will you?"

Uchiha Itachi replied, "I'm not that shallow."

"Orochimaru's strength is actually far above mine, but his soul has too many flaws, which are countered by my Mangekyou Sharingan, which is why he was defeated by me so easily."

"But when facing powerful ninjas that I am powerless to fight, his performance will far surpass mine."

"If Orochimaru was planning a rebellion against the Fifth Hokage, he would have acted very secretly. How did he obtain the information?"

Obito Uchiha asked, "Are you asking about this detail because you're worried it's a trap?"

Uchiha Itachi said, "There is no evidence yet to prove that this is a trap, but I don't think Orochimaru would leak information so easily."

"Orochimaru was once a member of the Akatsuki organization, and he still has a ring on his hand. I don't think he would be unprepared for Zetsu's investigation."

A mimosa plant sprouted from the ground, revealing the yin-yang face of the Black and White Demon.

He said to Itachi Uchiha, "You're right. I've never had a chance to get close to Orochimaru. I got this information from the Fourth Kazekage."

"Orochimaru's rebellion was large-scale, involving not only Jonin from Konoha, but also recruits from outside the village, including the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa."

Itachi Uchiha frowned in thought, then pressed on, "The Fourth Kazekage is involved too, so will the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage also get involved?"

Black and White Zetsu shook his head and said, "I can't be sure. The Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage have very strong guards, so I can't get too close."

Obito Uchiha said, "That's enough. With the Fourth Kazekage involved, if Orochimaru can really catch the Fifth Hokage off guard, they still have a chance to win."

"If we join in during the chaos, our chances of the rebellion succeeding will be much greater."

"Even if it doesn't fail, it's fine. We won't suffer any losses, but Konoha Village will definitely suffer heavy losses, and its upward momentum will likely be interrupted."

Uchiha Itachi said, "I feel that something is wrong. The Fourth Kazekage was involved in the plan, so why didn't Sunagakure mobilize its forces? They even only sent a small team to Konoha."

"Aren't they afraid the Fourth Kazekage will die in Konoha?"

Black and White Zetsu replied, "The death of the Fourth Kazekage's entire family in Konoha was originally Sunagakure's objective."

Uchiha Itachi: "Hmm?"

Black and White Zetsu explained, "This is what the Fourth Kazekage himself said. Even if he successfully killed the Fifth Hokage, even if Konoha Village was thrown into chaos as a result, he still had enough power to flatten Sunagakure."

Obito Uchiha sighed, "Konoha is too strong. In the past two years, they have dismissed a large number of veteran ninjas through the assessment, but the number of ninjas on the official payroll has still exceeded 2."

"If the assessment standards are relaxed even slightly, the number of ninjas in Konoha Village can double in a few days. This is a powerful force that no other ninja village can withstand."

"Moreover, with the Fifth Hokage dead, all the Konoha ninjas will vie to avenge him, using it as leverage for their own gain."

"Therefore, the Fourth Kazekage had long been prepared for death; he regarded his life as an explanation from Sunagakure to Konoha."

Itachi Uchiha breathed a sigh of relief: "I see, that makes sense."

"It's unbelievable that the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure was prepared to pay with his life before attempting to assassinate the Fifth Hokage."

His eyes were filled with confusion: "How could Konoha Village have become so powerful in just two years?"

"Could it be that the Third Hokage really dragged Konoha down? If so, wouldn't it be a huge mistake for me to believe in the Third Hokage?"

"No, no, that's not how it is!"

"I did nothing wrong. Father, Mother, the elders, and the Jonin did not sacrifice themselves in vain, absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

After a few minutes of silence, Itachi Uchiha gathered his chaotic thoughts and asked again, "Why didn't you bring Nagato along?"

"Even if Orochimaru and the Fourth Kazekage join forces, it will probably be difficult for them to defeat the Fifth Hokage. Even if the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage decide to participate, the chances are not very high."

"Only Nagato, who possesses the Rinnegan, truly has a chance to defeat the Fifth Hokage."

Obito Uchiha felt extremely heartbroken.

He's not stupid; how could he not know that he can't beat Xia Zuo? If he really wants to deal with the Fifth Hokage, it would be best if Nagato were involved.

Since Xia Zuo suddenly emerged after the Uchiha clan massacre, he has maintained an undefeated record, easily crushing his opponents each time.

Even the Fourth Raikage and the army of Cloud Village ninjas couldn't last an hour against Xia Zuo.

In recent years, only Nagato has been able to fight Natsume to a standstill, with the outcome of the battle lasting a long time.

The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, didn't even defeat Nagato. Rather, after a long stalemate, Nagato ran out of steam and chose to back down.

Therefore, if you really want to defeat or even kill the Fifth Hokage, you still have to look to Nagato.

However, after Nagato's battle with Natsume, and after hearing something from Natsume, he and Konan became more wary of Obito than ever before.

Even though Obito used White Zetsu cells to heal Nagato's body, it couldn't dispel Nagato's vigilance.

Obito Uchiha shook his head and said, "This operation is taking advantage of Orochimaru's rebellion. We don't have a clear plan or objective, so there's no need to involve Nagato."

Uchiha Itachi remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement with Obito's assessment.

Fate is always a strange thing.

Despite all these changes, the first battle of the third stage of the Joint Chunin Exams was still between Rock Lee from Konoha and Gaara from Sunagakure.

Gaara's Magnet Release Sand Manipulation was amazing and powerful, while Rock Lee's speed and punches after shedding his weights were astonishing. The battle between the two was so intense and violent that it was as if two Jonin were fighting fiercely.

This was a battle like Mars colliding with Earth, setting the tone from the very beginning.

The final battle mirrored the historical outcome. Lee seemed to be close to victory, but in reality, he almost forced Gaara to reveal his identity as a Jinchuriki.

In the end, Gaara was stronger, relying on his own chakra reserves and his impeccable sand manipulation technique to achieve final victory.

But this time was different. After Lee was suppressed by Gaara, his stubborn persistence did not arouse Gaara's murderous intent.

Xiao Li could not avoid the outcome of failure, but he did avoid the result of being disabled.

Perhaps it was because when Xia Zuo gave Sunagakure a forest-themed makeover, it left such a deep impression on Shukaku that Shukaku became severely withdrawn, and the torment he inflicted on Gaara was not as intense as before.

The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, had actually forgotten about the incident. Seeing Rock Lee's defeat, his mind was still focused on the original plot, and he couldn't help but sigh, "How interesting. Are those two bound by fate?"

The First Hokage smiled and said, "This child is quite good. His foundation in taijutsu is very solid. He will definitely be able to become a Jonin in the future."

When Rock Lee unleashes his full power, he already possesses the strength of a Special Jonin. The First Hokage said that he would definitely become a Jonin in the future, which actually meant that Rock Lee would have little chance of becoming a Kage-level ninja.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, nodded in agreement, saying, "This child's physique isn't very compatible with the Eight Gates, and he can't compare to his team leader, Jonin Might Guy."

"It's a pity. He invested too much in the Eight Gates Formation, and even I can't bring his physical condition back to normal now."

No one said anything more, and the room fell silent again as everyone watched the next match with rapt attention.

Unfortunately, the battle that followed was not as intense.

A normal battle between genin involves throwing out a few shuriken and then engaging in some heavy taijutsu fighting. They might not even be able to come up with a single ninjutsu during the entire battle.

It looks really boring.

The top genin from the five great ninja villages could completely overwhelm ordinary genin; the audience couldn't even see what happened before the battle was over.

It's fair to say it's completely devoid of any entertainment value.

Especially compared to the intense and exciting first match, the average viewer found it much more bland.

Actually, Nara Shikamaru's battle of wits was very exciting, Temari's Wind Release: Giant Fan was also very interesting, and Aburame Shino's Parasitic Insects were also strange and difficult to understand.

However, only ninjas can appreciate and perceive such brilliance; ordinary people simply cannot understand the intricacies involved, and the atmosphere at the scene became quite subdued.

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