Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

In the underground of the ninja world, under a huge shadow, an old man with pipes connected to his back was resting with his eyes closed.

A dark shadow slowly crawled out from the ground, eventually transforming into a human form and appearing before the old man, slowly reporting on the current situation of the ninja world.

After the other party finished reporting, the old man slowly opened his Sharingan with three scarlet tomoe and his gaze slowly fell on the other party.

"Defecting from Kirigakure, seizing the Byakugan, the Kaguya clan, a ninja with the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit—I don't recall there being such an arrangement in Kirigakure."

"Yes, we didn't have that plan; it was a completely unexpected event."

The old man snorted coldly. With little time left to live, he didn't like things going against his plans, but he didn't care anymore.

"That's enough. The Mist Ninja are no longer of any use to me. The plan has succeeded, and Obito has completed his awakening."

"He also became my proxy, continuing my plan, and the rest is up to him to decide."

"And you, as my other half, are entrusted with the task of guiding Obito to achieve my ultimate goal according to my plan."

This old man was none other than Madara Uchiha, the legendary ninja who once dominated the ninja world!

After faking his death during his duel with Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End, he has lived to this day, during which time he has transformed his Sharingan into the Rinnegan, but ultimately he could not withstand the erosion of time.

His unfulfilled ambitions were still unfulfilled, so he could only entrust the plan to the person he had chosen to continue it.

"Unfortunately, I don't have much time left. Let's call Obito over. He's still too inexperienced and needs special training."

The crimson three-tomoe Sharingan in Madara's eyes were not his original eyes; he had gambled on the future with his evolved Rinnegan.

He left it to a child with the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan, who would also be a key figure in his future plans.

He has three backup plans: Nagato, a descendant of the Uzumaki clan who can bear the Rinnegan; Black Zetsu, the embodiment of his own will; and Obito, who will act as the ninja in his name.

The ultimate goal is to resurrect himself, achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and create a world without war and suffering, allowing everyone to immerse themselves in his own world.

Maintaining the ultimate illusion that faces the entire world, he will become the only conscious person in this world, enduring loneliness.

"yes!"

The dark figure silently blended into the ground and disappeared into the underground space.

……

On the other side, Konoha.

Recalled by the Third Hokage, Danzo withdrew from the front lines against the Mist Ninja in Konoha, the Land of Rivers, and arrived at the Hokage's office.

"What?! The Fire Temple gang was attacked?"

Danzo looked at the intelligence report in his hand with surprise. What he cared about was not the Fire Temple, but that someone was causing trouble right under Konoha's nose within the Land of Fire.

This was intolerable and unacceptable to him.

After all, as the root of Konoha, he has the responsibility to deal with this and eliminate any elements that could cause instability in the Land of Fire and Konoha.

Unexpectedly, this kind of thing happened during his fight against the Mist Ninja Front, and he still couldn't find any trace of them. It was a real challenge to his professionalism.

"Alright, leave this to my men. Dismiss your secret agents."

"I will investigate everything thoroughly. No one in the Land of Fire can escape my eyes."

Danzo showed no respect whatsoever to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and even complained that Hiruzen's men were in the way.

The Third Hokage could only nod helplessly at Danzo's attitude. Seeing his old friend so badly injured, he sighed inwardly, feeling extremely guilty.

After all, it was his order to send Danzo to the Land of Rivers to fight against the Mist Ninja.

One eye, one arm—who would have thought that the Mist Ninja could force Danzo to such a point? He must not be as relieved as he appears on the surface.

"I'm in dire need of help right now, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief with you back."

"You handle this first. If there's anything else, I'll contact you."

Danzo snorted and turned to leave the Hokage's office, leaving the Third Hokage feeling guilty. He took out his pipe and took a deep drag.

With Danzo's assistance, he could rest assured about some matters within the Land of Fire, after all, they had supported each other through thick and thin in the past.

……

The leaf is located underground, where the roots are.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Danzo remained silent with a gloomy expression until he arrived at Root.

"Lord Danzo, we have unexpectedly discovered some information regarding Amegakure."

The Root ninja handed the information to Danzo, who looked at the information with his one eye. He first opened his eye wide, then narrowed it with a serious expression to examine it carefully.

His expression initially showed some surprise and doubt, followed by a thoughtful look, before he finally looked at his subordinate and asked, "Are you sure the intelligence is true?"

The importance of this information compelled Danzo to inquire carefully; if it were true, it would be truly astonishing.

The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, known as the Rinnegan, one of the three great dojutsu, have appeared on a ninja from the Land of Rain.

"It's true, Lord Danzo!"

"Our people have confirmed after repeated checks that the eyes are indeed as described in the records, but their capabilities are currently unknown."

"We were afraid of alerting the enemy, so we quickly reported to you. It is up to you to make the decision."

Danzo nodded slightly. He had personally trained the Root ninjas to be highly professional, and he trusted their reports implicitly.

"You may leave now!"

"yes!"

The Root ninja quietly retreated into the shadows and left, leaving Danzo clutching the intelligence report, a hint of fervor gleaming in his narrowed eyes.

That's the Rinnegan, the legendary Sage's Eye. If we could obtain it, Konoha would surely become the true absolute overlord.

Compared to what happened at the Fire Temple, this situation is clearly of higher priority.

"We need to confirm this further. If the Rinnegan is real, it can only be kept in Konoha and cannot fall into the wrong hands."

The so-called three great dojutsu of the ninja world are the Rinnegan, Byakugan, and Sharingan.

Aside from the Rinnegan, the other two great dojutsu are all in Konoha: the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan and the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

The power of his eye technique is already well-known throughout the ninja world and needs no further explanation.

The Rinnegan is legendary, its true form unknown to all. Only records of its appearance and its terrifying power exist.

……

The Land of Fire is located on the border of the Land of Grass, and Izumi has already learned about the situation there through his clone's investigation.

After the defeat of the Iwa ninja in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, the battle line on that side was basically irrelevant, and Konoha completely gained the upper hand.

Even the personnel from Konoha have been gradually withdrawn and dispatched to other battlefields, leaving only some necessary guards here.