Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 95 One year has passed; time to prepare for action!

A year passed quietly like flowing water, and the ninja world did not usher in true peace.

Small-scale conflicts erupted one after another between villages, never truly ceasing.

There are constant frictions between Konoha and Kumogakure at the border, and Kumogakure and Iwagakure also occasionally clash.

These sporadic battles, though not enough to ignite another ninja world war, do indicate that the war has not completely ended.

Meanwhile, within Konoha, the undercurrents were intensifying due to the Third Hokage's reinstatement and Danzo's resurgence of ambition.

After returning from that mission, Uchiha Shisui did not hide the existence of the Mangekyou Sharingan, but reported it to the authorities.

Although he was cautious and did not tell the Third Hokage and Danzo about his eye technique, Kotoamatsukami.

He only told Itachi about the most powerful illusion technique that could permanently change someone's will.

But the mere mention of "Mangekyou Sharingan" was enough to keep the higher-ups in Konoha on edge.

After learning the news, the third generation remained silent for a long time, pondering how to handle the matter.

Danzo's reaction was more direct. He paced back and forth in the underground conference room of Root for a long time, his eyes flashing with a dangerous glint.

If it weren't for Shisui being a descendant of Uchiha Kagami and the Third Hokage's warning, the Root leader would probably have already become restless.

Within the Uchiha clan, the attitude towards Shisui was much more nuanced.

They did not welcome this clansman who was "close to Konoha." Shisui's joining the Anbu and serving the Hokage was seen as a betrayal by many in the clan.

On the other hand, he is, after all, a member of the Uchiha clan, and currently the only strong member of the clan to have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

In the eyes of those hot-blooded young Uchiha, Shisui's very existence became their source of confidence in fighting against Konoha.

"We have a kaleidoscope, why should we stay huddled in this corner?"

"Konoha owes us justice."

"It's time to let them know how powerful the Uchiha clan is."

Such voices grew more numerous and louder, and the discontent and resentment within the clan, like a flame constantly being fueled, burned ever brighter, leading to increasingly ostentatious behavior in daily life.

The guards' attitude during patrols became more aggressive, leading to increasing friction with the villagers.

Even though Fugaku, as the clan leader, was suppressing the truth, the Uchiha clan members, unable to know the truth, became increasingly dissatisfied with how Konoha treated them.

Shisui saw all this and was anxious, but powerless to stop it.

He had tried to persuade them several times at clan meetings, but all he received in return were cold stares and ridicule.

He tried to convey the clan's movements to the third generation through the secret service, but he also knew that this could only be a temporary solution.

Caught between the village and his family, he was in a dilemma.

It's like walking on a tightrope that's getting narrower and narrower, with a bottomless abyss below and cliffs on both sides.

This is exactly what Obito wanted to see.

He stood in the shadows of Konoha, admiring the situation he had created.

The seeds sown on the night of the Nine-Tailed Fox are now taking root, sprouting, and growing.

The rift between Konoha and the Uchiha clan is widening little by little, just as he predicted, until it can no longer be mended.

But he was not satisfied with that.

During that year, he made another move in secret.

Uchiha Itachi!

The boy, whom his clan called a "genius," was forced to graduate from the Ninja Academy early because his shadow clones were exposed.

In order to help him integrate into the ninja world as soon as possible, and to help him understand the cruelty of this world earlier, Obito carefully designed an "accident".

Those companions with whom the ferrets had just begun to form some bond fell during the mission.

Every death was perfectly timed, and every "accident" was flawlessly executed.

In Itachi's eyes, the first thing he saw was sadness, then anger, and finally the Sharingan.

Those eyes suddenly awakened under the intense emotional impact, and on the scarlet background, two tomoe slowly emerged, rotating and becoming clear.

Itachi's first awakening of his Sharingan resulted in a two-tomoe Sharingan, and his strength began to rise rapidly, seemingly without limit.

This also gave rise to Orochimaru's famous scene: he happened to see Itachi training, which led to his lifelong regret!

Orochimaru first witnessed Fusion's training in a training room.

The boy held a kunai in his hand, his movements as swift as the wind, each strike incredibly precise, weaving through the hidden weapons.

Those crimson Sharingan eyes gleamed, the two tomoe slowly rotating, exuding a powerful beauty.

Orochimaru stood behind the door, watching for a long time. He had seen countless geniuses, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone so amazing and so awe-inspiring.

Those eyes, that young, vibrant, and boundless potential body.

If only I could possess this body—

Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue, licked his lips, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

From then on, the Sharingan became an inescapable obsession in his heart.

Of course, he did not give up on nurturing the Eight-Tailed Fox during that year.

But the thing's growth rate was far too slow, even though he tried every method and constantly adjusted the culture medium formula.

Despite repeated optimizations to the chakra injection method, the fragment continued to grow slowly and stubbornly.

Through continuous experimentation, he also discovered that achieving perfect control over the body required to create a tailed beast-like form was a challenge.

Sharingan!

The answer remains the same: the Sharingan can easily control tailed beasts, and it can also suppress the First Hokage's cells.

Orochimaru sat in the laboratory, staring at the eight-tailed beast fragments slowly growing in the culture tank, the image of that boy appearing in his mind.

Uchiha Itachi.

It's still too young and needs time to mature, but the greener the fruit, the sweeter it will taste when it ripens.

He's not in a hurry.

He has plenty of patience and plenty of time.

Wait until that fruit ripens, wait until those eyes reach their most perfect state, and then seize it.

Orochimaru's smile deepened, his snake-like eyes gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the dimly lit laboratory.

Those eyes, that body, they'll all be his sooner or later.

In Quanchuan, a year seems like a long time, but it's actually quite short; it passes by in the blink of an eye.

The growth in strength was a natural consequence, but what truly made him settle down was his mastery of power.

But he remained extremely cautious with the first-generation cells.

He was somewhat confident that he could control the rest.

-

Whether it's the Nine-Tails' chakra, the Shikotsumyaku, or the Byakugan, there are always clues to follow and methods to control them, so we know how to resolve them.

But those hagi cells are really weird.

The more experiments I conducted, the more outrageous it seemed.

How can there be such a weirdo in this world?

He once tried fusing primary cells with cells from various different sources.

His own, Yekura's, Momona's, and even Tsunade's cells that were prepared in advance.

Without exception, the first-generation cells, like a starving beast, frantically devour and assimilate everything around them, eventually transforming into that troublesome tree.

It's as if it's essentially a tree, and no matter how it changes, it remains the same.

All I can say is, this guy has regressed to his ancestral form—did he regress directly to the head of the sacred tree?

Therefore, without the Sharingan to balance Yin and Yang and stabilize the suppression, this thing is a landmine that could explode at any time.

Ultimately, he temporarily slowed down his experiments in this area, which makes Hashirama a truly unique individual in the ninja world.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and it was time for Ye Cang to give his report.

"Come in."

He turned around, and Ye Cang pushed open the door and entered, holding a stack of neatly arranged intelligence scrolls in his hands.

"The latest situation in the Land of Snow."

She placed the scrolls on the table and skillfully unrolled several of them.

"The development of the Chakra Armor has entered the testing phase. Although it is not yet mature, the direction is correct."

"As for the environmental modification machine—it seems that the daimyo of the Snow Country is also nearing the end of the process."

Izumikawa picked up a piece of intelligence and scanned the text with his eyes.

The Land of Snow has a truly impressive industrial foundation, especially in the area of ​​combining chakra with machinery, where it has progressed further than any other country.

Although the chakra armor is a prototype of future scientific ninja tools, it is still too crude at present and needs time to be refined.

What truly interested him was the environmental modification system and the advanced heavy industry system of the Snow Country.

Those were the things he truly wanted.

"That's about enough." He put down the scroll, his tone calm. "Time to go to the Land of Snow."

The Land of Rivers is alright, but its location is ultimately awkward, and it has already been discovered by Jiraiya.

The Land of Snow, being located in a remote corner, could easily shut itself off and play by itself with the environmental modification machine.

The loyalty of a so-called retainer is somewhat troublesome; it requires some effort to maintain control of a country.

"But before that, I need to take Momona to Konoha."

"Konoha?"

"Make her remember Kakashi's chakra," Izumi explained. "We'll make our move when Kakashi goes to the Land of Snow on his mission."

The reason he chose to take the Sharingan to the Land of Snow was quite simple.

To accomplish two things as one.

Just doing it on a whim.

Secondly, he would only have a chance to make a move if the other party were alone, far away from the other people in Konoha.

In addition, he also needs to take Neji away. It's almost time; any later and he'll be branded with the "Caged Bird Seal."

I've contacted him several times already, and he seems quite anxious.

Hinata, the daughter of the main family, is about to turn three years old. After the successor of the main family is determined, all members of the branch family will be marked with the "Caged Bird" symbol.

Then Izumi's gaze fell on Yekura, and he said in a deep voice, "As for this place, I'll have to trouble you to continue managing it."

"I'm bringing Momona with me this time. The house can't be left unattended; the things in the lab are very important to me."

Ye Cang nodded. She naturally understood, after all, these things were the result of their hard work.

It can be said that it was built from scratch, bit by bit, so naturally it will not give up easily.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. Besides—" Ye Cang stared at him and continued calmly, "you haven't done anything about it either."

This made Izumi give an awkward smile, and he could only whisper words of praise to coax her.