Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

Look at the appearance of my own Tsuchikage.

Shoji could roughly guess that his own ninja village currently had little connection with the Akatsuki organization. The Third Shinobi World War had only ended four years ago. If it weren't for Shoji's intrusion, which completely changed the plot, all the major ninja villages would still be in a period of recovery and dormancy at this time. The clash between Kumogakure and Konoha in the original work would also be relatively earlier in this era.

While the probability of their own village having contact with the Akatsuki was indeed not very high, for the sake of comprehensiveness, Shoji still asked directly, "Third Hokage, I would like to know if our village has any intelligence records about the Akatsuki's activities? And has our village ever been in contact with this organization? From what we can see, this should be an organization that gathers rogue ninjas from various ninja villages and accepts various missions. The ninja who possesses one of Takigakure's top secrets, Earth Grudge Fear, and the other ninja with extremely high puppetry skills, while not 100% certain, can most likely be confirmed to be from Takigakure and Sunagakure. Could our village's former rogue ninjas also be connected to this organization?"

Onoki wasn't surprised that Shoji knew about things like the Earth Grudge Fear. After all, the Uchiha clan was a truly prestigious ninja clan with a history of over a thousand years in the ninja world, so it was only natural that they would know some secret information about the ninja world!

As for Sasori of the Red Sand, generally speaking, anyone in the ninja world who sees someone related to puppets will subconsciously think of Sunagakure. This is indeed one of the representative techniques of Sunagakure. Moreover, the puppetry technique deserves at least one-third of the credit for Sunagakure's rise to prominence in the southern border of the continent!

Back then, the puppeteers of Sunagakure were known for their strength, often able to fight against at least two opponents of equal caliber on the battlefield. The strongest puppeteer was Chiyo, whose puppetry techniques were renowned throughout the major ninja villages. Unfortunately, after Chiyo entered old age and decline, Sunagakure's puppetry began to decline completely, though its influence remained. Onoki also agreed with Shoji's assessment.

“There is some information about them, but the village hasn’t paid much attention to this organization before, and we’ve never had any contact with them at all. What you said makes sense. Now that we can confirm the identities of these two rogue ninjas, it’s possible that some of the rogue ninjas in our village have also joined this organization. This is an organization that we must be highly vigilant about!”

Onoki nodded slightly and said.

No matter which ninja village it is, there will always be a number of rogue ninja. These people are either due to ideological differences, selfish motives, or simply the product of a failed political power struggle!

Iwagakure is considered to have the best internal atmosphere among the five great ninja villages. However, even so, there are still people who can't stand Onoki and are not used to life in Iwagakure. In the past ten years, a dozen or so Iwagakure ninjas have defected, including many elite Jonin-level personnel.

Some have already been dealt with by the assassination squad, but several stronger individuals are still at large. Considering this, it is indeed very possible that they joined the Akatsuki organization. In the original work, Onoki's real contact with the Akatsuki organization likely began after Deidara was tricked by Itachi into joining the Akatsuki organization!

After all, Deidara was Onoki's direct disciple, so from this perspective, it is the most reasonable consideration for the two to have a connection.

After hearing his master Tsuchikage's words, Shoji also had a similar thought in his mind.

"However, this organization might not be entirely unusable. If they are truly a group of powerful rogue ninja from various ninja villages, it would only cost us a little more money, but they could provide us with considerable assistance!"

As if thinking of something, Onoki stroked his chin and said with a smile.

When Shoji heard his Tsuchikage's words, his eyes widened involuntarily. He instinctively wanted to speak up and offer advice, but he held back at the last second. Firstly, Shoji couldn't directly say that Akatsuki's intention was to collect the Tailed Beasts.

This kind of speculation, which has no actual evidence to prove it, will only arouse suspicion from others, and there is absolutely no need for me to do so.

Secondly, after thinking it over, Jiang Si realized that before the Akatsuki officially began its operations, his own ninja village could indeed make use of it to further attack the neighboring Konoha, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure, which would be quite good. However, he also had to consider the risks involved and control the scale. He couldn't really use the Akatsuki too recklessly, as the backlash was very obvious in the Akatsuki's case.

"Yes, that's certainly true. However, this is a terrorist organization after all, and it gathers rogue ninjas from various ninja villages. I personally think we still need to be cautious. Third Hokage, please consider the current situation in the ninja world and the future challenges our village will face!"

After considering it for a moment, Jiang Si offered his suggestion in a rather tactful tone.

"Yes, that's true. We can't let those guys find something to use against us easily, otherwise it will easily cause problems, especially for Kumogakure and Sunagakure!"

Onoki nodded slightly. As the village's kage, he was well aware of the negative impression that would result from overusing these organizations formed by rogue ninjas. In the original story, Onoki was already very cautious, but the intelligence organizations of the five great nations were not to be underestimated. In this life, although Iwagakure was much stronger than in the original story, the ninja world situation it had to face was also much more complex.

Most importantly, it directly and simultaneously increased the hatred between Konoha and Sunagakure, which made Iwagakure, which already had a great deal of grudge against Kumogakure, much more difficult. However, it is fortunate that of the two, one is willing but powerless, and the other is powerful but unwilling. The only one that really needs to be wary is Kumogakure.

However, this does not mean that Iwagakure can act recklessly. Onoki is still very steady and cautious in this regard.

"I'll have the intelligence team keep a close eye on the Akatsuki issue. Also, there's the matter of that Paradise Box. Shrine Maiden, please keep a close eye on it and have the members of the Anbu, intelligence team, and espionage team pay close attention to this area. Report any relevant information immediately!"

After a moment's consideration, Onoki spoke to the empty space on the left.

Needless to say, the Akatsuki organization, while the Box of Elysium may not necessarily be a high-value item, it does involve the legendary Sage of Six Paths. If the threat posed by this so-called ultimate weapon is comparable to or even surpasses that of a regular tailed beast, Onoki will definitely not let it go!

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"

In that seemingly empty spot on the left.

Suddenly, a slender figure appeared, dressed in the uniform of the Anbu and wearing a special mask. Her bright golden hair, her familiar voice, and most importantly, her chakra fluctuations revealed her to be Yakushi Nono, whom Shoji knew. This was Konoha's most outstanding spy, who had eventually returned to her old profession in Iwagakure, working in intelligence!

Unlike in Konoha, where Danzo would send her to infiltrate another country as a spy and carry out the most dangerous missions, in Iwagakure, Onoki had Nonou join his direct ANBU (Anbu) unit to be responsible for gathering intelligence and relaying orders!

Generally speaking, this is a job that is completely safe, but the daily workload is a bit heavy because the amount of information that comes into the village every day is enormous. Nonou needs to sort and process it one by one and then summarize it for Onoki to review. It is impossible for Kage to read and confirm each piece of information one by one on his own.

Moreover, this was not just Onoki's arrangement, but also Nonou's own choice. She knew very well that Iwagakure had shown enough sincerity, and she couldn't really be so 'willful' anymore. It was time to show her value and significance, which was the important guarantee that she and Kabuto could continue to live freely in Iwagakure!

After all, Nono had no idea that from Shoji's perspective, Kabuto was the most important person. In order to ensure that Kabuto would serve him sincerely, Shoji was definitely willing to speak well of Nono in front of Onoki. From the beginning, Shoji was determined that if Nono wanted to work in the medical, supply or other logistics departments, or even open an orphanage in Iwagakure, Shoji would do his best to help her.

Shoji believed he still had some face, but in the end, Nono's choice was not beyond Shoji's expectations. After all, she was a strong woman who dared to infiltrate Iwagakure alone and actually managed to steal some important information!

Being assigned to be Onoki's 'full-time secretary' is actually quite suitable, as it allows Onoki to maximize her own abilities.

This would also relieve Shoji of some worries. To put it bluntly, Shoji wasn't really worried about Nonou herself, but rather he didn't want to see an accident involving Nonou affect Kabuto Yakushi, who was one of his most important assistants for the next ten years or even longer.

To be fair, Shoji would naturally prefer to see Nonou do some safer, more secure work!

"Ok!"

Onoki was clearly very satisfied with Nonou's recent work efficiency and ability, and nodded slightly.

Nono then vanished from the spot in a flash.

Then.

After discussing some other village affairs with Onoki, Shoji headed straight back to his clan's residence. With the Kusagakure incident over, there was little important work for Shoji to focus on for the next few days. He planned to devote himself entirely to his most important eye transplant surgery, even though it was a surgery with a 99% success rate.

However, in order to prevent that one percent theoretical possibility from occurring unexpectedly, the commander still needs to make some necessary basic preparations in advance!

The more the better!

As for the most crucial surgical personnel, Shoji also made his own selections. One was naturally his own clan leader, Fugaku, and the other was Elder Chie, who was the most skilled in medical ninjutsu in his clan. In addition, Shoji also specially arranged for Uzumaki Rena to come as an assistant. Like Nonou, after adapting to life in Iwagakure and recuperating, Rena almost completely resolved the hidden dangers in her body and recovered her health. She also chose a job in Iwagakure, which was to work as a medical staff member in the hospital of Iwagakure.

Reina Uzumaki, who was born with Yang-attribute chakra, was naturally suited to learning medical ninjutsu. Of course, the secret that Reina and her son Karin could be used as a special medical technique was known only to the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, in the entire Hidden Stone Village, apart from Shoji.

Never overestimate the limits of human nature or the capacity for greed.

As the saying goes, "A large forest has all kinds of birds," and to prevent any unnecessary accidents, Rena and Karin's special constitution naturally had to be kept a top secret.

The reason for choosing Rena as the medical assistant for the surgery is twofold: firstly, we trust Rena's character, and secondly, Rena Uzumaki truly possesses unparalleled talent in medical techniques. After only a few months of learning, she is already comparable to some geniuses who have been immersed in medical techniques for years!

With the assistance of Reina.

Transplant surgery can absolutely be performed to ensure that no accidents occur.

Although Shoji's arrangement seemed a bit like making a mountain out of a molehill, after all, it was just an eye transplant surgery. Even though the technology tree in this world had gone completely astray, an eye transplant surgery was really a minor procedure for a ninja who could use unconventional powers like medical ninjutsu!

But this alone is enough to explain Shoji's slightly tense mood, because it is related to whether he can obtain the Eternal Eye, a height that only Uchiha Madara in the clan has reached!

And it was also during the moment when Shoji was making the final preparations for the transplant surgery with great care.

Far away on the other side of the continent, on the main island of the water kingdom on the sea frontier.

In the Hidden Mist Village.

It was still that familiar, gloomy, and private office of Shuiying.

"Oh? Kakuzu and Sasori encountered Uchiha Shoji during the mission? What happened?"

Upon hearing the latest information from his own intelligence agent, Black Zetsu, Obito, who had been hiding in the shadows, stepped out. A hint of interest flickered in his only exposed pupil, and he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Kakuzu lost four hearts, and Sasori also lost a relatively important puppet. The two of them can be said to have retreated voluntarily. This Uchiha Shoji seems to be even stronger than before, especially his unique eye technique. The range and scale of its coverage, as well as its destructive power, are truly astonishing!"

386. The Eternity Belonging to the General

Black Zetsu, as always, had half his body submerged in the ground. His bright yellow pupils revealed a hint of solemnity, almost human-like. After all, he was an old monster who had been lurking for a thousand years. After plotting for so long, he finally saw a glimmer of hope to revive his mother. This greatest filial son in the ninja world did not want to see any accidents happen. Others were relatively better off. Even someone as strong as the Third Raikage would not be taken seriously by Black Zetsu. However, Shoji, being a member of the Uchiha clan, still made Black Zetsu somewhat wary. Moreover, this guy also had a younger brother. At only 17 years old, Uchiha Shoji had already shown strength and potential that was approaching that of Uchiha Madara in his prime. Black Zetsu was definitely worried.

"Hmph, so what if he's strong? If he can't hit, it's meaningless. Besides, since two years ago, this Jiang Sijun has never stopped using the Mangekyou Sharingan. His eye power is almost at its limit, isn't it? Once his eyes lose their sight, we don't need to care about anyone, no matter how strong they are. He won't be an obstacle in our plan at all!"

Obito, who had completely identified himself as Madara Uchiha, had no reason to take Shoji seriously. Not only did he believe that Shoji, Shisui, and Fugaku's Mangekyou Sharingan would eventually go blind, but more importantly, Obito had full confidence in his own strength. As he had said long ago, there were differences between different Mangekyou Sharingan!

While Obito was somewhat arrogant, he certainly had reason to be. His unique eye technique, Kamui, involved space-time manipulation, making it an absolutely terrifying technique on a bug-like scale. Keep in mind that during the Third Shinobi World War, Obito was just an ordinary Chunin. However, in less than two years, from the end of the war to October of Konoha Year 48, he had risen to the Kage level. Although he benefited from intelligence advantages, he was able to fight the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, one-on-one in a direct confrontation. Even though Minato ultimately defeated him with the Flying Thunder God Technique, thanks to his superior tactical skills and extensive experience, it was enough to demonstrate just how terrifying Obito's leap in strength was!

This further illustrates just how terrifying Kamui's eye technique is!

If we're really talking about it, among all the Uchiha clan members who have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan throughout history, Obito's eye technique is definitely second to none!

He had every right to look down on Shoji, Shisui, Fugaku, and others, but this was based on the fact that Obito had no idea that Shoji was about to obtain the Eternal Eye.

In fact, Black Zetsu had similar concerns.

"Don't forget that Uchiha Shoji has a younger brother. If his brother can also awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan in the future, then he'll have a pair of Eternal Eyes!"

Black Zetsu said in a sinister tone.

In this respect, it can be said that the Uchiha clan was ahead of Madara Uchiha, who was the first to awaken the Eternal Eye. This can be considered a preconceived notion from a personal perspective, which affected Madara's judgment. Black Zetsu and Obito were also brought into the same theory, which is that the Eternal Eye can only be obtained by the Mangekyou Sharingan of a close brother!

Obito and Black Zetsu never considered the possibility that the eyes of Shoji, Fugaku, and Shisui could merge. They simply viewed them as brothers. Shisui and Fugaku clearly did not have any biological brothers, but Shoji did have a younger brother. This was one of Black Zetsu's concerns. Although the probability was extremely low, what if it happened?

"Heh? You mean that little brat who's not even 5 years old? Let's not even talk about how difficult it is to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. Even if he did, how many years would it take? Our organization's plan is to complete the initial preparations in the next few years. Uchiha Shoji won't live to see his Eternal Eye! And to put it another way, if that time comes, we can just take care of him beforehand. There's no need to worry about that. With that kind of free time, Black Zetsu, you'd be better off gathering information on other rogue ninja. The organization still has too few people. Although we're only in the accumulation phase right now, the most important Tailed Beast capture plan needs more powerful personnel. The more people there are, the faster the sealing speed of the Illusionary Dragon Nine Sealing Technique will be. It's time for us to speed up the progress of the plan!"

Regarding the question of whether Shoji will obtain the Eternal Eye.

Obito remained dismissive, even uttering another arrogant statement: even if Uchiha Shoji really obtained the Eternal Eyes, as long as the organization's plan was successfully completed, Obito still didn't think there was anything to worry about regarding a mere pair of Eternal Eyes!

They even have a pair of Rinnegan here!

Although Obito has his own agenda, if the moment of truth comes, he will still choose to revive Madara Uchiha without hesitation. Madara at his peak was incredibly strong, and with the Rinnegan that originally belonged to him, he was absolutely capable of crushing everything. Obito genuinely believes that he doesn't need to care too much about the actions of those minor characters; he only needs to focus on his own plan.

Although Black Zetsu was slightly dissatisfied with Obito's arrogant attitude, he genuinely felt that Obito's words made a lot of sense. So, he didn't press the matter further and simply nodded, saying, "Yes, I understand. Also, I received a message from Nagato that he hopes to meet with you soon. It seems he wants to discuss the organization's next plans with you!"

"Another discussion? Does he have other opinions? Or has something happened recently?"

Obito frowned slightly as he spoke.

Unlike Shoji, whom Obito genuinely didn't care about, Nagato was the most important pawn in Obito's eyes. The future tailed beast capture plan would still largely depend on Nagato to complete. The best outcome would naturally be for Nagato to lead the capture of all nine tailed beasts, and then, at the moment the Ten-Tails revived, Obito could simply kick Nagato aside and take back the Rinnegan!

Therefore, Nagato is indispensable in the first half of the plan. If this piece has a problem, it will be very difficult for Obito and Black Zetsu to find a replacement. They can't let Obito show up prematurely, as that would easily cause changes to the plan.

This was an extra meeting that was added at the last minute.

This inevitably aroused Obito's suspicions.

"No special information has come from White Zetsu. It's possible that the situation in the ninja world has changed, causing Nagato to have different ideas. So you still need to go and probe it yourself!"

Black Zetsu gently shook his head and said.

"Hmph, I know. Just tell Nagato that I'll go there soon!"

After a moment's thought, Obito snorted and said the same thing.

Ultimately, Nagato still needs to be closely monitored. However, the internal strife in Kirigakure has recently entered a critical new phase. Obito plans to further disrupt the internal situation of Kirigakure before heading to the Land of Rain. For this ninja village that truly plunged Obito into the dark world, Obito's remaining human evil is destined to be poured out entirely on Kirigakure.

Black Zetsu clearly knew what Obito was planning to do, but he didn't intend to say anything. Anyway, it still came down to the same thing: Black Zetsu only cared about his plan to save his mother. As long as the plan didn't deviate significantly from its main structure, everything could proceed according to the established schedule. Black Zetsu wouldn't care about other details!

Let Obito go crazy if he wants to. Anyway, Kirigakure was originally part of the plan to be weakened!

After confirming some details of the recent plan with Obito, Black Zetsu sneaked away. Although the organization would be in a period of dormancy and development for a long time to come, Black Zetsu, as the chief intelligence officer, was the busiest person in the organization besides Kakuzu. Kakuzu was responsible for making money, while Black Zetsu was responsible for collecting all the intelligence in the ninja world. Although White Zetsu did the hardest and most tiring work, Black Zetsu was still responsible for the final part of the summary, as well as acting as a mouthpiece for Obito and Nagato.

So normally, Black Zetsu would often mingle among the various countries of the ninja world, frequently traveling between the Land of Rain and the Land of Water. At least until Obito had his fill of fun, or before things went awry, this was Black Zetsu's normal work routine.

After Black Zetsu left, Obito once again controlled the Fourth Mizukage and issued an order he had just been pondering: the internal strife in Kirigakure had only just begun. If he didn't bring one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages to the brink of destruction, he, Obito Uchiha, would change his name.

Sometimes, the kindest person, once they turn evil, can display an 'evil' that far surpasses that of many villains. Obito is a prime example of a villain in the world of anime and manga. He went from being a white moonlight to a hellish figure with just one death—Rin Nohara!

You could say that all of this was the result of Madara's careful guidance, but you also have to admit that Obito himself possessed such attributes. Otherwise, why would Madara choose Obito, the loser, out of so many people in the Uchiha clan?

After all, purely from the perspective of talent, even without choosing Shisui, there were many young people in the Uchiha clan at that time who were far superior to Obito. It was because Madara valued people's character more than their talent when making his choices!