The Avengers of the Uzumaki Family

Watching the departing figure of the Pharmacist Kabuto.

A faint look of contemplation also appeared in Mianma's eyes.

There are still too few people...

Menma couldn't help but sigh softly to himself.

Developing your own people is not something that can be done overnight, nor can it be accomplished with just a few words. What you need to do next involves facing great risks, and may even involve risking your life.

Let alone how many people would be willing to do something like that.

Even if someone does agree.

Whether you believe it or not depends on whether you yourself believe it or not.

To put it bluntly, Orochimaru's approach was the most appropriate: to select those who were desperate or had lost everything since childhood from the vast ninja world, and to give them hope and strength.

People trained in this way are the most loyal and the most trustworthy.

Kimimaro, Guren, the Sound Four, and so on are the best proof, even for someone like Kabuto Yakushi who only became a monk halfway through his life.

Orochimaru also won Kabuto Yakushi's loyalty through his own methods and personal charisma.

But this is something that modern noodles cannot achieve.

"We need to hurry up with things at Takigakure Village, and we should also try to secure opportunities in other places if possible."

Menma's mind also flashed the faces of important figures from Takigakure such as Shibuki, Fu, and Suien, and even some important supporting characters who were on the fringes of the ninja world.

For example, Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki who has already defected, is also a very worthwhile candidate to try and win over.

There is also the Three-Tailed Beast, Isobu, which is currently in the wild.

If possible, summoning him and sealing him into Karin's body would greatly enhance their side's power.

One by one.

One by one.

These clear goals must be achieved in the shortest possible time; only by acquiring and integrating these resources more quickly can we succeed.

Only by making a face can one expand their sphere of influence as much as possible in the future.

Even if we start from scratch now.

'So, I still need to make time to go to the Land of Water.'

Menma took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to that country that was located outside the mainland, in the east of the sea.

On the other side of the stronghold, in a special forbidden area.

Orochimaru, who was instructing Sasuke on the first phase of his training, heard Kabuto Yakushi's report.

At first, he showed a look of surprise, but then he immediately realized what was happening.

A slightly eerie smile appeared on that almost sickly pale face as he said, "Hehe, Menma-kun is as surprising as ever. Sometimes I can't help but want to dissect Menma-kun to see what kind of 12-year-old boy could be so special."

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes also revealed an intense longing.

This is no joke.

Rather, they genuinely had similar thoughts.

Menma's performance has far exceeded the definitions of so-called 'precocious' or 'genius'. If Orochimaru didn't know that Menma was indeed the son of Minato and Kushina, and that he had lived in Konoha under the surveillance of the Anbu for 12 years, he would really doubt Menma's existence.

Kabuto, sitting at the next seat, couldn't help but nod when he heard Orochimaru's words, a hint of agreement in his eyes.

"Then, Lord Orochimaru, how should I reply to Menma-kun?"

"Of course we agree. I'm also very curious about why Onoki-san wants to meet Ma-kun in person. Let's choose the northern part of the Land of Grass, which is close to the border outpost of Iwagakure. It'll be a sign of sincerity."

Orochimaru chuckled softly and continued speaking in his hoarse voice.

"Yes, I understand, Lord Orochimaru."

After bowing in response, Yakushi Kabuto turned and left.

After conveying Orochimaru's message to Menma, they also prepared to send someone to Iwagakure.

This is a meeting that doesn't require much discussion.

After the relevant information was transmitted.

Soon, news arrived from Iwagakure that the Third Tsuchikage had agreed.

The date was set for three days from now.

This Tsuchikage seems even more eager to see Menma than expected.

This made Menma himself somewhat mutter to himself.

And it was just as Menma was preparing to meet with Onoki.

News of the final battle at the Valley of the End.

It also spread to a small extent within the ninja world.

This has finally brought us to a battle at the border. Although Uchiha Sasuke currently appears to be just a genin from Konoha, his identity is destined to attract a lot of special attention. In less than a month, Konoha has seen two people with special identities defect.

The ninja villages of various countries all paid special attention to them.

Of course, these ninja villages could only obtain partial information; the specific process and final result still require further investigation.

But there was one exception among them.

That was Obito Uchiha, who had Black Zetsu's assistance.

While the vast majority of the 100,000 White Zetsu are still dormant, the number of White Zetsu who have been dispatched and are active in the ninja world is definitely over four figures. With the assistance of these White Zetsu, plus some foreshadowing left by Madara in his early years, Obito is definitely the person in the ninja world who can obtain information the fastest and most accurately.

And that was the moment the relevant intelligence was received.

This guy almost went berserk on the spot.

"Kakashi's Sharingan was stolen by Menma Uzumaki!? And he almost died at Menma Uzumaki's hands!?"

Obito abruptly turned his head, looking at a white Zetsu who had come to report information with a very cold expression, and said in an icy tone.

"Oh my, of course it's true. Would I lie to you? That Uzumaki Menma is really ruthless. Not to mention Kakashi, even his own brother Naruto almost died at his hands. Tsk tsk, it seems that this guy's anger towards Konoha has really reached its peak."

This White Zetsu was clearly the kind with a very distinctive personality. It completely disregarded Obito's anger, its gaping mouth revealing an exaggerated and comical expression as it clicked its tongue in amazement.

It seemed as if they were very interested in the existence of the opposite mahjong.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 182 Obito's Thoughts

Obito had long been used to the personalities of these White Zetsu.

Moreover, his current attention is entirely focused on Menma taking Kakashi's Sharingan—no, it should be said that it's about that Sharingan not returning to him. However, there is a fundamental difference between the Sharingan being with Kakashi and being with Menma.

That eye was given to Kakashi by Obito himself.

It represents Obito's fond memories.

It was the last piece of 'pure land' left in Obito's heart after he turned to the dark side. He never went to take back that eye because he still couldn't let go of that past. Otherwise, it wasn't like he was going to kill Kakashi.

The Sharingan is already extremely valuable in the ninja world.

It's normal to be targeted.

If he really couldn't bear to kill Kakashi, he could just take back his eyes. Obito certainly had a thousand ways to do it, but he never did. From the moment he turned to the dark side until the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Obito's reluctance to take back his eyes speaks volumes.

But the situation is different now.

“Obito, I’ve told you before, you need to get that eye back as soon as possible. Didn’t Madara clearly tell you in the records he left behind? The Mangekyou Sharingan requires both eyes to unleash its full power. You’ve been unwilling to take it back, which not only prevents you from using many of your Uchiha clan’s techniques, but also makes you vulnerable to others. Now, the eye has been taken by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That guy doesn’t know that Kakashi’s eye is a Mangekyou. There’s a high chance he’ll just use it as ordinary research material. Once it’s damaged, it will be a void that you can never fill!”

Black Zetsu, sitting to the side, was also perfectly embodying the will of Madara Uchiha, speaking in a very dissatisfied tone.

As the only current partner (Nagato is just a pawn).

Black Zetsu was actually satisfied with Obito in many ways, but his only dissatisfaction was that Obito still had a strong obsession with the past. This obsession was so strong that even though he knew that he could greatly increase his strength by taking back that eye, he simply did not take any action.

If we start counting from Konoha 47...

Thirteen years have passed since then.

Black has mentioned more than once that he wants to get back that Mangekyou Sharingan.

But Obito simply refused to take action.

Now look what's happened! His eyes have been taken by Uzumaki Menma. Nobody knows they're the Mangekyou Sharingan. If he treats them like ordinary material, like Danzo did, they'll be damaged beyond repair!

Obito has no brothers, so let him get an eye transplant to advance to the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Hmph, so what if it's lost? As long as the plan goes smoothly, what's one eye? It won't affect me at all."

Obito was well aware that this was a sign of his 'weakness,' a mistake he should never have made, but even so, it was Obito's last act of perseverance.

Moreover, Obito wasn't being stubborn. A single Mangekyou Sharingan couldn't possibly affect their plans. Even if it were damaged, as long as the Ten-Tails could be successfully revived, all problems would cease to be problems.

“That’s what I say, but are you really going to give up that eye?! It might not be too late to act now, and we can also take the opportunity to capture the Nine-Tails directly. Right now, Uzumaki Menma is obviously still in the stage where he can’t fully use the Nine-Tails’ chakra, which is when he is at his weakest. As long as we reach an agreement with Nagato, we can start the ‘Eye of the Moon’ plan ahead of schedule.”

Black Zetsu stared intently at Obito, speaking in a slightly low voice.

"Start the plan ahead of schedule?"

Obito frowned slightly.

Is the Akatsuki organization ready now?

Overall, they are not quite ready yet, but if we don't expect too much, judging from the personnel configuration and intelligence gathering alone, the Akatsuki organization is already prepared to capture the Tailed Beasts.

The tasks have all been initially assigned.

Indeed, it is possible to carry out the corresponding plan.

Moreover, just as Black Zetsu said, Menma Uzumaki, who is only 12 years old now, must be in his weakest period.

If we directly send out Nagato, who is also known as Pain, to launch a strong attack, there is a high probability that we can easily capture him. As long as the nine tailed beasts are successfully sealed into the Gedo Mazo, the Ten-Tails can be revived, and then Nagato can be used to revive Madara Uchiha.

The remaining issues are all minor details.

It's not worth mentioning at all.

But is now really the right time to launch the plan?