Chapter 202: Snatching at the Bait, Truly Worthy of You All!

The next day. Kakashi, Shisui, and the others were still maintaining a strange silence, barely exchanging words. If you hadn’t seen them last night through the Telescope Jutsu, you’d think nothing had happened between them. And that just made the atmosphere now even more eerie. So… did they communicate or not? Kyoichi was familiar with this kind of thing. They had communicated — but not fully. Kakashi’s current state was a lot like coworkers only talking about work, nothing else to say outside the job. Konan watched this with a faintly strange expression, even throwing a glance of sympathy at Minato. With a disciple like that… Minato’s probably halfway to going bald, right? Oh, and let’s not forget Kyoichi as a teammate. Kyoichi was incredibly reliable — but when it came to squeezing every last drop out of people, he was ruthless. Always finding ways to make people compete, setting up grueling systems and strategies, never letting anyone rest until they were clawing their way forward. And the scariest part? He put himself through the same grind. His Shadow Clones were basically active twenty-four hours a day. He called it “making efficient use of time” — an alternative way of extending one’s lifespan. Konan didn’t even know what to say to that. That kind of relentless drive… as an outsider, she couldn’t help but admire it, but at the same time, it left her feeling a little anxious. Other people had natural talent and still worked this hard every single day… And what about her? That thought made her want to devote every waking moment to training. But… When she calmed down at home in the evening, she realized — this was Kyoichi’s tactic. “Lead by example.” If he outworked everyone else, no one else could complain, right? And so… Konan now had a love-hate relationship with Kyoichi’s “grind doctrine.” Especially when she thought about how she’d have to bring this system back and implement it in Amegakure — she felt a flicker of guilty conscience. Because, honestly, it was just another way of pushing everyone to compete. Compete for rank, for resources. Don’t want to compete? Then fall behind. But… On second thought, she figured she didn’t need to feel too sorry for Minato. That guy was probably part of the same grind army — one of the original architects of Konoha’s ultra-competitive culture. Sigh… these big villages were so intense, it left no room for the small ones to survive. She adjusted her rain cloak. “We’re almost at Amegakure. Just hang in there a bit longer, everyone.” “Finally… I was about to drop,” Kyoichi let out a long breath. He had known the weather in Amegakure was bad, but the reality was far worse than he’d imagined. Endless rain, day after day — you were lucky if you got an hour of sunlight. And even then… That hour of sun usually came late in the afternoon, when the sun was already setting — and not even every day. They’d just gotten lucky to catch a brief clear spell when they arrived. On most days, you might go two weeks without a single glimpse of sunshine. It was the kind of atmosphere that really messed with your head. “Haha, that’s just how it is when you first get here,” Konan smiled. “After you live here for a while, you get used to it.” It was tough on them too — but there was nothing to be done. The Land of Rain was simply that kind of country. There were only a handful of clear days each year. Seeing the sun today? That was already a good day. Kurenai tucked her hair under her rain cloak and couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t there any way to change the weather here?” “Something like that… isn’t exactly within human power, right?” Konan thought for a moment and replied. Minato, however, thought of Kyoichi’s Kirin technique — a jutsu that specifically harnessed natural lightning. In this area… If anyone might have some insight, it’d probably be Kyoichi. After all… Who else even researched things like this? “It’s not completely impossible,” Kyoichi spoke up. “Ah? There’s a way?” Konan’s eyes lit up in surprise. “I once discussed it with Yahiko and Chiyo from Sunagakure,” Kyoichi explained. “If we could remove part of the mountain range between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind, we could let the rain-bearing air currents flow down from the north. That would significantly improve the rainy climate here.” The Land of Rain had a unique geography. It was surrounded on all sides by the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Fire, with mountains enclosing it in a basin — only one river ran out through the Land of Rivers. Kyoichi suspected the problem was that northeastern ocean currents were being blocked by the basin’s topography, creating a circular airflow that trapped rain clouds here year-round. Meanwhile… The northern part of the Land of Wind was nothing but drought. Too dry in one place, too wet in another. If you could remove one or two mountains, you’d definitely see some improvement. Of course… It would only be a modest improvement — it would still rain when it was supposed to. Konan fell silent after hearing that example. Remove mountains? That’s not something even ninja can just— Oh wait. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. There actually were people who could do that. Konan thought of the famous Valley of the End in the Land of Fire and swallowed the words she was about to blurt out. But… That level of power probably didn’t exist in this world anymore, did it? Konan’s heart wavered between hope and resignation. The Land of Rain could be improved — and that was a good thing. But the chance was so faint, it was almost painful to think about. “What are you worried about? What we can’t do now doesn’t mean we won’t be able to in the future. You should have some faith in how fast the shinobi world is advancing.” Kyoichi smiled faintly. When it comes to feats like moving mountains or splitting seas, who in the shinobi world could surpass Iwagakure? Once the Great Shinobi Era truly arrives, wouldn’t Iwagakure’s people naturally lean toward development and construction? By then… Spend some money, hire a team to carve open the mountains — wouldn’t that be an easy and straightforward thing? For a nation, anything solvable with money isn’t really a problem. Especially for countries like the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Rivers — none of them are actually poor. On the contrary, they’re fairly wealthy. The Land of Rain’s biggest issue has never been its economy. It’s population. Before long, a strange and striking sight appeared before their eyes. Completely different from Konoha’s architecture. Here, most of the buildings were cast in steel, creating a dramatically distinct style — yet one with its own peculiar sense of beauty. “Welcome to Amegakure.” Konan turned, gesturing toward this steel forest. Amegakure… Kakashi wasn’t completely unfamiliar. He had been to the Land of Rain before on missions and had glimpsed it from afar. But of course… That feeling was nothing like standing here, seeing it up close. “You’re not coming? You all like standing around in the rain?” Kyoichi had taken a few steps ahead, then turned back with a puzzled look when no one followed. Konan was speechless. She had wanted to show off the beauty of her homeland a little. Unfortunately… Someone wasn’t playing along. Damn it! She quietly followed, while Minato gave an awkward smile and said, “Let’s get inside first. They’ve traveled a long way; they must be exhausted.” “Come on…” Kyoichi led the way in front. His eyes narrowed slightly — this rain felt familiar. Rain Tiger at Will Technique? It seemed similar… But comparatively rougher, likely a prototype or an improved version. Kyoichi understood. With Hanzo now guiding Nagato, it was only natural that his growth was accelerating beyond what had originally happened. Without Danzo interfering, Hanzo likely wouldn’t have done anything drastic — after all, he was counting on Yahiko to succeed him… Kyoichi mulled this over silently. But Konoha… Danzo’s side had probably made a move by now. Just a while ago, he had sensed the chakra of a slug — it must have come to deliver a message. Once back at the residence with Konan, he immediately entered a room and summoned the slug. The slug had brought a scroll of intelligence. But… To Kyoichi’s surprise, the intel wasn’t about Danzo — it was about the Uchiha. The elders had made the first move! “The Uchiha elders are holding a gathering at the Naka Shrine.” Kyoichi raised his brows slightly. He’d long suspected they were restless, but he hadn’t expected that barely two days after he left, they’d already sprung into action. Snatching at the bait… typical of you lot. Black Zetsu, huh? Most old-timers, when they rebel, do it slow like a turtle — few are truly iron-blooded and decisive. For them to act so swiftly and resolutely, there was surely someone pushing from behind. Still… Black Zetsu might well be aware of his own thinking. He was probably just riding the current, profiting from it. The only ones really paying the price would be the Uchiha clan. Kyoichi pondered a moment and roughly understood the mindset of both Black Zetsu and Madara. They didn’t feel much actual attachment to the Uchiha clan. Especially Black Zetsu. As long as the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan could be realized, what did it matter if a few Uchiha died — or even if the whole clan was wiped out? They were just descendants of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. He wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. Honestly, if Kyoichi were in their place, he might think the same way. He picked up a brush and began drafting his reply. Once finished, he handed it to the slug to take back to Konoha. Hold position! It’s not the thief who’s scary, but the thief who keeps eyeing your house. Black Zetsu and Madara could take whoever they wanted — Kyoichi didn’t really care. But as long as they kept their eyes fixed on Konoha, he couldn’t move freely himself. Especially the research lab. A lot of his current research couldn’t be moved there yet precisely because he was worried Black Zetsu would notice. Once the chaos passed, once Madara had secured whoever he needed, Kyoichi could finally move on to his next phase. In fact… At that moment, Madara was still agonizing over whom to pick. “What do you think — who’s the better choice?” “Shisui’s been taken away. And even if he were in Konoha, I wouldn’t recommend him. He’s too clever — he could easily end up like Nagato, derailing the whole plan and possibly even exposing our position.” Black Zetsu spoke in a low voice. “Hmm…” Madara nodded thoughtfully, closing his eyes. After a while, he spoke. “I have two candidates. One is Uchiha Obito. That child has a kind nature and a simple mind — he’s the easiest to manipulate and control. If handled properly, there’s even a chance to awaken the Mangekyō.” “Yes, but… you know the current Obito. He’s not quite the same. Lately, Kanda Kyoichi has been putting him through a whole series of educational lessons, instilling all sorts of things.” Black Zetsu said quietly. “True! If not for that, I’d have only one candidate. So my other choice is Uchiha Fugaku’s son. His talent should be quite decent too.” “I understand your reasoning.” “Itachi, right? He’s still young, just the right age. We can start training him from an early stage, shaping him into exactly what we need.” With that, Madara closed his eyes again, slumping back wearily in his chair. With the Gedo Statue, he wouldn’t die just yet. But… His aged body no longer had the strength to leave this place. And if he were ever discovered — well, fortunately, he had laid down so many layers of defenses that this place was almost impossible to find. Otherwise… Madara would have to seriously consider ending himself now and having Black Zetsu go underground to hide.