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He knew that the Third Hokage came to him because he must have already figured out how to get rid of Hatake Sakumo.
Obviously, this kind of method couldn't be operated by the righteous Third Hokage. It had to be done by Danzo.
Danzo had done a lot of dirty work for the Third Hokage, so he naturally understood his good friend.
He wouldn't come to him if he wasn't sure.
"I heard that there's an organization called Akatsuki in the Rain Country. In just two years, they've become famous in the Rain Country."
The Third Hokage said, a flash of cold light in his eyes. "I'll use the excuse that Akatsuki might be a secret organization supported by Iwagakure and send Hatake Sakumo and a team of ninjas to investigate the Rain Country. Then, you arrange for some people to attack the border towns, trying to destroy as many buildings as possible. Also, arrange for some people to chase after that team of ninjas, forcing Hatake Sakumo to return. Make it seem like Hatake Sakumo ignored the ninja regulations about prioritizing missions, leading to the mission failing and causing huge losses to the border towns."
"Then, heh, when he returns to Konoha, you should know what to do."
The Third Hokage smiled. Danzo, although not the first time seeing his good friend's ruthlessness, couldn't help but sigh. This old guy is tough to deal with.
A perfect ninja, once flawed, and guided by someone with ulterior motives, will be hated as much as they were once loved.
And even if it doesn't cause most people to dislike him.
The mission failing and the heavy losses to the border towns would be enough for the Third Hokage to use as an excuse to remove Hatake Sakumo's position as Anbu captain.
Then, no one would consider Hatake Sakumo, who had a history of disastrous mission failures, as the next Hokage.
In this way, the Third Hokage's position would be secure.
"Understood. Leave it to me." Danzo also smiled, thinking that he had learned another trick from his good friend.
It would be interesting to use it on Hiruzen in the future.
Danzo chuckled inwardly.
...
The Rain Country.
A country that rains all year round. Logically, with such a large amount of rain, the entire Rain Country should have long become a swamp.
But it didn't.
It was all because there was a lake in the center of the Rain Country.
Lake Genkai!
A lake named after the sea, showing its vastness.
Lake Genkai is not only vast in area but also terrifyingly deep.
Even the edge is 3,000 meters deep, deeper than some oceans. And there are underground rivers connected to it.
The rainwater that falls in the Rain Country, except for a few rivers that flow out of the country, mostly gathers in this lake and then flows into other parts of the ninja world through underground rivers. This ensures that the water of this lake, as vast as the sea, will never overflow to the shore and also ensures that the Rain Country won't become a swamp.
The unique geographical location of Lake Genkai doesn't seem like it was formed naturally.
Sometimes, Kenshi even wondered if Lake Genkai in the Rain Country was the place where the Six Paths Sage brothers used the Chibaku Tensei to create the moon when sealing Kaguya Otsutsuki a thousand years ago.
Otherwise, for such a large and deep inland lake to appear, if it were caused by tectonic movement or a meteorite impact, there would be some traces around it.
But there were none around Lake Genkai. It was all hard rock.
This also led to most of the cities in the Rain Country being built on the shores of Lake Genkai.
Although there was Lake Genkai, the Rain Country wouldn't become a swamp, but the land was extremely soft due to years of water infiltration.
Building houses on the land, whether using wood or stone, would cause the houses to sink or shift in a few years, making them uninhabitable.
So, many cities and villages in the Rain Country were built on rocky ground.
The village where Kenshi and the others had been on a mission before was in a rocky valley.
Because it was difficult for houses to sink on rocks, and the terrain wouldn't easily change.
The eastern coast of Lake Genkai.
Ameyuri City.
The city is named after the constant drizzle that falls there.
The buildings in the city are different from those in other countries.
Black, tall tower buildings, dense like a forest, with various large and small water pipes exposed everywhere, form the unique architectural style of the Rain Country. It has a futuristic cyberpunk feel.
In the western part of the city, there is a black tower. The top looks like the head of an evil spirit, with its mouth wide open, spitting out a large red tongue.
At this moment, Yahiko was standing on the tip of the tongue, letting the drizzle fall on him, overlooking the village below.
Since they took over the long-term protection mission of this city half a year ago, the top of this tower became their base. Yahiko liked the tip of the tongue. From here, he could see the entire village.
Looking at the people coming and going in the village below, Yahiko thought about the future of peace, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
"Yahiko, have you seen Kenshi-nii?"
From behind, Nagato's voice suddenly came. Yahiko turned his head slightly and smiled, "Kenshi-nii said he has something to do today and won't be training with us."
"Something to do... what?" Nagato stood by the threshold, curious.
"I don't know. Kenshi-nii didn't say." Yahiko shook his head.
Today was Wednesday. Usually, they didn't have any missions, and they would spar and train outside the village on this day.
This morning, Kenshi suddenly told Yahiko that he had something to do and that they would talk about sparring and training later. Then, he went out and didn't know where he went.
"Okay!"
Nagato stopped worrying about Kenshi, stepped over the threshold, came behind Yahiko, and overlooked the village below with him, a look of pride and satisfaction on his face.
Over the past two years, Akatsuki had developed rapidly.
Not long after Kenshi and Yezi joined, the young ninja with blue stripes on his face who they had defeated in their first mission came to join them with two other people.
One day during a mission, as the sun rose, Yahiko named their organization "Akatsuki."
After that, as they fought more and more, more and more people were defeated by Yahiko and the others. Yahiko's ideals of peace were also known by more people. More and more people were attracted to Yahiko's charisma and their powerful strength.
In just two years, Akatsuki had grown to 200 members, becoming an organization that was recorded in the books of the Five Great Hidden Villages.
The growth of Akatsuki also meant that Yahiko's ideals were moving towards realization.
Watching your ideals come true was like a ninja obsessed with strength feeling their chakra amount increase every day. It was exhilarating and made you feel full of life.
At this moment, everyone in Akatsuki, including Yahiko and the others, was immersed in the pleasure of their ideals becoming reality. Even Yezi had been assimilated.
Only Kenshi remained sober, because he knew that all of this was just a mirage, fleeting.
His purpose for joining Akatsuki had always been clear.
Now, his goal had finally been achieved.
Walking down the streets of Ameyuri City, Kenshi looked at the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the people coming and going. Each person's was different, like a genetic code, unique.
These unique spiritual energy fluctuations formed unique souls.
"Is this the world seen through the Rinnegan?"
Kenshi murmured softly, a slight smile on his lips. In the depths of his eyes, the highly concentrated Rinnegan eye power chakra faintly glowed blue.
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