"Have I already been seen through?"
Kazu lifted his straw hat slightly, looking up at the man with white hair and red eyes. "Mind if I ask how you saw through my disguise? Was my attempt really that poor, or has my name already reached even the likes of you, Hiruko?"
With his identity revealed, Kazu also called the man by his true name.
Hiruko,
S-Class rogue ninja from Konoha.
This middle-aged man with white hair, red eyes, and clad in a high-collared white robe, had once believed himself clumsy, dull, and lacking talent—a mediocrity. He looked up to friends who were called the "Three Legendary Ninjas," striving desperately yet failing to stand on equal footing with them, weighed down by self-doubt.
To gain the qualifications to stand alongside his friends, he reached for forbidden techniques that had been sealed away.
However, fate seemed determined to obstruct him at every turn.
He hadn't yet fully deciphered the forbidden technique.
The Third Hokage became aware of his actions and sent the Legendary Three to capture him. Feeling no match for his friends, Hiruko chose to defect and became a rogue ninja, leaving Konoha to tread a dark path.
"The forbidden jutsu of the Tsuchigumo clan, Anger Burst."
Hiruko answered Kazu's question as if it were obvious. "Since you know who I am, you should understand that, as a Konoha ninja, I would certainly know about the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique. Also, with the assassination of the Tsuchigumo leader five years ago, it wasn't hard to deduce your identities."
His statement lacked logic.
Who said all Konoha ninja knew of the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden jutsu? Only a few in Konoha were aware of such secrets.
But with Hiruko's own history, it wasn't so surprising. Given his inferiority complex and relentless pursuit of power, Hiruko had gone to great lengths to gather intelligence on any forbidden techniques that could strengthen him.
The Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden jutsu, Anger Burst, couldn't possibly have escaped his attention.
Unfortunately, the Tsuchigumo clan leader was still in his prime at that time, and Hiruko didn't believe he could seize the forbidden jutsu with enough certainty. Unwilling to face his fallen comrades so soon, he'd removed it from his list of targets.
Yet, five years ago, news of the Tsuchigumo leader's assassination by rogue ninjas, including Kazu, had surfaced.
Despite Hiruko's reclusive lifestyle, which had even Konoha's Black Ops wondering if he'd perished while experimenting in some remote corner of the ninja world, he wasn't truly cut off from society.
In fact, his need to stay hidden made keeping up with recent intelligence essential, lest someone discover his location too late for him to respond.
"I see."
Kazu accepted this somewhat outlandish yet plausible explanation. "I thought my disguise was better than that…"
"I don't think just wearing a hat counts as a high-level disguise… Anyway, stop trying to change the subject. Answer me: what's your purpose for coming here? And how did you find me?"
Hiruko steered the conversation back on track, adding a new question.
Just as Kazu felt his disguise was effective, Hiruko had equal confidence in his concealment abilities. He had multiple hideouts similar to this one in Miroku Mountain, yet Kazu and his team found him directly, prompting Hiruko to wonder if he'd made a slip somewhere.
"Our purpose? Here and now?"
"I've told you, I'll decide what to do with you based on your answers."
Though he said this, Hiruko already had a hunch that these people weren't here merely to cause trouble; otherwise, they wouldn't be talking this long. Concerned about the power of the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique, he hadn't yet resorted to confrontation and was curious about what they intended to discuss.
"An alliance."
Kazu inhaled the frigid air deeply. "Hiruko, I've come here to seek an alliance."
"An alliance?"
Hiruko's expression remained unchanged.
This answer wasn't entirely unexpected.
"What sort of alliance? In my eyes, an alliance is about mutual benefit. You're here because you want something from me, yet I have no needs from you… That hardly seems like an alliance to me."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't say such a thing unless I was confident."
Kazu's calm demeanor piqued Hiruko's curiosity. He seemed sincere, but Hiruko couldn't think of anything he needed from these people. Even the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique no longer held his interest.
Now that he'd established a grand plan, he no longer required such superfluous power.
Still, this was intriguing.
He wanted to see what Kazu would offer.
"The creatures from earlier were created using the Jutsu of Chimera Fusion, correct?" Kazu suddenly brought up what seemed like an unrelated topic.
"Yes."
Hiruko openly admitted it.
His defection from Konoha was due to his experiments with the forbidden Jutsu of Chimera Fusion, although the official reason on his wanted notice was for harming comrades. Since Kazu could find his hiding place, it was no surprise he knew about Hiruko's use of the technique.
"My understanding of the Jutsu of Chimera Fusion is limited, but it seems the technique's essence lies in fusion—merging different animals or animals with humans. However, your goal isn't to turn yourself into a half-human, half-animal hybrid. You intend to use the jutsu to merge the power of bloodline abilities, correct?"
As he finished speaking, the atmosphere grew suddenly dense and cold, as if winter's frost had descended.
Hiruko's face, mostly hidden by his high collar, went expressionless and icy, his red eyes radiating a chilling, penetrating gaze.
"How… do you know about this?"
Hiruko's heart turned to ice.
Using the Jutsu of Chimera Fusion to merge multiple bloodline abilities, aiming for eternal life and unmatched power—this was indeed his plan. However, he'd never disclosed it.
In principle, no one else should know.
Unless... someone was secretly watching him at close range without his awareness, or somehow reading his thoughts and memories without making contact? This guess seemed a bit too absurd to him.
But the more absurd part was that only such an explanation could reasonably account for how his secret had been exposed to others.
"It doesn't matter where I learned it. What matters is that I can offer something that will truly interest you." With those words, Kama formed a hand seal and bit his thumb, summoning —
A person?
In Konoha Village.
The spring sunshine was bright and beautiful.
Uchiha Obito sat on a branch of a cherry tree in the corner of the wall, his gaze, complicated and hard to interpret, silently watching this familiar yet strange academy. He observed the young boys and girls training on the field, sweating as they worked hard.
Once upon a time,
He was one of them.
Like these young ones, he had worked hard with dreams for the future, all for the moonlight he once thought was the most beautiful thing in his heart.
"Feeling nostalgic?"
Zetsu, the pitcher plant, poked his head out from a nearby branch, and Black Zetsu's gloomy voice sounded in Obito's ear.
"Hmph! Pointless and stupid question. The past... what's worth reminiscing about?" He truly felt this way; memories of the past brought him nothing but unending pain and despair, a sorrow that had seeped into his very bones and had not faded to this day.
"Just a casual question! I'm here to let you know that Kama has used a summoning technique, and the sacrifice has already been summoned over."
"They've already made contact? Not wasting any time."
"Efficient, yes, but... isn't it a bit much?"
"Are you questioning my decision?"
"I just think it's a bit much."
"But we don't have a choice. The Akatsuki needs useful pawns, and we need people to help push the plan forward. If I could, I'd rather recruit capable talent directly. The problem now is that talented people are hard to come by."
Obito replied irritably.
Life hadn't been easy for him these past few years.
While waiting for Nagato to familiarize himself and fully master the power of the Rinnegan, he'd been racking his brain to expand the Akatsuki's ranks. Unfortunately, the harsh reality didn't quite match his ideal vision, and recruiting core members for Akatsuki had been very challenging. They had recruited new members over time, but many of those idiots had died one by one during missions.
Now, Leaving aside Pain, Konan, and Zetsu, the current members only included Kakuzu, Orochimaru, Hidan, and Deidara, who was recently recruited, just barely forming two teams capable of acting independently. Kakuzu and Hidan formed one team, while Orochimaru and Deidara partnered up.
The first team had a stable dynamic, working together for over a year without any major issues, unlike the constant conflicts between Kakuzu and Orochimaru before. Their fights often caused a huge mess, leaving Pain with a headache. When Hidan was recruited, they were finally separated.
The issue was, The new pairing of Orochimaru and Deidara seemed almost incompatible, as if they might clash at any time. Kakuzu and Orochimaru had both survived multiple clashes, but if Deidara were to get into conflict with Orochimaru, the Akatsuki might find itself down another member.
Sigh! Running an illegal organization wasn't easy these days!
"Alright! Alright! Then why did you suddenly come to Konoha?" Black Zetsu changed the topic, glancing at the ninja academy in front of them. "A bunch of kids… could there possibly be a future recruit here?"
"See that girl over there with the fire fan clan crest on her clothes?"
"Hmm... doesn't seem particularly special."
"That's Uchiha Zongxian's younger sister."
"What?"
Black Zetsu glanced at Obito in surprise. Unfortunately, Obito's mask blocked his view, so he couldn't read his expression. "Are you planning... to take a hostage? Would that really work? Would Uchiha Zongxian be threatened?"
"According to my research, Uchiha Zongxian deeply cares for his sister."
Obito rested his chin in his hand. "And did you notice the two girls next to Uchiha Toka — that's Zongxian's sister? The one with auburn hair is Yakumo Kurama, a descendant of the Kurama clan in Konoha, and the one with curly brown hair is Hotaru Tsuchigumo, granddaughter of the yakuza. Both are Zongxian's students. The first is unsurprising, but the second… isn't that interesting?"
"Granddaughter of the yakuza?"
Black Zetsu's mind began to whirl with devious thoughts.
The yakuza had died at Kama's hands, and now Hotaru Tsuchigumo was Zongxian's student. This... had a lot of potential! If handled correctly, it might be possible to topple that nuisance, Zongxian.
"So you plan to use Kama..."
"No."
Obito immediately dismissed Black Zetsu's unspoken schemes. "I haven't decided yet on how to make the most out of this, but in any case, taking hostages is the lowest form of tactic. Sometimes… leaving pieces on the board, instead of holding them close, can be more useful."
"A plan is meant to achieve a goal. Sticking rigidly to the plan without adapting to changing circumstances is foolish."
Hearing Obito's almost blatant sarcasm, Black Zetsu laughed dryly, not offended. A little criticism meant nothing to him; he had been tempered by a thousand years of experience and was not easily angered. As long as Obito stayed focused and did his job, being insulted for a day wouldn't matter.
"It was just a suggestion; if you're not interested, then forget it."
"Just watch and stay out of it. For Rin, I'll achieve my ambition at any cost."
With that,
He looked up at the sky.
The gentle spring sun radiated a warm light, lovingly touching the grass, trees, mountains, and rivers below. But he had no love for the gentle spring sun. What he longed for was the blood-red moon he had once glimpsed in a genjutsu.