No one had expected that the advisors the Hokage sent to the Daimyō's mansion under the pretext of "protecting" him were actually Danzō's undercover agents.
Some of the arrangements had been so secretive that even Takeshi himself hadn't known about them.
He had simply thought those people were too much of an eyesore to keep around the village. But looking back now, it seemed the entire situation had unfolded exactly according to Danzō's plan.
Danzō had precisely predicted his son's attitude. Without Takeshi's knowledge, he had arranged everything in perfect order.
As for why the two advisors had agreed to help Danzō go against the Daimyō, the details behind that were probably known only to the few of them involved.
The Daimyō abdicated in a hurry, and Imagawa Shigeaki, after a rather modest enthronement ceremony, ascended to the throne.
Having been rescued from the dungeon, he fell silent for a long time upon seeing the abdication decree personally written by the former Daimyō.
Even after the ceremony was over and he officially took residence in the palace, he still carried that decree with him at all times.
"Your Highness."
Seeing Imagawa Shigeaki remain silent, the ninja standing below him spoke coldly.
Hearing the other's unceremonious tone, and knowing full well who he was dealing with, Imagawa Shigeaki dared not show offense. He quickly put on a flattering smile.
"Did Hokage-sama send you with some message for me?"
Though he had taken this position, his demeanor in front of the Konoha ninja was still one of humble submission.
Part of that was likely due to the sight that had greeted him upon his rescue — the thick sheets of ice still unmelted outside the city walls.
In his understanding, there were only two people capable of altering the terrain of an entire city by themselves:
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
"Fifth-sama didn't give me any message."
The ninja shook his head, and Imagawa Shigeaki exhaled in relief.
He had worried that the Hokage might demand something excessive...
"But Danzō-sama does have something to tell you."
The moment Imagawa Shigeaki relaxed, his heart jumped back up into his throat.
...
"Yōwan is dead."
Having worked the whole day, Amado had just lit a cigarette when Lust and Reimei stepped out of a spatial rift.
He wasn't particularly surprised by the news; he just continued to puff calmly.
"Oh, and everyone he brought with him is dead too," Reimei added.
That, too, was no surprise. That Hokage must have come prepared. The few ordinary jōnin Yōwan had brought weren't nearly enough to take down Takeshi, who had already distinguished himself during the Great Ninja War in his youth.
"Sloth is dead as well—killed by that Hokage."
"Is that so?"
Amado finally spoke.
As Sloth's creator, he had a clear understanding of his own work.
The artificial humans, infused with Ōtsutsuki cells, naturally inherited their speed, strength, and regeneration.
However, since the cell samples were limited and the project had only recently begun, the power of the artificial beings was still far from that of the true Ōtsutsuki.
Some of them were even defective.
"Where's Sloth's body?"
"The Konoha ninja took it. One of the Uchiha had a strange dōjutsu — I wasn't confident I could take him down," Lust replied.
The Uchiha he mentioned was none other than Uchiha Obito.
"I see."
Amado nodded slightly.
Seeing him remain so calm, Reimei couldn't hold back any longer.
"Sir, are we really just going to let them have Ōtsutsuki cells?"
"It doesn't matter. With Konoha's current level of technology, they won't be able to unravel the secrets of the Ōtsutsuki cells anytime soon."
Amado waved the hand holding his cigarette. Ash scattered to the floor.
"But I heard that Orochimaru, who now controls Konoha's research division, has already—"
Reimei started to speak again, but when he met Amado's eyes, he immediately fell silent.
The room sank into stillness.
"Hey."
The silence was broken by the sudden appearance of Sasori.
After entering, he cast a look of disgust at Lust before turning to Amado.
"Jigen-sama has spoken. Withdraw from the Land of Rain within three days."
"I understand." Amado's tone suggested he had been expecting this.
"Good. That makes things easier." Sasori, who had assumed he'd need to argue his case, left the room at once upon hearing that.
"Why are we evacuating?"
Only Reimei seemed confused.
"Jigen has always preferred to lurk within the ninja world, waiting until the 'Kāma' experiment is complete before beginning his true plan. But Yōwan, that restless fool, kept stirring up trouble. Now his death provides the perfect excuse for Akatsuki to vanish into the shadows."
Amado saw through Jigen's thinking completely.
Even before Yōwan set out, he had already compiled and packed all the classified data, preparing for withdrawal.
"So where are we retreating to this time?"
Reimei asked curiously.
"Who knows?"
Amado crushed his cigarette underfoot and narrowed his eyes.
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