Sora-ku, a deserted wasteland located on the border of the Land of Fire.
This is the territory of the Ninja Cat Clan and their core stronghold.
The Ninja Cat Clan are allies of the Uchiha Clan, providing intelligence support through cats that are everywhere.
Beyond that, they have a unique skill in crafting; almost all of the Uchiha Clan's Ninja tools were provided by them.
Unfortunately, since the Uchiha Clan was massacred, a large portion of their income has vanished.
Their main business now is collaborating with the black market to provide intelligence services.
Whoosh—
Sasuke's figure appeared at the entrance of Sora-ku. Ignoring the several Tabby Cats guarding the gate, he walked straight inside.
"It's little Sasuke. It's been a long time!"
Granny Cat sat on the tatami, took down her pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, and spoke slowly.
"Granny Cat, I want to buy some Uchiha-style weapons."
Granny Cat stood up and walked out. "Follow me."
She led Sasuke to the forge, where the walls were covered with Uchiha Clan standard-issue weapons.
Since the Uchiha Clan was massacred, these weapons had stayed here for over a decade with almost no depletion.
Every Ninja village and Ninja clan has its own partners and won't easily change them.
Moreover, these weapons were made with high-quality materials and were quite expensive; common Ninjas couldn't afford them, and lowering the price wouldn't even cover the costs.
So they just sat there, with only Sasuke coming by occasionally to buy a few.
Sasuke walked straight up, picked through them, and took some hidden weapons.
At that moment, a half-human-sized Ragdoll Cat walked in excitedly, holding a sword in its paws.
"Granny Cat, look, the sword is finished! This is my masterpiece. It took me over six months just to find the ore; that person will definitely be satisfied."
"That's good. They're a big customer; they've contracted most of our weapons now. Although the quality is average and the profit isn't much, at least the volume is large."
Sasuke ignored them and prepared to leave after making his selection.
As he passed by the Ragdoll Cat, his eyes caught a glimpse of the Ninja sword in its paws, and he froze.
An expression of disbelief appeared on his face, followed by a surge of killing intent.
"Granny Cat, is this Ninja sword for that bastard Itachi?"
Seeing the killing intent on Sasuke, Granny Cat immediately tried to soothe him. "No, it's for someone else."
"Itachi hasn't returned since he came here for a mission in his childhood. Besides, you know his summoned beasts are Ninja Crows; he never established a summoning contract with the Ninja Cat Clan."
Sasuke still looked unconvinced. "Impossible. This kind of Ninja sword is exclusive to the Uchiha; it only reaches its maximum power when combined with Uchiha taijutsu."
"In the Ninja World, besides Itachi, who else..."
Suddenly, Sasuke paused; his pupils constricted as he recalled Itachi's exact words during the massacre: 'If you awaken your eyes, then including me, there will be three people who can use the Mangekyo Sharingan.'
Instantly, the killing intent in his eyes grew even stronger as he stared intently at Granny Cat. "Tell me, who is it? That person might be related to the Uchiha Clan massacre."
Granny Cat sighed upon hearing this. She knew that in Sasuke's current state, he wouldn't listen to advice.
"She has absolutely nothing to do with the Uchiha massacre; I can guarantee that. However, it is true that she doesn't like the Uchiha Clan members."
Hearing this, the killing intent in Sasuke's eyes diminished slightly. Granny Cat wouldn't lie about such things.
"Besides this, are there other Uchiha Clan members in the Ninja World?"
"I'm sorry, Sasuke. You know the Ninja Cat Clan does not sell out customer information."
Sasuke knew he wouldn't get anything more out of her, so he turned and left.
Once he dealt with Itachi and that other person, he would come back to find out who this individual was.
The Land of Birds.
After Yagami Light's consciousness returned to his body, he rubbed his chin and fell into thought for a moment.
He then called Uchiha Hikari over and explained the situation to her.
"What's the big deal? Just kill them all."
Uchiha Hikari didn't think it was a problem at all; on the contrary, she seemed a bit excited.
Yagami Light looked at her expression. She had no hesitation, as if this was only natural.
'Has her indifference toward this world not weakened in the slightest?'
"That would be too much trouble. If we wipe them all out this time, we'll face endless harassment and pursuit, which doesn't align with my goals."
"However, I can give them a lesson. I'm not someone to be trifled with, either."
Yagami Light said this with a cruel smile.
He already had a plan, but before that, he had to leave an unforgettable memory for the Five Great Nations.
...
On the other side, after traveling for two days and two nights, Aoki Yoru and the others finally stepped onto the soil of the Land of Birds.
"Wow, so this is the Land of Birds! I'm definitely going to show those so-called Evil God Cultists how powerful I am!"
The most energetic one in the group, Naruto, looked around with confidence. This was his first mission since returning to Konoha, and he was determined to complete it perfectly.
Then he would rise to Chunin and Jonin in the shortest time possible, eventually take Granny Tsunade's seat, and become Hokage.
At that time, he would be on equal footing with Gaara.
Thinking about being cheered by everyone after becoming Hokage, Naruto started drooling and let out a doting smile.
"What an idiot!"
Beside him, Sakura helplessly covered her face. Being teammates with him was just too embarrassing.
"Captain Aoki, what should we do now? Should we investigate first or head straight for the Evil God Cult headquarters?"
"Well, this is a rare opportunity. Let the members of each team arrange the upcoming battles themselves."
Aoki Yoru said this while looking at Shikamaru. "Shikamaru will serve as the temporary captain, and he will have full authority over the upcoming operations. The team teachers are not to intervene except in life-threatening moments."
Asuma and the others were stunned for a moment, then they smiled. This was indeed a rare training opportunity.
Besides, they could take a break. With Aoki Yoru around, there was no need to worry about anything going wrong.
"What a drag..."
Shikamaru helplessly ruffled his hair. He hadn't expected the trouble to end up on his shoulders.
As for Aoki Yoru's claim about training them, he didn't believe a word of it; it was purely because Aoki Yoru wanted to dump the troublesome work on them.
"Fine. We won't go to the Evil God Cult's main base first. The situation there is unknown, and going straight in is too dangerous."
Shikamaru then pulled out a map. This was provided by Tsunade before they left—one for each person—containing intelligence on the locations of the Evil God Cult's branches.
"According to the intel, there's an Evil God Cult branch in a nearby village. We'll start there and see if we can get information on their headquarters."
"Alright, I'll arrange the next steps."
Shikamaru then glanced at them. "For the next action, first, we'll split up by squads to gather intelligence. We'll regroup tonight to exchange info. If there are no issues, we'll launch a direct assault on this branch."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded and scattered in all directions.
"I didn't expect Shikamaru to be so cautious. I thought he might just lead a direct attack."
Aoki Yoru hadn't expected Shikamaru to be so careful given the combat power they had at their disposal.
Asuma took the cigarette from his mouth and slowly blew out a smoke ring. "Since the Sasuke Retrieval Mission, Shikamaru has become much more cautious. No matter the mission, he strives to ensure everything is foolproof."
"Is that so? That's good. At least he'll live a bit longer."