Naruto: Becomes a Rebel Ninja After Annihilating the Hyuga Clan - Chapter 109
“Don’t get distracted.”
“You’ll die.”
A powerful suction erupted, and Neiki’s expression twisted in pain.
Then he vanished into a puff of smoke and dust.
“Shadow clone—” The eyes behind the mask widened in surprise, and a pricking sensation arose from behind him.
In the next moment, the dark sword Hades pierced through the masked man’s head as if it were a shadow, stabbing into a distant tree stump.
Neiki flashed to the side of Hades, pulling out the sword marked with the Flying Thunder God seal.
“So, it was a deliberate opening?” Konan, observing from the sidelines, squinted at Neiki. “Interesting.”
But this level of skill still couldn’t contend with Madara.
“Improved quite a bit.” The masked man commented calmly, comparing this fight to their battle during the rebellion in the forest.
“So, why are you looking for me?” Neiki asked calmly.
“What are you doing in Kirigakure?” The masked man asked, slowly approaching Neiki.
“Why should I tell you?” Neiki retorted.
“No matter, you can keep your secrets… I’ll make you talk!” The masked man began to sink into the ground.
As Neiki warily watched his surroundings, a pair of hands emerged from the ground, grabbing his ankles and pulling him down.
In that moment of crisis, Neiki threw his dark sword and flashed to the location where the sword landed. Just then, a figure lunged at him, reaching for his neck.
“The Flying Thunder God Technique is a top-tier space-time jutsu, but it’s not without weaknesses. If the enemy predicts where the user will land, it’s just a faster Body Flicker Technique.” Konan shook her head, slightly disappointed.
Madara clearly understood the characteristics of the Flying Thunder God Technique well. He had already exploited its weakness after just a few exchanges.
At this dangerous moment, Neiki watched the masked man, his expression still calm.
In slow motion, he reached into his pouch, took out a kunai, and threw it at the masked man, all in one fluid motion.
The kunai passed through the masked man, just another illusion. But the masked man’s hand was now at Neiki’s throat.
“It’s over…” The masked man’s voice carried a hint of satisfaction.
No one could survive his hunt, except Minato Namikaze.
“Do you think you’re faster than Minato Namikaze?”
Neiki didn’t answer.
The next moment, the masked man noticed a flash of white light in Neiki’s eyes.
Neiki’s hand lit up with a blue glow.
The masked man recognized the blue light.
“Rasengan, huh… but it’s too slow.” His hand was already on Neiki’s throat while the Rasengan was just forming. It was too late.
He felt a sense of familiarity with this scene but couldn’t place it. As he prepared to end the fight, Neiki’s figure suddenly vanished from his sight.
Damn… the Flying Thunder God Technique again, slippery like an eel…
But where did he mark the seal, and where did he go?
Frustration and disappointment welled up inside him. He remembered the kunai that had passed through his head.
No way?
He realized where this scene had happened before.
But it was too late. In the half-second after Neiki disappeared from sight, the masked man, not in his intangible state, didn’t notice Neiki behind him, grabbing the kunai and smashing the Rasengan into his back.
Boom!
A storm erupted.
The Rasengan tore through his clothes, smashing into the masked man’s back, driving him into the ground.
The masked man suppressed the pain, turning intangible to avoid further damage.
He reappeared seconds later, standing a few meters away from Neiki, breathing heavily, with thick, white goo dripping from under his clothes.
The turn of events was so swift that Zetsu and Konan were stunned. After a moment, they snapped back to reality and stood by the masked man, warily watching Neiki.
Despite their wariness towards Madara, he was still a member of Akatsuki, their comrade. In critical moments, they had to stand together.
But Neiki didn’t seem to intend to attack. He spoke calmly:
“This is…”
“—Flying Thunder God Second Step,” the masked man, with one hand completely corrupted into a puddle of white goo, finished Neiki’s sentence with a mix of anger and laughter. “Truly unexpected. Your Flying Thunder God Technique is no slower than Minato Namikaze’s!”
“But if I’m not mistaken, when you hit my back with the Rasengan, you also placed a Flying Thunder God seal… Since you witnessed my fight with Minato, you’re recreating it now. Neiki, aren’t you going to finish this reenactment? Aren’t you going to attack?”
Zetsu glanced at the masked man’s back and saw a black Flying Thunder God seal.
Neiki frowned. What was he talking about?
Was he trying to save face after being outmaneuvered?
Neiki shook his head. “I’ll attack when you least expect it.”
The Byakugan could detect weaknesses.
Right now, the enemy had no weaknesses. This guy was on full alert.
The masked man calmed down. Neiki’s Rasengan didn’t cause severe damage, and his cells were quickly healing. He nodded. “Fair enough.”
“I acknowledge your strength. You are qualified to join Akatsuki.”
So that’s what they were after.
Neiki shook his head:
“I’m not interested for now.”
He turned to leave, but the masked man blocked his way, with Konan and Zetsu behind him.
“You might not leave today.” The masked man threatened. His vigilance towards Neiki had risen to the level he once held for Minato. The upcoming fight wouldn’t be a small skirmish.
And Neiki held too many secrets. He couldn’t let him go.
The wind rustled the trees, the robes flapped in the breeze, and Neiki scanned the three of them, asking calmly:
“Why are you in such a hurry…”
“To start capturing the Tailed Beasts?”
Konan frowned, and the masked man’s voice grew cold. “You know quite a lot.”
“Did Hashirama tell you?”
Neiki had already demonstrated his strength, making it clear to the three that he wasn’t to be trifled with. Otherwise, they would have already attacked instead of talking. If he didn’t join Akatsuki, they would have simply killed him.
“It’s already begun. The outbreak of the Fourth Great Ninja War makes it impossible for the Five Great Shinobi Villages to unite, providing us a rare opportunity to act. We must seize it,” Konan recited Pain’s decision.
Neiki nodded slightly. This was the first time he had heard this news. Akatsuki had already started to move, and his influence on the course of history in the ninja world was indeed profound.
“How many Tailed Beasts have you collected so far?”
“Only one… but that’s because our main focus was on finding new members. Now, as long as you join, we almost have everyone we need.”
If that was the case…
“What can I gain from this?” Neiki asked directly.
“Do you know why Akatsuki is collecting Tailed Beasts?” Konan countered.
“No,” Neiki replied casually.
“For world peace,” Konan stated, pausing to observe Neiki’s reaction.
So far, none of the Akatsuki members, except for her and Nagato, truly believed in achieving world peace.
Even Madara, as one of the founders, seemed to have other motives.
Neiki didn’t scoff or show any other reaction. Instead, he lowered his head in thought and muttered something they could all hear, “It’s similar to what that guy said…”
“Who?” Konan asked.
“Hashirama?” the masked man also inquired.
“But he said you’re being used. It’s delusional. Collecting Tailed Beasts won’t bring peace or create a new world,” Neiki said meaningfully. He glanced at the pondering Konan, then at the expressionless masked man, and finally settled his gaze on the always indifferent Zetsu.
The key was Black Zetsu.
Although Neiki spoke, there was no reaction from him, as if it truly had nothing to do with him.
“Can you explain more?” Konan requested.
“I don’t know much,” Neiki shook his head, not saying much. Pointing them in the right direction was enough. At the right time, they would seek out this “Hashirama.”
“Is that so,” Konan nodded slightly, keeping it in mind. She then looked back at Neiki and resumed the previous topic, “In any case, we collect Tailed Beasts to break the cruel war order established by the Five Great Shinobi Villages and prepare to rebuild a new world order without war… And Akatsuki will be the rulers of this new world. In this process, power, money, and strength, as long as you don’t disrupt the rebuilding of the new order, whatever you want, you can have.”
Neiki was momentarily silent. Clearly, this power, money, and strength were all things the Akatsuki members had seized from others by force. Wasn’t that exactly “whatever you want, you can have”?
“Is all this really for world peace?” Neiki asked with a smile.
As if not understanding the slight sarcasm in Neiki’s face, Konan calmly explained, “The means to rebuild the new order is war, making everyone feel similar pain. In this process, any sacrifice is necessary. It will inevitably be a dark age, but it is the dawn before the sunrise, the necessary path to reach the new world… This is Akatsuki’s philosophy.”
“I need power,” Neiki chose one from the options of power, money, and strength.
“You are already strong,” the masked man’s voice was strange.
“But it’s not enough,” Neiki shook his head.
Not enough?
How about the Rinnegan?!
“Do you have any specific ideas?” Konan asked, sensing that Neiki might have something in mind.
“Do you know about Ry?chi Cave, one of the three great Sage Regions?” Neiki asked.
“Why don’t you get straight to the point,” the masked man said.
They knew about Ry?chi Cave, but it was the most mysterious of the three Sage Regions, much more so than Mount My?boku. Only a few people could enter, and those who did never spoke of what they found inside.
Only Konoha and some ancient ninja villages had brief mentions of the three Sage Regions in their records, with Ry?chi Cave having the least information.
“There are Sage relics hidden there, and the method to become a Sage. But I can’t defeat the crazed slug alone. I need the help of powerful Akatsuki members,” Neiki explained his plan, making up the part about Sage relics.
“Become a… Sage?” Konan and the masked man were both taken aback.
The latter wanted to refute. He knew the only way to become a Sage was to fuse the nine Tailed Beasts and become the Jinch?riki of the Ten-Tails. But he paused, deciding not to share this with Konan and Neiki.
He lowered his head, as if recalling something, and asked, “Did Hashirama tell you this?”
Neiki glanced at him and chuckled, “How could he tell me this? I captured his granddaughter Tsunade and extracted the information from her.”
The masked man was silent for a moment, then raised his head, suddenly enlightened.
Ry?chi Cave…
Ry?chi Cave…
So that’s the reason Hashirama lived so long!!
The slug contained almost limitless life energy. If there were other secrets inside, keeping someone alive would be simple. The reason Hashirama didn’t die, the reason he remained hidden for so long, even fooling Konoha, was that he had been hiding in Ry?chi Cave for years!!
And this also explained why Hashirama attacked Neiki!!
It wasn’t because Neiki captured Tsunade. It was because Neiki discovered the secrets of Ry?chi Cave through Tsunade, so Hashirama wanted to silence him!!
It all made sense!
Everything became clear!
The masked man breathed heavily, then laughed.
He was convinced this was the truth. Hashirama, who was supposed to have died of old age, emerged from Ry?chi Cave, wearing a mask, but not changing his name. The mask was likely to hide his altered appearance or simply to cover his scars.
Ry?chi Cave… Maybe it did hold the method to become a Sage.
And Hashirama’s body might have become unsuitable for revealing, just like his own.
With this thought.
“I agree,” the masked man said with a smile. “Welcome to Akatsuki.”
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