It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The speed was so blinding that it was nearly impossible to react to.
"Hmm?"
Watching the situation on the battlefield, Number Two naturally caught sight of this development. He closed the zipper on his gear and landed softly on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Number Three, who had already used truth serum to extract the answers she wanted, looked over at Number Two and asked. She had also sensed something was off just a moment ago.
"Someone rescued those guys," Number Two replied.
"Tch... you really are sloppy," Number Three mocked.
Number Two didn't argue. This was indeed his failure.
"What about that thing?" Number Two looked at Zetsu, whom Number Three was holding.
"This guy has two consciousnesses, White and Black," Number Three said, lifting Zetsu for Number Two to see. "The white one is useless, but the black one is very valuable. I even saw many interesting things in his memory just now."
"Won't his memories be linked to that 'Uchiha Lexon'?"
"As long as I avoid the memories directly associated with 'Uchiha Lexon', it's fine," Number Three explained.
"Then let's bring him along for now..." Number Two said.
He pulled out a device resembling a mobile phone, intending to send a message to their other two teammates.
[Found the Earth-Moon teleportation point. It's at...]
He began typing but paused as he realized he didn't actually know the location. He turned to Number Three. "Number Three, where was the Earth-Moon teleportation point again?"
"It's at..." Number Three started to answer, but she suddenly stopped after a single word.
"Where?" Number Two was confused by her silence and looked up at her.
Number Three didn't respond. She was staring fixedly in one direction. Number Two followed her gaze, feeling a sense of unease. Before he could fully turn his head, a violent gale swept toward them.
When he finally saw it, his eyes widened.
A colossal wood golem, draped in menacing purple armor like a mountain, was swinging a massive purple blade that looked capable of splitting peaks and severing valleys. It was slashing directly toward them.
...
[Most of the members have been rescued.]
Sitting on a carriage, watching the "friendly" duel between Zabuza and his three Genin students, Lexon suddenly received a message in his mind.
It was from Orochimaru.
Because Orochimaru had been reanimated via Lexon's Impure World Reincarnation, they were able to communicate this way. When Lexon had received the message from Kakuzu earlier, he had ordered Orochimaru to head to the Hidden Rain Village.
The technique used to rescue the Akatsuki members was the Flying Thunder God, performed by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had also been reanimated by Orochimaru. The armored wood golem was a combination of Uchiha Madara's Susanoo and Senju Hashirama's Wood Golem.
Although Orochimaru was currently in a reanimated body, his actual combat power wasn't exceptionally high. He might not even be a match for some of the individual Akatsuki members... Lexon's reason for sending him, of course, was for him to reanimate other powerful figures before heading into battle. Otherwise, it would have been a suicide mission.
"So, most of them were saved..." Lexon murmured softly.
To be honest, Lexon didn't particularly care whether the Akatsuki members lived or died. While some members possessed abilities he hadn't yet acquired through sign-ins, they were largely dispensable to him at his current level. If they were there, fine; if not, it didn't matter.
Lexon's primary goal was to "kill Reincarnators," not to play savior for the Akatsuki.
'But since they're saved, they're saved... I'll just use this as an excuse to tie them down and make them work for me.'
His lead scientist, Orochimaru, still needed research materials and errand boys, after all. If they didn't agree... well, the reanimated versions of them certainly would.
Lexon let the thought go and returned his focus to the fight between Zabuza and Team 7. Just then, there was a sound from inside the carriage.
Tazuna had woken up.
"Gato, the man you were afraid of, has been dealt with. This mission is officially over. Remember to pay the reward," Lexon said leisurely, without even turning his head.
"What? I paid for you to escort me all the way to the Land of Waves! We're not there yet!" Tazuna poked his head out of the carriage, his tone sounding somewhat defiant.
"Are you sure you want to argue about this?" Lexon looked at him.
Standing beside the carriage, Haku looked coldly at Tazuna. He used his Ice Release to condense several sharp ice spikes, his killing intent erupting instantly.
"No... no, I won't argue..." Intimidated by the killing intent, Tazuna didn't dare say another word and shrank back into the carriage.
Haku let the ice spikes dissipate and stood beside Lexon once more, like a loyal servant.
"Once they finish their fight, you can leave," Lexon said suddenly.
"Thank you, milord," Haku bowed slightly. He had expected to be dragged along for several more days like last time.
Lexon leaned against the carriage and didn't reply. He planned to drop the Genins back at Konoha and then head to the Hidden Rain Village himself.
Another message had just come in from Orochimaru.
[The combination of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama seems to be losing.]
'Reincarnators capable of defeating two transcendent Kage-level fighters like Madara and Hashirama?'
Lexon's thoughts raced. He recalled the white-haired woman who had successfully suppressed Black Zetsu and read his memories—she was indeed quite strong. It seemed the Reincarnators in the enemy camp this time were truly powerful.
He couldn't help but remember the words of that leader from the Scarlet Knights who had blown himself up a few years ago. Gu-something...
['An empty time slot of more than five years can only mean...']
Only mean what? He had always been curious about that.
"What can it only mean?" Lexon murmured, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I wonder what I'll get by signing in using them as livestock..."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]