"Doing this brings only benefits without harm. Currently Sasuke is ranked sixth—there are many people targeting him. If we unite, no one will dare touch him. Do you think if someone from the top ten of the Strongest List comes looking for trouble with Sasuke, can you and Shisui stop them?"
Itachi fell silent.
Exactly as Orochimaru said, the current world was full of lurking dangers. Especially for those on the Hidden Expert List—they had become public targets. Once the protection period ended, they would most likely be immediately hunted. Particularly for those who hadn't matured like Sasuke; if there was no one to protect them, they were just meat on a cutting board ready to be slaughtered.
Sasuke wasn't like the Kyuubi Jinchuriki who had the First and Second Hokage at his side. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was famous for his cunning and diverse tactics; if they all united, even if the top ten of the Gold List came looking for trouble, they might not be unable to escape safely.
"Fine! I agree!" Itachi nodded, finally giving a definite answer.
Shisui also nodded. Since Itachi had agreed, he had no reason to refuse. As for Kisame, after furrowing his brow and thinking for quite some time, he finally agreed as well.
"Excellent!" Orochimaru showed a satisfied smile and made a promise: "I won't treat you all poorly. Now I've already obtained Garou's Evolution Key reward. If everything goes smoothly and I can unlock the mystery within it, our strength will increase rapidly, including yours, Kisame!"
Kisame's eyes sparkled.
They looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.
This Orochimaru truly deserved the title of research maniac; he even dared to try unlocking the secrets of rewards given by the Gold List. However, if that could really be done, it would be very good news.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Naruto World, Konoha Village.
Quite some time had passed. The sea surface gradually receded over time, revealing higher ground, and even the Hokage Face Monument began to emerge again.
The villagers began rebuilding houses on the hills. Combined with the tree houses created by Hashirama, they formed a large village with a unique architectural style.
At this time, atop a hill stood a building that was Danzo's residence.
*WHOOSH!*
A shadowy figure wearing a strange mask appeared in front of Danzo's door. He knelt on one knee and whispered: "Danzo-sama, there's a situation."
"Come in!"
The door opened and the shadow stepped inside. In the dimly lit room, Danzo had already risen from his bed, staring sharply at the arrival and saying heavily: "What did you find?"
Danzo's days these days were not easy. Because of his past actions, most of his power had been stripped away by the First and Second Hokage through various means, and even his leadership of the "Root" organization had been terminated.
The First and Second Hokage considered Danzo's methods too extreme and his character too cruel, so he was unsuitable to hold important leadership roles in the village.
Danzo had already sensed a crisis coming.
Perhaps before long, there would be people making moves against him. Fortunately, over the years he had trained many people, so there were still some loyal followers at his side; he hadn't completely lost his pawns.
"Danzo-sama, we found a crow in the forest outside the village. Very strange." The person reported while kneeling.
"Crow?" Danzo furrowed his brow. "What's strange about it?"
"One of the crow's eyes is a Sharingan!"
Hearing that, Danzo's eyelid twitched. He immediately stood from his seat with an expression full of doubt and suspicion. He paced back and forth in the room; the shifting light made his figure appear very frightening.
"Sharingan... Sharingan... How could that be? Could it be..." His steps suddenly stopped. He turned to stare at his subordinate and asked: "What does that Sharingan look like? How did you find it?"
"It's a windmill-shaped Sharingan, should be Mangekyo. Strangely, this crow appears and disappears suddenly, as if monitoring the situation in the village."
"Mangekyo!" Danzo's pupils contracted. He became more certain of his suspicion and seemed to have an epiphany: "So that's it. Back then one of Shisui's eyes mysteriously disappeared—I already suspected that eye was taken by him... Monitoring the village... Is he going to make a move against the Kyuubi Jinchuriki? He... has arrived!"
Though not completely certain, his guess had reached seventy to eighty percent. Danzo could no longer wait; his current position was very disadvantageous. If he didn't act quickly, disaster would befall him before long. If he could obtain that eye, it wasn't impossible he could suddenly control the First or Second Hokage, and at that time...
There was a flash of excitement in Danzo's eyes. This was his opportunity—he had to seize it.
"Take me there!" Danzo gave a firm order.
"Yes, Sir!"
His subordinate turned and led the way. Both swiftly dashed under the cover of night toward outside the village.
Currently the village had very tight security due to the emergence of many young people from the Hidden Expert List, especially the Kyuubi Jinchuriki who was ranked fourth. However, because both were very familiar with the village guard placements, they easily avoided patrols and left the village.
"Sir, here's the place!" His subordinate stopped deep in the dense forest far from the village. They stood atop a tree crown, and he pointed to one of the branches.
Danzo waved his hand: "Search!"
Both immediately dispersed to search. Danzo searched very carefully all around. Suddenly, his steps stopped. He stood on a branch and stared toward a tree crown in the distance.
There perched a pitch-black crow staring straight at him. One of its eyes was blood red with a strange windmill pattern slowly rotating. Danzo's breathing immediately quickened; he knew he had found his target. He approached carefully, trying to conceal his presence, while the bandage on his right hand began to unravel bit by bit.
However, just as he was about to approach the crow, it instead showed a mocking smile resembling a human's, then suddenly disappeared from its spot like melting ice. Danzo was stunned and became alert.
"Danzo, it wasn't easy luring you out..." A low laughing voice suddenly echoed in the dense forest.
Along with that voice, in the distance six figures appeared, flashing one by one and landing on tree crowns in front of Danzo. Under the moonlight, the faces of all six people were clearly visible. They were Orochimaru, Itachi, Sasuke, Shisui, Kisame, and Garou.
"Orochimaru!"
Danzo's face showed shock. He had already guessed Itachi would be here, but he didn't expect Orochimaru to appear at all. A moment later he showed an understanding expression: "I see, you've also joined Akatsuki—no wonder."