Raindrops were fine and dense, occasionally blown into the umbrella by the wind, dampening Linto's clothes.
Linto, Sasuke, and Konan each held a black umbrella, walking on the streets of the Uchiha ruins.
On both sides were dark houses. The bodies and bloodstains had been cleaned up. The smell of blood had faded, leaving only a faint, fishy smell, like the scent from an abandoned slaughterhouse.
Things had changed, and everything was over.
Linto didn't have strong feelings for the Uchiha; it was just a coincidence that he had come to this body.
But Sasuke had lived here since childhood. He knew every street and every neighbor.
In the hazy rain, in the darkness, Sasuke seemed to see his former relatives, elders, and friends.
"Do you want to kill Danzo?" Linto asked.
Konan was surprised and looked back at Kakashi, who was following a dozen meters away.
"No way, you can't just say things like that!"
Konan lowered her voice, "At this distance, with a ninja's hearing, they can hear everything clearly. I know you're strong, but we're in Konoha's territory!"
Linto shook his head.
"If they hear, they hear."
He wasn't a ninja.
When he killed, he always did it openly, without hiding it.
Besides...
"If Danzo had that kind of appeal, would Sarutobi Hiruzen even be able to become Hokage?"
Konan looked back at Kakashi.
She saw that the copy ninja was whistling and walking a little further away, pretending not to have heard anything.
"I want to kill Danzo."
Sasuke stopped, stretched out his hand, and caught the rain falling from the sky, saying, "But not today."
"I'm not Danzo's match right now. If I want to kill Danzo, I'll definitely need your help.
But Brother Shou, I can sense that you don't have much affection for the name 'Uchiha.'
You would attack Itachi simply because you thought he did something wrong in front of you.
That's all.
You have reasons to kill Danzo, but your reasons are definitely not as many or as heavy as mine.
If I let you do it... it would be a waste.
After all, there's only one chance."
Sasuke said seriously, "I want to personally kill Danzo and Itachi, for the hundreds of wronged souls of the Uchiha Clan..."
"...to get an explanation."
Konan nodded.
She understood Sasuke.
That was how she and Nagato felt when they went to kill Hanzo the Salamander.
"And."
Sasuke touched the crown of thorns on his head.
Since he woke up, it seemed to be embedded in his skull, impossible to remove.
"While I was unconscious, I saw a strange uncle. He said a lot to me. I didn't understand, but it felt like I understood a lot.
I don't know why, but I feel like killing Danzo... wouldn't do much good."
Linto's eyes fell on the crown of thorns on Sasuke's head.
"A strange uncle... was it a saint?"
Linto was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, saying,
"Yeah, you're right, killing Danzo is useless, killing Orochimaru is useless, killing Biwa Juzo, Kurosuki Raiga, and Suikazan Fuguki is equally useless."
Konan listened to them in confusion.
"What do you mean by useful or useless?
"If you kill them, you kill them, how can it be useless?"
But Linto's next sentence shocked Konan like a thunderbolt.
"You can't kill 'them' all."
She looked at Linto's profile.
In the dense rain, his outline was a little blurry, but his eyes were particularly bright.
Linto looked at the vast darkness. He had three ways to get soul fragments:
Defeating powerful enemies, changes in the world line, and mortgaging his own soul.
When he first got the system, Linto thought that "changes in the world line" meant changing the original plot.
If it was changing the plot, wouldn't it be enough to get rid of some main characters?
After killing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure, there was no hint of a world line change.
At that time, Linto guessed that these characters might be too minor, and killing them wouldn't have much impact on the plot.
But when Linto killed Orochimaru, he still didn't receive any news of a world line change.
Orochimaru couldn't possibly be a minor character, right?
Returning from the Land of Rice Fields, Linto thought all the way, and the only explanation was...
Killing people and changing the plot would not trigger a change in the world line.
As long as this terrible world continued to operate under the current rules, even if Orochimaru was killed, there would eventually be a Daidaramaru or a Kumamaru, continuing to use unhealthy research methods to fight against the ninja world, where bloodlines were supreme.
"Then what should we do?"
Konan's tone was serious, like a student seeking knowledge.
At this moment, she forgot her hostile relationship with Linto and just wanted to know Akatsuki's way out.
"You want to learn?"
Linto smiled, "I'll teach you, but before that—"
He stretched out his hand and flicked. Rainwater flew out like bullets, slamming into two closed wooden doors with a bang.
The wooden doors burst open, revealing a person sitting in the courtyard pavilion.
Danzo was sitting in the pavilion, with tea and snacks on the table.
He nodded slightly to Linto, made a gesture of invitation, and his voice carried through the rain:
"Linto, would you like to come in and have a cup of tea with this old man?"
Linto put away his smile and strode into the pavilion, pulled out a chair and sat down, his eyes fixed on Danzo's old face.
Sasuke and Konan stood on either side of him.
Linto had seen Danzo's photo in Kambara Hayato's intelligence.
Seeing him in person, he felt that he was even older and more gloomy than in the photo, like a black rope stained with too much human blood.
Unlike a blade, which has a deterrent effect at first glance, the more you interact with it, the more you can feel a chilling sense of intimidation.
"I thought you would hide in a cave, afraid to come out. I didn't expect you to dare to appear in front of me in person."
Linto put the Destruction Blade beside him.
Danzo picked up the teapot, "Those who hide in caves are rats. I am the root of Konoha. For Konoha, I must meet you."
"And then?"
"And then, let you stay."
Danzo poured a cup of hot tea. The tea was fragrant, and it was high-quality tea.
He pushed the first cup of tea to Linto, "I want you to return to Konoha and serve the village."
Linto pointed to the ground,
"You're in the Uchiha ruins, this land stained with blood and wronged souls, inviting me to come back and be your workhorse—the mastermind who framed the Uchiha?"
"Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy."
Danzo said, "Linto, I can understand your confusion, but don't worry, you will soon agree with my idea because I will offer you a price too good to refuse."
As he spoke, Danzo opened his right eye hidden under the bandages.
A scarlet Sharingan slowly rotated.
Danzo stared at Linto:
"I will help you climb to the top."
"I will make you Hokage."
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