"What did you want to say?"
Hanekawa's face was pressed against Samui's chest.
His hearing was extraordinary, allowing him to hear her heartbeat through the thick layer of fat.
"I... I don't know."
Samui murmured.
"Did you forget what Atsui just said?"
Hanekawa looked at the tempting fair skin before him and asked with a smile.
"He said we need to return to Kumogakure."
Samui snapped out of her daze, her face showing reluctance.
"Has the substitution ninja team arrived?"
Hanekawa twirled Samui's golden hair around his finger.
"They arrived in Konoha yesterday."
Samui's delicate eyelashes fluttered slightly. "There are eight of them, led by C."
Hanekawa nibbled on the cherry in the "baby cafeteria" and fell into thought.
Samui's body stiffened, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of allure.
She instinctively tightened her hold on Hanekawa's head, transforming into a virtuous wife and mother.
"Oh, so it's him."
Hanekawa finally remembered who C was.
A jonin from Kumogakure, an all-around ninja skilled in genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and sensory ninjutsu, known as the Fourth Raikage's right-hand man.
In the original story's Fourth Great Ninja War, he was the captain of the sensory unit.
Samui breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since they've already arrived, you should head back."
Hanekawa met her gaze and asked, "Don't you want to return to Kumogakure?"
Samui bit her lip and fell silent.
Kumogakure was, after all, her home, and she naturally wanted to return.
But she was also unwilling to leave Hanekawa.
"Three months isn't a long time."
Hanekawa guessed her thoughts and smiled. "And I have the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Samui's eyes lit up at this.
"When you return to the village, bring my Flying Thunder God mark with you."
Hanekawa pinched her cheek. "On the way, just hide one every few hours."
If he didn't care about chakra consumption, the journey from Konoha to Kumogakure, which usually took three to four days, could be completed in less than an hour.
"Mm!"
Samui nodded heavily, a smile spreading uncontrollably across her face.
"Good girl."
Hanekawa was very satisfied with her attitude.
Plus, last night, she had given her all, resisting until she was completely exhausted.
"Don't keep them waiting too long."
Hanekawa sat up and smiled. "You won't be able to explain it later."
Samui felt a tremor in her core at his teasing, her legs going weak.
She propped herself up and got out of bed.
In front of Hanekawa, she blushed as she changed her clothes.
"It's a shame I forgot to have you wear that secretary outfit last night."
Hanekawa picked up the secretary outfit from the floor. "But it's fine. You can wear it next time we meet."
Samui glanced at it and took a deep breath, causing her ample chest to rise and fall.
The reason was simple.
The secretary outfit was already a bit dirty.
Mostly from her unconscious actions last night.
Samui couldn't remember the details, only that it felt like a dream.
"Go take a shower."
Hanekawa reminded her.
Samui paused, sniffed, and realized she was covered in his scent.
Her face flushed, and she turned to head to the bathroom.
Hanekawa wanted to cause some trouble, but considering the time constraints, he decided to save it for later.
After Samui finished her shower, he also took one.
"I'm leaving, Hanekawa."
Samui said with great reluctance.
"Remember to leave the Flying Thunder God mark."
Hanekawa suddenly thought of something and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "And maintain your cold demeanor."
"Mm."
Samui responded softly.
Last night, she had indeed lost all her coldness, leaving only fiery passion, her body burning inside and out.
Hanekawa watched Samui leave, then returned to the Anbu base.
Sitting at his desk, he couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
He hadn't expected Samui to become his first woman in this life.
But upon reflection, it made sense.
Because his relationship with Samui wasn't an ordinary one.
Between them lay the fact that Konoha had defeated Kumogakure, giving him the dominant position.
Even if Samui had no feelings for him, he could have forced her.
But thankfully, it hadn't come to that.
Hanekawa preferred mutual consent.
Of course, if it had come to that, he might not have been able to resist.
People are just that hypocritical.
Hanekawa snapped out of his thoughts and casually picked up a document from his desk to read.
...
In Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain.
Black Zetsu's body squirmed, quickly transforming into Madara Uchiha.
Now that Obito Uchiha was dead, he had to play the role of Madara Uchiha to avoid arousing suspicion from Nagato, Yahiko, and the others.
But while Madara Uchiha could be impersonated, money couldn't fall from the sky.
Fortunately, after multiple interactions with Nagato, he had managed to shift his mindset.
"Mr. Madara."
Nagato greeted Black Zetsu when he saw him.
"Nagato."
Black Zetsu handed him a scroll. "This is a list of powerful ninja I've gathered from the shinobi world."
"Why are most of them missing-nin?"
Nagato opened the scroll, glanced at it, and couldn't help but ask.
"Recruiting missing-nin can prevent spies from the Five Great Villages."
Black Zetsu explained calmly. "And missing-nin are easier to recruit. You just need to make them submit with your strength."
"That's true."
Nagato nodded, then asked, "But won't bringing them into the Akatsuki cause trouble?"
"No."
Black Zetsu said with certainty. "With your strength, they won't dare cause trouble."
"I'll discuss this with Yahiko and Konan later."
Nagato closed the scroll.
"You know that if you want to oppose Konoha, the current Akatsuki is far from enough. This is necessary."
Black Zetsu said gravely.
He had two goals.
One was to have them help make money, and the other was to strengthen the Akatsuki.
When Madara Uchiha was eventually revived, he would have a solid foundation.
Nagato hesitated at this.
He knew Yahiko and Konan didn't want to oppose Konoha.
"During the previous Great Ninja War, how many ninja lost their families because of Konoha?"
Black Zetsu added fuel to the fire. "Your parents died because of that."
Nagato's expression darkened, and he instinctively clenched his fists.
"You possess the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. The Akatsuki should step out of Amegakure and bring peace to the entire shinobi world."
Black Zetsu changed his tone, speaking loudly. "Nagato, this is your destiny from birth. You are the god of the new world!"
"I know."
Nagato took a deep breath.
"How are you progressing with mastering the Rinnegan's abilities?"
Black Zetsu asked with a smile.
"Thanks to your guidance, I've now mastered the Deva Path and the Preta Path."
Nagato's spirits lifted, and he spoke with excitement.
In the original story, after Yahiko's death, Nagato had gone berserk and summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
After much study, he had mastered the Six Paths of the Rinnegan.
But now, with Yahiko alive and no Demonic Statue, without Black Zetsu's guidance, it would have taken him much longer to familiarize himself with the Rinnegan.
Nagato was excited because the Rinnegan was overwhelmingly powerful!
Especially the Planetary Devastation.
He now understood why the legendary Sage of Six Paths could create the moon.
As he mastered the Rinnegan, Nagato grew increasingly confident.
Even if Hanekawa possessed Wood Release, he wouldn't be his match.
This was why he believed Black Zetsu's claims about destiny and being the god of a new world.
"Your talent is truly remarkable."
Black Zetsu praised. "I believe it won't be long before you fully master the Rinnegan."
"I'll go find Yahiko and Konan now."
Nagato bid farewell and headed toward the central tower of Amegakure.
_____
"Nagato."
Yahiko frowned slightly. "Did you go see Madara Uchiha again?"
"Yes."
Nagato handed him the scroll. "This is Mr. Madara's recommendation. We can have them join the Akatsuki."
Yahiko instinctively opened the scroll.
When he saw the list of missing-nin, he couldn't help but hesitate.
"Nagato, we still don't know Madara Uchiha's true intentions."
Konan reminded him. "Don't trust him too much."
"Don't worry."
Nagato shook his head confidently. "You've both seen the power of the Rinnegan. There won't be any problems."
Yahiko wanted to say more but held back.
There was no denying that the Rinnegan was terrifying.
In terms of sheer destructive power, it far surpassed Jiraiya's abilities.
"Our dream is peace for the shinobi world!"
Nagato said gravely. "Amegakure isn't our end goal—it's just the beginning!"
"You..."
Yahiko noticed that Nagato seemed different now.
Konan, seeing this, also showed concern.
She had never trusted Madara Uchiha from the start.
Now that Nagato was being influenced by him, she was even more convinced that he wasn't genuinely helping the Akatsuki and must have ulterior motives.
"We need to consider this carefully."
Yahiko said slowly.
"The Akatsuki is indeed short on manpower, especially jonin."
Nagato compromised. "I'll recruit them, but they won't be formally integrated into the Akatsuki."
Yahiko met his gaze for a few seconds before finally agreeing.
...
Time passed quickly, and soon it was November.
At the edge of the Forest of Death outside Konoha.
Storm Release: Storm Dragon!
Hanekawa stood still, forming hand seals.
A massive amount of chakra surged out, causing the sky to churn with wind and lightning.
Nearby rain clouds gathered, forming a massive vortex of thunderclouds, like the eye of a god.
When it reached its peak, countless bolts of lightning erupted, raining down like a storm.
Hanekawa nodded in satisfaction.
Storm Release: Storm Dragon, known as the ultimate technique of Storm Release, was also its most powerful jutsu.
From its current display, it wasn't far behind Sasuke Uchiha's Lightning Release: Kirin in the original story.
The sky cleared, and sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the devastation below.
Hanekawa glanced at it, then closed his eyes in anticipation.
With his mastery of Storm Release, he had now acquired seven kekkei genkai.
This meant he would trigger a new keyword.
Hanekawa didn't have to wait long before three lines of text appeared in his vision.
[A-Level Talent Keyword: Seven Kekkei Genkai.]
[Trigger Condition: Mastery of the Sharingan, Wood Release, Storm Release, Lava Release, Boil Release, Scorch Release, and Ice Release.]
[Effect: Gain Sage Body, allowing better sensing and control of natural energy.]
Hanekawa glanced at it and couldn't help but smile.
He had been practicing Sage Mode for nearly a year but had yet to make any progress.
Clearly, he lacked the innate talent for Sage Mode.
His only hope was the keyword system.
Now, that hope had finally been realized.
The A-Level Talent Keyword "Seven Kekkei Genkai" enhanced his ability to sense and control natural energy.
These were the first two major hurdles in mastering Sage Mode: sensing natural energy and drawing it into the body, then combining it with chakra to create senjutsu chakra.
Once these two hurdles were cleared, Sage Mode was essentially mastered.
Hanekawa took a deep breath and silently activated the synthesis.
[S-Level Talent Keyword: Invincible Kage.]
[Trigger Condition: Synthesized from the A-Level Keywords "Seven-Element Jonin" and "Seven Kekkei Genkai."]
[Effect: Chakra extraction speed increased by 400%, and chakra capacity increased by 400% on top of the original base.]
Hanekawa thought to himself, "As expected."
The effect was the same as the A-Level Talent Keyword "All-Around Jonin," but the values had doubled, jumping from 200% to 400%.
Hanekawa clenched his fist.
With the acquisition of the S-Level Talent Keyword "Invincible Kage," his body underwent significant changes.
Combined with the previous A-Level Talent Keyword "False Fox," his chakra capacity had now reached a 500% increase.
But unfortunately, he still hadn't triggered the S-Level Talent Keyword "Chakra Ton," meaning his chakra still wasn't enough.
Hanekawa stroked his chin.
Why wasn't there a progression path?
Kage wasn't the pinnacle of a ninja's journey—there were still the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki beyond that.
Was there some condition he was missing that prevented the trigger?
Hanekawa couldn't figure it out and decided not to dwell on it.
Now that he had acquired the S-Level Talent Keyword "Invincible Kage," his next goal was the S-Level Talent for Wood Release.
Specifically, the version used by Hashirama Senju.
Its synthesis required three keywords.
A-Level Talent Keyword "Medical Jonin," A-Level Talent Keyword "Sealing Jonin," and S-Level Talent Keyword "Chakra Ton."
Hanekawa had already acquired the first keyword and just needed the latter two.
The A-Level Talent Keyword "Sealing Jonin" wasn't too difficult—it just required time.
The most troublesome was the S-Level Talent Keyword "Chakra Ton."
Hanekawa's mind turned to the "Hero's Water."
Although it had side effects, it was one of the few items in the original story explicitly stated to directly increase chakra.
Whether he drank it or not, he needed to get his hands on it first.
The Hero's Water was a sacred treasure of Takigakure, obtainable only once every hundred years. With its incredible effects, it was undoubtedly priceless.
Of course, Takigakure wouldn't just hand it over if he asked.
If Hanekawa tried to take it by force, Tsunade, given her personality, would likely stop him.
After all, Konoha and Takigakure had good relations.
The best approach was to steal it while hiding his identity.
Another issue was that Takigakure's location was unknown.
In the original story, Takigakure was somewhat like a hidden paradise.
Its location was in a remote mountain.
Only Takigakure ninja knew how to find it.
Hanekawa suddenly had an idea, recalling a plot point involving Takigakure.
In the original story, Takigakure's missing-nin, Suien, had allied with Amegakure to attack Takigakure.
But they were ultimately stopped by Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
He now had two plans.
One was to ally with Suien and attack Takigakure.
The other was to control Suien and, as a Konoha ninja, go to Takigakure's aid.
From Konoha's perspective, the second option was more appropriate.
But if he wanted to farm talents, the first option was undoubtedly better.
Because Takigakure had the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.
____
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