Danzo was a typical person whose ambition exceeded his ability.
After seeing that the person knocking on the door was a member of Root, Richard immediately understood Danzo's intentions.
Anyone could guess that Danzo wanted to secure enough allies to support his bid for the position of Fifth Hokage before Tsunade returned to the village.
Though his strength couldn't match Tsunade's, if Danzo managed to claim the Hokage position first, Tsunade would find it nearly impossible to wrest it from him upon her return.
After hearing Richard's response to the messenger, Yugao frowned and said, "Though I've never dealt directly with Danzo-sama, I've always felt he isn't someone to be trusted."
"The Root organization he controls is nominally ANBU's training division, but in reality, it functions as his private army."
Although Yugao had left ANBU, her time there provided more insight than most into Root's true nature.
"Let's stop talking about him. Go take your shower," Richard said, not wishing to continue this conversation.
"Mm-hmm!" Yugao nodded and walked toward the second bedroom.
That night, after enjoying dinner prepared by Yugao, Richard left the residence alone and flew toward the Kabukicho district.
Though Yugao now "lived with" him, he maintained his habit of occasionally visiting Kabukicho to pass his free time.
Regarding this habit, Yugao never voiced any objections directly.
But each time he went out, she would give him a silent, meaningful look.
Arriving easily at Kabukicho, Richard entered a nightclub he'd visited several times before.
As usual, he ordered the company of several attractive servers.
Time passed steadily.
After spending an hour or two inside, he left the nightclub.
Just as he prepared to use his flight ability to return home, Danzo suddenly appeared before him.
Danzo's appearance matched Richard's memory perfectly.
He had a somber expression, his face lined with numerous wrinkles, and brown hair. A bandage wrapped around his forehead, concealing his right eye, while a cross-shaped scar marked his chin.
Dressed in a black and gray kimono with his right arm hidden beneath his clothing, he appeared thin—indistinguishable from any ordinary elderly man.
After watching Richard exit the nightclub, Danzo approached without hesitation.
"May we speak for a moment?" Danzo asked.
"Not convenient," Richard replied curtly.
Seeing Richard's dismissal, Danzo's already grim expression darkened further as murderous intent flared within him.
However, he controlled this bloodlust expertly, revealing nothing outwardly.
Simultaneously, he considered whether to employ Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan to cast Kotoamatsukami on Richard and alter his will.
Before he could decide, Richard spoke.
"If you're contemplating using Shisui's Kotoamatsukami to control me, I advise against wasting the effort."
"My will isn't fragile enough to be modified by genjutsu."
Richard's tone remained even, but his words struck Danzo like lightning.
Shisui's right eye was in his possession—his greatest secret.
Even Orochimaru, who had provided him with the Sharingan arm, remained unaware.
Yet Richard had just exposed his most closely guarded secret.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Danzo replied swiftly.
"If you genuinely don't know what I mean, simply reveal your right eye."
"Though Uchiha Shisui has been dead for years, many in the village could still recognize his Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Further, if you truly intend to use Kotoamatsukami against me, I'll extract Shisui's right eye from your body and sever your Sharingan arm."
"Care to wager whether your chakra flows faster, allowing you to activate Izanagi, or my sword strikes quicker?"
Richard regarded Danzo calmly.
If Danzo stood hundreds of meters away rather than directly before him, he might have a chance to preemptively trigger Izanagi.
But at this close range, Richard was absolutely certain he could sever Danzo's Sharingan-embedded right arm before the elder could activate the technique.
Given the opportunity, Danzo would gladly kill Richard immediately to prevent his secrets from being revealed.
However, observing Richard's composed expression, he abandoned the idea.
Though Richard had demonstrated significant power at the Chunin Exams—even defeating the One-Tailed Beast with a single strike—Danzo still couldn't accurately gauge his true capabilities.
The only certainty was that Richard's strength definitely surpassed that of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
If nothing else, none of them could have defeated Shukaku with a single move.
As for subduing the Three-Tails to make it a summon, even their combined effort might only yield a reasonable chance.
After studying Richard intently, Danzo departed without another word.
Without hesitation, Richard immediately activated his flight ability and soared toward his residence.
The following day, Richard slept until noon before slowly opening his eyes.
After rising and freshening up, he entered the dining room.
"You're awake. Lunch will be ready soon," Yugao said promptly upon seeing him. She wore casual clothes covered by an apron.
"Good," Richard nodded.
Within minutes, Yugao had prepared all the dishes and brought the steaming food to the table.
While enjoying lunch with Yugao, Richard mentioned, "I need to leave the village for a while."
"What for?" Yugao inquired immediately.
"Just going for a walk," Richard replied.
"Oh. When will you return?" Rather than pressing for specifics, Yugao asked directly about his return.
"Hard to say. If things go quickly, perhaps a few days. If not, maybe half a month or longer," Richard answered.
Before sleeping the previous night, he had considered his options.
Though the time flow between the Naruto world and the Marvel universe maintained a 100:1 ratio, waiting for Kaguya's resurrection to unfold naturally would waste valuable time.
If possible, he preferred attempting to resurrect Kaguya Otsutsuki prematurely.
Two essential conditions existed for Kaguya's resurrection.
First, the Divine Tree.
Second, using the Rinnegan to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Once these conditions were met, Kaguya would resurrect through the body of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
The identity of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki was immaterial—only their status as the vessel mattered.
Though few in number, these conditions presented extraordinary difficulty.
Setting aside the Divine Tree, just casting Infinite Tsukuyomi posed immense challenges.
Infinite Tsukuyomi required the Rinne Sharingan.
Beyond that, it necessitated the Divine Tree's cooperation.
Both the Rinne Sharingan and the Divine Tree's manifestation transcended even the limits of bloodline inheritance.
And both required the Divine Tree.
The Rinne Sharingan couldn't be attained through dōjutsu evolution—it could only be awakened by consuming the Divine Tree's chakra fruit.
Kaguya had awakened her Rinne Sharingan after eating this fruit.
As for Madara Uchiha's Rinne Sharingan, it actually belonged to Kaguya.
Superficially, Madara's Rinne Sharingan awakened after absorbing the Divine Tree.
In reality, Kaguya's consciousness had already stirred before he absorbed the tree.
This explained why he became the vessel for Kaguya's resurrection.
In the original timeline, resurrecting Kaguya had proven extraordinarily difficult.
Otherwise, Black Zetsu wouldn't have waited over a millennium before finally achieving his chance to resurrect her.
This meant Richard's attempt to prematurely resurrect Kaguya would face even greater challenges than in the original timeline.
Despite the difficulty, he still intended to try.
Even attempts might fail.
But without trying, success remained impossible.
Additionally, Richard possessed an advantage Black Zetsu lacked—significantly greater power. Unlike Black Zetsu's need for intricate planning, Richard could employ simpler, more direct methods.
For instance, regarding the Ten-Tails' resurrection, his approach could be more straightforward.
Simply injecting the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts into the Gedo Statue would resurrect the Ten-Tails.
Even without all nine Tailed Beasts' chakra, the Ten-Tails could still resurrect in an incomplete form.
Once resurrected, the Ten-Tails' transformation into its complete form—the Divine Tree—became merely a matter of time.
After resolving the Divine Tree issue, only the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and Rinne Sharingan remained.
In principle, the steps seemed clear.
But another complication existed—the Gedo Statue could only be summoned through the Rinnegan.
Of course, beyond using the Rinnegan, a less orthodox method existed.
Destroy the moon!
The Six Paths Sage had sealed the Gedo Statue within the moon. Destroying the moon would release the statue.
However, this approach would prove far more troublesome than summoning it with the Rinnegan.
Unless no alternative existed, Richard preferred avoiding this method.
His current plan involved visiting Amegakure first, speaking with Nagato, and attempting to "persuade" him.
"Alright, then I'll wait for you at home," Yugao said softly.
Wait for me at home?
Hearing Yugao's words, Richard momentarily froze.
The "home" Yugao referenced was clearly his residence, not her apartment.
"Yes, I'll return as soon as possible," Richard replied with a smile.
After lunch, he departed and flew toward Amegakure.
The Land of Rain, where Amegakure was located, lay directly north of the Land of Fire, bordering the Lands of Fire, Wind, and Earth.
As its name suggested, the Land of Rain experienced perpetual rainfall.
More precisely, the rain never ceased in the Land of Rain.
Though it bordered the Lands of Fire, Wind, and Earth, as well as the Lands of Grass and Birds, the outside world knew little about the Land of Rain.
To outsiders, the Land of Rain represented a nation plagued by endless civil war and tight security.
The ninja of Amegakure differed from those of other Hidden Villages.
Due to their unique geographical location and environment, Amegakure shinobi pushed their abilities to the absolute limit.
Simultaneously, they developed numerous specialized techniques suited to their circumstances.
Their most notable representative was Hanzo of the Salamander, who bestowed the title "Three Legendary Sannin" upon Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
Because Amegakure excelled in assassination techniques, they frequently received such commissions from other nations.
During Amegakure's civil war, Nagato used the Six Paths of Pain to kill the aging Hanzo, secretly seized control of the village, and established the Pain regime.
In contemporary Amegakure, Pain served as the village's spiritual symbol and deity.
To strengthen his control, Nagato had exterminated Hanzo's entire clan.
Though he controlled Amegakure, Nagato never appeared before its villagers.
Not only him, but even the "Pain" bodies he controlled avoided direct contact with civilians, instead allowing the "Angel" Konan to convey Pain's directives.
After gaining control, Nagato never announced Hanzo's death or the civil war's end to the outside world, continuing the isolationist policy.
Regarding information suppression, Amegakure, like Kirigakure, methodically prevented village news from reaching other Hidden Villages.
Additionally, Amegakure now functioned as the Akatsuki organization's headquarters.
When initially established, Akatsuki operated as a mercenary group aiming to overthrow Hanzo's rule and achieve peace in the Land of Rain. Yahiko had led the organization then.
Following Yahiko's death, Nagato became its new leader.
Beyond this change, Obito had successfully manipulated the hatred-driven Nagato, transforming Akatsuki from a mercenary group seeking peace into a criminal organization comprising S-rank rogue ninja from various nations.
After leaving Konoha, Richard wasted no time, flying toward Amegakure at Mach 20.
During his journey, he contemplated another question.
Whether to kill Nagato preemptively and acquire his Rinnegan.
Though he had no intention of transplanting the Rinnegan into himself, preserving it as a collection held appeal.
Moreover, seizing Nagato's Rinnegan would place Madara's potential resurrection entirely within his control.
Without encountering any obstacles, Richard arrived smoothly at Amegakure.
More precisely, he hovered above the village, observing it from above.
Amegakure's buildings primarily consisted of steel, with some stone elements.
Large and small steel pipes were visible everywhere outside the structures.
Due to the tremendous rainfall, these pipes connected directly to the sewers.
Despite the developed sewer network, stagnant water remained visible throughout Amegakure's streets.
After surveying the village, Richard flew toward its tallest tower.
He disregarded the rain falling upon him.
However, he deliberately channeled some magical power to create an imperceptible magical coating, isolating himself from the rain to prevent his clothes from getting wet.