"How is it? After hearing my Eye of the Moon Plan, are you willing to follow me and help open a new era?"
Repeating the same speech he once used to deceive Nagato, "Danzō" spread his arms with a smile as he looked at Hōzuki Mangetsu and Ringo Ameyuri.
Mangetsu and Ameyuri exchanged stunned looks, their minds filled with countless thoughts, not sure where to begin.
This plan… could only be described as insane.
But… they liked it.
Ringo Ameyuri licked her sharp teeth with her crimson tongue:
"I don't know how feasible this plan is… but I do know it's thrilling! And in this 'Akatsuki,' I'm sure I'll get plenty of chances to kill to my heart's content.
Just thinking about it makes me excited!"
Seeing his friend so enthusiastic, Mangetsu opened his mouth, unsure what to say.
To control every Tailed Beast and thereby take control of the entire world—such an enormous ambition.
So this was Uchiha Madara's dream?
Compared to a plan like that, his own desire to conquer Kirigakure and become the Fifth Mizukage seemed ridiculously small, almost laughably petty.
Realizing this, Mangetsu suddenly noticed that his own body was trembling—trembling from excitement upon hearing such a grandiose plan.
Forcing himself to calm down, Mangetsu looked at the "Madara" before him and took a deep breath:
"If I join you… when your plan succeeds in the future, will I be allowed to rule Kirigakure?"
Seeing Mangetsu's barely contained excitement, "Danzō" felt inward disdain, though he maintained an indifferent expression:
"Once my plan is complete, the entire shinobi world will belong to the Akatsuki. We will be the masters of the world.
A mere village like Kirigakure—what significance does it hold?"
Mangetsu's pupils contracted sharply.
After a long silence, he spoke:
"What do we need to do?"
"Danzō" smiled:
"I had Kisame help you form this new 'Militant Faction' for one reason only—the Tailed Beasts!
According to my information, the Six-Tails' jinchūriki is still within the Conservative Faction, but the Three-Tails has already revived.
We stirred the kekkei genkai clans into fighting again precisely to create an opportunity to capture the Three-Tails.
Since you have now decided to join Akatsuki, I can tell you the next steps.
The Kaguya clan is ecstatic about expanding their territory lately, yes?
Since they've received so many benefits, it's time for them to be useful."
At this, Mangetsu straightened up, energized:
"You want me to pretend to ally with the Kaguya clan and launch an attack on the Conservatives… and during the chaos, we go capture the Three-Tails?"
"Danzō" nodded in satisfaction:
"Correct. With the Three-Tails as your gift of entry into the organization, I'm sure Nagato will welcome you warmly."
Hearing this, hesitation flickered across Mangetsu's face.
He had agreed to Kisame's suggestion to eliminate the old Militant Faction leaders and build a new one because, deep down, he wanted to end Kirigakure's chaos and become the Fifth Mizukage.
Now, hearing Uchiha Madara's grand vision, he felt drawn to it—but still hesitant.
Because Mangetsu understood perfectly what it meant to deceive the Kaguya clan and launch a full-scale assault on the Conservatives.
It meant blood flowing like rivers.
It meant Kirigakure possibly collapsing entirely from the loss of the Three-Tails, falling out of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Becoming the Fifth Mizukage had been his dream.
And now he was being asked to personally destroy Kirigakure.
How could he not hesitate?
Just as Hōzuki Mangetsu was wavering, "Danzō" spoke:
"Listen, kid—you're not stupid. You should understand that to reach a goal, necessary sacrifices must be made. What we're doing now may wound Kirigakure… but in a few years, you'll have the entire village in your hands.
I've said all I need to say. Think it over yourself."
These words became the final straw that tipped the scale.
Thinking of the future—where he might command all of Kirigakure, perhaps even the entire world—Mangetsu finally made up his mind:
"…I understand. I'll send people to contact the Kaguya clan's chief immediately."
...
Meanwhile, at the Kaguya clan's territory—
In his Transparent Escape state, Hoshiyomi sat atop the clan wall with Haku, yawning as he watched Kaguya clan members walking below.
The Kaguya clan supposedly possessed the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai, yet overall they seemed… pretty mediocre.
White hair, the same two red dots on the forehead like Kimimaro, yes—but their strength was on a completely different level.
Hoshiyomi had been observing from the wall for a long time, yet didn't see a single member who could freely use Shikotsumyaku.
No wonder someone like Kimimaro—who could nimbly use his corpse bones from such a young age—was treated as a monster or a weapon and locked up.
With this level of ability, it was only natural they'd fear a genius of Kimimaro's caliber.
After confirming the Kaguya clan was, in fact, this weak, Hoshiyomi maintained his Transparent Escape and casually jumped down from the wall.
The sudden move startled Haku.
After confirming no one was around, Haku whispered anxiously:
"Lord Hoshiyomi, why did you suddenly come down!? What if they discover us?"
Hoshiyomi replied nonchalantly:
"We've been sitting on that wall for ages and got nothing. If we want useful intel, we have to go inside and take a proper look.
As for being discovered... relax. If these fools could discover me, that would be the day the sun rises in the west."
Saying that, he led Haku around the Kaguya grounds.
Just as Hoshiyomi claimed, they wandered for quite a while without a single person noticing them.
The Kaguya may have been considered terrifyingly strong within Kirigakure, but in Hoshiyomi's eyes, they were just… average.
Their overall quality was decent—barely chunin level on average—but true elites were pathetically few.
From his sensing, the entire Kaguya clan didn't even have twenty jōnin-level shinobi.
With that kind of combat power, Hoshiyomi could wipe them out alone.
They simply weren't worth mentioning.
And being a taijutsu-focused clan, their chakra control was terrible; almost none of them could use sensory ninjutsu.
As long as Hoshiyomi didn't run up and smack them directly, there was no chance they could detect him.
Hoshiyomi tugged Haku along to snoop around the clan head's residence.
Still no one detected them—and they found no useful intel either.
After eavesdropping at the clan head's door for a while and getting nothing, Hoshiyomi sighed:
"Forget it. Looks like we won't be getting any intel from this clan.
We'll look around a bit more and then leave."
..
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