Chapter 316: The Cloud Delegation and the Change in the Hidden Rain
That evening, a weary Toneri returned to the hot spring inn after a day of gathering information.
In their room, Mon and the other two were discussing something. Seeing his return, they asked about what he had learned.
Among the information Toneri shared, one piece of news that had already spread throughout the shinobi world caught Mon's attention.
A delegation from the Cloud Village, under the orders of the Third Raikage, would be visiting Konoha in a week to promote "peace" and "friendship."
This news delighted Mon, who had been struggling to find a way to infiltrate Konoha. He immediately decided to "join" the Cloud delegation and travel with them to the village.
As for how to "join," it was simple. With his Human Puppet technique, a simple disguise would be enough to fool the delegation's leader.
There was another advantage to this plan: they could use the Cloud delegation to distract Konoha's attention, making it easier for them to assassinate their target.
Hearing this, Toneri couldn't help but interrupt. "Why don't we go and rescue the Moon Palace first? If we retake it, Uchiha Kyosuke will likely come to investigate."
"Heh. You're just a kid. Your thinking is so naive," the woman sneered at Toneri, ignoring his indignant look. "Even if we destroy the forces occupying the Moon Palace, there's no guarantee he'll come. And even if he does, do you think he won't bring help?"
"But..." Toneri started to argue, but the woman cut him off again.
"You want to say Konoha is more dangerous, right?" She examined her nails, not even bothering to look at him. "It's precisely because everyone thinks that way that he won't be on guard. With the three of us working together, a surprise attack will be enough to finish him instantly."
"Uh... alright," Toneri said, defeated. Since the woman had spoken and the other two didn't object, he had no choice but to accept it. He didn't have much say in the matter anyway.
Meanwhile, Kyosuke was stationed in another part of the town, silently monitoring the Flying Thunder God marker.
He had bribed a few locals to gather information at the hot spring inn, learning the exact number and appearance of the enemies.
However, no matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn't find a match. The clan's intelligence network came up empty as well. It was as if these three had appeared out of thin air, with no trace of their past existence.
This forced Kyosuke, who had initially planned to subdue them immediately, to wait patiently.
Soon, on a certain night, the three of them vanished without a trace. But they couldn't escape Kyosuke's sensing of the Flying Thunder God marker.
"Finally making a move? Let's see where your hideout is," Kyosuke thought, trailing them from a distance. After several hours, he saw them join a fairly large group.
His subordinates reported that this group was the Cloud delegation visiting Konoha.
Kyosuke found it hard to believe that these powerful individuals were the Raikage's subordinates. If they were, the Cloud would have already breached Konoha's gates and hung Onoki out to dry.
Although he was skeptical, Kyosuke temporarily abandoned his investigation. As long as the three didn't leave, they would soon arrive in Konoha, where it would be difficult for them to escape.
As for the Cloud's purpose in visiting Konoha, Kyosuke, knowing the original story, had a good idea. With him around, the Raikage's scheme wouldn't succeed. And if a conflict broke out, these three mysterious figures would be forced to reveal themselves.
Kyosuke didn't know that he was their target, and the three mysterious figures didn't know that their movements were already under his surveillance.
Under these coincidental circumstances, the Cloud delegation continued its journey toward Konoha.
Konoha, Root Headquarters.
"Bang!"
Danzo slammed the intelligence report onto the ground, his chest heaving as he gripped his chair.
He had thought that after the Nine-Tails incident, Minato Namikaze and his faction would be weakened. But Kyosuke's sudden rise had shattered his plans once again.
Not only that, but Minato, having gained the Yin half of the Nine-Tails' chakra, was now even stronger than before. This infuriated Danzo, who had gone to great lengths to transplant a pair of Sharingan.
"Uchiha Kyosuke..." Danzo muttered the name with hatred, yet he felt powerless against him.
In terms of influence, Kyosuke now had the backing of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, along with the support of smaller clans like the Mitarashi. He had no reason to fear Danzo's Root. As for strength... the image of the warrior god Susanoo outside Konoha was burned into Danzo's mind.
Therefore, in addition to targeting him from the shadows, Danzo needed to acquire even greater power. It was then that he received a message from Hanzo of the Salamander in the Rain Village, reminding him of a certain young man he had once seen.
"The Eyes of the Sage..." Recalling the information he had read, Danzo's exposed eye flashed with a sharp light.
"If I can obtain them, I will gain power surpassing everyone. Then, the position of Hokage will be mine."
With this thought, Danzo ordered his subordinates to prepare. He would personally go to the Rain Village to meet with Hanzo.
Uchiha Compound, Kyosuke's Room.
"Damn it, why now?" Kyosuke rubbed his temples, staring at the report from his subordinate with a headache.
He had expected Danzo to move against the Akatsuki soon. He had ordered Saori to monitor Root's movements, which was easy for her now.
Just recently, the surveillance team reported that Danzo and several subordinates had secretly left the village, heading toward the Land of Rain. Kyosuke knew that Danzo—or rather, Obito—was finally making a move on Nagato.
Kyosuke's original plan was to save Nagato and bring him back if possible. If not, he couldn't let Obito take the Rinnegan. Such power, even if he didn't use it himself, would be invaluable to his subordinates.
Moreover, Obito and likely Uchiha Nagisa would be present during the attack on Nagato. Kyosuke, who had been trying to bring the girl back, couldn't watch this opportunity slip away.
But now, with the Cloud delegation and three powerful enemies approaching Konoha, and the situation with Nagato developing rapidly, Kyosuke couldn't be in two places at once. He had to choose which enemy to face.
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