After Lexon agreed, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a slight signal, and a ninja tossed out a mask.
Lexon caught it.
'An Anbu mask...'
'It's a little different from the Root mask, fewer markings.'
"Just find any empty room in the apartment building where Naruto lives and stay there."
Lexon stored the mask in his space ring and heard Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice.
'Well, well. If you can't restrict me, you just stop restricting me altogether, is that it?'
'Let the Anbu watch me along with Naruto. When I'm with Naruto, he can use the "Telescope Technique" to watch us both. Sometimes he can even use visiting Naruto as an excuse to check on my situation...'
'But... it doesn't matter.'
"Whatever," Lexon replied.
Just as Lexon was about to leave, he seemed to remember something...
He pointed at a certain person and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Lord Hokage, give him a mission. Have him come see me at Naruto's apartment once every day."
"Me?" The watermelon-headed Might Guy pointed at himself, puzzled.
"Guy?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was perplexed by Lexon's strange request, especially since the target was Guy, an ordinary Jonin who excelled in taijutsu but wasn't skilled in ninjutsu. He couldn't understand Lexon's meaning.
"Yes, him," Lexon nodded.
'Sarutobi Hiruzen and Might Guy could never guess that his purpose was to check in on Might Guy's Eight Gates.'
"Uchiha Lexon... you..." Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated.
Clearly, he was now thinking Lexon had some... special hobbies.
"I don't have any weird ideas. Don't overthink it," Lexon said coldly.
Even though Lexon said this, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't entirely convinced.
But even so, he still agreed. He said to Might Guy, "Sigh... For the sake of the village, Guy, just go see him once a day."
"Leave it to me! Lord Hokage!" Might Guy, who clearly hadn't thought of anything strange, flashed a thumbs-up, showing his big white teeth, and replied full of spirit.
Kakashi, standing nearby, however, understood. He clapped his friend of many years on the shoulder with a hint of pity.
"He's skilled in taijutsu. I just want to learn taijutsu," Lexon explained, and then vanished.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi exchanged an awkward glance, then quickly looked away from each other.
...
"Sarutobi! You just let him go like that! You even let him join the Anbu! And stay in Konoha!" Danzo was spraying spittle in the Hokage's office.
He had come as soon as he received news of Uchiha Lexon attacking Konoha. But the moment he saw Lexon, he almost transformed into a leader solicitous of his subordinate, "How dare you attack my trusted aide!" If a Root ninja hadn't held him back, Sarutobi Hiruzen might have been stabbed in the back.
Only after the battle ended and Lexon had left did Danzo return to normal.
"What did you expect me to do!" Sarutobi Hiruzen, holding his pipe, replied with a grim face. "Tsunade and Jiraiya haven't returned, and you've been controlled by 'Kotoamatsukami'. According to Uchiha Lexon, he holds the other part of the Nine-Tails' power and can even use a Tailed Beast Bomb... I can't stop him. Even if we took him down, the village would have to pay a heavy price..."
His gaze was like a sharp knife scraping across Danzo. "Konoha cannot withstand that kind of destruction right now... Understand? Danzo."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's words left Danzo speechless, unable to refute. He knew in his own heart that, having been controlled by Lexon's "Kotoamatsukami," he had little right to speak on this matter.
"By the way, your position as 'Hokage's Aide' has been revoked. 'Root' has also been disbanded under supervision, its members merged into the Anbu," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, tapping his pipe.
"Sarutobi... you!" He didn't much care about Root being disbanded; after all, the people he had brainwashed were still his people. But... having his position as Hokage's Aide revoked would get him kicked out of Konoha's inner circle. He struggled, "The two elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura..."
"They both agreed with my decision after learning of your current state. At least until the 'Kotoamatsukami' is completely removed, they won't speak a word for you," Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Danzo no room to struggle.
Danzo could only leave with a dark face, to look for another way.
After Danzo left, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the dark night sky and exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke. "Uchiha Lexon... what do you really want..."
He murmured.
His heart felt as if it was shrouded in haze.
...
Lexon arrived at Naruto's apartment building. Since it was the middle of the night, he chose not to greet Naruto. Instead, he picked an empty room, moved in, and then used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to summon several clones, ordering them to clean the room.
'Perhaps this was the purpose of checking in on this jutsu.'
In no time, the room was spotless.
Lexon then took items from his space ring to furnish the room, changing the Japanese-style room to one more to his liking.
Lying on a lounge chair on the balcony, Lexon leisurely sipped a cup of coffee, enjoying the breeze and gazing at the star-filled night sky, feeling quite content.
'It's about five years until the Chunin Exams, right...'
'The Reincarnators from the opposing camp will enter in four years...'
'I wonder how strong they'll be.'
'But after all my check-ins, I probably won't lose.'
His mind wandered.
'There are still many things I can check in on...'
'Rinnegan, the other Tailed Beasts' chakra, Hashirama cells, Sage Mode, Tenseigan...'
'I should get them all before the opposing Reincarnators arrive.'
'Our side's mission is to ensure the Chunin Exams proceed...'
'In that case, I'll just use absolute power to eliminate all possible influencing factors.'
'I wonder how the other Reincarnators on my side are doing... They might all be dead in some corner of the ninja world...'
'Ah, right... What was my purpose for getting stronger?'
'Was it to stand above all other Reincarnators?'
'I don't know. I'll just keep doing what I should be doing.'
'As long as it's interesting, it's fine.'
'Interesting...'
'Interesting things...'
'By the way, why was the Main God Space able to pull me from another world? What was the purpose of bringing me here?'
Lexon suddenly remembered the question he had pondered before.
'In that case, I should just hurry and reach the pinnacle of the Main God Space...'
'That way, I'll find the answer I want.'
The corners of Lexon's mouth curled up slightly. He had made a decision.
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