Chapter 260: Do You Desire Power?

Onoki was, as usual, trying to figure out ways to save money from various departments, trying to gather enough for the compensation Konohagakure required by the end of the year.

So annoying...

Why do good ninjas have to keep sending money to other villages?

*Sigh...*

Onoki rubbed his forehead with one hand and sighed helplessly.

There's no money. Absolutely no money...

Iwagakure hasn't repaired its public facilities in years.

Even the Tsuchikage building, which represents Iwagakure, hasn't been renovated in years.

Konohagakure, that annoying leech! But what can he do about it?

The empty Kumogakure and the destroyed Kirigakure are still there...

As for the recent changes in the ninja world, does Onoki know?

Of course, he does.

When Konohagakure became a pile of ruins, Onoki felt a mix of sadness on the outside, but secretly, he was overjoyed.

But so what?

It's just a destroyed village.

No people.

Uchiha Madara may be strong, but he had no intention of taking Onoki with him.

Even if Onoki wanted to team up with him, he couldn't even find him.

"Do you desire power?"

Suddenly, a gentle voice spoke, and Onoki quickly looked up, seeing a strange ninja standing right in front of him.

"Who are you?"

Onoki instinctively stood up, staring at the strange ninja before him, wary.

Wait...

Can anyone just appear in my office now?

What is going on with this world?! Isn't everyone supposed to learn chakra together?

This is crazy...

"You can call me... Jigen."

Otsutsuki Isshiki said with a smile, addressing Onoki.

"I'm one of the two who turned Konohagakure into a pile of ruins recently."

After a pause, Otsutsuki Isshiki added.

"Why should I trust you?"

Onoki furrowed his brows slightly, silently observing Otsutsuki Isshiki.

"Well, the fact that I'm standing in front of you should already be convincing enough, don't you think?" Otsutsuki Isshiki raised an eyebrow and replied, looking at Onoki.

"So, what are you here for?"

Onoki pursed his lips. Honestly, Otsutsuki Isshiki's words didn't make him feel that Isshiki was very strong.

It only made Onoki think that Iwagakure... is really weak.

"I just said it, didn't you hear me?"

Otsutsuki Isshiki tilted his head slightly and asked Onoki with confusion.

"Or do you, the respected Tsuchikage-sama, enjoy sending supplies to Konohagakure every year?"

After a pause, there was a hint of mockery in Otsutsuki Isshiki's tone.

"If you had power, why not just go after Konohagakure? Why come here?"

Onoki, hearing this, scoffed and rolled his eyes. Though Otsutsuki Isshiki's words made Onoki want to kill him, as a kage, Onoki was able to control his impulses and think calmly.

"Because this body can't fully unleash my power. I need a genius, a genius strong enough to handle my power."

Otsutsuki Isshiki kept a faint, almost invisible smile on his face as he spoke.

That was a long time ago. During a process of searching for a vessel, a guardian in the family carved a contract onto an object. 

However, the object couldn't contain the guardian's power and ended up dying.

At first, it seemed like just a normal failure.

But unexpectedly, the object came back to life.

The contract carved on it turned from black to white.

Even though the object had gained the guardian's power, it couldn't truly become a vessel.

Now, Otsutsuki Isshiki wanted to recreate the same situation.

He planned to find a group of strong ninjas and experiment.

If by chance, he could find an object capable of containing his power, that would be the best outcome.

If not, and the object died as a result, that was fine too.

If he could find an object with a white contract, that would be an unexpected gain.

"Your current body can't fully use all your power?"

Upon hearing this, Oonoki blinked in surprise and asked Otsutsuki Isshiki.

"As you heard, that's the literal meaning," Otsutsuki Isshiki replied with a light laugh, slowly explaining to Oonoki.

"Please explain in more detail..." 

Oonoki hesitated for a moment before asking Otsutsuki Isshiki.

"Alright."

Otsutsuki Isshiki raised an eyebrow, then pulled a chair out of his space and sat in front of Oonoki, beginning to explain his plan.

---

… 

Konohagakure.

The efficiency of the ninjas was extremely high, and countless scraps were quickly removed from Konohagakure.

A large amount of valuables were counted and reassessed.

Anything of use was collected by the Konohagakure merchant guild.

In just one day, the civilians of Konohagakure had places to rest.

By the central lake.

"Your eyes are really beautiful," Tsunade said as she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, gazing at Raijin's eyes that gleamed with a golden light.

"Right? I think they look cool too," Raijin smiled and proudly responded to Tsunade.

"What abilities do they have?"

Tsunade scoffed, slightly curling her lip, her tone carrying a bit of envy.

"Well... not much. Just a little improvement on my original eye techniques, and I added a few new ones," Raijin replied with a grin, waving his hand lightly.

For some reason, power seemed to be a bit like money in Raijin's past life—it made him want to hide it just a little.

"New techniques... and how many?"

Tsunade rubbed her face, feeling a mix of jealousy and slight bitterness.

After calming down, she looked up and silently stared at Uchiha Raijin.

She didn't say anything, just watching quietly.

"Sigh... it's really nothing," Raijin said, feeling a bit helpless. He eventually explained all the eye techniques he had to Tsunade.

"Sigh..."

After hearing Raijin's words, Tsunade sighed helplessly.

Great, the gap in power just got even bigger.

"Being passive and taking hits like this isn't going to work," Tsunade said, having a good idea of how much stronger Raijin had gotten. 

After Konohagakure had been used as the main battleground, Tsunade, as Konohagakure's third Hokage, didn't want that kind of thing to ever happen again.

"We don't know where Madara is, we don't know where that mysterious ninja is, but everyone in the entire ninja world knows where Konohagakure is."

Raijin shook his head helplessly when he heard this.

"This time, we got through it, but what about next time?"

Tsunade rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache, her tone showing some clear anxiety.

"I can only promise that I'll try not to leave Konohagakure in the future."

Raijin pursed his lips and spoke to Tsunade.

"Instead of worrying about being attacked, you should focus on what to do once the Three-Tails and Six-Tails are revived."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

Raijin's instincts told him that when the Three-Tails and Six-Tails appear in the ninja world and are discovered, it will lead to a brutal battle.

"Yeah..." 

Tsunade gave a bitter smile, thinking about what Konohagakure could do now. 

Whether they could win or lose was aside, they didn't even know where they were.

Intelligence...

"By the way... that mysterious ninja seemed to be targeting Tatsu in the previous battle," Tsunade suddenly said, as if remembering something.

"Targeting Tatsu?"

Raijin blinked, realizing that might be true. When he returned to Konohagakure, he saw Suisei being controlled by Otsutsuki Isshiki in order to protect Tatsu.

"Tatsuiharu... with both Senju and Uchiha bloodlines..."

Raijin paused and muttered to himself thoughtfully.

So, why would that ninja target Tatsu? Was it to force him to do something? Or did Tatsu himself have some trait that attracted that ninja?

If it's the first case, then Ryuri and Tatsu have the same value.

But if it's the latter... 

Does that ninja have some kind of technique, like Impure World Reincarnation, that could be related to Tatsu?

Raijin rubbed his forehead in frustration. Without the god-like foresight, facing such an enemy was really a headache...

But no matter what, Tatsu and Ryuri had already become his weaknesses.

If the Three-Tails and Six-Tails were revived, he would definitely need to deal with this problem.

First of all, the battle would inevitably involve himself and Uchiha Madara.

So, would that unknown ninja use this opportunity to come to Konohagakure and do what he didn't get to do before? And if it's because of Tatsu's talent, would Otsutsuki Isshiki now go to Sunagakure or Iwagakure to find a suitable child?

Raijin looked up and met Tsunade's gaze.

The years of working together allowed them to easily see the concern in each other's eyes.

"Leave this to me."

Raijin said to Tsunade with a gentle smile.

"Okay."

Tsunade nodded and smiled back, reassured.

Tsunade fully trusted Raijin.

Over the years, Raijin had never let her down.

"I'll go sit with Suisei for a while."

Raijin put down his teacup and stood up, speaking to Tsunade.

"Alright."

Tsunade nodded.

Next, Tsunade needed to go to the Konohagakure hospital to work.

There were many injured from the recent battle, but not only that, the situation with Uzumaki Nagato could only be handled by Tsunade.

...

On the moon.

Though Raijin's main body was in Konohagakure, his shadow clone was on the moon.

Raijin hadn't forgotten that there was a young man on the moon who had been hurt by him.

Taking someone's Tenseigan definitely required an explanation.

Whether he would completely cut ties and play the villain or try to make amends to clear up the conflict depended on how the conversation went next.

"Are you awake?"

Raijin softly asked as he watched Toneri slowly open his eyes, though his eye sockets were pitch black.

"Intruder..."

Toneri, who was lying on the bed, quickly sat up. Although he was born without eyes, Toneri still managed to look directly at Raijin with precision.

"Yeah, I took the giant Tenseigan."

Raijin nodded and said to Toneri.

"How is that possible?!"

Otsutsuki Toneri was stunned when he heard this, unable to believe it. He wasn't concerned with why Raijin took the giant Tenseigan, but rather…

How could he have taken the giant Tenseigan?

That Tenseigan, formed by who knows how many pairs of Byakugan.

It had always been more symbolic than practical.

After all, since that Tenseigan appeared, no one or any power had ever been able to use its power.

Who is this? The reincarnation of the Rikudou Sennin?

That doesn't make sense...

"Yeah, that's right. I took that Tenseigan, and I can't return it because it has fused with me."

Raijin nodded and told Otsutsuki Toneri.

No matter what Toneri plans to do in the future, whether he wants to destroy the Earth or not, for now, Toneri hasn't done so.

So, Raijin had no reason to make a move on him.

But since Raijin had already made a move, there had to be a result.

Raijin couldn't tolerate anyone who harbored ill will towards him existing in this world.

Even on the Moon.

"Too bad I don't have eyes. Otherwise, I would really like to see... the legendary Tenseigan with my own eyes."

Otsutsuki Toneri gave a bitter smile and said helplessly.

"If you're willing to come with me, I can help you get a pair of Byakugan."

Raijin paused, then pursed his lips and said to Otsutsuki Toneri.

With the situation in the ninja world changing, Raijin needed stronger subordinates.

Toneri, who might be able to awaken the Tenseigan, was someone Raijin definitely wanted to recruit.

Even though this recruitment carried a certain level of potential threat.

"Do I have a choice?"

Otsutsuki Toneri asked Raijin in return.

The so-called choice was nothing more than life or death.

"Of course."

Raijin softly replied.

Raijin believed that Toneri could guess what the two choices were.

"Although we shouldn't have any connection, at least not because of something like this, since it has happened, there must be a result."

"Yeah, now that we have a connection, there must be a result."

Toneri nodded in agreement.

"Actually, we never had any hatred between us, so could you tell me why you did this?"

After a pause, Toneri continued speaking to Raijin.

"Of course."

Raijin nodded and then told Toneri about the events happening in the ninja world.

"Ah... So the world created by the Rikudou Sennin has become this exciting now?"

(End of chapter)

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