Konoha Notes.

Chapter 545 If something is impossible, then something is possible.

Chapter 545 If something is impossible, then something is possible.

Nagato sent the information that Shuji wanted to convey back to Akatsuki.

The combination of the Rinnegan and the ring was arguably the most convenient and secretive information transmission channel in the ninja world of this era.

He didn't foolishly reveal Shuuji's guess about the possible connection between Akatsuki's renewed split and Jigen.

Nagato calmly conveyed what a leader should say: verify the movements of Shennong and Hiruko, and confirm whether they are still under Akatsuki's control.

In the intervals between orders, he discreetly inserted a piece of intelligence about Grell ore.

This information eventually ended up in the hands of Orochimaru, now the core of Akatsuki's intelligence network.

We eagerly await his reply.

Orochimaru was not surprised by the matter of Shennong and Hiruko, nor was he surprised by their current true allegiance.

After all, he's just like those two people.

He chose to reincarnate Madara, but that doesn't mean he's going to openly turn against Jigen.

Jigen hasn't been completely drained yet; Orochimaru's current project to help Madara cultivate his body originated from Jigen.

Moreover, Shennong's change of heart—Orochimaru, as always, acted as a middleman, betraying his old friend once again.

This time, Shennong didn't hold much resentment towards him. Konoha's strength was too great now, and it was impossible for him to achieve his long-cherished wish on his own.

Nagato seemed determined to negotiate to the bitter end.

It's just about Grell ore —

"That's something useful, Orochimaru," Zetsu said. "Since Nagato sent back a message, it means Konoha has already noticed."

""

"Zetsu, Nagato sent back a message saying that it was Shuuji who sent him to deliver the intelligence. Haven't you had enough of the trouble you suffered last time?"

Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils were exceptionally deep, and he reminded Zetsu of how Obito died.

"In the present day, no truly core information about Konoha will be accidentally leaked. Especially not Nagato." Orochimaru tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Unless his loyalty is acknowledged."

He remained silent for a moment. His pale face furrowed, as if in deep thought: "Another trap?"

Orochimaru said, "The value of Grell ore is beyond doubt."

"If Nagato's stance were to completely waver, it would only be because he received a better answer than the Ten-Tails, but that is impossible."

The more one learns about the creatures called Otsutsuki, and the more one studies chakra, the clearer this becomes.

The Otsutsuki are predators of the universe, and the Ten-Tails is their only tool.

There is no better path than the Ten-Tails, only different Ten-Tails.

Orochimaru had another guess in his mind.

Unless Konoha already possesses another Ten-Tails.

Only then will Nagato completely abandon the current Akatsuki.

However, this speculation is difficult to verify, and Orochimaru did not tell Zetsu about his desires.

He could only sigh silently, thinking that if that was the case, it seemed that he, who originally thought he had discovered everything earlier than Konoha, had taken a detour.

After all, research of that level cannot be the result of just two or three years.

He couldn't help but recall the words he had spoken to Shuji during their duel, those words of condescending pity.

To that person, it was perhaps nothing more than the arrogance of a frog in a well.

Orochimaru's tongue involuntarily darted out again.

Things are different now, Shuji-kun. We're finally truly standing on the same starting line.

Thinking this, Orochimaru continued, "Shuji-kun judges that there is another entity at the Grell ore site."

Black Zetsu immediately became alert: "Is that Jigen? He's already there?"

"Perhaps," Orochimaru smiled. "I only received a part of the project. He won't inform me of his actions in other areas, will he?"

"We can't let him get there first."

Someone emerged from the shadows.

Madara Uchiha, still in his Edo Tensei form, stepped into the area illuminated by the candlelight, and Obito silently followed behind him.

"Trying to provoke us into making the first move, just as despicable as Tobirama, that kid," Madara said. "This also means that he now has information that is no less than ours."

After all, to make this decision, one needs to know not only what kind of power is hidden in the Grell mine, but also whether he and Akatsuki are enemies, not friends.

Orochimaru said, "You are no match for Jigen now."

Madara was not angered by this; he could still distinguish between the strong and the weak.

"That man is currently in an incomplete state."

"Such an arrogant creature is more confident in itself than anything else. Once it is fully prepared, it will not be such a trivial matter."

He saw through Konoha's scheme, but still chose to take action.

At this juncture, it is a rare window of opportunity, with one side refraining from interference while the other is not yet fully prepared.

There's no reason to let go of an opportunity to acquire key resources.

"No matter where the Ten-Tails is planted, it won't have any effect, so that man's goal is just to store up energy, not to fully activate it."

Orochimaru understood: "You predict that Jigen will back down?"

"The more certain someone is that they can reclaim everything in the future," Ban coldly raised the corner of his mouth, "the less they care about the gains or losses of a single resource point."

"As long as we can demonstrate a sufficient threat."

He raised his hand.

"Hand over Hashirama to me."

Orochimaru spun around and tossed a scroll into Madara's hand.

Then Madara looked at Obito.

"Let's go, Obito. This is Konoha's own plan. Now that you've chosen that side, are you still planning to cause trouble?"

Under control, Obito silently lowered his resistance and left the Kamui dimension with Madara.

The two disappeared from the cave.

After the fluctuations in the Kamui space completely subsided, Orochimaru looked at the half-destroyed White Zetsu in the corner, and the black will attached to it.

"The real Uchiha Madara—truly a legend of the ninja world."

"How many years did it take you to fool him? Absolutely."

Black Zetsu certainly knew what he was referring to.

That was a while ago. In order to lower Orochimaru's guard and to get him to resurrect Madara, Black Zetsu had said some contemptuous things, mocking Madara as nothing more than a tool, a pawn that could be replaced at any time.

The plan at the time was that as long as Orochimaru had no chance of surpassing Madara, he would possess and control him.

If he can find even a momentary opening, Madara can remove the impure earth.

It doesn't matter how much preparation Orochimaru made; he couldn't resist his own power.

However, it did not expect that Orochimaru, with a clear objective, would discover Jigen's existence during his travels in the ninja world.

That's something beyond the intelligence system.

Thus, its relationship with Orochimaru underwent a subtle shift.

It's no longer about exploitation and being exploited, but a tacit understanding where no one trusts anyone, yet they have no choice but to cooperate.

Even Madara was drawn into this tacit understanding.

"Back then—it was just a lie told to allow Lord Madara to revive," Black Zetsu said. "My true identity is his will."

"This lie is unnecessary, absolutely not."

The snake hissed and flicked its tongue in the candlelight, its tone playful.

"To put it bluntly, at this point, who the real master you once spoke of is is no longer a mystery to me."

"As long as the ninja world can exist to a certain extent and my research can continue, everything else is irrelevant to me."

"Your master would probably be more willing to give me this promise than to give me a spot."

The silence lasted for a long time.

Then Black Zetsu slid off White Zetsu and slowly moved toward Orochimaru.

Orochimaru did not dodge.

A dark will climbed onto his shoulder and said, "He did indeed split off a will."

"But that was done according to the method I left behind."

"That counterfeit was powerless against me; in the end, all that remained was—"

"Naturally, it's only me."

Orochimaru said, "Lies will only be exposed over time. Even if you cover up the original consciousness that Madara separated, you will not be able to think like him."

Black Zetsu certainly knew.

In his original plan, Madara should have been resurrected at a more appropriate time.

Ideally, the war would be raging fiercely, diverting all attention and leaving no room for discerning truth from falsehood, rather than being in a stalemate like it is now.

Unfortunately, this time they launched a surprise attack while Shuji was away, and even with Madara personally taking action, he only managed to bring back the chakra of the Five-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails. Konoha's preparations were more thorough than it had anticipated.

At this moment, relying on Orochimaru has become the only option.

"To fight against the enemies from beyond the heavens, Mother is willing to preserve a portion of the ninja world." Black Zetsu's voice rang directly in Orochimaru's ear. "She won't give it all to the Divine Tree. She can hear every word I'm saying now, and she agrees."

Orochimaru raised his hand, causing the black mass to recede from his shoulder.

"Before that, we need to restore Ban to his full state."

Orochimaru plans to extract more information from Black Zetsu. With the current resurrection technology, even if Madara is resurrected, he will most likely be blind.

Jue countered, "After he is fully resurrected, will he still act according to the original plan?"

Orochimaru said, "Madara only truly trusts himself. Even if he becomes suspicious of you, he will still choose to revive the Ten-Tails and take control of its power. The plan will not change up to this point, and our goals are the same."

Absolutely agree. As long as Madara is willing to revive the Ten-Tails and become its jinchūriki, the rest is out of his hands.

"Madara also has a pair of eyes, which were left over after he and his younger brother Izuna exchanged eyes. They were originally his own eyes."

"His blind eye was buried along with Izuna's, but I kept it."

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with interest: "The origin of ocular power is divided into two parts: one part is in the eyeball, and the other part is in the user's brain nerves."

"With enough chakra to replenish it, and given that it was originally his own eye, there is indeed a possibility of quickly developing the Rinnegan."

"The essence of his Rinnegan is the reproduction of the power possessed by the Sage of Six Paths," Black Zetsu said. "Madara had already gathered the corresponding power."

"It just takes time."

The day after the intelligence was released, Shuji coordinated with both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, asking them to leave an opening in the area suspected to be the location of the Grell mine.

The Joint Affairs Bureau and the Undead Legion of the Kui Ryo can continue fighting, and Konoha and other countries will continue to dispatch their respective air forces to provide fire support.

The rest should still prioritize defense.

As for whether Xiaoda intends to respond, and how strong his response will be, Xiuji doesn't know, but the response itself will become the basis for his next judgment.

Even though Shuji believed that his intelligence network was still the most extensive in this era, he had to admit that there were too many blind spots on the current map that needed to be explored.

Since we've used Western resource points as bait, we need to eliminate other interfering factors on the other end.

For example, the wind, flowers, and raging waves of the Snow Country.

Previously, due to various considerations, we allowed this ambitious man to continue. Since he is still maintaining that untimely ambition at this time, keeping him around will only add unnecessary trouble to the battle later.

"Please have the Fourth Hokage make a trip."

In the office, Shuuji pushed the mission briefing in front of Minato Namikaze.

"I have asked Kumogakure and Kirigakure to cooperate. The Raikage and Mizukage will stay in the village during this period, so you will lead both forces to thoroughly sweep through the Land of Snow."

Madara's attack has made it impossible for Minato Namikaze to conceal his identity. Therefore, this fighting force that Konoha has been hiding for two years can also be released.

Minato is a meticulous person. Even though Akatsuki still has some influence in the Land of Snow, unless the leader is Madara Uchiha, they can't stop him.

After the Fourth Hokage left, Shuji looked at the large map on the table again. Hiashi Hyuga had already returned with his men.

He brought back data collected from the moon's interior, confirming that the ecosystem there was still functioning normally.

Shuji was considering whether to send Hinata to the ruins there to see if she could meet with Hamura.

If we can get something useful, it will be of some help to the current situation.

Another matter is the Tenseigan of Toneri.

There is a high probability that the Hyuga main family and Toneri would voluntarily exchange their eyes, provided it is not a case of plunder.

As long as it is explained that the situation could be mutually beneficial, the Hyuga main family members will not care about the previous conflict and will probably take the initiative to repair their old friendship with the Taketori.

Toneri, who possesses the Tenseigan, is no match for Isshiki, but he's more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Madara.

At this moment, Uchiha Touch arrived at the Hokage's office.

Shuuji glanced at him: "Is there a problem with your eyesight? You used up a lot of your pupil power the first time you opened your eyes."

"No problem, senior." Rong stood in front of the desk. "The situation in the village is temporarily stable. The secret service headquarters is still being reorganized. Most matters, except for the coastal defense line, are temporarily on hold."

"So I'd like to apply for a vacation."

"My senior once asked me to investigate some of the clan's secrets. In the past two days, I've made some new discoveries and plan to go there."

"Do you need any assistance?"

"No, I already have a plan."

Shuji asked, "About what?"

"It's related to the Grass Sword," Itachi said. "We've been able to confirm what it is."

"That is a sealed blade called the Totsuka Sword. In the current situation, it may play a significant role."