Chapter 353: Chapter – 348 Shikigami no Mai
Whether it is Hokage, Raikage, or Kazekage, each of them is very eager to destroy the Akatsuki Organization as soon as possible, so they soon reached a consensus.
In order to discuss a detailed plan of action for the raid, Hokage also summoned Jiraiya, and Hyuga Kuroto into the cave. Raikage summoned, Shee, and Yugito Nii, while Kazekage summoned elder Ebizo and Pakura.
Pointing at Kuroto, Sandaime introduced Kuroto to everyone, "I think everyone here knows him, and for those who don't, I will introduce him, he is Hyuga Kuroto… and it was him who discovered the base of Akatsuki Organization… if anyone has a question from him, they can directly ask him."
The Raikage was the first to question, "Is the news about Hanzo's death at the hands of the leader of Akatsuki Organization certain?"
Kuroto nodded calmly, "Yes, Hanzo died in a civil war within Amegakure, the leader of the winning side is someone who calls himself Pain… It is said that Pain went on to execute all the relatives and friends of Hanzo in order to stop the ones who would later come back at him seeking revenge… despite this, there are occasional appearances of supporters of Hanzo but they are all unilaterally crushed by Pain himself… Anyway, after taking control over Amegakure, Pain went on to establish Akatsuki Organization which we know is currently…"
Kazekage questioned, "And the news about the leader of Akatsuki having the Rinnegan dojutsu?"
Kuroto nodded, "I cannot be certain about this as I have never seen them personally, but I did hear some mentions of Pain having the Rinnegan dojutsu, so it should be true."
Elder Ebizo questioned, "The specific locations within Amegakure where the members of the Akatsuki Organization are in collective?"
Kuroto thought about it a little and said, "As I mentioned previously, the entire Amegakure is under Akatsuki Organization's control so the entire village is the base of Akatsuki, the members could be anywhere within the village if they are present in Amegakure…"
Yugito Nii who was leaning on the sidewall said, "Without a specific location how do we launch a surprise attack… the village is too big… particular locations have to be determined first… otherwise we will be discovered before we can reach up to the leader of Akatsuki!"
Everyone nodded in agreement with Yugito's words.
Everyone present is an experienced shinobi, so everyone understands that the importance of intelligence is extremely important, warfare between shinobi is majorly warfare of intelligence. If they do not know the accurate information of the point of attack then they cannot launch the surprise raid.
Looking at the crowd, Kuroto felt a headache. Of course, he also understands the importance of intelligence, but what he has said is already everything he knows.
Understanding everyone's doubts, Kuroto said, "I suggest that we gather all our forces and launch a surprise attack on Amegakure to ensure the success of the operation."
"Absurd!" – Shee immediately said.
Kazekage also shook his head, "The enemy we are facing is too dangerous… I think you understand this full well Kuroto-Kun, it is too risky to act without sufficient intelligence."
Nara Patriarch nodded in agreement, and even Sandaime-sama's expression was the same.
At this time, Jiraiya volunteered, "In that case how about I sneak into Amegakure for preliminary investigation of the exact location of Akatsuki Organization?" Driven by his sense of responsibility, Jiraiya felt that he has to go to Amegakure in person, and if possible, persuade Nagato to return to the right path.
Kuroto glanced at Jiraiya and sighed, 'Does he really have such an ardent wish to die at the hands of his student?'
Sandaime nodded, "All right, be sure to be vigilant." – After all, it was just a reconnaissance mission, and Sandaime believed that with Jiraiya's abilities there should be no problem to sneak into Amegakure and inquire their intelligence.
But Kuroto was so not having it, and directly interjected, "I object!" – Obviously he is not going to allow Jiraiya to just go to death, it's fine if the old man wants to die, but Kuroto is not going to allow Jiraiya to waste their entire operation.
It must not be forgotten that the current Amegakure is much more dangerous compared to the time when Jiraiya sneaked into Amegakure in the main Canon.
Currently, almost all the members of Akatsuki are alive, and coupled with Hiruko also being there, if Jiraiya is discovered then he will die for sure.
Jiraiya, as well as others, looked at Kuroto with a surprised expression, especially Sandaime, he has never seen Hyuga Kuroto act the way he was doing so here, feeling all the eyes upon him, Kuroto said with a deep voice, "Once the investigation is discovered, and if the Akatsuki Organization is alerted… the raid will fail without a doubt… and there might even be repercussions…"
Jiraiya waved his hands with a smile, and said, "Do not worry kid, my intelligence-gathering abilities are very good… I won't be discovered by th-…"
Before Jiraiya could finish his sentence, Kuroto interrupted him midway, "I am not underestimating your abilities Jiraiya-sama, it's just that this mission is too difficult." – With a pause, Kuroto swept his gaze at everyone, and continued, "I am afraid to say that no one here has this ability…"
Raikage grunted, "Mind your tone brat!"
While Yugito Nii snorted, "If you can discover the intelligence on Akatsuki, then why can't we?"
Asked by Yugito Nii, Kuroto immediately activated his Byakugan and said, "I have Byakugan… in terms of sensory abilities, and intelligence gathering abilities no one here is as good as me… Now prove me wrong!"
"You…!!!" – Yugito Nii stopped midway with anger clearly appearance on her face. More so because she did not have any retort, as when the mention of Byakugan came she was left speechless. After all, the reputation of Byakugan is undeniable.
Even the others couldn't support Yugito Nii's argument and just chuckled lightly.
With Yugito Nii silent, Kuroto continued, "I would like everyone here to know that the Rain of Amegakure contains a special type of Chakra that is very-very hard to perceive, I suspect that the rain is a sensory type ability through which the user can perceive the presence of foreign chakra sneaking into the village, I reckon that not even Amegakure Shinobi and even other members of Akatsuki are not aware of this, I was able to see through the rain because of the extraordinarily high perception abilities of my Byakugan… no one here can sense this… if you have sneaked in Amegakure without knowing this fact, then you would have been discovered even before you could collect any intelligence."
As soon as they heard this, everyone took a cold breath. And all they could think was that if without knowing this news anyone had sneaked into Amegakure they would have been discovered so easily.
At the same time, they can't help but wonder just who can use such large-scale ninjutsu.
After speaking this, Kuroto looked at the three Kage, if the three Kage agrees understands, and agrees to directly launch an attack, only then the raid against the Akatsuki organization would result in a guaranteed hundred percent success.
And if they disagree with Kuroto, and insist on carrying out a preliminary investigation in advance, then the results will become unpredictable, in fact, the coalition might even suffer if that happens.
But apparently, Kuroto expected too much, and Kazekage was the first to deny Kuroto's approach. "Investigation is essential, we cannot omit this step because of the level of difficulty of this mission… and as said previously by the Kumo Jonin, Amegakure is too big to directly rush there with no apparent directions and specific location in mind."
With Raikage's personality, he actually somewhat agrees with Hyuga Kuroto's suggestion but considering both the Jinchuriki will also be taking part in the mission, he can't bring himself to nod. After all, the survival of Kumo also depends on that, so he had to be cautious.
In the end, Hokage also shook his head, "Blind assault is too risky…"
Kuroto sighed and did not say anything anymore.
Kuroto understands that the success and failure of this operation completely depend on the element of surprise... but from the other's standpoint, rushing head fast into the base of the enemy without any prior information about the enemy's specific location is uncharacteristic for a shinobi.
Kuroto can understand the worry of the three Kage because of the deterrence of the enemy but Kuroto can no longer do anything about it anymore.
At this point, Kuroto has already lowered his expectations for this raid. Akatsuki Organization has a lot of hidden cards that even Kuroto is unaware of so there is no telling what other things they will find there.
Finally, an investigation team was made, and because of Kuroto's repeated insistence, the line-up was made to be quite good.
The team leader for the preliminary investigation team is Elder Chiyo, together with him is Elder Ebizo of Suna. From Konoha, Jiraiya, Hyuga Kuroto, and Yamanaka Inoichi, for obvious reasons, then there is Yugito Nii and Samui from Kumo.
As two top-level puppeteers, the abilities of the Honored Siblings are unquestionable, using their puppets they can carry out all sorts of infiltration and intelligence gathering, especially Elder Ebizo, who specializes in the use of infiltration type puppets and was a great addition to the team.
Then, Kuroto himself for already having ventured into Amegakure once, Jiraiya for his specialization in intelligence gathering, and finally Yamanaka Patriarch for keeping everyone sneaking into Amegakure stay connected with someone.
As for Kumo's side, Samui was fine because of her calm persona and level-headedness, however, Kuroto did not want Yugito Nii to participate but was helpless as the latter was adamant in doing so, and snorted at Kuroto's attempt.
Yugito Nii stated that her cat's sensory abilities provided by the Bijuu sealed inside her will make investigation much easier…
Finally annoyed at her behavior and arrogant attitude, Kuroto cursed under his breath, 'Fine, go ahead and offer yourself to Akatsuki for all I care!'
Time was pressing, with the investigative team established, the three Kage issued the order of secretly transferring their base nearby the Land of Rain.
Meanwhile, the Investigative team also sneaked into the Land of Rain… of course, the entire Land of Rain is not in range of the Rain Tiger at Will Technique so sneaking inside the Land of Rain was very easy.
Drip… Drip… Drip…
Looking at the gloomy clouds up ahead and the light drizzle, Elder Chiyo said, "Further ahead is Amegakure."
Jiraiya said, "I can sneak into Amegakure by using Ninja Toads, through the waterway."
Amegakure is densely covered throughout with a dense Waterway network, so sneaking inside the village through the Waterway is the best option, the concealment will be guaranteed, so Elder Chiyo did not take too long to think and nodded immediately.
As a result, the seven people went into the mouth of the Toad summoned by Jiraiya. The toad then sneaked into the Water channel of Amegakure and released them inside outside a sewer which was covered by a roof.
Byakugan…
The first thing Kuroto did next was to activate the Byakugan and observe if there were any traces of Chakra present in the raindrops.
As expected, it was there.
Elder Chiyo asked, "So?"
Kuroto nodded, "Chakra traces are present… which means the technique is activated."
Others also tried to sense but they could hardly sense anything, not even Yamanaka Patriarch could sense it, yet Hyuga Kuroto could see with his Byakugan…
Yamanaka Patriarch said, "I suppose that you were accurate in this Kuroto-Kun…!"
Jiraiya nodded, "Since no normal perceptual barriers are covering Amegakure, so it is reasonable that the leader of the Akatsuki organization is using the ubiquitous rainwater as a means of sensing intruders."
While everyone was talking Kuroto thought to himself, 'It stands to reason that Nagato can't always maintain this technique… it should be a big burden even for him… the only reason I revealed the existence of this technique to the alliance was to make them give up on the idea of preliminary investigation… but given the fact that the technique is active right now… is it just a coincidence or has he noticed something?'
Kuroto did not voice out his thoughts to others as everyone quickly came out of the sewer and hid inside a building without allowing the raindrops to land on them.
From their point of view, the streets of Amegakure seemed quite busy with hundreds of people passing through. After gaining a full view, Elder Chiyo said, "Everyone split up, remember to not let the raindrops touch you… and remember to shoot a signal flare if there is an emergency!"
Amegakure is too big, so to increase the efficiency of their actions it is natural to split up, therefore, the team was now divided into four sub-teams.
Nii Yugito and Samui are part of the first team, Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo of the second team, Hyuga Kuroto and Yamanaka Inoichi part of the third team, and finally, Jiraiya who will act solo.
With the four directions decided the sub-teams then split up into four directions.
"Well, Inoichi-san, shall we go?" – Kuroto asked politely.
Yamanaka Inoichi nodded and followed Hyuga Kuroto.
While walking next to, Yamanaka Patriarch asked, "Say Kuroto-Kun, do you mind if I ask a question?"
Kuroto shook his head, and said, "Not at all Inoichi-san, go ahead."
"How did you sneak in Amegakure the last time you came here?" Yamanaka Inoichi questioned.
Kuroto was surprised by the question of the Yamanaka Patriarch, then said, "I came from the front door as a businessman to issue a task commencement to Amegakure… while I came in, I left behind a Shadow Clone who used Chakra Suppression Technique to hide his Chakra. Since the rain only discovers foreign Chakra signatures, and since my Shadow Clone was using Chakra Suppression Technique it wasn't found by the rain."
"Chakra Suppression Technique? If I remember correctly, doesn't this Jutsu limit all the other abilities of the user…?" – Inoichi questioned with a frown.
Kuroto took out a rough map of Amegakure (Which he received from Shinichi since Kuroto didn't actually personally come to Amegakure.) and while studying it carefully, he said, "That is true, but using that had two other benefits, first, my shadow clone was able to roam around the village with a civilian's authority and second because the Chakra Suppression Technique was being used, therefore, the Shadow Clone I left behind could stay much longer than normal… During one of the casual walks as a civilian, my Shadow Clone discovered Uchiha Shinichi and Biwa Juzo's duo, after discovering them and some silent digging around for about a month-long stay in Amegakure, my Shadow Clone was able to discover many things, especially related to Akatsuki. After discovering such shocking facts, the Shadow Clone lifted itself, and I received all the information while I was in another country carrying out my investigation in that country."
Yamanaka Inoichi was stunned and nodded with an awed tone, "It's rather remarkable… being able to use Chakra Suppression Technique alone is very difficult… I am convinced now; without a doubt, you truly are one of the best of your generation…"
Kuroto shook his head, and said, "I still have too much to learn, I am still too far behind Yondaime-sama, to become Hokage, I have to be much better… much-much better."
"Do you aspire to become the Hokage?" – Inoichi was rather surprised by Kuroto's words.
Kuroto nodded, and said, "I aspire to become someone like Minato-sama… thus I wish to become Konoha's Hokage in the future, is it strange, Inoichi-san?"
After a bit of silence, Yamanaka Patriarch said, "Well Yondaime Hokage-sama was one of a kind, his charismatic persona and that confident look was more than enough to bring a change in the morale of his followers if you aspire to become someone like him, then the road is still far ahead, perhaps you can become the Hokage, I am not the one to decide… but you still have a long way to go."
Kuroto nodded and said, "I understand, thank you for your advice Inoichi-san, I will that in mind to improve myself and become worthy of becoming the Hokage."
"I wish you good luck in that endeavor Kuroto-Kun, if you do become the Hokage, do not forget to visit the Yamanaka Flowers, it would be an honor to have you visit us." – Inoichi encouraged Kuroto. He did not touch the matter of Cage Bird Seal, which will be the biggest difficulty for Hyuga Kuroto as a member of the Branch Family, of course, Inoichi is not dense enough to understand not to touch on such sensitive matters.
Although the two people were talking, they did not forget the objective of their mission, all this while they were carrying it out very seriously.
Kuroto has already been to many shinobi villages, and perhaps, only Amegakure is somewhat peaceful compared to all the other shinobi villages, even Sunagakure and Kusagakure are not as peaceful as Amegakure is currently.
Perhaps even Yamanaka Inoichi felt this and sighed, this peaceful atmosphere will be destroyed as the raid on Amegakure starts.
Converging their mixed thoughts, Kuroto and Inoichi further tried to find leads on the location where the leader of Akatsuki could be hiding.
"Kuroto-Kun, do you have any leads where the leader of Akatsuki could be present in general…?" – asked Inoichi.
Kuroto thought about it a little, then looked towards the tallest tower of Amegakure.
Inoichi followed Kuroto's gaze and also looked in that direction, "That tower?"
Kuroto nodded, "I am not sure; however, it is the most likely place…" – To be honest, Kuroto doesn't remember much as to where exactly did Nagato stayed hidden while controlling Rikudo Rain, but considering the height of that tower it is the most likely place… as transmitting chakra from that height should be the best option. Moreover, Tendo Pain sits on the tongue sticking out of that face structure on the tallest tower.
It is conceivable that standing on that tower should give a good look over the entire Amegakure village."
Shot… whistle... Bang!
While Kuroto and Inoichi looked at the tower and were trying to figure out a few more things, suddenly they both heard the sound of a signal flare being fired.
Kuroto and Inoichi looked in the direction of the sound and were able to spot a green flare lighting up the sky below the clouds.
"Signal Flare… someone was discovered already?!" – Kuroto muttered with a frown.
Inoichi nodded, "It appears so, I will try to see who is it, and see if I can-…"
Kuroto shook his head, and said, "No Inoichi-san, the enemy has discovered our tracks, and since we are in their territory so that means they already have us on their radar; if you try communicating with them in such a situation, I am afraid our position will also be discovered, what we have to focus now is on retreating, we have to get out of this village as soon as we can!"
Inoichi saw the seriousness in Kuroto's expression and nodded.
Kuroto no longer cared about the scouting mission, after all, someone has been discovered just now, it is no longer possible to continue the mission, in fact, doing so is even meaningless… but before Kuroto and Inoichi could go, Kuroto was able to sense someone coming towards them…
Kuroto immediately alerted the Yamanaka Patriarch, "Inoichi-san, be ready we have company… and I suspect that since we have company, so the others are also being chased, now, one of us has to retreat, while the other has to stay behind, I will be the one to stay behind as I am already quite familiar with Amegakure, and since I have also mastered, 'Chakra Suppression Technique!', so I can find my way back to the retreat point without being noticed… so please retreat while I draw the attention of the enemy coming towards us!"
After saying so, Kuroto did not wait for the reply from the Yamanaka Patriarch… and directly ran forward while letting the rain fall on him.
Yamanaka Inoichi deeply looked at Hyuga Kuroto's back, then with a determined expression, he also made his way to the retreat point without drawing any attention upon him.
While Kuroto took another root to the retreat point, suddenly he saw hundreds of pieces of paper falling down near him, and soon those hundreds of papers took the appearance of a Konan, the Angel of Akatsuki, and Amegakure.
With Konan hovering in mid-air, Kuroto came to a sudden halt, and questioned, "Now what does this pretty lady want from someone like me?"
However, Konan does not seem to be in the mood of beating around the bush, and immediately questioned with a cold tone, "Show your true identity…"
Kuroto who was currently disguised as Yato from Noragami asked with a confused tone, "What do you mean pretty lady? I am just a wandering Samurai here to take in the sights of Amegakure and by the way, also challenge Hanzo-dono…"
"That was your only chance, now die!" – with a cold snort, Konan immediately fired.
Kuroto snorted and flashed away.
The other party is obviously not someone who can be dealt with so easily, in the original story, she was the one who recruited and defeated Sasori with his Kazekage Puppet.
And Konan may have been defeated by both Jiraiya and Obito, but this does not mean she is weak.
Jiraiya was only able to restrain her so easily because he had prior knowledge of the weakness of Konan's papers and thus used toad oil.
While Obito relied on Izanagi, which was something Konan never expected even in the countless stimulations of her battle with him.
So, her strength is very good but what's more dangerous is her analytical ability, being able to figure out the limits of Obito's Kamui proves this, and killing her won't be so easy, especially because Kuroto does not use oil and con not effectively restrain her papers from which she has created the unique Jutsu which is 'Shikigami no Mai'.
If he fights Konan, other Akatsuki members will be drawn here, so staying here is no longer an option, as Kuroto doesn't want to be surrounded and hunted by Akatsuki members.
'I don't think that I can kill her without entering into Tenseigan Chakra Mode.' – This was his judgment while looking back.
Konan indifferently looked at the running figure of this intruder, and muttered, "Pointless, you cannot escape."
As she said that, she waved her hand, and instantly papers from her paper wings flew at the running Kuroto at an extremely fast speed, and at a large quantity.
Kuroto immediately turned around and immediately drew the sword Kusanagi Sword tied around his waist, and while standing at his position, he waved his swords at an extremely fast speed, such that his hands or blade couldn't even be perceived by normal vision, there were multiple afterimages left behind.
Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish…
The piece of paper that was cut into an extremely small size fell on the floor, but soon they ignited…
'Damn, I did not take the hidden random exploding tags into account!' – since his Byakugan is currently deactivated, Kuroto was unable to distinguish between an ordinary paper and exploding tag.
.
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Chapter 354: Chapter – 349 Opposing the God?
'Seems like I have no choice…' – thinking so, Kuroto instantly activated his Byakugan and muttered, 'Hakkesho Kaiten', suddenly a protective shield of spiraling chakra surrounded Kuroto protecting him from the explosions of the exploding tags.
Boom… Boom… Boom… Boom… Boom…
The sound of explosions resounded throughout the streets, alerting everyone around… who ran away from the battlefield as soon as they can…
Konan who was hovering in the air stared at the ground with an indifferent expression. Although the area where the intruder stood had been covered in flames and dust because of the explosions, however, she could very well sense the spiraling chakra that was quite conspicuous. Therefore, she was sure that the explosions just now caused by her attacks shouldn't have been enough to have killed him as such the intruder was not dead yet.
As soon as the explosions stopped, the spiraling chakra also stopped and along with it dust also cleared, the figure of the intruder came into full view, and as she expected, he was alive, in fact, he did not even have as much as a scratch on him.
Although expected, Konan was still surprised.
On the other hand, Kuroto's face did not change.
'Shikigami no Mai' is pretty baffling Jutsu, transforming the entire body as well as clothing into numerous sheets of paper lefts the opponent in a daze and confusion, and it is very difficult to tell which sheets of paper are explosive tags and which are simple sheets of papers.
Not only that, Shikigami no Mai gives Konan full leverage to turn her complete body into a stack of explosive tags, anytime, anywhere.
And this is undoubtedly a very tricky Jutsu, just think about it, a fierce battle is going on against your opponent, and out of a sudden, your opponent turns out to be a stack of hundreds if not tens of thousands of explosive tags, is that not shocking?
From this very brief confrontation, Konan seems to have realized some things and asked, "What is a shinobi of your caliber doing by sneaking into Amegakure?"
Kuroto lifted up his Kusanagi swords, and while tapping the flat part of it over his front-left shoulder, he replied casually, "I am Noragami Yato, and as I have mentioned earlier, I am a Samurai, do not disrespect me by mixing me with the lumps of you Shinobis who exists to only kill and destroy. Anyway, as I was saying, since I am a wandering Samurai, it is obvious that I like to wander around, as for the purpose of coming to Amegakure? It is very simple, I wish to challenge Hanzo-dono, but I have to say, this is not the kind of welcome I had expected to get, hey but I am not complaining… at least I get to see something interesting today."
While trying to distract Konan with idle chatter, Kuroto simultaneously also thought of countermeasures to make an escape out of here… 'Konan is a sensor class, so getting rid of her wouldn't be an easy task…I have to play this smart-…'
However, it seemed that Konan was not much interested in Kuroto's bullshit.
Boom…!
But just as the two sides were about to fight again, another explosion sounded not far away, following which there was a violent roar and then the earth trembled.
The explosion drew the attention of both the parties, as both Kuroto and Konan cast their gazes in the direction from where the explosion came.
While looking there, Kuroto thought, 'That is the direction from where the signal flare was shot…'
From the sounds of explosions and the trembling of the earth, it is not hard to guess that a fierce battle has broken out there.
Because of keeping his Byakugan deactivated, Kuroto couldn't perceive the exact status of the battle… but from the high amount of chakra he was able to sense in general, it wasn't much hard to guess that one of them was the Jinchuriki and since only one Jinchuriki was part of the investigation and infiltration team, so it is very obvious who that person was…
'Damn, I knew she shouldn't have been brought here!!' Kuroto cursed under his breath.
It was obviously Nii Yugito who was exposed. Kuroto did not want to bring her to the investigation, but she wasn't willing to listen because of her arrogant and overconfident attitude. So despite Kuroto's strong objection, she became part of the investigation team, and now this happens.
Unlike Kuroto's calm and indifferent look, Konan had a frown, it was rather strange to have someone with a Bijuu sneak in here… although she wasn't really worried about the end result, with this the Akatsuki has finally acquired their first Bijuu.
Suddenly there was a loud impact and instantly someone with an extremely fast speed with his sword drawn out slashed at Kuroto.
DING…
Kuroto immediately used his own sword to block the slash resulting in a loud ear-piercing metal collision sound to ring out throughout the street.
This third wheel to arrive before Kuroto and Konan was none other than Uchiha Shinichi, with his Mangekyou Sharingan activated and a maniac grin on his face.
Shinichi said to Konan while clashing swords with Kuroto, "Konan-chan, leave this guy to me, hahaha… it's been a while since I have had the opportunity to move my muscles, I would like to have a good battle so as to not get any rusty…"
"Alright, but make sure to kill him at the earliest." – Konan obviously has faith in Shinichi's strength, and with a confident nod, she left a few butterflies behind in case of need for assistance, then spread her paper wings and left the battlefield.
Shinichi did not turn back and nodded, "You got it Konan-chan!"
After Konan left, Shinichi used a Genjutsu on Kuroto to establish a mental link between the two parties, where the two could communicate without a need for direct speech. Kuroto obviously did not resist the Genjutsu and after the mental link was established, Shinichi hurriedly said while continuing his Kenjutsu and Taijutsu battle with Kuroto, "Say, what are you doing here? And what's up with all these intruders in Amegakure? Are you going to finally deal with the Akatsuki Organization?"
Shinichi has obviously recognized that the real identity of the samurai named Noragami Yato is none other than Hyuga Kuroto.
Kuroto did not really ask what gave away his identity. Since he has been using the Tsukihi clone for quite some time, therefore, he realizes that once an Uchiha fights with someone, he will never forget that person, not for their entire life, the Sharingan just don't give them this leisure, so the reason why Kuroto's disguise was useless in front of Shinichi was obviously that his fighting style was easily recognized by Shinichi.
Since Shinichi recognized that the other person was none other than Kuroto, he obviously intervened to help Kuroto get rid of Konan.
"What are the other hidden detection mechanisms present in Amegakure aside from the rain that I once told you about?" – Kuroto questioned Shinichi while giving him a Hard Kick in the chest which sent the other guy flying out of the street and enter the main road.
There have to be other methods of detecting the intruders than just Rain made by Nagato and Konan's paper butterflies.
While throwing dozens of Shuriken at Kuroto, Shinichi also thought about Kuroto's question, and as if he suddenly remembered something, he answered, "Well, I just got to Amegakure, so I am not so sure, but If I remember correctly, Hiruko seems to have taken an interest in creating more of his chimera beast, at the same time he has also taken three subordinates under his wings with the name Ich, Ni, and San, together with them, he has been creating a large number of Chimera Beasts, so some of those beasts may be responsible… Sasori has also started developing his puppets strangely, and he seems to be trying to control them without any need for Chakra threads, so maybe his puppets are also involved here?"
Kuroto sighed then jumped off the ground to the sidewall, running along the building wall to gain a higher altitude, and then jumped at Shinichi while adding, "You should have notified me of this."
Shinichi also jumped on the same wall, and while doing wall walking to catch up to Kuroto, he weaved the hand signs, while also said, "Hahaha… as I said earlier, I just came to Amegakure so I wasn't much aware of what changes were happening here… seems like Pain is planning something big, so he gave Sasori and Hiruko some instructions, while also summoned me and Biwa Juzo back to Amegakure… anyway, you didn't tell me what are you doing around here? And I am rather surprised that you were caught."
Kuroto dodged the fireball that was fired at him, and while sending sword winds towards Shinichi, Kuroto asked with a surprised expression, "Pain is planning something big? Planning what?"
Shinichi dodged each of those sword winds and while firing another Jutsu, he said, "I am not so sure, in fact, nobody is… we were just summoned to Amegakure out of the blue…"
Kuroto sighed and sent a massive sword wind that cut the Jutsu in half, then said, "Sigh, we were planning a surprise joint raid on Amegakure, to deal with Akatsuki in one shot… but all three Kage insisted on carrying out a preliminary investigation despite my objection, and here we are sneaking into Amegakure… now that we are exposed, I don't think this raid is going to be any effective."
Now again engaged in a Kenjutsu fight, Shinichi said with a frown, "Planning a surprise joint raid? Well, that's surprising, considering that the villages are always at one another's throat… anyway, you could have just asked me for the information, and I would have let you know..."
Kuroto denied while dodging a kick that came to his head, "But the last time I checked, you were not in the Land of This… so it was pointless… besides…"
Smash… "Hmm… that's true… argh that hurts… can't you go a bit easy?" – nodded Shinichi while receiving a fist on the gut as he puked out blood, then smashed his fist into Kuroto's gut.
Smash… "Huff… huff… Don't go joking around… Konan's butterflies are present around, your cover will be blown up if I go easy on you, or you go easy on me… Anyway, I have already killed Shinno, so obtaining intelligence from you or him, it's all the same anyway… but those damn-…"
Roar…
Suddenly there was a painful roar from a beast, it's just that the roar seemed more like a painful cry.
Kuroto sighed, it seemed that Nii Yugito is defeated already…
Shinichi asked casually, "The one over there doesn't seem to be able to hold on anymore… do you want to go over there and help?"
Kuroto shook his head, it was pointless anyway, as the Chakra of Nibi was disappearing, meaning that Nii Yugito is defeated, and Nibi is already in Akatsuki's hand.
Kuroto is not idiot enough to risk saving her…
Shinichi said, "Well that's fine with me, I don't really care what happens to anyone as long as you are alive, anyway, what are you going to do now?"
Kuroto said, "Nibi's Jinchuriki has been captured, saving her will be an act of foolishness, I am going to be retreating now…"
Shinichi asked, "And how do you plan to do that? I mean you don't really expect me to just let you walk away, right?"
Kuroto shook his head and said with a chuckle, "Even if you try to stop me, you really can't. I am mere a Kage Bushin, my original should have already taken a different route to the retreat point."
Shinichi's eyes widened, and he grinned suddenly, "Well I didn't see that one coming."
Kuroto smiled, and said, "So what are you waiting for? Just finish me already…"
Shinichi nodded and rushed towards Kuroto's Shadow Clone, while Kuroto's Shadow Clone did the same as it rushed towards Shinichi.
And just when the two parties were about to close in at each other, a light green Chakra covered Shinichi's body, and from that Chakra, a Chakra Blade extended and instantly pierced right through Kage Bushin's chest.
(Translator's Note: The conversation between Shinichi and Kuroto up to here has been through the mental link, now it will be normal)
"Hahaha… that's my win!" – Shinichi grinned.
Kuroto, "Don't be so sure… I commend that you have excellent skills, but if you think that you have defeated the great Samurai Noragami Yato, then you are too quick to judge…" and leaving that sentence, the Kage Bushin disappeared with a Poof… sound.
With the disappearance of Kage Bushin, Shinichi cursed, "Damn, just a Kage Bushin, huh?"
...
On the other side, after the Kage Bushin disappeared, Kuroto who was walking towards the retreat point received all the memories and muttered, "It seems that Nii Yugito is captured."
Not caring at all, he continued to the retreat point and soon arrived, there he met up with Yamanaka Patriarch, and both Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo were also there, but there was no trace of Jiraiya or Samui either.
Seeing that Hyuga Kuroto has returned safely, the other three breathed a sigh of relief.
Elder Chiyo said, "Nii Yugito and Samui were captured, I observed through my puppet, but I couldn't find any opportunity to rescue either of the two… we may have to abandon them…" – As an experienced Kunoichi, Elder Chiyo can obviously judge things.
Kuroto naturally did not care about the safety of either of the two, instead, he asked the Yamanaka Patriarch, "Inoichi-san, is there any news from Jiraiya-sama?"
Yamanaka Inoichi denied, "There is some sort of Chakra interference that is disrupting me from being able to communicate with others… so I did not try any longer…"
Elder Ebizo added, "Do not worry, Jiraiya did not intervene in the battle that the two Kunoichi of Kumo had with the Akatsuki members, he is probably hidden somewhere within Amegakure… he is wise enough to act cautiously, we should retreat now… if we delay any longer than the enemy will come after us."
Kuroto sighed in relief after hearing his, 'At least Jiraiya-sama was safe.'
Losing Nii Yugito and Samui was already a big loss, if something had happened to Jiraiya then this raid will become a total failure.
Then Elder Chiyo said with a solemn expression, "I have to admit that your previous judgment was indeed correct, Amegakure's security is much more stringent than I would have expected… the preliminary investigation mission resulted in a total failure… we must retreat immediately and pass on the intelligence of whatever we have found to the base."
Kuroto nodded with a disappointed expression, "Unfortunately, nobody listened to me…"
No longer wasting any more time, they all dived into the sewer and sneaked out of the village.
A few seconds after they have left, a few pieces of paper stuck out of the wall, then morphed into a butterfly shape, and flew towards the tallest tower of Amegakure.
…
At the Pain Tower.
Papers gathered from all over the village and took the form of Konan behind Tendo Pain who still sat on the tongue, indifferently looking at the village that was destroyed at many places.
With the appearance of Konan, Tendo Pain stood up and walked to the inner chamber while asking, "Status?"
Konan said, "They have left."
Suddenly a spiraling whirl appeared in the void, and Madara walked out of it, and at the same time, a venus flytrap emerged out of the ground.
Madara asked, "Nibi's Jinchuriki?"
Pain nodded, and said, "Captured as planned."
Konan said, "The shinobi that Uchiha Shinichi seems to be fighting was just a Kage Bushin… thus he has retreated."
Zetsu said, "Ah, that's too bad…"
Konan added, "Regardless of whether it was a Kage Bushin or not, his strength was quite good, Uchiha Shinichi wasn't able to take the advantage all along, and it seemed that even at the end, the Shinobi willingly got pierced."
Madara nodded, "Unexpectedly he could match Shinichi…"
Pain questioned, "Who was this Shinobi?"
Konan said, "Well, he claimed to be a wandering Samurai, but it should have been Hyuga Kuroto, one of the seven people that sneaked into the village to carry out their preliminary Investigation mission."
Madara asked, "And Hyuga Kuroto's Kage Bushin's strength could reach such a level?"
Konan nodded, and said, "He wasn't weak by any means…" – Although her fight with Hyuga Kuroto was very brief, Konan was somewhat surprised by the other party's strength, and she could feel that he was different, as he seemed all too calm about everything.
Zetsu said, "Hyuga Kuroto seems to have become rather strong… I reckon that his strength is only next to Uchiha Shisui in his team…"
Pain said, "It matters not…"
Madara thought to himself, 'Can a Hyuga really have such a level of strength? More so, Hyuga Kuroto of all Hyuga?'
Zetsu asked in wonder, "But I still wonder, how did Hyuga Kuroto figure out the location of our base?"
Konan said, "Is it possible that he obtained this intelligence from Orochimaru or probably from Shinno?"
Zetsu added, "Or probably from Yomi? As Yomi is dead, most likely to have been killed by Hyuga Kuroto considering that the daughter of Miko of Land of Demons is under Hyuga Kuroto's protection in Konoha."
Orochimaru, Shinno, and Yomi are the only three possible sources of information. And all three seem to be possible.
Madara said, "It doesn't matter from where he learned, for now, we have to focus on the plan."
Konan questioned, "Konoha, Kumo, and Suna have joined hands, are you sure that Iwa is not participating in this?"
Zetsu nodded, "Iwa is not even informed."
Konan said, "I wonder why the three villages did not approach Iwagakure and Kirigakure?"
Madara said, "Regardless, even if they did include, I am quite certain that Onoki wouldn't have agreed as he is still negotiating with us to obtain Hiruko's 'Chimera no Jutsu', perhaps Hokage was able to think this through and figured out our connection with Iwa, and Kiri."
Zetsu questioned Madara, "But why did you let them retreat?"
Madara said with a chuckle, "Nibi is already caught… if all of them were to be caught here and now, the three Kage will get scared and run away… But now that only two are caught, and since both of them are from Kumo, so Raikage will insist on coming here… so Hachibi who is together with the rest will also be captured at the same time…"
Konan questioned, "It will be difficult to resist all of them at once…"
Zetsu said, "Biwa Juzo and Uchiha Shinichi have already arrived, while Kakuzu, Sasori, Hiruko, are also here…"
Madara said, "We have our latest recruit too… and Tobi too will partake in the battle…"
Zetsu said, "The other reinforcements too will be arriving within half an hour…"
Konan nodded, "I suppose that should be more than enough, the civilian evacuation is already finished…"
With everything decided, Tendo Pain walked step by step to the tip of the tongue, overlooking the entire Amegakure like a God, and said, "Finish all the preparations, I will teach them the meaning of opposing the God!"
At the same time Tendo Pain said these words, Madara disappeared into a spiraling whirl, Zetsu went inside the floor, and Konan's body dispersed into papers.
…
At the Base of tri-Alliance.
Boom… Smash… "Damn Akatsuki! Damn Pain, I will eliminate them all!" – Raikage smashed the table to pieces as soon as Yamanaka Patriarch finished showing him memories of Elder Chiyo about what all transpired.
Nii Yugito and Samui were captured, there is no news of Jiraiya, everyone was left stunned, and Raikage was furious, his roars could even be heard from half a mile away.
Killer Bee asked Elder Chiyo and Kuroto, "Aw, with her strength, Yugito couldn't even retreat, hum, yeh?"
Elder Chiyo shook her head, and said, "You have already seen my memories of the fight."
While Kuroto was too lazy to speak anything. Jinchuriki and a Jonin of Kumo fell into Akatsuki's hands, now Raikage should be anxious, not him. Kuroto already did his part when he urged them to not waste their breath in a preliminary investigation mission, not listening to him was their mistake.
As Kuroto expected, Raikage could no longer wait and said, "I propose that we immediately launch a raid on Akatsuki!"
Sandaime nodded, the disappearance of Jiraiya also made Sandaime uneasy, although nothing should have happened to Jiraiya based on the memories of Chiyo, however, there is still no guarantee, so he also agreed to Raikage's proposal.
With Raikage's proposal, and Hokage's agreement, Kazekage discussed some things with his Anbu Commander Pakura, then finally nodded and agreed to follow along.
After everyone's united agreement Kuroto walked out of the cave.
As soon as Kuroto came out, Shisui arrived next to Kuroto and whispered, "Kuroto-san, I heard that the preliminary Investigation Mission failed?"
Kuroto nodded, "The best opportunity to carry out a surprise attack is now wasted… sigh, now the chances of success have decreased significantly."
Shisui thought a little, "Even if this opportunity failed, but if the joint raid is launched, it should still be possible right? After all, not all members of the organization are always present in Amegakure."
Kuroto shook his head, "I have confirmed, all the members of Akatsuki are present there…" With a pause, 'And Pain seems to have planned something big, I really have a bad feeling about this all.' Kuroto continued, "Itachi and Kazekage Puppet should have also arrived in the Land of Rain, stay in contact with Itachi."
Shisui nodded and questioned, "Amatsukami will also be participating here?"
Kuroto nodded, "If Amatsukami does not intervene, the village will suffer a very big loss, besides, I also have a special task for Itachi. It's about time Amatsukami that has been silent in the Shinobi World for such a long time show up again."
Shisui asked with a slightly curious tone, "So the leader of Amatsukami will finally be revealed to the Shinobi World?"
Kuroto nodded calmly, "It's about time, the leader of Amatsukami and Akatsuki have a 'little' face-to-face chat!"
.
.
Read up to Chapter - 603 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations
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