Chapter 357: Shimura Danzo, the Shadow Hokage, the Doer of All Evils, the Darkness of the Ninja World
"Senior, there's no need to trouble yourself with something this simple. I, Tobi, can handle it perfectly!" Tobi said with a thumbs up, acting like a complete clown.
But Kenichi immediately noticed that Tobi seemed to be deliberately blocking the room behind him.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow and started walking forward, only for Obito to shift and block his path again.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes at him. Whatever was behind Obito, it definitely was not nothing. Black Zetsu? A Shadow Clone? Either way, there had to be something.
"Senior Kenichi, could you tell me your story?" Obito asked with a smile.
As he looked at the mask on Kenichi's face, the killing intent in his heart nearly surged out of control. He even had the urge to kill this guy on the spot.
If he were not worried that he might fail to kill Kenichi instantly, exposing himself and ruining his persona, he would have already formed hand seals.
"Tobi, what's behind you?" Kenichi asked.
He shoved Tobi aside, only to find a chaotic pile of scrolls behind him and nothing else.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes again.
Did Black Zetsu escape? Or had it already taken something and hidden itself? Most likely the latter. The only question was what exactly Black Zetsu had taken.
"Senior Kenichi, behind me is the symbol of our Akatsuki Organization!" Obito said, still stubbornly maintaining his ridiculous act.
Kenichi ignored him and strode straight in, rummaging through the cabinets in front of him.
He did not find the forbidden scroll. Then again, he himself did not know where it was hidden. Although his teacher had gotten it once before, Hiruzen had most likely changed its location afterward.
Did anyone really think the core secrets of a village would just be left lying around casually?
Of course not.
Kenichi had long felt that Naruto finding the Scroll of Seals so quickly back then was probably arranged by the Third Hokage on purpose. It had most likely been a test for Naruto, and at the same time, a trap for that unlucky bastard Mizuki.
If Hiruzen were not afraid of making it too obvious, he probably would have placed the scroll right on the Hokage's desk.
Still, there was no way it would be easy for outsiders to find.
"Senior Kenichi, what are you looking for?" Obito asked curiously.
Kenichi turned his head and glanced at him.
He still found it hard to believe that Obito had paid such a huge price just to get a forbidden scroll. That seemed unlikely.
The scroll did contain some excellent jutsu, but was it really worth exposing Danzo's secret for? Nagato's actions today would definitely draw the attention of the Five Great Nations to the Akatsuki, and once that happened, it was hard to say how much their entire plan would be affected.
Besides, Obito clearly had easier ways to do this.
He could have had Black Zetsu infiltrate Konoha and steal the scroll when the chance came. He could even have forced his way in if he really wanted to.
"Konoha has a lot of powerful jutsu. I just wanted to see if there was anything interesting," Kenichi said with a smile.
The more he thought about it, the more curious he became about what Obito was actually planning.
The original plot could no longer be used as a reference. Kenichi knew that very clearly. The entire story had already changed drastically because of him, and Uchiha Shin standing at Obito's side was the clearest proof of that.
Kenichi remembered that Shin was never part of the early Akatsuki.
As for Itachi, who should have joined Akatsuki in the future, he was still living his life in the Land of Rice Fields. His father was dead, but his mother was still alive.
There was no way Itachi would join Akatsuki now.
Still, Itachi had other uses. His talent had already been proven. On the path of a shinobi, he was undeniably gifted, and he would eventually become a strong combat asset.
"Oh, oh! Konoha definitely has a ton of powerful jutsu! But Senior Kenichi, I just planted explosive tags in here, so let's hurry up and leave!" Obito said suddenly, then dashed out with an exaggeratedly ridiculous posture.
Kenichi froze for a second.
Then the next moment, a violent explosion erupted.
Even in Sage Mode, Kenichi was caught off guard and blasted out by the force of it.
At the same time, Obito vanished from the Hokage Building.
The nearby Konoha shinobi and civilians, drawn by the explosion, immediately saw Kenichi flying out through the air.
Kenichi's face remained expressionless.
Then, inwardly, he could not help cursing.
When the hell did that damn dog Obito learn to pull a stunt like this?
"That bastard..." Kenichi landed on a rooftop.
Around him, Konoha shinobi had already surrounded the area, all of them tense and eager, while the nearby civilians had shrunk back in fear. At the same time, he noticed several ANBU closing in as well.
Kenichi glanced at the collapsed Hokage Building.
The entire structure had been reduced to rubble. He had no idea how many explosive tags Obito had hidden in there, but it was clearly a lot if it had caused this much destruction.
"No... I remember in one movie someone buried a huge number of explosive tags in one place. Could this be some kind of chain detonation?" Kenichi muttered to himself.
But even while thinking that, he did not waste any more time here.
If he stayed, he would have to fight Konoha's ANBU. And among the approaching shinobi, he had already spotted a familiar figure. That iconic haircut and those thick eyebrows made the identity obvious at a glance.
Might Guy.
Guy's combat strength was always hard to judge.
The future Guy could open the Gate of Death, but what about the current one? If they fought here in Konoha, who knew if Guy might suddenly unleash something outrageous and come charging in with Evening Elephant?
Night Guy was probably not possible yet. Taijutsu required long term training, and the power unleashed after opening the Eight Gates depended on the user's own foundation. Guy trained for years before delivering that world shaking kick.
As for Kenichi, he was already tormenting his own body just trying to break into the Eight Gates. It had to be said, it was an extremely miserable process.
"Heavenly Demon! You dare attack the Hokage Building again!" one ANBU shouted angrily, recognizing him at once.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and immediately shot toward the outskirts of Konoha.
Konoha was not the right place to sneak off and check on Naruto anymore.
"Stop!"
Hearing the furious shouts behind him, Kenichi curled his lip.
"Stop" was probably one of the most useless words in the world. No one actually stopped just because they were told to.
But just as he was about to break away, he saw a tiny black dot slowly rising into the sky from the area where Nagato's Six Paths of Pain had been fighting Tsunade.
Kenichi's pupils contracted.
"No way... is that old bastard Danzo still alive? And were Hiruzen and Lady Tsunade just messing around? How the hell did they let him float up there?"
Kenichi's expression turned serious at once.
This scene was far too familiar.
After all, the scene of Deva Path Pain using Shinra Tensei to destroy Konoha had been replayed countless times in the anime. Back then, his friends had recommended that arc to him so strongly that even he knew exactly what it meant when Nagato floated into the sky.
Thinking of that, Kenichi immediately sped up and rushed in that direction.
The Konoha shinobi behind him could not keep up at all. They could only watch as he leapt over Konoha's walls.
"...You still couldn't stop him?" Kakashi sighed, his expression complicated.
A battle was raging outside, and they could not even step in because the gap in power was too great. Then they had been attacked from within, and even so, they still failed to keep the intruder from escaping.
And it was that person.
Kakashi clenched his fist tightly.
Heavenly Demon.
That name held a special meaning in his heart, because the man behind it was very likely that friend from those years ago, the one who had defected.
But that matter had already been silenced. Kakashi could not speak of it carelessly, so he could only whisper to himself when he visited Obito and Rin's graves.
"Kakashi, are you alright?" Guy came running over, panting heavily.
When they had chased after Kenichi just now, Guy had been the one in front. But it had been useless. Kenichi was simply too fast. Before Guy could even open the Eight Gates, the man had already disappeared.
"I'm fine," Kakashi said, shaking his head.
Then he silently turned and began helping deal with the ruins of the Hokage Building. Heavenly Demon had run in exactly the direction where the Hokage and the others were fighting. Lady Tsunade had already given orders that no one was allowed to enter that area.
Kakashi felt deeply unwilling.
He had once been a genius shinobi, powerful, admired, praised by all.
But now, he could not even keep up with the back of his former friend.
"Who exactly is this guy?!" Hiruzen said grimly on the outskirts of Konoha, holding the Adamantine Staff formed by Enma as he stared at the figure floating higher into the sky.
"...That person is Yahiko," Tsunade said, her expression complicated.
She remembered him.
The first time she had seen him, she had already felt something vaguely familiar. And during the battle, she had finally remembered who the face in front of her belonged to.
Perhaps because he heard Tsunade's words, Deva Path paused for a second before lowering his gaze toward her, the Rinnegan in his eyes utterly devoid of emotion.
He remembered Tsunade too.
Back then, it had been Yahiko who took the initiative to approach the three Sannin and ask them for food. Tsunade had been standing beside Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had been there too, that bastard who had even suggested killing them outright so they could rest in peace.
"Yahiko?" Hiruzen was stunned.
He clearly had no idea who they were talking about. After all, he dealt with too many things. Unless something was extremely important, Hiruzen rarely bothered remembering it in detail.
"Yes. Jiraiya's students," Tsunade said, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.
The Yin Seal on her forehead had already been released.
"I remember there was also a girl named Konan, and a boy named Nagato."
But as she looked at the person in front of her, she could not help feeling uncertain. She definitely recognized Yahiko's face, but she also remembered what Jiraiya had once told her...
"Who's there?!"
Just as Tsunade was still thinking, her expression changed sharply. She had sensed a huge chakra fluctuation coming from behind.
She turned instantly and saw a pillar of lightning flash by, followed by an explosion that kicked up dust not far away.
"Oh my, oh my. Why be so stubborn?" Kenichi said with a chuckle as he walked over.
His purpose this time was simple.
To stop Nagato.
And the best way to stop Nagato was to kill Danzo.
There was no other option. If Danzo did not die, Nagato would not stop. Kenichi understood that very clearly.
He glanced at Danzo's grim face, then at the Earth Style wall in front of him. After that, he looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, only to find that the old man was staring at him with an extremely strange expression. Even Tsunade's gaze had become unusual.
What the hell was with that?
"Why is he here?" Nagato muttered as he opened his eyes.
The one person he least wanted to see had arrived.
"What's wrong, Nagato?" Konan asked immediately.
"Amamiya Kenichi is here," Nagato said, coughing a few times before wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth. "And he seems to know I want to kill Danzo."
Recently, he had been coughing up blood from time to time, and Konan had been very worried about him. But the doctors and medical shinobi they found could do nothing for him.
In the end, they had even killed them to keep their secrets from leaking.
"Amamiya Kenichi?" Konan could not help smiling faintly when she heard the name.
She remembered him.
After Yahiko's death, he had been one of the very few people capable of stirring such intense emotional fluctuations in Nagato. Why had he come here now?
Her feelings were complicated. She did not know how to describe them. Part of her hoped Kenichi would help them kill Danzo. Another part worried Nagato would dislike it if he did.
Kenichi, of course, knew nothing about what Nagato and Konan were thinking.
At this moment, he was only thinking about one thing.
How to get rid of Danzo.
There was no helping it. If Danzo did not die, Konoha would most likely get to witness exactly what Shinra Tensei looked like today.
"Heavenly Demon!" Danzo gnashed his teeth in hatred.
Ever since Heavenly Demon had appeared, his situation had only grown worse and worse. That sneak attack just now had nearly blown straight through his skull. If Hiruzen had not intervened, he would already be...
Kenichi's gaze flicked toward Danzo's arm, the one wrapped in white cloth. He knew exactly what was hidden inside.
A Sharingan.
Then Kenichi looked toward Hiruzen.
One of Hiruzen's arms was also wrapped in white cloth, perfectly symmetrical to Danzo's.
"Danzo," Kenichi said coldly, "the darkness of Konoha's Ninja World. You've committed too many sins. So please, just die already."
Then he charged forward.
He needed to finish this quickly.
Nagato still had not descended from the sky.
"Heavenly Demon, your opponent is me." Tsunade stepped in front of him in an instant, blocking him with a Heaven Kick of Pain, her eyes surging with battle intent.
Today, she would teach Amamiya Kenichi a lesson on Orochimaru's behalf.
.....
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