After his subordinate left, Danzo thought about the shifting public opinion in the village. He was in a fantastic mood; this was all his handiwork, and the current results were highly satisfactory.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was already in his forties. For a ninja, this age meant passing the peak of one's physical strength and beginning a downward trend. Therefore, the village higher-ups were all quietly considering candidates for the next Hokage.
Originally, the Sannin were the top-tier candidates. As disciples of the Hokage, they possessed great strength and illustrious achievements, perfectly fitting the requirements.
However, they had failed to live up to expectations. Tsunade suffered from crippling hemophobia and later left the village; if not for her influential Senju background, she would have long since been hunted as a Rogue Ninja.
Jiraiya was decent and hadn't made any major mistakes, but he adamantly refused the desk job and took the initiative to withdraw from consideration.
Orochimaru currently had no visible faults on the surface, but Danzo knew perfectly well that Orochimaru was conducting twisted, forbidden human experiments. As Orochimaru's secret collaborator, Danzo had plenty of hard evidence in hand and could ruin Orochimaru's reputation at the drop of a hat.
With the Sannin effectively eliminated, Danzo felt his own prospects were incredibly high. There were very few people left who could threaten his path to the Hokage position.
Chief among them was the illustrious White Fang—Sakumo Hatake.
Thus, Danzo had begun to exert his full effort to suppress Sakumo. The crushing public opinion was only the first step.
What made it even easier was that Sakumo was not part of the Hokage's direct lineage, yet was overwhelmingly powerful. This had long caused unease and dissatisfaction within the Hokage's faction. Consequently, Hiruzen did not stop Danzo, choosing a cowardly silence or even tacit indulgence.
"Once Sakumo Hatake is dealt with, and I leak the data on Orochimaru's human experiments, absolutely no one will be able to threaten my position. Hehehe."
Thinking that he would soon wear the hat and have his face carved onto the Hokage Rock, even someone as stoic and deep-thinking as Danzo couldn't help but reveal a wicked smile.
Root's covert operations were highly successful. Members of the Uchiha were mostly arrogant and haughty, making them incredibly easy to exploit.
Soon, a targeted rumor began to spread like wildfire among the Uchiha clansmen.
It was said that the village higher-ups were preparing to select the next Hokage, and the finalized candidates included Orochimaru, Sakumo Hatake, and the current head of the Uchiha—Uchiha Fugaku.
Due to historical grievances, the entire Uchiha Clan was obsessed with reclaiming the Hokage position. Upon hearing this rumor, they immediately reached a boiling point.
"Patriarch, the Hokage position must be ours this time! Please make sure to take it!"
"Sakumo Hatake actually abandoned a mission; such a cowardly person is not fit to be Hokage at all."
"Orochimaru only knows inferior and disgusting Ninjutsu; he's no match for us. Sooner or later, we'll let him know the true power of the Sharingan!"
"The Hokage position originally belonged to us Uchiha anyway! If we hadn't been plotted against by the First and Second back then, we wouldn't be in such a frustrating position today!"
Watching his clansmen clamor and shout, the young Uchiha Fugaku merely kept a dark expression. He sat upright with his arms crossed, remaining completely silent.
Seeing the Patriarch's grim demeanor, the others gradually fell quiet, waiting for him to speak.
"You become this unsightly just from hearing a baseless rumor? What right do you have to call yourselves Uchiha?" Fugaku scolded coldly. "Behave yourselves during this period and don't be foolishly manipulated by outsiders."
One clansman was unconvinced and argued back. "Patriarch, regardless of whether this is a rumor or not, there's no one else in the village who can compete for the seat! Does the Hyuga Clan want to get involved too?!"
At the mention of the Hyuga Clan, everyone broke into disdainful laughter.
As a prestigious clan that was once as famous as the Uchiha, the Hyuga Clan had declined significantly over the years, currently possessing no top-tier powerhouses. If not for their Byakugan still being useful for reconnaissance, they would have long since been unworthy of the title of a great clan.
Hearing his clansman's words, Fugaku did not refute them. He secretly agreed; besides Orochimaru and Sakumo, no one else was qualified to compete with him.
Nevertheless, he still cautioned the room. "You are not allowed to cause trouble. That is a direct order!"
Seeing the Patriarch's firm attitude, the clansmen could only bow their heads reluctantly. "Yes, Patriarch!"
It couldn't be helped; Fugaku was not only the Patriarch but also the strongest ninja in the family. Even if they were unconvinced, they had to suppress it in his presence.
But after they left the family compound, they naturally couldn't hold back their indignation. Many began preparing to act on their own.
Meanwhile, far away from Konoha's politics, Ooka Shin was in a fantastic mood because he had finally obtained a 'cheat' of his own.
In the Land of Rain, within the Valley of Maple Leaves, a gentle river flowed through the valley floor, bordered by a small, vibrant maple forest on both banks.
In recent days, a fledgling village had been established in the valley. Yahiko stood on a cliff, looking down at the rows of neat buildings. He felt immense pride as he praised Ooka Shin beside him.
"Shin, I didn't expect you to be so amazing. Not only can you build houses, but you've planned them out so well! I've traveled through many towns in the Rain, and none of them are as organized as ours."
A few days ago, when the newly formed Akatsuki Organization arrived here and began establishing a camp, Shin had originally intended to focus solely on his own combat cultivation and ignore the construction.
However, looking at the houses everyone had built, he couldn't stand it. Not only were the designs bizarre and ugly, but there was zero overall planning. With just one or two houses, it wasn't obvious, but as the numbers increased, the streets became crooked and twisted, nearly turning into a maze.
Shin felt that since he was going to live here, seeing such awkward architecture every single day would definitely be a mood-diminishing debuff. So, he intervened and drafted a proper urban construction blueprint.
The blueprint was relatively simple. It merely designated residential areas, commercial areas, cultivation grounds, storage units, and defense perimeters, while improving the structural integrity of the buildings. Yet, it drew gasps of sheer admiration from everyone in the Akatsuki.
Shin thought of the chaotic, towering slums of Amegakure in the manga, and the spiraling mess of Konoha Village. It made sense; these people were ninjas, they had never studied urban planning.
Shin hadn't formally studied it either, but he possessed the memories of modern, grid-based cities from his past life. After some simplifying, planning a small village presented no difficulty at all.
By this time, Kyusuke had recruited several rogue ninjas, and Yahiko's group had rescued numerous war refugees. There were already over a hundred people in the village, making it quite lively.
Looking at the busy villagers below, Shin threw cold water on Yahiko's joyful mood.
"There will be a mountain of trouble in the future. How to supply various materials and food, how to clear out the surrounding Rogue Ninjas and bandits, how to set up early-warning defense lines, how to get along with Hanzo's Amegakure, and how to establish a functioning legal system... you'd better start thinking about all of that carefully, Boss."
As Yahiko listened to Shin list off the problems, his expression grew worse and worse. Feeling that the future was pitch black and full of paperwork, he couldn't help but complain.
"Shin, every time I'm happy, you always find a way to give me a massive headache!"
At that moment, Nagato came running up the hill path with a look of pure joy on his face, followed closely by Konan.
"Yahiko! Shin! I've discovered a new ability!"
Yahiko instantly became happy again, forgetting the paperwork. "That's great!"
Shin was incredibly curious about what ability the Rinnegan had unlocked this time. "What is it?!"
Nagato reached out his hand. Slowly, he condensed a short, pitch-black rod from his palm while explaining.
"After Shin's reminders, I used various methods to try and develop the Rinnegan. Later, I had a faint feeling that these eyes seem to be able to summon something extremely powerful through Summoning Jutsu."
"Although I can't summon it yet, I suddenly discovered that my Chakra can condense into these Black Rods, and I naturally understood their function in my mind."
Yahiko stepped forward and grabbed the Black Rod, looking it over curiously. "It looks pretty ordinary. What's it for? Is it just for hitting people?"
Nagato condensed another Black Rod and thrust it directly into a solid rock nearby. It pierced the stone like tofu.
"First, the Black Rods are extremely hard and sharp. They can be used directly as melee weapons."
Yahiko gripped both ends of the Black Rod in his hands and tried to snap it with force. The rod didn't even bend. He nodded in approval. "It really is hard enough!"
Nagato continued, his eyes shining. "Secondly, these Black Rods can receive my Chakra from a distance, and can be used to control puppets. In fact, according to the information that appeared in my head, the original, true purpose of these rods is to transmit Chakra."
Hearing this, Ooka Shin's eyes lit up like floodlights. He interjected breathlessly, "Can the Black Rods only be used to control puppets? Can they be used on a living person... to let them use your Chakra?!"