Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 487 An Urgent and Chaotic Beginning

Sure enough, in no time, a crow landed in front of the window of the Hokage's office building, and before the barrier could be deployed, it transformed into the figure of Uchiha Itachi.

"Lord Sarutobi, you promised to protect Sasuke, so why did you let Obito Uchiha take him away?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately noticed the key point: "You mean the mysterious person was actually Obito Uchiha? He didn't die after all?"

He understood. In that instant, he finally understood! He finally understood why Obito Uchiha had changed so drastically. If he hadn't died, and there had been such a big change, it must be because of Rin.

Was the decision I made back then really a mistake?

No! It's all the Uchiha's fault. Those eyes were born evil. It was those eyes, combined with extreme emotions, that turned a child who was born kind into a demon, a demon who wanted to destroy the world!

As expected, everything the teacher said was correct.

Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer looked at the crow with the same trust as before.

However, he still said apologetically, "Itachi, you know that the other party's eyes have spatial abilities. Even if I took action, I couldn't stop him. This is unavoidable."

"I don't want to talk to you about this. I probably won't continue with the tasks you assigned me. I'm going to find my brother. Goodbye!"

Itachi Uchiha was also somewhat disappointed. He hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to still be shirking responsibility at this point. He thought that Shisui probably lost all faith in them for the same reason back then.

Protecting Konoha was the right thing to do, protecting the ninja world was the right thing to do, but the person who should have led all of this was not Hiruzen Sarutobi. He was probably the only mistake.

But he finally understood the feelings of those fallen Uchiha warriors. How could these incompetent and foolish people represent the good Uchiha!

"Sasuke, where are you?!" Uchiha Itachi sped forward through the mountains and trees, with Kisame Hoshigaki closely following behind.

"Itachi-kun, Black Zetsu hasn't given any orders yet. Where are you going?"

"Where am I going? To find my brother, of course." He then took off his Akatsuki robe and said, "I'm leaving the Akatsuki now."

After saying that, he transformed into a flock of crows and disappeared. Kisame Hoshigaki sighed behind him but did not chase after him.

Just then, a white Zetsu poked its head out of the ground and shouted, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has occurred!"

-

Hours earlier, in another dark valley in the Land of Fire.

It was dusk, and the wood-elemental trees were teeming with them. Dozens of Hyuga ninjas with white eyes, dressed in martial arts robes, were impaled firmly on wooden sticks and hung from the trees.

"Wood Release, what are you?" Hyuga Hizashi coughed up blood and squatted on the ground. In his arms, he tightly protected a nine-year-old child. The boy had bright eyes and a heroic look. What was striking was that his forehead did not have the Caged Bird Seal.

But he'll be pregnant soon!

"You don't need to know who I am. I only know that you belong to the Hyuga clan. You've broken a taboo. You can side with anyone, but you can't side with Aburame Shisei. Do you know that he's my enemy, my mother's enemy, and your ancestors' enemy!" Black Zetsu shouted angrily, like an ancestor scolding an ignorant child.

But he gave an even harsher punishment: to leave them hanging in mid-air like kites.

Hyuga Hizashi couldn't understand a word he said. The only thing he could guess was that the black and white man was related to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and that was all.

"Why? Why is this happening? Hiruzen Sarutobi, do you really want to destroy Konoha Village?" Hizashi Hyuga roared, but to no avail. In the end, he could only cough up blood and collapse to the ground.

"Father, Father! You monster, I'll fight you to the death!" Hyuga Neji cried, adopting a Gentle Fist stance, but he was no match for Black Zetsu, who had lived for thousands of years. With just one blow, he was knocked unconscious.

However, just then, a White Zetsu suddenly appeared with news, "It's terrible! It's terrible! Lord Black Zetsu, it's terrible! Nagato and Konan have fallen. His eyes were gouged out by Obito Uchiha. His comrades sensed his presence in the direction of Konoha, and it's very likely that even Indra's reincarnation will fall into his hands!"

"Ah!" Black Zetsu let out a scream like a groundhog, "Uchiha Obito! Why do you always have to be against me? Why? Why? Why? Why is this world always so hostile towards me? Mom, how can I save you?!"

"Oh, get back here right now and inform the others to come up with a plan. Also, Nagato and Konan were idiots. I only turned my back on them for a moment and they were dead. Who killed them?"

"One was called Feng Hua Nu Tao, and the other was called Deidara. They were the ones who injured the person first, and then they were ambushed by Uchiha Obito."

Black Zetsu fell silent upon hearing the two names, because in his eyes, these two were not even a threat.

I never expected that someone like Nagato Uzumaki couldn't even beat him. He's really pathetic!

But it's too late to say anything now; the most important thing is to stabilize morale.

"By the way, quickly retrieve their corpses. After all, the Impure World Reincarnation technique can still be used," Black Zetsu immediately ordered, then kept reassuring himself.

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright. As long as their souls remain, they can be resurrected infinitely. They'll learn their lesson after dying once.

However, before the white Zetsu could leave, the black Zetsu quickly remembered the white-eyed boy in his hand and immediately called the white Zetsu back.

"Take him back to Konoha and tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that I've delivered him. Tell him to give the Hyuga clan a good talking-to and not cause any more trouble."

"It's you, Master!" White Zetsu hatched from the ground and slowly swallowed the unconscious Hyuga Neji into its body, taking him underground.

On the other side, at the Hokage's office building in Konoha.

The ashtray in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi was overflowing with cigarette butts, and his old pipe was long gone, replaced by one cigarette after another.

"Hiruzen, you've been smoking too much." Koharu Utatane pushed open the door and coughed twice, choked by the smell of smoke.

"Sasuke has been taken away." Hiruzen Sarutobi dropped a bombshell. "It's Obito Uchiha."

The two elders stared wide-eyed in astonishment. "Wasn't Obito Uchiha already dead?"

"Itachi said it himself." Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head, a confident look appearing on his old face. "He has no reason to lie to me."

The two fell silent immediately after hearing this; if it was the child, then everything made sense.

The Nine-Tails' rampage, the Uchiha coup, and the inexplicable abduction of Naruto and Sasuke.