Chapter 137: The Outer Path Golem

Upon hearing Byakuya's words, Kabuto Yakushi did not argue. He quietly donned the glasses given by the orphanage director and headed back in the direction of the orphanage.

Kabuto wasn't a ninja who could discern whether Byakuya was boasting or not. What was certain was that Byakuya was undoubtedly a highly skilled ninja, capable of maintaining communication with Kabuto without being noticed by others.

Whether Byakuya was a ninja from outside Konoha made no difference to Kabuto. Although he was currently in Konoha, the true culprits behind the deaths of his parents were Konoha and Sunagakure ninjas.

However, he had long since lost track of his parents' killers and was more focused on surviving with the director and his companions.

Byakuya, observing Kabuto's thoughts, understood that Kabuto was a very rational ninja. The only one who could stir Kabuto's emotions was Nonō Yakushi, who was the source of Kabuto's emotional attachment.

Without Nonō as a restraint, Kabuto had lost his sense of purpose and began to act more freely. Therefore, if Byakuya wanted to truly control Kabuto, he would need to address the issue through Nonō Yakushi, a renowned "wandering priest" of the Root. Dealing with Nonō would be far more challenging than dealing with Kabuto.

However, Nonō's vulnerability happened to be the children of the orphanage.

Bringing his thoughts back, Byakuya did not dwell on this matter for long. Besides training Kabuto, Byakuya's primary goal in staying in Konoha was to create disturbances within the village.

Although Minato Namikaze's reforms were triggering many vested interests and having a promising apprentice like Obito Uchiha, if Minato was lucky enough to complete his reforms, it would spell trouble for Amegakure. The disparity in national strength would tightly lock Amegakure's development ceiling due to Konoha's dominance.

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In Amegakure, Byakuya received intelligence from his wooden clone.

After briefly scanning the contents, Byakuya silently used Fire Release techniques to burn the scroll to ashes and discarded it into the trash bin.

The intelligence from his clone detailed Minato Namikaze's reforms and the reactions of various factions. It was clear that while Minato's reforms could revitalize Konoha, Byakuya didn't need to worry about pressure from Konoha as long as Obito, Black Zetsu, and Danzo were around.

Konoha was a unique village in that, if left unchecked, it would exhaust its strength through internal strife and various peace-promoting infiltrators. However, when faced with imminent threats, it would demonstrate an unimaginable cohesion.

Thus, after preparing accordingly, Byakuya shifted his focus to other areas, such as the development of the Akatsuki organization and interactions between Amegakure and other major nations.

During these days back in Amegakure, Yahiko had met with envoys from other ninja villages multiple times.

The Iwagakure envoys were the most frequent. After learning that Yahiko had visited Konoha, Onoki had repeatedly sent envoys to discuss cooperation with Hanzo of the Salamander, aiming to ensure that Amegakure maintained neutrality and did not become too aligned with Konoha.

If Amegakure were to become an ally of Konoha, Konoha's forces could directly threaten the borders of the Land of Earth, putting immense pressure on Iwagakure.

In addition to Iwagakure, many envoys from Sunagakure had also visited Yahiko. Compared to Iwagakure, Sunagakure's attitude was noticeably more assertive. Although they did not make specific demands, their language was quite blunt, even referring to Hanzo as an "old man with a tube sticking out of him."

After sharing these interesting developments with Hanzo, Hanzo shook his head with a resigned expression.

The only person from Sunagakure who would dare call him "old man" was Chiyo, the elder puppet master from the Warring States period, who was still active today.

However, thinking about his old rival's grandson becoming a rogue ninja and killing the most powerful Kazekage only added to his frustration.

Hanzo's mood was always considerably better after dealing with his tasks.

After finishing his work, Byakuya left the Akatsuki office and headed toward the outskirts of Amegakure.

It wasn't long before Byakuya arrived at a hollowed-out mountain where a massive, withered golem stood. The golem's top half was exposed, towering several dozen meters high.

Any sensory abilities that came into contact with the golem seemed to vanish as if touching an insulator. This golem was the outer shell of the Ten-Tails, the legendary Outer Path Golem.

The Outer Path Golem had many uses.

It could be employed for casting jutsu, serving as a colossal shield against enemies, or used with sealing techniques to revive the Ten-Tails and initiate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that would cover the entire ninja world.

However, Byakuya wasn't here for these purposes. He was here for the "Magic Lantern Body Technique."

This technique, recorded in the Rinnegan, allowed for communication across most of the ninja world, making it an incredibly powerful tool for intelligence sharing and wartime command.

Upon entering the Outer Path Golem, Byakuya looked at Nagato, who was nearby, and asked, "Nagato-senpai, has the simplified version of the Magic Lantern Body Technique been completed?"

Nagato, sporting dark circles under his eyes, appeared. He had thought that creating the Six Paths of Pain would give him some respite, but instead, the existence of the Six Paths had made him even more exhausted.

Managing multiple puppets simultaneously drained him immensely. Moreover, Byakuya had even tasked him with developing a jutsu. With his talent for jutsu, it was challenging enough to optimize techniques, let alone create them.

Nevertheless, Nagato had completed Byakuya's instruction and developed the simplified version of the Magic Lantern Body Technique.

Pulling out a handful of rings from his pocket, Nagato handed them to Byakuya while asking, "By wearing these rings, one can communicate with other ninjas holding rings up to several hundred kilometers away. But why do you need ten rings?"

Byakuya, not hiding anything, replied with a smile, "I've been scouting for several powerful ninjas recently. I plan to establish a squad of elite Jonin within the organization."

Nagato was puzzled and then thought about the new member, Kakuzu.

Kakuzu had become the Akatsuki's financial manager and indeed possessed elite Jonin-level strength. He also excelled in assassination missions. However, Nagato felt that Byakuya's request for the Magic Lantern Body Technique and the formation of an elite Jonin squad was not just for protecting Amegakure but was more likely aimed at facilitating espionage and potential actions against surrounding small nations. These efforts were intended for Amegakure's security and creating opportunities for expansion.

Nagato supported the former wholeheartedly and found no reason to oppose the latter.

The Akatsuki's ideology needed force to maintain, and implementing this ideology required some minor strategies. The small neighboring nations would not accept the Akatsuki's ideals or align with them unless they experienced crushing defeat and enduring pain.