Chapter 62. Sneak Attack on Rasa

Despite Obito being a pitiable figure, it doesn't stop Natsuki from harboring deep hatred towards him.

From a young age, Obito was manipulated by Madara and completely abandoned the self that once cherished friendship, kindness, love, optimism, and liveliness.

If Rin dies, he is willing to let the entire ninja world be buried with him.

If the power of the Rinnegan is needed, he is willing to prevent their companions from rescuing Yahiko and turn Nagato into darkness.

If Konoha needs to be weakened, he is willing to release the Kyuubi while Kushina is giving birth, exploiting the weakened seal.

He completely disregards his master, his wife, and the innocent civilians of Konoha.

In need of funds and talents, he uses the Sharingan to control the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and instigate dictatorship in Kirigakure.

While accumulating wealth, he eliminates all threats to his plan.

Anyone who could threaten the status of the Fourth Mizukage becomes the target of his revenge, leading to the ruthless destruction of countless kekkei genkai families in the Kirigakure.

The Fourth Ninja World War claims countless lives, shattering countless families.

Obito's crimes are too numerous to adequately describe. Although he is a pawn of Madara, and others would replace him as pawns, it doesn't excuse his culpability.

Kakashi's mercifulness in the Kamui space infuriates Natsuki.

To him, Kakashi is nothing more than a white-eyed wolf who doesn't even remember the death of his master and his wife.

The extent of Sharingan that Madara has accumulated over the years, and how much is left for Obito, remains a mystery.

Being able to kill Obito once more and destroy his Sharingan is undoubtedly a good thing.

The thought of adding more obstacles to Obito brings immense comfort to Natsuki.

When he has the power, he is determined to crush this detestable bug to death!

...

He continued his journey under the scorching sunshine in the vast desert.

With few landmarks to guide him, it was easy to lose direction.

To stay on track, Natsuki had to frequently consult his compass, ensuring he didn't deviate from his intended path.

However, to his dismay, he discovered that his compass failed in an area with a strong magnetic field.

Undeterred, he improvised, planning to use a stick and the sun's shadow for navigation.

As he walked, a sudden and intense chakra fluctuation reached him, causing the ground to tremble.

Natsuki, now intrigued, hastened towards the origin of this powerful chakra.

Upon cresting a sand dune, Natsuki was met with a breathtaking sight.

The desert, abundant with sand, showcased one of nature's most spectacular phenomena—a tornado.

Yet, this tornado was no natural occurrence; it was created by a man.

In the distance, a figure soared through the air with arms outstretched, orchestrating the violently rotating funnel-shaped sand pillar.

The tornado, seemingly defying the clear sky, dominated the landscape, casting a shadow and transforming the once-sunny atmosphere into a gloomy spectacle.

The sand on the ground danced in response, continually being lifted and tossed by the whirlwind. 

After the sand tornado swept away the ground's cover, it obediently followed the movements of the man controlling it.

Upon closer inspection, Natsuki noticed shiny objects periodically ejected from the tornado, scattering into the distance.

Activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, he focused on the scene and realized that the flying objects were actually grains of sand gold.

As the golden particles rained down, they accumulated into a sizable heap, prompting Natsuki to marvel at the seemingly effortless money-making endeavor.

In the distance, the figure orchestrating this sand spectacle became clearer through the enhanced vision of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Natsuki identified him as the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa—a.k.a. the Gold Dust Master.

Observing from afar, he took in the spectacle for a while before catching the attention of Rasa.

In a landscape dominated by yellow sands, the presence of a lone figure was hard to miss.

"Who are you?" Rasa retracted his hands, causing the rotating scroll to explode and descend like a waterfall, raising a cloud of dust.

Swiftly, Rasa retrieved a sealing scroll, carefully stashing away the placer gold.

It wasn't a fear of theft, but rather a precaution in case the unknown observer turned out to be an enemy who might disturb the precious findings.

Rasa, confident in his own strength, had expended considerable chakra, yet he felt at ease in the desert—his home turf.

He knew he could easily subdue even Shukaku in this environment, which is why he chose to embark on the gold hunt alone.

Others would be relegated to mere spectators.

Natsuki, revealing his identity as a ninja from Konoha, removed his bamboo hat and replaced it with the Konoha forehead protector.

"I am a ninja from Konoha!" He declared, his voice echoing across the dunes.

However, in the vast desert without any landmarks, gauging the distance was challenging, and they were effectively separated by a sand dune.

Observing from afar, Rasa found his display of the forehead protector superficial and couldn't help but feel a bit amused.

However, curiosity got the better of him, and he employed a cloud made of sand to swiftly approach.

As he arrived in front of him, the sand ball dispersed, revealing his inquisitive gaze.

"Who are you?" He questioned.

Natsuki, looking at the forehead protector in his hands, seemed to have a realization.

"Oh, I'm a Uchiha. If you don't believe me, look, I have the Sharingan," he declared, activating the three tomoe Sharingan.

Rasa instinctively looked closer as the Sharingan transformed into a spinning windmill of three tomoe.

"Tsukuyomi!"

Natsuki finally used Itachi's formidable technique.

Since the system's one-time ninjutsu did not incur any consumption, and given that it was a mangekyo technique, Natsuki decided to infuse additional power into it to strengthen its effects.

In the blink of an eye, Rasa found himself plunged into a realm of darkness.

...

In the underground of Konoha:

Danzo inquired, "What's the experimental data like?"

His right eye, as usual, remained covered, but his right arm and shoulder were no longer bandaged. There was no crutch beside him.

"Danzo-sama, after testing, the activity of your arm has increased six times without using Wood Release, far surpassing that of your left hand," reported one of his subordinates.

He nodded and then vigorously shook hands.

*Boom!*

His right arm suddenly transformed from a normal skin color to a pale hue and extended into a massive branch, demolishing a nearby boulder with a resounding crash.

Danzo retracted his arm, and it returned to its normal state.

However, he covered it, indicating that the chakra consumed was not insignificant.

From the wall emerged Zetsu, the figure with a separate aloe leaf.

"Why is it so expensive?" Danzo inquired, showing signs of frustration at the other party's unreachable nature.

"Hashirama's cells have just started to fuse into your body from the previous grafting. It will take some time to become proficient in using Wood Release," explained Zetsu.

"You'd better be telling the truth," Danzo remarked coldly.

"Don't worry. Since I found you to cooperate, it's all about getting what you need. We provide funds, and you provide us with information," replied Zetsu with a silly tone.

Danzo narrowed one eye slightly and questioned, "I've given you the news about Uchiha Natsuki leaving the village a long time ago, why haven't you caught him yet?"

It responded, "Something went wrong, and someone else intervened."

Danzo retorted, "That's your business. The information has been provided to you. It will be good for us to catch him as soon as possible."

"Uchiha Natsuki is not that easy to catch. I will come again when I have news," It stated calmly.

Danzo continued, "The Uchiha clan today is not what it used to be."

"Perhaps, you can discuss with the Third Hokage how to suppress the development of Uchiha," It suggested as he slowly sank into the wall, disappearing as if he had never been there.

Danzo glanced at the Root members below.

The Root member raised his fingers, and an invisible wave swept out.

"Danzo-sama, he has left," reported the Root member.

Danzo's face darkened. This method of coming and going without a trace left him feeling as uncomfortable as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into the sun.

The disbandment of the Roots not only caused Danzo to lose the base and the experimental equipment inside but also dealt a significant blow to the capital chain.

In the past, Konoha dedicated funds to its Roots, and the Roots sometimes took over certain families' unsavory tasks in exchange for financial support.

However, after the Third Hokage announced the disbandment of the Roots, many families refrained from cooperating, severing their ties with the organization.

Although the members at Roots were still present, they lacked financial resources.

As Danzo fretted over this, Zetsu suddenly appeared and injected a substantial amount of funds into the Roots.

Additionally, he assisted in the development of Hashirama's cells.

Although Danzo's arm no longer featured the Sharingan, the further fusion of Hashirama's cells increased his strength.

In the past, the Sharingan needed to be transplanted onto the arm to suppress Hashirama's cells, but now it could be removed.

Danzo found it unexpected that he would one day cooperate with the Akatsuki organization, which had now developed internal factions.

Taking a slow breath, Danzo observed his normal right hand and proceeded to walk outside.