Chapter 160: The Spoils of the Night

After controlling the Uchiha clan members with his Sharingan and identifying Itachi, Obito intended to continue scouting other potential Uchiha candidates for cultivation. However, his body could no longer sustain his prolonged presence and infiltration. He had to temporarily withdraw from the Uchiha clan grounds.

The reason was quite simple. Although Obito could recover his injuries quickly by using White Zetsu's body, the transplantation of White Zetsu's body was not without its costs. White Zetsu was a product of cells cultivated from Hashirama, and not everyone could bear the consequences of transplanting these cells.

Even as a Uchiha with the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan, recovering to his peak condition after transplanting White Zetsu's body required several weeks or even months of rest to avoid permanent side effects.

Returning to the small forest where he had been hiding, Obito found that Byakuya and Black Zetsu were engaged in a heated discussion. As expected, his guess had been correct. While he was away, Byakuya and Black Zetsu had delved into future plans.

Obito didn't interrupt their discussion. He waited patiently until Byakuya departed, and only then did he reveal himself to Black Zetsu.

When alone with Obito, Black Zetsu adopted a submissive stance. Before Obito could speak, Black Zetsu proactively said, "Obito, I've learned about Byakuya's future plans…"

After listening to Black Zetsu's recounting of Byakuya's plans, Obito nodded slightly. Then, as if recalling something, he said, "Black Zetsu, when will I be able to surpass Byakuya and become the leader of Akatsuki? I can't stand his arrogant demeanor anymore."

Black Zetsu looked puzzled and replied, "Obito, having Byakuya as our leader is beneficial. Firstly, he will help us gather the tailed beasts, and secondly, he will divert the hatred away from us. No matter how arrogant he seems now, everything will turn around once Madara-sama is resurrected."

Obito's expression returned to calm. He understood the logic behind Black Zetsu's words, but Byakuya always seemed to find his weaknesses and strike precisely at them.

---

On the other side, after concluding the discussion with Black Zetsu about the tailed beast weapons plan, Byakuya stealthily returned to Konoha.

With the plan to weaken Konoha through Obito successfully completed, it was time for him to find a place to get some rest and assess the spoils from the operation.

The greatest gains from this operation were undoubtedly the Fourth Hokage and the half of the Nine-Tails, as well as the sealing book obtained from the Hokage Tower.

The sealing book was invaluable, containing numerous forbidden techniques collected by Konoha, encapsulating decades of the village's finest jutsu.

Among them were the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and the Impure World Reincarnation technique. Although these forbidden techniques couldn't be widely used due to the book's restricted access, it was still possible to pass on some of them to a few trusted subordinates. Techniques like the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Eight Gates could significantly enhance a ninja's combat effectiveness, with only minor 'insignificant' costs.

Despite the Fourth Hokage's death and Kushina's severe injury, the Fourth Hokage could be revived at any time using the Impure World Reincarnation, allowing Byakuya to acquire a ninja skilled in space-time ninjutsu.

Kushina's role, though less apparent, might be crucial in the future. As the mother of the Prophecy Child, she might have significant uses later on. Additionally, reinforcing his identity as a descendant of the Uzumaki could deceive Black Zetsu.

As for the half of the Nine-Tails sealed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, it was even more valuable. The Nine-Tails, being the strongest Tailed-Beast, would greatly enhance Byakuya's already ample chakra reserves, ensuring that no one could have too much chakra.

As Byakuya was quietly reviewing his gains, a crisp system notification sound suddenly rang in his ears.

[The Nine-Tails (Yin) has joined the Akatsuki. You have obtained the Nine-Tails' Power (Yin)!]

[Nine-Tails' Power (Yin): The inherent power of the Nine-Tails. Once you gather both Yin and Yang forces, you will acquire the complete power of the Nine-Tails.]

Upon hearing the system prompt, Byakuya clicked to claim the reward and opened the system panel.

[Name: Byakuya]

[Age: 16]

[Current Affiliated Organization: Akatsuki]

[Chakra Attributes: Water, Earth, Wind, Yang, Yin]

[Ninjutsu: Transformation Jutsu, Basic Kunai Throwing Technique, Wind Release Jutsu, Water Release Jutsu, Basic Paper Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Spore Jutsu, Mayfly Jutsu...]

[Bloodline Limits: Basic Wood Release, Basic Yin-Yang Release, Sharingan]

[Special Abilities: Nine-Tails' Power (Yin)]

[Bloodline: Ashura Bloodline (Pseudo)]

[Personal Evaluation: A top-tier Shinobi among shadows, capable of easily defeating most ninjas. However, against true strong foes, the chance to escape is very slim.]

On his personal panel, the Nine-Tails' Power (Yin) had appeared, and a vast amount of chakra had suddenly emerged within him—likely the portion of Nine-Tails' power he had just acquired.

Seeing the Nine-Tails' Power on his panel, Byakuya couldn't help but smile wryly. He was still contemplating how to utilize the half Nine-Tails he had, yet the system had directly rewarded him with the Yin attribute power of the Nine-Tails.

Upon carefully feeling the Yin attribute Nine-Tails' power within him, Byakuya didn't notice anything particularly special about it. Unlike the other eight tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails' chakra itself lacked a distinct attribute; its greatest advantage was its sheer volume, which could be quite filling. At least now, he could try handcrafting a Tailed Beast Bomb.

However, one thing caught Byakuya's attention.

He had obtained the Fourth Hokage and half of the Nine-Tails, yet only the Nine-Tails was counted as Akatsuki's asset, while the unconscious Kushina and deceased Minato were not...

Could it be because the Nine-Tails was a tailed beast rather than a ninja?

Suppressing his urge to grumble, Byakuya turned his attention to the other sections of the system panel. The ninjutsu section was already densely populated with techniques.

The bloodline and bloodline sections, however, drew Byakuya's attention.

While the bloodline limits remained largely unchanged, showing Basic Wood Release and Sharingan, the bloodline section had changed slightly, now listing Ashura Bloodline (Pseudo).

Seeing this, Byakuya was somewhat surprised.

Ashura was the younger son of Sage of the Six Paths, and his bloodline was now akin to Ashura's. If he continued to recruit powerful individuals, there might be a chance to possess the Six Paths' bloodline and become a member of the Otsutsuki clan in the future.

Pulling back his drifting thoughts, Byakuya looked at the final evaluation of his strength.

The system's evaluation of his strength remained consistent with before, still surpassing most ninjas but susceptible to being overpowered by a few strong ones.

This indicated that although his strength had grown significantly, he still needed to continue working hard to become a major player in Akatsuki and in the ninja world.