Chapter 178: The Next Target

After hearing Byakuya's reprimand, Sasori, with a deadpan expression, retorted, "I held back as much as I could. Who would have thought that this ninja, who launched an attack against the three of us, would be so weak?"

"I expected him to be at least as strong as Maki," Sasori continued.

Faced with Sasori's deflection, Byakuya sighed in frustration. He stepped out of the hot spring and began healing the injured Kumogakure Jonin. Under the effects of Byakuya's medical ninjutsu, the Jonin gradually regained consciousness. Fearfully, he stared at Byakuya and stammered, "Who are you people? Konoha shouldn't have shinobi like you. Why are you here?"

"We're technically Konoha ninjas for now, considering we're still wearing Konoha headbands. See?" Byakuya replied casually, pointing at his headband.

After a brief pause, Byakuya added, "As for why we're here, we're just on vacation. We came to the Land of Hot Water for some relaxation. What's it got to do with Kumogakure?"

The Kumogakure Jonin stared at Byakuya, unsure whether he was playing dumb or genuinely oblivious. With the current war between Konoha and Kumogakure and the fact that the Land of Hot Water was now occupied by Kumogakure, a group of shinobi proudly displaying Konoha headbands was bound to attract attention.

Seeing the Jonin fall silent, Byakuya lost interest in further conversation. "Sasori, Kakuzu, I'm leaving this guy to you. I need all the information he has in half an hour."

Sasori nodded, clearly intrigued to test his new torturing- I mean information-extracting puppets. Normally, someone hit by Sasori's puppet Hiruko would be hard-pressed to survive, but this Jonin had held on longer than expected. It was partly due to Byakuya's medical ninjutsu, but also thanks to the Jonin's robust physical condition.

Kumogakure, known for its emphasis on taijutsu and Lightning Release, produced elite shinobi whose bodies held great experimental value. Sasori was keen to study him.

After watching Sasori leave, Byakuya exited the hot spring and headed into the study. The hot spring hotel they were staying in was actually one of his own businesses. However, due to Kumogakure's invasion, normal operations had been disrupted. For now, it would serve as a base for luring in more enemies.

Byakuya was confident that more Kumogakure ninjas would target the hotel. As long as the attackers weren't high-caliber threats like the Fourth Raikage or the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, any other Kumogakure ninja would meet their doom.

This confidence stemmed from Byakuya's and his team's strength. Between him, Kakuzu, and Sasori, they were powerful enough to influence the outcome of localized battles. Unless the Five Kage or a large number of elite shinobi were dispatched, even if they couldn't win outright, they could easily escape.

However, excessively weakening Kumogakure didn't align with Amegakure's interests. Byakuya needed to find a way to balance the scales—weakening both Kumogakure and Konoha simultaneously.

As Byakuya pondered how to undermine Konoha further, a noise came from beneath the floor. Zetsu's head emerged from the ground.

The white half of Zetsu, known as Shiro, looked around before addressing Byakuya. "Lord Byakuya, here's the intel you requested. I went through a lot of trouble to get this, so... you'll need to pay extra."

Byakuya sighed in exasperation at Zetsu's demand for more money but tossed over some bills anyway. He found it absurd that Zetsu, of all beings, was asking for payment—what could Zetsu possibly do with money? It seemed like he'd been spending too much time with Kakuzu and had picked up his habits.

Still, giving money to Zetsu was no different than paying Kakuzu. The money wasn't disappearing; it was merely being relocated. Once either of them died, the funds would return to the organization's coffers, essentially back into Byakuya's own hands.

Byakuya picked up the intel Zetsu had delivered. The reports were primarily about the Uchiha clan.

Interestingly, Zetsu hadn't found Itachi Uchiha in the Uchiha compound, meaning there was no intel on Itachi. The report mostly detailed Fugaku and Shisui.

Shisui needed no further elaboration—he was a target Byakuya intended to recruit, though he had yet to fully mature.

As for Fugaku, the Uchiha clan leader and father of both Itachi and Sasuke, Byakuya had his reservations. Fugaku struck him as far too indecisive for someone in such a prominent position within the clan.

If Uchiha Fugaku had dared to defy the Hokage's orders during the Nine-Tails Incident, perhaps he could have changed the Uchiha clan's fate.

Besides that, Byakuya found it hard to understand Fugaku's decision to bring his four-year-old son to the battlefield to kill.

One could argue that Itachi's eventual decision to destroy the clan was influenced half by Fugaku and half by a combination of Danzo, Obito, and Shisui.

Regarding Fugaku's intel, it mentioned that the elite Jonin had led his clan members into the Land of Hot Water multiple times, attempting to capture isolated Kumogakure shinobi and destroy their outposts for merit.

However, while the ideal is grand, the reality is harsh. Fugaku's missions had more failures than successes. The Uchiha clan was no match for the Fourth Raikage, whose speed even surpassed the activation of genjutsu.

After reviewing Fugaku's intel, Byakuya turned to the report on Shisui.

In contrast to Fugaku's aggressive pursuit of glory, Shisui was much more cautious. Though he had attacked Kumogakure fewer times, his success rate was significantly higher.

Unfortunately, Shisui seemed overly cautious—he hadn't even used his Mangekyō Sharingan.

This made Byakuya wonder if Shisui had truly awakened Kotoamatsukami, the ultimate power of his Sharingan.

As Byakuya continued reading, he saw that Shisui was currently leading a group to track down the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. At this, a faint smile appeared on Byakuya's lips—he had finally found a way to further weaken Konoha.

With this thought, Byakuya left the study and went to find Kakuzu and Sasori, who were in the middle of an interrogation.

When Byakuya approached, Kakuzu immediately responded, "Byakuya, it'll take more time to extract the intel. This Kumogakure ninja is more stubborn than we anticipated."

Byakuya glanced at the Kumogakure Jonin undergoing interrogation and said, "I will be leaving the interrogation to you two for now. During this time, focus on self-preservation and don't venture out unnecessarily. I'll be leaving for a few days. We'll meet at the agreed location when I return."

Sasori looked puzzled and asked, "Byakuya, where are you going?"

With a mysterious smile, Byakuya replied, "I'm going to recruit a new member. We still don't have enough people in the organization. If you two come across any suitable candidates, remember to recruit them for the organization."

Byakuya was off to recruit yet another member… Kakuzu and Sasori both fell silent, each wondering who Byakuya intended to bring in next.

Nevertheless, Byakuya's departure was good news for them—it meant they had more freedom to act.

After giving a few more instructions to Kakuzu and Sasori, Byakuya wasted no time. He used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared from the spot.