Naruto: Starting With Tenseigan C116 (Patreon)

Chapter 116: Agonized Black Zetsu, Agonized Obito

"This ghost place is really unbearable."

Torrential rain poured down within the Land of Rain.

Hyuga Makoto walked across a desolate wilderness, looking at the dilapidated environment around him, and couldn't help shaking his head.

"No wonder Hanzou wanted to fight his way out. Anyone would find this kind of place unbearable."

"Indeed—"

Uchiha Izumi nodded gently. The environment of the Land of Rain indeed greatly exceeded her expectations.

She had truly never stepped out of the Land of Fire, nor had she ever witnessed such an extreme environment.

That continuous rain, those dark clouds blocking out the sky, and the barely visible figures along the way.

Such a situation was unimaginable in the Land of Fire!

"The Land of Rain feels as though it's cursed."

Jiraiya glanced around and also spoke in a low voice.

"It's the exact same as when I was here all those years ago. Absolutely nothing has changed."

"However, I heard that the Hidden Rain Village has been built up decently well."

Kakashi recalled the intelligence from the Anbu before speaking softly,

"Perhaps Hanzou poured all his resources into the construction of the Hidden Rain Village and left the other places unattended?"

"That's possible. After all, the Land of Rain has so few resources."

Jiraiya nodded, feeling somewhat emotional.

"It's impossible to cover everyone; he had no choice but to focus on building the Village. It seems he truly faced reality."

"Ha—"

Hearing this from the side, Hyuga Makoto almost rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it because Konoha directly beat away his spirit that it became like this?"

Furthermore, the one vigorously building up the Hidden Rain Village now wasn't some Hanzou, but that fellow Nagato.

In fact, he had always suspected whether Nagato embezzled the money earned by Kakuzu to subsidize the Village.

After all, with the environment of the Land of Rain, agriculture was basically out of the question.

Moreover, with the continuous rain washing over the land and such muddy road conditions, it could hardly become a transportation hub even though it was located at the intersection of multiple nations.

"Merchants aren't willing to come over, and it's impossible to develop any specialty industries..."

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Under such circumstances, even if Hyuga Makoto were to choose, he'd probably have to 'make Kakuzu suffer a bit'!

"Tch, starting wars always comes with a price."

" "

Jiraiya had no idea what Hyuga Makoto was thinking; he curled his lips and replied,

"Alright, enough of that. Let's move a bit faster, we still need to rush to the Land of Hot Springs."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Hyuga Makoto nodded. The Land of Hot Springs was the key to this outing of theirs; after all, their purpose was to find Tsunade.

It was just that he was somewhat curious about what was going on with the Akatsuki Organization and the Fourth Raikage mentioned in the mission details.

"The Akatsuki Organization is probably because we came to the Land of Rain, but is that fellow the Fourth Raikage looking for Tsunade to save a life, or going to investigate the traces of battle?"

But whichever it was, he was pondering how to deal with this Fourth Raikage.

After all, he never had a favorable impression of Hidden Cloud Village, and he hadn't forgotten about the incident regarding Hyuga Hizashi.

"Most importantly, he knows where Hyuga Hizashi is buried!"

At this instant, Hyuga Makoto's gaze changed slightly, but right at this moment, Jiraiya stopped in his tracks.

"We've arrived."

"Oh?"

Hyuga Makoto raised his head and saw that they had already arrived in front of a wooden cabin.

The shattered walls and the holes in the roof made it obvious at a glance that no one had lived there for a long time.

"Makoto, you have two Senior Brothers and one Senior Sister; their names are Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan."

Looking at everything before him, Jiraiya appeared somewhat silent. After quite a while, he slowly spoke,

"We used to live right here. Everything from back then feels just like yesterday, but now things and people have changed."

"My condolences—"

Kakashi looked somewhat downcast, as if recalling something; he sighed and said,

Uchiha Izumi was somewhat silent. The phrase "things remain, but people are gone" held an unusual resonance for her as well.

Seeing the few of them like this, Hyuga Makoto couldn't help shaking his head slightly.

He walked up, took out the flowers he had bought long ago, and handed a portion to Jiraiya.

"For you, Pervy Sage."

"This is—"

Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, while Hyuga Makoto smiled slightly.

"Since I said I would prepare them, naturally I would. You can't be sloppy about memorial rites."

"You guy—"

For a moment, Jiraiya's gaze flickered, and something seemed to be brewing in his eyes, but he quickly chuckled.

"Quite thoughtful of you. I think Yahiko and the others would be very glad if they knew you."

"Perhaps..."

Hearing this, Hyuga Makoto's body paused for a moment, then he slowly walked up to the door and spoke at a measured pace.

"However, seeing that everyone seems so burdened with worries, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

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Kakashi and Uchiha Izumi didn't speak, and Jiraiya couldn't help shaking his head.

"You brat, how can you say such things at a time like this..."

"People need to look forward, Pervy Sage."

Hyuga Makoto squatted down, placed the flowers in his hand before the door, and then continued,

"Don't forget, I have also experienced the grief of losing a loved one. Uncle Hizashi's matter is unforgettable to me to this day, but I think..."

As he spoke, he had already stood up, quietly looking at the flowers in front of the door.

"Since we are still alive, let's carry on their will and live well, watching the changes in this world. When the day comes that we go to meet them..."

Turning around, he looked at Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Uchiha Izumi, and a smile appeared on his face.

"We can also tell them what we accomplished with the help of their will, and how the world has changed. At the very least, we can tell them that we tried our best."

"Instead of constantly wallowing in the pain of the past—that's probably the last thing they'd want to hear, right?"

Hyuga Makoto's words made the three of them freeze.

They all knew these words were meant for the three of them, and these words truly left their hearts unsettled for a long time.

Uchiha Izumi truly hadn't expected that this boy, only slightly older than herself, could see things so thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Kakashi touched his eye, thinking of Rin Nohara's tragic fate, and felt a surge of motivation within his heart.

"You guy, no wonder the Old Man likes you so much."

Jiraiya slowly spoke at this moment as well. He also stepped forward, placed the flowers in his hand before the door, and then smiled as he said,

"You're right, people still need to look forward. The three of them and even... have already ended. Although they all had tragic endings, but..."

He turned his head, his gaze landing on Hyuga Makoto.

"A new chapter has opened, and this time I have a feeling that there will be a good ending."

"Is that so?"

Hyuga Makoto tilted his head, while Jiraiya turned to look at the wooden cabin.

In his heart, he was already pondering whether he should make a trip to Mount Myoboku after the mission ended.

"It definitely will."

After being silent for quite a while, he smiled and said,

"Kid, if you don't mind, I plan to quote your words in my new book. What do you think?"

"Oh?"

Hyuga Makoto's eyes instantly lit up, and he asked curiously,

"Are you splitting the royalties with me?"

Jiraiya froze, but Hyuga Makoto continued,

"If you don't share, it doesn't matter, but I'd rather you quote another line."

"...Which line?"

"People must look forward, but even more so, they must look toward money and rake in the profits!"

"Isn't this the true meaning of being a Ninja!"

While Hyuga Makoto and the others were bickering, in a patch of ruins in the distance,

Konan and Nagato were currently lingering there, their gazes appearing somewhat complex.

"It's truly Teacher Jiraiya."

After quite a while, Nagato let out a slight sigh.

"My Chakra wouldn't misperceive this. I never expected he would come here."

"Teacher Jiraiya..."

Konan was also in a trance for a moment, and she spoke in a low voice,

"It seems he hasn't forgotten about us."

"Yeah, it's just a bit regrettable."

Nagato nodded, then shook his head again.

"The current us are no longer the same as back then. He still came a bit too late."

"It really is a pity."

Although Konan's gaze was somewhat complex, she was very well aware that this was reality.

Ever since Yahiko left, they had long since gone against Jiraiya's beliefs.

This was a reality that no one could change, especially since Yahiko's death was inextricably linked to Konoha!

"However, do they have some kind of mission? Or could their objective be the Hidden Rain Village?"

"I'm not sure either. Normally speaking, Teacher Jiraiya wouldn't look for Hanzou, but..."

Nagato shook his head, his gaze carrying a hint of solemnity.

"We can't rule out whether he has noticed something. Don't forget that we made a move in Hidden Mist."

"Then what do you mean?"

After a moment of thought, Konan immediately understood.

"Tell that Uchiha Obito and let him go investigate?"

"Yeah."

Nagato nodded, closing his eyes with no discernible expression.

"This trouble was stirred up by him in the first place, so naturally he should take responsibility for it."

"I understand. He truly needs to take responsibility for this matter."

Konan did not object; after all, she wasn't very willing to clash with Jiraiya either.

"I never expected we'd encounter such a thing when coming to see Yahiko."

"This is probably the will of heaven..."

Nagato also sighed, then said in a deep voice,

"After all, reality has already proven that Teacher Jiraiya's beliefs and persistence are all wrong..."

After finishing these words, the two of them spoke no more, quietly waiting for Jiraiya and the others to leave.

Hanzou's betrayal, Konoha's involvement, and Yahiko's death were all silently proving that true communication between people was difficult.

Only by grasping power—power that suppresses everything—could the entire world be calmed down.

Before that, no matter how hard they tried, there would be no results!

"Jiraiya?"

Meanwhile, inside the Hidden Rain Village, Obito looked at Black Zetsu before him with eyes full of surprise.

"Why is he here? Could we have been exposed?"

"Hard to say, Obito."

Before Black Zetsu could speak, White Zetsu chimed in with a chuckle.

"After all, the two of you made a move against the Mizukage together. Now that the other person has broken free from control, maybe they remembered something."

Obito swept a dangerous gaze across White Zetsu, fortunately Black Zetsu spoke up.

"I'm afraid we haven't been exposed, otherwise they should be coming to the Hidden Rain Village."

"Jiraiya probably wouldn't dare to come; not many people know about Hanzou's death."

Obito snorted coldly, seeming somewhat disdainful, but White Zetsu blinked and spoke again,

"Aleh, is the Hidden Rain Village even harder to enter than Hidden Mist?"

Obito's breath hitched, and murderous intent arose in his eyes.

That disastrous defeat in Hidden Mist had always been the hatred in his heart!

It wasn't that he cared about losing...

But that night, that bastard Hyuga Makoto fabricated a 'fact' that even he couldn't explain!

This bastard White Zetsu dared to bring this up now; he really was tired of living.

"Hmm?"

However, right when Obito was brimming with Killing Intent, he suddenly thought of something.

"Jiraiya and those few people—or rather, how many white-haired guys are there?"

"Hiss, what a terrifying gaze..."

White Zetsu pursed his lips. He felt Obito's Killing Intent, but he still spoke pitifully,

"Four people, three of whom have white hair. Hey, Obito, you wouldn't want to kill me, would you?"

"Three white-haired guys..."

The fierce light in Obito's eyes became even more obvious, but this time it wasn't directed at White Zetsu.

"Hyuga Makoto! You bastard!"

"It should be him, no doubt."

Black Zetsu spoke up at this moment as well, feeling somewhat regretful that Obito didn't make a move.

He now deeply understood Obito's pain, because White Zetsu had also fabricated a 'fact' that he couldn't refute!

Right now, he really wanted to see Obito reach out and choke this bastard to death...

But right now, he felt he needed to calm down; Hyuga Makoto was after all that Otsutsuki's 'vessel'.

He had always been pondering how to let Hyuga Makoto know the 'truth'.

Of course, he also needed to observe what Hyuga Makoto's current strength was like, and how far the development of that 'jutsu' had progressed.

Only by understanding the situation could he make more judgments.

"The three of them often act together; they're probably investigating something."

"Hmph, who cares what they're investigating!"

Obito spoke through gritted teeth; he hated Hyuga Makoto to the core.

"That fellow, I will never let him go no matter what..."

"I know, but we can't make a move in the Land of Rain, or we'll truly be exposed."

Black Zetsu also wanted to see Hyuga Makoto's changes. After pondering for a moment, he said earnestly,

"I guess they have other motives, and coming to the Land of Rain is purely to pay their respects. After all, you also know the relationship between Nagato and the others and Jiraiya."

"Other motives?"

Obito raised an eyebrow, and suddenly he realized something.

"The Land of Hot Springs? That's right, only by going there would such a lineup be needed!"

That major battle in the Land of Hot Springs had attracted Ninja from who knows how many Villages to go and investigate.

Konoha wanted to gather more intelligence, and in order to avoid running into any trouble, they indeed needed a stronger team.

Jiraiya and the others were obviously the best choice!

"I think so too..."

Black Zetsu nodded gently, his gaze also flickering slightly.

"If that's really the case, I think we can do something."

"Yeah!"

Obito nodded. Making a move in the Land of Hot Springs could indeed avoid many problems.

Moreover, a major battle had already taken place there, which could also cover up quite a few things.

"Whitey, I'll spare your life today. Send a Clone to follow them."

"So I don't have to die?"

White Zetsu blinked, but seeing the gazes simultaneously cast over by Obito and Black Zetsu, he immediately shook his head.

"To save my life, I'll arrange it right away!"

Neither Obito nor Black Zetsu spoke. After taking a deep breath, they fell into silence.

Only, the expressions of both of them carried a certain amount of agony.

"Hyuga Makoto, you just wait for me!"

Obito roared inwardly, his fists already clenched so hard they were rock-solid.

"In the future, I will create a new world without you!"

"Mother, I'm sorry..."

Black Zetsu also lamented inwardly; the lies he fabricated had bits added to them by White Zetsu, which caused him immense agony.

And what was even more painful was that he still needed White Zetsu right now. Thinking of this, his fists also became rock-solid.

"Hyuga Makoto, show your strength. Perhaps your power really can resist that demon..."