[There are some minor adjustments and there's a slight repetition. It doesn't count towards the word count. Sorry about that.]
"Alright, stop talking about this. It's rare for me to come back to the village. Come have a drink with me."
Jiraiya avoided Tsunade's gaze and staggered forward with some difficulty.
"Humph..."
After some hesitation, Tsunade followed him.
The two walked side by side again, and their two shadows were stretched very long under the dim streetlights.
"Hey, have you found that so - called Child of the Prophecy you've been looking for?" Tsunade asked casually.
Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed loudly, "Well, I still have no clue. Hahaha."
"Idiot, what are you laughing about then!"
"Pfft! (Surprised expression)"
"To repay you, I'll support you occasionally from now on. Just tell me if you need anything!"
"Can you help me up first?"
A cold - faced man with long black hair leaned against a dark corner, silently watching this scene.
"Damn, these two idiots."
Although he complained on the lips, there was a rare smile on the man's cold face.
Perhaps, his fate would change because of this? Who knows.
In the orphanage funded by Tanzō in Konoha.
Kaze was sitting casually on a chair, smiling at the beautiful blond mature woman in front of him.
The woman was wearing a simple black robe and a pair of white stockings, which fully displayed her graceful figure and exuded a mature charm in every gesture.
"Director Nonou, you don't want your orphanage to lose its funding, do you?" As soon as Kaze opened his mouth, he directly had the upper hand.
Nonou Yakushi, a former member of Root, was now the director of this orphanage.
Maybe she wasn't very well - known, but later she adopted a child and named him Kabuto Yakushi (referred to as 'Jackie Chan' in the mobile game).
But that was all in the future. Now, Nonou was still young and looking great.
"Sir, if you want something from me, just say it directly." Nonou said softly.
The moment she learned Kaze's identity, she knew that the man could easily do what he said.
"Okay, then I'll get straight to the point." Kaze nodded slightly and said, "I hope you can return to Root and work for me."
Kaze's interest in Nonou wasn't because of her body.
Nonou was originally from the intelligence department, good at reconnaissance and [Medical Ninjutsu], which perfectly met the needs of Kaze's team.
After hearing Kaze's request, Nonou showed a troubled look.
She didn't want to go back to that kind of life, nor did she want to leave the children in the orphanage.
Kaze made a "yeah" gesture to Nonou and said, "Two years. I only need you to work for me for two years."
"If you're willing, I can decide to fund the expansion of your orphanage after two years."
Basically, The Second Great Ninja War would be over after two years.
By then, Kaze would have plenty of time to cultivate his own forces. But for now, he had to make do with what was readily available.
After a moment of silence, Nonou slowly nodded. "Alright, I agree. I hope you'll keep your promise then."
Kaze thumped his chest and promised, "Don't worry. A Konoha person never lies to another Konoha person."
As for whether his father would release the people in two years, he had no idea.
After all, in this world, it's not proper for a son to boss his father around.
Right, One - vs - Seven? (A reference whose meaning is unclear without context)
In Madara Uchiha's base, two Uchiha teenagers were led by White Zetsu and came before Madara.
The two instantly recognized Madara. Uchiha Rin remained silent.
The other teenager named Uchiha Yau pointed at Madara in surprise and said,
"It's you! You're the old man who saved me! Are you also from the Uchiha clan? Why have I never seen you before?"
Madara Uchiha sat on his high seat, looking down at the two teenagers, and said faintly,
"I'm the undead of the Uchiha clan... Madara Uchiha!"
"Ma... Madara?!"
Both of them stared blankly at Madara, their eyes showing expressions of doubt and shock.
"You claim to be our ancestor, Madara Uchiha?" Uchiha Yau looked utterly confused.
Uchiha Rin couldn't help but speak up, "How could Madara still be alive? That was ages ago!"
"Heh." Madara Uchiha smiled indifferently.
"Yes, if it weren't for the Demonic Statue behind me constantly providing me with chakra, I'd probably have been dead for a long time."
The two looked at the huge Demonic Statue behind Madara.
On the chest of the Demonic Statue, several expressionless faces of the First Hokage protruded, hanging there like growths.
At the edge of the Demonic Statue, there were also several eerie corpses hanging like hanged ghosts.
"Gulp." Uchiha Yau swallowed hard, feeling a hint of fear in his heart.
Uchiha Rin was also a bit scared but still pretended to be calm and asked,
"Even if you are Madara Uchiha... What on earth is your purpose for saving us and bringing us here?"
Madara Uchiha gave them a deep look and already had a judgment in his heart.
Compared to Uchiha Yau, Uchiha Rin was obviously more outstanding, but that also meant she was harder to control.
"Like me, you two are also people abandoned by this world," Madara said slowly.
"From now on, I'll need you to do some things for me and cut off the worldly karma for me."
"Together, we can reshape this cold world and create a world where there are only victors, and only peace and love exist."
Uchiha Yau shouted, "Who gives a crap about your nonsense! I haven't been abandoned by anyone!"
"Let me outta here! I wanna go back to Konoha!"
Madara stared at Yau indifferently and said coldly,
"The world doesn't work the way you want it to. One day, you'll understand this truth."
Hane Uchiha lowered his head and fell silent, suppressing his thoughts deep inside.
Root.
Kaze carefully sized up his two beautiful female team members and was quite pleased with his squad.
But after taking a glance at Yuto's rugged face, his satisfaction waned.
"I've got to find a reason to replace Uncle Yuto somehow later!"
Yuto had no idea what was going on in Kaze's mind. When Kaze looked in his direction, he even showed a fierce smile.
This only strengthened Kaze's resolve.
"Must replace him! There are already two mature and charming women in the team... Hmm, it'd be perfect to recruit a cute young girl."
"Alright, our team is now fully staffed."
Kaze clapped his hands and imitated his father, starting to instill the team spirit.
"Our team's goal is to expand and prosper, and create even more glories!"
Yuto scratched his head, raised his hand, and asked, "My young master, with a team of only four people, how can we expand and prosper?"
"Damn it... You've messed me up so much!" Kaze retorted irritably.
He put his hands behind his back, exuding an air of contempt for the world and nobility, just like a king.
"Within ten years, I'll replace my dad and become the head of Root..."
"Lord Tanzō!!"
"Damn it, Dad, why are you here!"
Tanzō gave his son a disdainful look, then turned around and left with a nonchalant remark.
"Come with me. I'll introduce you to someone."
"Okay, Dad."
Kaze obediently trailed behind Tanzō, with cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Led by Tanzō, they arrived at a secluded cottage.
Inside the cottage stood a tall, fair - skinned man with long black hair, wearing brown clothes.
Hearing their voices, the man turned around and showed a chilling smile.
Kaze was so scared that he almost let out a scream on the spot.
Damn it... Orochimaru?!
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