Chapter 661 Changing the Future

As soon as Orochimaru returned to Konoha, he went directly to the Hokage Office to report on his mission.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Orochimaru walk in with a hurried demeanor, he immediately felt a sense of unease.

Orochimaru had returned too quickly, and his appearance didn’t suggest a successful mission.

“Hiruzen-sensei, the negotiations have broken down, and the mission has failed. The Shinobi Sect’s attitude is very abnormal,” Orochimaru said with a serious expression.

Even though he had anticipated it, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly upon hearing Orochimaru’s words.

“Describe the negotiation process in detail,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Understanding the reason for the breakdown of negotiations was crucial, as it concerned whether they could conduct a second round of talks or what their next strategy would be.

“The Shinobi Sect’s attitude was very firm, inexplicably firm, acting as if they weren’t afraid of going to war with our Konoha.”

Orochimaru recounted his entire conversation with Kakuzu during the meeting.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s brows furrowed after hearing Kakuzu’s first statement; Kakuzu’s attitude was indeed off.

Since when did a small nation’s force dare to shout, “Whether we go to war depends on you,” to a major Ninja Village? Where did they get such courage?

Was it because they had fewer Ninja, or because their Ninja were weaker?

Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively took out his pipe, lit it, puffed a few times, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“A feint, perhaps…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his right hand rhythmically on the table, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Konoha could certainly scare the Shinobi Sect, threatening them with war.

Because Konoha truly had the strength, it was just that Hiruzen Sarutobi preferred stability and wanted to develop steadily.

If the Shinobi Sect used a feint against Konoha, it would truly be a pure gamble, betting that Konoha’s gun had no bullets.

“Hiruzen-sensei, I think we should first dispatch a small team to conduct a detailed investigation of the Shinobi Sect,” Orochimaru suggested.

There was no benefit for Konoha to rush into a fight with the Shinobi Sect, and besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t seem inclined to wage war against them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

Before preparing the next move, they needed to clarify whether the Shinobi Sect truly had confidence or was just bluffing.

…

After returning to Konoha, Shisui split off a Shadow Clone to act separately, inviting Kakashi and the others to the South Border Forest to discuss the Shinobi Sect matter.

“What do you all think we should do?” Shisui asked after explaining the entire situation.

All four fell into thought, and no one spoke for a moment.

“Actually, the Shinobi Sect issue might be more serious than you imagine, Shisui,” Kakashi said after some thought.

“The Shinobi Sect leader killed one of our Konoha’s high-ranking officials. Even if the truth is as the Shinobi Sect Ninja claim—that Danzo Shimura plotted mischief and was counter-killed—this outcome will still not change.”

What is a Ninja Village? It’s a military group that accepts employment from anyone, not a righteous crusader guarding the Ninja World.

With a high-ranking official killed, regardless of the process, Konoha would hold the Shinobi Sect accountable.

“This level of conflict is irreconcilable. Either the Shinobi Sect compromises, or both sides go to war.”

When the news of Danzo Shimura’s death was spreading, Kakashi had already considered the Shinobi Sect.

However, Konoha was busy with battles at that time, so Kakashi didn’t bring it up. Compared to the Shinobi Sect and the future Akatsuki Organization’s affairs, Muzuki’s safety was more important.

“Then the Shinobi Sect is bound to be destroyed, isn’t it?” Obito said with a look of pity.

He had a rather good impression of Yahiko from the Shinobi Sect.

“Pretty much. Even if Muzuki-sensei intervenes, it would be the same; it would instead cause problems with his standing,” Kakashi nodded and said.

If the Shinobi Sect and Konoha had only a minor dispute, it would naturally be fine for Muzuki, the Hokage Assistant, to step forward and mediate. But Konoha lost a former Hokage Assistant.

Shisui thought carefully and realized that it was indeed as Kakashi said: Muzuki was truly not suitable to prevent the conflict between the Shinobi Sect and Konoha.

Muzuki was promoted to Hokage Assistant only after Danzo Shimura died. Logically, Muzuki should actively seek revenge for his predecessor.

“Damn it, if only I were Hokage! If someone privately assassinated the leader of another force, I’d be the first to clean house!” Obito scratched his hair.

This feeling of knowing something bad was going to happen but being unable to stop it made him very uncomfortable.

Moreover, the great war had just ended, and another war might break out, one incited by their own Village, which made Obito even more uncomfortable.

“If you were to lead Konoha, I’m afraid Konoha would have to cut down on its Ninja numbers within a few years,” Kakashi sighed.

Obito had indeed made progress compared to before, but his ideas were still too idealistic.

If they only accepted “righteous” missions, how could Konoha develop and grow stronger?

Rin Nohara hesitated to speak, but ultimately couldn’t say anything.

In the past, it was always enemies invading Konoha; now, Konoha was targeting other forces.

“Don’t think about these things. Let’s have a battle of youth and passion! No matter when, being strong is always a good thing!” Might Guy, seeing the atmosphere become a bit somber, suddenly stood up and smiled, showing his shining white teeth.

He didn’t have the meticulous thoughts of Kakashi and Shisui, but he trusted Muzuki and his comrades. As long as they kept working hard, they would surely succeed.

“Thinking about it, for various reasons, it’s really been a long time since we had an internal team battle,” Obito said with an intrigued expression.

Their internal team battles weren’t just for fighting; they were for mutual encouragement and promoting strength growth.

So after the busy war, internal conflicts were put on hold.

The struggles on the battlefield were much more stimulating than internal team battles and could satisfy their need for strength improvement.

Now that the great war was over and the Ninja World had temporarily returned to peace, his strength had also greatly increased. It was a good time for an internal team battle!

“You’re not going to use Kamui in an internal battle, are you? There’s a pretty affordable optician in the Konoha commercial district. Do you want me to take you there later?” Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

He wasn’t worried about losing the battle, but rather worried about Obito misusing his Mangekyo Sharingan, turning his good eyesight into myopia, and eventually going blind.

“No need! I don’t need any glasses!” Obito couldn’t help but glare at Kakashi. He felt underestimated; he wouldn’t carelessly use his Mangekyo Sharingan.

“My Kamui is very flexible to use. If I only use the right eye’s ability a few times, the side effects are minimal.”

Although both eyes’ abilities were Kamui, due to their different effects, Obito gave them nicknames for distinction.

For example, the right eye’s Kamui, which allows him to transfer back and forth between real space and the Kamui Dimension, Obito named Phasing Kamui.

The left eye’s Kamui, which can forcibly twist and send a portion of an enemy’s body into the Kamui Dimension from a distance, Obito named Warping Kamui.

Based on Obito’s experience in battle, Warping Kamui consumed much more Chakra than Phasing Kamui, both in terms of eye power and Chakra.

If Obito controlled the number of times he phased and didn’t use Kamui to absorb people, nor used Warping Kamui, then the eye power consumed in a battle would actually be very little.

“Moreover, even without Kamui, my strength is far greater than before!” Obito couldn’t help but smile proudly.

After the Sharingan evolved, it brought him not just the Eye Technique of Kamui; his Chakra also increased, and the Mangekyo’s basic abilities themselves were much stronger than the Three Tomoe.

Furthermore, he had recently unearthed another power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, which would definitely catch Kakashi off guard.

“It’s good that you know what’s important,” Kakashi said, seeing that Obito already had a plan in mind, and didn’t mock him further.

Then Kakashi thought for a moment and said, “How about this: let’s add a new rule. Abilities that cause too much self-harm cannot be used in internal battles.”

“I think that’s fine,” Obito nodded.

Although he really wanted to beat Kakashi, he never considered using Warping Kamui during a fight with him.

“I have no problem,” Shisui also showed a look of agreement.

Tsukuyomi consumed a lot of eye power. Theoretically, Shisui was a victim of the rule, but Shisui believed this rule was very necessary; safety was paramount.

“Then what about my Eight Gates?” Might Guy scratched his head and said.

“You can’t open gates that would cause you significant harm,” Kakashi explained.

If they directly banned the Eight Gates, then Might Guy wouldn’t even need to fight; he’d have to sit in the audience with Rin Nohara.

“So that means I can only use the First to Fifth Gates. I have no problem with that either,” Might Guy said, stroking his chin.

If he only used the Sixth Gate alone, it would be fine, but if he used the Sixth Gate and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode simultaneously, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Actually, even if Kakashi hadn’t said anything, he wasn’t planning on using the Sixth Gate plus Rock Breathing Chakra Mode on his teammates. There was no need to go all out when fighting teammates.

“Since everyone has no problem, then let’s have an internal ranking battle this week. I’ll ask Muzuki-sensei when he’s free in the evening,” Kakashi said.

Their current strength far exceeded that of ordinary Jonin. If they fought with full power without a strong person watching, accidents could easily happen.

“The opportunity is finally here!” Obito laughed wildly in his heart.

It had been over four years; it was time for Uchiha Obito to become Muzuki’s strongest disciple.

On the surface, Kakashi had benefited from the version update and was the only disciple who could use all his techniques, but this was precisely proof of Kakashi’s weakness—he was so weak that he wasn’t restricted by the rules!

Shisui’s Tsukuyomi couldn’t be used due to the rule restrictions, and the Divine Imperial Throne was too important to be used in a disciple’s internal battle, so he couldn’t unleash his full strength.

Might Guy, with the Eight Gates Fifth Gate stacked with Rock Breathing, was powerful, but as long as one dodged Might Guy’s Golden Horizon and Morning Tiger, he was nothing to worry about.

“It seems you’ve already secured a first place,” Kakashi teased, looking at Obito’s uncontrollable smirk.

Only then did Obito realize that the smile in his heart had surfaced on his face, and he quickly adjusted his expression.

“Cough, cough, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Obito coughed twice and said with a serious expression.

Next, they discussed whether or not to tell Muzuki about those things.

Finally, they reached a consensus: they could tell Muzuki about future events, but not everything, only parts of it.

The Nine-Tailed Fox’s rampage and the Uchiha Clan’s extermination could be told, but the Evil Akatsuki Organization’s matters would not be mentioned for now, to prevent Muzuki from falling into internal conflict between his position and humanity.

In the evening, the disciples went as a group to Muzuki’s house to find him.

If it was just to invite Muzuki to watch their battle, Kakashi alone would have been enough, but since they were going to reveal future events, more people would be better.

At this time, Muzuki had just returned from eating at Tsunade’s house.

“Why are you here at this time? Have you eaten?” Muzuki asked with a smile, welcoming his disciples in.

It must be said that Daikokuten was indeed a very convenient Eye Technique. Because time was stopped inside, it was very suitable for preserving hot dishes.

Muzuki had stored many freshly cooked dishes inside; he could take them out whenever he wanted to eat.

The disciples shook their heads. They already felt guilty, so how could they impose? They had deliberately eaten before coming over.

“Muzuki-sensei, we apologize,” the disciples said in unison.

“We betrayed your trust. In the Land of Rōran, we secretly asked Captain Yamato and the others about future events,” Kakashi explained.

Muzuki was still wondering what it could be, but upon hearing Kakashi’s words, he brought his index and middle fingers together, quickly tapped each disciple’s head, and then showed a helpless smile:

“I thought it was something major. It’s fine that you know, just don’t tell anyone else. Anyway, you wouldn’t use this information to do anything bad.”

Actually, he knew that Kakashi and the others had some misunderstandings about the other world, but Muzuki found it difficult to explain.

Because from Kakashi and their perspective, the other world had Minato Namikaze, and the Third Hokage, and it was so similar to their side, so what else could it be but the future?

As for why Naruto and the others didn’t recognize Muzuki, it was also easy to explain: Muzuki died early in history. Naruto didn’t even know that Minato Namikaze was his father, so it was perfectly reasonable that he wouldn’t recognize Muzuki.

Anyway, there was no harm in this, so Muzuki just let them go on with their misunderstanding.

“Hehe, I knew Muzuki-sensei was magnanimous and wouldn’t blame us,” Obito chuckled, touching the spot where he had been tapped.

“Muzuki-sensei, don’t worry. Besides you, we won’t tell anyone else.”

“In normal history, the Third Shinobi World War ended when Minato-sensei was twenty-three years old, and then Minato-sensei would become Hokage. But one year after Minato-sensei became Hokage, the Nine-Tailed Fox would go berserk and cause chaos, and Minato-sensei would sacrifice himself.”

“Eight years after the Nine-Tailed Fox’s rampage, Uchiha Itachi would kill everyone in the Uchiha Clan except his younger brother for unknown reasons.”

Obito quickly explained the relevant information about the Nine-Tailed Fox’s rampage and the Uchiha Clan’s extermination.

“Muzuki-sensei, Shisui and I can help with the Uchiha side. For the Nine-Tailed Fox’s rampage, we truly have no clue; we’ll have to rely on you,” Obito said seriously.

Looking at Obito like this, Muzuki’s expression was subtle.

He lightly tapped Obito’s head with his finger. “The things you’re worried about won’t happen. I’ll handle everything.”

Given the current situation, even if Muzuki did nothing, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s rampage would be very difficult to occur.

As for the Uchiha, Muzuki had also formulated a new plan to alleviate the conflict, striving to integrate the Uchiha into Konoha as soon as possible.

PS: There’s another chapter coming, also 4k, should be around 2 o’clock.

Also, asking for monthly votes.