Chapter 161 Movements from All Sides

In the peaceful night, the few individuals who had just returned from Terra found it difficult to fall asleep.

"Hehl, Michael, Sirocco..."

Shisui murmured these three names, recalling the companions he had just met at the Apostles' Assembly.

Before today, the only person he knew well in Terra was Uchiha Li, who acted as Karos. But tonight, he finally met the other members of Terra.

"How many more secrets does Terra hold, and were the Apostles seen tonight the entirety of them?"

Shisui was unsure, but he was feeling somewhat anxious now.

Just moments ago, a set of coordinates had appeared in his mind, pointing to the Valley of the End, not far outside the village. This was the place where the Leader had instructed him and Michael to gather and carry out a mission.

The crucial point was that this location was very close to the village. Could this mean that Michael was also not far from him?

His head aching from thinking, Shisui lay back down on his bed and closed his eyes.

No matter what, even if that Michael, who was extremely eager for contribution points, hailed from near the Leaf Village, he could not expose his true identity. Therefore, he needed to give this upcoming mission careful consideration.

"It's a pity that Li is away on a mission; otherwise, I could have sought his advice."

In Shisui's view, Uchiha Li should be a rather senior member within Terra, perhaps even rivalling Hehl, whom he had just met. Thus, if it were Uchiha Li, he would definitely be able to offer some guidance.

Lying in bed and looking at the moon in the night sky through the window, Shisui gradually drifted into sleep:

"Michael, could you be a companion from the village..."

...

Konoha Village, the Hatake clan's residential district.

Ever since Hatake Sakumo committed suicide, the entire Hatake clan had been shrouded in a sense of desolation. Fortunately, with Kakashi's growth, the Hatake clan could not be said to lack a successor.

At this moment, Hatake Kakashi was sitting on the chair in his room, gazing up outside the window, still reminiscing about everything that had just transpired.

The words spoken by the Leader echoed endlessly in his mind—Terra truly knew the intelligence he longed for.

"Obito, Rin, I will find the truth!"

Muttering this in his heart, Kakashi's gaze turned resolute. He stood up from his chair, took a deep breath, looked down at the black cloak on his body, and removed the mask from his face.

"Valley of the End, contribution points..."

Finally repeating these two terms, Kakashi carefully put away his exclusive Terra attire.

On this mission, Bakal would be accompanying him. While he was in Terra, he hadn't had much time to ponder Bakal's identity. But now, back in reality, he had formed some conjectures.

According to rumors circulating in the outside world, Bakal should be one of the first individuals in Terra to expose two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan. From Kakashi's perspective, aside from special circumstances like his own, the owner of a Mangekyo was most likely from the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, wasn't one of those two pairs of Mangekyo possessed by Uchiha Li? Therefore, the probability of the other pair originating from the Uchiha clan was extremely high.

Keep in mind that the current Uchiha clan indeed possessed a publicly known Mangekyo user.

"Could Bakal truly be the head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku?"

Kakashi pondered, yet the available intelligence was still too scarce for him to judge. Thinking this, Kakashi decided he could only observe further during the execution of the mission. At the same time, he needed to adopt sophisticated disguises to prevent his identity from being detected by Bakal.

...

Itachi, who had taken on the identity of Sirocco, was likewise finding it hard to sleep in his own room.

Tonight's Apostles' Assembly had exposed him to organization members other than Uchiha Li, especially Bakal, whom his clan had been continuously monitoring. Unfortunately, he had failed to deduce Bakal's true identity.

However, when the Leader mentioned the sequelae of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Bakal's reaction proved one thing: Bakal possessed the exact same eyes as his teacher, Uchiha Li!

In other words, Bakal was likely a member of their own clan.

"I didn't expect that aside from Father and Teacher, our clan actually possesses other Mangekyo users."

Itachi touched his chin, his expression turning solemn. He had originally held a trace of complacency regarding his own talent, considering he had awakened two tomoe right from the start. But after witnessing the battle prowess of Uchiha Li's Mangekyo, that trace of complacency in Itachi's heart had completely vanished.

The gap between the Sharingan and the Mangekyo was simply too vast; there was no comparison whatsoever.

Yet Itachi still retained his pride; he did not believe he would fall short of others. Since he had already joined Terra, he would surely acquire the Mangekyo in the future as well. Furthermore, Teacher had also promised to help him fulfill this wish.

Even so, the possibility of another Mangekyo hidden within the clan troubled him somewhat. Since when had the Mangekyo become like cabbages, seemingly everywhere?

"Wait, what if it's not a hidden Mangekyo holder, but rather another situation entirely!"

Itachi suddenly thought of his father, Uchiha Fugaku, who also possessed the Mangekyo. Then, was there a possibility that Bakal was his father?

Thinking up to this point, Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that this probability was not low at all. After all, this was the Mangekyo; how could the clan possibly have so many pairs?

"Speaking of which, Father is supposed to be working overtime tonight, which means he is currently alone in his office, and no one knows what he is doing."

At this thought, Itachi instantly scrambled up from his bed. However, soon enough, he lay back down, muttering to himself:

"No, going to ask directly is prone to accidents. What if he isn't? That would be awkward. Besides, doing so would easily expose my identity as Sirocco. If Father really is Bakal and finds out I am Sirocco..."

At this thought, Itachi shivered and subconsciously touched his rear end. If his father were to discover he was Sirocco, the joke would be on a massive scale!

"No, I must slowly probe in secret."

Itachi closed his eyes, his mind churning restlessly, unable to find sleep.

...

While the Apostle successors were struggling to sleep after the conclusion of the assembly in Terra, Payne of the Heavenly Realm was traveling through the night alongside Orochimaru at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

Orochimaru had re-established contact with Uchiha Li; as long as the strength of Akatsuki could be verified, there was a possibility of recruiting him into Akatsuki. Furthermore, this time Uchiha Li had even allowed his younger sister, Uchiha Yao, to perform the verification!

"Orochimaru, you've settled everything on your end, haven't you?"

Nagato, controlling Payne, asked the Orochimaru beside him with an indifferent expression.

Licking the corner of his mouth, Orochimaru replied in a raspy voice: "Tomorrow afternoon, Uchiha Yao should be leaving the village. By then, we just need to display our strength."

"As long as there are no oversights."

Payne nodded with satisfaction, his peripheral vision casting a glance at Orochimaru. He could clearly perceive the hidden greed in Orochimaru, but he did not care. Regardless of Orochimaru, or Uchiha Li and his sister who were about to be recruited into the organization, whatever their motives might be, as long as they could work for Akatsuki, he could turn a blind eye.

Possessing the Rinnegan, he believed he could suppress everything!

Ceasing idle chatter, Payne signaled Orochimaru to quicken his pace. He was already somewhat eager to witness the Mangekyo that had heavily wounded 'Uchiha Madara'...