Konoha Hypocrite

During the day, he had gained enough acknowledgment so he just needed to wait for the Leaf, Stone, and Sand ninjas to kill each other. At that time, he would continuously obtain various secret techniques and bloodline limits.

Tonan had learned enough ninjutsu. He believed that his theoretical knowledge was second to none in the entire Ninja World. But this was the knowledge of predecessors and if one wanted to surpass them, one needed research.

Tonan’s knowledge base was extensive and within it were aspects that complemented each other and countered their weaknesses. But it was not enough to rely on imagination for many things. Therefore, one had to use human experiments.

Tonan was using earth-style ninjutsu to reinforce and transform the laboratory. Suddenly, he paused and looked up, revealing the three-tomoe Sharingan. He borrowed Byakugan’s insight and observed Nara Shikaku, who was writing in the commander’s tent.

He saw Shikaku writing today’s battle course on a scroll. Once he was done, he hesitated a bit. But in the next moment, on the back of the intelligence report, he wrote…

Uchiha Tonan used Mangekyo Sharingan’s forbidden technique. His eyesight has decreased and he is seriously injured. I estimate that if he makes moves with all his strength a few more times, he would probably go blind. I hope Hokage-sama will reinforce in time according to the situation.

Shikaku finished and closed the scroll. He summoned a beast and put the scroll into its mouth.

“Truly a smart man.” Tonan nodded with satisfaction and continued to work hard.

The next day, the sun finally revealed its face on the horizon like a dazzling shrine. Tonan, who had finally finished the laboratory’s modification, came to the temporary prison and selected the first warrior, accompanied by Yamanaka Inoichi.

In the prison with thick iron railings, the prisoners’ chakra points had been sealed by the Hyuga clan. They were bound with iron chains and an iron ball was stuffed in their mouths. Seeing Tonan and Inoichi come in, they looked over with resentment as if they were going to swallow them.

Tonan looked like a butcher who was selecting fresh pigs or sheep in the slaughterhouse. He leisurely said, “This is my first trial. I want someone physically strong. It’s best if he’s a jonin.”

Ino-Shika-Cho advanced and retreated together. Shikaku had already persuaded Inoichi. He led Tonan to the other side and said, “Tonan-sama, all jonin are here but there aren’t many. You can choose whomever you want. After you’re done, I can send him over to you. Moreover, if you need something in the future, you just need to notify me.”

Tonan smiled warmly at Inochi and said, “Then, although it’s embarrassing, I’ll trouble you.” Inochi shook his head and said, “No trouble, we won this battle thanks to you. Otherwise, I don’t know how many more of our people would’ve died.”

Tonan liked Inoichi’s attitude. He turned to look at the ninja who was writhing in the prison, trying to break free. The prisoner also noticed Tonan looking at him. He looked back with anger and blue veins popped on his forehead.

Tonan touched his chin with interest and said, “This one seems to have a very tenacious life force.” Inoichi replied with a smile, “You have good observation. He is Suna’s jonin and good at taijutsu.”

Tonan nodded and pointed at that ninja, “Let’s begin with him, then.” Inoichi opened the iron gate and dragged the ninja over to Tonan. He grabbed the chain on the ninja’s waist and walked towards the exit.

“Tonan-sama, aren’t you choosing more?” Inoichi asked with concern. Tonan shook his head and answered, “No, my lab is small. I’ll notify you when this one becomes useless.”

The ninja seemed to understand what Tonan meant and struggled harder. His expression changed from anger to fear. Tonan frowned at the struggling ninja and unhappily asked, “Why are you so excited? I won’t release you in any case.”

After speaking, he looked into the ninja’s eyes and used the Hypnotic Eye to subdue him. Soon afterward, he swaggered out of the prison carrying the ninja and walked toward his laboratory.

As for what if people saw this? It didn’t matter. The area from the prison to the laboratory was the temporary station of Ino-Shika-Cho ninjas. Shikaku would take care of it.

While walking, his footsteps suddenly stopped and a meaningful smile appeared on his face. He changed his direction and walked towards the commander’s tent. Soon after, he saw two boys and a little girl being pushed out of the tent by two Nara ninjas.

The characteristics of these three people were conspicuous—yellow-haired, red-haired, and blue-haired. They were Akatsuki’s Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan of the Land of the Rain.

Judging from the situation, it was likely that Yahiko brought Nagato and Konan to persuade Shikaku to stop the war or something. There was no need to think about the outcome. How could Shikaku take Yahiko’s childish thoughts seriously? They were directly shown the door.

Yahiko was still passionately shouting. “Shikaku-sama, as long as people can understand each other, wars can be avoided. The war has no meaning. It only continues the hatred and makes people live in dire straits. We should let go of hatred and try to understand each other…”

At this moment, the two Nara ninjas who were pushing Yahiko away saw Tonan approaching. They immediately lowered their heads in reverence and solemnly greeted.

“Tonan-sama.”

“Tonan-sama.”

Yahiko also stopped shouting and turned around with Nagato and Konan. He looked at Tonan and asked, “Who are you?” The two ninjas felt that these three were not respectful enough to Tonan and shouted, “He is Tonan-sama, Konoha’s powerhouse who defeated the combined force of the two countries by himself. He killed Sandaime Kazekage.”

Yahiko bowed toward Tonan and said, “Tonan-sama.” Tonan nodded slightly with a faint smile on his face. Yahiko had a straightforward and outspoken temperament. He caught the glimpse of the prisoner Tonan was holding and asked, “Excuse my presumption but this Sand ninja seems to be a prisoner.”

“Yahiko…” Konan reached out and pulled Yahiko’s sleeve with a worried look on her face. Tonan had no intention to blame him and calmly replied, “Yes, he’s a Sand jonin and his position is not low. I want to torture him for information related to the war.”

Tonan never felt troubled lying through his teeth. It came naturally when he opened his mouth. As expected, the three youngsters were dumbfounded. Suddenly, Yahiko recalled how the two ninjas were respectful toward Tonan. He thought that Tonan’s position in Konoha must be very high.

His eyes lit up and he asked, “Tonan-sama, what’s your thought about this war?” Tonan smiled slightly but didn’t answer immediately. He handed the prisoner to the Nara ninja beside him and said, “Take him to my medical research room. I’ll interrogate him when I’m healing his wounds.”

“Yes.” The Nara clan ninja took the prisoner and left. Yahiko watched this and coupled with Tonan’s words, his impression of Tonan rose by several levels. “Tonan-sama, you seem to be a kind-hearted person.”

Tonan smiled humbly and said, “Konoha’s principle has always been to treat prisoners properly and I’m just following the rules. Didn’t you ask about my opinion on war? To be honest, I haven’t experienced war before and I don’t know much about it. I just seem to have heard that you have a unique perspective on war. May I ask for guidance?”

Perhaps, this was the first time Yahiko met such an open-minded higher-up from Konoha. He was restrained for a while. He scratched his head with a smile and said, “It’s not guidance, just want to pass on a little bit of my philosophy.”

Tonan turned around and signaled them to follow. “Let’s chat while walking. This is Konoha’s base camp, after all. It’s not good for you all to be here.”