Chapter 346: The Bond between Senju and Uchiha, the Master Appears
Byakuya is an orphan from Uzumaki wandering in the Land of Rain. After joining Akatsuki, he quickly became the second-in-command of Akatsuki, and in the process of fighting against Hanzo of the Salamander, he became the leader of Akatsuki.

Bai Ye has always called himself a descendant of Uzumaki.

The huge amount of chakra and the talent in ninjutsu and illusion also prove that Byakuya is the descendant of Uzumaki. Except for the red hair, Byakuya possesses all the characteristics of Uzumaki ninja and is a genuine descendant of Uzumaki.

But just now, Obito began to doubt Byakuya. He doubted Byakuya's identity as the descendant of Uzumaki.

It is true that the descendants of Uzumaki possess a large amount of chakra, but there is another ninja clan in the ninja world that possesses similar characteristics, and that is the Senju clan that has been entangled with the Uchiha clan for thousands of years.

The Senju clan is a distant relative of the Uzumaki clan and also possesses the characteristic of having a large amount of chakra.

Moreover, compared with the Uzumaki clan, the Senju clan has even higher talents in ninjutsu and taijutsu, otherwise they would not have been able to suppress the Uchiha clan for nearly a thousand years.

The reason why Obito doubted Byakuya's identity was very simple.

Bai Ye's talent in Wood Release is so strong that it surpasses him as an Uchiha and most of the White Zetsu. This kind of talent is obviously not something that the Uzumaki clan can have. Only the Senju clan can possess this ability.

Once the seed of doubt was planted, Obito began to doubt whether what Byakuya said was true, and his mind was full of thoughts.

According to what old man Madara said back then, Tobirama of the Senju clan had been plotting against the Uchiha clan and closely monitoring every move in the ninja world.

With Senju Tobirama's ability, he must have noticed that Uchiha Madara was faking his death and was still hiding in the ninja world. However, Senju Tobirama didn't have time to take action before he was killed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure.

Of course, Senju Tobirama did not necessarily die at the hands of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. It is also possible that Uchiha Madara personally took action and eliminated this archenemy of Uchiha.

However, even Uchiha Madara did not expect this.

After Tobirama Senju died, another cunning Senju took over Tobirama's will, persecuted the Uchiha in the ninja world, and repeatedly took actions against him, and infiltrated the Moon Eye plan.

This person was none other than the dark-minded and strange-behaving Byakuya Senju.

Retracting his gradually dispersing thoughts, Obito continued to stare at Byakuya. He was ready to escape at any time. He could not defeat Byakuya, but with Kamui in his hand, no one in the ninja world could stop him.

While Obito was staring at Byakuya, Byakuya was also staring at Obito.

After seeing Obito standing still and questioning whether he was a descendant of Uzumaki, Byakuya frowned and said:
"Masked man, why do you doubt that I am not a descendant of the Uzumaki clan? Do you think I am a Senju? I have had such doubts too. The Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan have been intermarrying for many years. I might have the blood of the Senju."

"However, whether it's the Senju or the Uzumaki, they are both extinct ninja clans."

"If we want to avoid the order to exterminate our clan, we must master the strongest power in the ninja world. Let's continue to execute our plan. I don't want to waste any more time."

After hearing this, Obito did not dispel his concerns, but he nodded anyway.

He didn't want to lose his ally Bai Ye, and he didn't care whether Bai Ye was a Senju or an Uzumaki. To him, as long as a ninja could hunt the tailed beasts, he was a good ninja.

……

After a simple treatment, although the people of Kirigakure had not fully recovered their combat effectiveness, they were able to walk. They raised their heads and looked in the direction where Byakuya and Obito were fighting.

Seeing the forest rising from the ground in front of them, all the Mist Ninjas showed horror in their eyes.

The Mist Ninjas were no strangers to the Wood Release Bloodline of the Ninja God Senju Hashirama, but hadn't Wood Release been lost for decades? How did it suddenly appear in the world, and there were two Wood Release Ninjas?

One of them is the masked man who controls the Mizukage. Judging from the Sharingan, he should be an Uchiha ninja.

The other person seems to be Bai Ye, a high-ranking member of the Hidden Rain Village. He somehow mastered the Wood Release Kekkei, and from what Bai Ye said, he seems to have been hunting the masked man for many years.

Puzzled, Mei Terumi looked at Zabuza and Biwa Juzo standing beside her.

Her intuition told her that Zabuza and Biwa Juzō must know the inside story, so she asked, "Zabuza, Juzō, you don't seem surprised at all by Byakuya's appearance. Do you know something and have been hiding it from us?"

Biwa Juuzou did not answer Terumi Mei, but Zabuza sighed softly and said:

"This matter has nothing to do with you. It is a deal between me and Lord Bai Ye. To be honest, I am too weak, so Lord Bai Ye took action."

"Lord Bai Ye? It seems that the deal between you two is very unusual."

Mei Terumi narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at Byakuya and Obito fighting in the distance, and said casually: "Tell me about the deal between you two. There is no need to hide it now."

Zabuza took a deep breath and said:
"I made a bet with Byakuya, using the entire Kirigakure Village as a bet. If we can rescue the Fourth Mizukage and defeat the mastermind, he will sign an alliance treaty with the new Mizukage. If I fail, he will take action against the masked man, but the entire Kirigakure Village will become his subordinates."

After hearing this, Mei Terumi took a deep breath and said, "Zabuza, you dare to sign a bet to sell the entire village? And you are not qualified to make a decision on behalf of the entire village."

Zabuza glanced at Mei Terumi and said:

"I have no choice. If Bai Ye hadn't told me the information about the Fourth Hokage, I wouldn't have known that the Fourth Hokage was controlled by an illusion. And even if Bai Ye and I failed in the bet, the Hidden Mist Village wouldn't know that they had a new boss."

"From the masked man hiding behind the scenes, to Byakuya, the leader of Akatsuki."

Mei Terumi was silent for a few seconds. She understood Zabuza's thoughts, but she didn't know if Zabuza had any other choice, so she could only make a bet with Bai Ye.

And from now on, if Bai Ye hadn't taken action, they would all be dead.

The entire Hidden Mist Village is no match for the masked man.

At this time, Mei Terumi seemed to remember something, looked at Shiro and Kimimaro, and asked, "So, Shiro and Kimimaro's powers are not their own, so you are so surprised."

Zabuza smiled bitterly and nodded:

"You guessed right. Bai and Kimimaro's strength was also given by Bai Ye. Just a few days ago, their strength was only at the level of Chunin..."

After getting the answer from Zabuza, not only Mei Terumi, but even Ao fell silent.

One is a masked man who can control the Mizukage with illusions, and the other is Byakuya who can allow the Chunin to temporarily possess the strength of the Ninja Swordsmen. How could such a super strong man appear in the Ninja World and make the Five Kage their playthings?

After looking at each other, they sighed at the same time, feeling very uncomfortable.

A few minutes later, accompanied by an earth-shaking shake, Byakuya and Obito left the Wood Release Forest together and appeared on the open space.

At this time, Obito's clothes were disheveled and his movements were a little flustered. He stared at Bai Ye, as if he wanted to eat this man alive.

Compared to Obito, Byakuya was in much better condition. He pointed his sword at Obito and said righteously, "Evil masked man, your conspiracy in the Hidden Mist Village has been thwarted by me. Why don't you surrender now? Do you want to be killed by me?"

Obito's face was uncertain, he snorted coldly and said:
"That's easy to say, but if you really have the ability to kill me, would you have waited until now? With my ability of time and space, I am invincible and will never lose!"

"But you are different. If you fail once, you lose completely. You have no chance to escape."

Bai Ye's face changed slightly, and then he smiled and said, "It's a pity that you don't have the strength to defeat me. In the competition between us, you have never won once, and you always escaped in a hurry."

Hearing this, Obito's defense was somewhat broken.

He knew that he was acting with Bai Ye, but he had never defeated Bai Ye. He failed every time he competed with Bai Ye, and this time was no exception.

After secretly cursing Bai Ye a few times in his heart, Obito gritted his teeth and said: "I lost to you this time, but did you really win? You got nothing except defeating me."

Byakuya looked at Obito and said disapprovingly: "Thwarting your plot is my greatest reward."

Obito sneered, and then said: "Really? Do you really think you won? Do you think I noticed the unusual movements in the Hidden Mist Village these days? Why didn't I stop those ridiculous reptiles?"

Hearing this, Bai Ye's face changed, and then he said: "You actually knew I was hiding nearby?!"

Obito showed a meaningful smile and said to Bai Ye:

"Taking advantage of your plan to stay in the Hidden Mist Village, I went out for a few days and attacked Yugao, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. I have already captured one of the two tailed beasts in the Hidden Mist Village... and you can't even think about protecting the other tailed beast."

After saying that, Obito flashed and rushed towards the position of the Fourth Mizukage.

Baihe Kimimaro, who was staying near the Fourth Mizukage, was about to stop him, but was dodged by Obito's hollowing. He quickly came to the Fourth Mizukage and tapped his heart a few times.

The already weak Fourth Mizukage's eyes went dark and he completely passed out.

Just when Obito was about to take the Fourth Mizukage away, Byakuya came in front of the Fourth Mizukage and stopped Obito.

Obito glanced at Bai Ye, snorted coldly, and dived into the lake. After leaving a few words, he disappeared into the dark bottom of the lake.

"Senju, our competition has just begun. I will bring you more surprises in the future."

Looking at Obito's back, Bai Ye had a gloomy face and said nothing. His whole body was shrouded in a layer of haze that could explode at any time.

Seeing this, Zabuza and Mei Terumi hurried over and said carefully, "Master Byakuya (Jounin), the masked man escaped? What's the situation of the Fourth Hokage?"

"The masked man escaped after being seriously injured by me. He won't be able to cause trouble in the ninja world in the short term..."

After a brief pause, Bai Ye looked at the Fourth Mizukage, sighed softly and said:
"As for the Fourth Mizukage, his condition is very bad. In addition to being controlled by illusion, the masked man also left a lot of things in his body."

"These things are difficult to remove. Even if the Mizukage wakes up, his strength and lifespan will be greatly reduced. He may only have a few months left."

"A few months..."

After hearing this, Zabuza and Mei Terumi were slightly stunned, thinking that the Fourth Mizukage had just escaped from the masked man's control and was about to die.

But for them, it is not unacceptable.

Judging from the Fourth Mizukage's current injuries, he will not be able to recover to his peak even if he recovers. And someone has to be held accountable for the absurd things that happened during the Fourth Mizukage's reign.

This person can't be the masked man, it can only be the Fourth Mizukage himself.

When the village holds an election for the Mizukage next time, the master must formulate a new rule. Even the Mizukage, the leader of the Hidden Mist Village, must undergo regular inspections by the perception jonin to prevent similar situations from happening again.

Retracting her gradually scattered thoughts, Mei Terumi said with some emotion:

"This time, we are really grateful for the help of Byakuya Jonin. If it weren't for you, I don't know how long it would take for the Fourth Hokage to be exposed for being controlled. We will never let this happen to the Fourth Hokage again."

Zabuza also nodded: "I will be more careful in the future and will not let this happen again."

Hearing this, Bai Ye looked at Zabuza and Mei Terumi, and said with a smile: "Zabuza, Mei Terumi, do you really think that the Yondaime is the only puppet in the Hidden Mist Village?"

This statement startled Zabuza and Mei Terumi, who said in panic, "Isn't it true? In addition to the Yondaime, are there other ninjas under control in the village?"

Bai Ye shook his head and said, "Your brains are still too slow. Let me ask you, the Fourth Mizukage continued the blood mist policy, but who was the first to start the blood mist policy?"

"The first one to initiate the blood mist policy was the Third Mizukage! I don't know if what I said is correct."

Before Zabuza and Mei Terumi could react, an old voice answered first.

After hearing the old figure, the Mist Ninjas present looked behind them, and saw an old man with a cane appear in the open space with a dozen Mist Ninjas.

This person was none other than the second most important person in the Hidden Mist Village, the Elder Master.

After seeing the master, Mei Terumi and others hurriedly saluted. Even an unruly ninja like Zabuza bent down to show their respect for the master.

Soon, Master Yuan walked in front of Bai Ye and said to him, "Hearing about you is worse than meeting you in person. You are younger than I thought, the heir of the Thousand Hands Clan."

"The descendant of the Thousand Hands clan?"

After hearing this, the surrounding ninjas were all shocked.

In the ninja world, the value of Senju is extremely high. Even the high-ranking officials of the major ninja villages in the ninja world would be shocked when they hear the name Senju, and would carefully consider the meaning of this name.

But isn’t Tsunade the only descendant of the Senju left in the ninja world?

The rest of the Senju people either died on the battlefield or have already hidden the name of Senju. Although those people have the blood of Senju flowing in their veins, they cannot bear the responsibilities of Senju.

Zabuza and Biwa Juzo were also shocked. They knew that Byakuya had Wood Release, but they didn't expect that Byakuya would be involved with the Senju clan and even be recognized by the Master.

Bai Ye looked at Master Yuan and said with a chuckle:

"Age doesn't mean anything. I just got lucky to get my current strength. Am I far behind Master Yuan? But since Master Yuan has shown up, you should consider our cooperation."

(End of this chapter)