The Situation

As for bonds, the only ones Xu Yue paid any attention to were Uchiha Shisui and Nagato.

Even if the space would not let him gain favorability easily on Shisui’s side, they had built up a foundation of friendship before, and given Shisui’s personality, it had still risen to 30/30.

As for Nagato, his favorability, like Kakashi’s before, was displayed as ??/??.

With his previous experience, Xu Yue roughly understood that this was a form of uncertain bond. Their relationship was highly complicated.

When they had met back then, he had used the identity of Uncle Yue. If he could still use that identity, it would undoubtedly be worth a considerable amount of favorability.

But if he could not pull it off, then as a Konoha ninja, he might instead earn a certain amount of hatred.

After all, even though he had laid the groundwork beforehand, Uncle Yue’s use of that Forbidden Jutsu and sacrifice of his life was probably common knowledge among Nagato’s group of three.

Xu Yue knew very well how capable the space was at pushing the wheels of history forward.

Although reviving Yahiko had drastically altered the plot, Obito and Black Zetsu were still around.

With five years passing without his intervention, they had had far too many opportunities to lead Nagato astray.

So the current Akatsuki had probably already gotten back on the "right track."

Before entering Lelouch’s world, Xu Yue might have felt some regret over the relationship between the two sides. But after entering Lelouch’s world, receiving further completion, and getting a taste of the benefits…

Xu Yue also felt that Akatsuki’s existence was still very necessary!

As for the Moon Eye Plan and all that, he hoped they would keep up the good work.

The best course going forward was still to follow the plot’s general direction!

This time, while achieving his own goals as much as possible, Xu Yue would likewise preserve the advancement of the plot as much as he could. Whoever dared to mess around for achievement missions would get dealt with!

He was absolutely a loyal defender of the plot. Well, if it was a small-scale alteration that did not affect the overall situation, then doing it on the side was fine—but only he could do it…

Just then, a little snake slithered onto Xu Yue’s desk, then spat out a scroll written in a special code.

This should be another mission meant to help him integrate after inheriting this bond.

After reading the scroll’s contents, Xu Yue could not help feeling speechless.

Why was it Danzo again? Was he some old village chief specifically assigned to arrange intervention missions for him?

Over the past five years, aside from working in the Anbu, Xu Yue had occasionally assisted Danzo in contacting Orochimaru. He had even been "coerced" through this into occasionally helping Danzo deal with certain Root matters.

However, wary of Xu Yue’s strength, Danzo did not dare pressure him too excessively.

As for Orochimaru, there was still a faint, intermittent trace of "teacher-student affection" between them.

It was the price of maintaining Orochimaru’s favorability.

Using the Flying Thunder God mark left in Root, Xu Yue appeared in the unique underground space the next moment. Beneath the cover of his Cat Face Mask, no expression could be seen as he looked at Danzo before him.

"Not a single one of the Uchiha can be trusted. Have you considered that matter?"

Danzo’s single eye fixed coldly on Xu Yue.

Because of the Nine-Tails attack, as well as the Sharingan pattern that had controlled the Nine-Tails, the Uchiha Clan had suffered tremendous exclusion and suppression over the past five years.

Meanwhile, because of the "punishment" he had received back then, Xu Yue had always remained detached from the Uchiha Clan and had not been dragged into any of it.

But after these years of pent-up resentment, the voices of dissatisfaction within the Uchiha Clan had already begun to turn into action.

Originally, the Uchiha Clan had Uchiha Fugaku, a Kage-level clan head; Uchiha Shisui, known as Body Flicker Shisui; the long-unseen Uchiha Yue, Black Flash; and now Uchiha Itachi had also begun to emerge.

Combined with the clan’s overall average strength…

It had given the Uchiha clansmen tremendously inflated confidence. They believed they could force the village to reform through military strength and that the Uchiha Clan’s voice had to be amplified.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui completely disagreed with the clan’s intentions. For Peace and to reduce bloodshed, they had chosen to stand with the village.

And as the Uchiha Clan’s strongest member, Xu Yue had attracted even more attention from both sides.

Fortunately, due to his experiences when he was "young," along with his identity as a Senju Clan member, he was relatively trusted. His standing was even higher than that of the other two, who had only recently chosen a side.

Some meetings did not even exclude Xu Yue.

The village was still somewhat undecided, while Itachi and Shisui were actively running about, hoping to resolve the conflict.

Given this atmosphere, while the Uchiha Clan’s path toward self-destruction was already destined to be unavoidable, there should still have been quite a substantial buffer period.

But Danzo, it seemed, was still unsatisfied. He insisted that Xu Yue state his position and choose to suppress the Uchiha Clan, eliminating any possibility of reconciling the conflict.

"Have you forgotten what you suffered back then? If you agree, I can even fully support you in changing your surname to Senju. You must understand that in Konoha, that surname represents far more than just a name."

To make Xu Yue declare his stance, Danzo had truly gone to great lengths. He even "generously" offered to resolve Xu Yue’s worries.

But Xu Yue knew perfectly well that Danzo, who was crazed with wanting to become Naruto, would never allow him the chance to threaten his position.

Even if Danzo truly supported him changing his name to Senju, there would definitely be methods waiting in the background to ruin his reputation.

Still, Xu Yue did not care much about any of that.

The first time he had met Danzo during the previous mission, he had been someone whose life and death lay entirely in Danzo’s hands.

But now, he already possessed strength surpassing Danzo’s.

Maintaining the same respectful attitude he had shown during their first meeting, Xu Yue replied.

"Lord Danzo, I still need to consider this matter. So for the time being, I intend to take leave and travel outside the village to clear my head."

He did not answer directly. He neither agreed nor refused, which clearly left Danzo highly dissatisfied.

But considering that this troublesome fellow leaving the village was itself a kind of signal, Danzo could reluctantly accept it.

Xu Yue’s identity was also one factor behind the higher-ups’ current indecision.

During the Nine-Tails incident, he had turned the tide, and before that, he had rendered outstanding service during the Third Ninja War. For the higher-ups, those accomplishments were not something Danzo’s tricks for fooling the masses could erase.

And now that Xu Yue wanted to leave to clear his mind, it was the perfect chance to reduce that influence to its lowest point.

This choice did not arouse much suspicion from Danzo.

Faced with such a distressing choice, was it not perfectly normal to temporarily flee from it and go clear one’s head? That seemed to suit Xu Yue’s personality as well.

In the end, Danzo agreed to Xu Yue’s request.

Although Danzo said he would notify Naruto’s office, Xu Yue, knowing Danzo’s character, naturally would not leave him any room to maneuver.

He immediately headed for the Naruto Building himself…

"Is that Yue? Come in."

After dismissing the Shadow Guard Unit stationed by the window, the Third Hokage, whose face had visibly aged, looked at Xu Yue with a somewhat complicated expression.

The other man had done so much for the village. They truly had wronged him somewhat.

"Lord Naruto, I would like to request some time off to travel outside the village. Recently, I received some information that concerns me."

"Going out for a while would be good. Approved. When do you plan to leave?"

"After I look through a few more materials. I will do my best… to return before anything happens…"

He first needed to get his hands on the Second and Fourth Hokage’s Flying Thunder God research notes, and also…

He needed to copy the recent intelligence on Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.