"Finally… finally I'm back!"
"Do you have any idea how I've been living this past month?!"
"I've been getting up earlier than a chicken and going to bed later than a dog. In the middle of the night I still had to worry about petty thieves in Konoha, getting up to patrol the village myself!"
"For over a month—over a whole damn month—I lost more than 10 kilograms!"
"Do you know how terrifying it is for an adult to lose over 10 kilograms in a single month?!"
At the doorstep of Uchiha Izumi's house, Mitarashi Anko pressed herself firmly against the door, speaking word by word, each sentence practically dripping with tears and blood, recounting all the hardship and exhaustion she had endured over the past month.
At times, she really felt like just destroying the world and being done with it.
She was exhausted.
But what else could she do?
The one person she most wanted to kill—Orochimaru—had already been dealt with by Uchiha Keizumi. And now that Keizumi had left Konoha, she couldn't exactly hand over "Absolute Justice" to those two brats, Sasuke and Naruto, could she?
As for the Uchiha clan… they were diligent enough, sure.
But they couldn't talk.
For this entire month, Anko truly had lived exactly as she described—up before dawn, asleep past midnight—terrified that when Keizumi returned, he would see that "Absolute Justice" had declined in Konoha.
"Um… Anko-senpai, could you maybe let go first?"
Izumi looked at Anko, who had clearly slimmed down a lot, and showed a trace of guilt.
She really hadn't expected Anko to have it this hard after they left.
But they had just gotten back to Konoha—Izumi just wanted to rest for a bit…
"No!"
Anko's attitude was absolutely firm. She had had enough of this damned sense of responsibility.
Even if Izumi talked the heavens down today, she had to take over patrolling!
As for her, Mitarashi Anko?
She was going to soak in a hot bath, gorge herself on dango, and put back all the weight she had lost this past month!
"Unless you go patrol right now, I am absolutely not letting go!"
Her tone was resolute, and when she looked at Izumi, there was even a hint of pleading in her eyes.
As for why she didn't go to Keizumi?
She didn't dare…
Anko didn't even know why, but she just didn't feel comfortable facing Uchiha Keizumi. Maybe it was what she had seen in the Land of Fire's capital, or maybe it was because of Orochimaru.
Either way, she didn't dare approach him now.
And asking Keizumi to do patrol duty?
She wouldn't dare even if she had ten times the guts.
"I'll go."
At some point, Keizumi had already stepped out of the house, arriving at the scene where the two were deadlocked at Izumi's door.
Tachibana Jirō's injuries were mostly healed by now, and after realizing that all he had gained was the ability to create black rods, along with a deeper natural awakening of the Rinnegan, Keizumi didn't pay it much mind.
"Keizumi-senpai…"
Anko looked at him, then at Izumi behind the door, and awkwardly greeted him.
...
While Uchiha Keizumi had returned to Konoha, elsewhere, Black Zetsu was also taking action.
As the duration of the "Judgment Flame" burning within him grew longer, he gradually began to adapt to that soul-deep pain. No amount of "sin" could shake a dutiful son's determination to save his mother.
However, during this time, he also came to realize something—
That Obito was utterly useless.
Not just Obito—the Akatsuki itself was slipping further and further out of his control. This forced Black Zetsu to activate his backup plan.
"Have you located Orochimaru's bases?"
Black Zetsu looked at the White Zetsu before him. Without Obito knowing, he had already deployed countless White Zetsu, searching everywhere for Orochimaru's hidden bases.
What he wanted wasn't anything else—
But the possibility of finding Impure World Reincarnation within them.
"We've found Orochimaru's most important base—it's in the Land of Rice Fields."
"But we didn't find any information on Impure World Reincarnation. It's possible Orochimaru stored those records somewhere else?"
White Zetsu reported its findings. To infiltrate those bases, they had suffered quite a few losses—after all, Orochimaru had a habit of picking up "interesting kids."
Shikotsumyaku, Crystal Release, even those born able to use natural energy…
The most ridiculous part?
All of them were fiercely loyal to Orochimaru.
It really made you wonder—just how starved for affection the ninja world was, for even someone like Orochimaru to be admired.
"What about Kabuto?"
"I remember that Kabuto was a spy Orochimaru placed beside Sasori. He used to be Orochimaru's assistant."
"If anyone knows where Orochimaru's legacy is, it's probably him!"
Black Zetsu asked about Kabuto's whereabouts. Among all the people Orochimaru had taken in, each had their purpose—but Kabuto had climbed all the way to assistant, making him the one Black Zetsu valued the most.
"Couldn't find him."
"Or rather… he can't be found."
White Zetsu shook its head helplessly. It had tried hard to locate that ninja named Kabuto, but no matter how it searched, it was as if he had vanished entirely from the ninja world.
"Can't be found?"
Black Zetsu frowned. How could a living person just disappear under White Zetsu's surveillance?
If he didn't know they couldn't lie, he would have suspected they were messing with him.
"No… wait…"
"I think I know where Kabuto is!"
After a moment of thought, Black Zetsu's reasoning began to take shape.
Perhaps, aside from himself, there were others who saw Kabuto's value.
And among those connected to Orochimaru, with that kind of ability…
There was only one possibility—
The White Snake Sage whose lair had been destroyed by Uchiha Keizumi.
"A group of sage creatures who use natural energy… and possess prophecy?"
"Did they foresee something… and take Kabuto away in advance?"
The more he thought about it, the more convinced Black Zetsu became that his second plan might actually succeed.
Whether or not Orochimaru had perfected Impure World Reincarnation no longer mattered—
If Kabuto had caught the attention of the White Snake Sage, it meant he definitely possessed extraordinary talent.
...
And in truth, Kabuto himself had begun to realize that.
At first, when he had been forcibly detained by the White Snake Sage and made to train in Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode, he had been somewhat unwilling.
After all, if you messed up Sage Mode, you could very well die.
But as he gradually became familiar with it…
He discovered something.
It was as if he had been born perfectly suited to Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode.