All marketing strategies and financial schemes aside, when night fell over Kumogakure, the atmosphere turned strictly professional.
Kabuto, Jūzō, and Kakuzu gathered in a secluded room within their pre-booked quarters to coordinate the true objective of their infiltration.
"According to our gathered intelligence, the scroll containing the Heavenly Transfer Technique is stored within Kumogakure's secretariat," Kabuto began, laying out a map of the village.
Kakuzu looked at him with a trace of genuine surprise. "You spent the entire day managing the tea market with me. When exactly did you extract this data?"
"Please, senpai, do not insult my professional integrity," Kabuto replied, a small, proud smile gracing his features as he adjusted his glasses by the bridge.
The mention of an actual target immediately piqued Jūzō's interest. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Where is this secretariat located? And what's the play for retrieving it? Do we launch a frontal assault and take it by force?"
Kakuzu ignored Jūzō's eager interruption, focusing instead on the logistics. "Why would they keep it in the secretariat?"
"I don't have the exact administrative blueprint, but the data indicates it is permanently stationed there," Kabuto explained. "Furthermore, it appears the personal secretaries assigned to the Raikage are all meticulously trained in this specific jutsu. It allows them to instantaneously transmit critical intel and high-priority payloads directly to the Raikage's desk, regardless of distance."
Strictly speaking, while the Heavenly Transfer Technique was classified as space-time ninjutsu, its mechanics functioned more like an ultra-high-speed material transport system.
But whether it was absolute speed or spatial displacement, it undeniably operated within the realm of space-time manipulation.
The critical limitation of this technique was its hostility toward living flesh. The sheer, unfathomable velocity of the transmission subjected anything in transit to catastrophic atmospheric friction and spatial pressure. If a normal living being were placed on the transmission pad, they would arrive at the destination as a mangled corpse.
To date, the only individual in Kumogakure's history capable of surviving the transmission entirely intact was the Third Raikage, owing to his legendary, nigh-indestructible physical constitution.
While it was rumored that the current Fourth Raikage could also withstand the technique through the raw defensive output of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the theory had yet to be officially tested in a live scenario.
As for why inanimate objects could effortlessly withstand the extreme spatial distortion while living bodies were torn apart, the secret lay buried deep within the underlying formula of the space-time barrier, or perhaps some other hidden variable. Regardless, the operational parameters of the jutsu were absolute.
"Hey! Are you two ignoring me?" Jūzō barked, slamming his fist onto the table in annoyance. "I asked a question! How are we getting into the secretariat? Do we kick down the front door and paint the walls red, or what?"
"Of course not, you absolute simpleton," Kakuzu replied, his tone dripping with cold disdain.
Kakuzu paused for a second before turning a piercing gaze onto his partner. "Do you know the Flying Raijin Technique?"
"No," Jūzō muttered, crossing his arms naturally.
"Is your Body Flicker Technique fast enough to outrun the Fourth Raikage?" Kakuzu pressed.
"Not a chance," Jūzō admitted, shaking his head.
"Then explain to me how exactly you plan on escaping this village the moment you alert the Raikage to our presence?" Kakuzu interrogated.
Jūzō went quiet for a moment, scratching his head before grumbling, "If we can't outrun him, we just stand our ground and kill him. Problem solved."
Kakuzu pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling a slow, exhausted sigh as he turned to Kabuto. "Now you see what I have to deal with. This is exactly why I said the man is a brainless brute who knows nothing but how to swing a sword. I genuinely harbor deep academic curiosity as to how a creature like this managed to survive long enough to join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Did they recruit you purely because you were exceptionally good at butchering people?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jūzō fired back, thoroughly offended. "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen exist to butcher people! That is the literal definition of the organization! What other qualifications did you think we needed, a degree in accounting?!"
Kakuzu froze. ...Damn it, the idiot actually makes a flawless point.
Sensing the tension escalating, Kabuto quickly intervened. "Jūzō-senpai, is anyone in this room currently capable of matching the Fourth Raikage in a direct, one-on-one confrontation?"
Jūzō's hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his Executioner's Blade resting against the table. "Who are you looking down on, kid?" he growled, his voice dropping an octave.
"So, I take it Jūzō-senpai believes he can effectively neutralize the Raikage?" Kabuto asked, a hint of mild surprise coloring his tone at the swordsman's confidence.
Hearing the question, Jūzō slowly let go of his blade and leaned back, clearing his throat. "Well... no. But look at it from a broader perspective: the Boss already put down the Third Raikage back in the day. We can't just keep bullying the same hidden village over and over again. It's bad optics. We should leave the Fourth Raikage alive out of professional courtesy."
"If you can't beat him, just admit you can't beat him. Stop putting on a pathetic performance," Kakuzu jeered, rolling his eyes.
"So the consensus is that a frontal assault against the Raikage is unfeasible?" Kabuto clarified.
"If Kakuzu and I fight in perfect synchronization, we could probably hold him off and make it out alive," Jūzō offered after a brief hesitation.
"But this is Kumogakure, the heart of the Raikage's sovereign territory," Kakuzu countered calmly, his voice grounded in absolute tactical realism. "Do you honestly believe that if we breach the secretariat and trigger the alarms, we will only have to contend with the Raikage alone? Jūzō, do you possess any actual understanding of Kumogakure's military doctrine? Their Raikage never fights in isolation; they operate in highly specialized, lifelong pairings. During the Third Shinobi World War, this generation's duo achieved global notoriety. They are known across the nations as the 'A-B Combo.' The Raikage's sworn brother is Killer B, one of the few perfect Jinchuriki in existence, possessing absolute mastery over the Eight-Tails. Add a literal army of elite Cloud shinobi to that equation, and I can assure you, the moment we make a loud scene, our chances of walking out of this village alive drop to zero."
Having delivered his grim assessment, Kakuzu directed a remarkably pleasant look toward Kabuto. "Am I correct in my analysis, Kabuto?"
"No," Kabuto replied without a shred of hesitation.
Kakuzu's jaw tightened. Great. Don't tell me this glasses-wearing brat shares the exact same suicidal, meathead philosophy as Jūzō.
Jūzō's eyes illuminated with instant triumph. "Haha! I knew you had my back, kid!"
Kabuto shook his head, offering a calm corrective. "That is not what I meant. Kakuzu-senpai's tactical assessment is entirely flawless. If we engage the Raikage and his forces in a direct war of attrition, we will undoubtedly be buried right here in Kumogakure. A conventional, open confrontation is strictly out of the question."
"Then what exactly are you implying?" Jūzō and Kakuzu demanded simultaneously.
"I am saying that while a direct confrontation is suicidal, creating a massive, catastrophic disruption is absolutely mandatory," Kabuto explained, a sharp glint catching the surface of his spectacles as his voice dropped into a low, calculating register. "Only by plunging Kumogakure into absolute, overwhelming chaos can we safely infiltrate the secretariat, secure the Heavenly Transfer Technique with minimal resistance, and execute a low-profile extraction."
"Now that makes perfect sense!" Jūzō barked in immediate approval.
"You didn't even comprehend the structural logic of his sentence. Stop shouting 'perfect sense' like a trained parrot," Kakuzu sneered.
"You old fossil, are you actively trying to start a fight with me right now?!" Jūzō roared, glaring across the table.
Watching the two veterans instantly dissolve back into their standard routine of mutual hostility, Kabuto could only offer a helpless, internal sigh. Deciding it was entirely useless to intervene, he simply picked up his chopsticks and quietly focused on finishing his dinner.
True to form, after trading insults for another five minutes, the fire between Kakuzu and Jūzō naturally burned out, and an amicable silence returned.
Kakuzu turned back to the younger man. "Alright, let's hear the blueprint. How exactly do you plan on throwing a major hidden village into total chaos?"
"Senpai, you both received this deployment from Diarmuid-sama only a short while ago," Kabuto began, a trace of professional pride touching his tone. "However, I received direct authorization and strategic instructions from Diarmuid-sama over half a year ago."
Jūzō blinked, failing to grasp the broader implications.
Kakuzu, however, processed the timeline instantly. "Which means... you have been actively engineering this operational theater for six months? And the location of the Heavenly Transfer Technique... you didn't extract that today. You've known it all along."
"Correct," Kabuto said with a light chuckle. "My activity in the marketplace today was strictly a rendezvous with our deep-cover assets to exchange secure communications and verify that the target scroll had not been moved due to recent internal military shifts. I was able to state with absolute certainty that it remains in the secretariat because I have had eyes anchored on that facility for six solid months."
At this point, Kakuzu and Jūzō finally understood their true roles in this operation. They hadn't been sent here to brainstorm a strategy; they were the heavy-duty enforcement squad. Kabuto possessed the intellectual blueprint, but without high-tier combatants capable of executing the heavy lifting, the plan remained an abstraction.
The integration of their raw power with Kabuto's meticulous infrastructure formed the complete, lethal machine.
"Walk us through the execution," Kakuzu instructed, his interest fully captured.
"Over the course of the past six months, I have utilized various commercial fronts to systematically smuggle a massive volume of specialized raw materials required for the manufacturing of paper bombs into Kumogakure," Kabuto revealed, his smile remains perfectly serene. "As of five days ago, our sleeper cells successfully assembled these materials into fully functioning, high-yield explosive tags. They have been meticulously planted beneath critical infrastructure points all across Kumogakure. Whenever the moment demands it, I can trigger a synchronized detonation of the entire network."
Jūzō's eyes widened in genuine shock. "Are the security forces of Kumogakure entirely incompetent? You managed to plant a massive network of explosives directly under their noses, and not a single sensory ninja noticed?"
"Look at it this way: if you are dedicated enough to search for a structural vulnerability, you will always find one," Kabuto explained patiently. "An entity as massive as Kumogakure will inevitably harbor administrative and geographical blind spots. I didn't arbitrarily decide on an explosive sabotage strategy from day one; rather, I spent months analyzing their security patrols and defensive rotations until I discovered a persistent flaw. Only after isolating that specific weakness did I structure the strategy around it. Do you understand?"
Jūzō's mind swirled with the technical jargon. He shook his head, looking completely lost. "You're speaking in riddles, kid. I don't get it."
Kakuzu let out a heavy, disappointed sigh on Jūzō's behalf. "To put it in terms your simple brain can process... he didn't start with the idea of blowing things up. He looked for a hole in their armor first. Once he found the hole, he realized explosives were the most effective tool to tear it wide open. If the flaw in Kumogakure's defense had been structural water mains, he would have flooded the village instead. It's a matter of deductive sequencing."
Seeing that Jūzō still looked slightly dazed, Kakuzu gave up on his education and looked back to Kabuto. "Is the layout secure?"
"The final validation is pending," Kabuto replied seriously. "Tomorrow, under the plausible guise of conducting market research and verifying local tea distribution, I will personally tour the designated sectors of Kumogakure. I need to visually verify that every explosive payload is perfectly in position."
Even though his intelligence operatives had assured him the deployment was complete, Kabuto's deeply ingrained paranoia prevented him from placing absolute faith in anyone else's word. If he didn't confirm it with his own eyes, he wouldn't consider the variable secure. He was cautious to a fault.
"What is the exact volume of the explosive payload you've embedded?" Kakuzu inquired, his accounting mind instantly calculating potential collateral values.
"Nothing excessive," Kabuto answered casually. "Slightly over two thousand... pushing close to three thousand explosive tags in total."
In the grand scheme of things, especially when compared to the absurd, existential arsenal of hundreds of millions of tags possessed by Konan, three thousand sheets was a drop in the bucket.
Yet, when the number registered in Kakuzu's ears, even the hardened veteran couldn't help but look at Kabuto with a newfound sense of dark appreciation. This kid was a certified psychopath.
To put it in perspective, Kabuto had essentially rigged Kumogakure with three thousand highly volatile, military-grade frag grenades, all wired to a single detonator.
Calling that "nothing excessive" was an understatement of comedic proportions. It was more than enough to tear the core architecture of Kumogakure into burning ruins.
"That isn't a distraction... that's a full-scale terrorist assault," Jūzō remarked, whistling through his teeth in genuine awe. "Aren't we taking things a bit too far?"
Kabuto blinked, looking back at the two legendary, S-rank international criminals with a look of innocent confusion. "Senpai... we are rogue ninja. Since when did anyone in our organization qualify as a good person?"
Kakuzu and Jūzō stared at the young man for a long, quiet moment. Finally, Kakuzu broke the silence, nodding slowly. "Huh. You make an incredibly valid point."
"Out of professional curiosity, how exactly did you manage to embed an active spy network inside Kumogakure six months prior to this deployment?" Kakuzu asked, leaning back. "It is a universally acknowledged fact that Kumogakure possesses the most xenophobic, high-risk security counter-intelligence system in the five great nations. Their spy count is historically nonexistent."
Kabuto smiled and shook his head. "I certainly do not possess the structural influence to achieve such a feat independently. While it's true that infiltrating Kumogakure carries a catastrophic mortality rate, it doesn't mean the village is entirely airtight. I didn't establish this network; I simply inherited an active sleeper cell by utilizing Sasori-senpai's proprietary intelligence channels."
"Sasori?" Kakuzu's eyebrows shot up, a flash of immediate comprehension dawning in his eyes.
That tracked perfectly with Sasori's unique brand of terrifying genius. The puppet master rarely spoken during executive meetings and preferred complete isolation, but his global surveillance network and subterranean sleeper cells were immensely formidable, a reality vividly illustrated by this exact scenario.
Thinking back to the Third Shinobi World War, Sasori had somehow managed to procure flawless, real-time intelligence regarding the precise movements of Konoha's frontline commander, Uchiha Kagami. With that level of historical reach, it was highly probable the man had deeply embedded, high-ranking sleeper agents operating within the infrastructure of all Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"Since you already possess a fully matured, structurally sound blueprint for this operation," Kakuzu stated after a brief moment of calculation, "the two of us will defer to your tactical direction for the duration of this deployment."
Pausing slightly, he cast a sideways glance at the swordsman. "Any objections, Jūzō?"
"None from me," Jūzō agreed, nodding in affirmation. "As long as it gets the job done, I'm in."
A quiet sigh of relief swept through Kabuto's chest. His primary logistical concern prior to this meeting had been the temperaments of the two titans; he had worried that their vast combat experience and senior status within the Yorozuya would make them resistant to taking orders from a probationary junior.
It appeared his anxieties were entirely redundant. The heavyweights of the organization were remarkably pragmatic and reasonable when it came to mission efficiency.
"Then I am deeply grateful for your trust and cooperation, senpai," Kabuto said, raising his teacup with a smooth, flawless smile.