[The Next Day]
A large white bird flew into Konoha's territory once again.
Konoha had already been informed and knew it was Deidara, so no one stopped him.
They only sent someone to guide him to the Uchiha clan district.
"The old man said an alliance is fine, but he wants to invite the Fourth Hokage over to discuss the details."
Deidara directly delivered the message to Rengoku.
It looked like Onoki still wanted to test Konoha.
But Rengoku had plans of his own, "Go back and tell Onoki to meet at the Stone Mine Cave. Set the time for seven days from now."
"I'll head back in a couple of days. I'm going to see Big Brother Sasori first."
Although Deidara had been sent to deliver the message, his main purpose was to see Sasori. There was plenty of time anyway, so he wasn't in a hurry.
As soon as he finished speaking, he ran off.
That was just how Deidara was. He always did things his own way. Other than art, he didn't care much about most things.
Rengoku didn't mind. He knew exactly what kind of person Deidara was.
The Stone Mine Cave was the one Sunagakure and Iwagakure had fought over years ago. In the end, the Land of Stone had even been absorbed into the Land of Earth because of it.
The mineral vein there had long since been exhausted, leaving behind only a bare mine cave.
The reason Rengoku knew about it was because he had heard about it from Konan.
And Konan had learned about it from Kakuzu.
After all, Kakuzu had been managing that place. When the mineral vein was mined out, he was the saddest one about it.
His stable monthly income was gone, and life was miserable for Kakuzu when he couldn't see any money.
He often asked Konan if there were any suitable missions and when the Akatsuki organization would take action.
At that time, Rengoku had not returned yet. Yahiko had been revived, Nagato had recovered, and Konan spent every day by Yahiko's side, so naturally she had no interest in going out and taking risks.
Kakuzu could only go find missions on his own.
It was only because Konoha had come under attack that he had come over to help and earn some extra money.
The area around the Stone Mine Cave happened to border the desert territory that Sunagakure had handed over as compensation.
Meeting there meant neither side would be at a disadvantage.
Rengoku knew that Onoki was an extremely conservative person, so he was preparing a strong move.
One that would guarantee Onoki agreed to the alliance.
———
Moryo's body had once contracted with the Zero-Tails, giving him a connection to its chakra.
After searching all the way, he finally found Obito's location by the sea.
He looked up at the sky. Thick clouds covered everything, making it impossible to see anyone.
Without that connection, he never would have found Obito.
Moryo was also a little speechless. Why was Obito flying so high? Even he couldn't get up there.
Purple-black energy gathered in his hand and shot straight into the sky.
The mass of energy exploded above like a firework.
A moment later, a vortex appeared beside Moryo, and Obito emerged from it.
"Did you find an energy source? Why have you been staying in the sky this whole time?", Moryo asked curiously.
Ancor Vantian wasn't some kind of black technology. Staying airborne required energy.
The remnants of those Sky Ninja should have run out of energy by now.
"I captured Rasa and brought him back. Now it can stay in the sky indefinitely."
Moryo nodded slightly. With Obito's strength, capturing a Jinchuriki was naturally easy.
But that wasn't what he cared about, "The leyline energy collector has been found."
"It's in the Sacred Land, Horu."
A look of surprise appeared on Obito's face, "It was really there?"
Moryo didn't look relaxed. Instead, his expression was serious.
"When the leyline energy collector activates, the commotion will be huge. Swallowing that thing won't be easy. I wonder if Black Zetsu knows about it."
Obito and Moryo had already discussed this matter before.
He naturally knew how much of a disturbance the leyline energy collector would cause when activated.
"He probably knows. That Disonas has been staying in Horu the whole time. He's most likely planning this."
Moryo's gaze darkened.
"Looks like we can't keep it hidden from him."
"Should we work with him?"
He looked at Obito.
After all, Obito and Black Zetsu had already completely fallen out. Whether to cooperate or take it by force from Black Zetsu was Obito's decision.
Thoughtfulness appeared in Obito's eyes.
"Can I use the energy from the leyline energy collector?"
Moryo looked Obito up and down several times.
"There aren't many ways for you to use it. The Zero-Tails absorbs emotional energy, and your efficiency with this kind of energy is very low right now."
"However... your Dark Medical Technique could become permanent."
Obito had survived entirely through the Dark Medical Technique before. Now, all of his weaknesses were essentially gone.
When his chest cavity opened, there was no blood or internal organs inside, only purple-black energy.
Previously, Obito had needed to keep converting energy into that form.
If it became permanent, Obito would be even harder to kill.
"That's not really the issue."
Seeing Obito thinking, Moryo reminded him.
"Let me explain the leyline energy collector in detail."
Obito gave a slight nod, signaling him to continue.
Moryo opened his palm, and a model made of purple-black energy appeared before Obito.
The model looked like a tower, except its lower section was extremely thick.
"The current leyline energy collector has been sealed and hasn't been activated."
"If it activates..."
As he spoke, the lower section of the model tower opened completely and thrust downward.
"The energy collector will pierce the ground and begin gathering energy from the entire planet."
"For individuals like us, the energy of an entire planet is unimaginably vast."
"As long as we absorb it for a while, both your needs and Black Zetsu's needs can be satisfied."
"But when this thing activates, the whole planet will shake. There's no way to hide it from the other ninja villages."
"Someone will definitely come to stop us."
As he spoke, Moryo deliberately pointed in Konoha's direction.
Obito naturally knew who Moryo meant.
The Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage with the Flying Thunder God Technique, Namikaze Minato.
He had already experienced firsthand how powerful Namikaze Minato was as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
At that time, he himself would certainly be safe, but protecting the leyline energy collector would be much more difficult.
"The risk is too high. I don't know what Black Zetsu wants to do with that thing, but my strength is still lacking."
"If Black Zetsu's side becomes stronger again, that'll be troublesome."
Obito was extremely cautious when it came to whether he could get his revenge. He wouldn't take even the slightest risk.
Moryo had been working closely with Obito for a long time and understood him very well.
He knew that with Obito being this careful, he probably wouldn't act unless he was completely certain.
"You have to take part in this. Otherwise, if Black Zetsu uses the leyline energy collector first, you won't get another chance."
"My strength isn't enough."
Obito wanted revenge as soon as possible, but he also understood clearly.
Even though Madara no longer had the Rinnegan, once Madara was revived, his strength would far surpass his own.
He couldn't even defeat Madara's Edo Tensei body.
Seeing that Obito wouldn't move without guaranteed benefits, Moryo could only suggest:
"I have a way to quickly increase your strength, but it's a little risky..."