"Nichizane, the leader of Uzushio Village… is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
Seeing the Third Hokage hesitate, Danzo already had his answer.
Since there was no point hiding it anymore, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and admitted:
"That's right. The leader of Uzushio Village is Naruto. After leaving Konoha, he took Uchiha Shisui and the remaining Uchiha with him, rebuilt Uzushio Country, and established Uzushio Village."
"Leaving?" Danzo sneered. "That's not leaving—that's defection."
"And you're still defending that brat? He's built his own power, and now he's even eyeing the Land of Waves. If Uzumaki Country annexes it, they'll start pulling in surrounding small nations through things like the Chūnin Exams. Your whole plan will go to hell."
His words were sharp—no respect, no filter.
After all, whether it was injuring Konoha guards during his escape or taking the Uchiha remnants to build a new nation, Naruto's actions weren't much different from Orochimaru's.
Hell, slapping an S-rank missing-nin bounty on his head wouldn't be excessive at all.
"It's a temporary measure," Hiruzen shot back, clearly irritated now.
"You want Naruto officially labeled a rogue ninja? That would only make Konoha a laughingstock. Besides tearing relations apart, it brings no benefit."
"If there's still a chance for him to return, then Uzumaki Country… is still part of Konoha's influence."
Danzo snorted.
He couldn't argue that—at least not directly.
Back when Naruto defected, Danzo had tried to stop him. Failed miserably.
Couldn't even touch the kid.
Yeah… that still pissed him off.
But that didn't stop him from pressing Hiruzen.
Because this whole mess?
Was Hiruzen's fault.
After a moment of silence, Danzo asked coldly:
"Fine. Then who are you sending for this mission?"
"Or better yet—why not just annex the Land of Waves ourselves? Kado's money isn't exactly clean anyway."
Hiruzen didn't respond immediately.
He just… fell into deep thought.
Amegakure – Land of Rain
Nagato sat in his wheelchair, carefully maintaining the Six Paths of Pain.
Though they looked like puppets, they were actually corpses infused with the power of the Rinnegan. Without proper preservation, they'd rot—simple as that.
Luckily, Nagato had years of experience.
After applying another layer of preservation technique, he gently placed the Deva Path into a special container.
His gaze lingered.
Of all the Paths… this one mattered most.
Because it was Yahiko.
His body. His dream.
His… everything.
When controlling the Deva Path, Nagato was a god—cold, distant, untouchable.
But now, without the mask?
He was just Nagato again.
A broken man in a chair… listening to the endless rain.
Dreaming of peace.
And worrying about whether that dream would ever actually work.
Akatsuki's plan had three steps—each more insane than the last:
Control wars.
Capture tailed beasts.
Resurrect the Ten-Tails.
Each step had a high chance of blowing up in their faces.
And their enemies?
Not just the Five Great Nations…
But also that masked man—"Uchiha Madara."
A walking red flag.
At that moment, Konan appeared, her paper wings folding back into her body.
Nagato instantly switched back to his Pain persona, voice low and emotionless:
"Konan. What is it? The village… or the organization?"
Konan glanced at his frail body, then at the preserved Deva Path.
A trace of sadness flashed in her eyes.
"It's about Akatsuki."
"Someone on the black market has issued a request. The Land of Waves has been attacked by ninjas from Uzushio Village… and they want Akatsuki to drive them back."
"Uzushio Village?" Nagato frowned. "Attacking the Land of Waves? That place is poorer than Amegakure. What are they going there for—fishing?"
"The client is Kado," Konan replied. "Most likely, he was targeted."
Nagato let out a cold chuckle.
"No wonder. That black-hearted bastard finally got himself into trouble."
He knew Kado's business well—smuggling, drugs, human trafficking, piracy… the guy was basically a walking crime list.
Konan frowned slightly.
"We can refuse. Kado isn't worth helping, and provoking Uzushio Village isn't necessary… especially since it's technically your village."
Nagato shook his head.
"No."
"We take the job."
"The village needs money. And more importantly—we need to understand Uzushio Village's true strength."
"Our goal was never just survival. Akatsuki exists to end war… through overwhelming deterrence."
"There's no such thing as 'my village' or 'their village.'"
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"But something about this stinks."
"How did Kado survive the attack? And why did he specifically choose Akatsuki?"
"We investigate everything."
Meanwhile…
In the Land of Fire, two Akatsuki members received the mission.
Uchiha Itachi.
And Hoshigaki Kisame.
Kisame didn't think much of it.
Itachi, however… frowned.
Kado as the client? Fine.
Repel attackers? Also fine.
But specifying Uzushio Village?
That was suspicious.
How did a civilian know that?
And more importantly—
How did he survive?
Then there was another issue.
Uzushio Village… was full of Uchiha.
The same clan he had slaughtered.
The same survivors he had abandoned.
"…Tch."
Yeah. This mission just got complicated.
Kisame, carrying Samehada on his shoulder, grinned impatiently:
"Oi, Itachi. How long are you gonna stand there thinking? Let's go already—I wanna see what these Uzushio ninjas can do."
Itachi gave him a brief glance… and started moving.
No reply.
Back when they first met, they had fought.
No winner.
At the time, Itachi thought Kisame was just a reckless brute.
But now?
He understood.
Kisame wasn't reckless.
He was… pure.
A perfect ninja.
No hesitation.
No unnecessary emotions.
If the mission required killing—he killed.
If it didn't—he didn't.
Simple.
Clean.
Efficient.
And dangerously reliable.
The only problem?
Itachi wasn't loyal to Akatsuki.
He was a spy.
Which meant…
One day, they might end up trying to kill each other.
As the thought passed, Itachi's figure blurred through the forest.
Fast.
Very fast.
In less than half a day, they reached the coast of the Land of Fire.
Across the sea lay the Land of Waves—a poor, lifeless island.
It was night.
No boats.
But for jōnin like them?
Water was just another road.
Just as they were about to move—
They both stopped.
A space-time vortex twisted open ahead.
And out stepped a masked man.
Obito.
He glanced at the two of them, then chuckled and bowed slightly:
"Well, well… didn't expect to run into two seniors here."
"On a mission, I assume?"
"Mind if I join?"
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