At the same time, inside an abandoned training ground belonging to the Uchiha clan.
Nagato and Shisui Uchiha, who had just finished gathering intelligence inside Konoha and regrouped here to exchange information, both fell silent at the same time.
Only after a long while did the older Nagato speak, looking at Shisui Uchiha, whose eyes were faintly red.
"Are you all right, Shisui?"
"I am fine. Before this, I had more or less expected something like this to happen."
Shisui Uchiha gave a bitter smile and sighed. He looked at the back of his hand, where faint tear stains had yet to fully dry, and mocked himself.
"It is just that when I truly heard Mr. Fugaku say those words with his own mouth, it still felt… like blades cutting and needles stabbing my heart."
"This is probably the fate of someone who betrays everything. Condemned by thousands, spat on by tens of thousands. Even the family who used to be closest to you clearly draws a line between themselves and you, afraid that even the slightest connection to your actions will implicate them…"
"Then do you regret it, Shisui?"
The one who asked that question was not Nagato, but the white summoning snake Rei Kaguya had given him.
Hearing Rei Kaguya's voice, Shisui Uchiha froze slightly. Then he shook his head and said with a firm gaze,
"If I would hesitate, retreat, or even regret something like this, then I would never have accepted everything you taught me in the first place, Lord Fourth."
"It was after preparing myself and resolving my heart that I personally put on Kirigakure's forehead protector. From that moment onward, I had already decided to stand beside you and walk with you down the path that can completely transform the shinobi world. Even unto death, I will have no regrets."
"When you say it like that, even I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed."
The white snake shook its head, then continued,
"But being able to hear that answer proves there was nothing wrong with my choice… Shisui, activate your Heaven Curse Mark and give a little chakra to my white snake."
"Yes."
Shisui Uchiha did not suspect anything. He naturally activated his Heaven Curse Mark, then poured chakra wrapped in dense natural energy into the curse formula on the white snake's forehead.
"Hm. The concentration of natural energy is a bit high. You have taken another step closer to losing control and going berserk… But conversely, that can also be seen as you taking another step closer to developing your own unique Sage Mode. Not bad, not bad."
The white snake appraised the chakra entering its body and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, before Shisui Uchiha could continue the topic, the curse formula on the white snake's head suddenly spread outward.
A burst of smoke swiftly dispersed.
A tall figure wearing a traditional white Kaguya clan kimono, with a pale-blue braided cord tied around his waist, appeared before the two of them while stretching his body.
"F-Fourth Mizukage-sama!?"
Shisui Uchiha was thrown into confusion by Rei Kaguya's sudden arrival.
"Why are you already…"
"Hm? Did you think I was the main body?"
"Rei Kaguya" tilted his head and sighed helplessly.
"Unfortunately, this is only a bone clone used as insurance and a summoning device. The main body's condition is not very good. Orochimaru is preparing a Byakugan transplant surgery for me to see whether it can temporarily suppress the backlash from the All-Killing Ash Bones…"
"It has already become that serious?"
Shisui Uchiha's expression instantly turned solemn.
"Even a body comparable to Hashirama Senju's cannot withstand its backlash?"
"You are overthinking it. The complete version of the All-Killing Ash Bones requires gathering the nature transformations of all seven chakra attributes into one body before it can be used. It is a killing move at the level of a Kekkei Mora. I am currently missing the nature transformations of Lightning and Fire chakra, so I cannot satisfy the conditions for its evolution. Naturally, I can only rely on my own vitality to forcibly endure the backlash from obtaining an incomplete All-Killing Ash Bones ahead of time."
Rei Kaguya's bone clone waved his hand, his tone so calm it was as if he were discussing someone else's problem.
"Because my own conditions do not meet the requirements for achieving Kekkei Mora, even if I transplant Byakugan cultivated from my own cells, I probably cannot completely solve the backlash. So this should be the last time my main body personally takes action for a very long period of time…
"But you hid your tracks very well this time. I might be able to find an opportunity to use the incomplete All-Killing Ash Bones to kill that leader of Root. At the absolute worst, I can still heavily injure him to the point where he, like me, must spend several years recovering. That point is very important."
"How should we cooperate with you?" Nagato asked. "Since your condition is poor, leave matters like probing the enemy's intelligence, draining the enemy's chakra, and finding ways to make him expose an opening to us."
"You two only need to perform normally. I will judge the timing myself."
Rei Kaguya looked at Nagato, who was full of confidence and whose chakra fluctuations were quite active. He smiled with some satisfaction.
"Then, summarize the intelligence. You two have been running around Konoha these past few days. You should have some idea of Root's operational targets by now."
"Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan is definitely their primary target. As for their secondary target, I believe it should be Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Nagato nodded. He took out the documents and photographs he had secretly collected, then said in a deep voice,
"Although I do not understand much about the female body, judging from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's physical condition, she should not be far from giving birth. When a female Jinchuriki gives birth, the seal on the Tailed Beast weakens because of the reduction in her chakra. That is precisely when the Tailed Beast can most easily break free and go berserk.
"And although the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's movements are protected by Anbu, they have not been hidden with particular seriousness. If the members of Root know her true identity, they definitely will not miss this opportunity to seize the Nine-Tails."
"My judgment is the same."
Shisui Uchiha nodded and added,
"Before the Third Shinobi World War ended, the information that Kushina Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was tightly sealed by Konoha's higher-ups. But after the war ended, her constant training to develop her use of the Nine-Tails' power has already allowed quite a few people to learn her true identity. Root contains a large number of missing-nin from the original Root. It would be very easy for them to discover this."
"Good judgment."
Rei Kaguya nodded.
"Once the targets are confirmed, it becomes convenient to divide personnel according to the needs of each target requiring protection…"
"What do you plan to do?"
"Nagato will monitor Kushina Uzumaki. If the enemy's goal is to release the Nine-Tails from her body, then the power of the Rinnegan is more suited to suppressing the rampaging Nine-Tails. Of course, it would be best to prevent that from happening in the first place. Otherwise, the effect of selling Konoha a favor will be reduced by quite a bit."
"As for Shisui, you will stand guard near Kakashi Hatake. You are better at genjutsu. When you act, the commotion will be smaller and you will be less likely to expose yourself. You also have the Heaven Curse Mark, which makes it convenient for you to contact me. If the leader of Root appears on your side, it will also be convenient for you to notify me so I can go over and deal with him."
"As for me, I will temporarily find a place to hide. After all, this is only a clone. I cannot freely use all my powers like the main body."
"Understood."
"Got it."
"Then, the mission begins."
Whoosh.
Nagato and Shisui Uchiha vanished from the training ground, heading toward their respective assigned targets.
Meanwhile, Rei Kaguya's bone clone took a deep breath, then turned around thoughtfully and locked onto a presence wandering in the forest not far from the abandoned training ground.
"A very young, very weak presence… and alone too. At this time, in this place… Itachi Uchiha?"
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