"So that's how it is. No wonder that brat from the Land of Rain possesses the Rinnegan; it's because he carries the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths."
Danzo looked at the Sky Screen, a flash of realization in his eyes. He thought back to the events in the Land of Rain years ago; he remembered those eyes vividly.
The Land of Rain, Hidden Rain Village.
Nagato stared at the Sky Screen, remaining silent for a long time.
"It seems the Eye of the Moon Plan must be expedited."
The appearance of the Sky Screen made him feel uneasy. While the content of the Sky Screen surprised him, it was precisely because of this that he was more certain than ever that he was the one chosen by fate!
Only he could save the world!
And to combat those Herrschers, the power of the Ten-Tails was essential!
Nagato immediately summoned all members of the Akatsuki, only to find that quite a few people were missing.
First, Hidan had gone to provoke the Herrscher of Reason and never returned; they assumed he was either imprisoned or already dead. Thus, no one was surprised by his absence.
Next, Orochimaru was also absent.
"A-re-re~ it seems we're missing two people."
"No need to doubt it; two people are indeed missing."
"Silence." The projections of the Akatsuki members began to converse as soon as they appeared, but this time, Nagato had not called them for idle gossip.
"Due to unexpected changes, the plan must now be moved forward."
As soon as these words were spoken, the various projections looked at one another. Even if they didn't seem to know the full scope of the plan, they knew they weren't fully prepared. Moving the plan forward now—wasn't that a bit too hasty?
But at the thought of the Sky Screen's existence, they immediately understood. With the Sky Screen around, they had no choice but to advance.
After all, if they continued to delay, who knew if the Sky Screen would one day expose their deepest secrets to the world?
"I agree with moving the plan forward. However, considering the Sky Screen, the moment we take action, the ninja villages will know there is a force capturing Tailed Beasts. This needs to be considered."
"Correct. The weaker Tailed Beasts are easy enough to capture; as long as we strike unexpectedly, we can still hide our identities. But the ones later on..."
"Let me tell you something you don't know," Tobi—the identity assumed by Uchiha Obito—spoke up, immediately chilling the atmosphere. "The Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village is dead, killed on the spot during a coup led by the current Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei. The Three-Tails sealed inside him will take at least several years to revive. Where are we going to make up for that missing Three-Tails chakra?"
The room fell silent. It was true; no matter how well the rest was planned, with the Three-Tails dead, their plan was stuck right there. Without the Three-Tails' chakra, the entire plan would stall.
"If it's Tailed Beast chakra you need, I have an idea."
As soon as Zetsu, wearing his venus flytrap-like extension, spoke, he drew everyone's gaze.
"The Sky Screen gave me this inspiration. Since the resurrection of the Ten-Tails requires Tailed Beast chakra, does it have to be a complete Tailed Beast? Would a small portion suffice?"
"You might as well speak more plainly," Nagato said.
Nagato vaguely grasped the point, but there was still a veil he couldn't pierce. However, he realized that Zetsu's idea was vital to his plan to resurrect the Ten-Tails.
"Reanimation Jutsu! We can use the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation to resurrect previous Jinchuriki who possessed Tailed Beast chakra, and then use their chakra to revive the Ten-Tails!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the group finally understood Zetsu's method. Their first reaction was that it was impossible.
Setting aside that they didn't know the Reanimation Jutsu—as it was a secret technique of Konoha—the most important point was: how could the meager chakra of a Jinchuriki compare to a Tailed Beast? If they fed that to the Gedo Mazo, it might be completely useless!
"The Reanimation Jutsu—how do we obtain this technique?" Nagato asked.
Zetsu knew Nagato was tempted.
"Leave it to me. With White Zetsu's intelligence-gathering capabilities, obtaining this technique won't be too difficult. Besides, I happen to know someone who might know this jutsu."
"Fine, I'll leave it to you," Nagato nodded, then added, "Regardless, collect the Jinchuriki first."
Subsequently, Nagato assigned the candidates for capturing the Jinchuriki. Due to the lack of manpower, they could only act in stages. Capturing all the Jinchuriki at once was impossible.
After the meeting adjourned, inside the laboratory left by Uchiha Madara, Obito looked at Black Zetsu and began to wonder where it would get the Reanimation Jutsu.
"You're forgetting someone."
"Who?"
"Orochimaru!"
Uchiha Obito suddenly realized that as a student of the Third Hokage, Orochimaru might indeed have had access to this ninjutsu.
"But that's only a possibility. What if he doesn't know the technique?"
"That's why I've made two preparations. I've already sent White Zetsu to Old Konoha to steal the original Scroll of Seals!"
"Are you crazy? What if you provoke the Herrscher of Reason?"
Black Zetsu didn't speak, simply watching Obito quietly.
"...Fine, I understand."
After calming down, Uchiha Obito knew this was a last resort. After all, they couldn't exactly ask those in New Konoha who knew the jutsu.
Ask whom? Senju Tobirama?
Don't make Obito laugh. Even he knew how deep that man's prejudice against the Uchiha was; he would never tell them. They couldn't even force the information out. The deterrent of the resurrected Senju Hashirama was still immense.
"I've already had White Zetsu collect the remains of those who possessed Tailed Beast chakra throughout the Ninja World. Everything is ready; we just need the final push."
"I hope so."
Looking at the Sky Screen, Uchiha Obito had an ominous feeling. He felt the plan wouldn't go so smoothly.
["Do you thirst for power?"
"Who!?"
Late at night, Uchiha Sasuke, who was training in the backyard of his home, spun around. He saw a crow perched on a tree branch, staring at him intently with its pitch-black eyes.
Looking at this crow, a flash of pain and deep hatred crossed Sasuke's eyes.
"I hate crows!"
Sasuke's voice was bone-chillingly cold, laced with a surge of killing intent!
"Is that so? I, on the other hand, quite like crows. They are intelligent and possess impressive combat abilities. With proper training, they make excellent helpers."
"Shut up. State your purpose, or I'll kill you."
Sasuke had no interest in listening to the crow's chatter. If not for the phrase "Do you thirst for power," Sasuke would have thrown a kunai long ago. It could only be said that Sasuke, living in hatred, now hungered for power above all else. As long as it gave him power, he didn't care about the price.
But if they dared to play him, he would certainly make them pay!]