"Are you planning to kill everyone except Nagato?"
"Is that not allowed? Anyway, aside from those eyes being useful, the rest of them are useless, right? But if you could lend me a hand, that would be even better."
Uchiha Makito tossed a kunai casually while speaking his mind to Zetsu.
In his view, the weak had no reason to live. To make those Rinnegan eyes awaken faster, killing his companions to provoke his emotions was actually a good idea, wasn't it?
Zetsu glanced at Yahiko's group, who were pinned down by the kunai, then nodded slightly.
"These childish games will never make it to the big stage. I'll disguise myself as a Rain ninja to assist you. But be careful. Don't endanger Nagato's life."
"If you push him too far and he loses control, it'll be impossible to clean up the mess."
No one understood the Rinnegan's power better than Zetsu. If it went berserk, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Tch, I get it. Stop the nonsense and get moving already..."
Zetsu nodded. On their way here, he had already used Genjutsu to control a group of people, preparing them to play out this little drama.
"Remember to hold back."
Leaving behind these words, Zetsu slowly vanished beside Uchiha Makito.
Uchiha Makito casually threw out another handful of kunai. Strangely enough, these kunai hovered in mid-air. He formed hand seals—the Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire technique.
As the flames erupted, the kunai merged with the Phoenix Sage Fire, transforming into the Phoenix Flame Claw technique.
The Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes began spinning. The flaming kunai vanished instantly, reappearing right in front of Yahiko and the others.
"Fire?"
"Water Style! Water Formation Wall!"
The moment Yahiko saw the flames, his first instinct was to defend with Water Style.
The sudden water wall extinguished the flames, but it didn't stop the kunai. The projectiles pierced through the wall and shot toward Yahiko once more.
"Yahiko! Look out!"
"Ninja Art: Paper Shuriken."
Konan had already been prepared. Sheets of white paper floated around her, transforming into sharp shuriken under her control.
Shuriken clashed with shuriken. Though Konan's weapons were made of paper, chakra reinforcement made them extremely durable.
"Clang!"
The kunai were knocked down, and Konan exhaled in relief.
But soon, Nagato's anxious voice rang out from the side.
"Enemies incoming! A lot of them!"
Hearing this, everyone's hearts sank. The situation was now obvious—they had walked into an ambush.
First came the sneak attack, then the full assault, right?
Seeing the Rain-nin with their headbands approaching, Yahiko's eyes grew even redder.
"How could this be... these guys, why!"
He recognized many of these people. They often took missions together. Some had even left him with good impressions. And now, they had all turned on them?
"Yahiko! Don't hesitate! What now?"
"Retreat? Or fight?"
The urgent question from his comrade snapped Yahiko out of his shock. The enemy was almost upon them.
Strangely, all these people wore glasses. In his memory, none of them had ever worn glasses before.
But there was no time to ponder this now.
"Retreat! There are too many, and that strange enemy too."
"Fall back toward the village!"
"Even if they want to kill us, they won't dare do it inside the village!"
Yahiko shouted the retreat order. The eight of them ran desperately. Even if this exposed them, they had no choice.
Uchiha Makito smirked mockingly as he saw them trying to flee.
"Fire Style: Lotus Technique."
He made a simple hand motion. Countless blue-flamed lotus flowers bloomed around him.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Makito possessed exceptional talent. This Lotus Technique was his own creation, using the Phoenix Sage Fire's scattered flames with a nature transformation.
The flames shifted from red to blue, burning hotter than ever.
"Rinnegan... show me your power..."
His eyes swept forward. The blue flames vanished instantly, reappearing behind Yahiko and Nagato.
The sudden heatwave roared forth. Yahiko and Nagato reacted quickly, leaping to opposite sides.
"Damn it! Again!"
"Water Style! Water Formation Wall!"
Yahiko summoned the wall again, while Nagato's hands blurred through seals. Only after the wall exploded forth did he unleash his own jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Defense turned to offense. The water wall transformed into a raging water dragon, jaws wide open, crashing toward the pursuing enemies.
Hidden among the crowd, Zetsu smiled faintly.
"Though he's using the terrain's advantage, the jutsu's power is undeniable."
"Makito actually attacked Nagato. Isn't he afraid something might go wrong?"
But it was too late to complain. The battle had already begun. Zetsu could only hope Makito would restrain himself.
The Water Dragon slowed the enemy's advance, but the danger was far from over.
The chase continued.
...
Meanwhile, in Amegakure, Gekko Chizan had already left the village.
Before leaving, his face had darkened. The curse technique had lost its target. Something was wrong.
Based on his knowledge of the original events, Uchiha Madara should have revealed the Rinnegan's existence to his successor.
Originally, Obito had approached Nagato but was rejected.
Now the timeline had changed. He didn't even know when that old fossil Madara had died.
But reality was what it was. He had to catch up with Yahiko's group fast. He had to know who had become the new Uchiha Madara...
And a troubling thought gnawed at him—what if it was someone he knew?
Obito?
If it really was young Obito... what then? Kill him? Talk-no-jutsu him?
The more he thought about it, the darker Gekko Chizan's face grew, and the faster he moved.
Beside him, Yugito sensed something was wrong but said nothing.
Tagitsuhime slowly peeked out, glancing at Gekko Chizan. Though she didn't know exactly what was happening, as a sage of Ryūchi Cave, her instincts were sharp.
"If you're looking for those brats from earlier, they went east."
"Though the rain has scattered their scent, I can still detect it."
With that, Tagitsuhime retreated back into Yugito's clothing.
Guided by her words, Gekko Chizan nodded.
"Tagitsuhime, I'll leave Yugito to you."
The moment he spoke, he had already dashed eastward.