"Tsk tsk… things have been getting lively in the ninja world lately."
"Looks like another conflict is about to break out."
"Obito, at this rate, your plan might go straight down the drain."
Hearing Zetsu's words only made Obito's already foul mood worse.
For no apparent reason, war was about to erupt again—
completely disrupting all of his carefully laid plans.
He had already taken his revenge on Konoha once.
Released the Nine-Tails.
Crippled Kirigakure from the shadows.
Everything had been progressing smoothly toward the Eye of the Moon Plan,
toward creating a world where only Rin existed.
Yet Obito, unable to resist his own restlessness, had reached out to Itachi Uchiha,
intending to draw the boy into the Akatsuki.
And then—
Aiden Sarutobi happened.
A series of reckless moves had inexplicably stabilized the Uchiha clan,
cutting off Obito's contact with Itachi entirely.
That alone was infuriating enough.
Now, to top it off, the entire ninja world was on the brink of war.
"Hmph. My plan is flawless," Obito said coldly.
"It's only a matter of time."
"But this debt—"
"I'll remember it."
"I'll settle it personally… with Aiden Sarutobi."
With that, he ignored Zetsu completely.
To Obito, Zetsu was nothing more than a tool Madara had left behind to assist him—
never realizing that this "tool" was the true mastermind lurking in the shadows.
Even though his plans had been disrupted, Obito had no intention of letting this chaos go to waste.
War meant battlefields.
And battlefields meant Sharingan.
It was the perfect opportunity to harvest more eyes.
At the same time, there was a chance—
just maybe—to run into Itachi Uchiha on the battlefield.
If possible…
He'd abduct Itachi on the spot and drag him straight into the Akatsuki.
As the thought crossed his mind, the space before Obito began to distort.
A powerful suction emerged—
and in the next instant, his entire body vanished.
"Tsk tsk tsk… looks like Obito's planning to mess with Konoha again,"
White Zetsu muttered, watching him disappear.
Black Zetsu, however, stared silently,
a sinister glint flickering deep within his eyes.
No one knew what schemes were forming inside his mind.
Akatsuki Hideout
At this point, the Akatsuki was still in its early stages—
a few stragglers, barely a full organization.
Aside from Pain and Konan,
there were only Kisame, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Orochimaru.
Others—like Itachi, or Deidara who would join later—had yet to appear.
The base felt eerily empty.
Still, Pain had unexpectedly gathered everyone together that day.
"Everyone," Pain asked calmly,
"what do you think of the current situation in the ninja world?"
The reactions varied.
Kisame and Sasori showed little interest.
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed—clearly tempted by the profits a battlefield could bring.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, remained silent,
his gaze flickering as countless thoughts churned beneath the surface.
Seeing this, Pain gave a few brief instructions before dismissing the meeting.
The organization was still understaffed.
More importantly, they couldn't yet expose their goal of collecting the tailed beasts.
For now, they had to continue developing quietly in the shadows.
As for the ongoing turmoil in the ninja world—
they could afford to turn a blind eye.
Though, naturally, it was time to start scouting for talent worth recruiting.
Land of Fire — A Hot Spring Town
News of the impending war had spread throughout the entire ninja world.
Within the Land of Fire, anxiety filled the air.
After searching for ages, Jiraiya finally found a hot spring that was still open.
Soaking in the warm water, he tried to relax—
yet his expression remained grave.
"Ah… the ninja world's about to descend into chaos again."
"Looks like I'll have to head back to Konoha."
"Troubled times are coming."
After years of wandering, Jiraiya had uncovered plenty of information.
Among it all, the one thing that weighed on him most
was the masked man responsible for Minato's death during the Nine-Tails incident.
That mystery was the very reason he had stayed away from Konoha for so long.
But now—
with war looming, Jiraiya knew he could no longer afford to wander.
If he didn't return, Konoha would suffer tremendous losses.
Decision made, Jiraiya rose from the hot spring.
Tanzaku Town
Once lively and bustling, Tanzaku Town had grown noticeably quieter under the shadow of war.
The casinos, however, remained as lively as ever.
After all—
gamblers never lacked the desperate.
To them, war was nothing.
And among all the gamblers, one figure stood out unmistakably—
the legendary "Big Sucker", Tsunade.
"All in on big!"
"Open it already!"
"1! 2! 3! Small—six points!"
The chips Tsunade had just placed vanished instantly.
Yet she showed no reaction at all, as if she didn't care in the slightest.
Shizune, on the other hand, was panicking.
"Lady Tsunade! You can't keep gambling!"
"We're about to lose our last meal money!"
"Please—leave us something!"
Tsunade didn't even seem to hear her.
She pushed the remaining chips forward—
all in.
Once again, she lost everything.
Shizune was utterly despairing.
Follow Tsunade for three days, starve for nine meals…
And on top of that, they still had debt collectors to dodge.
When would this life ever end?
For Tsunade, gambling was the only way to forget.
Years of losses had taught her one simple truth:
Going all in is a kind of wisdom.
Shizune could only think—
I really wish you'd never learned that kind of wisdom.
As for the approaching war, Tsunade showed no interest at all.
The two figures quietly slipped out of Tanzaku Town once more—
forced to flee again after losing everything.
Konoha
"So," Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly,
"Kumogakure has already begun deploying troops toward the border?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," an ANBU reported.
"And we've also tracked the movements of their jinchūriki."
"This time, Kumogakure is clearly prepared."
Hiruzen frowned deeply, silently puffing on his pipe.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"…Go summon the assistants and the two advisors."
"We need to talk."
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