"By the way, there's a new mission."
"This time, you're heading to the border of the Land of Water. Something unexpected has happened there."
Kusunoki Naraku had thought that once he finished his mission report, he could finally go back and rest. Instead, before he could even leave, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, handed him another assignment.
Damn it.
I just got back.
After fighting a whole group of people and barely coming out on top—
I haven't even had time to catch my breath, and you're already sending me out of the village again?
"Oh, no need to rush," Hiruzen said with a gentle smile, puffing on his pipe. "You just need to depart before nightfall."
Oh, how generous of you.
Naraku cursed under his breath as he turned and left. ANBU was even busier than the Medical Corps at this point.
The Third Hokage didn't mind Naraku's dissatisfaction. After all, Naraku belonged to the Hokage's faction—minor complaints like this were nothing.
"So I'll just wait for Orochimaru to come visit this old man someday," Hiruzen muttered to himself.
Naraku exited the Hokage Tower, finally stopping his grumbling as he glanced back at the building behind him.
"After all, students killing their teachers is practically a Hokage tradition," he scoffed. "Might as well keep it going."
Because of the new mission, Naraku didn't stay in the village for long. He soon set out with an ANBU squad.
This time, however, he selected different ANBU members to accompany him to the Land of Water's border.
It was also a way to familiarize himself with his subordinates. After two missions together, he would have a clear grasp of their capabilities.
Upon reaching the border of the Land of Water, Naraku split up with his men to gather intelligence separately.
"He was wearing a black cloak…"
"There were red cloud patterns on it…"
"His forehead protector had a long slash through it…"
"…."
Isn't that the Akatsuki uniform?
Judging from the slashed headband described, it had to be Kakuzu.
Naraku froze for a moment as he listened to the civilians' accounts, then immediately realized what was going on.
He hadn't expected to run into an Akatsuki member during what was supposed to be an ordinary mission.
He casually handed the civilian some money, then, after they left, began sorting through his memories.
At this point in time, the Akatsuki…
They should still be recruiting members, taking on dangerous missions across different countries to amass funds—mainly to support Konan's excessive use of explosive tags.
"Wait… who was the first to officially appear again?"
Right—Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
That was after Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan. Itachi's appearance had been meant as a warning to Danzō: do not lay a hand on Uchiha Sasuke.
"There's this strange feeling," Naraku murmured, "like the grand curtain of the shinobi world is finally being drawn back…"
The thought sent a thrill through him—the excitement of personally witnessing history unfold.
Before long, the other Konoha ANBU located the battlefield, and Naraku rushed over.
"Lord Ryu," one of them reported, "our investigation shows that a fierce battle took place here."
"Both sides used Lightning Release, Fire Release, Water Release, and Earth Release. There was also intense close-quarters combat."
Naraku surveyed the battlefield and immediately understood.
Kakuzu had definitely fought someone here.
The other elemental techniques aside, the environmental destruction caused by that Fire Release was unmistakable.
It was advanced Fire Release technique.
Naraku had personally seen—and used—this technique during his recent battle with Iwagakure shinobi. He knew it all too well.
As he examined the surroundings, a thoughtful look crossed his face.
"The power is impressive."
"The range is absurdly large… but still…"
Kakuzu's Fire Release was undeniably destructive, yet after careful inspection, Naraku sensed something off—it wasn't as overwhelming as expected.
"Is it because my Fire Release is enhanced by chakra traits?"
"Or did Kakuzu simply not go all out?"
After pondering for a moment, Naraku found himself increasingly curious about the ninja who had fought Kakuzu.
To survive a battle of this scale, the opponent had to be at leastJōnin level. Otherwise, Kakuzu would have killed them long before this much damage could be done.
Then again, the Akatsuki were taking on extremely dangerous missions during this period—some even bordering on full-scale warfare. Facing powerful opponents wasn't unusual.
In any case, the outcome was obvious.
Kakuzu had won.
"This mission turned out to be surprisingly simple…"
Or rather—it was simple only because they arrived late.
If they had arrived earlier, they might have run straight into Kakuzu themselves.
And then this mission would have been anything but simple.
Facing Kakuzu this early on, Naraku wasn't sure he could defeat him outright.
That said, he knew Kakuzu's weaknesses well. With proper preparation and the element of surprise, victory was still very possible.
After finishing their sweep of the area, Naraku led the ANBU squad back to Konohagakure.
In the days that followed, he was constantly sent out on missions.
It was exhausting—but in the shortest time possible, he thoroughly familiarized himself with every subordinate under his command.
One day, after an especially long stretch of work, Naraku finally had some free time.
After resting for two days and growing closer to Uzuki Yugao, he turned his attention to more important matters.
He visited a ninja tool shop, purchased the materials he needed, and returned to ANBU headquarters.
After some careful adjustments, Naraku used those materials to produce a small vial of red liquid.
This crimson solution was one of the key tools required to—remove—the Root Word Destruction Seal.
That's right.
Naraku planned to remove the seal from several former members of Root.
Of course—not all of them.
Over time, Naraku had come to realize that not every Root operative was fanatically loyal to Danzō.
Some had submitted because of Danzō's former authority.
Others had been threatened using their families as leverage, leaving them no choice but to obey.
There were even those who had once been truly loyal, but gradually grew disillusioned by Root's brutal and inhumane methods. After returning to ANBU, they were genuinely relieved.
For these individuals, Naraku decided to selectively free them from the Root Word Destruction Seal.
After all, the secrets they were bound to keep concerned Danzō—not Naraku.
Removing the seal posed no risk to him.
More importantly, once freed, they might provide him with some unexpected gains.
"Send Moon to see me," Naraku ordered.
"Yes, sir."
During the earlier period of nonstop missions, the entire ANBU had been overwhelmed with work. Now that things had eased up, many operatives were present at the base.
Soon, a rhythmic knock sounded at the door—a distinctive pattern belonging to "Moon."
"Enter."
"Excuse me."
A woman with long hair tied neatly behind her head stepped into the room, standing quietly before Naraku.
Yamanaka Moon.
A shinobi of the Yamanaka Clan.
The Yamanaka were indispensable to both ANBU and Root.
Their mental techniques allowed them to easily invade a target's mind—even the mind of the deceased—to read memories, transmit intelligence, and perform top-tier sensory detection.
Their sensory abilities alone made them invaluable in countless situations.
But their ability to extract memories was truly terrifying.
Even if a person was dead, as long as the body remained, crucial intelligence could still be obtained.
Back when Naraku worked in the Medical Corps, he had overseen the Body Disposal Unit, an organization specifically designed to handle corpses and prevent information leaks—especially from clans like the Yamanaka, who could extract data from the dead.
Because of this, the Body Disposal Unit often produced elite operatives for ANBU.
All of this highlighted just how important Yamanaka Moon was.
And exactly why—
Kusunoki Naraku had chosen her as one of the first to be freed from the Root Word Destruction Seal.