Outside Konoha Village.
A dozen Konoha ninjas wearing cloaks gathered here.
The youngsters of Team Three, Team Seven, Team Eight, and Team Ten have all grown up, and they are about to leave Konoha to hunt for the whereabouts of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito.
Since the Jonin Captain of Team Eight, Yuhi Kurenai, is pregnant, Tsunade has dispatched an Anbu named Tianzang to temporarily act as the Jonin Captain of Team Eight.
"Is it just us?"
The Jonin Captain of Team Ten, Sarutobi Asuma, still had lingering fears about the power of the Akatsuki, with a cigarette in his mouth: "This time we might face a tough battle..."
"Don't worry."
The Jonin Captain of Team Seven, Kakashi Hatake, glanced in the direction of the village and waved his hand, saying, "We're primarily acting in coordination with others..."
"Oh?"
Sarutobi Asuma turned his head.
A group of Root ninjas, dressed in elite combat suits and wearing animal masks, collectively walked out from Konoha Village, led by Karin and a masked young man with black hair.
"Are they from the Root?"
The Jonin Captain of Team Three, Might Guy, walked over in surprise.
"Is this a collective mobilization from the Root?"
Sarutobi Asuma looked at the group of Root ninjas who had come out, scanning them with a hint of unease: "There are at least twenty teams, right? Are they now comparable in number to the Anbu?"
"They should have been about equal for a while now, right?"
Nara Shikamaru couldn't help but glance at his teacher, feeling that his teacher still didn't grasp the situation clearly after last time. Having subordinates similar in number to the Anbu within the Root, with the four reanimated Hokage, isn't it quite a normal situation?
"..."
Naruto Uzumaki immediately recognized Uchiha Sasuke among them, raised his hand to greet him, but stopped himself, remembering that the identity of the Root ninjas is confidential.
"Just follow us."
Uchiha Sasuke, wearing a cat-face mask, addressed Kakashi Hatake: "The Root has some intelligence on the Akatsuki. Once we discover the whereabouts of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito, I will send someone to inform you..."
"Understood."
Kakashi Hatake also didn't refute.
Including these four teams and the Root ninjas, there were at least a hundred people. They quickly left Konoha Village, advancing towards a Uchiha Clan outpost in a fan-shaped formation, guided by the intelligence periodically relayed by Karin and White Zetsu.
Based on the decisions made by Uchiha Sasuke and the surviving clan members, Uchiha Sasuke plans to initiate a battle of revenge against Uchiha Itachi at the former location of the clan, to make Uchiha Itachi realize the gravity of his past mistakes!
"The Root will spread your information in the Ninja World."
Karin adjusted her glasses, agreeing to Uchiha Sasuke's request: "If all goes well, Uchiha Itachi should respond to the invitation, and Uchiha Obito should also appear..."
With such a large-scale operation, coupled with the intelligence conveyed by White Zetsu, it was naturally impossible to hide it from Uchiha Obito and Zetsu. They immediately realized that something wasn't quite right.
"Uchiha Sasuke is Akihara Kagura's man."
The main body of White Zetsu conveyed the message it received from Awai: "Uchiha Sasuke has always wanted to kill Uchiha Itachi. Conveniently, Konoha's five Hokages want to leverage this opportunity to uncover intelligence on the Akatsuki, which is why there's this large-scale operation..."
"The duel between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke aligns with our interests as well."
The raspy voice of Black Zetsu spoke ominously: "Regardless of which brother emerges as the victor, we will obtain a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan..."
"But, there are too many people."
Uchiha Obito felt a bit uneasy, sensing that forcefully obstructing the process might lead to trouble: "With over a hundred Konoha ninjas mobilized, Uchiha Itachi is bound to lose; though that guy probably never intended to win..."
"That doesn't matter."
The main body of White Zetsu shook its head, bringing up another message from White Zetsu Awai: "Akihara Kagura has instructed us that the Root members will fully obey his commands. Any order just needs to be conveyed to Karin through Awai, and the intelligence Karin conveyed to us is that Uchiha Sasuke wants to make an appointment with Uchiha Itachi at an old Uchiha Clan outpost warehouse..."
"I see..."
Uchiha Obito recalled that place and nodded: "That spot is indeed quite suitable for us to hide and observe..."
"By the way, where is that Akihara Kagura kid?"
Uchiha Obito asked about the whereabouts of Akihara Kagura.
"Still in Konoha, probably..."
The main body of White Zetsu shook its head again, continuing: "For Kagura, this is just an experiment. He wants to see how much power the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan will unleash in a duel between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke..."
"Hmph, let's first arrange the duel between Itachi and Sasuke then!"
Uchiha Obito sneered and continued: "If Uchiha Sasuke manages to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan during this battle, I'll reveal the truth about the night of the clan's massacre to him, luring him to join us in capturing Tailed Beasts..."
"After all..."
"The Hidden Cloud Village's strength is significant, capturing the Eight-tails won't be easy either."
Remembering this, Uchiha Obito felt a bit regretful: "For the final plan to capture the Nine-tails, we can't afford to let Akihara Kagura expose his identity and step in to help..."
"Let Uchiha Itachi go and meet the challenge!"
Uchiha Obito clenched his fists, speaking in a deep voice: "Once this duel is over, we'll take the winner to capture the Eight-tails!"