The Third Hokage had also dispatched Jiraiya from the Hidden Leaf Village.
The entire escort team had become enormous.
Jiraiya was actually reluctant to come, but since the Third Hokage had given the order, he had no choice but to bite the bullet. He never expected that the first person he would run into was Konan. Only then did he learn that Konan's friend was none other than Uchiha Kawasaki.
Fortunately, Kawasaki had given Yahiko a heads-up, telling him to stay hidden. If Jiraiya had seen him, their whole secret would have been exposed.
"Konan, are you planning to join the Uchiha Clan?" Jiraiya asked, looking at her with a hint of disappointment.
The large contingent moved along the road like a great river, and no petty thieves dared to cause trouble. Jiraiya was treating this mission more like a trip. It was a good thing he came; otherwise, he would have never known that Nagato and Konan were here with the Uchiha.
Nagato was riding in a carriage, claiming his injuries had not yet fully healed. He was not trying to avoid Jiraiya but was engaged in a special mission. Nagato was constantly using his newly awakened ability to scan the entire caravan, primarily to guard against a surprise attack from White Zetsu. Kawasaki had told him that his own clansman, Karin, had awakened a similar ability, though hers was not as powerful as Nagato's.
The ability was called the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
Using it required Nagato's complete concentration, making it impossible for him to interact with Jiraiya. Thus, he remained in hiding. This left Jiraiya with only Konan to talk to.
Hearing the question from her former teacher, Konan offered a faint smile. "Master Jiraiya, we're grown up now. We have our own path to walk."
"Choosing to join the Uchiha was our own decision. Believe me, you will understand one day."
Jiraiya looked at the smile on Konan's face but felt it seemed somewhat forced. After all, Nagato had lost an eye and Yahiko was gone. Perhaps they still harbored resentment toward the Leaf. He let out a self-deprecating laugh. Maybe he should never have expected these two to return to Konoha.
He truly was a failure as a teacher.
He wasn't there when Minato died, and it was the same when Yahiko was killed. He wasn't even there for Naruto during his difficult childhood.
Konan noticed the sorrow on Jiraiya's face, but she assumed it was simply because their decision not to return to Konoha had saddened him. The truth was, with both Yahiko and Nagato by her side and following Kawasaki's plan, she was certain they could achieve their dreams. Her smile was one of genuine happiness and bliss.
Arranging for Konan to appear in the caravan was Kawasaki's idea, designed to lure out Obito. A common thief might not strike every day, but fending off a persistent saboteur was another matter entirely. The Uchiha clan's migration was slow, and if Obito continuously harassed them, Kawasaki's plans would be severely affected. With Konan present, Obito was sure to come.
By doing this, Kawasaki was seizing the initiative.
Since leaving the Leaf, Nagato had already detected three White Zetsu, but he kept this information to himself, relaying it only to Kawasaki. Konan's presence was meant to be noticed by these spies so they would report back to Obito. The reason there were only three was likely due to the sheer size of their caravan.
Aside from them, a few other unknown, smaller organizations were also keeping an eye on the Uchiha, but they didn't dare to follow too openly.
Within the caravan, the Uchiha's top brass—Kawasaki, Fugaku, and Yohei—were always present. Yohei and Fugaku constantly patrolled the procession, maintaining order and helping their weaker clansmen alongside other capable shinobi.
Itachi had not made an appearance. Kawasaki was keeping him in reserve as a contingency. If an unexpected situation arose, Itachi would be deployed as the primary force against Obito.
The people at the Exchange Post were incredibly efficient. After the bald man returned, he quickly sold the intelligence on the Rinnegan to various major powers through his network. Aside from Konoha and the Hidden Sound, no one was left out, from major villages like the Hidden Cloud to smaller nations like the Hidden Grass and the Land of Iron.
Each piece of intelligence was priced between twenty and thirty million ryo. Every buyer was highly interested and paid up quickly. The Hidden Cloud, in particular, was desperate for this information after their recent defeat. On the black market, the price for the intelligence soared to forty million.
Furthermore, news that the Uchiha were relocating to a territory near the Land of Water also began to circulate. The bald man made a fortune from the entire affair. On the third day, he sent a messenger to deliver Kawasaki's one hundred million ryo cut and informed him that many people were now offering bounties for Obito's location.
Kawasaki didn't mind creating more trouble for Obito. He had a message sent to Kakuzu: find Obito's base of operations, and another one hundred million would be his. Finding Obito himself was difficult, but Kawasaki believed Kakuzu could uncover where he was hiding. Although he knew the general region Obito operated in, he didn't know the exact location. Knowing the enemy's hand in advance was always better for dealing with future challenges. Even though he would be leaving Konoha, this kind of information could still be relayed to him through others.
Information about the Rinnegan was most valuable during its initial sale. But those who bought it immediately began reselling it to recoup their costs, and so it spread from one hand to the next. In less than a week, nearly everyone knew about the Rinnegan.
The entire shinobi world was thrown into a frenzy.
Before, Obito was just a rogue Uchiha whose only noteworthy trait was his mastery of space-time ninjutsu. Although he had several bounties on his head, few people truly cared. But everything changed once he obtained the Rinnegan. Not long ago, the leader of the Akatsuki had used this power to eliminate countless enemies. Just as the great nations were searching for him, news broke that he was dead—and that his mysterious eyes had fallen into Obito's hands.
It was obvious that this was an act of retribution by his former partner, Konan.
The white, plant-like beings scattered across the lands immediately reported the situation to their master.
Obito was absolutely furious. "I haven't even had a chance to use the Rinnegan, and now all of its abilities have been exposed!"
Black Zetsu was speechless. He never imagined that after losing the Rinnegan, Nagato and Konan's first move would be to publicize everything about it. They had even pinned the crime of killing the Akatsuki's leader directly on Obito.
While that had indeed been Obito's plan, he had failed. Nagato had escaped. Yet Obito couldn't clarify the truth, because the Rinnegan was, in fact, in his left eye socket. Any hope of using the Rinnegan as a secret weapon was now impossible. Its abilities were no longer a secret to the shinobi world.
Moreover, the entire world was now hunting for him. Although his Kamui made him difficult to capture, being targeted by everyone was hardly a good thing. And just before this, a White Zetsu had brought news of Konan. She was right there, in the Uchiha migration caravan.
This was the final straw that sent Obito into a rage. It was as if Konan and Kawasaki had been colluding all along—and it turned out they were.
Just then, another reconnaissance White Zetsu emerged from the ground to report. "The Konoha forces have withdrawn."
Obito had planned to make his move long ago but had held back because Jiraiya was present with a large contingent of Konoha ninja. So he had waited. He knew Konoha wouldn't provide an escort for the entire journey.
Sure enough, his opportunity had finally arrived.