Carrying Obito's "orders," Black Zetsu departed.
He immediately dispatched thousands of White Zetsu clones to infiltrate every corner of the ninja world to gather intelligence, specifically targeting the reactions of the major nations. The more detailed the intelligence, the more effective their subsequent actions would be in aggravating relations between the Great Nations. Just as Obito had said, if they could successfully incite conflict among the Five Great Nations and trigger a new Great Ninja War...
They could weaken the strength of the Five Great Nations as much as possible before the start of the "Eye of the Moon" plan. As one side waned and the other waxed, the difficulty of executing their plan would decrease significantly.
After all, the most important elements of the plan—the Tailed Beasts—were currently in the hands of the Five Great Nations.
Neither Obito nor Black Zetsu believed that these superpowers would simply sit idly by and watch their Tailed Beasts be snatched away without reacting.
---
Over at the Akatsuki organization, Pain (Nagato) subsequently received the message from Obito (posing as Madara Uchiha) via Black Zetsu.
Immediately after...
Using the rings distributed to members as a medium, Nagato transmitted his orders directly via a special jutsu to the teams of Sasori and Itachi Uchiha, instructing them to conduct necessary reconnaissance.
The former team was responsible for investigating Orochimaru and Menma Uzumaki.
The latter was responsible for investigating the Hidden Leaf Village.
This division of labor had been decided long ago.
'The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki defected? And Lord Third actually died at Orochimaru's hands? Who is in charge of Konoha now!? Lord Jiraiya? Or that old fossil!?'
The moment Itachi, who was out on a routine Akatsuki mission, received the intelligence, his seemingly calm exterior hid a heart that was already in turmoil.
As a double agent within the Uchiha clan (and now Akatsuki), Itachi trusted the Third Hokage implicitly. This was the reason he could leave the village as a rogue ninja with peace of mind, leaving his only "reverse scale"—Sasuke—behind. He truly believed the Third Hokage would take good care of his younger brother.
He believed Sasuke would grow up to become a hero of Konoha.
This was the perfect future Itachi thought he had arranged for Sasuke.
But now, before his brother had fully grown and before his plans could unfold, his greatest backer—the Third Hokage—had died in battle. This put Itachi in a very difficult position.
If the next Hokage were Jiraiya or Tsunade, Itachi felt he could rest easy. He had grown up hearing the prestigious names of these two Sannin. Unlike Orochimaru, Itachi respected and acknowledged their character.
But if the power of Konoha fell into Danzo's hands...
Itachi had to consider whether he needed to take other measures.
He didn't trust that old fossil one bit. For the sake of his brother, Itachi might even resort to some drastic measures.
Therefore...
Even without the order from Nagato, Itachi would have found a time to return to Konoha to confirm the situation himself, and ideally, to issue a warning to Danzo. This order simply played right into Itachi's hands.
"Itachi-san, what do you think? Should we set off now?"
Kisame Hoshigaki, standing beside him, was naturally unaware of the myriad thoughts racing through Itachi's mind. The moment they received the order, he immediately looked to Itachi and asked.
In their team, Itachi was the one in the dominant position.
Kisame respected and trusted Itachi greatly.
If Itachi had survived in the original story, Kisame might not necessarily have been swayed by Obito (posing as Madara). One could only say that life's fortunes often hinge on the smallest of differences.
"Mhm, let's go now. It's already been a few days since the incident; we cannot delay any longer."
Itachi nodded expressionlessly and replied.
'Sasuke, you must be safe!'
Itachi gazed toward the Hidden Leaf Village, located thousands of kilometers to the west. Deep within his eyes, a flicker of extremely faint worry flashed past.
---
The movements of various forces across the ninja world...
Especially the actions of the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud villages, which reinforced their troops along the borders of the Land of Fire, further triggered unrest throughout the ninja world.
Small and medium-sized ninja villages like the Hidden Grass, Hidden Waterfall, and Hidden Hot Water all entered their highest state of combat readiness.
For these small villages, a stable living environment was the best scenario. The three Great Ninja Wars over the past few decades had been nothing short of cataclysms for them. Caught in the middle of the Great Nations, they risked being purged regardless of which side they chose to align with.
Even though Konoha was the victor of the three Great Ninja Wars, were they ultimately able to dominate the entire ninja world? No.
If these small nations dared to casually align with Konoha, the Stone, the Cloud, or even the Sand could easily teach them a harsh lesson. There was a reason why only the leaders of the Five Great Nations could be called "Kage."
Even a weakened Sand Village was not something a small ninja village could mess with.
Unless it was something akin to the Hidden Rain Village under Hanzo the Salamander. They could indeed stand somewhat tough against the Five Great Nations. This was due to the deterrent force brought by Hanzo's own Kage-level strength. With the Five Great Nations checking and balancing each other, no one wanted to provoke a Kage-level powerhouse—especially one like Hanzo, who possessed rare, mass-casualty capabilities.
If Hanzo were truly allowed to kill without restraint, the ninja of the Five Great Nations could suffer devastating blows.
His poison gas coverage was no joke.
But that was a rare exception. If Kage-level powerhouses were so easy to come by, the status of the Five Great Nations wouldn't be so secure.
Therefore, in these times when peace had barely held for over a decade, facing the prospect of another great war...
These small nations naturally had to be on high alert.
Even if their influence was minimal, they had to grasp whatever initiative they could to prevent their villages from being completely overturned.
---
Meanwhile, Menma, one of the key figures at the center of this storm, was currently paying zero attention to the turbulence in the outside world.
After resting for a full three or four days in the Hidden Sound Village—which Orochimaru had painstakingly built in the Land of Rice Fields—Menma finally received a summons for another meeting with Orochimaru.
Stepping into the dimly lit room and seeing Orochimaru's gloomy appearance, Menma's brow furrowed slightly. Honestly, Menma really didn't understand why guys like Orochimaru, Danzo, and Obito loved this style so much.
It wasn't like they lacked money, so why make everything so dark and gloomy?
Menma wasn't used to it at all.
It was like the set of a horror movie.
Karin, following closely beside Menma, looked a bit trembling and fearful.
Although it wasn't her first time seeing Orochimaru, every time she did, she felt a creeping sense of dread.
It was as if Orochimaru really were a terrifying python.