"Lord Hanzo, according to the intelligence sent back by our scouts, the members of Akatsuki have already left the Land of Iron and are heading toward the Land of Rain."
Outside a bedroom watched over by heavy guards, a shinobi wearing an Amegakure forehead protector was respectfully reporting the message he had just received to Hanzo of the Salamander behind the screen.
After hearing this news, the room first fell silent for some time.
Only then did Hanzo's somewhat gloomy voice come from inside.
"Hmph. I thought they would use the neutral Land of Iron as their future base… So they still returned?"
"Lord Hanzo, what should we do next? Do we still act according to the plan we made with that Root death soldier?"
"Fool. That was a plan made to deal with an Akatsuki that only had a dozen or so members. How could it possibly be used to deal with the current Akatsuki, which has suddenly swelled to more than a hundred people?"
"I-I am extremely sorry for saying something so reckless before you, Lord Hanzo!"
The man who had come to deliver the intelligence lowered his head and very decisively apologized to Hanzo, who had rebuked him for speaking without thinking.
However, Hanzo did not blame him further.
Instead, with an icy voice, he pressed, "Then, regarding the intelligence that Root death soldier mentioned—that Akatsuki has colluded with Kirigakure's higher-ups—have the scouts confirmed its authenticity?"
"Y-Yes! According to the scouts, the old members of Akatsuki all know that before Konoha and Kirigakure stopped fighting, Rei Kaguya, who later became the Fourth Mizukage, once came alone to meet Akatsuki's three leaders. Also, while participating in the Two Kage Meeting, he accidentally heard that Akatsuki had received payment from Rei Kaguya…"
Crack.
The crisp sound of wood breaking came from the room blocked by the screen.
Along with it came Hanzo's heavy, cold breathing, which made others feel somewhat horrified.
"Damn Fourth Mizukage… You have only just risen to power, yet you are already so impatient to stretch your hand into the Land of Rain, a place Kirigakure's traditional sphere of influence cannot touch?"
"Is it because this old man has not made a move these past few years, so even a brat like you dares casually step on this old man's head?"
"Then this old man will chop off that hand you have stretched into the Land of Rain, and let you properly see why this old man is publicly recognized as the demigod of the shinobi world…"
After angrily crushing several wooden pieces of furniture beside him, Hanzo's emotions slowly settled.
Looking at the Amegakure jonin kneeling motionlessly outside the room, he said in a hoarse voice, "Go contact that Root death soldier. Have him gather all Root shinobi who want to avenge Danzo Shimura and act together with Amegakure."
"Before Akatsuki's people truly grasp the power they have obtained after expanding, erase them, the agents of the Fourth Mizukage, from the soil of the Land of Rain."
"I understand, Lord Hanzo!"
…
"The Rinnegan? And Akatsuki?"
Inside a hidden base somewhere in the Land of Rain, Obito Uchiha listened to White Zetsu reveal all kinds of intelligence related to this operation and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I see. No wonder I felt that Madara's ocular power was so weak it seemed a little wrong… Originally, I thought it was because his life had reached its end, and all his organs had severely declined and aged. I did not expect that the pair of Sharingan in his eye sockets were not actually his own."
"There is no helping that. After all, before meeting you, Lord Madara had already reached a state where he could only rely on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to continue his life. If he had not set up a backup plan like this, then any slight accident might have caused the Eye of the Moon Plan, which can truly save the world, to disappear into history."
White Zetsu shook its head while defending Madara Uchiha's act of keeping two boats under one foot.
"I do not care about that kind of thing. An old bastard like Madara, who has lived so many years and experienced countless battles, would not have only taken a fancy to me."
Obito shrugged indifferently.
Then he turned his head and looked out the window, toward the shinobi wearing special animal masks, moving back and forth through the base like emotionless machines.
He asked, "But I am very curious. How exactly did you think of borrowing the identity of Root remnants to cooperate with Hanzo of Amegakure? And how did you gather these real Root members here?"
"Of course, because this identity is really useful, Obito."
Another White Zetsu poked its head out from underground.
While transforming half its face into the appearance of a Root shinobi, it said with malicious intent, "Danzo Shimura is dead. And he died when he confidently brought Root's elites to surround and kill Rei Kaguya. That means his death was unexpected for every side, including the spies Root sent to various nations to lurk and gather intelligence, as well as Root members who were outside on missions."
"And thanks to the Third Hokage's incompetence, Root is basically equivalent to Danzo Shimura's private armed force. Under this premise, if a Root shinobi on an outside mission learned that Danzo Shimura died at Rei Kaguya's hands and decided to avenge the man he served, then that is a script no one can find fault with."
"But Rei Kaguya is also very strong. Strong enough to easily kill even Kage-level experts."
"So, settling for the next best option and achieving revenge against him by striking the subordinate organization he supports and cultivates is also very reasonable."
"I borrowed the identity of a Root remnant to contact Hanzo, then relied on that identity to pull over those real Root shinobi who were fiercely loyal to Danzo. This way, the participation of Konoha's Root in this operation becomes an unshakable and undeniable fact."
"And for Nagato, who once lost both parents because of Konoha shinobi, this will be a wonderful catalyst for hatred…"
Obito fell silent for a while.
Then he said faintly, "Then the reason Madara had me come participate in this operation is also to strengthen the impression that Konoha shinobi participated in the action to harm Akatsuki, right?"
"Your Kamui is the final insurance in case something unexpected happens, but such considerations are not ruled out."
As White Zetsu said this, it handed Obito a mask with an orange-yellow base color and patterns that looked somewhat like tiger stripes, along with a black robe that could almost cover all information about body shape.
"If something goes wrong, Obito, put on this mask, wear these clothes, pretend to be a special talent secretly cultivated by Root, and enter the field to attack Yahiko, who is relatively weaker but holds great significance to Nagato."
"If necessary, you can use Wood Release, or let Nagato see the three-tomoe Sharingan in your eye socket…"
"For someone like you, who possesses Kamui, grasping the timing to take action should be very easy, right?"
"…Probably."
Obito accepted the outfit meant for disguise and answered somewhat listlessly.
"Sora, Amegakure has taken the initiative to contact us. They have agreed to our proposal to join hands and surround and kill Akatsuki's leaders. Hanzo himself also seems to be going into battle!"
As they were speaking, the cold and indifferent voice of a Root shinobi came from outside the door.
Obito's figure rapidly disappeared from the room along with a spiral distortion.
The White Zetsu that had half its body poking out of the ground also acted as if it had just awakened from seated meditation. While perfecting its Transformation Technique, it answered.
"Hmph. Hanzo has grown old. He is no longer the demigod who had the courage to ignite a shinobi world war alone with the power of a small nation. He actually relaxed his vigilance against Akatsuki just because they temporarily went abroad…"
"But it is not too late for him to wake up now. Send someone to coordinate the specific time and place of action with them, then gather all Root members collecting intelligence in the Land of Rain."
"This time, we must ensure that Akatsuki's core members are wiped out in one net. We will completely cut off the hand Rei Kaguya has stretched beyond the Land of Water!"
"Understood."