The moment Zetsu's words fell,
The air in the room began to rapidly condense.
Itachi and the masked man's expressions instantly became serious.
After a moment of silence,
The masked man looked at Zetsu and spoke in a low voice:
"What's going on...?"
"Where is that guy now?"
His tone clearly carried a hint of anger.
After hearing this, Zetsu said bluntly:
"He's in the Land of Fire, in Kikyo Castle, at the largest bounty black market."
"?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the masked man and Itachi's expressions changed instantly.
'Huh?'
'What?'
'The Kikyo Castle's bounty black market?!'
'What the hell... a rabbit walking into a wolf's den????'
The two were immediately dumbfounded.
The so-called bounty black market was known to all-
It was a special institution that, although not officially recognized by the various countries of the Shinobi World, was tacitly allowed to exist.
Almost all the wanted posters issued by the Shinobi World and information about the wanted individuals could be found here.
It was also the place to post bounties and collect rewards.
Therefore,
This kind of place was usually gathered by 'bounty hunters' from various countries-
Shinobi who made a living by earning rewards.
Take Akatsuki's worker, for example,
Kakuzu, before joining Akatsuki, used to frequent the bounty black markets of various countries, amassing huge wealth.
But at this moment,
What the masked man and Itachi never expected was,
Kitsune Ogre,
This guy with a 90 million ryo bounty, actually went to the damn bounty black market in the Land of Fire himself???
Just as the two were stunned, Zetsu continued hoarsely:
"He's not just in the black market."
"He also... brazenly claimed his own wanted poster."
"And, not long ago, single-handedly... declared war on all the bounty hunters in the entire black market..."
"!????"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Instantly, the masked man and Itachi were dumbfounded again!
'Huh???'
'A wanted individual, not only goes to the black market to claim his own poster, but also damn declares war on all the bounty hunter Shinobi???'
'Is he insane!!'
The masked man even gritted his teeth slightly and muttered to himself in a low voice:
"This guy..."
"Is he planning some kind of ulterior secret...?!"
As the words fell,
Itachi's expression also turned solemn.
However,
Zetsu said without any emotional fluctuation:
"That, I wouldn't know."
"But, after learning of this news, Akatsuki's Kakuzu and Fujii, as a pair, have already rushed over."
"He seems to want to earn that bounty."
"..."
"..."
'Huh?'
'That Kakuzu went there?'
'And he wants to earn the 90 million bounty...?'
The masked man was momentarily stunned, then his face immediately darkened, his eyes narrowing.
'Immortal Kakuzu, is he tired of living...?'
'How could he possibly be a match for Kitsune Ogre?'
Thinking this,
The masked man abruptly stood up from the wooden chair, looked at Itachi, and said in a low voice:
"Itachi, I'll have to go there myself."
"You stay put for now."
Having said that,
He prepared to leave directly.
But just then,
His gaze suddenly drifted to a distant residence.
It was Kyo's address.
The masked man's heart stirred, finally thinking of him, and then he looked back at Itachi and asked:
"By the way, where's Kyo?"
"He should be back soon since the mission is complete, right?"
The masked man said flatly.
After all, Kyo had promised him back then to solo Kitsune Ogre,
The masked man naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.
After all,
To deal with that dangerous Kitsune Ogre, even he, with Kamui, didn't have 100% confidence.
Now that there was a ready-made fighter, why not use him?
However, hearing this,
Itachi's gaze flickered slightly and he calmly replied truthfully:
"After leaving Sunagakure,"
"Kyo-senpai separated from Juzo-san and me."
"He said he found some clues about Orochimaru and wanted to investigate personally..."
"The specific direction is unknown."
"...?!"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Suddenly, the masked man's expression froze.
His train of thought was directly interrupted.
'What?'
'Pursuing Orochimaru...?'
'That is to say, right now, Kyo has completely left the scope of surveillance?!'
The masked man's breath caught slightly.
For some reason,
At this moment, a bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart.
'What's going on...'
'Just when that Kitsune Ogre appears, this Golden Eye Kyo happens to disappear...?!'
'How could there be such a coincidence...'
The masked man's Sharingan gaze flickered lightly. After a moment, he nodded solemnly and said:
"Understood."
"I'll handle it."
As the words fell, a swirl rapidly appeared before his right eye.
Pulling his entire body into it,
He vanished from the room.
...
A moment later.
Inside Akatsuki's headquarters.
The masked man appeared from a spatial swirl before Pain and Konan.
The moment he appeared,
He almost didn't hesitate, walking forward and saying in a low voice:
"Pain."
"Immediately use the ring to contact that Golden Eye Kyo."
"I want to know... where he is right now, and what exactly he's doing...?!"
His voice was extremely low.
The aura around him surged, emitting a dangerous vibe.
At this moment,
He came precisely to verify the strange feeling in his heart.
At that moment,
Hearing this, Konan and Pain exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.
'Huh?'
'What's going on...?'
'Did Kyo provoke this Uchiha Madara again?'
'Didn't he stop paying attention to him long ago, why's he starting again...'
"..."
After a moment of silence, Pain nodded flatly and said:
"Understood."
Then, he raised his right hand, bringing together his thumb, ring finger, and little finger, forming a Boar hand seal with one hand.
The technique began to activate.
A moment later, the connection was successful.
Pain's gaze slightly lifted, and then he began to communicate.
...
One minute later.
Pain released the seal and lowered his hand.
He looked expressionlessly at the masked man and said flatly:
"It's confirmed."
"He's in the Land of Fire, in a place called Kikyo Castle, near the largest bounty black market."
"?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the masked man's body shook, his pupils suddenly constricting!
"!"
'Holy shit?!'
'He's... actually there?!?'
The masked man couldn't help but feel a chill rise up his back, utterly horrified!
'Just when Kitsune Ogre appeared at the Tsukigakure bounty black market, this Golden Eye Kyo also happened to be there?!'
'This is... way too damn coincidental!'
The masked man slowly narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpened.
At this point,
He could be 80% sure...
That so-called Kitsune Ogre was highly likely to have some special connection with Kyo...
They might even be the same person!
Although he didn't know for now why they had completely different auras, appearances, and fighting styles, but...
Such an eerie coincidence truly made one suspicious!
Thinking this,
The masked man couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
However,
He also understood that this was still just a guess for now...
The specific situation naturally required going to the scene to confirm with his own eyes. Otherwise, he couldn't believe such an inference.
Just then,
Konan beside him suddenly spoke, her eyes slightly lowered, and said calmly:
"Madara, has Kyo caused any trouble?"
The reason for this question was naturally because Konan had noticed the masked man's strange emotions just now.
Hearing this,
The masked man also snapped out of his thoughts and said flatly in a low voice:
"No..."
"It's just some guesses I want to verify."
"I'm leaving for Kikyo Castle now."
Having said that,
A spatial swirl began to appear before his eyes.
Before verifying his guess,
The masked man naturally wouldn't directly voice his thoughts to them. It would be awkward if he was wrong.
So,
He decided to leave immediately.
Before that Kitsune Ogre mask guy disappeared, he had to get there now!
And then... expose this fraud!
The masked man's red gaze flickered slightly, revealing a bewitching light,
He had already planned it out.
If this time, he could confirm that Kyo and Kitsune Ogre were two completely different people,
Then it would be simple: use Kyo's power to have a PvP with Kitsune Ogre, and meanwhile, profit from the conflict to take back all the Sharingan.
But-
If it came to that time,
And the guess that "Kitsune Ogre is Kyo" was successfully confirmed!
Then...
The masked man would not hesitate to immediately unite all members of Akatsuki to rapidly eliminate Kyo!
After all, whether it was Kyo or Kitsune Ogre, both were extremely dangerous existences!
And if these two were actually the same person...
Then he would inevitably become the greatest obstacle to the "Eye of the Moon Plan," with a danger coefficient reaching the ceiling!
The masked man would not allow this situation to occur!
And the Shinobi World...
Also does not allow such an awesome existence.