At this moment, elsewhere…
Far away in the Land of Earth, inside Iwagakure.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was handling his daily affairs when he suddenly received a summoned messenger hawk from the Land of Fire.
Tied to the hawk's leg was a letter, engraved with the special symbol unique to Iwagakure's intelligence division.
"Hm…?"
"An emergency intel transmission?"
Onoki raised an eyebrow slightly and took the letter with confusion.
Normally, Iwa's intelligence forces wouldn't use this method unless under special circumstances.
But right now, there was no war anywhere—so why would there be urgent intel?
Onoki opened the letter.
And only moments later, a delighted smile appeared on his face.
"Oh? Uchiha Clan's Sharingan…?!"
"So something this good actually exists?"
"Tch tch…"
Onoki wore a faint grin.
A few days ago, he had already received a report about the "possible extermination of Konoha's Uchiha Clan",
but nothing had been confirmed.
Yet now, someone wanted by Konoha for ninety million ryo was suddenly carrying the Sharingan…?
The connection between the two couldn't be clearer.
Onoki's face immediately split into a wide grin.
Then, narrowing his eyes in thought, he turned to a nearby Shinobi and ordered:
"Prepare to contact Akatsuchi and Monga."
"Aren't those two already inside the Land of Fire?"
"Tell them there's a special mission."
…
Elsewhere.
In the Land of Lightning, the Fourth Raikage, A, naturally received nearly the same emergency message.
Due to the greater distance, his arrived slightly later.
But immediately afterward, he convened an intelligence meeting.
After all, the Uchiha Sharingan had always been a treasure every nation desperately craved—
and yet none had ever managed to obtain.
This intel was far too sudden.
During the meeting, a middle-aged Shinobi spoke solemnly:
"Raikage-sama, I believe we may not need to respond."
"First, we don't even know whether the Sharingan is real. It could easily be a forgery."
"Second, the Land of Lightning is extremely far from the Land of Fire."
"Even if we depart at full speed right now, reaching Kikyo Castle would likely take around a week."
"And in that time, the Sharingan… may already have been taken by another hidden village."
He analyzed seriously.
When he finished, many people nearby nodded in agreement.
Even the Raikage frowned and nodded slightly.
It was indeed a problem.
They didn't know if it was real, and they didn't know if they could make it in time.
If they rushed there for nothing, it would be a complete loss.
However, at that moment…
A white-haired, dark-skinned woman holding documents spoke up, her gaze sharp and steady:
"Raikage-sama, I have a proposal."
Raikage A immediately looked over and nodded.
"Let's hear it, Mabui."
This woman was naturally Mabui—
the Raikage's personal secretary, skilled in intelligence analysis and battle strategy.
Raikage trusted her completely.
At this time, Mabui spoke seriously:
"The Sharingan is indeed the Dojutsu Kumogakure lacks."
"If we obtain it, it would greatly strengthen our village's overall combat power—like adding wings to a tiger."
"Therefore, I still recommend we compete for it."
"But… not right now."
"Hm?"
Everyone around them froze.
'Compete for it…'
'but not now?'
While they were confused, Mabui continued calmly:
"At present, not only the Sharingan, but even the identity and strength of that masked Kitsune Ogre are unknown."
"So we can temporarily observe."
"Let's see whether Konoha—the closest village to Kikyo Castle—will take action."
"If even they can't wait to join the Sharingan battle…"
"Then we can basically confirm…"
"The Sharingan in Kitsune Ogre's hands is definitely real."
Mabui finished in one breath, her expression composed.
The moment she stopped, the people who had been confused immediately understood!
"Ohhh! So that's it!"
"Tch, as expected of Mabui! She found the key point instantly!"
"Exactly! Konoha is the authority on identifying Sharingan. If even they move, then it can't be fake!"
"…Impressive!"
Praise erupted around the room.
But then someone suddenly raised another concern:
"Even if we confirm it that way…"
"If we want to rush over and fight for it, the distance is still too far. We still won't make it in time…"
At that, Mabui didn't answer directly.
Instead, she turned toward the Fourth Raikage and lowered her head slightly.
"As for that…"
"That may require Raikage-sama… to personally take the field."
"The technique I possess, 'Heavenly Transfer Technique', can perfectly teleport any object at the speed of light to any location."
"Even Kikyo Castle can be reached instantly."
"But at present—"
"The only ones capable of enduring the tremendous backlash of this technique…"
"Are the late Third Raikage… and you."
Mabui spoke respectfully.
As her words fell, everyone around them froze.
'Mabui wanted to use Heavenly Transfer to send Raikage-sama directly into the Land of Fire…?!'
All of them were stunned by such a bold plan.
Yet Raikage merely shifted his gaze slightly, then raised his eyes and said indifferently:
"Then we'll do it, Mabui. Follow your plan."
"I've already tested your Heavenly Transfer Technique before. There's no issue."
"Once we confirm Konoha is taking action…"
"You will immediately cast the technique and send me over."
"I will personally represent Kumogakure…"
"And seize the Sharingan!"
Raikage crossed his arms, speaking with absolute certainty.
The confidence of a Kage was undeniable.
Mabui smiled at once and answered respectfully:
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, the Kumogakure's Shinobi nearby all lit up with excitement.
'As expected of Raikage-sama…'
'If he was personally going, then inside Kikyo Castle—'
'no one could possibly stop him!'
'Which meant…'
'The Sharingan was practically already Kumogakure's possession!'
Everyone brimmed with confidence.
…
At this moment,
far away in the Land of Fire, inside Kikyo Castle.
In the underground bounty black market.
The Hollowfied Kyo still stood atop the platform, casually facing wave after wave of challengers.
He naturally had no idea the Raikage planned to come in person.
But even if he did—
the plan would proceed exactly the same.
As for the masked man's side, Kyo wasn't worried at all.
After all, with a perfect Gigai clone there, Obito could possess even the Rinnegan and still never detect a flaw.
Just then—
Suddenly,
within Kyo's Spiritual Pressure Perception, a new group of presences appeared.
They were moving almost straight toward this direction.
Their target was obvious.
Seven people in total.
Five of them had their faces hidden beneath wide cloaks and masks.
The remaining two wore Konoha's standard Shinobi uniforms, with no intention of hiding their identities.
Hatake Kakashi.
Might Guy.
The instant he sensed them, Kyo's heart stirred.
'Oh?'
'Konoha has arrived.'
'Then the one hidden beneath the hood is…'
'Oh. Shimura Danzo.'
Kyo chuckled softly.
'I didn't expect the one leading Konoha's group was actually that old scapegoat legend.'
'Looks like the real show is finally about to begin.'
'Then,'
Kyo's gaze returned to Kakashi, flickering slightly.
Back then,
to buy the last sold-out copy of Icha Icha Paradise,
Kyo had even gone out of his way to meet Kakashi in person.
And using Obito's intel, he successfully tricked the book out of him.
Who would've thought…
so much time had passed in the blink of an eye.
Kyo lifted his gaze subtly again, looking toward the rooftop in the distance where the masked man stood, smiling faintly.
Hopefully this time…
he wouldn't cheat him too badly.
…
Meanwhile,
on the far rooftop, the masked man was still staying with the Gigai Kyo, closely watching the situation below.
He really wanted to urge Kyo to hurry down and 1v1,
but he held himself back.
Then—
suddenly,
a familiar figure appeared in his vision.
White hair.
Black face mask.
Konoha's forehead protector…
'Hm?!'
'Kakashi…?!'
The masked man's breathing tightened.
He hadn't expected to see him here so suddenly.
At that moment, the Gigai Kyo leaned in, pretending to glance downward, then chuckled:
"Oh? Konoha has arrived?"
"What is it, Tobi? Why are you staring so hard—do you have someone you know down there?"
"…"
The masked man's face darkened.
'This guy…'
'his observation skills are way too sharp…'
'Looks like I'll have to be more careful around him, or I'll slip up easily…'
The already-exposed masked man Obito thought bitterly.
But in truth, he understood.
From the moment Konoha's people arrived…
This battle—
Kitsune Ogre standing alone to provoke the entire Shinobi world in a Sharingan seizure war…
Had finally begun in full!