The next day, early morning.
Kyo returned to Amegakure.
However,
Before he could even enter his own room, he immediately sensed something unusual.
Unexpectedly, at some point,
Nagato and Konan were already waiting for him here.
"?"
Kyo's gaze shifted slightly.
Then,
With a smile on his face, he stepped inside, saying as he walked:
"It seems you've been waiting for a long time?"
"!?"
As his voice fell,
Nagato and Konan were naturally startled and immediately looked over.
At that moment,
Kyo was exactly as he had been before leaving, unchanged.
And if one had to point out the only change, it would be... the faint smile on his face.
This smile was different from his usual one; it held a sense of ease as if he had controlled everything.
Seeing this,
Their hearts settled.
Then, Konan beside him became serious again, looking at Kyo with a focused gaze and asking:
"What was the follow-up situation like, Kyo-kun?"
The two of course knew,
The reason Kyo left was to monitor that decisive battle between Sasuke and Itachi.
And they also knew...
Itachi had been defeated by Sasuke and had died.
After all,
When Kyo had transmitted information back earlier,
He had roughly told them this information, and also had Nagato called back Kisame from there.
However,
Kyo hadn't returned,
Which was enough to show that he definitely had follow-up matters to handle...
Either,
To deal with Sasuke,
Or, he probably had other plans to execute.
This was the reason they were here.
And at this moment,
Hearing Konan's words,
Kyo showed no surprise, walking over while smiling and saying:
"Everything went smoothly."
"Mm, barring any unforeseen circumstances,"
"From today onwards... the largest villainous faction in the Shinobi World will take shape."
"!??"
As Kyo's words fell,
Instantly,
Nagato and Konan's pupils simultaneously contracted, slightly frozen.
Huh???
What's going on...?!
The formation of the largest villainous faction in the Shinobi World...??!
Kyo's sudden statement completely exceeded their prior expectations.
In their view,
The outcome should have been Kyo intervening and dealing with the threat of Sasuke...
But,
The direction of events... seemed a bit off...
The two were stunned.
Until after a moment,
Nagato showed a surprised look, looking at Kyo incredulously, and tentatively said:
"Kyo-san"
"The villainous faction you mentioned..."
"Could it be... referring to Uchiha Sasuke...?"
As these words were spoken,
Konan beside him was also shaken,
Immediately looking at Kyo.
Hearing this,
Kyo raised his hand and snapped his fingers with a light laugh, saying:
"You guessed right."
"!"
As Kyo's words fell,
Instantly,
Nagato and Konan's breathing simultaneously paused, their expressions shifting slightly.
...?!
It really is him?!!
Uchiha Itachi's little brother... was actually the antagonistic existence in Kyo's deterrence plan!!?
But,
How on earth did this happen...?!
Why did that obscure guy... suddenly leap to become the protagonist of the villainous side???
Konan and Nagato exchanged glances,
Both saw deep confusion and incomprehension in each other's eyes.
Until after a moment,
Nagato looked at Kyo again, his gaze shifting, and asked solemnly:
"..."
"Speaking of which,"
"This revenge battle between him and Itachi this time... was also... deliberately arranged by you...?"
Nagato asked tentatively.
And Kyo, while sitting down on the cushion by the tea table, unhurriedly chuckled lightly:
"That's right."
"This was a necessary condition."
"Only after defeating Uchiha Itachi and completing his revenge would he have the possibility to walk that path."
By this point,
Nagato and Konan were people he could completely trust, so Kyo naturally had no need to hide this from them anymore.
Therefore,
He chose to speak directly.
And at this moment,
Hearing Kyo's affirmative response,
The two were, once again, shaken to the core!
...?!
So... all of this was really calculated?!!
Even Uchiha Itachi's defeat at Uchiha Sasuke's hands... was actually one of the planned steps to make him a villain...??
Tsk...
No wonder!!
This way, everything made sense!!
In fact,
Earlier during that strategy meeting,
They had felt that Kyo deliberately shifting Akatsuki's target to Sasuke at that time was indeed a bit abrupt...
But now, it all connected!
Kyo hadn't been slacking off,
He had been quietly guiding the direction of the entire deterrence plan!
Just as the two were extremely shocked,
Kyo calmly picked up the teacup on the table and explained with a composed smile:
"You're probably curious, right?"
"Why did I have to go through such a long process to facilitate the formation of the antagonistic deterrent force?"
"And moreover, why pick this obscure Konoha Genin?"
Kyo raised an eyebrow and said with a smile.
And as his words fell,
Nagato and Konan exchanged glances, then nodded.
Nagato looked at Kyo again, seriously saying:
"..."
"Indeed, we can't understand,"
"As a villain, with Uchiha Sasuke's power... is it really enough to overpower the Shinobi World and force the Five Great Nations to ally?"
Nagato's gaze was very puzzled.
He believed,
In this world, there were indeed people who could single-handedly overpower the entire Shinobi World and achieve absolute deterrence.
For example, back then, the man known as the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
Another example was before him, this invincible existence with the supreme Dojutsu, Kyo.
Their strength,
Was undoubtedly the absolute ceiling.
And they absolutely required the combined effort of the Five Great Nations to even stand a chance against...
Compared to them,
Sasuke, a Konoha Genin,
Was perhaps just a baby learning to walk.
Even with the achievement of defeating Itachi, in terms of strength, he was fundamentally unqualified...
Not to mention comparing with Hashirama and Kyo,
He might not even be able to defeat the Five Kage of the various countries...
Therefore,
They couldn't understand,
Why Kyo chose him...
"..."
Hearing Nagato's words, Kyo chuckled lightly. After taking a sip of his tea, he smiled and said:
"Alone, he might not be able to achieve this."
"But,"
"What if we add Uchiha Obito's faction? And... the Edo Tenseid Uchiha Madara?"
"—!!?"
As Kyo's words fell,
At this moment,
Nagato and Konan's pupils almost suddenly contracted, completely stunned!
Huh???
Obito...?!
And... the Edo Tenseid Uchiha Madara...???
What the hell...
No, no way...
Uchiha Sasuke... actually got mixed up with them????
So this was the true villainous faction Kyo spoke of?!
Uchiha Madara + Uchiha Obito + Uchiha Sasuke?! Tsk...
Hearing this,
It did seem... quite formidable...
Although they didn't know how Kyo managed to bring these few seemingly unrelated Uchiha together to form a force...
But,
Looking at it this way,
As a villainous faction, they were indeed completely qualified.
After a brief moment of silence,
Kyo spoke again, his gaze sweeping over Konan and Nagato's faces, smiling:
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances,"
"That guy Zetsu might pull some little tricks recently..."
"For example, secretly abducting the restrained Tailed Beast Jinchuriki and such..."
"You can pretend not to know."
"???"
"???"
As Kyo's sudden words fell,
The two were instantly bewildered.
Huh??
What's going on???
Zetsu might pull some tricks??
Abducting the restrained Tailed Beast Jinchuriki???
This isn't a little trick anymore!!
It's completely an act of betrayal!!!