After a moment of silence,
Black Zetsu was about to move, but just then, he seemed to suddenly think of something, and said in a low voice:
"Doesn't this seem a bit strange...?"
"Our operation to seize the Jinchuriki seems... a bit too smooth..."
"Hmm?"
As the words fell,
Obito raised an eyebrow slightly.
He hadn't expected Black Zetsu to actually use his brain to think for once.
However,
After pondering for a moment,
Obito still decided not to overcomplicate things.
Because in the past, it was precisely by overcomplicating things that he had instead fallen into deeper traps.
This time,
No matter which aspect you looked at,
He had already successfully completed the mission of seizing the Jinchuriki.
No matter what kind of trap the other side had,
At least now,
They had already succeeded.
As long as they successfully obtained these Jinchuriki, and then found a way to gather the remaining Jinchuriki, then... the Eye of the Moon Plan would already be more than half complete!
So what if it was a trap?
By then,
Even if they became enemies with Akatsuki, there would be nothing to fear.
Thinking this, Obito said calmly:
"Don't overthink it."
"After all, how could Nagato possibly know we need the Jinchuriki?"
"With the Rinnegan and the Outer Path Statue in his possession, he probably arrogantly thinks only Akatsuki can create the so-called Tailed Beast Weapon."
"But he never imagined... that we also possess the Rinnegan."
As Obito's words fell,
Black Zetsu was first slightly stunned, then slowly nodded.
That was true,
After all,
Without the Rinnegan and the Outer Path Statue, one truly wouldn't need the Jinchuriki.
Their arrogance was understandable...
"Let's go."
Just as Black Zetsu was thinking,
Obito hesitated no longer, walked to the side, directly activated Kamui, sucking the two of them into the Kamui Dimension.
They disappeared from the underground prison.
…
The next day,
Early morning.
Konan was handling some affairs at the Amegakure's Shinobi Academy.
Suddenly,
A visibly panicked Amegakure Shinobi rushed over, his face pale, and said quickly:
"Th-this is bad, Angel-sama!!!"
"The targets... the restrained targets... have disappeared into thin air!!!!"
"—!?"
As this Shinobi's words fell,
Konan's pupils contracted.
What... what's going on?!
Disappeared into thin air...???
Just as Konan was slightly stunned,
This Amegakure Shinobi spoke again in a low, grim voice:
"Last night,"
"After we checked the targets' condition, we completely locked the underground prison."
"But,"
"Just now when we went to check, we found..."
"Although the lock showed no signs of being tampered with, the targets inside... along with their restraining devices, had all vanished into thin air..."
"At the scene, no other traces were left..."
"P-please forgive us, Angel-sama!!!"
At the end,
This Amegakure Shinobi immediately bowed 90 degrees, his expression grim.
And at this moment,
After hearing this,
Konan's gaze suddenly flickered, as if realizing something.
The "targets" this Amegakure Shinobi mentioned were of course the three Tailed Beast Jinchuriki captured by Akatsuki.
Back then,
When they were restrained,
Konan had conveniently arranged for some Amegakure Shinobi to guard outside the prison, preventing anyone from accidentally entering.
And,
Arranged for them to check the targets' condition every morning and evening.
Unexpectedly,
Today... something had happened.
After thinking for a moment,
Konan looked down at the man again and said calmly:
"That's enough."
"Don't panic. Go about your daily work."
As the words fell,
Before the man could react, Konan's body instantly transformed into countless white paper pieces, fluttering away, disappearing into the distance.
"Huh?"
This Amegakure Shinobi finally reacted, scratching his head in bewilderment.
Huh?
What's going on...
Weren't those targets the most important existences...
How come Angel-sama didn't seem to care...???
One must know,
Back when Konan entrusted them with the task of guarding these targets, she repeatedly emphasized their importance.
Therefore,
When he came to report just now,
He had already come with a mindset of facing death...
Unexpectedly...
Nothing seemed to happen...
After thinking for a moment,
This Amegakure Shinobi couldn't figure it out, so he had to take a deep breath, calm his mind, and leave.
And at this moment,
On the other side, atop the tall tower in Amegakure.
Nagato stood alone, observing the movements throughout Amegakure.
Just then,
Countless paper butterflies fluttered over, then gradually gathered together, forming a human figure.
"Hmm? Konan...?"
Nagato looked over, his expression slightly surprised.
Logically,
At this time, Konan should be teaching those boys and girls at the Shinobi Academy...
Why would she suddenly come here?
However,
Before he could think further, Konan opposite him spoke with a strange expression:
"Nagato, we have a situation."
"The Tailed Beast Jinchuriki in the underground prison... all disappeared last night."
"Eh?"
As the words fell, Nagato's gaze momentarily froze.
However,
After just a moment,
His expression immediately became as strange as Konan's.
Because at this moment,
They suddenly remembered the series of words Kyo had said to them not long ago—
"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."
Back then,
Hearing this, Konan and Nagato naturally found it unbelievable.
These words sounded,
As if he already knew the opponent's plan...
And moreover,
He seemed very certain of Zetsu's betrayal...
After a moment of silence,
Nagato looked at Konan with a strange gaze and said:
"..."
"Was the disappearance of the Jinchuriki this time caused by Zetsu's 'little tricks'...?"
As the words fell,
Konan slightly raised her eyes and gently shook her head, saying:
"Probably not only him..."
"To be able to seamlessly take even the devices away... with Zetsu's power alone, it should be impossible..."
"So, there's probably also... Uchiha Obito."
"?"
Hearing this, Nagato's gaze shifted slightly, then he nodded, saying:
"Indeed."
"With the power of Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, it would indeed be easy to accomplish this..."
As the words fell,
The two fell silent again.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.
After all,
If it were in the past,
They would certainly be angry or dissatisfied, and would think of every way to reclaim all the Jinchuriki.
After all, the Jinchuriki were the most crucial part of the Tailed Beast Weapon Plan.
Without any single Tailed Beast, they could not successfully create a "Tailed Beast Weapon" capable of deterring the world.
But now...
The situation was different.
They no longer needed to create the so-called Tailed Beast Weapon to intimidate the Shinobi World; on the contrary, they had a more stable method sufficient to create a Shinobi World with lasting peace...
Therefore,
When they heard the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki had been taken,
Apart from being slightly surprised and puzzled, there was almost no more reaction in their hearts.
"Let's go ask Kyo-kun..."
"Since he anticipated the enemy's actions in advance, he's probably already thought of a follow-up plan."
Konan suggested.
Hearing this,
Nagato thought for a moment, then nodded.
Indeed,
Just as Konan said.
At this time, consulting Kyo was the most reliable approach.
After all,
The power of the Tailed Beasts was a matter of great importance,
Although Kyo had in advance told them not to worry about Zetsu's little tricks, they naturally couldn't completely ignore it.
A moment later,
The two immediately headed to Kyo's residence.
However,
At this moment,
What they didn't know was,
Outside Amegakure in the distance, at this very moment,
A Shinobi from another village was gazing at Amegakure, a solemn expression on his face.
With long white hair, he wore a strange forehead protector on his brow.
No village symbol was engraved on it; instead, it bore a single character—
Oil.
That's right.
This Shinobi was none other than the renowned Legendary Sannin of Konoha,Mount Myoboku's Toad Sage,
Jiraiya!