At the same time—
thousands of kilometers away from Shakuka Town, on the eastern side of the Land of Whirlpools, inside a tower standing by the sea.
A man dressed in black stood before the window, gazing out over the ocean.
His long, graying hair hung loosely down his back, and there was a faint sense of age and weariness in his silhouette.
Suddenly—
a pitch-black figure emerged from the shadows in the corner and slowly condensed into human form at the center of the room.
"Lord Madara, they've set out."
"Mm. As expected."
Uchiha Madara didn't even turn around.
"After all, we've already placed the bait through the underground bounty exchange.
"And it seems that girl has some kind of special technique mark inside her body that can indicate her approximate location…
"Hmph. Developing medical ninjutsu to this extent does show a little ingenuity."
He paused.
"Unfortunately…
"still inferior to Hashirama."
"…"
Black Zetsu had long since grown accustomed to Madara finding every possible opportunity to praise Hashirama, so he simply ignored the remark and continued.
"There's also an unexpected development I need to report.
"The rescue team appears to be larger than we anticipated.
"Besides Mikami Yuu, Obito, and Kakashi, the two Mangekyō users—Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui—are also among them.
"There are members of the Hyūga clan as well."
"Oh?"
Madara raised an eyebrow.
Then he asked casually,
"And what's the problem?"
"The problem is that this team is a little too strong…
"The arrangements we prepared beforehand may not be enough to stop them."
Although the information Konoha had obtained from the bounty exchange had deliberately been leaked by Madara and Black Zetsu as bait,
the contents themselves were genuine.
The tower they were currently inside really was a secret Kirigakure base that had been constructed many years ago.
A considerable number of Kiri ANBU were stationed here.
Their usual task was to gather intelligence from the various nations of the continent and send it back to Kirigakure.
They rarely participated in direct combat.
In Madara's original plan,
these Kiri ANBU were supposed to serve as important chess pieces.
Their role was to drive Yuu and the others into a desperate situation, force them into a life-or-death choice, and then make Obito witness everything firsthand before falling into darkness…
But judging from the current situation,
these people probably weren't capable of carrying such an important responsibility.
Two pairs of Mangekyō,
plus one "White Reaper."
That lineup was practically enough to flatten every Kiri ANBU inside the base.
Unless…
"Should we call Sasori over?"
Black Zetsu cautiously suggested.
The current Sasori was no longer what he had once been.
With several corpses of Kage-level experts already converted into puppets, his combat strength had risen by several major levels.
Although he was still inferior to Madara,
he was far beyond an ordinary Kage.
In Black Zetsu's opinion, he should be capable of contending with Yuu and the others.
But—
"No need."
Madara thought briefly before shaking his head.
"Sasori's puppet modifications still aren't completely finished.
"Calling him over now would accomplish nothing except expose one of our hidden cards in advance."
He paused.
"Forget it.
"If it truly becomes necessary, I'll personally intervene."
"But Lord Madara, if your identity is exposed…"
"Heh."
Madara gave a disdainful laugh.
"You don't honestly think dealing with a few wet-behind-the-ears brats requires me to get serious, do you?
"Even without using these Mangekyō, I can still annihilate them."
After a brief pause, Madara added,
"By the way, Zetsu.
"What do you think of Uchiha Shisui?"
"?"
How should he put it…
Madara had noticed Obito long ago.
He had already considered him the most suitable agent for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
But recently—
more precisely, after discovering that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō—
Madara had also developed a certain amount of interest in this younger clansman.
Shisui wasn't as stupid as Obito, so manipulating him wouldn't be nearly as easy.
But awakening the Mangekyō before even reaching the age of twelve was simply too astonishing.
If Madara could somehow deceive him into joining the Eye of the Moon Plan,
then the realization of the Infinite Tsukuyomi might truly be just around the corner.
And if he couldn't…
then he would have to consider killing Shisui.
Otherwise, a young Mangekyō user who was completely loyal to Konoha would become a major obstacle to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Especially because Madara still didn't know what ocular ability Shisui's Mangekyō had awakened.
An uncertain factor like that absolutely could not be left behind for an idiot like Obito to deal with.
Madara needed to take care of Shisui before he himself died.
As for Uchiha Fugaku…
Garbage Amaterasu.
Nothing worth paying attention to.
Madara's war fan did not strike the elderly, women, or children.
"Well…"
Black Zetsu understood what Madara meant, but he hesitated.
"Based on the intelligence we've observed so far, Uchiha Shisui seems deeply loyal to Konoha.
"Winning him over would be extremely difficult.
"But if it's you, Lord Madara…
"perhaps it's still worth trying."
"Mm."
Madara nodded slightly.
"Alright.
"Continue monitoring those Konoha brats.
"Report back immediately if anything changes."
"Yes."
After Black Zetsu quietly departed,
it wasn't long before another Kiri ANBU arrived on this floor.
He knelt on one knee behind Madara.
"Lord Renmu, the sealing squad is fully prepared.
"When shall we begin the sealing ceremony for the Three-Tails?"
"Lord Renmu" was the false identity Madara had created for himself.
After all,
he didn't particularly want Kirigakure to discover that their own Mizukage was being controlled by an old Uchiha fossil who had supposedly been "dead" for decades.
"They're already prepared?
"There's no rush."
The Kiri ANBU looked startled.
"But every part of the procedure is ready.
"If we don't seal the Three-Tails soon, I'm afraid…"
"It doesn't matter.
"I'll handle it."
At this point in time, Kirigakure's jinchūriki sealing technology was still extremely crude.
They had yet to fully understand the Uzumaki clan's inherited knowledge.
That was why they treated jinchūriki and tailed beasts as disposable weapons—
once deployed, they simply allowed them to go berserk.
And even with such crude methods,
the complete sealing procedure still required a great deal of time.
However…
if Madara used his dōjutsu,
that was another matter entirely.
"The most important actors have yet to take their places.
"We can wait a little longer.
"A magnificent play becomes terribly dull if the essential characters are missing."
Madara said calmly.
"…Huh?"
The Kiri ANBU looked utterly confused.
What the hell was he talking about?
Wasn't their mission simply to seal the Three-Tails into a Konoha ninja, lure it into going berserk, use that to destroy Konoha's stronghold, and then take advantage of the chaos to recover the Six-Tails?
Madara clearly had no intention of explaining.
He waved a hand.
"Go back.
"Remain vigilant and wait for my orders.
"You don't need to concern yourselves with anything else.
"After all…"
Madara slowly turned his head.
A pair of scarlet eyes lit up within the dim room.
"You're nothing more than insignificant 'chess pieces.'"
The Kiri ANBU's breathing instantly stopped.
His heart felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around it.
By the time he regained awareness,
his thoughts had already become hazy and confused.
"…Understood, Lord Renmu."
…
The forest rapidly blurred beneath their feet.
Howling wind filled their ears.
Yuu's group was racing through the dense woods.
Speaking of which,
this wasn't Yuu's first time visiting the Land of Whirlpools.
He had come here once before when he subdued Black Wing.
However, his destination that time had been different.
The Land of Whirlpools was actually quite large.
Although it couldn't compare with the Five Great Nations, among the smaller countries it was already considered a giant.
Back when the Uzumaki clan still existed, they had once fought against both Kumogakure and Kirigakure here.
Although the clan ultimately perished and the nation fell,
they had still gone down honorably.
After traveling for two or three hours,
the group stopped briefly to rest and eat.
Obito was visibly restless.
"Ahhh! Why are we stopping?!
"Can't we just rush there in one go?!
"Rin is still waiting for us to rescue her!"
"Calm down."
Yuu sighed and pressed one hand downward.
"The enemy we're about to face isn't ordinary.
"If we don't restore our stamina first, charging in will just mean giving them free kills.
"If you have time to complain, use it to refine some more chakra."
"Huh?
"What decent opponents does Kirigakure even have left?
"Haven't you already killed most of them?
"And don't you have that giant eagle?
"Why don't you just summon it and have it fly us there?"
"Well…"
Yuu didn't answer.
Objectively speaking,
Obito's second point was correct.
If Yuu summoned Black Wing right now, they might already be inside the Kiri base killing people.
However…
Yuu genuinely couldn't summon Black Wing at the moment.
Because earlier,
he had already assigned the giant eagle a secret mission.
Judging by the time,
that mission should now be about halfway complete.
He wondered whether it would make it in time…
A short while later,
the squad resumed its journey.
After traveling for another hour or two, they arrived near the location mentioned in the intelligence report.
Hyūga Hizashi activated his Byakugan and began observing the positions of Kirigakure's hidden sentries.
Meanwhile, the two Inuzuka and Aburame members of the tracking squad also used their respective methods to gather intelligence.
"Southeast, northeast, west…
"There are seven hidden posts in total.
"Each has between one and three people.
"There should also be another three or four squads of Kiri ninja inside the tower, roughly positioned around…"
Hizashi carefully scanned the surrounding several kilometers with his Byakugan and began reporting locations.
"However, beneath that tower…
"there seems to be something else.
"It looks somewhat like a buried mountain that has been hollowed out.
"There are a large number of barriers around the mountain itself, so I can't see the exact internal layout."
"A buried mountain?
"What's that?"
Obito asked in confusion.
"A mountain buried underground."
Yuu casually explained before falling into thought.
He suspected that Madara had deliberately placed Rin here.
An underground mountain structure like this would severely restrict escape options.
Something as large as Black Wing definitely couldn't fly inside.
And ordinary space-time techniques would also be difficult to use freely.
Unless it was the Flying Thunder God.
But…
they were already here.
And Rin was inside.
So even if this place were a dragon's den and tiger's lair,
they had no choice but to enter today.
Yuu exhaled lightly and looked toward the others.
"We'll proceed according to the original plan.
"Yashiro and Hizashi will swap positions.
"Yashiro will lead Inuzuka Hideki and Aburame Shian in a frontal feint.
"Create as much chaos as possible and draw Kirigakure's attention.
"Senior Fugaku and I will each lead one squad to infiltrate from separate routes.
"We'll regroup inside the tower."
Yuu's expression became serious.
"Remember—don't rush ahead.
"They won't kill the hostage casually before meeting us.
"But if we become separated inside, they may defeat us one by one.
"So everyone must advance in coordination.
"Understood?"
"Understood."
Kakashi glanced toward Obito.
Fugaku and Yashiro exchanged looks before nodding as well.
Among the members of this rescue team,
those two were probably the most eager to earn military merit.
After all, they hadn't participated in the major battle against Kirigakure earlier and had missed an excellent opportunity to accumulate achievements.
Originally, they had intended to show off during this rescue mission and slaughter the Kiri forces without leaving a single one standing.
But after seeing how seriously Yuu was treating the situation,
they could only suppress those thoughts and prioritize caution.
In any case, Fugaku now had the Mangekyō.
Worst case, he could use Amaterasu to steal a few kills.
He'd get some merit one way or another.
Soon,
the operation began.
Uchiha Yashiro and the others moved first, silently approaching the area around the tower.
Yuu also led Kakashi and Obito around to the opposite side, using the cover of bushes and dense vegetation.
After eliminating several hidden sentries, they reached a pile of scattered boulders.
Beyond that point,
there was no more cover.
However…
the three only waited a few minutes before—
Boom!!!
A violent explosion suddenly erupted.
Immediately afterward came a chain of exploding tags detonating one after another.
The roars of clashing ninjutsu mixed with shouting and battle cries.
Clearly, Yashiro's squad had already begun the planned large-scale diversion and successfully drawn the attention of many nearby Kiri ANBU.
Seeing two squads from inside the tower rush out as well,
Yuu lifted his chin.
Then he leapt from cover and rushed toward the tower at extreme speed.
Once he closed the distance to roughly one hundred meters,
he suddenly accelerated—
followed by a Substitution Technique.
His figure flashed directly to a window on one of the tower's upper floors.
Blade drawn,
he burst inside.
One second later,
the four or five Kiri ninja stationed on that floor were lying in pools of blood.
Then another ten seconds passed.
Only then did Kakashi and Obito finally arrive.
They broke through the entrance at the bottom of the tower and engaged the Kiri ninja stationed on that floor.
They dispatched their opponents just as efficiently.
Before long,
Yuu, Kakashi, and Obito regrouped on the first-floor platform with Fugaku's squad, who had infiltrated from another direction.
The tower's interior structure was somewhat unusual.
Each floor was circular.
A ring-shaped platform ran around the outer edge for people to walk on.
The center, however, had been completely hollowed out.
Metal stairs spiraled downward through the opening, extending deep into the pitch-black underground.
Looking down from above,
one could faintly smell the stale scent of rust.
"How does it look?"
Yuu glanced toward Hizashi.
The latter kept his Byakugan active and stared down the spiral staircase for a while before shaking his head.
"There are several places below that are concealed by barriers.
"I can't see through them.
"But there are many areas showing chakra reactions.
"They should all be Kiri ANBU."
"Then we'll go down and take a look."
"Alright. I'll take point."
Uchiha Fugaku immediately gripped his kunai and stepped onto the metal staircase.
Yuu and the others quickly followed.
Shisui and Yashiro brought up the rear.
Amid faint metallic creaks,
the group carefully but rapidly descended into the depths.