In the forest in the Land of Grass.
In the dead of the night.
The faint moonlight poured down from the broken branches and leaves, mottled here and there.
Hyōketsu was bathed in the faint moonlight, leaning against a thick tree root protruding from the ground, closing his eyes and sleeping soundly.
Not far away, Zetsu, who is wearing the Akatsuki's cloak, opened his eyes slowly. He stared faintly at Hyōketsu's face in the shadow, and sank silently into the ground.
Through the underground plant roots and water, Zetsu traverse from the Land of Grass to the Land of Fire at a very fast speed, and finally drilled out in a canyon.
"Here we are."
A man in a wearing a black hooded windbreaker and an orange vortex mask slowly walked out from the depths of the canyon. It is none other than Uchiha Obito.
Behind Obito is Tobi, who is the most capable of fighting among White Zetsu's many clones.
"What do you think of Nagato's decision?" Black Zetsu did not treat him politely, and directly asked solemnly.
Obito smiled and said: "Since he intends to capture the Biju in advance, of course we have to support him."
Black Zetsu is somewhat dissatisfied: "But the situation in the Shinobi World is not chaotic enough yet. Once Akatsuki starts to capture Biju, Konoha will surely gather the power of the other Great Shinobi Villages to strike out Akatsuki together!"
"Then, we can just find a way to make the situation more chaotic."
Obito's voice gradually deepened, "For example… Konoha's Shinobi assassinated Kirigakure's Yondaime Mizukage…"
White Zetsu chuckled and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Obito said: "Isn't there a Shinobi from the Hyuga Clan in the Akatsuki? Just order him to kill Yondaime Mizukage."
White Zetsu became so excited in an instant: "That's ture! If Yondaime Mizukage dies under Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, then Konoha will definitely be held responsible for this matter! Maybe it will start a war between the two countries!"
"And Hyuga Taki has some trouble with Hyuga Clan's Main House."
Black Zetsu also smiled gloomily, "He must be happy to cause trouble for the Hyuga Clan, but the only problem is, can Hyuga Taki kill Yondaime Mizukage?"
"Of course he can."
Obito said with a smile, "The Genjutsu I placed on Yondaime Mizukage has been broken, and his life is not long. Right now, we just need to push him a little harder."
"Furthermore, Yondaime Mizukage is also Sanbi's Jinchuriki. If we kill him, we can get Sanbi directly." Tobi also said.
"Then, we can let Orochimaru and Hyuga Taki take a trip to the Land of Water." Black Zetsu agreed.
Through the underground organic network, Zetsu soon return to the Land of Grass's forest. When he quietly drilled out of the ground, he subconscious looked towards Hyōketsu's location, but found that there is no one there.
"You're awake? You're really alert." Black Zetsu said in a deep voice.
"We obviously didn't make any sound." White Zetsu said dissatisfiedly.
From the depths of the shadows, Hyōketsu walked out slowly: "Where did you go?"
"It has nothing to do with you." Black Zetsu said coldly.
Hyōketsu smiled coldly: "It has nothing to do with me? Zetsu, Pain trusts you to let your clones monitor the various groups, but in the end, you yourself often disappear. I wonder what Pain will think when he knows about this."
"Is that a threat?" Black Zetsu said sharply.
"Why? Do you think I am unworthy?" Hyōketsu's tone became colder.
"So scary."
White Zetsu sneered and interrupted with a smile, "Hyōketsu, don't be too nervous, we will not betray Akatsuki no matter what. As for our disappearance, we just went around for a while, don't be suspicious."
Hyōketsu doesn't believe in such stupid lie.
"Well, since you want to know, let me tell you."
White Zetsu rolled his eyes and said, "Someone offered a bounty for my whereabouts on the black market, so I went to the black market at night to check."
Hearing this, Hyōketsu is startled: "Bounty for your whereabouts? Are you exposed?"
"Yes, there's a traitor in the Akatsuki. My name and Kisame got revealed to Konoha, and now, Konoha's Anbu has started to trace the whereabouts of Kisame and me." White Zetsu shrugged, his tone is quite helpless.
Hyōketsu's heart was shaken, but he said with a snort: "It's Uchiha Shisui! I already said that he's a spy!"
"No, my clone told me that there is nothing unusual about Shisui."
White Zetsu said, "Pain suspects it's Orochimaru, of course, you are also a suspect. After all, the one standing in front of me is just your shadow clone."
"Humph."
Hyōketsu snorted, and changed the subject, "How does Pain plan to find this traitor?"
White Zetsu shook his head and said: "Pain has no plan to find out the traitor. He just asked me to collect the identity and whereabouts of Jinchuriki in the various Shinobi Villages. Therefore, this may be the last time we will be together, but you should have new teammates soon."
"Hidan…?"
Hyōketsu nodded slightly, but was shocked in his heart.
'According to this situation, Akatsuki's plan of capturing Biju may start ahead of schedule.'
'And Minato has caught Yonbi's Jinchuriki in advance. Once Akatsuki confirms this information, it is very likely that Pain will use Shinra Tensei against Konoha, or… relying on Obito's Kamui?'
Hyōketsu's heart is somewhat conflicted. Fortunately, he wears an ice crystals mask, so he doesn't need to worry about being discovered by others.
"We should cherish our last time together." White Zetsu said with a chuckled.
Hyōketsu turned around silently, leaned against the root of the tree and resting his mind, while secretly thought: 'As soon as Zetsu leaves, I will disband myself and pass the information to the main body.'
...
At the same time.
Land of Fire's Konoha.
Root's Headquarters.
Danzo is sitting in a dark office, waiting silently.
The news of the success of the 'Gozu Tenno' has already reached his ears a few days ago, but the 'results' have not yet arrived. Because of that, Danzo can't eat and sleep, as he is afraid that something might happen to the ordinary Root's Shinobi on the way here.
The night is getting darker and darker, and after waiting midnight pass, there is a sudden sound of rapid footsteps outside the office.
"Danzo-sama, the things have arrived!" A soft knock on the door came from outside the room.
Danzo is overjoyed upon hearing this. He quickly got up to open the gate, and saw two Root's Shinobi knelt on one knee, and one of them is holding a luxurious golden scroll in his hand.
Danzo immediately grabbed it, and when he unfolded it, he saw densely packed words on the scroll. And in the middle of the words, there is a symbol similar to a bull's head.
'Gozu Tenno…'
'Hahahaha!'
'Namikaze Minato, prepare for your doomsday!'
Danzo forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart, then threw the scroll over, and said: "Make sure to get all combatants train the Gozu Tenno!"
"Yes!" The two Root's Shinobi responded in unison.
...
Early the next morning.
Konoha, which had been silent all night, slowly regained its vitality, and the number of pedestrians on the cold streets gradually increased.
Kotetsu and Izumo rushed to Konoha's gate early in the morning, and after changing shift with the person on duty last night, they began their day's work as gatekeepers.
Although the work is simple, boring, and tedious, the two feels particularly fulfilled when they see the crowds coming in and out every day.
As the sun gradually rises, a familiar figure is imprinted in the eyes of the two.
...