Itsuki lingered a while longer to reassure Konan, repeatedly promising that he had everything under control.
Everything happening now was part of his plan.
But...
Konan still wasn't convinced.
In the end, Itsuki had no choice but to agree to let Konan send one of her paper clones to assist.
Other people might not know how powerful Konan's paper clones are, but as someone who had read the original story, Itsuki was well aware of their strength.
However, creating clones consumes a lot of chakra. Letting her go alone, she probably wouldn't make it to the Hidden Leaf Village, so Itsuki used the Flying Thunder God technique to transfer her.
At the same time...
The paper clone carried a billion explosive tags!
Itsuki couldn't help but laugh and cry at the thought.
If the people from the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Leaf Villages knew that a beautiful woman was coming their way with a billion explosive tags, would they even want to fight?
Hell no—they'd be blown up from start to finish!
The entire battlefield could be plowed over several times.
Thinking about it, Itsuki was a bit confused.
Konan had so many explosive tags, yet she used them all just to deal with Tobi?
Why go through all that effort just to have one final explosion?
"Oh, by the way!"
Just as he was about to dismiss the projection, Itsuki suddenly asked, "Have you seen that masked man recently?"
"No!" Konan was taken aback. "He hasn't shown up lately. It's not surprising, though—he often disappears without a trace."
"I beat him up!" Itsuki said bluntly. "He came to the Hidden Leaf, threatened me, tried to get me to behave, maybe even wanted to recruit me. But I gave him a good thrashing, and now he's probably nursing his wounds."
"I see," Konan's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Injured?
This was a golden opportunity!
If she could eliminate him, Konan wouldn't hesitate.
"Be careful!" Itsuki warned. "He probably has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. I doubt you'll even find him."
"That's Nagato's business," Konan smiled slightly. "Nagato knows what he's doing."
"That's true," Itsuki agreed.
Nagato wasn't a fool—he was the leader of the Akatsuki.
And now Tobi was injured.
Thinking of injuries, Itsuki felt a pang of frustration.
During the Nine-Tails' attack in the original story, did Minato really not know who Tobi was?
Come on! How could you not know and still be so friendly with him?
Yes—friendly!
How could you hit him with a Rasengan and not finish him off? You were right there! Instead of just removing control over the Nine-Tails, why not drive a kunai through his head?
Were you playing games?
When I fought Tobi, all it took was one kick to send him packing for a nap.
That's how you're supposed to be ruthless!
But you? I just can't figure it out!
Seriously, I can't!
Minato, you deserved your fate...
If you hadn't died, it would've been an injustice!
Itsuki shook his head, summoned a clone, and headed to the Hidden Rain Village to bring back Konan's paper clone to accompany him on the attack against the Hidden Cloud.
As for the Hidden Leaf...
Itsuki once again found himself lost in thought.
Did the trap he set go off or not?
The Hidden Leaf had gone silent recently, blocking all information. They were clearly guarding against him.
Nara Shikaku likely had his suspicions about the Third Hokage.
When Itsuki left the Hidden Leaf with the Uchiha clan, Shikaku was ordered to hunt him down but had only been going in circles.
They never crossed paths!
That was also why Itsuki decided to focus his attack on the Hidden Cloud.
"Someone, come!" he called.
"Yes!" A masked figure appeared. "Lord Mokage!"
"Fugaku, where are they?"
"Here," the ninja pointed to a location.
Itsuki glanced at it, then said, "It's about time. Inform Fugaku to begin. Tomorrow, I should appear right in front of the Hidden Cloud forces!"
"Yes, sir!"
Itsuki turned to see Pakura standing silently behind him. "The village is in your hands."
Pakura nodded. "Be careful."
"You should be careful too!" Itsuki replied.
He left a clone in the village and took 500 ninjas with him.
Fugaku took another 1,000, half of them Uchiha, the other half regular ninjas.
Itsuki took 500 with him.
Only about 300 ninjas were left in the village, a dangerously low number.
Still, there were plenty of skilled fighters.
Pakura, Setsuna, and Touji stayed behind in the village.
Moonlight Hayate and Yamato were also there.
And there were a large number of explosive tags.
If they could hold out for five days, Itsuki might be able to return!
...
On the road, Itsuki led 500 ninjas at a rapid pace.
"Meow!" A sharp cry rang out.
Yugito appeared beside Itsuki, running alongside him.
Her eyes were still two different colors.
This meant she was still in her Two-Tails form.
"I didn't get to have any fun last time," she said.
"After the battle, I'll let you play for a few days. Then switch back and let Yugito take over."
"No, I want to fight!" Two-Tails protested. "I've been itching to fight the Eight-Tails."
"Huh?" Itsuki was surprised. He hadn't heard of the proud little cat having any beef with the Eight-Tails.
But Two-Tails had no intention of explaining.
At the Hidden Cloud camp...
The Raikage hadn't come.
The person leading this battle was an older man.
He wore a military beret, with an eyepatch on his left eye that had the kanji for "Lightning."
Dodai!
He was experienced and steady, having served two Raikage, and had the full trust of the current Raikage.
The Fourth Raikage had gone to the Hidden Stone border.
Compared to the cunning Onoki, the Raikage didn't take the Uchiha too seriously.
Besides, Killer Bee had also been deployed with the ninja forces.
His bigger concern was that Onoki might break his word and intervene before they had dealt with the Uchiha.
If that happened, what could you do?
Dodai, walking with the troops, suddenly shouted, "Sensor ninjas, report!"
"No abnormalities, Lord Dodai!" came the reply.
"Stay sharp!" Dodai's voice was calm but firm. "Remember, scan every ten minutes, take turns, and watch out for explosive tags!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Wahoo, woohoo!"
"Oh yeah!" Killer Bee's rapping echoed. "Dodai, you're steady, it's true. With you, the Cloud's lucky too."
Dodai smiled slightly. "It's my honor to serve the Cloud. Bee, I'll be counting on you in this battle. They say the Susano'o is tough to deal with."
"I know!" Killer Bee swayed as he continued to rap. "I'll take on Uchiha without a hitch."
Inside Bee, the Eight-Tails spoke with a serious tone.
"Bee, be cautious. The Susano'o is a power that can battle a tailed beast head-on."
Killer Bee's rap didn't stop.
"We've got 4,000 ninjas, no fear, no fear!"
Dodai nodded.
"Indeed, we have 4,000 ninjas, and with you here, Bee, no matter what they plan, the sheer numbers are in our favor."
"Dodai, how do you think the Uchiha will attack?" Killer Bee asked.
"The supply lines!" Dodai responded without hesitation. "The Uchiha only have around 2,000 ninjas and are facing two ninja villages at once. Their only option is to destroy our supplies and force us to retreat. There's no other way."
Will it really be that simple?
Killer Bee's movements paused slightly.
He thought about the young man he had only met a few times.
Something told him the Uchiha wouldn't follow Dodai's expectations.
"Boom!!"
Suddenly, an explosion erupted.
(End of this chapter.)