This was the Akatsuki's base, where the Outer Path Golem sat on an altar, its hands bound with chains.
Obito, wearing his orange mask, sat on a stone chair before the Golem. The light from the Sharingan in the hole of his mask flickered, casting shadows on the walls of the underground room. The flame of the candles wavered in response to his shifting aura.
White Zetsu brought three shocking pieces of news that left the calculating man silent for a long time.
The invincible Pain (Nagato) had been defeated.
Nagato had betrayed him, using the Rinne Tensei to revive the dead of Konohagakure.
Naruto was suspected of betraying Konohagakure and took Nagato's body with him.
Obito's voice, low and rumbling, came from behind the mask: "Nagato's betrayal surprised me, but Naruto's actions are even more unexpected..."
White Zetsu asked, "What should we do now?"
Obito turned his head slightly, "Did you hear the conversation between Naruto and Konan?"
White Zetsu responded, "I didn't hear it. That kid has the ability to sense natural energy. If I got too close, it would be dangerous for me..."
Obito's gaze turned away, "The worst-case scenario is that Naruto's interested in the Rinnegan..."
"Also, according to intelligence intercepted by the Akatsuki, the Raikage has issued an invitation for a summit with the Five Kage. The goal of the summit is to discuss the elimination of Sasuke."
"I had planned to take advantage of this opportunity to declare war on the Five Great Nations and reveal the Moon's Eye Plan..."
At this point, Obito clenched his fist tightly, "But our capital for declaring war is the seven Tailed Beasts' power that Akatsuki has collected and sealed within the Gedo Mazo."
"And to control this power, the Rinnegan is essential!"
White Zetsu exclaimed, "That's bad! If Naruto has the Rinnegan, he can summon the Golem at any time! He could use that power against us!"
Obito replied, "Don't panic. The power of the Rinnegan isn't so easily controlled. Nagato took many years to finally summon the Gedo Mazo..."
Though he said this, Obito's mind was already calculating: Naruto has the same Uzumaki bloodline as Nagato. If he puts his mind to it, it's only a matter of time. Whether it's his victory over Pain or the sudden appearance of his ambition, Naruto can no longer be seen as a mere child...
"Just to be safe, I'll take a precaution."
Obito slowly stood and reached out towards the Gedo Mazo.
Whoosh! From his right eye, a vortex pulled the entire Golem into it!
Snap! The vortex closed, and the Golem was gone.
Obito said, "That should eliminate the risk for now."
White Zetsu cheered, "As expected of you, moving such a huge Statue in an instant!"
Black Zetsu spoke gravely, "So, what's your next move?"
Obito pondered for a moment, then said, "Deploy all White Zetsu to search for Uzumaki Naruto's whereabouts. He should still be in the Land of Fire. The moment you find any clues, report to me immediately. We must retrieve the Rinnegan before things spiral out of control!"
White Zetsu replied, "Understood!"
Obito then turned to look at Kisame, who had been standing silently by his side.
Not long ago, after the battle between Itachi and Sasuke, Obito found Kisame and revealed his true identity to him. Among the Akatsuki, Kisame was one of the few he trusted, second only to White Zetsu.
"Kisame... the Eight Tails is your responsibility," Obito said.
"Got it," Kisame responded.
Obito's gaze deepened as he spoke, "We can't let something this small disrupt our plans. We'll continue as planned, declaring war on the Five Great Nations. We should also make sure to cultivate extra eyes through the hands of the Five Kage. Heh, let's go see our defeated warriors. The Eight Tails matter still needs to be dealt with. Right, Sasuke...?"
In the Land of Fire, the Hawk squad, preparing to head for Konohagakure, was resting in the forest.
Before Pain's attack on Konohagakure, Sasuke led the Hawk squad to attack the Cloud Lightning Gorge, where they obtained one of the Eight Tails' tails. After that, the Hawk squad separated from Akatsuki to seek revenge on Konohagakure.
Jugo, alone by the river, was collecting water while birds sang softly on his shoulder. A gentle smile appeared on his face.
"Chirp chirp chirp...!"
Suddenly, the birds were startled and flew away!
Jugo turned to look at the forest behind him and saw a young boy with golden hair and a bandaged left eye approaching.
"Hmm? It's you..." Jugo recognized Naruto.
Before the battle between Sasuke and Itachi, Konohagakure had conducted a large-scale search for Sasuke's whereabouts. At that time, one of Naruto's shadow clones had encountered the Hawk squad, and Jugo remembered what Naruto looked like.
To Naruto, who had returned from the future, Jugo was also someone from the past.
He greeted with a smile, "Long time no see, Jugo. You really do love animals, don't you?"
"Not really," Jugo replied, not wanting to say much. He then asked, "Are you looking for Sasuke?"
Naruto said meaningfully, "No, I'm looking for you. More precisely, I need to find someone, and you're the only way to meet them!"
Jugo's gaze darkened. "In that case, I'm afraid it's not possible..."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, two figures flashed toward him, each holding a Rasengan and rushing forward!
Jugo was shocked. "Shadow clones... when did they appear!?"
Boom!
With a loud crash, Jugo quickly retreated, leaving a trail on the water's surface. He stopped in the middle of the river, his shoulders nearly sliced off, leaving deep gouges in his flesh!
"He has senjutsu power even greater than mine...!"
Naruto walked calmly on the water, saying, "These little injuries won't stop you. As long as you cooperate and come with me, I won't continue being rough..."
Chougo's mind raced. "Sasuke is about ten kilometers away. If I release my cursed seal and use Karin's sensory abilities, she should be able to detect what's going on here..."
The cursed seal's power began flowing through his body.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, and in the next instant, he used a body flicker technique comparable to Shisui's, appearing right in front of Jugo and pressing his palm to his chest.
Because in his past life, Sasuke's Rinnegan was destroyed, and he lost the convenient space-time transfer ability, Naruto had to seek an alternative. Thus, he had learned the Flying Thunder God technique!
The jutsu he had left in his soul could still be used, even after traveling back in time.
As for the space markers needed for Flying Thunder God...
"The shadow clone that just attacked left a mark..."
Naruto's left hand pressed firmly against Jugo's chest.
Jugo's cursed seal energy flowed into Naruto's palm.
Jugo exclaimed, "You're taking my chakra?!"
As the cursed seal power drained, Jugo's body rapidly shrank, eventually turning into a child, before he passed out...
"What a peculiar body... no wonder Sasuke had his eye on him."
Naruto sighed as he carried Jugo on his shoulder and returned to the shore.
*Swish!* Paper fragments gathered into Konan's form. "That went more smoothly than I expected."
"He's actually quite strong. To avoid complications, I had to launch a surprise attack. If Sasuke and the others had arrived, the outcome would have been uncertain…"
Having survived the apocalypse, Naruto had developed an extremely cautious personality. He wouldn't act without absolute confidence, and even when he was confident, he would proceed conservatively.
He set Jugo down, removed the wet robe from him, and covered him with his own dry robe to prevent him from catching a cold.
Konan asked, "You're not planning to take him with us?"
Naruto looked at the curse mark on his left palm. "I've already absorbed enough Sage Energy from his curse mark. There's no need to take him along."
Konan glanced deeply at the bandage still covering Naruto's left eye, thinking to herself: *The optic nerve in his left eye hasn't fully connected, yet he's already capable of using the basic power of the Rinnegan. He might be even more suited to this eye than Nagato…*
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