"Damn it… damn that Iruka…"
Inside a small tavern, Mizuki sat alone in the furthest corner, drowning himself in silent drinking.
As he drank, he muttered complaints about Iruka, the childhood acquaintance he'd known for years.
Why was Iruka able to become a fully established teacher at the Ninja Academy, while he himself was only an outside contractor without any official position? Just because Iruka's parents were jōnin?
Mizuki hated Iruka to the core.
He always subconsciously believed he was superior—whether in looks or capability.
So what if Iruka had jōnin parents?
In the end, wasn't Iruka just like him, merely an ordinary chūnin?
And then there was the Police Force—using "unclear case details" as an excuse to forcibly label him as a suspect in the death of his teammate, causing him to be eliminated in the Academy's teacher recruitment this time.
He clearly hadn't left behind a single piece of evidence.
Mizuki poured another large cup of alcohol down his throat, slamming the cup heavily onto the table.
The loud impact drew curious glances, but most people turned their eyes away the moment they recognized his shinobi attire.
Even the bartender pretended not to see him and continued working.
"Isn't this Teacher Mizuki?"
A somewhat sycophantic voice sounded beside him.
Mizuki turned, finding a middle-aged man whose face he vaguely recognized. He had slipped over at some point and wore a fawning smile.
Another ignorant parent who didn't know his real situation, no doubt.
Mizuki concluded silently.
Well, at least someone would be paying for tonight's drinks.
Whether or not he could actually do what the man wanted was irrelevant—he would agree first and pocket whatever benefits he could.
Worst case, he would just defect from Konoha afterward.
A sly glint appeared in Mizuki's eyes.
Little did he know the same glint flashed in the man's eyes as well.
...
"The research department of Hoshigakure has already been contacted, and things are progressing smoothly in the Land of Snow."
Inside the new inner-base of the Akatsuki Organization, Miyatsu Reimei looked over the research project dossiers gathered from various villages, unable to hide the excitement on his face.
Standing beside him, Amado was a stark contrast—deep-eyed, a cigarette between his lips, expression as unreadable as ever.
The reason Organization could remain ahead in scientific research was partly due to some insights provided by Jigen, but the majority came from their infiltration—either by sending people to "contact" or outright take control of top researchers from various nations.
It was no exaggeration to say that the scientific departments of every nation were targets for Organization's infiltration.
The only exception now was Konoha's Research Bureau.
With the Hyūga's Byakugan present in Konoha, using genjutsu to manipulate researchers was clearly unwise.
And under the constant surveillance of the Internal Affairs Division, approaching those researchers recklessly was also a bad idea.
Fortunately, after relentless infiltration efforts, Organization finally received good news.
A Konoha shinobi was willing to join as an outer-ring member and gather intelligence on the Research Bureau for them.
"I wonder how far Konoha has progressed in their artificial-human cell studies."
Amado exhaled smoke, muttering in a voice only he could hear.
From afar, Miyatsu Reimei, while reading new reports, twitched his ears but continued working.
"According to that outer-ring member, Konoha is about to host the Chūnin Exams. They'll loosen the screening rules around that time—so maybe we can use that opportunity—"
"No."
Amado pinched out the cigarette, rejecting Miyatsu's proposal.
"Jigen said not to involve ourselves with Konoha for the time being. Their rate of growth has exceeded our expectations, and their strength is the highest among the Five Great Hidden Villages. Remaining dormant is our best strategy."
Miya understood, but murmured quietly, "But if this continues, that person will resur—"
"Silence."
Amado cut him off before he could finish.
Even though there were no listening devices here, Jigen's abilities were still an unknown. If he heard something he shouldn't, the consequences would be severe.
The two fell into silence, unsure of what to say next.
At that moment, the sound of an opening door startled them, and they both turned their heads.
"Hmph. A mission."
Hearing the voice, both visibly relaxed.
It was Sasori.
He had just returned from the Land of Snow and brought new orders.
"Konoha's Orochimaru will assist Kirigakure in constructing a research facility after the Chūnin Exams. That person wants us to take this opportunity to investigate Konoha's research progress."
Sasori pointed toward the only sealed cultivation tank. "This operation will be carried out by A and the artificial human."
"You want to deploy Pride?"
Amado's expression tightened — he wanted to refuse.
"He's still not fully calibrated."
"No matter. After the mission, that person will give you purer Ōtsutsuki cells. You will then create an artificial human with true Ōtsutsuki lineage."
Sasori clearly anticipated Amado's objection and laid out Jigen's full message.
"Purer?"
Amado's face didn't change—he had expected as much.
So the rumored God of the Ōtsutsuki really did exist.
But why were they targeting this planet?
Coincidence? The Ōtsutsuki did live by harvesting worlds.
But that alone couldn't explain why an Ōtsutsuki God would care about this place—his physical body might even be hidden somewhere on this world.
If it wasn't coincidence, then this planet must hold some secret Amado had yet to uncover.
Konoha… don't fall behind.
He sighed inwardly but agreed to the mission.
"I understand. I'll complete the calibration as quickly as possible."
"You have one month," Sasori said, then turned and left.
"Lust."
Watching him depart, Amado placed an unlit cigarette between his lips and called out a name.
"What is it?"
A spatial rift tore open, and Lust stepped out holding her longbow.
"Search for Ōtsutsuki ruins without alerting Jigen. If you encounter shinobi from other villages, eliminate them."
Amado took a deep breath, savoring the imaginary taste of tobacco.
This way, the other villages would feel the pressure from the Dawn Organization and respond accordingly.
That should slow Jigen down.
After all, he still hasn't found a suitable vessel.
And that bought Amado more time to decode the Ōtsutsuki.
"Yes."
As Amado's creation, Lust viewed him like a father. She would never disobey him—even if the order opposed Jigen's.
"Did he notice something?"
Miyatsu glanced worriedly at Pride's cultivation tank.
After all, this was meant to be their countermeasure against that person—
Amado didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment before replying: "I don't think so."
Reviewing his own behavior and decisions over the past months, Amado was confident Jigen wouldn't detect these subtle maneuvers.
If anything, Jigen was the one losing patience.
Is his vessel failing?
It wasn't surprising—Jigen was spending more time in the cultivation tank than outside.
His physical body had been forcibly maintained for a thousand years. Once he revived fully in this body, Amado predicted he would not last more than two hours.
If Isshiki didn't obtain a new vessel in those two hours, he would face one outcome:
Complete erasure.
Even an Ōtsutsuki could die.
And the restrictions Amado secretly implanted in the artificial humans completely prevented Isshiki from etching a "Karma" mark onto them.
He wondered whether Sasori had found a suitable vessel for him.
...
Jiraiya snuck back toward the center of the village.
"Oh? Jiraiya, long time no see."
Tsunade—who had submitted her own leave request and then approved it for herself—walked openly down Konoha's streets. When she spotted him, she cheerfully waved.
"Well, Tsunade, uh… I have something to do, so I'll be going."
Even though nothing between them surpassed friendship, Jiraiya still reacted guiltily the moment he saw her. After a brief greeting, he tried to flee.
"Nope. Something's off."
Just from his greeting, Tsunade could tell Jiraiya was hiding something.
Normally, whenever this old pervert saw her, he would stare at places he shouldn't, his eyes gleaming lecherously, and then throw out a teasing remark or two.
She was long used to it.
But today he suddenly acted serious. The shift made her feel a little insecure.
Am I getting old?
With that thought haunting her, Tsunade abandoned her planned drinking, strode forward, grabbed Jiraiya by the collar, and stopped his escape.
"Hey! Jiraiya! Are you hiding something from me?!"
She locked his head under her arm. Jiraiya had no time to enjoy the soft sensation pressing against him—he struggled desperately, but Tsunade's strength was overwhelming.
Within moments he was breathless and light-headed.
Seeing that even oxygen deprivation wasn't loosening his lips, Tsunade simply dragged him toward the tavern.
If he wouldn't talk sober, then she'd drown his brain in alcohol until he confessed.
Pitiful Jiraiya was hauled along helplessly, and along the way they passed by Obito, who was strolling with Rin.
"H-hey… Obito… help—"
Jiraiya used his last breath to call for help.
But Obito, fully absorbed in Rin, didn't hear him. Or perhaps he heard and chose to ignore it.
"Rin, look—this is the circuit layout for the house I asked Shisui to design. It's… it's for the home we'll have…"
His voice grew softer and redder with each word.
One man embarrassed.
One man suffocating.
Two completely different kinds of red.
Jiraiya could only watch his foolish disciple bathe in pink romantic haze while he himself was dragged farther and farther away by Tsunade…
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