10:00 a.m.
Kitazawa, who had been training Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique, stopped.
"Kitazawa-sama."
An Anbu ninja named Haru appeared before him.
"Did Tsunade-sama send you?" Kitazawa asked first.
Most of the time, if Tsunade needed him, she'd have Haru notify him directly. If it wasn't urgent, she would inform Anbu first, and then Anbu would pass the message along—usually Konan handled that kind of relay.
"Yes," Haru replied. "The Hokage requests you come immediately."
Kitazawa nodded and used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In the next second, he appeared inside the Hokage's office.
"This just came in," Tsunade said grimly as she handed him a scroll.
Kitazawa frowned in confusion.
It was rare to see Tsunade look like this.
He quickly unrolled the scroll and read.
After one glance, his eyes narrowed.
Has the Eye of the Moon Plan begun?
Compared to the original timeline, it was starting four or five years earlier.
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
In the original, Akatsuki delayed because they were waiting for the Three-Tails to revive. But here, the Three-Tails never died—and Akatsuki now had the "water business" and the silver jewelry business funding them—so moving early was only natural.
Kitazawa wasn't particularly panicked.
His strength was already more than enough.
He still hadn't mastered Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, but his greatest threats weren't Uchiha Madara or Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Uchiha Obito didn't even need explaining—he was all about Kamui.
As for Nagato: in the original story, even the Six Paths of Pain couldn't beat an eight-tailed, half–tailed-beast-transformed Uzumaki Naruto.
The only real unknown was Black Zetsu.
But with Flying Thunder God plus Amenotokotachi, Black Zetsu sneaking up on him was basically impossible—especially now that Kitazawa was already on guard.
If he didn't know Black Zetsu existed, sure, an ambush might've worked. But not anymore.
Kitazawa steadied himself and continued reading.
It was still Gaara being captured—but the details differed drastically from the original.
First, the Akatsuki member who made a move wasn't Deidara. It was Sasori.
And when Sasori faced Rasa, he even used the Third Kazekage puppet.
Because of that, his identity was exposed on the spot.
In truth, even if he hadn't used the Third Kazekage, he would've been found out anyway—there were only a handful of truly terrifying puppet masters in the world.
As for Sasori's partner, he didn't take direct action.
Still, from the description, Kitazawa recognized him immediately.
Uchiha Obito.
Because within Akatsuki, only he wore a mask.
There was another difference as well.
Anbu concluded the conflict's stated reason was that Amegakure and Sunagakure clashed over control of the water business.
Their logic was: before Zetsu and the masked man showed up, all Rain ninja had already withdrawn back into the Land of Rain. And for someone as powerful as Sasori to be recruited outside the Five Great Nations… the only person with that kind of pull would've been Hanzō.
Hanzō's death was something Kitazawa had only told Tsunade.
So with Anbu unaware, they pinned Hanzō as the mastermind.
Logically speaking, it even held together.
After all, Amegakure and Sunagakure had been fighting over the water business for a long time.
"How's Suna doing right now?" Kitazawa asked after finishing the scroll.
"Fourth Kazekage Rasa is badly wounded. Chiyo has ended her retirement and is back in charge," Tsunade said slowly. "From what we know so far, Ebizō is holding things down in the village, and Chiyo has already taken people to rescue Gaara."
"She would go no matter what," Shizune, standing behind Tsunade, sighed. "No one could've imagined the one who struck was her own grandson—Sasori."
"And Sasori turning the Third Kazekage into a human puppet…" Tsunade added, voice hard. "That makes him a true traitor to Sunagakure."
"Did Suna ask Konoha for help?" Kitazawa asked after a brief pause.
"How could they?" Tsunade laughed, though there wasn't much humor in it. "Right now, they're terrified of us."
Kitazawa blinked—then understood.
In the original, Suna asked Konoha for help because the two villages were allies.
But in this world, there was no Orochimaru-led "Konoha Crush." Rasa wasn't dead. Gaara never became the Fifth Kazekage.
Suna wouldn't dare ask a non-ally Konoha for assistance.
What if Konoha used Rasa's injury and Gaara's capture as an excuse to start a war?
"Suna only asked Kirigakure for aid," Shizune said.
"And the other villages?" Kitazawa asked, nodding.
"Kumogakure is too far—no movement," Tsunade said casually. "Iwagakure has sent extra forces to the borders of the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain."
Kitazawa could guess Ōnoki's thinking immediately.
Akatsuki wasn't famous across the entire shinobi world, but plenty of people still knew they existed—Ōnoki included.
Now that Akatsuki had helped Rain cripple Suna, Ōnoki and others would conclude Akatsuki was being controlled by Hanzō.
No—more accurately, besides Ōnoki, everyone who knew of Akatsuki would assume Hanzō was behind it all.
Kitazawa had already heard from Anbu that Deidara had returned to Iwagakure.
Ōnoki could definitely learn the truth about Akatsuki from Deidara.
That was exactly why he was reinforcing the border.
"The biggest question is Akatsuki's objective," Shizune said seriously. "Is it really about the water business? Or are they trying to spark a war?"
"I heard Jiraiya mention Akatsuki before," Tsunade frowned. "Back then, their goal was 'peace in the shinobi world.' They did a lot of good."
She tightened her expression.
"But now… it looks like their purpose has changed."
If peace were the goal, there was no reason to take Gaara.
Everyone knew a jinchūriki was a village's absolute taboo.
Capturing one meant a death feud with Sunagakure.
"Now that they've made their move," Kitazawa said, rolling up the scroll, "their true goal will reveal itself soon enough."
"Mhm." Tsunade nodded. "For now, Konoha watches and waits."
Kitazawa thought of the system task to form his "new Konoha Sannin."
Sasori was an excellent stepping stone.
Especially since, by sheer bad luck, he'd exposed his identity—and the long-missing Third Kazekage had been turned into a human puppet.
No exaggeration: Sasori of the Red Sand was one of the most notorious names in the shinobi world right now.
In the original, Suna asked Konoha for help.
Sasori died at the hands of Chiyo and Haruno Sakura.
And Gaara, after having Shukaku extracted, was revived when Chiyo traded her life using the Reanimation Transfer technique.
Now, without Konoha involved, Chiyo would likely confront Sasori directly.
How that ended was hard to predict.
And it would also depend on whether Uchiha Obito chose to participate.
But Sasori probably wouldn't let Obito interfere—he'd face Chiyo alone.
For Kitazawa, the annoying part was simple: Suna hadn't asked Konoha for help, so Konoha had no clean reason to intervene.
But no matter what, he intended to step in.
Because he also wanted to bring Akatsuki under Konoha's banner.
Every member of Akatsuki was valuable talent—and with Konan as a connection, killing them all would be a waste.
As for what to do with Nagato, he already had a rough plan.
Nagato's biggest issue was his hatred for Konoha.
But what if his parents hadn't actually died by Konoha's hand? What if he learned his entire life had been manipulated by Uchiha Madara?
[Current Mission: Absorb Akatsuki into Konoha.]
[Reward: 50% Ōtsutsuki bloodline.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa glanced at it and accepted without hesitation.
With or without the system, he was going to do this.
And the reward was excellent.
He'd just taken a massive step toward awakening the Tenseigan.
Even if eliminating Akatsuki made him effectively unbeatable within the shinobi world, there was still the world beyond it—the alien Ōtsutsuki.
Not just the sealed Kaguya.
In short: the stronger, the better.
[Current Mission: Defeat Sasori.]
[Reward: Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
Compared to the previous task, this one felt a bit underwhelming.
The Hundred Puppets was the pinnacle of puppet arts—controlling over a hundred puppets at once.
But for Kitazawa, it wasn't that useful.
[Current Mission: Have Gaara join the Advanced Class.]
[Reward: Mastery-level Wind Release chakra nature transformation.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa was genuinely surprised.
Three system tasks at once?
Still, in a way, this aligned with what he'd already been thinking.
When he considered expanding the Advanced Class, Gaara had crossed his mind before.
And honestly, Gaara joining really was possible now.
One: his relationship with Rasa was bad.
Two: he'd been captured by Akatsuki, and Shukaku would be extracted from him.
Kitazawa could save him with an improved version of the Reanimation Transfer technique.
And not just Gaara—Temari and Kankurō could join too.
Suna and Rasa would never agree, but that was fine.
He could "persuade" them the hard way.
"Kitazawa," Tsunade said heavily, "for the next while, have Anbu keep a close eye on this. The moment there's news, report to me."
"I understand." Kitazawa paused, then said, "I'll go personally with Flying Thunder God and see what the situation looks like."
"Be careful," Tsunade said. She clearly didn't like the idea—but hearing Flying Thunder God made her relent.
"Yeah." Kitazawa nodded.
After greeting Tsunade and Shizune, he went to the Anbu base.
He pushed open the door to his office.
His gaze landed on Konan, seated on the sofa.
"Kitazawa," Konan lifted her head. "I want to take a week off and return to Amegakure."
"Because Akatsuki captured Gaara?" Kitazawa asked bluntly.
The Demonic Statue's tailed-beast absorption required the Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals.
And that required ten people—and lasted three days.
Konan's heart tightened in an instant, panic rising.
She looked away and fell silent.
She didn't know what to say.
Should she admit they were hunting the nine tailed beasts?
That would be the same as breaking with Kitazawa outright.
Because she already knew the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was Uzumaki Naruto.
"If it were just about the water business, you wouldn't go this far," Kitazawa said as he walked up to her. "Your real target is the tailed beasts."
Konan's pupils shrank, shock flashing across her face.
She hadn't expected him to see through it immediately.
"But I'm actually more curious about something else," Kitazawa said, lifting a hand to gently touch her cheek. "Why did you come back to Konoha at all?"
Konan's lashes trembled. She bit her lip unconsciously.
"Relax. I'm not here to interrogate you," Kitazawa said, leaning down to kiss her forehead lightly.
"I… I'm sorry," Konan said, voice trembling. "I can't stop Akatsuki."
"You're an Akatsuki member," Kitazawa said as he sat beside her. "Why would you need to stop them?"
"Akatsuki wasn't like this before," Konan said, sorrow flickering in her eyes.
Ever since Yahiko died, Akatsuki—and Nagato—had changed completely.
"I know," Kitazawa said, pulling her into his arms.
Konan looked at him, confused.
In her eyes, Kitazawa didn't truly understand Akatsuki.
"You don't have to carry this," Kitazawa said, rubbing her head gently. "I'll handle it."
Konan froze.
Handle it?
She wanted to let go—but she couldn't.
Kitazawa had no idea how terrifying Nagato's power truly was.
No one could stop him—not even Kitazawa with Wood Release.
The Rinnegan was the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths.
Kitazawa could read the disbelief in her eyes.
He didn't explain further.
Reality would prove it.
Once he defeated Nagato, Konan would believe him.
"Don't overthink it," Kitazawa said with a calm smile.
Konan stared at him, suddenly dazed.
With the Eye of the Moon Plan beginning, her time in Konoha would only grow shorter.
Even though Kitazawa told her to leave it all to him, she couldn't bring herself to truly accept that.
In that moment, Konan made a bold decision.
She slipped out of his arms and stood in front of him.
"What is it?" Kitazawa asked, puzzled.
Konan didn't answer.
Instead, she quietly shed her Anbu uniform.
Her intent was unmistakable—wordless, direct, and consensual.
Kitazawa went still.
He'd assumed they wouldn't cross that line until the Akatsuki and Nagato issue was resolved.
He hadn't expected it to happen now.
Konan took a steady breath, a faint flush rising to her cheeks.
She leaned in, kissed him, and the rest of the world fell away.
Time passed in a blur—tender at first, then intense—until Konan finally ran out of strength and slumped against him, her usual coolness melted into a soft, hazy warmth.
"Konan," Kitazawa said, smiling at her reddened face, "we're only getting started."
Konan blinked, not processing it at first.
Kitazawa lifted her carefully, and the sudden weightlessness made her cling to him instinctively, nerves and anticipation mixed in her eyes.
Not long after, exhaustion overtook her, and she drifted off.
Kitazawa shook his head with a quiet sigh.
Konan had initiated it, but she still wasn't as resilient as Kurenai.
Which was understandable—she was new to this.
With a casual wave, chakra flowed out and tidied the sofa.
Then he used Flying Thunder God to bring her back to her Anbu quarters.
He lay down with her, and she unconsciously curled into his arms.
Feeling her warmth, Kitazawa gently stroked her hair.
He glanced around, then pressed a hand down and left a Flying Thunder God mark on her.
That way, no matter where Konan went, he could find her.
Kitazawa closed his eyes and fell asleep holding her.
The sun sank.
In the blink of an eye, dusk arrived.
Konan woke with a tight frown, feeling weak all over.
When she saw Kitazawa, she froze.
Memories came rushing back, and heat rose to her face.
She had to admit—Kitazawa's sheer capability left her genuinely shaken.
"You're awake?" Kitazawa looked at her.
Konan nodded.
"How do you feel?" Kitazawa asked, placing a hand on her forehead.
"I'm fine," she said.
Warm chakra flowed from his palm through her body, and the soreness faded quickly.
"Thank you," Konan said, regaining her composure.
"When you wear that cold expression," Kitazawa said, eyes bright with mischief, "it's dangerously tempting."
Konan's face flushed instantly.
"But we'll stop here today," Kitazawa added, changing tone. "Get some rest."
Konan paused, oddly disappointed.
Even though she'd been overwhelmed the whole time, she hadn't hated it.
On the edge of danger and uncertainty, she'd felt something vivid and burning.
"I'll cook for you," Kitazawa said as he got out of bed. "Wait a bit."
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was already 5:00 p.m.—late, but still doable.
He showered, made dinner for Konan, then went home.
Luckily, his constitution was ridiculous now.
Otherwise, Tsunade and Kurenai would definitely notice he was running low on energy at night.
Being a man is hard.
The next day.
Kitazawa went to Konan's quarters, but she was already gone.
He wasn't surprised.
Absorbing Shukaku into the Demonic Statue was time-sensitive.
Kitazawa didn't plan to stop it.
His long-standing idea was to let Akatsuki capture eight tailed beasts first—then take them openly from Akatsuki's hands.
After it was over, the other villages would inevitably demand Konoha return the tailed beasts.
Then he'd "negotiate," sow distrust, and push them into starting a shinobi world war themselves.
He didn't really need to go through all that trouble.
But he wanted Tsunade and the others to see it as justified.
With a "proper reason," even if the Fourth Great Ninja War began, they wouldn't object.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
Who should deal with Sasori?
After hesitating between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, he decided to take Naruto.
Whoever became famous first didn't matter.
He chose Naruto because Naruto was simply better suited to fight Sasori.
Sasori's human puppets could ignore Sasuke's genjutsu.
And Sasori could control a hundred puppets at once—Sasuke would have to spam Amenotokotachi just to maintain an advantage.
But Sasuke had only just awakened his eyes; using ocular techniques like that would cost too much.
Better to counter numbers with numbers—have Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Technique turn it into a brawl.
As for exposing Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails jinchūriki… it didn't really matter.
Akatsuki surely already knew.
Once he decided, Kitazawa used Flying Thunder God.
A massive surge of chakra drained away as he jumped straight to the Land of Wind.
He activated the Byakugan and quickly located Chiyo and the Suna ninja.
He recalled the original sequence.
Sasori would first help extract Shukaku from Gaara with the Phantom Dragon Nine Seals alongside Nagato and the others—only then would he face Chiyo and Haruno Sakura.
Once the mission was complete, the other Akatsuki members would leave without supporting him.
That was how Sasori died.
Of course, like Itachi in the brothers' battle, Sasori had held back—almost choosing death.
Afterward, the remaining Akatsuki didn't avenge him; they continued hunting tailed beasts to complete their plan.
Kitazawa estimated the timing.
Chiyo's group probably wouldn't clash with Sasori until tomorrow.
He thought about it, then decided not to leave—he would shadow them the entire time.
The next day, Chiyo's group finally encountered Sasori.
Meanwhile, Kitazawa immediately used Flying Thunder God to appear in the Forest of Death.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto, in the middle of chakra control training, immediately greeted him.
"There's a temporary S-rank mission," Kitazawa said with a smile. "Do you want it?"
"Of course!" Naruto replied excitedly.
~~~
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