After calming Hakuto down, Anya turned her gaze to the object beside her—the second Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. So this was it. Unexpectedly, Hagoromo had hidden it deep in the ocean. Looking at its battered state, it must have been abandoned for a long time.
Had it simply acted on instinct upon sensing familiar chakra, causing the earlier incident?
Anya lifted her hand, preparing to feel it with her own body.
"Don't, Dad. It's dangerous."
Hakuto, trembling in fear, rushed to stop Anya's movement.
Anya smiled slightly and said, "It's fine. If something goes wrong, you're still here with me, right?"
Hearing that, Hakuto raised her weapon, aiming it at the Demonic Statue.
"Dad, if it pulls you in, just give me a signal. I'll blast it to pieces."
"Alright."
Anya activated her Mangekyō Sharingan, channeling Sage Chakra into it. At the same time, her spirit force flowed into the statue.
With the support of three forces, the material of the Demonic Statue was gradually being analyzed. Following the traces of chakra absorbed by the statue earlier, Anya's spiritual power smoothly reached the deepest core.
A distant voice sighed: "Ah, young man, we meet again."
"It's really you, Hagoromo." Anya understood instantly. "This Demonic Statue definitely possesses some kind of will. Otherwise, it wouldn't have actively absorbed Hakuto's chakra so strongly."
Confused, Hagoromo asked, "Before my death many years ago, I feared someone might misuse this statue, so I sealed it deep beneath the ocean. Over time, due to shifting landscapes, it eventually surfaced and drifted onto this deserted island. Under normal circumstances, no one should've been able to find it. How did you locate this place?"
"I have my methods." Anya's spiritual power surged stronger. "Twice now, Hagoromo. It seems you haven't taken my words seriously."
"No, you're mistaken, young man. It's precisely because I care too much about you." A strange gleam flickered in Hagoromo's Rinnegan. "Since my birth, the first person I couldn't understand was my mother, and the second is you. Your appearance surprised me, as if you didn't belong to this world."
Anya said expressionlessly, "What does that have to do with you controlling the Demonic Statue to absorb Hakuto's chakra?"
Hagoromo gave a bitter smile. "I don't know why, but I always feel you might release my mother. In today's Ninja World, no one can defeat her unless a Ten-Tails jinchuriki (human host) emerges. I want to give this world a glimmer of hope. This Demonic Statue is already on the verge of collapse. Hakuto possesses my pure chakra inside her, which can repair it."
Anya replied coldly, "The dead have no business meddling in such matters."
Hagoromo asked earnestly, "Will you tell me what exactly you intend to do?"
"Chakra was your creation. The Ninja Sect was also your creation. But your era has long passed." Anya showed no intention of hiding. "In the future, I will establish a new era."
Sunagakure was in the middle of mobilizing forces across the Ninja World when Sasori suddenly received an urgent message from the Zero Organization—it was a top-priority intelligence report.
Without hesitation, Sasori immediately abandoned the incomplete troop assembly and hurried away, leaving the Suna ninja confused and wondering: Why did Kazekage suddenly run off? What happened?
Fortunately, Sasori's parents had already become elders. They quickly stepped forward to stabilize the situation, preventing any chaos from spreading among the ranks.
Back in the Kazekage's Office, Sasori unrolled the encrypted scroll. It was densely filled with information. After finishing it in one breath, he couldn't help but sigh deeply: "This battle has really gone south."
Originally, starting from the Five Kage Summit, Sasuke's Taka team somehow joined Akatsuki Organization for unknown reasons. Then they headed toward the Cloud-Sound Canyon to capture the Eight-Tails. Protected by the Cloud ninja, they successfully captured Killer Bee.
However, on the way back, they unexpectedly encountered Raikage rushing over. Without a word, both sides launched into fierce battle. Sasuke suffered severe injuries in this fight—nearly dying.
Right after that, Kakuzu and Hidan arrived. The ruthless and talkative Kakuzu directly targeted Raikage.
A new round of combat erupted. Taking advantage of the chaos, Taka escaped. During the fighting, the captured Killer Bee revealed his true form—a mere octopus-like tentacle of the real Eight-Tails. The real Killer Bee had long vanished without a trace.
Kakuzu, receiving a new heart, gained tremendous power. He matched Raikage blow for blow, with neither side gaining the upper hand. As for Hidan, he simply stood around like a spectator—completely unable to break through defenses, struggling even against Raikage's guards.
At a critical moment, Yugao, who had been hiding in wait for a long time, unsheathed Broken Crescent. With all her strength, she unleashed her ultimate [Single Blade Strike]—but the attack was blocked by Tarui, Raikage's guard, who sacrificed himself to stop it.
That one strike sent Raikage into a blind rage. He also recognized the Konoha Style Sword Art technique Yugao used, concluding that Konoha must have begun cooperating with Akatsuki. Therefore, he sent an emergency signal to Kumogakure.
The Kumogakure Anbu unit reacted first upon receiving the signal. A large number of elite Jonin entered the battlefield. Among them, several Anbu members were specifically assigned to return to the village to assemble reinforcements. The entire village went into full combat readiness, preparing for war at any moment. From the time this intelligence was sent, the battle continued.
"Raikage is indeed formidable—he survived despite all that," Sasori frowned tightly, "If this keeps up, our original strategic plan will be ruined, and that man will benefit instead."
Just then, Mabui rushed in urgently asking, "Sasori, what's going on? How could you suddenly leave such a major scene? Do you understand the huge impact this would have on everyone below?"
Sasori didn't say much. He handed the intelligence directly to Mabui.
When Mabui saw the mark on the report, her heart sank. If she wasn't mistaken, this was the highest-grade intelligence mark used by the Zero Organization. Never had she expected that Sasori would show it to her.
After reading through the report, Mabui fell silent, clearly at a loss for words.
Sasori didn't intend to let her go so easily: "Kumogakure, Big Brother Kurotsuchi and I had already made preparations. However, the Raikage's power turned out to be far beyond what we anticipated. If this battle continues, the Great Ninja World War will erupt sooner than expected, resulting in a three-way battle. Knowing Big Brother Kurotsuchi's nature, he would never allow such a situation to occur. The one we must eliminate first is definitely the weakest—Kumogakure."
Mabui shivered slightly. After some hesitation, she softly exhaled and said, "Right now, the only option is to kill the Raikage in the shortest amount of time."
Sasori looked at Mabui with appreciation and said, "Looks like we're on the same page. Come on, use the [Heavenly Transfer Technique] to send me to where they're fighting."
Mabui asked in surprise and doubt, "Your body?"
"It doesn't matter," Sasori replied indifferently. "It might take some damage, but it's unimportant. My main combat techniques don't depend on my body anyway."
Mabui made up her mind and firmly said, "Alright then."
With a flash of white light, Sasori vanished from the office.
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