In the Rain Country, after burying the bodies of Yahiko and Nagato, Konan stood facing the vast ocean, momentarily unsure of what to do next. It wasn't until Haku placed a hand on her shoulder and comforted her with a smile that Konan finally snapped out of her daze.
Suddenly, Konan's expression shifted slightly. She turned to Haku and said softly, "Big sis Haku, I think I just want to be alone for a moment, okay?"
Haku nodded. "Alright."
After Haku's figure disappeared from sight, Konan's face turned cold. She fixed her gaze on a point in midair and said, "Come out."
Following a ripple in space, Obito appeared before Konan.
Konan wasn't at all surprised by his arrival. She asked quietly, "Looking for something?"
"Yes. Where did you take Nagato's corpse?"
"Rinnegan?" Konan let out a light laugh. "Master once told me that Nagato's Rinnegan didn't truly belong to him, and obtaining it would only mark the beginning of a tragedy. So why would you think those eyes would still remain in Nagato's body?"
Although she had anticipated this, Obito still sighed. "That figures. I want to ask you one question."
"Go ahead."
"Why did you and the others—who were such outstanding members—betray me? You and Nagato originally supported my Moon's Eye Plan. Even if it ended in failure, there'd be no blame. But Nagato died using the [Rinne Rebirth Technique]. Unless he did it willingly, no one in this world could have forced him to use it. That technique was supposed to be used on me." Obito said darkly, his single visible eye narrowing. "Unless... you actually believed that guy Naruto was really worth so much."
"Naruto?" Konan looked at Obito with disdain. "He is the light, which is why everyone placed their faith in him. Unfortunately, as you well know, where there's light, there's also darkness. Compared to Master, what kind of darkness could yours possibly amount to? He always let the Akatsuki grow freely—just so he could bring back the one he wanted most. I even once believed that his Mangekyō (the advanced form of Sharingan eye) power was the ability to see into the future."
"Future?" Obito snorted coldly. "If what he saw was the future, wouldn't it change the moment he intervened? I don't believe in those futures he's talking about, only in the future I will personally bring about."
"Master always knew about your existence, and also knew who the person behind you was," Konan mocked. "The reason he allowed it—like I just said—is probably because there were things he needed you to do. Don't fool yourself, thinking your plan has any chance of success."
"I don't know where your confidence in him comes from, but soon you'll see. His tolerance will turn out to be nothing but a joke." After saying this, Obito twisted space and vanished.
"I thought you two were going to fight," Haku's voice chimed in at just the right moment.
Surprised, Konan turned to see Haku suddenly standing beside her. "Big sis Haku, you..."
Haku chuckled. "Don't underestimate me. Anya said that my current strength is equivalent to a sage-level power of the Three Sacred Lands. I'm pretty powerful now."
After a brief silence, Konan asked, "Big sis Haku, if Master did something unforgivable to you, what would you do?"
"What would I do?" Haku replied naturally. "Of course I'd forgive him."
"Hmph..."
Konan gave a bitter smile and said, "I shouldn't have even asked you."
Haku countered, "What about you? What are you planning to do?"
Konan teased playfully, "I'll kill him."
Haku gently patted Konan's head and said with a sigh, "Oh, don't be silly. You can't kill him."
"I know," Konan managed a weak smile and said, "Let's go, Big sis Haku. I think Master's plan will unfold soon enough."
Haku nodded in agreement: "Yes, after all his efforts, everything is about to come to an end."
The two vanished together from Amegakure.
In Konoha, the sudden appearance of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, caused quite a stir. After hearing his explanation, everyone finally understood that Minato had actually survived the Nine-Tails' rampage years ago and had been secretly recovering from injuries ever since. Now he had finally returned to Konoha. With both the Fourth and Fifth Hokages present, the morale of the severely damaged Konoha immediately soared. Moreover, the once ruined village was visibly restoring itself at an incredible speed, even more beautifully and grandly than before.
When Tsunade met Minato, her first words were a complaint: "The Fourth, if you hadn't died, why didn't you show up? Even if you were too injured to move, you should have sent someone to inform me. My Medical Ninjutsu could've greatly assisted your recovery."
"If you had stayed in Konoha, many tragedies could've been avoided in the past, and I definitely wouldn't have ended up as the Fifth Hokage. This situation has worn me out completely," she continued.
Minato gave a bitter smile without refuting and frankly admitted, "Tsunade-sama, it's my fault."
Knowing Minato's personality well, Konan realized he must have had good reasons and didn't press further. She waved her hand and said, "Alright, do you know the current situation in the ninja world?"
Minato's expression immediately became serious: "I know. The person who caused the Nine-Tails' rampage has declared the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War. The reason I rushed back to Konoha is precisely for this matter."
"What? So he was behind the Nine-Tails' rampage," Tsunade clenched her jaw angrily. That battle had changed the fate of so many people.
"Yes. His goal is the entire world. I absolutely won't let his conspiracy succeed," Minato replied firmly.
"Currently, the Akatsuki Organization has already gathered seven Tailed Beasts. Only Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails remain out of their control," Tsunade stated seriously. "Next, his targets will definitely be Naruto and Killer Bee from Kumogakure. Our task is to protect these two individuals well, then completely destroy the Akatsuki Organization."
Minato nodded and said, "With me here, I'll definitely protect them. Besides, Naruto is my child."
"Go then, gather the ninja and form an Allied Forces."
"I will," Minato smiled warmly. "But before that, I'd like to see that child first."
A smile also appeared on Tsunade's face: "Naruto is a good kid."
In Sunagakure Village, Hakuto was filled with wonder upon visiting this place for the first time. It felt like a totally different world, with all kinds of amazing facilities and architecture that amazed her.
"Uncle Sasori, did you come up with all of this?" Hakuto's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"No," Sasori replied, "It's all your father's masterpiece. I merely built it according to the template he provided."
After showing around Hakuto, Sasori was soon joined by a large group of elders.
"Kazekage-sama, the army has gathered and is ready to depart at any moment."
With a sweep of his hand, Sasori replied, "Good, let's move out. Head to Konoha and form the Allied Forces."
"Yes."
Watching thousands of ninjas march forward in formation, Hakuto couldn't help but be stunned, "What big event is this?"
Sasori gazed out at the endless ninja army and said, "Yeah, it's started — the Fourth Great Ninja War. Your father's long-held wish will finally come true in this battle."
The same scenes were unfolding in other villages too.
In Iwagakure, Deidara, who had been designated by Onoki as the next Tsuchikage, stood unhappily at the front of the ninja army. Upon his command, all the ninja from Iwagakure also began heading toward Konoha.
"What do you think, bro? Isn't it awesome leading such a huge force?" asked Clay.
"Not really," Deidara replied listlessly. "Do you think the old man has gone crazy? Lately he's been making me learn everything I need to know to be the next Tsuchikage. It's so troublesome."
Clay muttered, "Then why don't you ask the old man to give the position to me instead?"
"You?" Deidara scoffed with disdain. "I'd rather do it myself."
"What did you say? You're actually underestimating me!" Clay rushed forward and started pinching Deidara's cheeks.
"Hey, what are you doing? I'm gonna fight back, you know!"
Looking at the two below who seemed to never grow up, Onoki sighed deeply, "Sigh... I hope handing Iwagakure's future to you two won't cause any problems. I really wonder what that person's true intentions are. After eliminating the Akatsuki Organization, what awaits us is truly worrying."
In Kirigakure, Terumi Mei, who had already fully mastered the deployment of the large transport ships, immediately distributed the ships to the villagers to organize communication between various islands, keeping herself extremely busy. Only after Master Gen had assembled the entire army did she finally appear at the forefront. It had been ages since all of Kirigakure's ninja had come together like this — not since the Third Battle. Now that the secrecy pacts were gone, there was no need to be suspicious of each other anymore, and everyone was getting along smoothly. After a period of reforms, the overall appearance of each ninja had significantly improved, becoming more proactive and cheerful, shedding the once oppressive, blood-drenched gloom. Even the thick mist that had always hung over the village had started to lift, letting sunlight pour in.
Satisfied with the sight of the ninja army below, Terumi Mei raised her right hand and declared, "Move out!"
In Kumogakure, Samiu, the newly-appointed Raikage, was extremely busy. Not only did she have to gather the village's ninja forces, but discussions over B (also known as Killer Bee)'s position had taken a long time as well. Then came the power transition and redistribution of internal interests. All those responsibilities gave her no time to catch her breath, and this situation continued until Mabui finally arrived.
Having effectively served as the Kazekage for many years, Mabui acted decisively and swiftly upon her return. With the power left behind by Sasori, she put down any resistance, quickly arranged for Killer Bee's relocation to the extremely secluded Turtle Island under strict guard, and efficiently organized every detail of the operation. Within half a day, the army had been smoothly assembled and began advancing toward Konoha.
Watching Mabui's methods unfold from start to finish, Samiu couldn't help but sigh in admiration, "Bringing you over from his side was truly the wisest decision I've ever made."
Mabui stared at Samiu seriously, unblinking and silent.
Her gaze unsettled Samiu slightly, and the latter turned her cold face away nervously before asking hesitantly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Mabui let out a cold snort. "I know Anya very well—he wouldn't randomly allow you to take so much stuff back to Kumogakure without even asking for anything in return. So tell me, what exactly did you do that convinced him to hand over so much gold?"
Samiu retorted, "Why wouldn't he? You know that too, don't you? He wants to use this war to unify the entire ninja world. To him, every village is the same."
"People naturally have favorites," Mabui countered calmly, "especially considering how many battles took place between Cloud and him during the Third War. The Leaf has Tsunade, Mist has Terumi Mei, Sand has Sasori—so what does Cloud have? You must know the answer already..."
"Fine, I'll admit it," Samiu cut in. "He used Genjutsu on me and made me one of his followers. Therefore, Cloud has essentially become his village now. Isn't it natural for someone to support their own village?"
"What! He actually used Genjutsu on you? How despicable!" Mabui grew furious. "I'm going to confront him right now!"
"Don't go," Samiu hurriedly stopped her. "I just became Raikage, and there's still plenty I need your help with. If you leave, it'll be a huge headache for me. Besides, the Fourth Great Ninja War is about to begin soon, and the Five Kages will need to coordinate strategy together—you absolutely can't leave then."
Hearing this, Mabui reluctantly dropped the idea, though the fire of anger inside her kept burning fiercely without abating.
In her fury, however, she never considered one key point—how could someone under Genjutsu control clearly understand and realize they were being manipulated?
Meanwhile, [Dark] Anya left Kumogakure heading toward the Land of Fire. The Fourth Great Ninja War was about to begin, and it was time to bring him home.
[Expanded Sage Mode activated], he extended his powerful sensory abilities and spiritual strength infinitely outward in all directions from his position.
While Hawk Team was rushing toward Konoha, a red-haired woman suddenly came to a halt, her expression abruptly changing. "A tremendously strong sensing ability has detected us—it's heading straight in our direction!"
Beside her, a cold-looking man replied indifferently, "No matter who it is, if anyone dares block my path, we eliminate them immediately using Amaterasu."
Right after those words, [Dark] Anya descended from above and addressed the leading male figure directly, "Sasuke, long time no see. Look how much you've grown."
"Still think you're my master?" Sasuke spat, his eyes burning with raw hatred, voice thick with killing intent. "You're just a ninja hiding behind the Uchiha name — I've wanted to kill you for a long time."
Anya frowned slightly. "Are you misunderstanding something?"
"Hahaha!" Sasuke suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. "Misunderstanding? Then I'll show you the ultimate power unique to the Uchiha Clan."
Purple chakra flared around Sasuke as his Susano'o's skeletal form rapidly assembled around him. Blood streamed from the corners of his eyes as his Susano'o evolved into its second form — muscles and veins forming over the skeletal frame, all wrapped in flowing chakra robes. The immense pressure blew nearby trees apart, clearing the battlefield and sending everyone scrambling away. His Susano'o conjured forth its signature weapon — a massive bow.
Controlled by Sasuke, the colossal bow drew back like a full moon. An arrow forged entirely of purple chakra launched forward, streaking through space toward Anya as if cutting reality itself.
Eyes flashing, Anya activated Sage Mode — his body glowing faintly with natural energy — and casually raised one hand, clenching the air.
The arrow — streaking faster than thought — froze solid in his palm, unmoving.
Everyone present was stunned. That was Susano'o — the ultimate power granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan — and he just crushed it like nothing?
With a slight tightening of his grip, Anya crushed the arrow into oblivion. His eyes displayed the Three-Comma Sharingan — swirling patterns resembling three commas circling a central dot — as he emotionlessly asked, "Have you finished playing around?"
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