In a desolate, uninhabited desert.
Three figures advanced at an unhurried pace toward Sunagakure.
"Hehe, kid, rather than dying on this mission, how about handing your head over to me? After all, your bounty is worth quite a bit on the black market."
Kakuzu kept sizing up the expressionless Sasuke beside him, a trace of excitement in his eyes, his tone unhurried as he spoke.
Sasuke's expression turned cold as he whipped his head around to glare at Kakuzu, looking ready to strike at any moment.
Seeing this, Kakuzu's lips curled slightly.
"Kids these days — not much strength, but plenty of nerve."
"Enough of this farce."
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Uchiha Obito stepped forward, positioning himself between the two, and spread his hands.
"Why do I have to team up with a guy like you for this mission?"
Looking at Uchiha Obito, who had blocked his provocation, Kakuzu's voice carried a note of displeasure.
Under normal circumstances, Kakuzu always partnered with Hidan on missions. Though Hidan could be loud and annoying at times, the two worked together smoothly.
After all, having an immortal as a partner meant Kakuzu could unleash his abilities without any restraint.
"With this mission, if Hidan had come along with you, there's a high probability you'd both end up staying in Sunagakure permanently."
Uchiha Obito wore a single-eyed mask with orange-red swirl patterns, making it impossible to read his expression.
But his tone was extraordinarily flat, as though he were stating the most ordinary fact.
Kakuzu's face darkened slightly, and just as he was about to speak again, Uchiha Obito's voice rang out once more.
"Our opponents this time aren't just Sunagakure's shinobi — there's also Pain, the former leader of Akatsuki. No, he should be called the shadow of Amegakure now — Nagato."
"Add in the ninja dispatched by Kirigakure, and a single misstep could spell serious trouble."
Uchiha Obito let out a low chuckle, his tone carrying a hint of menace.
Kakuzu glanced at Uchiha Obito, too lazy to respond, though a flicker of thought crossed his eyes.
So what exactly is that Uchiha Madara's real goal?
Capturing the One-Tail Jinchuriki in Sunagakure was already a troublesome task, and now he'd even had Sasori leak the information to Kirigakure.
If it were solely for the sake of this Uchiha kid, Kakuzu didn't believe it for a second.
But whatever. It didn't matter.
A glint of murderous intent flashed deep in Kakuzu's eyes. Sunagakure had plenty of bountied heads on the black market too.
Beside them, Sasuke had no interest in the conversation between the two. But when he heard the name Nagato, Sasuke's fists clenched tightly.
No matter what — he would definitely take back Uchiha Itachi's eyes!
"They're here!"
At that moment, Uchiha Obito suddenly spoke.
Kakuzu's expression remained calm, as if he had sensed it long ago. Sasuke, however, snapped his head up, tense and alert as he scanned the surroundings.
Whoosh!
The sand ahead of the three suddenly bulged upward as Zetsu's form emerged from beneath.
"My, my, Sunagakure's defenses are quite tight. It seems they already know."
White Zetsu wore an expression that was part schadenfreude, part helplessness.
"Given that they know about the plan to capture the One-Tail Jinchuriki, it's only expected they'd prepare in advance."
Kakuzu said flatly, though a glint of gravity flickered in his eyes.
"In that case, let's get ready too."
Uchiha Obito gave a slight nod and addressed White Zetsu.
Under Sasuke's puzzled gaze, White Zetsu let out a strange laugh as his body suddenly swelled. Then three White Zetsu clones burst forth from the main body, appearing before the three of them.
These three split-off White Zetsu walked toward Sasuke, Uchiha Obito, and Kakuzu respectively.
"This is..."
Seeing this, Sasuke instinctively tensed, his body going rigid.
"Don't worry, they just need a bit of chakra."
Uchiha Obito glanced at Sasuke and casually explained.
The three split White Zetsu approached and placed their hands on the three of them.
In just a few moments, after absorbing chakra from Sasuke, Uchiha Obito, and Kakuzu, the three White Zetsu transformed into exact copies of the three.
"This chakra signature — you can't tell the real from the fake at all."
Sasuke stared at the three identical figures before him, astonishment written across his face.
If he hadn't known in advance that these were White Zetsu transformations, Sasuke might have suspected they were his own Shadow Clones.
Unless someone was intimately familiar with them, it would be impossible to distinguish real from fake based on appearance and chakra signature alone.
"Now — let the invasion begin!"
As White Zetsu finished transforming into their likenesses, Uchiha Obito's aura shifted, his voice dropping low.
In an instant!
Everyone present dissolved into black shadows and vanished from the spot. White Zetsu's main body likewise burrowed underground and disappeared.
Meanwhile, in a large conference room within Sunagakure.
Granny Chiyo sat with her eyes half-closed, leaning back in the seat of honor. Were it not for the occasional nod, one might have thought she was asleep.
The conference room, aside from Granny Chiyo and the Sunagakure shinobi, also had Nagato, Hoshigaki Kisame, and Hyuga Neji seated on the left side.
At this moment, aside from the Suna ninja periodically reporting to Granny Chiyo, the room was somewhat quiet.
"Are you sure we should just keep waiting here?"
Hoshigaki Kisame, arms resting on his chair, was the first to break the atmosphere, a note of impatience in his voice.
Nagato's otherwise expressionless face showed a slight frown as he looked up toward Granny Chiyo and offered a pointed reminder:
"A purely defensive strategy won't be very effective against members of Akatsuki."
When he said this, Nagato's tone carried a hint of complexity. After all, most of Akatsuki's members had been personally recruited by him, and he knew their strength and tenacity all too well.
Hearing the two speak, Granny Chiyo slowly opened her eyes, her tone calm and composed:
"Sunagakure's strength may have declined considerably, but it's not something just any ninja can waltz into."
"Besides, Kirigakure sent three of you here to assist us, didn't they?"
With that, Granny Chiyo withdrew her gaze from Nagato and the others, frowning slightly as she turned to a nearby Suna shinobi:
"Where has Ebizo gone?"
"Lady Chiyo, Lord Ebizo..."
The Suna shinobi hesitated, clearly not knowing Ebizo's whereabouts either.
"Honestly, at a time like this."
Granny Chiyo showed a hint of exasperation and shook her head gently.
Just then!
A brief commotion echoed from outside the conference room.
Followed by a loud, confused voice from beyond the door.
"Kakashi-sensei, weren't we going to look for Sasuke? Why did we come here?"
Naruto's voice had barely faded when Kakashi's exasperated tone followed close behind.
"Naruto, keep it down. This is a very important occasion."
"Ha ha, it's quite alright. It's good for young people to be spirited."
Ebizo's aged, gentle voice chuckled lightly.
[
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