At the top of Amegakure's central tower, Konan's gaze swept over Obito and Zetsu before settling on Pain. Worry etched deep lines across her face. "Nagato, your body—"
"The power of a god requires no questioning," Pain's cold voice cut in, sharp and absolute.
He finally turned, his Rinnegan's eerie purple ripples glowing in the dim light, radiating suffocating pressure. He raised a hand toward the window. An invisible, overwhelming repulsive force exploded outward.
Shinra Tensei.
The massive floor-to-ceiling window, along with the thick curtain of rain beyond it, shattered as if struck by an invisible giant's hand. A wide patch of rain-free vacuum opened in front of them.
A moment later, howling wind and driving rain poured inside, whipping their robes. "Under the gaze of the Rinnegan, all things are illusion," Pain said, his voice cutting through the storm with cold detachment. "Konoha? The Tailed Beasts? They are nothing more than slightly larger pebbles to be crushed on the path to true peace."
His purple Rinnegan swept over the battered village below, as if looking down on insignificant ants. "Konoha's overall strength… is worth acknowledging."
He used the word "acknowledging," yet his tone treated it like evaluating a corpse.
"But that is all. Its purpose is to be destroyed—to become the foundation of a new world."
Obito's Sharingan narrowed slightly beneath the mask, the crimson glow flickering in the shadows. He spoke in a lowered voice laced with old hatred. "Since Konoha has recovered too quickly and become the biggest obstacle… we'll make it bleed enough to wake the other villages' hungry wolves. Let them remember their greed."
He stepped forward, glass crunching under his foot. "Balance? No. We need chaos. A storm strong enough to wound Konoha's foundation and tear open its seemingly solid shell. When Konoha is weakened enough that Kumo sees its chance for revenge, Iwa sees easy plunder, and Kiri smells blood… they'll tear into it themselves."
Obito's voice carried a cruel allure. "We only need to give a gentle push at the right moment… or create one convincing wound."
"A wound?" Konan caught the key word, her lavender eyes sharpening as she looked at the masked man. "Do you have a plan? Or a target?"
"They just got married, didn't they?" Obito stared out at the rain, his voice colder than the downpour. "Do you know who the Fourth Hokage's wife is?"
Konan didn't play along. "What, your plan involves their marriage?"
Obito chuckled, sounding almost pleased with himself. "The Fourth Hokage's wife is the Nine-Tails jinchuriki."
That got everyone's attention, even Pain turning toward the masked man. The Nine-Tails was one of their targets.
"Marriage leads to children," Obito continued. "And a jinchuriki's seal is at its most fragile during childbirth—"
He didn't need to finish. Everyone present understood immediately. This was an opening. If the plan worked, the damage to Konoha wouldn't be simple blood loss—it would be a crippling blow to its core.
While Obito sowed hope on this side, Zetsu poured cold water on the small flame.
"Don't get too excited," White Zetsu said in his exaggerated, theatrical tone. "Konoha's 'White Reaper,' Matsushita Taiichi, is quite the impressive young man!"
He gestured animatedly. "According to our hard-earned intel, this guy can go toe-to-toe with a Tailed Beast all by himself! Young, ridiculously strong—one of Konoha's most dangerous people right now. He'll be our biggest threat in the future!"
White Zetsu then detailed several of Taiichi's wartime feats, emphasizing his ability to fight Tailed Beasts directly and his mastery of Flying Thunder God. He carefully omitted the full extent of Taiichi's clash with the real Madara.
Obito stayed silent behind the mask, offering no correction or addition. His crimson Sharingan glowed like unblinking ghost lights in the dark.
Pain let out a cold snort. "White Reaper? Fighting Tailed Beasts? Before true divine power, he's just another troublesome offering. His fate is already sealed."
He didn't view Taiichi as a genuine threat—Rinnegan's absolute power gave him unshakable confidence. Still, his tone shifted with pragmatic calculation. "However, Konoha's claws do need to be pulled out one by one. And Akatsuki needs more allies to carry out the will of god and collect the scattered Tailed Beasts."
"Allies?" Konan's brow furrowed, old memories flashing, but she faced reality. "People we can actually trust won't be easy to find."
"Power is the only foundation for trust," Obito's voice came through the mask, low and persuasive. "The shinobi world is full of people devoured by hatred, obsessed with power, or cast aside by the world. We find them. Give them a purpose. A goal. Turn them into Akatsuki's fangs—tearing through every obstacle in our path."
His Sharingan swept the room. "That, too, is a means to achieve peace."
A cold consensus settled in the broken tower. The sleeping beast called Akatsuki had begun to stir, extending its fangs toward the shinobi world.
Konoha, Year 49, April 1.
A new wave of students had entered the Ninja Academy. Taiichi personally walked his three disciples to the gates on their first day of second year.
Despite being only second-years, their strength would have earned them early graduation in wartime. Uchiha Itachi's talent was already legendary, of course—but even Jiang Tai and Yamei had mastered the Three Basic Jutsu and the fundamentals of their respective nature transformations under Taiichi's guidance.
What they still lacked compared to a typical genin was raw chakra reserves and real combat experience. Those would come with time.
Among all the changes in Konoha over the past few months, the biggest was the coming baby boom. With the war over, men and women returned from the front lines. The sudden release of tension brought a surge of new life.
Taiichi walked the streets and passed pregnant women every few minutes. In this wave of new beginnings, the future Konoha Twelve—including Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru—were currently growing in their mothers' wombs.
A new era was arriving, and with it, new challenges.
To meet those challenges, Taiichi continued pushing his own limits. At thirteen, his body was in a rapid growth phase. Combined with his steadily advancing taijutsu and meditation training, his physique, spirit, and chakra reserves grew at an astonishing rate every day.
He could now maintain eight shadow clones as part of his daily routine.
After finishing his morning training, Taiichi headed straight for Tsunade's office at Konoha Hospital.
He pushed open the door to find the blonde woman looking flustered, clearly caught in the middle of something.
Taiichi didn't need to guess—she had been drinking in her office again.
A vein twitched on his forehead, but he forced it down. Don't get angry. She's your teacher. You chose this.
He walked straight to her desk, ignoring the faint scent of alcohol.
"Tsunade-sensei, Orochimaru has made progress on the White Zetsu research. He submitted a formal request yesterday to resume work on Hashirama's cells. The Hokage sent me to ask for your opinion."
Tsunade's slightly flushed face sharpened. She sobered up fast.
She knew about Orochimaru's research. Taiichi had kept her updated as one of the participants. The ultimate goal was to unlock Wood Release through controlled study of the First Hokage's cells.
Both Hashirama's cells and Wood Release were topics she, as the First's granddaughter and Konoha's top medical-nin, had every right to weigh in on.
"Progress that fast already? They're already diving into Grandpa's cells?"
Concern flickered in her eyes. The old Wood Release experiments had been brutal. Plenty of Senju clan members had died not on the battlefield, but in those failed trials.
"Yes. They've already figured out how to weaken the invasive nature of Hashirama's cells using the White Zetsu samples."
Tsunade sat in silence, fingers interlacing and twisting. After a long moment, clarity returned to her gaze. She looked like she had made a decision.
"I'll go with you tomorrow. I want to see this Research Division for myself anyway."
A spark lit in Taiichi's eyes. This was the first time Tsunade had shown genuine interest in the project.
As one of Konoha's top medical-nin, Tsunade's own research ability was formidable. Her laziness had simply reached legendary levels. No matter how many hints or invitations Taiichi had dropped before, she had stayed indifferent.
Now that she was curious on her own, this was a rare opening.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of work. The next morning, Taiichi finished his routine and headed straight for Tsunade's room.
These days, Tsunade had no interest in returning to her own empty house. Taiichi's place had staff, good food, and people. It beat living alone in a cold, silent home.
He stopped outside her door. Even from here, he could hear Shizune's muffled, urgent voice inside.
"Lady Tsunade, you need to get up. Weren't you supposed to go to the Research Division with Taiichi today?"
"What Research Division? I'm not going. Let me sleep."
"Lady Tsunade… how much did you drink last night?"
Taiichi paused. He had expected this. With Tsunade, it was better not to expect too much.
He focused his perception on the woman still lazing in bed. His chakra flared sharply for a split second, then vanished. A ripple of pressure spread outward from him.
Inside the room, Tsunade jolted upright like she'd been shocked, instantly shifting into a combat stance, eyes sharp.
This was Taiichi's occasional wake-up method—triggering a veteran's ingrained battle instincts. It worked disturbingly well.
"Matsushita—Taiichi!"
The roar echoed from inside. By then, Taiichi had already vanished, leaving only a calm voice drifting in the air.
"Tsunade-sensei, I'll be waiting at the front gate!"
Half an hour later, Taiichi walked behind a visibly grumpy Tsunade as they made their way toward the Research Division. A noticeable bump sat on his forehead—the price of Tsunade's iron fist. Even as her student, using perception to wake a sleeping Sannin had consequences.
Taiichi took the lead this time since it was Tsunade's first visit and he knew the way. They navigated the corridors until they found Orochimaru deep in his lab.
The Snake Sannin was already at work, completely absorbed. Neither Taiichi nor Tsunade interrupted. They simply stood outside and watched.
Orochimaru moved with precise, focused efficiency—cutting samples, sealing them, running chakra cultivation tests, observing, verifying. No wasted motion. Pure professional dedication.
An hour later, after finishing his notes and cleanup, Orochimaru finally noticed the two waiting outside. A rare, genuine smile appeared on his face.
He set down his report and stepped out of the lab.
"Tsunade. My Research Division isn't bad, is it? How does it compare to your hospital?"
At that moment, Orochimaru looked almost like an excited child showing off a new toy—sincere and oddly endearing.
Tsunade put on a haughty expression. "Hmph. It's passable."
She might act indifferent about hospital matters, but she wasn't about to let someone else's domain outshine her own.
"I came to see your progress on Grandpa's cells. How's it going? You're not still producing those deformed messes from before, are you?"
"You came at the perfect time. The request was approved yesterday morning. Our Fourth Hokage is quite supportive of the Research Division."
He smiled at Taiichi. Taiichi's behind-the-scenes work and the clear protocols he had helped establish had made Minato far more willing to approve things quickly.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tsunade said. "Let's go. Show me the preliminary tests. I heard the inspiration came from the White Zetsu corpse. Who would've thought Grandpa's cells could actually be restrained?"
Orochimaru led the way, and the three of them headed deeper into the facility.