"The mysterious one?"
Deep within a secret chamber in the Land of Grass.
White Zetsu emerged from the ground and conversed with a white-haired old man who had chakra-transmitting rods embedded throughout his back.
Uchiha Madara.
After listening to White Zetsu's account, Madara slowly rose to his feet, leaning on his staff. He looked up at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path standing before him.
"Taijutsu, Earth Release, Water Release, and mastery of healing ninjutsu. To be able to go toe to toe against those three, especially the Rinnegan user, someone with this level of strength..."
Madara murmured to himself.
"From his conversation with Yahiko, it appeared he wanted to use Akatsuki's power to gain some advantage," White Zetsu reported. "However, Yahiko refused."
"In any case, it is impossible that any of the Five Great Villages, who recently withdrew from the battlefield and have been focused on rapidly rebuilding, would still have the energy to spare attention for the Land of Rain. Unless..."
"Could it be that young man?" White Zetsu speculated, his words implying the Fourth Kazekage as the most likely candidate.
For years, through White Zetsu, they had been monitoring the movements of the entire ninja world. Their understanding of Konoha was thorough and deep. Now that the Hidden Mist Village was under their influence as well, it was safe to say the entire ninja world held almost no secrets from them.
This comprehensive monitoring was a core part of their plan. Through it, when the time came for Akatsuki to be fully formed, they would be able to quickly locate the world's top-tier fighters and act accordingly.
However, they had never paid much attention to the Hidden Sand Village.
The primary reason was that the Sand Village's foundation had always been too weak. The village's situation had been precarious for generations, barely sustaining itself, and in their assessment it was unlikely to develop to a point where it could meaningfully influence the wider ninja world.
But with the emergence of one person, the Sand Village had been completely transformed.
That person was Blood Doctor Yuji, now the Fourth Kazekage. Under his leadership, the Sand Village's status and influence in the ninja world had suddenly surged, particularly through his use of pharmaceutical resources to force other ninja villages into making concessions. The Fourth Kazekage had even fought the Third Raikage and A simultaneously and killed the Raikage.
Whether in terms of personal combat ability or in managing and developing the village, he had reached a level of achievement that no one could afford to ignore.
However, the Sand Village's progress had been too rapid. A single Great Ninja War had transformed it completely. Because Madara and White Zetsu had needed to secretly monitor several major ninja villages simultaneously while also tracking their own developments, they had found it difficult to spare the energy to properly observe the Sand Village as well.
Most importantly, they had already secured influence over the Hidden Mist Village. Extending their reach to actively monitor the Sand Village at this point would have been beyond their capacity.
The Fourth Kazekage, Akasuna no Sasori, Rasa, and the other notable figures meant that from the outside, the Sand Village's top fighting force appeared to surpass even that of the Hidden Mist Village. Especially the Fourth Kazekage himself, whose abilities were extraordinarily unusual and powerful. Blood Release, space-time ninjutsu, a unique doujutsu, all techniques that had never appeared in the ninja world before. Even Madara had no basis for understanding such methods.
Under these circumstances, carelessly making contact with the Sand Village could very well lead to complications, potentially even provoking a response from them.
He recognized that this person had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and had risen with equal speed. By the time Madara had reacted and considered the situation, any attempt to move against him would already carry a meaningful degree of risk.
"Uchiha, Hyuga, Ice Release, Kaguya clan. It appears the Kazekage has built a formidable fighting system within the Sand Village," Madara said slowly. "And the Sand Village's rapid development also reflects years of dedicated focus on internal growth. The Sand Village has only recently withdrawn from the battlefield, so they likely do not have the time or energy to concern themselves with the Land of Rain. He would not be aware of what is happening here."
Although Madara had not been directly monitoring the Sand Village, that did not mean he was completely uninformed about its current situation. The ninja world revolved around the Five Great Villages, and through the many smaller nations and forces connected to those villages, information about the Sand Village's current state was obtainable indirectly. Furthermore, not actively monitoring the Sand Village was a deliberate choice rather than a genuine absence of awareness.
Not wanting to draw the Sand Village's attention did not mean White Zetsu had been completely inactive in the Land of Wind outside the village itself. In recent years, the Sand Village had shown no signs or movements suggesting any interest in the Land of Rain.
"His intention is to take advantage of the ongoing war across the ninja world and devote all his efforts to developing his village. It is highly unlikely he would have the time or inclination to interfere in the affairs of the Land of Rain. Furthermore, for the Sand Village at this particular juncture, maintaining peace and stability should be his absolute priority," Madara said.
"If it were the Fourth Kazekage, even going by current intelligence, the three of them together still would not have been able to defeat him. This mysterious person does not match the Fourth Kazekage's known profile. Furthermore, a Kazekage of that standing would not risk traveling thousands of miles alone to the Land of Rain."
"It was not him," White Zetsu agreed. "Beyond the Five Great Villages, it could only be someone from a small country or some other mysterious organization or independent force. Our attention has always been directed at the great villages. We have not paid much attention to anyone outside that scope."
"To confirm this person's identity, we can only continue monitoring the situation gradually."
"No matter who this person is, their appearance will not affect us for the time being," Madara said in a low voice.
His condition was deteriorating, and he needed to focus all his attention on advancing the plan and identifying the key figures required for it. He had no energy to spare for dealing with other matters.
The Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village was indeed exceptionally outstanding and powerful, and also represented a variable in the broader situation. But as long as he did not affect the plan, Madara had no choice but to set the matter aside.
"Do you want me to go to the Sand Village?" White Zetsu suggested.
"No. Judging from the Sand Village's development trajectory and their conduct throughout this Great Ninja War, this Kazekage is not only formidable in terms of raw strength. What is even more concerning is the mind behind the strategy. The Third Hokage, the Third Tsuchikage, even the Third Raikage were all outmaneuvered by him. A person of this kind is truly exceptional."
"We need to ensure the plan can proceed without complications, especially under the current circumstances. We cannot afford any unnecessary trouble."
"Furthermore, judging from the current situation, the likelihood of this mysterious person in the Land of Rain actually succeeding in whatever he intends is not high."
"For now, keep a close watch on him. Gradually, the truth will reveal itself in time. As long as he does not interfere with the plan, having someone of this caliber enter Akatsuki is not necessarily a bad thing. He could serve as a useful asset to the Rinnegan user in the future."
"Understood."
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain.
The Hidden Rain Village soldiers suddenly launched an attack, forcing Akatsuki to respond immediately. The main fighting force, led by Yahiko, set out for the battlefield at once.
Even Nagato, who had been assigned to guard the stronghold, departed with them. Before leaving, Nagato signaled to Yuji that he was free to go. The situation was urgent, and once the main group left, the remaining Akatsuki members would be completely unable to keep any meaningful watch over him. Continuing to detain him was also unrealistic under these circumstances.
Furthermore, with the current situation deteriorating, their stronghold's location would be exposed before long regardless. Relocating the base was inevitable, and keeping the mysterious figure around while doing so served no purpose.
However, Yuji was even more certain that leaving was the last thing he intended to do.
After the main force deployed with its full strength, the remaining Akatsuki members, mostly logistics and supply personnel, began rapidly reorganizing the base's supplies. They were taking advantage of the main force's delaying action against the Hidden Rain Village to create enough distance and time to evacuate from the stronghold quickly.
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STONES 💎💎
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