Gento did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Why was this God of Shinobi behaving like a child?
Tsunade facepalmed on the side and gave Gento a meaningful look.
You leave first, I will handle things here.
Gento sighed helplessly and cupped his hands toward Hashirama:
"Lord Hashirama, then I shall take my leave."
"Since Shiva is in the Hidden Leaf Village, I will trouble you and Tsunade to take care of him."
Hearing that Gento was willing to leave Shiva behind, Hashirama beamed with joy again.
Holding Shiva, he turned around, the gloom on his face swept away, his eyes filled with affection and pride:
"Rest assured, leave Shiva to me."
Gento shook his head.
With a flash of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, his figure disappeared from the office.
Tsunade stood in place, watching her grandfather play with her son, a faint smile appearing on the corner of her lips.
She suddenly felt that perhaps Gento's decision was right.
Letting her grandfather live in this manner allowed him to see the descendants of the Senju and Uchiha clans, and to witness the future of the shinobi world.
...
Returning to the Hidden Gento Village office.
Seeing Gento return, Mabui immediately stepped forward carrying several documents.
Her dark business suit outlined her curvaceous figure.
Her expression was somewhat more solemn than usual.
"Lord Gento."
She bowed toward Gento.
Gento walked behind the desk, sat down, and nodded:
"What happened in the Land of Lightning that made you use the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu to send an emergency message?"
Mabui opened the documents in her hand and showed them to Gento:
"That mysterious Akatsuki organization has attacked the shinobi army of the Hidden Cloud Village!"
"There were two attackers. According to the intelligence reports, one uses clay bombs while the other controls puppets. Their target is the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B."
"The Raikage personally went out to battle and successfully repelled the two."
"But just as the Raikage lowered his guard, a man wearing a swirl mask suddenly appeared and used space-time ninjutsu to take away the injured and unconscious Killer B."
"The Hidden Cloud Village suffered heavy losses, and the Raikage was furious, declaring a state of irreconcilable enmity with the Akatsuki."
Gento's pupils contracted sharply.
He leaned back in his chair, falling into deep thought.
Obito directly made a move on Killer B?
This progress was quite a bit faster.
Clearly, under his influence, the worldline had once again undergone a significant shift.
The speed at which the Akatsuki was collecting the Tailed Beasts far exceeded expectations.
Now, with the exception of the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Nine-Tails held by the Hidden Gento Village, the other six Tailed Beasts would probably soon be fully gathered by the Akatsuki.
"I understand."
"Continue to monitor the movements of the Hidden Cloud Village, and report any new intelligence immediately."
Mabui nodded and withdrew.
Sure enough, the next day, Pain summoned the members of the Akatsuki to extract the Tailed Beast from Killer B.
Gento participated in the meeting through Nanashi's phantom projection, witnessing with his own eyes as the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, was stripped from Killer B's body and injected into the Gedo Statue.
Killer B's body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The strength of the Akatsuki had grown once again.
Ten days later, the duo of Hidan and Kakuzu successfully captured the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han, and completed the Tailed Beast extraction.
Han was a Hidden Stone Village shinobi, eccentric and solitary, but extremely powerful.
However, against the cooperation of the Immortal Duo, he had absolutely no power to fight back.
After this Tailed Beast extraction was completed, Gento did not leave immediately.
An hour later, Konan's figure appeared there.
She wore the Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds, her light blue-purple hair draped over her shoulders, and the pale purple paper flower at the end of her hair swayed gently.
Her face was as cold and elegant as ever, but the moment she saw Gento, a flash of tenderness crossed her eyes.
Gento pulled Konan into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Konan did not resist, wrapping her hands around his waist and responding with closed eyes.
After a long time, their lips parted.
"I missed you."
Konan's voice was very soft.
Gento smiled, pulled a scroll from his coat, placed it in Konan's hand, and softly instructed:
"Inside this scroll is a piece of fake intelligence that I fabricated."
"After you go back, find a suitable time to give it to Obito."
"Remember, you must have him open it personally."
Konan took the scroll, tucked it into her sleeve, and nodded.
After the two shared another moment of tenderness, Konan finally stood up to leave.
Her figure transformed into countless sheets of paper, scattering with the wind.
…
Another month later.
Kisame's team completed the capture of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
The Six-Tails Jinchuriki was a rogue ninja of the Hidden Mist Village who specialized in bubble ninjutsu, but under the joint attack of Kisame and Zetsu, he was captured without suspense.
At this point, except for the three Tailed Beasts possessed by the Hidden Gento Village: the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Nine-Tails.
The other six Tailed Beasts: the One-Tail, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Eight-Tails, had all been successfully collected by the Akatsuki.
Inside the Akatsuki base.
Pain stood in front of the Gedo Statue.
Now, six eyes of the Gedo Statue had opened, emitting a cold, eerie light.
"Everyone has worked hard during this period. Rest for a while."
"Next, we will prepare to capture the three Tailed Beasts of the Hidden Gento Village."
The phantom projections of the others vanished one by one.
Pain withdrew his chakra and turned to walk deep into the base.
There, an emaciated Nagato leaned against a specialized apparatus, his back pierced with numerous black receiver rods.
Konan stood by his side.
Seeing that Nagato had completed the majority of the Tailed Beast collection plan, the masked man, Obito, immediately emerged from a spatial vortex.
His voice carried an irrepressible hatred:
"Very well. Now that the external Tailed Beasts have been gathered, the next step is to prepare for the war against the Uchiha."
"I will make that Gento Uchiha pay the price!"
Konan hearing this, her expression flickered slightly, and she spoke up:
"Speaking of which, on the side of the Hidden Gento Village, I have actually just gathered an important piece of intelligence regarding the Three-Tails Jinchuriki."
"It is said that the Hidden Gento Village has found a new Three-Tails Jinchuriki, who is the woman shown in this scroll."
Saying so, she retrieved a scroll from her sleeve and handed it toward Obito.
Hearing the words "Three-Tails Jinchuriki," Obito felt a strange stir in his heart.
He subconsciously reached out and took the scroll Konan offered.
The scroll unrolled.
Inside the scroll was a portrait.
It was a portrait of a young woman.
She had short, dark brown hair, a rounded face, and curved eyes with a gentle smile playing at the corners of her lips.
She wore the casual attire of the Hidden Gento Village, with her forehead protector tied neatly across her brow.
The person in the picture was none other than Rin Nohara, whom Obito thought of day and night!
Except for being a few years older than in his memories, everything else was practically identical.
Those eyes, that smile, that gentle gaze.
Obito's pupils contracted sharply.
His fingers trembled, and his breathing became rapid.
This face successfully evoked his memories.
"Rin..."
He could not help but feel somewhat dazed.
How could they look so similar?
Or was this actually Rin herself?
Obito was left bewildered by this piece of intelligence.
At the exact instant Obito lost his focus.
Konan's hand emerged from her sleeve, an dark red demon blade appearing in her palm at some unknown moment.
It was none other than the Demon Blade of Frozen Time!
Without any hesitation, Konan seized the opportunity and swung the blade directly, slashing fiercely toward Obito's right arm!
---
If you want to support, please consider Patreon and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]