After Konan left, Sasuke observed for a while. After confirming that Karin and Jugo were safe, he led the charge forward.
Meanwhile, Suigetsu, the unlucky fool, was on his way back, perfectly missing Sasuke, Karin, and Jugo by half the distance across Amegakure.
Sasuke had no idea that the three of them and Suigetsu had just completed a classic case of 'missing each other while heading opposite directions'. His focus was solely on the corpses floating in the lake.
Four of the Six Paths of Pain had been blown to pieces in the explosion, leaving only two survivors that had sunk to the bottom. Sasuke stared intently at the water's surface, trying to find something.
He wasn't interested in the Six Paths of Pain, and he just wanted to know whether Madara's corpse was at the bottom of the sea. If the so-called Uchiha Madara was dead, it meant that he could uncover the true identity behind that mask.
And if he's not dead, then Sasuke would send him on his way.
The White Zetsu beside Madara was too suspicious. Sasuke had witnessed its eerily accurate mimicry skills, making it hard not to suspect that they had been up to something behind the scenes.
Whether they had or not, he knew they had to die now.
But strangely, after searching, Sasuke still found no trace of Madara's body underwater. In an instant, he realized that Madara was not dead.
"No body… So he's still alive?" Karin's eyes widened in disbelief as she took a step back, sucking in a sharp breath, "It's almost impossible for anyone to survive an explosion of that magnitude. What kind of monster is that person?"
"Where's Suigetsu heading?" Jugo suddenly raised his head and glanced in another direction, "He seems to be going the wrong way, but he should've been at the scene earlier, right?"
Hearing this, Sasuke calmed down a lot, 'If even Suigetsu was alive and well, then someone like Uchiha Madara, even if he was a fake, probably had some tricks up his sleeve.'
"Go find the Rinnegan and bring it back."
"It's already gone. The person's in the sky." Karin suddenly looked up and shouted.
…
On the other side, about twenty kilometers from Amegakure, on the surface of a lake, Obito, who had only one leg left, floated up like a drowned toad, utterly battered.
Using Chakra to stay afloat, he rolled onto his back, gasping for air.
The thin, silvery rain fell from the sky, pelting his face. At this moment, Obito had lost all his former majesty and looked more like a half-dead dog.
Yet, in this state, he actually laughed.
A small chuckle at first, then a mad, hysterical laugh. He let the rain hit his face, and if he hadn't been missing three limbs, he might've even gotten up to dance.
'The Rinnegan really could revive the dead. If I could get my hands on it, maybe Rin could be brought back too. As long as Rin can return in this world, everything would be worth it.'
'Get back the Rinnegan and call that Uzumaki Naruto over.'
Just as he lost himself in thought, his physical strength began slipping away uncontrollably, and his Chakra was draining rapidly. With a splash, Obito sank into the water.
As he sank down the water, with only one leg left, Obito looked numb and allowed himself to sink. The expression on his face did not change, as if he was still deep in thought.
"You really don't fear death, do you, Obito?" Black Zetsu arrived in time. Originally, he was supposed to retrieve the Rinnegan from the top of the tower, but he was intercepted by Konan, who had been revived.
When he saw the situation was not good, Black Zetsu fled and immediately headed for Obito's location. Fortunately, he had placed White Zetsu's spores on Obito's body in advance and quickly locked onto his position.
But when he arrived, he found Obito just sinking there in a daze, and he couldn't help but feel exasperated, 'Are all the people in the Uchiha Clan crazy? None of them seem normal.'
'Uchiha Madara was one thing. That guy is a scheming old fox.'
'But this Uchiha Obito seems to be mentally unstable.'
'Damn, who can understand? Why would I have to go through so much suffering just to save Mother? Uchiha are just the worst.'
Even so, Black Zetsu, who is a weakling in combat, still couldn't give up on Obito. Even if he was beaten to a pulp, barely holding on, Black Zetsu still had to save him.
'Wake up! Don't give up! I'm so angry! When will this Uchiha stand up again?!'
"How are you holding up?" Black Zetsu dragged Obito out of the water and used White Zetsu's spores to regenerate his missing limbs, "The plan to retrieve the Rinnegan failed. We should retreat for now."
"Where's the Rinnegan?" Obito asked weakly while lying on the water.
"Not sure. Probably…" Black Zetsu had nothing else to say.
…
Evening.
"Iwagakure really is old-fashioned. They're already resting before it's even dark." Naruto squatted on a narrow rock wall on the top of the mountain, overlooking Iwagakure not far away.
"The people here still maintain the habit of farming. This place is even more backward than Amegakure!" Ajisai also peeked over, watching the village bathed in the crimson hues of dusk.
"Amegakure isn't much better, it is equally backward." Naruto did not miss any opportunity to attack his female subordinates and directly retorted.
Ajisai: "…"
She was utterly speechless, thinking in her heart, 'Why does this guy's mouth have to be so annoying? If you don't know how to talk, just shut up. What a self-righteous bastard, stinky garbage!
But no matter how much she wanted to complain, Ajisai didn't dare to show it. She was afraid of getting 'dealt with' offline by her superior. It was safer to be a little timid and live a long life.
The exposed rocks covered nearly the entire village. To be precise, the village looked like it had been carved into the stone itself. It is free, rugged, feudal, and conservative.
Naruto's gaze swept past the clusters of buildings. Beyond the mountains, the setting sun slowly sank, its crimson glow casting long shadows. Among the low-rise structures, one towering building stood out like a crane among chickens.
That is the Tsuchikage Building. While it still looks plain on the outside, its status is akin to that of a royal palace, It is the heart and soul of this village, which operates like a dynasty.
"Are these people all asleep?" Yakumo asked.
"Probably. I wonder if that old geezer Onoki is asleep yet. He definitely won't be able to sleep tonight!" Naruto said sinisterly with a dirty smile on his face.
"Master, your smile is so... domineering." Ajisai's flattery was stiff and awkward. But there was nothing she could do about it, as there was already a sly, scheming woman in the group.
If she didn't step up her game, she wouldn't just be the weakest link among the 'Uzumaki's Ten Goddesses'… she'd soon become the absolute bottom-tier member of the team.
With the young girl's internal competitive drive kicking in, the world suddenly became a much stranger place.
"Huh? Domineering?" Naruto rubbed his chin and actually believed it. After all, in his mind, Ajisai was usually the type to undermine him at every turn.
They bickered constantly, and whenever she got the chance, she'd hit him with a massive verbal counterattack.
"Yes." Ajisai's smile was very stiff, but fortunately, Naruto wasn't looking at her.
Yakumo, who was standing nearby, felt a twinge of jealousy but didn't say anything. She just wanted to laugh at Ajisai's awkward look, as she's now curling her toe on the ground.
'How many years did she practice this?'
"Should we make our move now?" Yakumo asked.
"Oh, no, not yet." Naruto's attention was immediately attracted by Yakumo. He turned his head and looked at Iwagakure seriously, "Wait a little longer. You two will..."
He said a lot of things, explaining Ajisai and Yakumo's tasks clearly. Essentially, they just needed to stay on the sidelines and cause some chaos.
Yakumo didn't need to hold back, and could just start with her ultimate technique to draw and slice right through the Tsuchikage Building. It is best to slice it to the point where it was smoking and on the verge of collapse. Ajisai's job was trickier, as she needs to control the Summoned Beasts to rampage wildly.
Since the village was built from rock, destruction just meant piles of rubble. Naruto didn't expect to completely demolish the Tsuchikage Building.
The goal was just to create chaos, attack the Tsuchikage Building, then retreat immediately. By luring out the Iwagakure's Anbu, they can fish in the muddy waters… Perfect.
The 'muddy water' refers to the Hidden Rock Village, and the 'fish' to be caught was none other than the future Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi.
But whether she'd be slippery or not remained to be seen, as they'd have to get their hands on her to find out.