By the time he infiltrated the village, the poison released by the Poison Clone had already spread throughout the entire Village Hidden in the Sand.
Although he hadn't used a lethal poison, it was enough to incapacitate all the shinobi.
To prevent Chiyo, who had the strongest detoxification skills, from causing trouble, Kaito secretly had the Iron Lotus possess her, forcibly bringing her under his control.
After making an example of a few stubborn individuals who spoke out of turn, the Third Kazekage finally accepted reality and bowed his proud head to Kaito.
And so, Kaito successfully conquered another shinobi village.
After this, it was just a matter of waiting for Ruri to send her army to take over.
The Third Kazekage and the other leaders would naturally have to be imprisoned to prevent them from getting any ideas.
However, with Kaito present, they couldn't have stirred up any trouble anyway.
He wouldn't have lost in a direct confrontation with the Sand Village either; he had simply wanted to be lazy and resolve the matter quickly.
After a quick scan with his Aura Power, a smile of interest appeared on Kaito's face. "A little kid managed to undo the poison... and he has red hair. It must be him."
His figure blurred and vanished from sight.
In a room cluttered with puppets and spare parts, Kaito's figure suddenly appeared. He smiled at a red-haired boy who was engrossed in the puppet before him. "Yo, hello there."
The red-haired boy glanced up at him, said nothing, and went back to his work.
"Er, I'm being ignored..." Kaito examined the puppets before the boy; he could vaguely make out the forms of an adult man and woman.
"Oh, I see. So your parents were still killed by Konoha's White Fang? How tragic."
This remark finally elicited a reaction from the red-haired boy. He said coldly, "Who are you? Do you know Konoha's White Fang?"
"I've met him once. It was during the Second Great Ninja War, on the battlefield. He's just as his name suggests. When he gets serious, he's a beast of a man."
"No matter how strong he is, I will kill him and avenge my parents!"
"Then you'd better hurry. A new Great Ninja War has started. Konoha's White Fang could meet with an accident at any time."
"..." The red-haired boy turned his head away and continued to work on his puppets.
Neither of them knew that due to the Mist Village's surprise attack, "Konoha's White Fang," Sakumo Hatake, was already long dead.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Sasori."
"Just Sasori? That name doesn't quite fit your vibe."
"It's fine. Scorpions are resilient. They can survive well in the desert."
"You might as well be called Honey Badger. It's more ferocious."
"???"
After teasing the young Sasori for a bit, Kaito left him alone.
From their brief conversation, he felt that the current Sasori hadn't gone too far astray yet; he was the type who could still be saved.
He'd have Ruri keep an eye on him later, and maybe have Chiyo imprisoned with him so he could experience some warmth of family.
While the shinobi world was ablaze with war, Nagato and Yahiko, clad in black cloaks, secretly arrived at the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls.
After so many years, they had grown strong, their height now around one and a half meters.
Much of the childishness had faded from their faces, replaced by a growing maturity.
They had come to the Waterfall Village for the Tailed Beast.
Currently, aside from the Seven-Tails in the Waterfall Village, all the other Tailed Beasts were on the battlefield, making them difficult to capture quietly.
Relying on intelligence from Kara, they quickly located the village hidden behind the waterfall.
But before they could act, Yahiko suddenly had a change of heart. "I'm sorry, Nagato, but I can't let you continue down this wrong path. Let's go back to the Land of Rain. Master Kaito has become the leader of the Rain Village. Under his leadership, the country will surely become a better place. We don't need to keep following that Jigen's orders!"
"Yahiko..." Nagato glanced at him, but shook his head. "It's too late."
He opened his palm, revealing the black, diamond-shaped mark within. "Do you know what this is?"
"No." Yahiko looked at his own palm, where there was also a diamond-shaped mark, though his was white.
"This is Karma."
"Karma?" Yahiko looked confused, not understanding the true meaning of the word.
Nagato continued to explain, "A long, long time ago, when this planet was still a primitive wilderness, two beings descended from space. They were members of the legendary Otsutsuki clan."
"The Otsutsuki clan? People from another planet? What does that have to with Karma?"
"Listen to me. They planted the God Tree, spreading the seeds of chakra, which formed the original shinobi world. However, one of them, Kaguya Otsutsuki, grew greedy for the God Tree's power. She gravely wounded the other, Isshiki Otsutsuki, and successfully stole the God Tree's power for herself."
"But the Otsutsuki clan are immortal beings. They select suitable vessels in advance and implant them with this so-called 'Karma.' When their original body dies, the Otsutsuki can be resurrected through the body bearing the Karma. That Isshiki was forced to take over a wandering monk who happened to be passing by, using his body to survive until today. The man we know as Jigen."
"Is that so? Then does that mean we will..." Yahiko looked at Nagato with concern, gritting his teeth. "Doesn't he already have a body? Why does he need ours?"
"Jigen's body is not a suitable vessel for him. Neither are you. Only mine is the most suitable."
"Mine isn't suitable either? Why?"
"Because of the Rinnegan, I think. When the Otsutsuki clan cultivates to their peak, they all possess a pair of Rinnegan. And I am the one who inherited the bloodline of that Kaguya."
"If that's the case, then we have even more reason to go back and find Master Kaito! He'll definitely have a way to solve this!" Yahiko said excitedly.
"We will go back, but not now," Nagato said. "If we go back now, Jigen will definitely not let it go. He will absolutely go to the Land of Rain and cause trouble. Do you want to see the people of our village get hurt?"
"..." Yahiko fell silent.
"So, we pretend to collect the Tailed Beasts for him. Along the way, we send intel to Master Kaito, buying him more time to prepare. This is the better way."
"Alright, let's do as you say." Yahiko scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, I acted recklessly without knowing anything."
"It's okay, Yahiko. You were just looking out for me."
"Seriously, you've really grown up, Nagato. Now I'm the one who has to rely on you."
A small smile appeared on Nagato's face. "No. In my heart, you've always been the one I rely on."
The two looked at each other and smiled, everything understood without words.
"Alright, let's prepare to capture the Seven-Tails. But since this is our first time dealing with a Tailed Beast, let's be cautious and plan this out carefully, Nagato."
"Right!"