"Huh?"
In a forest, a tall man wearing a forehead protector with the word "Oil" engraved on it paused.
He had long white hair that flowed down to his waist and red markings under his eyes.
Dressed in a red outer robe over a brown outfit, he wore wooden clogs on his feet and had armor-like gear on his hands.
On his back, he carried a massive scroll.
At that moment, the man stopped in his tracks, his expression showing a hint of surprise.
...
Then, his face returned to a calm demeanor as he silently continued on his way, quickening his pace slightly.
This man was none other than the gallant Jiraiya.
Initially, he had been gathering inspiration while searching for Orochimaru. Suddenly, he heard news about Tsunade—his dream girl and, as he often joked, the "big jackpot."
Realizing she wasn't too far away, he decided to make a detour to see if his long-time crush was still around.
So, he traveled through the night.
"Maybe this time, Tsunade will finally notice my charm. Hehehe... hahaha..."
As Jiraiya walked, he stroked his chin, laughing to himself as he imagined something delightful.
After all, it had been a long time since they last met, and now he was more handsome and mature than ever!
...
Instead of heading straight to Shinhwa Town, Jiraiya suppressed his presence. He decided to check out the commotion before making his appearance.
Who knows? Maybe one of the combatants would be a beautiful woman~
Jiraiya stealthily made his way to the scene and found a dark corner to hide in, his actions resembling how he "gathered material" by spying on women's bathhouses.
...
"Huh? A fight broke out?"
Konan had spent her afternoon shopping. After finally booking a room, she was ready to take a refreshing bath and enjoy a good night's sleep. She planned to continue her search for Blood Moon tomorrow.
Just as she was about to start bathing, she sensed the vibrations of a battle outside.
Her beautiful eyes immediately showed hesitation.
Then, remembering her mission, she didn't linger any longer.
She headed toward the source of the commotion to see who was fighting.
She had a strong hunch that it might be that Blood Moon guy.
...
"Lady Tsunade, where are we staying tonight...?"
Tsunade walked out of the casino, leading a dejected Shizune.
Looking at the brightly lit streets, Shizune sighed and asked despondently.
Clearly, Tsunade had lost all her money again.
"Don't panic. It's no big deal," Tsunade replied, her mind recalling a certain figure.
She planned to see if she could borrow some money to secure lodging for the night and have funds for a comeback tomorrow.
If not for Itachi's presence in the area, Tsunade would have already gambled away everything and left the day before.
...
"Huh? Someone's fighting…"
Tsunade, who was heading toward Itachi's lodging, paused slightly, then a sly smile formed on her beautiful lips.
An idea popped into her head.
"Shizune, hurry up! There's a fight going on. Whether we sleep under a bridge or in a luxury suite tonight depends on you!"
Tsunade, clearly excited, urged Shizune.
She planned to exploit the situation, sending Shizune to see if anyone needed medical treatment.
In battle, medical aid could cost a fortune.
Tsunade could practically smell the money.
This was Shizune's time to shine.
...
Itachi sensed the increasing number of people approaching from all directions, leaving him somewhat bewildered.
It hadn't been long, yet so many had their eyes on him already.
"Incredible, absolutely incredible…"
Moments later, Itachi sighed in exasperation but also seemed a bit excited.
Several minutes passed, and Itachi noticed several sneaky figures lurking around him.
They seemed to think they hadn't been detected, hiding blatantly within his field of vision.
Still, Itachi didn't intend to expose them. Since they hadn't made a move, neither would he—yet.
It was better to deal with everyone at once than fight them one by one.
...
"So that's the one called Blood Moon?"
On the dark trunk of a tree, a swirling vortex appeared.
The vortex disappeared, and a figure accompanied by a soft murmur appeared out of thin air on the tree trunk.
A masked man appeared in the shadows, watching the blood moon figure from a distance on the tree branch.
Pain's small actions naturally hadn't escaped his notice, but he had no intention of exposing them.
He was just bored and decided to check whether this so-called "Blood Moon" was worthy enough.
After all, he was also the leader of the Akatsuki organization.
If just any random person were allowed to join, wouldn't that be an embarrassment to him?
A figure slowly emerged from the tree branch.
"In the purest version from Yi6Yi9YiShuYiBaYi!"
The person wore the Akatsuki's black cloak adorned with red clouds. He had short green hair, and one half of his face was black while the other half was white. A peculiar pitcher plant grew on his body, encasing his head inside it.
"That's right, this is Blood Moon."
...
"Where did he come from? Why wasn't there any information about him before?"
Tobi seemed a little dissatisfied with Zetsu's answer.
"He must have been a strong individual even before. After all, last time he fought both Kisame and Sasori to a draw."
Hearing Zetsu's words, the eyebrows beneath Tobi's mask furrowed slightly. His eyes shifted into Mangekyō Sharingan, and he stared faintly at Blood Moon.
Yet, as he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi, who was perched on a tree branch, seemed to sense something.
He turned his head in Tobi's direction.
Since Tobi was wearing a mask, no one knew what Itachi was thinking, nor could they see his eyes.
"So sharp…"
Tobi deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and calmly said a few words.
After all, he had only used his visual prowess to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan and hadn't unleashed any chakra.
Blood Moon, however, seemed to perceive something, glancing in Tobi's direction. This slightly startled him.
...
At the same time Itachi glanced toward Tobi.
A white-haired, masked man hiding in the shadows also turned in that direction, as though sensing someone's presence there. But he couldn't find anything.
Today was supposed to be a day for him to hunt down a rogue ninja, but he had noticed several obscure figures moving in this direction.
Out of curiosity, he followed them, wanting to see what was going on.
...
Itachi was now feeling a bit of a headache. Naturally, he had noticed Tobi.
After all, Tobi had just activated his Mangekyō Sharingan—Itachi had seen it clearly.
What he didn't expect was how powerful his move had been; it seemed to have triggered something extraordinary.
What surprised him even more was that it wasn't just Tobi who had arrived.
Zetsu, Konan, Jiraiya, and Kakashi were also here.
Konan had been drawn here because of him.
Tobi and Zetsu were drawn in by both him and Konan.
Jiraiya had been drawn by Tsunade.
As for Kakashi, he came purely out of curiosity.
Tsunade, well, she had already been here.
...
At this moment, Itachi felt slightly frustrated, thinking to himself, Tobi better not try anything against me.
If Tobi did try to attack him, Itachi feared his identity would be exposed.
Even so, he didn't think too much of it.
If Tobi dared to attack him, Itachi was confident he could deal with him. That Mangekyō Sharingan of his, which wasn't even fully warmed up yet, would end up being pried out by him.
After all, wasn't it just five minutes of intangibility?
No big deal...
In his mind, Itachi strategically downplayed his opponent's capabilities.
...