Late at night.
Inside the Northern Base.
A Sword of Love kunai clattered to the floor, and a blond man clad in a white divine robe instantly appeared beside it, grasping the handle of the kunai.
From inside the laboratory, Yakushi Kabuto's ears suddenly picked up the noise in the base. He quickly clasped his hands together, ready to summon the Reanimation Squad.
"No need to be nervous, it's me."
A familiar voice entered Yakushi Kabuto's ears.
Yakushi Kabuto immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He very well understood Uehara Naraku's way of working and promptly opened the laboratory door. Seeing the Fourth Hokage standing at the main entrance of the base, he knew Uehara Naraku was controlling this Hokage.
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, tidied his hood, and respectfully asked, "Yes, Lord Naraku, what are your orders for sending the Fourth Hokage over late at night?"
"There's something I need you to check for me."
Uehara Naraku rubbed his chin, controlling the distant Namikaze Minato to speak, "Maybe it's because I controlled Uchiha Obito too harshly before, or perhaps it's because you impersonated Uchiha Obito too over the top. Black Zetsu is now too scared to proceed with the Eye of the Moon plan and wants you to revive Uchiha Madara to deal with Uchiha Obito..."
"It's my fault."
Yakushi Kabuto directly took the blame upon himself.
Uehara Naraku chuckled lightly, seemingly satisfied with Yakushi Kabuto's response, "You were acting on my orders, so wouldn't it still be my fault?"
After finishing, Uehara Naraku went on to discuss the main issue, "I'll probably reach your location in a few days to persuade you to join the Akatsuki and the Eye of the Moon Plan. What's your stance?"
"It depends on what Lord Naraku needs."
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses and offered two suggestions, "If I join the Akatsuki, I can better serve Lord Naraku; if I stay outside, I can draw fire for Lord Naraku at any time."
"Such a difficult choice..."
Uehara Naraku sighed softly.
Yakushi Kabuto chuckled and continued, "Actually, it's not that troublesome. If Black Zetsu wants me to join the Akatsuki, it's definitely to help him revive Uchiha Madara."
Yakushi Kabuto slowly raised his head, looking at Namikaze Minato as if he could see through him to Uehara Naraku, who was controlling everything, "This depends on whether Lord Naraku is willing to let Uchiha Madara be revived. This right is in Lord Naraku's hands.
If you want Uchiha Madara to be revived now, then I'll join the Akatsuki in admiration; if you don't want him revived now, I'll refuse as an ally of Uchiha Obito.
This way, Lord Naraku won't arouse suspicion from others."
As expected of Yakushi Kabuto.
No matter how complex the problem, he always has a solution.
Uehara Naraku's eyes couldn't help but twitch, and he exclaimed, "A true talent! Now is indeed not the time for Uchiha Madara to be revived..."
"Understood."
Yakushi Kabuto smiled lightly and nodded. The White Zetsu Cloak enveloped his body like liquid, and the next moment his voice had turned into Uchiha Obito's voice.
"Lord Naraku, I'll handle it."
"That's good."
After nodding, Uehara Naraku softly continued, "Prepare a ninja attire for the Fourth Hokage to follow you in the future. He can protect you and maintain our connection at any time."
"Yes."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded.
Uehara Naraku pondered for a while and continued, "And one more thing, tomorrow, perform Reanimation to revive Gekko Hayate!"
"Ah?"
Yakushi Kabuto was a bit confused.
Even though he believed he understood his superior well, at this moment, he couldn't quite grasp Uehara Naraku's intention.
After all, Gekko Hayate was just a Special Jonin.
Or could it be that he hides some powers that he hasn't discovered?
"No special meaning."
Uehara Naraku clasped his hands together, speaking softly, "Tomorrow will be a new day, and the Ninja World will start undergoing overwhelming changes."
Tomorrow marks the beginning of Uehara Naraku's Hayate Chronicles!
Early morning.
The sky gradually brightened.
At the entrance of the Akatsuki Hideout, a space-time vortex appeared, dropping a Four-tailed Jinchuriki Roshi, and then a piece of paper.
Soon, the members of the Akatsuki discovered this and someone recognized Roshi, the Four-tailed Jinchuriki who had been missing for a long time in the Ninja World, and picked up the note.
This was no small matter, and the Akatsuki held a morning meeting because of it.
As the leader, Deva Path of Pain frowned and spoke first, "The Four-tailed Jinchuriki has long been in Uchiha Obito's hands. Why has he returned the Four-tailed Jinchuriki now, and left this message... I'll always be watching you? What does it mean?"
"Maybe he has been secretly watching us!"
Deidara scratched the back of his head and whispered, "This sentence sounds a bit like a girl's love confession to a boy!"
"Since when do you know such things?"
Sasori of the Red Sand, shrunk inside Hiruko, gruffly asked.
Deidara hugged his shoulders, dismissively snorting, "Who doesn't know! I used to receive love letters every day when I was a kid!"
"Enough!"
Deva Path of Pain coldly interrupted their nonsense and turned to Zetsu, "Zetsu, you've been investigating Uchiha Obito's information all these years. You were once his companion too. What do you think is going on?"
"Uchiha Obito… has his eyes on our plan!"
Black Zetsu's voice was incredibly slow and incredibly gloomy, "Because we need to collect the Tailed Beasts in order, and without the Four-tailed, the other Tailed Beasts are worthless, so he returned the Four-tailed, wanting to use us to continue completing the plan to revive the ultimate weapon."
Black Zetsu continued, "Uchiha Obito wants to use us as pawns. Once we revive the Gedo Statue, the ultimate weapon, he intends to seize it!"
Black Zetsu observed the expressions of everyone present and solemnly summarized, "No matter what Uchiha Obito wants to do, we must first collect the Tailed Beasts. Once we revive the Gedo Statue, Uchiha Obito will no longer be a threat to us!"
Although Black Zetsu spoke logically and accurately.
But in his heart, Black Zetsu was still cursing Obito.
Was this Uchiha Obito's way of provoking it?
The Three-tailed Isobu had just been revived recently, and Uchiha Obito sent the Four-tailed Jinchuriki back, allowing the Akatsuki to collect the Tailed Beasts more smoothly...
And he even left a note saying "I'll always be watching you."
Damn, it's infuriating!
A millennium of composure can't dispel the urge to curse!
According to Black Zetsu's understanding, he knew this sentence from Uchiha Obito was definitely directed at him, as he was the only one who knew Uchiha Obito's past!
But it didn't matter.
The plan to collect the Tailed Beasts must not stop.
The return of the Four-tailed is ultimately good news for Black Zetsu and the Akatsuki; Black Zetsu decided to temporarily let Uchiha Obito go and attempt to collect the Tailed Beasts once more.
Black Zetsu immediately reported the revival of the Three-tailed to Pain and also mentioned that the Hidden Mist Village had deployed a large number of ninjas around the Three-tailed.
"Capture the One-tailed Jinchuriki and the Two-tailed Jinchuriki first!"
Pain immediately made a decision, announcing the Akatsuki's Jinchuriki capture plan, "Since Uchiha Obito may appear to disrupt our actions, this plan to capture the Jinchuriki must be careful and foolproof.
The personnel for capturing the One-tailed Jinchuriki: Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara, Uehara Naraku, and Kiichi (Nagato).
The personnel for capturing the Two-tailed Jinchuriki: Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, Hozuki Mangetsu, Momochi Zabuza, Kakuzu, Hidan.
Personnel left behind: Konan, Kaguya Kimimaro, Haku, Ringo Ameyuri.
Intelligence relay personnel: Zetsu.
Remember, no mistakes this time!"
This list for capturing the Tailed Beasts looks like there are fewer people capturing the One-tail compared to the Two-tail.
Additionally, the One-tailed Jinchuriki is Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, a much more important identity than the Two-tailed Jinchuriki, Yugito, so the difficulty of capturing the One-tailed is definitely higher than that of the Two-tailed.
However, the one responsible for capturing Gaara is personally handled by Nagato, and he and Uehara Naraku can call on the Pain Six Paths for help at any time.
This force could practically destroy a country.
The members of the second team weren't too clear about this; people like Kakuzu and Hidan had some opinions, but they were quickly silenced by Deva Path of Pain.
Standing atop the Gedo Statue, Deva Path of Pain gazed down at the clouded black-robed figures exiting one by one, coldly stating, "Go, make this world feel pain!"