Near noon, in the Land of Water, on the outskirts of Hidden Mist, an abandoned house stood silent beneath drifting mist.
Inside, Obito had removed his mask and sat cross-legged on the floor, slurping ramen from a steaming bowl.
"The ramen here tastes nothing like Ichiraku's in Konoha," he muttered with a faint grimace.
As he neared the bottom of the bowl, the ground shifted. A White Zetsu surfaced, grinning.
"Oh, ramen, huh? I wonder what it feels like to… digest it and, you know, go afterward?"
Obito's face darkened. "Tobi… since when did you sound like those idiots obsessed with crap?"
"Haha, I'm not as fixated as them, but I am curious."
Obito waved him off. "Stop babbling. Did you find an opportunity for Yagura to leave the village?"
"No, not yet. But there's news from Konoha."
"What news?"
"Uchiha Gen has left the village. He's awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan."
Obito froze for a moment, then recognition dawned.
"…Gen? That guy?"
A face surfaced in his memory, the boy from the Academy, the one who never surpassed Kakashi, but still stood among the clan's promising talents.
"That guy was always above average. Not Kakashi's level, but far better than me back then. And now…" Obito narrowed his eyes. "To reach three tomoe at this age, his strength must rival Kakashi's."
"He's one of the Uchiha clan's 'twin stars,'" Zetsu added. "And Orochimaru's disciple. Records even show he once trained briefly under Team Seven. His lineage traces back to Uchiha Izuna, Madara's younger brother. That makes him… connected to you."
Obito sneered. "Connected? I cut those ties the night I killed my teacher and Kushina. Whether it's Gen, Kakashi, or anyone else, I won't hesitate. They'll all live in the new world I create."
His words dripped with conviction, but also that twisted logic; in Obito's eyes, memory itself was existence.
Zetsu tilted his head. "So when do we act?"
"After we secure Yagura. No point rushing. If there's no opening, we'll create one ourselves."
Obito finished his ramen, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and his eyes hardened.
"Waiting gets us nothing."
"Then I'll keep watching," Tobi said.
But before Obito could respond, another White Zetsu burst from the floor, panic on his face.
"Tobi! The ten Zetsu stationed in Konoha... we lost contact with them!"
Both Obito and Tobi stiffened.
"…Lost contact?" Obito's Sharingan spun faintly.
Zetsu nodded. "I double-checked. The scout near Konoha confirmed it; every single one is gone. The village is clean."
"That's impossible," Tobi muttered, scratching his head. "Even if they were discovered, they'd obey orders to the end. How could all of them vanish?"
"When?" Obito pressed.
"This morning. None of them reported in during the regular cycle."
Silence filled the room. Then Obito exhaled slowly, his voice grim.
"Maybe Konoha analyzed the corpse left during the Nine-Tails' attack. Maybe they found a way to detect Zetsu."
"…Unlikely," Tobi said stubbornly. "Our concealment is second to none."
"Regardless, send replacements in one by one. Don't risk numbers until we know more. Find out what happened."
Tobi's usual cheer faded. "…Got it."
Far away, in the snow-covered mountains of the Land of Whirlpools, the war raged.
Konoha's forces, pushed back nearly fifty miles by Kirigakure's long-planned assault, still refused to collapse.
Blizzards howled across jagged peaks, mixing with the thunder of detonations and the roars of jutsu.
At midday, while soldiers clashed below, high above the battlefield soared a red dragon, its body radiating enough heat to melt the flurries around it.
On its back sat Uchiha Gen and his teacher, Orochimaru.
The boy's Sharingan glowed faintly as he surveyed the chaos below. "We're here."
He leaned forward and tapped Shuryu's scales. "Take us straight to the heart of the battle."
Orochimaru chuckled, tongue flicking across his lips. "Why not conceal ourselves and strike from the shadows?"
"There's no need," Gen replied evenly. "Our arrival alone will be surprise enough. And… I've prepared greater shocks for Hidden Mist."
"Heh… good. I do enjoy surprises," Orochimaru hissed with delight.
With a screech, Shuryu folded his wings and dove, cutting through clouds and wind.
Below, the fiercest fighting blazed within a river valley, where jonin-level combatants unleashed torrents of water, blades of lightning, pillars of fire, and shaking earth.
Amidst their clash, none noticed the shadow from above until Shuryu slammed into the valley floor.
BOOM!
The ground split, dust and rock exploding outward. Both Konoha and Mist jonin staggered back, instincts screaming as the smoke billowed.
And from that haze, two figures emerged.
Orochimaru, his pale smile as unsettling as ever, and beside him, his calm-eyed disciple Uchiha Gen. Both looked less like warriors entering battle and more like travelers arriving to observe.
Shuryu had vanished into the ether, concealed for the moment.
"It's Lord Orochimaru!"
"The Snake Sannin himself and his Uchiha disciple!"
Relief surged through the Konoha ranks; morale instantly lifted.
The Mist shinobi, however, grew grim. Orochimaru's reputation had been carved in blood across two wars. His presence was never trivial. Yet they stood their ground; Kirigakure had brought its own monsters.
The commander, Fuguki Suikazan, massive frame armored and his blade strapped across his back, fired a flare. Red water-like streaks painted the sky.
At once, scattered Mist elites abandoned their current fights and converged on the valley.
Orochimaru and Gen stood calmly, unfazed. The Konoha jonin shifted uneasily but dared not interrupt.
Within minutes, the valley brimmed with Kirigakure's High level fighters; the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, clans bearing feared kekkei genkai, the Hozuki, Yuki, Kaguya, Terumi, even members of the ancient Hagoromo bloodline.
Among them, a young Kisame bared his teeth in shark-like anticipation.
Gen's crimson Sharingan swept across them, recognizing faces and bloodlines. He exhaled slowly.
So this is the true strength of the Hidden Mist… a gathering of monsters.