Other Forces

Land of Earth.

In a small border town, a towering ninja emerged from an inn.

He stood over seven feet tall, wore a conical hat, a red mask over his mouth, and red armor draped over his body.

He looked highly intimidating.

He was Han, an elite jonin of Iwagakure and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.

He wore Steam Armor, which could use steam to unleash immense power in battle, earning him the title of the "Steam Ninja."

Two squads from Hidden Stone Village followed behind him, all assigned to protect him.

Though they were no match for a Jinchuriki, they were still quite capable.

Some even knew special ninjutsu that allowed them to flee quickly or communicate.

In short, they were all there to serve Han.

They had just accepted a mission and were heading out of town.

Unlike Rōshi and his foul temper, Han was exceptionally straightforward and easygoing.

He got along well with the members of both squads.

He just did not know that White Zetsu had already set its sights on him.

His movements had been under constant surveillance.

Obito was currently waiting for Kakuzu and Scorpion to make their move, after which this side would act in tandem.

Obito had been waiting for the right moment when a White Zetsu surfaced beside him.

"Obito, there's important intelligence. You need to come back."

Obito frowned slightly. "I understand. Keep watching this place. Wait until I return."

After White Zetsu acknowledged him, Obito used Kamui and entered the Kamui Dimension.

He then moved swiftly through the Kamui Dimension toward Mountain Graveyard.

A short while later.

Obito emerged from the Kamui Dimension.

"What is it? Why did you call me back so urgently?"

Obito was somewhat curious. This was the first time Disornas had called him back in such a rush.

"Listen to this."

Disornas took out a device and pressed a button.

Two voices that Obito knew very well came from it.

"...Scorpion is cooperating with us now, infiltrating Obito's organization. This is what he handed over to us."

"The corpse of Bunpuku, the former One-Tail Jinchuriki."

"...The Chimera Technique you had Kakuzu bring back last time gave me quite a few ideas."

After listening once, Obito could hardly believe it.

"Play it again."

As though he had expected this, Disornas played it once more.

Obito's face turned livid, while his eyes filled with profound shock.

The recording had been edited and lacked both beginning and end.

But the remaining lines were complete.

Obito absolutely recognized one of the voices. It belonged to Shamu, the man who had frustrated him every time.

The other voice was hoarse, but not hard to identify. It was Orochimaru.

Scorpion and Kakuzu were both traitors!

Scorpion had clearly found the corpse of Bunpuku, the former One-Tail Jinchuriki, yet had not turned it in.

Recently, he had only submitted the corpses of ordinary ninjas.

Kakuzu had found a way to obtain Hiruko's Chimera Technique, but he had done so for Orochimaru.

Obito was so infuriated that he nearly spat blood. No wonder Shamu had known so much about his operations and intelligence.

So there had been two traitors at his side all along, feeding Shamu information.

Obito did not know when Kakuzu and Scorpion had defected.

But now, he was both furious and enraged. "Where did this come from?"

Disornas frowned as well.

"That's the key issue. Someone delivered it to one of our Moon Organization's external contact points."

Obito forced down his anger. "You mean someone knows about the connection between the Moon Organization and me."

Disornas closed his eyes. Even as White Zetsu, a feeling of irritation rose within him.

"I'm afraid so."

"The problem now is that there's a force hiding in the shadows that even we know nothing about."

"They can discover the Moon Organization and eavesdrop on Orochimaru in Konoha."

"That means they aren't weak."

"And Shamu being so close to Orochimaru is highly abnormal."

Obito naturally understood the severity of the situation.

Konoha was now a place even he could not enter, yet the other side had gotten in.

That meant they either had a deeply embedded spy or some special means.

After all, the place where Shamu and Orochimaru spoke had surely been relatively secure.

The recording was brief, but the information contained within it was astonishing.

Their relationship had already been apparent from the battle at the Sacred Land last time.

But Obito had not expected Shamu and Orochimaru to be so deeply entangled.

Because the recording did not include the latter half of the conversation about Impure World Reincarnation and Rinne Rebirth.

Obito still did not know that someone on Shamu's side had already mastered the Rebirth Rinnegan Technique.

If Obito had known, he probably would have gone mad.

Obito rubbed the bridge of his nose, his thoughts in turmoil.

Disornas said, "This force is hidden too deeply. Even White Zetsu never discovered it."

"Set this aside for now. Think about our plan first."

Obito had no leads at the moment, so he could only force himself to consider his own plans first.

Obito's target this time was two Jinchuriki. Then what were Kakuzu and Scorpion after?

Were they simply protecting the Jinchuriki? Was their target Tobi? Or were they trying to lure him over?

But Obito quickly calmed down. As long as he was on guard, those two would not be able to cause much trouble.

He could use this opportunity to get rid of them. Since they had betrayed him, they could not be allowed to live.

"Has Tobi already taken the scroll over?"

Disornas shook his head. "No. You know how lazy Tobi is. How could he possibly arrive early?"

"He's probably off looking for something to eat right now."

Obito smiled. He had not expected Tobi's laziness to spare him considerable losses.

"Contact Tobi immediately. I'll go myself."

Amegakure.

The sky was forever gloomy.

The rain never ceased. For many years, as a country caught between larger powers, the Land of Rain had suffered the most from war.

As a result, conflict was frequent throughout the Land of Rain, with countless small groups and minor factions.

Every few days, a new force would emerge while another was destroyed.

During Pain's rule, Amegakure had enjoyed a period of relative peace.

Though it had been bought with absolute force and terror, it was still peace.

One of Kara's bases was located beneath mist-shrouded Amegakure.

Kara had many bases. The reason they had built one here in Amegakure—

was because Amegakure lay between several major ninja villages, making it convenient for their operations.

Though the base was underground, it was brightly lit inside, as bright as day.

"...He awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan ten years ago, fought Obito several times, and won every time. The Mangekyō Sharingan ability is suspected to be a spatial destruction ability..."

Jigen listened to the report while flipping through several documents in his hand.

The documents clearly contained Shamu's various test data.

Jigen flexed his wrist. "...He truly is suitable."

"Obito should have received the recording by now, right?"

"He has already received it."

After finishing the report, the person below looked up and answered.

It was none other than the long-missing Sarutobi Clan member, Sarutobi Ryunosuke.