Konoha had been expanding in scale by the day. This was certainly a good thing, as it meant Konoha could obtain more resources during peacetime, but it also meant it would become a target for every nation during wartime.
Konoha could barely remain self-sufficient on the food supplied by the surrounding lands alone, but it still regularly sent people to other villages every month to purchase supplies.
After the Akatsuki Organization declared war on Konoha, they stopped going out. Most of the ninja were on edge, and even the air seemed incomparably heavy. It was a form of torment for Konoha's ninja as well.
At night, with scattered lights below, a figure in a black robe patterned with red clouds appeared in the night sky like a ghost.
He sat atop a giant bird made of snow-white clay. The bird was circling above Konoha as though scouting something out, while clusters of tiny white spiders fell from its body and crawled toward the edges of the forest.
Another man sat on the bird, though his appearance was somewhat strange. In particular, he wore an orange spiral-patterned mask that left only a deep black hole over one eye. It was hard to tell how he even moved around.
"Konoha, huh? This is that guy Itachi's village? Let's go take a look, hmm." The man standing on the bird and firing spiders in every direction spoke as if to himself, guiding the bird lower and lower.
The wind from their descent blew up the conical hats on their heads, finally revealing their faces.
Tobi... or perhaps he should be called Obito? Or White Zetsu? He was still concealing his true identity. Though he said nothing, the bizarre poses he struck during the descent made his goofball aura burst forth from head to