Xiaonan's Ordeal

The Masked Man arrived at the Nagato where Nagato had used his Ninjutsu. Only a pair of Rinnegan remained there, while Nagato's body had long since vanished without a trace.

"What were you resisting for? In the end, not even a single corpse was left behind."

The Masked Man sighed. After all, he and Nagato had worked together. If Nagato had simply handed over the Rinnegan, he might have spared his life.

The Masked Man picked up the Rinnegan from the ground and sealed it into his scroll. Now was not the best time to implant the Rinnegan. After the Masked Man completed this process, Black Zetsu slowly rose from the ground.

"Konan's location has been determined. Who do you want to send to kill her?"

Black Zetsu was placed by the Masked Man on the outskirts of Amegakure to keep watch. Black Zetsu was enjoying watching the show Nagato threw him away, allowing one survivor to escape the attack on Amegakure.

"Let Kisame go!"

After a moment's thought, the Masked Man decided to send his most trusted subordinate. Since they had already chosen to be enemies, only a dead enemy was truly the best enemy. However, the Masked Man overlooked one crucial point: his beloved Kisame, was severely injured at that moment.

"This might be a little difficult."

Black Zetsu said somewhat awkwardly, "Not everyone wants you to have Space-Time Ninjutsu to dodge Nagato's suicidal attack."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The Masked Man asked, puzzled. "Does this mean I can't command Kisame anymore?" That was the only thought in his mind at that moment.

Black Zetsu then reported to the Masked Man that Kisame and Zabuza were seriously injured, and that the ninjas summoned using the Impure World Reincarnation had all returned to the Pure Land.

This was something Nagato had anticipated. If this group hadn't been injured, Konan wouldn't have been able to escape alive. That's why Nagato was willing to risk his life.

"Nagato underestimated you! Hahaha."

The Masked Man laughed loudly, saying he hadn't expected Nagato to dig such a huge hole for him.

"But you think this will keep Konan alive? Let me tell you, you're dreaming."

The Masked Man said menacingly.

"Spread the word at the Bounty Hunter's Guild. I think Konan's enemies will do something that satisfies us once they know she has no one to rely on."

"As long as they keep Konan occupied, once Kisame and Zabuza recover from their injuries, Konan can die."

The Masked Man gave the order to Black Zetsu.

After receiving the Masked Man's approval, Black Zetsu burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

"Now is not the time to reveal our full strength; I'll let you live a few more days."

After speaking, the Masked Man used his Space-Time Power to disappear from the spot. His immediate priority now was to acquire the Rinnegan.

"Mom, just wait a little longer, you'll be out soon."

Black Zetsu looked up at the moon; he had waited far too long for this day. He had finally obtained the Nine-Tails 'Chakra, thanks to Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Black Zetsu had found their old ninja tools and obtained the Nine-Tails 'Chakra. If Konoha hadn't been so powerful, Black Zetsu wouldn't have needed a substitute.

"Karot, you just wait. You'll get what's coming to you once my mother breaks the seal."

Black Zetsu has been collecting information on Karot for the past year. Karot had defeated Madara, and Black Zetsu knew Madara's strength all too well. Madara was the reincarnation of the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' son, possessing formidable power. Yet, he still lost to Karot. Therefore, Black Zetsu now believed that only his mother could reliably suppress Karot.

"Yawn."

Karot sneezed, thinking to himself.

"Who's thinking of me this time?"

Karot really couldn't muster any enthusiasm for this kind of meeting, and he sat in his seat yawning. He was already feeling sleepy after just having eaten.

"Lord Hokage, this is a mission just issued by the Bounty Hunter's Guild."

An Anbu entered with intelligence to report.

After reading it, Orochimaru handed the intelligence to Jiraiya. Jiraiya was initially confused, wondering why he was being given this. However, when he saw the contents of the intelligence, he jumped to his feet, unconsciously squeezing the paper in his hand until it warped.

"Orochimaru, I want to leave the village for a while."

Jiraiya said to Orochimaru. He could imagine how dangerous Konan's situation was. She and Nagato had offended too many people. Without support, Konan's chances of survival were extremely slim.

While Tsunade was Jiraiya, Tsunade quickly scanned the information on the paper.

Orochimaru also wants to go away for a while.

Tsunade also joined in, acting as a wife to her husband.

Orochimaru knew that showing this information to Jiraiya's decision, since it was his disciple who was being hunted down.

"What exactly is the intelligence?"

Karot craned his neck, trying to see the information in Tsunade's hand, but the words on the paper were blocked by Tsunade's impressive chest. This greatly hurt Karot.

"For you."

Seeing Karot jumping around in front of her, Tsunade directly passed the information to Karot, and the area immediately quieted down.

"Using someone else to do the dirty work!"

"Karot said after looking at the intelligence report."

"Karot is right."

This is how the Akatsuki Organization used someone else to do their dirty work. After reading the intelligence, Shikaku completely agreed with Karot's statement.

Tell me in detail.

Orochimaru spoke to Shikaku. Because there was a reckless man here, insisting on rescuing his disciple, he had no choice but to have Shikaku state his deduction to dissuade him from this idea.

"First, internal strife broke out within the Akatsuki Organization, the leader died, and Konan lost her support. This makes the hunt for Konan much easier."

"Secondly, to give an example, what force caused Amegakure to disappear? Could it have been Nagato? Did he use that force to severely weaken Akatsuki Organization, forcing the new leader to issue a bounty at the Bounty Hunter's Guild?"

As expected of someone from a clever family, they guessed perfectly.

"Jiraiya, you heard it too. This was done intentionally by the enemy. I don't want you to risk your life to save your disciple."

Orochimaru didn't want Jiraiya to rescue that so-called disciple. After all, Konan was definitely involved in the attack on Konoha. Orochimaru's decision not to send his Anbu to kill him was a sign of respect for Jiraiya Orochimaru. Remember, Orochimaru was the Hokage of Konoha; he wanted to kill all of Konoha's enemies.

"Lord Hokage, why don't we take this opportunity to wipe out the Akatsuki Organization?"

Shikaku asked in confusion. Previously, they wanted to destroy the Akatsuki Organization but gave up because they didn't know Akatsuki Organization exact location. Now, with Orochimaru as an undercover agent, the Akatsuki Organization's location is nowhere to hide.