Return to Konoha

Uchiha Obito's body stiffened, and his eyes flashed with irritation.

Originally, Nagato, Konan, and Uchiha Obito had been united in name only, each harboring their own schemes. But ever since the intelligence leak, the two sides had nearly completely fallen out, with all trust gone—though they hadn't yet come to blows.

Yet what truly infuriated Uchiha Obito was this: he genuinely hadn't leaked Nagato's information, let alone the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. He cared more about that statue than Nagato himself!

But just as Uchiha Obito had used his Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and frame the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Shūichi's framing technique was equally flawless.

The Sharingan was the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai, so the Nine-Tails' Attack had to be connected to the Uchiha.

Similarly, aside from Nagato and Konan, only Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu knew about the Rinnegan and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Thus, the leak had to be their fault!

No matter how many mouths you had, you couldn't explain this away. Uchiha Obito snorted coldly, glanced at Konan and Pain, and ultimately turned to leave.

He had originally planned to use pressure from other villages to try and regain control of the Akatsuki Organization, or at least ease tensions with Nagato.

But seeing Nagato completely unreceptive, Uchiha Obito had no recourse. At the same time, he caught a hint of threat in Konan's words.

Initially, Uchiha Obito had considered slaughtering some ninjas from the Five Great Shinobi Villages and framing the Akatsuki, worsening their situation so he could step in as a savior.

However, the unspoken implication in Konan's words made it clear: if he dared to do that, Nagato and Konan wouldn't hesitate to leak his information. Then both Konoha Village and the Uchiha would come after him.

Uchiha Obito himself didn't fear pursuit from Konoha or the Uchiha, but once his information was exposed, his future plans would become incredibly difficult.

Destroying the Uchiha and weakening Konoha Village would be impossible. Worse, his own secrets might be dug up, making it nearly several times harder to advance his plans.

In the original story, the Moon Eye Plan succeeded only because it caught everyone off guard. Once Konoha and the Five Great Shinobi Villages were on guard, the Akatsuki alone had almost no chance of success.

After leaving Amegakure, the Konoha ninjas quickly regrouped.

Yamanaka Fū had retreated early in the battle and was uninjured. Uchiha Shūichi and Jiraiya had each faced Nagato and Konan, but one was putting on an act, and the other only exchanged light blows, so they too were unscathed.

Hyuga Homura had only provided support on the sidelines, but after facing the Shinra Tensei of the Six Paths of Pain, he had several broken bones. Pushing through the fight had worsened his injuries significantly.

But the worst off was Yūhi Kurenai.

Konan hadn't held back against her. Explosive paper shuriken fragments had pierced her body, even penetrating some internal organs.

Fortunately, vital organs like the heart and kidneys weren't damaged, or Kurenai would have already died. As it was, she could still be saved.

"This girl's injuries are troublesome... By the way, none of you know medical ninjutsu?"

After checking Kurenai's wounds, Jiraiya frowned. Uchiha Shūichi replied helplessly:

"Among us, only Kurenai knows some medical ninjutsu! As you know, most ninjas who also study medical techniques are women."

Female ninjas tend to be more meticulous and have better chakra control, giving them a natural edge in medical ninjutsu talent.

Plus, with Tsunade, the strongest medical ninja in the ninja world, as a role model in Konoha, many female ninjas there learn some medical techniques—at least enough for emergency field treatment.

In Uchiha Shūichi's team, Kurenai was the emergency medic. But precisely because of that, once she was gravely injured, no one else could treat her.

"That's a problem. I can only summon a toad from Mount Myōboku for emergency care. Best to get back to Konoha quickly for proper treatment!"

As he spoke, Jiraiya summoned a giant toad, which swallowed Kurenai whole.

"Gamaken can stabilize her condition for a while and keep it from worsening. Let's head straight back to Konoha now!"

Jiraiya made the call, and Uchiha Shūichi didn't object. At least they'd gained some intel on the Rinnegan, enough to report back.

Back in Konoha, the group sent Kurenai and Hyuga Homura to the hospital. Then Jiraiya vanished—probably off to peep at the women's bath.

The rest disbanded. Uchiha Shūichi went to the Hokage's office to report, while Yamanaka Fū returned to Root.

In the Hokage's office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to Uchiha Shūichi's report, his expression shifting slightly:

"I didn't expect you to go through so much. Sending you on this mission was probably too much of a challenge."

Wasn't it? The Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Konan, Nagato—four Kage-level fighters had appeared. Without Jiraiya, this mission would have been a death sentence.

For instance, the Sunagakure ninjas had run straight into the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Escaping with even one or two survivors was lucky.

As for the Iwagakure ninjas, Uchiha Shūichi hadn't seen them. It was possible they hadn't sent anyone to the Land of Rain, but more likely they'd died before he even noticed.

The Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki hadn't fared well either, eventually fleeing in disarray from the Six Paths of Pain. The A and B combination might escape the Land of Rain, but their subordinates would certainly lose a few.

Most ninjas assigned to the Land of Rain mission were at least Special Jonin. Even for the wealthy Five Great Shinobi Villages, losing such elites stung.

Fortunately, Konoha suffered no losses—only Kurenai and Hyuga Homura were injured. With medical ninjutsu, they'd recover fully in a few days.

"We owe a lot to Lord Jiraiya. Otherwise, we'd never have learned so much. But..."

Seeing Uchiha Shūichi hesitate, the Third Hokage grew curious, a bad feeling stirring in his chest:

"Speak your mind. Does the Akatsuki Organization hold a grudge against Konoha?"