How to Deal with Sasuke Uchiha

"Sasuke was assigned to capture the Eight Tails, but it tricked him. He only brought back an octopus leg," Obito said gravely.

He glanced through his right eye at Tsunade, whose face had filled with shock at the sight of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but said nothing. He didn't seem to think it was a big deal that Tsunade had seen the statue.

No one thought Tsunade was anyone important now. And no one thought she still had the power to influence Akatsuki's plans.

Right now, the most important thing was what Akatsuki would do next.

"Where is Sasuke now?" Nagato asked Obito.

"The Land of Iron, where the Five Kage Summit is being held. He was going to head straight to Konoha, but I stopped him. A White Zetsu is guiding him," Obito replied.

"I see. Give me a rough account of Sasuke's situation and the Five Kage Summit."

"It started, of course, with our capture of the Tailed Beasts. After we captured seven, it was impossible to keep from drawing attention. The immediate trigger was Sasuke's attempt to capture the Eight Tails. What he did in Kumogakure seems to have angered the Raikage. And with what you did to Konoha, the Five Great Nations are probably going to move against Akatsuki."

"Don't lump me in with you and Sasuke. Konoha won't become an obstacle for us."

"Is that so?" A trace of mockery flashed in Obito's right eye. "You're planning to use the Fifth Hokage?"

Nagato nodded, while Tsunade looked embarrassed.

She felt that she probably couldn't influence Konoha anymore. She knew Danzo's ways all too well. If Nagato thought he could use her to threaten Konoha, he was mistaken.

Danzo was probably hoping she'd die. No, not probably—Danzo definitely wanted Akatsuki to kill her.

"So the Five Kage Summit was, to some extent, caused by Sasuke. And you said earlier that Sasuke was planning to leave Akatsuki, right?"

"That's right."

"I want Sasuke to come see me. I want to hear what he has to say."

Obito fell silent for a moment, as if he wanted to scratch his head. "Sasuke probably won't come..."

He had some idea of the Uchiha Clan's hereditary adolescent edgelord syndrome.

Sasuke was now in that post-awakening phase of delusional confidence, convinced he was the greatest person alive. He looked down on absolutely everyone.

"That's fine. I'll have White Zetsu inform him. If Sasuke doesn't come to Amegakure to see me within two days, I'll kill him."

A cold glint flashed in Nagato's eyes. He had no intention of indulging Sasuke.

After all, the Raikage had called the Five Kage Summit, and he'd done so because Sasuke had caused trouble in Kumogakure while wearing Akatsuki's red-cloud black cloak. If Sasuke had captured the Eight Tails as agreed, that would've been one thing. But he'd failed to do the job and caused Akatsuki all this trouble. He couldn't just say he was quitting and walk away. Did he really think Akatsuki belonged to the Uchiha Clan?

Obito fell silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his strength against Sasuke's, then looked to the side. "Understood. What do you plan to do about the Five Kage Summit?"

"I'll go myself! What we do will depend on the Five Kage's attitude toward Akatsuki. This time, the organization will act as one. Before we set out, I plan to summon everyone and set our goals for the operation."

Obito narrowed his right eye. He could tell Nagato was preparing to make a scene, and felt somewhat reassured. "I see. I've already sent Kisame to capture the Eight Tails."

Nagato shook his head. "I'll tell him to come back. The situation is too tense now. The entire Shinobi World has become our enemy. Things aren't as they were before, when one or two members could do whatever they pleased."

Nagato knew that Kisame had probably already sided with Obito. But it didn't matter. Everyone had to follow his orders. Anyone who didn't would be dealt with as a traitor. These unruly rogue ninja had to be handled with an iron fist.

Perhaps sensing Nagato's resolve, Obito lowered his head slightly and thought for a moment. "Then I'll leave it to you. I'm going to get some rest..."

After saying this, Obito sucked himself into another dimension and disappeared.

He clearly had plans of his own.

Nagato stared thoughtfully at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

"Mm—! Mm! Mm!"

After Obito left, Tsunade began clearing her throat, frantically signaling to Katsuyu. She glared at Katsuyu, then glanced down, indicating that Katsuyu should look at the paper covering her mouth.

Before Katsuyu could say anything, Nagato sighed and told Tsunade, "All right, peel the paper off yourself. Don't yell at me, or I'll use the King of Hell to pull out your tongue."

He had no idea what was wrong with this old woman. At her age, she had none of the composure you'd expect. She acted like a child, without a care in the world. Had she started thinking of herself as Naruto's peer after deciding to treat him like a younger brother?

Tsunade snorted and returned to her younger appearance. She coated her hands with Chakra and easily peeled the white paper off her mouth. "So you noticed I'd recovered my Chakra a while ago? Looks like your Rinnegan can see through Chakra."

Although Tsunade couldn't use the Strength of a Hundred Technique right now, she could still use her other techniques without any problem.

"Konan, take these two away to rest," Nagato said, waving a hand. He had no desire to deal with Tsunade.

Konan was about to nod, but Tsunade immediately cut in. "Wait. What are you going to do with me?"

"Lock you up. You'll be a waste of food," Nagato replied expressionlessly.

Tsunade: ...

She took a deep breath, forcing back the roar that had nearly burst out of her. She didn't know what the King of Hell was, but the name alone sounded ominous. The man in front of her had leveled Konoha with a single attack; he seemed capable of anything. Better not to provoke him. After thinking it over, Tsunade gritted her teeth. "Weren't you planning to use me to threaten the Konoha Ninja?"

She seemed to be trying to turn that to her advantage.

Nagato's gaze flickered. He immediately understood what Tsunade was trying to do.

"And what of it?" he asked.

"Heh." Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. "Forget about it. You said Danzo had taken over as Hokage, didn't you? That man and I have always been at odds. He'd never make any concessions for me."

She looked so smug as she said this that it was hard to tell what she was so pleased about.

"And what of it?" Nagato repeated.

"You..." Tsunade flew into a rage. If family matters weren't embarrassing to air in public, she would've told Nagato outright that Danzo wanted her dead. Holding her hostage would be useless against him—and might even backfire!

"Oh...?" Nagato stroked his chin as he figured it out. "You think I was planning to threaten Danzo with your life?"