The Wind Rises Again

Early June, and the heat of summer had already begun to set in.

The road leading to the main gate of Konoha was bustling with traffic and noise, while under the shade of the trees lining the path, various small stalls sold snacks and drinks.

"Teacher, Teacher Pakura!"

A brown-haired girl with purple face paint excitedly tugged at the sleeve of the tall woman beside her, pointing toward an ice cream stand by the road, her innocent, wide eyes filled with longing.

"Maki, we are here in Konoha on official business! Sigh, fine, go buy some!"

Pakura stroked her disciple's hair and walked with her toward the roadside stall.

She was dressed in her usual backless outfit, hands tucked into her pockets, though the forehead protector on her head no longer bore the symbol of Sunagakure, but had been replaced by a flame emblem.

Scorch Village!

After negotiating several times with the Sunagakure high command while holding evidence of their betrayal, Pakura and Sunagakure had finally had a "peaceful breakup."

More than two hundred of Pakura's former subordinates chose to follow her and remain in the Land of Whirlpools, and she had transformed from a hero of Sunagakure into the leader of the newly established Scorch Village.

However, the Land of Whirlpools was a buffer zone between the two great powers of Konoha and Kirigakure, and to gain a foothold there, she could not do without the recognition of these two nations.

Therefore, she had come.

"Boss, two vanilla ice creams!"

Maki looked at the price tag in front of the stall and handed over one hundred ryo.

"Coming right up! You two beauties, please wait a bit further back; don't block the main road, or we'll get fined if we're spotted!"

"Fined?" Maki was a bit confused, but she still walked with Pakura into the shade of the trees.

"That's right!" The dark-skinned boss worked nimbly to make the ice cream, gesturing with his chin toward a notice posted on a nearby tree.

"Konoha Mobile Vendor Management Regulations: if road congestion is caused by vendors like us, the Police Force will impose a fine of 100 to 500 ryo!"

"Ah? Is Konoha's management that strict?" Maki was stunned; Sunagakure had never had such rules.

Of course, with the raging sandstorms of Sunagakure, no one would be setting up stalls outdoors anyway.

"Hey! It's been much better since the new department head, Uchiha Chen, took over. At least everything is regulated first and then handled according to those rules. Before he took office, you could get thrown in jail just for peeing on the side of the road!"

The boss wrapped up the two ice cream cones, handed them to Maki, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"After all, the Uchiha are powerful! It's a blessing enough that they don't bully us common folk!"

So it was the Uchiha, the number one clan in the Shinobi World?

Maki took the cone and licked it, drawing the icy treat into her mouth, and immediately felt refreshed.

Slurp!

"Teacher, here you go!"

Maki turned around, only to see Pakura squatting by a nearby book stall, staring at a sign standing on the counter.

"Naruto: The Hokage Volume 2 officially on sale! Namikaze Menma and Uchiha Sazuko face a shocking crisis!"

Beneath the eye-catching bold text was a beautifully crafted poster.

A beautiful girl covered in wounds was stubbornly holding a Kunai, protecting the yellow-haired partner behind her, blood streaming from the corner of her mouth and dripping onto her chest.

The girl struggled to open her eyes, a single tear falling from her scarlet Sharingan, with a speech bubble next to her mouth:

"I hated you the most! It was my body that reacted on its own, you idiot!"

Maki rubbed her eyes, unable to believe that her usually dignified teacher would be interested in manga.

"Teacher, uh..."

"I'm just curious because this manga bears the Uchiha name, that's all!"

Pakura smoothed her hair unnaturally and took the cone from Maki's hand.

The book stall owner sat on a folding chair, waving a palm-leaf fan to cool off, and squinted his eyes.

"Ladies, this is the hottest manga in Konoha and even the entire Land of Fire right now! I only have one last set left, are you buying it? 300 ryo, the absolute lowest price."

"Buy, buy, buy!" Before Pakura could speak, Maki had already handed the money to the boss and excitedly clutched the two volumes to her chest. "Teacher, let's read it together!"

Pakura looked at her disciple with indulgence, sighed, and said, "This is the last time! Let's go, let's head into the village!"

"Mm!" Maki couldn't wait to flip open the cover of the manga, nodding with immense satisfaction.

After the two beauties, one large and one small, walked away side by side, the book stall owner pulled out another set of manga and began to hawk his wares again:

"The last set of Naruto: The Hokage! If you don't buy it now, it'll be gone!"

"Obito, the intelligence has been confirmed. The Flame Gunbai is in the hands of Uchiha Chen!"

Zetsu, looking like a Venus flytrap, emerged from the canopy of a giant tree over a hundred meters tall. White Zetsu asked with confusion, "How exactly did you manage to lose the Flame Gunbai?"

"A small accident!"

Obito sat on the top branch of the 'Sacred Tree' in Takigakure, his hands resting on his knees to support his chin, staring blankly in the direction of Konoha.

In that hometown where he refused to recall anyone or anything except Rin, Uchiha Chen had taken control of the Uchiha clan and the Police Force at the age of seventeen, becoming the center of attention for a time.

How on earth did he manage to get into the Kamui dimension and steal the things Madara had left behind?

Perhaps it had something to do with that existence he had separated from himself? But he had clearly used Fire Style to burn that pool of red gel to nothing!

Recently, Obito didn't even dare to use his intangibility, fearing that if a part of his body entered the Kamui dimension, it would be destroyed by Uchiha Chen, who might pop out from nowhere.

He had had enough of these days spent living in constant fear!

"By the way, Obito!"

White Zetsu said excitedly, "Kirigakure is preparing to hold peace talks with Konoha. According to my reconnaissance, they plan to send a group of people to participate in Konoha's Joint Chunin Exams, using that as a pretext to sign a peace treaty with Konoha."

"With the Mizukage under Uchiha Chen's control, of course they would hold peace talks!"

Obito became increasingly irritable.

How wonderful it would be if Uchiha Chen didn't exist in this world!

If only he could get rid of him, just like he had gotten rid of the Fourth Hokage. Obito lowered his head and glanced at a sealed box enshrined beneath the Sacred Tree.

Seven-Tails? No.

The power of the Seven-Tails was far too inferior to the Nine-Tails; even adding the Waterfall Ninja wouldn't be enough.

"What has Nagato been doing lately?"

"He is in the Land of Hot Water area looking for Hozuki Mangetsu, preparing to recruit him into the Akatsuki."

This time it was Black Zetsu who spoke. It didn't need to guess what Obito was thinking, and it sternly rebuked him: "Obito, we agreed that Nagato and the Akatsuki must not be exposed to the Five Great Shinobi Nations yet!"

"I am the successor of Madara, and I am the executor of the plan!"

Obito stared at Black Zetsu with his single eye filled with killing intent. "You are nothing but a toy casually molded by Madara; you are here to assist me!"

I am the third son of Kaguya-hime, infinitely more noble than a descendant like you, who is who knows how many generations removed from Hagoromo!

Black Zetsu roared madly in the depths of its heart.

But it knew that with Obito's eyes bloodshot and bulging, he was definitely determined to fight Uchiha Chen to the death, and not even nine Tailed Beasts could pull him back.

However, the safety of Nagato and the Rinnegan was its bottom line!

Taking a deep look at Obito, Black Zetsu deliberated for a moment and, using Uchiha Madara as a cover, revealed a piece of intelligence from its own memory.

"Kusagakure Ninja has a Box of Ultimate Bliss; the monster sealed inside is very powerful, even stronger than the Seven-Tails."