Four days had passed since Arata left the Land of Rain.
Over the past few days, he had mobilized every resource at his disposal and posted massive bounties to trace Danzo's whereabouts.
Yet he had gained very little.
After seizing the Rinnegan and using [Kotoamatsukami] to control Black Zetsu, that old fox had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth.
Arata had personally searched every place with deep ties to Zetsu and Shimura Danzō—the secret base in the Land of Grass, White Zetsu's habitat in the Land of Iron, the Daimyo Palace of the Land of Fire, even Orochimaru's former hideouts—but found nothing.
The only lead came from Shisui. He had infiltrated Konoha, which was still struggling to rebuild, and spotted signs of contact with Danzo in the eyes of the two Konoha Councilors who had suddenly returned to the village.
However, it was merely a one-way communication of unverifiable origin. The message was also crude and brief, simply ordering Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to return to Konoha and take charge while the village was wounded and Tsunade had yet to fully recover.
After searching without results, Arata abandoned this futile endeavor, which was no less difficult than looking for a needle in the ocean.
It was not only because the best initial window for searching had already passed with time, but more importantly because time truly was not on his side.
Two-thirds of the hundred-day countdown had already passed. With less than a month remaining, he needed to make his final preparations to face Asura.
Yet beneath his manner of doing things, the person before him seemed somewhat more similar.
The determination in her eyes as she departed conveyed a very clear message:
Though she had merely been discarded and driven out by Konoha like a homeless