The brutal war had begun once again.
Minato Namikaze led three hundred elite shinobi around both sides' defenses and launched a nighttime sneak attack from behind the Hidden Cloud forces.
On the front lines, Jiraiya led the main force, keeping the bulk of the Hidden Cloud army occupied.
Attacked from both front and rear, the Hidden Cloud forces were caught off guard. Already being forced to steadily retreat, they suffered heavy losses.
Shiraishi watched the entire battle from the shadows and made an unexpected discovery.
On the front lines, Jiraiya summoned the enormous Gamabunta, inflicting heavy casualties on the Hidden Cloud forces.
Gamabunta's performance wasn't a surprise. Its very existence, however, came as quite a shock to Shiraishi.
Born in one of the Three Great Sage Regions, trained in Senjutsu, and infused with Natural Energy, Gamabunta was, in Shiraishi's eyes, a Spirit Beast born of nature itself.
If he could extract the essence of its blood energy, it would be worth hundreds of shinobi in developing Shiraishi's new body.
This discovery suddenly made Shiraishi interested in the Three Great Sage Regions.
Among them, the toads of Mount Myōboku—especially the Great Toad Sage—had an ambiguous connection to the Sage of Six Paths.
Shiraishi was currently engaged in the business of secretly harvesting souls. For now, he didn't want to invite trouble and increase the risk of being discovered by the Sage of Six Paths.
Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest was an entire clan unto herself. With her long lifespan and enormous size, she wouldn't be easy to deal with either.
With those two ruled out, that left the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, which seemed like the easiest target.
To strike at Ryūchi Cave, all Shiraishi had to do was get Orochimaru to summon the snakes there. Before they realized what was happening, he could subdue them and prevent them from ending the summoning, giving him plenty of blood essence to harvest.
At the thought, Orochimaru's value in Shiraishi's eyes rose another notch.
After this war ended, Shiraishi decided, he would offer Orochimaru a few sweeteners and draw him further onto his hook.
In Konoha's Martyr's Memorial.
A man wearing a Spiral Mask that revealed only one eye approached a gravestone beneath the moonlight, holding a bouquet of flowers.
The name carved into the stone was that of Kakashi's teammate, Rin Nohara.
"Rin." The Masked Man crouched before the grave, placed the flowers in front of the tilted headstone, and reached out to wipe away its dust.
The lone eye visible behind the mask brimmed with longing and love.
Just then, a strange "human" with green hair, whose head and body were split down the middle into black and white halves, poked his head out of the ground.
"Obito, Kakashi's gone to the Land of Rain. He's getting in touch with the Akatsuki."
This bizarre-looking "human" was Black Zetsu, who had attached himself to White Zetsu. He was a being created through Yin-Yang Release by Kaguya Otsutsuki when her two deeply unfilial sons sealed her away.
From the moment he was born, he had just one mission: to free his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, who had been sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother.
The Obito Black Zetsu mentioned was the Masked Man—and the teammate Kakashi and Rin had both believed had died before them: Obito Uchiha.
At Black Zetsu's words, the longing and love in Obito's eye gradually faded, replaced by a cold, piercing sharpness.
"Kakashi!" Obito murmured in a low voice.
"Kakashi!" Rin's gentle voice sounded beside Kakashi's ear.
Kakashi turned to look at Rin beside him, a smile appearing beneath his mask.
After dying and returning to the world of the living in spirit form, Rin had grown bolder and bolder around Kakashi, having started out shy.
Now, taking advantage of her spirit form, Rin concealed herself from view and floated beside Kakashi. Every so often, she circled around him, like a lake fairy from a myth.
"Rin." Kakashi looked at her smiling face and called softly.
"Hee-hee, I just felt like calling your name." Rin giggled, then flew into the air and landed on Kakashi's other side, her gaze fixed on his profile.
Kakashi shook his head helplessly and continued walking. He had already made contact with a shinobi from the Akatsuki, and had arranged to meet its leader, Yahiko, today.
On a platform outside a three-story concrete building near the edge of town, Kakashi arrived at an unhurried pace and saw Yahiko waiting for him.
Yahiko stood at the front, a cheerful smile on his face. Nagato and Konan stood slightly behind him, one on either side.
Seven or eight more Akatsuki shinobi stood behind the three of them.
When Kakashi came to a stop in front of them, Yahiko stepped forward and warmly held out his right hand.
"Kyusuke told me you wanted to join us."
Kakashi nodded and shook Yahiko's hand.
"Ha ha ha! It's wonderful that more and more people agree with our ideals!" Yahiko said happily, gripping Kakashi's right hand tightly and refusing to let go.
"Yahiko." Unable to watch any longer, Konan stepped up beside him and quietly reminded him.
Only then did Yahiko realize what he was doing. He hurriedly released Kakashi's hand, rubbed the back of his head, and gave an embarrassed smile.
"I'm Konan, and he's Yahiko, our leader. What's your name?" More dependable than Yahiko, Konan greeted Kakashi with a warm, welcoming smile and introduced herself.
"My name is Obito." Kakashi had taken this assignment to meet Obito's spirit again. To honor his friend, he had taken his name as an alias.
"Obito, how old are you?" Konan asked curiously, looking at the youthful Kakashi.
"Fourteen," Kakashi replied, his voice a little cool.
Perhaps because of her childhood, Konan was kindhearted and liked looking after others, especially young children and teenagers.
So when she heard that Kakashi was only fourteen, she kindly offered a word of caution. "Although we don't advocate violence and hope to achieve peace through dialogue, our missions can still be dangerous. If you want to join us, you can start by handling support duties."
Looking at Konan, Kakashi could feel how kind these people were. But he had joined the Akatsuki to help set it on the right path, so he needed to gain influence as soon as possible.
Though the Akatsuki pursued a lofty ideal, at its core it was still a military organization made up mainly of shinobi. In an organization like that, demonstrating one's strength was the best way to rise through the ranks.
So Kakashi didn't plan to hold back. "No need. I'm very strong!"
"Hey, kid! Lord Konan is only looking out for you. Going on missions outside is dangerous." Kyusuke, who had introduced Kakashi to the Akatsuki, spoke up from the back.
Kyusuke spoke partly out of concern for Kakashi, but also because he had always been in love with Konan.
Or rather, most of the male shinobi in the Akatsuki were in love with Konan.
Kakashi kept his calm expression and looked at Yahiko. "I'm willing to be tested."
Yahiko rubbed his head and said to Kakashi, "There's no need to be so serious. We're just one big family, all pursuing the ideal of peace together. As long as you believe in our ideals, you can join us."
Kakashi nodded. "I do."
Kakashi's blunt response, paired with his expressionless face—so still it almost seemed paralyzed—left Yahiko momentarily speechless.
Was he another child who'd undergone harsh training from a young age and grown up far too soon?
Yahiko looked at Kakashi, a trace of sympathy in his eyes.
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