Reactions from All Sides

"What are these Konoha Ninjas chasing? Someone who could silently kill three squads... They must be formidable. Could it be that Uchiha hiding in Konoha?"

Inside a secret base, Obito recalled what had happened.

The man who could control shadows and seemed to possess Space-Time Ninjutsu had rescued a female Uchiha right in front of him.

It wasn't a big deal.

There were so many members of the Uchiha Clan that he didn't care if one or two more died.

What he did care about was that the man seemed to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan too. With a brand-new pair of Mangekyō right before him, Obito had no intention of letting them slip away.

So, not long after the night of the massacre, he seized an opportunity to take them by force. To his surprise, the woman who'd been rescued had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Facing two pairs at once, Obito had taken a nasty hit and, with no other choice, expended a three-Tomoe Sharingan to activate Izanagi and escape.

"If those two had set an ambush beforehand, killing three Anbu squads wouldn't have been difficult... Those two are good at hiding!"

The thought annoyed Obito.

After losing out last time, he'd kept trying to get even, but the two of them had vanished without a trace.

Word was that Konoha had eventually found their location. Unfortunately, they hadn't managed to capture them, and the pair had even destroyed the top floor of the Hokage Building—slapping Konoha hard in the face.

That was why Konoha Ninjas had been searching everywhere for the two of them like mad. Obito had already run into several squads, and two of them had even discovered his whereabouts. Fortunately, Kamui made it easy for him to get away.

"That guy has Space-Time Ninjutsu too, so it won't be easy for Konoha Ninjas to find him. But no one can match me when it comes to Space-Time Ninjutsu. Your eyes will be mine one day."

At the thought of two more pairs of Mangekyō waiting for him, Obito could no longer suppress his greed.

At the same time, in Amegakure.

"Konoha Ninjas killing each other?"

After hearing Konan's report, Pain silently closed his eyes.

"Yes. According to the intelligence, the Uchiha Clan was wiped out recently by Konoha and Uchiha Itachi. But strangely, just a few days later, Konoha was attacked. Someone sliced off an entire floor of the Hokage Building. I suspect this battle is connected to that attack."

Konan spoke slowly.

She was Amegakure's chief administrator and was also responsible for consolidating intelligence.

All outside intelligence had to be organized by her before she passed it on to Pain for handling. There was no way something like this could escape her notice.

"Konoha... Uchiha Itachi... Those survivors must have carried out the attack."

Pain couldn't think of any other possibility.

"I think so too. After attacking Konoha, the Uchiha survivors escaped, then Konoha hunted them down. But there's something strange about it. The survivors' movements aren't fully accounted for. There's no clue as to how they appeared in this area—or how they left."

Konan knitted her brows slightly. She'd thought about the question for a long time but still had no answer.

"Don't think about it any further. Anyone who could escape Konoha must have a unique ability of their own."

Pain shook his head, then opened his eyes.

"Konan, try to find those survivors. Once you do, don't attack them. Make contact first and ask if they're willing to join the Akatsuki."

"Are we going to invite them? If we do, we'll be openly declaring war on Konoha."

Konan was clearly worried.

"We'll be at war with Konoha sooner or later. We just need to keep the intelligence contained and make sure Konoha doesn't find out for now."

Pain wasn't concerned.

"But what about Uchiha Itachi..."

Uchiha Itachi had already confirmed that he would join the Akatsuki. If the two sides met here, they'd most likely start fighting, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Don't worry. I'll handle their conflict. You just need to find them and extend the invitation."

"All right. Understood."

Konan nodded and said nothing more.

Konoha, Hokage's office.

As he stared at the twelve bodies laid out neatly before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened like the bottom of a pot.

The others in the room looked just as grim.

" Hiruzen, where were their bodies found? What mission were they on? How did this happen?"

Mitokado Homura asked gravely.

"The bodies were found near the border of the Land of Rain. Their mission was..."

Danzo began, but stopped halfway and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"They were pursuing the Uchiha survivors—the ones who attacked the Hokage Building."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a dark expression.

"Three squads, twelve people in total. The weakest was on par with a Special Jōnin, and the strongest was no weaker than any Jonin. How could a team like that have been wiped out? Hiruzen, I want the truth. How many Uchiha survivors are there? How strong are they? Do they have the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Utatane Koharu took a deep breath to steady herself, then asked in a solemn voice.

"Their numbers are uncertain, but they definitely have the Mangekyō Sharingan—and it's the Space-Time type."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke slowly.

He hadn't told the other two the full story before. They were Hokage Advisors in name, but their main responsibility was the village's civil administration, and they rarely involved themselves in Anbu affairs.

He'd hoped to keep the impact to a minimum, so he'd sent only the Anbu and hadn't shared the relevant intelligence with anyone else.

Three squads of twelve Anbu—that kind of force could take on even a weaker Kage. He'd been confident that even if the mission failed, they'd still return safely.

He hadn't expected such a disaster. Not only had the mission failed, but everyone sent to carry it out had been killed.

Those were twelve powerful fighters at the Jonin level. They were dead, and Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if his heart were bleeding.

"Space-Time? Hiruzen, an enemy that dangerous required every precaution. How could you have been so careless? You were gambling with the lives of our comrades!"

Mitokado Homura could no longer hold back and demanded angrily.

"Homura..."

Utatane Koharu felt her friend's tone was too harsh and tried to stop him.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi raised a hand to stop her.

"I admit I was careless, but it's too late to discuss that now. Let's talk about what to do next. Should we keep pursuing the survivors? You're all here this time, and I'd like to hear what you think."

He looked up at his three old friends and spoke sincerely.