Calculating Every Move

Outside the Land of Rain, at a former hideout.

Tobi crouched on the edge of the roof, the Sharingan behind his mask's eyehole sweeping over the empty courtyard below.

The ground was dry. There were no footprints, no lingering chakra, no signs that anyone had been active here recently.

He slid down from the roof, landed in the middle of the courtyard, stood there for a moment, then turned toward the exit.

Zetsu emerged from the ground, his black-and-white body rising as though from mud.

He fell into step behind Tobi. "That makes five. Still nothing."

Tobi did not stop.

"If he's still alive, he would definitely return to one of the hideouts. But every hideout is empty."

"Maybe he died on the way?" Zetsu's tone was light, the white half speaking.

"Your Fire Release burned such a huge area. Even that Senju brat was burned that badly. Deidara was seriously injured—there's no way he could've run faster than you. Maybe he lost too much blood, fell into a ditch somewhere, and no one found him. That would save us the trouble. Wasn't your goal to have no partner so you could act freely without being restrained?"

Tobi slowed down. He did not argue, merely turning Zetsu's words over and over in his mind.

Zetsu was not entirely wrong. Under these circumstances, Deidara was most likely dead.

If Deidara truly was dead, that meant one less variable, one less unstable factor, and one less person he had to guard against at all times.

"You're right. There's no need to keep looking."

"Then where are we going now?"

"Back to headquarters." Tobi quickened his pace. "Kakuzu's injuries haven't fully healed, and the organization needs manpower. Put Deidara's matter aside for now. If he isn't dead, there's a good chance he'll return. If he is dead, there's even less reason to waste time on him."

Zetsu followed him. Neither half spoke.

The two passed through the outer wall of the abandoned hideout and headed toward Rain Hidden Village in silence.

Outskirts of the Land of Fire

Itachi sat by the window. On the sill rested a cup of tea that had long gone cold, along with a plate of tricolor dango.

He neither drank the tea nor looked outside. His gaze rested on a point on the wall across the room, as though he were studying a painting that did not exist.

His complexion had worsened by the day. His cheekbones stood out more sharply, his skin carrying the grayish pallor of prolonged illness, and his lips were slightly dry.

Yet his eyes remained sharp, like two nails driven into the wall.

He had predicted Sasuke Uchiha's route. The Kusanagi Sword and Sharingan held no secrets before him. Sasuke would follow the directions indicated by chakra sensing and summons' reports, gradually drawing closer to Akatsuki's hideouts before ultimately entering the battlefield Itachi had prepared.

The Uchiha secret hideout. It had once been the site where the Uchiha clan plotted rebellion, and it was also the final chessboard Itachi had left for Sasuke.

Earlier, he had sent out two crow clones. The first flew toward Konoha, while the second tracked the chakra fluctuations of Hebi. He intended to search for Sasuke in reverse.

Having calculated every move, he had now confirmed several things: Sasuke had three companions. One specialized in liquefaction-based taijutsu, one in sensory abilities, and the other in curse mark eruptions and powerful taijutsu.

The clone sent toward Konoha was meant to test Naruto's attitude toward Sasuke and determine whether he would intervene if Sasuke neared death. Unfortunately, it had not encountered Naruto yet.

Itachi withdrew his gaze and rose to his feet.

His movements were slow, but every step was precise, as if he had already calculated when he should arrive at each position.

Hebi was taking a brief rest at the edge of a dense forest.

Karin leaned against a tree, eyes closed as she sensed the chakra fluctuations around them. In her perception, distant vents and underground passages formed a map slowly unfolding before her.

She sensed an extremely faint, unfamiliar chakra approaching—its frequency was low. It did not feel like pursuit, but more like someone marking locations along the way.

"Something's following us." Karin opened her eyes and lowered her voice.

Suigetsu took the Executioner's Blade off his shoulder, its tip pointed at the ground as his eyes swept across the surrounding canopy. "How many?"

"One."

"I'll deal with it."

"No need." Sasuke stepped out from the shadows of the trees. "If someone is following us, let him follow. His purpose isn't to attack—it's to confirm our location. Killing him now would only alert the enemy. He'll reveal himself eventually."

Suigetsu slung the blade back over his shoulder. "Fine. Your call."

Yet Karin discovered that the thing was drawing closer and closer, despite having no intention of attacking.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office in Leaf Village.

The lights were on.

Jiraiya sat in a chair to the left of the office, his hands folded over his knees. A hand-drawn map lay spread across the desk before him, several tiny arrows marked in pencil at its corners.

Tsunade sat behind the desk, holding a pen that had not yet touched the paper. Silence stretched between them for over a minute.

Jiraiya spoke first. "The Land of Rain."

Tsunade did not respond.

"During the Third Shinobi World War, the Land of Rain suffered the greatest casualties. Hanzo of the Salamander ruled with an iron fist, and the village was completely sealed off from the outside world. That naturally isolated environment is perfect for Akatsuki to establish a base. And over the years, missing shinobi and rogue ninja from many countries have frequently disappeared toward the Land of Rain's borders, never to be seen again. After capturing One-Tail, Deidara headed back toward Rain Hidden Village. Kakuzu and Hidan did the same after capturing Two-Tails. Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki still headed toward Rain Hidden Village after capturing Four-Tails."

Jiraiya raised a finger and tapped the location of Rain Hidden Village on the map. "Put those three things together, and every lead points to the same place."

Tsunade set down her pen. "What are you trying to say?"

"Pain is stationed in Rain Hidden Village. Sasori said the same thing before he died. Pain is Akatsuki's leader." Jiraiya lifted his head and looked directly at Tsunade. "I taught three children in the Land of Rain. You know—the three of them, including Konan. After that war ended, I stayed for a while and taught them ninjutsu and how to survive. If Pain is Akatsuki's leader, if Pain is stationed in Rain Hidden Village—then Pain is most likely Nagato."

Tsunade was silent for a long time. She remembered the children Jiraiya had taught back then. Whenever he spoke of them, there had been a rare seriousness in his tone, as though he truly believed those children could change something.

"So you think Akatsuki's current leader is your former student?"

"I need to confirm it with my own eyes." Jiraiya stood up. "And it's not just Nagato's identity. That Tobi—his abilities are unclear, and his strength is unknown. We need intelligence on Akatsuki. Yunju only went to stop Deidara, but he encountered Tobi and ended up like that."

He paused and did not continue. Tsunade still said nothing. She could not speak, nor did she know what to say, so she simply sat there and looked at Jiraiya's face.

"None of the Five Great Villages would tolerate a transnational rogue ninja organization. Stone Village, Sand Village, Mist Village, Cloud Village, Konoha—none of them would let Akatsuki establish itself in their territory. Rain Hidden Village is the only option left."

Jiraiya folded the map and tucked it into his robes. "I'm the only person in all of Konoha who can infiltrate Rain Hidden Village. Sage Mode can avoid most sensory barriers, and stealth genjutsu can handle unexpected encounters. Anyone else would have chakra fluctuations that are too obvious. They wouldn't even be able to approach the outer perimeter."

At last, Tsunade's lips moved. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Tsunade said nothing more.

Jiraiya walked to the door, placed his hand on the frame, and turned his head without looking at her. "I'll settle Yunju's matter too, if I can."

He pushed open the door and walked out. His footsteps gradually faded down the empty corridor until they were completely swallowed by the night wind.

Tsunade sat behind her desk, looking at the closed door. The map remained spread out on the desk, the pen resting beside the spot marking Rain Hidden Village, still not having touched the paper.