Chapter 26: Taking Control of Kado! Obito Takes Over!

Kakashi left with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna.

Only Zuo Hao and the hundred-odd samurai and ninja immobilized by Genjutsu remained in the clearing before the bridge.

Zuo Hao walked up to Gato, lifted his foot, and nudged Gato's greasy, fat face with the tip of his shoe.

Gato still wore the terrified expression he'd had the instant he fell under Genjutsu. His sunglasses sat askew, and drool trickled from the corner of his mouth. He looked like a frozen statue of a fat pig.

Zuo Hao lowered his foot and leaned against the bridge's Steel Framework, seemingly waiting for someone.

A faint sound of space warping rippled through the air, as though something were being torn apart—or pieced back together.

A swirling rift slowly opened before Zuo Hao.

Obito stepped out of the Kamui Dimension.

He still wore his black robe patterned with red clouds and an orange spiral mask that left only one crimson Sharingan exposed.

The eye behind the mask swept over the hundred-odd immobilized samurai, settled on Gato's vacant face, and finally turned toward Zuo Hao, who was leaning against the Steel Framework.

"You sent Kakashi away just to wait for me?" Obito's voice came from behind his mask, tinged with amusement.

"What else?" Zuo Hao said. "I've prepared a gift for you."

The lone Sharingan exposed by Obito's spiral mask narrowed slightly. "Gato? That moneybags from the Land of Waves? How is an ordinary man with a little money supposed to count as a gift?"

"An ordinary man?" Zuo Hao chuckled, walked over to Gato, and patted his fat face. "This guy controls all shipping in the Land of Waves. Merchant ships from the Five Great Nations have to pay protection money whenever they pass through his waters. A conservative estimate of his assets would be at least this much."

Zuo Hao held up three fingers.

Obito said nothing. His Sharingan betrayed no reaction beneath the mask.

Thirty million ryo was indeed an astronomical sum to an ordinary person, but to the Akatsuki, it was merely a decent amount of seed money.

Watching Obito's reaction, Zuo Hao's smile widened a little more.

"Ten billion."

At last, a faint change appeared in Obito's Sharingan.

Thirty billion ryo.

That amount could keep a medium-sized country running for an entire year.

Zuo Hao pulled his hand away from Gato's face and wiped it on his trousers, as though wiping off something filthy. "Gato has monopolized shipping in the Land of Waves for over a decade. His publicly known assets are just the tip of the iceberg."

"He has secret accounts in major banks throughout the Five Great Nations, plus three Underground Vaults in the Land of Iron."

"That should keep the Akatsuki funded for a while, right?"

Obito fell silent.

Zuo Hao was right.

The Akatsuki was still expanding. Recruiting members, gathering intelligence, planting spies in the ninja villages, and preparing to capture the tailed beasts—every one of those efforts required substantial funding.

Obito's voice remained calm, but carried a rare note of solemnity. "All right. I'll remember this favor, and I'll repay you."

Zuo Hao smiled faintly, though a barely perceptible flicker of urgency passed through his eyes.

He needed to strengthen his bond with Obito now.

Yet even after five years, his bond with Obito had only reached level two.

He had no idea how to raise it further.

With no other options, he could only help Obito this way and hope their bond would improve faster.

Zuo Hao's thoughts raced. Should I help Obito catch a few tailed beasts? Would that raise it faster?

Before he could settle on the idea, Obito seemed to notice something and suddenly asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Zuo Hao quickly reined in his thoughts, waved a hand casually, and smiled. "Nothing. I'll leave Gato to you. I'm heading out."

Obito nodded. "All right. Go ahead."

A day later, when Team 7 returned to Konoha.

The days they had been away had been utterly ordinary for Konoha. No one knew what had happened in the thick mist of the Land of Waves.

No one knew that a twelve-year-old genin had controlled more than a hundred people with Genjutsu.

And no one knew that he had personally handed Gato's thirty-billion-ryo fortune over to the Akatsuki.

With both hands in his pockets, Zuo Hao strolled home along Konoha's main street.

The chunin ninja exams.

If the timeline hasn't changed, the Hokage's Office should announce them in the next few days.

Orochimaru will give Sasuke the Cursed Seal of Heaven in the Forest of Death.

The allied forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure will launch their attack on the day of the finals.

And all I need to do is find Orochimaru amid the chaos and complete that hidden quest.

Zuo Hao pushed open his front door. The living room was empty.

Sasuke hadn't come back yet. Naruto had probably dragged him off to Ichiraku Ramen again.

He tossed his ninja tool pouch onto the coffee table, flopped onto the sofa on his back, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The system's quest panel appeared in his mind.

[Hidden quest: Konoha Crush Plan]

[Quest objective: Work closely with Orochimaru and personally kill the Third Hokage.]

[Quest rewards: Scroll of Seals, Ryūchi Cave summoning contract scroll, Bond Link with Orochimaru.]

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office.

Smoke filled the Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, holding the pipe that never left his side. His aged face appeared and disappeared behind the drifting smoke.

A document lay open before him. Its cover bore Konohagakure's flame emblem, with a neatly inked line beneath it.

"Joint Chunin Selection Exam Implementation Plan."

More than a dozen people stood in the office, all Jōnin and chunin—the finest fighting force Konoha had to offer.

"Everyone, the chunin exams will officially begin in Konohagakure three days from now."

The office fell silent for a moment after his announcement, then erupted.

"At last!" Might Guy slammed his fist into his palm, his eyes blazing. "This is the moment for youth to burn bright! My students can hardly wait!"

Asuma took the unlit cigarette from the corner of his mouth and chuckled. "There really are some promising talents among this year's rookies. The next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho is all in my class—Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. Those three brats each have their own troublesome quirks, but their skills are solid."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded slightly, a hint of pride in her voice. "Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga. Team 8's tracking and reconnaissance abilities are among the best of all the genin teams. Shino in particular will be able to make the most of his insects in the forest environment of the chunin ninja exams."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the Jōnin before him, a pleased smile touching his lips.

These chunin ninja exams were being held jointly with Sunagakure, so naturally, some of its genin would participate. As Hokage, he was delighted that Konoha had so many promising young ninja.

His gaze settled on the silver-haired Jōnin in the back row.

"Kakashi, what about you?"

Kakashi closed Icha Icha Paradise and looked up, his dead-fish eye as languid as ever.

"Ah, I recommend Team 7 as well. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sahiro Uchiha."

At those words, the office suddenly fell quiet.

The silence was brief, only two or three seconds, but it was enough for everyone to notice something was amiss.

The first to speak was Iruka, a chunin standing in the front row.

Iruka's brows knitted tightly. His lips moved as though he were struggling to choose his words, but in the end, he steeled himself and spoke.

"Kakashi, I understand that you want to give your students a chance to gain experience. But for Team 7... isn't it still too early?"