The Land of Rice Fields, Otogakure.
The underground Laboratory was dimmer than the buildings above. Torches set into the walls flickered in the breeze seeping through the vents, casting dull shadows across exposed rock and rough stone pillars.
Uchiha Itachi stood at the cave entrance, gazing toward Konoha, his face full of longing.
Night wind poured through the gaps around the entrance, lifting his long black hair before letting it fall. The hem of his robe brushed softly against the rock behind him.
Footsteps sounded from deep within the passage.
A moment later, Kabuto Yakushi emerged from the shadows beyond the torchlight. The round lenses of his glasses reflected two dark orange halos.
He stopped three paces behind Itachi and adjusted his glasses.
"Lord Orochimaru says everything is ready. Itachi, come with me."
Uchiha Itachi did not look away from the distance.
He kept watching that direction, as though trying to burn the skyline sinking into night into his memory.
"Wait a little longer. I asked someone else to come."
Kabuto Yakushi's grin spread slowly from his mouth to his eyes, edged with mocking amusement. He took two steps forward, deliberately scuffing his shoes against the stone.
"Itachi, don't you trust us?"
Itachi neither turned nor answered. His silence was answer enough, stretched taut and left hanging there, neither tearing nor snapping back.
Kabuto Yakushi glanced around, his gaze lingering on the shadows along either side of the passage. He was about to probe further when a muffled bang erupted from the open ground outside. White smoke billowed in the night wind, then quickly dispersed.
A giant toad, dozens of times larger than an ordinary frog, crouched at the entrance, its back rising and falling slightly.
Two people stood on its back.
Jiraiya stood with his arms crossed, his white