The long night was not yet over

Kisame Hoshigaki was unlikely to survive.

On that point, Naruto had actually predicted wrong.

Because Naruto had beaten him to the punch, Obito had not declared war at the Five Kage Summit as planned, setting off a series of subtle repercussions.

Previously, the Raikage had quickly located Killer B after the Five Kage Summit because the various Ninja Villages, united against the threat of war, had formed a joint search party.

This time was different. Only Kumogakure had assembled a search party, so progress was relatively slow.

Then there was... the mission Kisame had been entrusted with.

Obito was a man who planned far ahead. Previously, he had realized that once he declared war, the Five Great Shinobi Villages would inevitably protect the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails in the interests of their shared war effort.

Rather than have Kisame bring back the Eight-Tails alone, it would be better to have him fake his death and lie low, discover where they were being protected, and capture both the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails in one fell swoop!

But this time, Naruto had defected from Konoha. Even if war broke out, he would not be under the protection of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!

Different circumstances called for different strategies!

If they could not catch both in one sweep, they would take them down separately!

So there would be no more roundabout maneuvers. This time, Kisame Hoshigaki's orders were to defeat Killer B and bring him back to the base, keeping him firmly in the Akatsuki's grasp!

Splash...!!

Water burst across the nearly flattened woods, and Killer B, drained of his chakra, fell limply to the ground.

After all, Samehada's earlier betrayal had also been a prearranged act.

With events unfolding this way, there was no longer any need to stage Kisame's betrayal, and certainly no need to have White Zetsu die in his place!

"Huff, huff, huff..." Kisame panted. "You really are a troublesome octopus bastard! But this should make you behave a little better!"

Yes, the Eight-Tails had been utterly defeated by the man known as the Tailless Tailed Beast!

Rustle, rustle, rustle!!

White Zetsu emerged nearby. "That's Kisame for you. As reliable as ever..."

Bare-chested, Kisame asked, "Where's the leader?"

White Zetsu said, "Tobi has something to take care of. He can't get away right now..."

After all, Sasuke had decided to have Itachi's eyes transplanted, and Obito had to make that his priority.

White Zetsu thought, Besides, this place is in the middle of nowhere. His Kamui uses spatial markers, but they don't extend out here.

He said, "There's a village a hundred li to the east. We used to use it as a stopover. Take the Jinchūriki there, and Tobi should arrive around then..."

Scrape!

Kisame picked up Samehada and draped the dying Killer B over it. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's move..."

White Zetsu said, "Be careful. I've received word that Kumogakure's people are already searching for the Eight-Tails. There's a chance you'll run into them. That Raikage was furious when he learned we'd set our sights on his little brother again..."

Kisame smiled. "Hmph, the Raikage? His taijutsu is even more troublesome than that rare beast from Konoha's. He's a tough one. If Itachi were still alive, dealing with him would probably be much easier..."

White Zetsu said, "The Akatsuki is short on manpower right now. Once the Eight-Tails is securely ours, we can concentrate all our remaining strength on the Nine-Tails. Fortunately, Sasuke is still working for us. He's chosen to have Itachi's eyes transplanted, and he'll soon gain a whole new power..."

Kisame mused, "Itachi's little brother, huh? Even with Itachi's eyes, he may not see the same things Itachi did. Where will the Akatsuki go from here? I really do look forward to finding out..."

"Then I'll be waiting to hear from you, Kisame..."

With that, White Zetsu sank back into the earth.

In the darkness of night, Kisame set off alone with his sword, carrying the Eight-Tails, Killer B, toward the agreed-upon village...

It was along this hundred-li road that his life would be rewritten...