Undercurrents

In the wilderness of the Land of Fire, the skeleton of an enormous beast marked the entrance to an underground lair.

This was an Akatsuki hideout. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path sat cross-legged on an altar, its hands bound in chains.

The masked Obito sat on a stone chair before the statue. Through the hole in his orange mask, his Sharingan gleamed dimly... The candles illuminating the cavern flickered with his shifting aura.

Black and White Zetsu had brought three shocking pieces of news, plunging this calculating man into a long silence.

Pain-Nagato, renowned as invincible-had been defeated.

Nagato had betrayed him, using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive Konoha's dead.

Naruto appeared to have betrayed Konoha and taken Nagato's body with him.

A low voice came from beneath Obito's mask. "Nagato's betrayal surprised me, but Naruto's actions were even more unexpected..."

White Zetsu asked, "What do we do now?"

Obito turned toward him. "Did you hear Naruto's conversation with Konan?"

White Zetsu said, "No. That kid can sense natural energy. Getting too close would've put me in danger..."

Obito looked away. "The worst possibility is that Naruto has set his sights on the Rinnegan..."

"Also, according to intelligence intercepted by the Akatsuki, the Raikage has issued invitations to a Five Kage Summit. Its purpose is to organize an attack on Sasuke."

"I had intended to use this opportunity to declare war on the Five Great Nations and reveal the Eye of the Moon Plan to the world..."

At this, Obito gripped his knee. "But our leverage for declaring war is the power of the seven tailed beasts the Akatsuki has collected and sealed inside the statue so far."

"And controlling that power requires the Rinnegan!"

White Zetsu exclaimed, "Then we're in trouble! If Naruto has the Rinnegan, he could summon the statue away at any time! He could turn that power against us!"

Obito said, "There's no need to panic yet. The Rinnegan's ocular power isn't so easily mastered. It took Nagato years just to finally summon the statue..."

Despite his words, he was making different calculations inwardly. Naruto's Uzumaki constitution is no weaker than Nagato's. If he puts his mind to it, it's only a matter of time. Whether it's his defeat of Pain or this ambition he's suddenly revealed, I can no longer treat him as a mere kid...

"To be safe, I'll take an extra precaution."

Obito slowly stood and reached toward the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Whoosh!

A Kamui vortex sprang from his right eye, sucking in the entire statue!

Snap!

The vortex contracted, and the statue vanished.

Obito said, "That... eliminates the risk for now."

White Zetsu cheered, "That's our Obito! You moved that enormous statue in an instant!"

Black Zetsu asked in a low voice, "How will you proceed now?"

Obito considered for a moment. "Deploy all White Zetsu to search for Naruto Uzumaki. He should still be in the Land of Fire. Report to me immediately if you find any leads. We must recover the Rinnegan before things spiral out of control!"

White Zetsu replied, "Understood!"

Obito looked toward Kisame Hoshigaki, who had stood silently to one side the entire time.

Not long ago, after the battle between the brothers Itachi and Sasuke had ended, Obito had sought out Kisame and revealed his identity to him.

Within the Akatsuki, Kisame was the person he trusted most besides White Zetsu.

"Kisame... I'll leave the Eight-Tails to you."

"Understood."

Obito's gaze grew deep. "We can't let this little setback throw us into disarray. The declaration of war against the Five Great Nations will proceed as planned. It's also time to use the Five Kage to give that extra pair of eyes some proper training. Hmph. Let's go see our defeated warrior. We need an explanation about the Eight-Tails, after all. Don't we, Sasuke..."

In the Land of Fire, Taka was resting in a forest, preparing to head to Konoha.

Before Pain's attack on Konoha, Sasuke had led Taka in an assault on the Valley of Clouds and Lightning and brought back one of the Eight-Tails' tails... Afterward, Taka had left the Akatsuki and begun taking action to exact revenge on Konoha.

Jugo was fetching water alone by the river. A bird chirped softly on his shoulder, and a gentle smile touched his lips.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp...!"

Suddenly... the bird flew off in fright!

Jugo turned toward the woods behind him and saw a blond boy with a bandage over his left eye walking toward him.

"Hmm? It's you..." Jugo recognized Naruto.

Before the battle between Sasuke and Itachi, Konoha had conducted a large-scale search for Sasuke... At the time, one of Naruto's shadow clones had encountered Taka, and Jugo had remembered what Naruto looked like.

To Naruto, who had returned from the future, Jugo was an old acquaintance too.

He greeted him with a smile. "Long time no see, Jugo. You really do like small animals."

"I suppose." Jugo was reluctant to say more. He asked, "Are you looking for Sasuke?"

Naruto said meaningfully, "No, I'm looking for you. More precisely, someone I can only meet through you!"

Jugo's gaze darkened. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that..."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly... two figures darted in from the side, charging with Rasengan in their hands!!

Jugo was stunned. "Shadow clones... when did you-!?"

Boom!!!

After the explosive impact... Jugo shot backward, carving a trail across the water before stopping in the middle of the river. His shoulders had almost been sheared away, leaving hollowed-out wounds!

His sage power is even greater than mine...!

Naruto walked toward him across the water, perfectly composed. "These little wounds are nothing to you. As long as you come with me quietly, I won't get any rougher..."

Jugo's thoughts raced. Sasuke is ten kilometers away. If I release my cursed seal's sage power, Karin's sensory abilities should let her detect what's happening here...

Sizzle!!

The cursed seal's power flowed across his body.

Naruto's gaze sharpened. Whoosh! In the next instant, he closed in on Jugo with a Body Flicker Technique rivaling Shisui's and pressed his palm against the center.

In his previous life, Sasuke's Rinnegan had been destroyed, robbing them of its convenient spatial transportation ability. With no other choice, they had sought alternatives, so Naruto had specifically learned Flying Thunder God!

His soul had traveled into the past, and of course he could still use the techniques retained within it!

As for the spatial mark required for Flying Thunder God...

"The clones that attacked just now already left a mark..."

Tap! Naruto pressed his left hand against Jugo's chest!

Gurgle, gurgle...

The sage power of Jugo's cursed seal poured into Naruto's palm without end!

Jugo cried, "You're taking my chakra!?"

As his cursed seal's sage power drained away, Jugo's body rapidly shrank until he became a child and passed out...

"What a peculiar body. No wonder Sasuke took an interest in him..."

With that remark, Naruto slung Jugo over his shoulder and returned to the riverbank.

Whoosh!

Sheets of paper gathered into Konan's body. "That went more smoothly than expected..."

"He's actually very strong. To avoid complications, I had to launch a surprise attack. Otherwise, if Sasuke and the others arrived, the outcome would've been hard to predict..."

The years Naruto had spent in the end times had made him exceedingly cautious. Without absolute confidence, he would not act, and even when he had it, he still proceeded conservatively.

He lowered Jugo from his shoulder and removed the boy's soaking wet robe. Then he took off his own clean robe and draped it over Jugo to keep him from getting chilled.

Konan asked, "You're not taking him with us?"

Naruto looked at the cursed seal in his left palm. "I've already absorbed enough of the cursed seal's sage power. There's no need to take him."

Konan gazed intently at the bandage still covering Naruto's left eye, marveling inwardly. The optic nerve in his left eye hasn't fully connected yet, but he can already use the Rinnegan's basic powers. Perhaps he's even better suited to those eyes than Nagato...

With a rustle, Naruto put on the soaking wet black robe he had removed from Jugo. His cloak flared as he turned. "Let's go. On to the next place..."