"Are you sure? Too much grief will twist your personality and drive you insane. The Sharingan is an eye driven by emotions. Once you get involved, you can never turn back."
"Who cares about this kind of thing? I want power, the power to kill him, the power to kill Uchiha Itachi."
"For this, I wouldn't care about sacrificing everything!"
Sasuke's roar made Huayue shake his head helplessly.
"I'm not interested in anything about you. I'm only responsible for the limits of your body's endurance. You just had your Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated by Negative Reishi, so your emotions are bound to be a bit extreme. Get some sleep and then tell me your decision."
The exquisite and intricate Mangekyō instantly put Sasuke to a deep sleep. A Shadow Clone clone that had been hiding in the shadows appeared, and Naruto nodded in acknowledgment before helping Sasuke back home.
Not far away, Kakashi, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, was somewhat troubled, but still decided to show up and have a chat.
"Oh dear, no matter how much you try to persuade him, he still loses control of his emotions the moment he sees Itachi, even though he just crawled out of the hospital..."
"Once Sasuke wakes up, I will persuade him to give up his hatred... Also, I heard that when you were talking with several Hokage Advisor, you recommended Danzo for the position of Hokage. I would like to know why?"
Kakashi's smile was languid, but that fleeting expression seemed to suggest that he wasn't as calm as he appeared.
" The Hokage position is truly dangerous; a single misstep can lead to certain death..."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Kakashi fell silent in a single sentence.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Konoha and Sunagakure have the fastest turnover of leaders.
The Fourth Hokage died in battle at a young age, Third Hokage has now single-handedly severely injured Orochimaru, eliminating one of Konoha's greatest threats.
Currently, only Ōnoki of Iwagakure remains vigorous despite his old age. The remaining villages have either been passed down to the Fourth Hokage or are still being managed by the Third.
While this was true, Kakashi sensed a different meaning in it.
You mean...?
"What do I mean? I don't mean anything. I'm just lamenting the sacrifice of the pillar of the family. Compared to these, the tougher ones are yet to come. Do your best, Kakashi."
As he watched the figure disappear, Kakashi lowered his head in thought, feeling that something was amiss.
Gaa gaa gaa!
Hearing the urgent bird calls, Kakashi looked up, his expression instantly becoming serious.
"Emergency Ninja Hawk, what happened?"
A moment later, the Konoha cipher team rushed to the entrance of the cemetery and shouted to the three Hokage Advisor.
" Hokage Advisor! Something terrible has happened! The Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Ōnoki of Both Scales, has urgently convened Five Kage Summit!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, secretly cursing their bad luck. Danzo, upon hearing this, smiled even more broadly, thinking, "Heaven is on my side!"
Akatsuki, Eastern Base.
"Seal - Nine Phantom Dragons Sealing Jutsu!"
The Five-Tails Jinchūriki lay sprawled on the ground, while wisps of Tailed Beast Chakra emanated from the mouth and nose of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki beside him.
"Only in this way can the chakra within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path be kept in balance. Absorbing too much Tailed Beast Chakra will affect the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
Beside him, Black Zetsu, who was presiding over the Sealing Jutsu, murmured softly, while Nagato remained expressionless.
"Something always has to be sacrificed to gain something; this is a necessary loss. What about the other members?"
" Kakuzu died in battle, Uchiha Itachi is safe and sound. Although it is a pity, the whereabouts of Takigakure have finally been found. Of the Nine Tailed Beasts, only three remain, and they are the three most troublesome."
Nagato nodded almost imperceptibly and looked up at the sky.
"When the Nine Tailed Beasts unite as one, the world will return to chaos, cease its progress, and be forever trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi..."
Does the world need progress?
If Nagato's inner pillar had not yet disappeared, he might have chosen yes.
But after his most cherished companions existed only in his memories, he began to doubt his choice.
Even if it's all a lie, even if everything was destined, all he wants is to see them one more time, that's all...
" Sasori of the Red Sands and Uchiha Itachi have now officially set off for Kumogakure to capture the Eight-Tails. After dealing with the Eight-Tails, let's eliminate that spy completely."
" The Mangekyō Sharingan, only its eye techniques can render a ninja who is Perfect Jinchuriki completely powerless against it."
Nagato lowered his eyes, his mind involuntarily recalling that existence that even he found troublesome, and remained silent.
"Ah..."
The pitch-black underground chamber fell into a deathly silence once more. Nagato and Black Zetsu, each with their own thoughts, were working together to seal the Six-Tails into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
As the sixth eye slowly opened, the moment to reveal the true nature of the scheme drew ever closer.
The Land of Grass, on the border.
The green rice stalks sway in the wind, and the melodious sound of bells echoes across the wide fields.
Itachi stopped and waited, his expression calm.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Although I hate waiting for people and I hate being waited for, I came all the way from the Land of Wind to replenish my supplies, so it was inevitable that I was delayed a little."
"It's nothing, I just arrived. Who's the target this time?"
" Kumogakure, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of the A-B Combo, Killer B, capture him. The Akatsuki is about to begin their real mission. This is a message the leader asked me to pass on to you."
With a deep, hoarse voice, Sasori of the Red Sands's eyes were full of impatience; he really didn't want to team up with this guy he didn't like.
Killing one's own parents is an extremely rare occurrence in the Ninja World.
"The real mission? What is it?"
"Let's wait until we've captured the Eight-Tails. The Five Kage Summit is about to begin. With one of the two pillars of Kumogakure gone, this is an unprecedented opportunity. Let's go."
Seeing Sasori of the Red Sands leading the way, Uchiha Itachi, who was trying to gather intelligence, could only remain silent and follow quietly.
' One-Tail, Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Six-Tails... now it's Eight-Tails. What is the leader collecting these Tailed Beast for? And what is the final mission...?'
With a mix of thoughts swirling in his mind, Itachi followed silently, remaining quiet.
It was late at night, and the rain was pouring down.
Sasuke, still groggy, slowly woke up and remained silent after seeing the bonito rice ball and tomato miso soup beside him.
Just as I was about to step out of my house, a head of brilliant silver hair, reflecting the moonlight, came into view.
"Why would you refuse to eat the meal your friend specially brought you, and rush out of your house in the middle of the night?"
"Power, revenge, killing Uchiha Itachi —if you dare to stop me, I will show no mercy, Kakashi."
His demeanor changed abruptly; Sasuke's expression turned grim and extremely serious.
"Words alone are clearly not enough to stop you. Shall we take action?"
Kakashi slowly lifted his Forehead Protector and led the way towards the lake not far away.