Outside the village.
After Uchiha Kazama and his party vanished from this place, a black figure slowly rose from the ground.
Appearing at the same time was Obito Uchiha.
"Now, Uchiha Kazama has left the village once again."
"Is he going to make a direct move against the village?!"
"If we make a move now..."
Black Zetsu looked toward Obito Uchiha.
This was the target he had chosen.
Right now, Konoha was at the most suitable time to be disrupted.
Plus, the entire Shinobi World had begun to stir because of Konoha.
In such a turbulent period, it was their best opportunity.
"You go find Uchiha Kazama."
"As for the village side, it no longer has the support of Danzo and the others."
"So... wait for the other villages to make their move."
Having spoken, Obito sank directly into the ground and vanished without a trace of reluctance.
After hearing Obito's words, a smile also appeared on Black Zetsu's face.
Indeed, cooperating with this fellow was a good choice.
He had not let success go to his head because of this special situation.
He still chose to play it safe and steady.
This made Black Zetsu very satisfied.
Thinking of this, Black Zetsu also sank into the ground and vanished.
The Land of Rain, inside the secret chamber.
"You've come?!"
Nagato sensed the spatial fluctuation appearing not far away and spoke calmly.
Connected to the Special Device, Nagato looked extremely weak.
His bodily energy seemed entirely drained, somewhat terrifying to behold...
"Nagato."
"We can make our move."
"Right now, Konoha's actions might trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War."
"It's the best time to capture the Tailed Beasts!"
Obito Uchiha had appeared here.
He spoke directly, stating the direction for the next actions.
"The Fourth Shinobi World War?!"
"As expected, these fellows will never understand how much disaster their willful actions bring to others!"
"I will execute this matter."
"You... just do your own job."
An expression of anger appeared on Nagato's withered face.
Back then, the Akatsuki was established precisely because of the actions of those fellows.
He had not expected that not long after the Third Shinobi World War, they actually wanted to start a war again!
Such a thing pierced the old wounds deep within Nagato's heart.
"Good."
Obito Uchiha did not say anything.
Some things, he did not need to lead.
Providing the information was enough...
After Obito left, a graceful figure appeared here.
"Just now, that fellow was here!?"
Konan's brows furrowed tightly as she spoke with some unease.
In Konan's view, that fellow called Madara Uchiha was not a good person at all.
Moreover, that fellow did not even seem to have joined the Akatsuki, yet he repeatedly interfered in the organization's affairs.
Besides, every time he interfered, some problems would always arise.
"Mm."
"The internal problems within Konoha have already stirred up restlessness in the other Shinobi villages of the Shinobi World."
"This time, Tailed Beasts might join the battlefield."
"Get ready. The moment the war breaks out, head to the battlefield immediately and capture all the Tailed Beasts!"
Nagato stated his decision.
"Konoha?"
"Nagato, we cannot rush this matter."
"Notify the members first."
"I will head to Konoha to scout things out."
"Wait for my news."
Konan spoke in a deep voice.
As for "Madara Uchiha", Konan distrusted him from the bottom of her heart.
As for why she felt that way, Konan herself did not know.
She just felt that that fellow... was far too gloomy.
"Alright."
"However, Konoha right now..."
"Rest assured, my sensory perception is very strong."
Nagato felt somewhat concerned, but Konan cast a reassuring look at him, then transformed into sheets of paper and vanished from the place.
As Konan departed, Nagato closed his eyes once again.
Right now, what he needed to do was maintain his physical strength.
At the location on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
At this moment, a group of Shinobi from Iwagakure were gathering here.
During the Third Shinobi World War, the grievances between Kumogakure and Konoha ran very deep.
"Lord Tsuchikage said that our main objective this time is to assassinate Konoha's Shinobi."
"I have already gone to purchase intelligence. What we need to do next is find Konoha's mission squads and then launch an attack."
"Pay attention and do not leave behind any traces."
An Iwagakure Shinobi had a face written full of excitement.
Such assassination operations, especially ones directed against Konoha-a village he deeply resented.
He was thoroughly looking forward to it...
"Rip!"
The next moment, an extra wound appeared on his face.
Fresh blood dripped down.
Just now... it seemed like something had flashed right past his face.
In an instant, nine Shinobi sprang to their feet, shielding the Shinobi who had just been injured on the face right in the center.
They looked around in vigilant guard.
"Ah..."
The Iwagakure Shinobi who had originally been protected in the middle suddenly emitted a miserable scream.
Hearing the sound, everyone looked over to see a large hole appear in this Shinobi's chest.
Fresh blood gushed out in a steady stream.
The man's mouth was wide open, but he had already lost his breath.
"He's dead!?"
"What person is this!?"
The nine Iwagakure Shinobi grew somewhat panicked.
Just now, they hadn't sensed anyone making a move at all. The enemy had even killed their companion without them ever seeing them.
This kind of trick truly made one's heart tremble.
"Ahahaha..."
"This feeling is truly... so comfortable!"
At this moment, a morbid laugh rang out from the dense woods not far away.
Immediately, a man covered from head to toe in black and white Cursed Seals appeared before them-Hidan!
Seeing Hidan emerge, the nine of them froze.
Because a black spike was jutting straight out of Hidan's chest.
What on earth was going on with this guy?!
"Thud, thud!"
While the nine were in shock, a pair of fists punched straight through their chests.
"Aaargh..."
Cries of agony rang out as two of them were instantly taken down.
Another man slowly walked out from behind.
"Hey, didn't we agree that all of these people were mine?!"
Hidan sounded rather displeased.
The Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe in his hand pointed at the man in the distance.
"Enough, let's carry out the mission."
"The heads of these people are still worth a bit of money."
Kakuzu had no mind to care about Hidan's weird quirks.
In his eyes, these people were all cash!
And there was only one thing he needed to do.
Turn them into money!
Instantly, masses of black monsters emerged from behind Kakuzu.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Senbon: Rain of Madness!"
A massive sheet of flames instantly engulfed the seven shinobi before them.
At the same time, a huge volume of senbon burst out from the mouth of one of the monsters.
As the flames dissipated.
The seven of them looked terrified.
Just now, the seven of them had joined forces to cast Earth Release to barely block that fire release.
However, the ensuing senbon had left a multitude of wounds on their bodies.
Dammit, these guys...
"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."
Before they could ponder any further, a vast number of wounds appeared across their bodies.
And just like that, they collapsed to the ground.