Evening.
The Hokage Building.
The last rays of the setting sun spilled into the Hokage's office, lending the dim, reddish room an oppressive air.
"I see... so that's how it is." The old man in the Hokage's hat tapped his pipe twice against the ashtray, then brought it back to his mouth for a puff.
"First Obito went missing, and now Rin has died. Only Kakashi is left."
He raised his eyes, lingering sorrow in them. His gaze passed over Minato before settling on a corner of the office.
On the mutilated torso covered with a white cloth.
The white cloth was soaked through with blood, a shocking sight.
The body had neither head nor limbs. Only its tattered shinobi vest offered a faint indication that it belonged to an Anbu.
Minato's brows knitted tightly as he sensed the implication in the Third's words.
His gaze followed to the wretched remains, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
When he noticed a familiar ninja blade lying beside the remains, his pupils abruptly contracted-that was Lord Danzo's blade!
Then Minato looked at the Third before him, who wore a mixture of melancholy, sorrow, and a trace of anger.
His suspicions were confirmed. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha's Third Hokage; the remains on the floor were very likely the village's "strategist," Shimura Danzō.
Both were disciples of the Second Hokage. They had grown up and trained together, close friends as well as rivals.
They had competed for the position of Hokage, and Danzo had lost in the Second's test.
Perhaps out of jealousy, he had launched several assassination attempts against Hiruzen.
As an Anbu, Minato knew all this intelligence, let alone the Third.
Yet he had never held him accountable.
The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive, like the calm before a storm.
"Minato, have you gathered any intelligence?" Hiruzen clenched his pipe between his teeth and took a deep drag, smoke obscuring his face.
"Kirigakure intended to release a ninja beast in Konoha to destroy the village. They kidnapped Rin and sealed the Three-Tails inside her."
"I didn't make it in time. To stop Amegakure's plan, Rin threw herself into Kakashi's Lightning Blade. The tailed beast... its whereabouts are unknown."
He paused, then continued, "Based on our current leads, Kirigakure may have joined forces with the remnants of Iwagakure. The attack on the Anbu a few days ago was very likely connected to them as well."
He had barely finished speaking.
Bang!
"I knew it!" Hiruzen slammed his fist into the desk. Under the force of his uncontrolled chakra, the desk split in two.
Documents instantly flew everywhere. The crystal ball Hiruzen usually used for peeping also fell to the floor and rolled aside.
"I knew it! How could there be such a coincidence! Kirigakure attacks Konoha, and the Anbu come under attack. Only they, Iwagakure with their mastery of Earth Release, could slip into the Anbu undetected and commit such a despicable act!" Hiruzen roared hysterically.
His fury erupted like a volcano, leaving nothing of his normally gentle, generous demeanor.
He had tolerated too much for too long, and this time, the enemy's reach had extended into Konoha's very core, even claiming the life of his closest friend!
Whoosh.
A figure suddenly appeared beside Minato and dropped to one knee.
"Third, we have determined Lord Danzo's cause of death. His limbs were shattered by Wind Release and Earth Release, and his head suffered an Earth Release attack.
"But... strangely, we couldn't detect any traces of chakra. The technique was extremely sophisticated, as though... no chakra had been involved at all."
"War to the death!" He sprang to his feet, his eyes blazing beneath his hat. "Pass on my orders! Wipe out Kirigakure and Iwagakure as quickly as possible! Make them pay for their stupidity!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always advocated peace and restraint in matters of war, had now issued an order to launch an offensive. Minato's heart tightened. He knew the Third was truly enraged.
Minato bent down, picked up the crystal ball that had rolled aside, and carefully handed it to Hiruzen.
Looking at the furious old man, he asked gravely, "Third, what about the Akatsuki..."
"Leave them be. Neither the Akatsuki nor Amegakure took part in the invasion of Konoha. Deal with the immediate problem first."
Seeing that he had not grown wary of the Akatsuki, Minato couldn't help shaking his head inwardly. Remembering Mr. Pero's request, he had no intention of offering further warnings.
"Third, I'll take my leave, then. I'm going to check on Kakashi."
"Go."
Meanwhile.
Amegakure.
With two people and one beast in tow, Pero slowly descended before Nagato.
Even after landing, Obito's excitement had yet to fade, and he looked all around.
"Huh? So this is Amegakure? Even the sky is all gray."
He turned and saw Nagato, dressed in the same robes as Uncle Pero, and a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.
"Ah! Why are you wearing the same clothes as Uncle Pero?"
Nagato rubbed his brow, inwardly grumbling about why Pero kept bringing back such strange things.
Obito didn't mind being ignored by Nagato. Taking the bewildered Rin beside him by the hand, he began wandering around.
"Here, catch." Pero raised his hand and tossed the Three-Tails over.
"Bringing children back is one thing, but why did you bring a turtle too?"
Nagato caught the turtle and lifted him up to inspect him.
"Why does this turtle have three tails?"
Feeling himself being jostled, Isobu slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes suddenly widened in shock.
All he could see were Nagato's eyes, those pupils that symbolized creation and destruction.
"Hagoromo's eyes...?"
"I am Isobu, the Three-Tails... might you tell me your name, bearer of the Rinnegan?"
"My name is Nagato Uzumaki."
"Uzumaki?" Isobu closed his eyes, sinking into thought.
"A descendant of Asura."
When Isobu said nothing more, Nagato looked at Pero. "Why does it feel like the whole world knows these eyes of mine now that you're back?"
Pero raised an eyebrow, toying with the Akatsuki Ring made from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"The tailed beasts' master was the Sage of Six Paths. What do you think?"
Pero snatched Isobu from Nagato's hands and patted his shell. "All right, I brought two kids back for you to look after. By seniority, they should be your junior martial nephews-they're disciples of your senior fellow disciple, Minato."
"Didn't you want to know about Black Zetsu? That boy is called Obito. He's Black Zetsu's pawn, just like you."
Nagato narrowed his eyes at Obito, who was running about happily. "Indeed, there's a familiar chakra signature on that child."
"You should have something in common. Keep the Three-Tails safe."
"Come see me once you've settled them in."
Nagato nodded.
Pero lay on the grass beside the lake, looking at the gray sky. His heart gradually grew calm.
He had now become an invincible Superman.
He had the power to do as he pleased in this world.
He now had several choices.
First, he could follow the original Superman's example, be a good Samaritan, and save the Shinobi World, but that did not suit Pero's nature.
Second, he could act without restraint and dominate the entire world, like Injustice Superman.
Third, he could end the plot early, fly up right now to smash the moon and crush Kaguya to death, then head into space to find and exterminate the entire Ōtsutsuki Clan.
But he wanted to be neither a hero nor a notorious villain.
In his view, he was already so powerful that handling everything personally would cheapen him.
He decided to put in some effort for a while, build up the Akatsuki, and recruit talent. He would be the boss behind the scenes and could still step out to show off when they ran into trouble.
He wanted the entire Shinobi World to know that the Akatsuki had a god.
Footsteps interrupted Pero's thoughts.
"I've settled those two children in. What did you want to see me about?" Nagato walked over and sat beside Pero.
"Your current strength isn't enough to subdue the whole world, is it? There are so many people who are powerful by your standards." Pero smacked his lips. "You can't have me step in for everything."
"Then what are you suggesting?" Nagato frowned deeply.
"You lack real combat experience far too much. Even a mere Hanzō could threaten the Rinnegan." Pero stood and stretched.
"Take Yahiko and the others to capture the tailed beasts. You'll gain combat experience along the way and grow stronger while collecting them."
"I'll go dig up some talent."
"Do you think talented people are radishes, that they're so easy to dig up?" Cold sweat broke out on Nagato as he listened to the cracks and pops from Pero's stretching body. They weren't particularly loud, but they were deeply intimidating.
"Then how strong do you think I need to be for you to be satisfied?"
Pero stood there thinking for a while, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
He slowly raised his fist and casually swung it forward half an inch.
An invisible blast of wind from his punch roared across the lake's surface.
The lake water was instantly torn apart by the blast, exposing the riverbed in the gap. The water churned in surges of air, rolling continuously into a wave several meters high that spread into the distance.
The blast crossed the lake and only dissipated after striking a mountain, shaving its summit into a bald patch.
"When you can block this punch of mine with the Rinnegan."
Nagato stared at the flattened mountaintop and the still-churning lake, utterly stunned.
He opened his mouth, and only after a long while did he manage an incredulous cry. "Hey, hey, hey! I might never be able to block that punch in my entire life!"
"I can't stay by your side my entire life either."
"You're leaving?!" Nagato's pupils contracted.
"Maybe."
Pero turned around, his eyes seeing across thousands of miles. Amid buildings in the desert stood an altar at the center, a ninjutsu array inscribed on its floor. A kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Formula was embedded in its middle.
[Rōran Dragon Vein detected. Absorbing it will increase energy by 1% and unlock the world-travel function.]
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