Preparation

Aoki Tsuki went and bought a bunch of paper, then went home and cut it up.

All of them were cut into small squares. Konan's paper was a specially treated ninja tool that could be imbued with Chakra.

During their in-depth conversation yesterday, the Chakra link was naturally involved.

Konan surprisingly passed on her secret technique, " Dance of the Shikigami ), to Aoki Tsuki, saying it was to repay him for his Secret Mind Technique and that she didn't want to take advantage of him.

Many people outwardly look down on honest and trustworthy people, but secretly they really enjoy dealing with them. Who wouldn't like to be rewarded for their efforts?

If you do them a small favor, they will remember it and always look for an opportunity to repay you.

The problem that had troubled Aoki Tsuki for so long suddenly became clear.

The weakness of the paper-transformation technique is quite obvious: it can resist ordinary physical attacks, but it becomes ineffective against powerful escape techniques.

Oil, water, Fire Release, and Wind Release are all relatively effective against it.

He used the concepts of the other party's secret techniques to improve his own Sage Mode.

"If you turned your body into countless sheets of paper, and drew Uzumaki Seal Array on each sheet to absorb Natural Energy, wouldn't you be able to jump to the third stage of Sage Mode in an instant?"

No... it's Ultimate Sage Mode.

This is the correct way to unleash the Fury.

They dug and dug in their little garden... and unearthed a nuclear weapon.

Indeed, behind every successful man lies the help of a woman.

For the rest of the day, Aoki Tsuki buried himself in carving runes. These were just ordinary papers that would be discarded after one use, so he needed to prepare plenty.

"What are you doing?"

"Prepare a trump card using your skills."

"Alright, that's exactly what I was thinking too."

Konan also took out a scroll containing special paper she had prepared in advance, and began to inscribe Explosive Tag runes.

Because she needed a huge number of Explosive Tag, and only had so many available for the time being, she had to draw them herself slowly. Fortunately, her Secret Mind Technique was already quite advanced, so it wasn't too difficult for her.

The couple then each drew their own talismans inside the room.

Eiko seemed to know that her son was frivolous, so she never went to Aoki Tsuki's room on her own initiative.

Working until the wee hours of the morning, Aoki Tsuki stretched and climbed over to Konan's side, asking, " Konan, how many paintings are you planning to draw?"

"I've already stockpiled 200 billion tickets, and I need to prepare at least another 100 billion," Konan replied truthfully.

"There's no time to spare. We'll still have to spend money to buy it. Kakuzu must have made a lot of money over the years. It's a waste to just leave it there. We might as well spend it all."

Kakuzu is such a miser, only knowing how to save money and unwilling to spend it. That won't do!

"They've already been secretly acquiring them, and now the Five Great Nations are also quietly buying up Explosive Tag on the market in preparation for war. Their blockade against us is becoming increasingly stringent, making them very difficult to obtain."

"That's true."

Explosive Tag can't be mass-produced; drawing them requires the caster to infuse their own Chakra, which is mentally taxing.

Production has always been low, so it's quite remarkable that Konan was able to stockpile so much in advance.

"Speaking of which... it's getting late, shouldn't we rest? I stayed up too late yesterday, and my mom scolded me."

"What did you say?"

"Let's keep it down, or she won't be able to sleep. Let's get things done as soon as possible."

Konan's cheeks flushed slightly as she warned, "Let's make this clear: no hitting, no biting."

"Don't worry at all. This is the first time I've held back some of my special skills because you're a newcomer. I'll show you them later."

"Um... please spare me."

"Stop talking and go take a shower. I need to devise a plan and strategy."

Aoki Tsuki likes to plan ahead for everything to prevent acting rashly and without strategy. She doesn't just focus on expressing herself; she also wants her opponent to experience things in sync.

This is the secret to his popularity.

By connecting with each other using Chakra during battle, one can achieve the exchange of emotions and the sharing of experiences.

Such a difficult skill can only be achieved by someone like him who can control the free extension and retraction of his hair, which is equivalent to having countless extra tentacles.

Wrap your hair around the other person's body to form a 'wired' connection that remains unbroken throughout.

The technique ' Dance of the Shikigami ' can turn objects into paper, while ' Dance of the Shikigami ' can disguise paper as objects.

The two techniques are reversed.

Aoki Tsuki planned to have Konan guide him through the process of turning his body into paper, essentially providing hands-on instruction, which would be infinitely more efficient than him figuring it out on his own.

Konan didn't dawdle any longer and returned in half an hour.

Fearing that they would attract the attention of their mother, Eiko, the two controlled their movements, only making noise when they were deeply in love.

There seems to be a unique sense of excitement, the feeling of 'stealing'. Some people specifically go to the wilderness and public places, driven by this mentality.

The next day, at breakfast, Eiko, the mother, said, "I kept hearing someone taking a bath last night. Who could it be?"

"A friend is staying here with me. We're just exchanging Ninjutsu. Don't overthink it."

Eiko, the mother, rolled her eyes. "You only know a few people in the village, and they all have children. They wouldn't be messing around with you."

"Don't ask anymore. In short, I'm not a casual person. Don't cook lunch for me today; I have to go out."

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. I don't want to know anyway."

Eiko her gossipy thoughts. She had been running the gift shop for decades and was never short of all sorts of little stories from the village.

After having breakfast, Aoki Tsuki took the scroll and headed towards the Land of Wind.

Akatsuki has a secret base in the northern part of the Land of Wind, where they handle missions in the Land of Wind, the Land of Demons, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Earth.

When Sasori and Deidara aren't on missions, they each create art here.

"Brother Scorpion, look what good stuff I brought you!"

He tossed the scroll over, and Scorpion eagerly opened it to take a look. "It's an old man. Who is he?"

" Ibuse - Hanzō "

"So it was him! He's definitely a treasure worth keeping carefully; I need to give him a good makeover."

As Sasori spoke, he began preparing tools. This body had been regularly nourished with Chakra by Pain, so it was in relatively good condition.

"How's your puppet collection coming along? The upcoming battles might be a bit intense, so prepare as many as possible."

" Hanzō is modified, he can be worth a hundred ordinary puppets. Let Deidara handle the ordinary ninjas."

"That's true, Brother Scorpion. Do you know how to draw Explosive Tag in large quantities?"

How much do you want?

"One hundred billion."

"So many? It seems like not many of us really need this."

Scorpion was startled; even with his tireless work of drawing up the Performance of a Hundred Puppets, he couldn't finish it.

Seeing that Sasori had a solution, Aoki Tsuki quickly pulled out a scroll. "Knowing that you need a lot of funds to make puppets, I've prepared 200 million taels for you."

"I'll give it a try," Scorpion conceded.

"It has to be you, Brother Scorpion! I knew you could do it. I'm waiting for your good news."

Let Scorpion and his puppet handle this repetitive and tedious work; I can't bear to see my girlfriend suffer like this.

After delivering the puppets, I also took care of the Explosive Tag.

Aoki Tsuki turned to find Orochimaru. This guy attacked Konoha, but deep down he still hoped the village would improve. He wanted to investigate.

It was 'Dou' who came out to greet them again.

"Senior, it's been a while."

"Indeed, the way you look reminds me of someone."

"Oh, I don't know who it is?"

"I used to do missions in Root. Once, I went to the Land of Forests to assassinate the leader of the Hannya Corps. The Root's contact person was a female spy."

Her glasses are the same style as yours; her smile is so healing, it left a deep impression on me.

"Perhaps it's just a coincidence."

Kabuto seemed unwilling to bring up the past, and instead asked, "Senior, I heard that Akatsuki is going to fight the Five Great Shinobi Villages to seize the last Nine-Tails."

If successful, what changes will Akatsuki bring to the Shinobi World? Will it bring peace or continued war?

"The purpose of Akatsuki's existence is to create peace, and this has never changed. The First leader attempted to resolve issues through dialogue and communication, but was ultimately killed."

The Second leader changed tactics, deciding to create peace through force, since the ninja world is all about power.

"Gather the Tailed Beast absolute power to overturn the rules of the game set by the Five Great Nations, and reshuffle the deck."

"So that's how it is, but... can it really change all of this?"

"Sure, they always used to wage war in other countries, bringing them pain. This time, they'll make the Five Great Nations feel the pain together."

Only those who deeply understand suffering can truly appreciate the preciousness of peace.

As Aoki Tsuki spoke, he reached out and patted Kabuto's shoulder, whispering seductively, " Orochimaru is someone who pursues immortality and power."

He doesn't care about War and Peace at all. You're different from him. You should make plans soon.

"Thank you for the reminder, senior. I will be careful. This way, please."

Leading Aoki Tsuki deeper into the base, they passed a practice room and found two people sparring inside.

"That boy is Sasuke, a survivor of the Uchiha. His opponent is Jūgo, known as ' Scales,' who possesses the ability to control Natural Energy."

"To have such skills at this age is truly outstanding."

"How far do you think he is from being compared to Itachi?"

"Um... this... isn't it a different species? Itachi is proficient in Genjutsu, Shuriken, Fire Release, and Water Release, and his Taijutsu is also quite formidable."

It seems he still has a long way to go, but time doesn't seem to be on his side.

Kabuto chuckled. One look from Itachi was enough to kill Orochimaru, and the latter still hasn't dared to retaliate, which shows how terrifying he is.

"It's hard to say. Those who possess Kekkei Genkai are different from us."

"That's true, they're not the same species as us." Dou nodded in agreement.

The two stood at the door for a while before turning to leave. Sasuke, who was in the middle of the battle, suddenly stopped and glanced in the direction of the door.

"What was that guy all about? Why couldn't I see Chakra in him?"

"Haha... I'll take you down!"

Jūgo had entered a berserk state, becoming a madman driven by a bloodlust, while Sasuke easily dodged his attacks with his agile movements.

There was no other way; Orochimaru was too busy to train with him, so he had to turn to Jūgo.

Kabuto led Aoki Tsuki into Orochimaru's laboratory.

When Aoki Tsuki saw that the room was filled with huge containers, each containing White Zetsu Clone, he regretted his decision.

"Damn it, I should never have traded this treasure to Orochimaru in the first place."

There are at least thirty containers at a glance, which means that Orochimaru's most troublesome problem of test subjects has been solved. No wonder he hasn't been placing any more Jashin Cult lately.

White Zetsu's clones are top-tier guinea pigs.

In the end, all he could say was sourly, " Lord Orochimaru, it seems you've made another breakthrough in cell culture technology."

"It's nothing. Zetsu's cells are very special. I just injected a little bit of other power into them."

Orochimaru was dealing with the White Zetsu Clone on the experimental table, seemingly performing some kind of technique on its stomach.

"Moon, is there something you need that you've come uninvited this time?"

"It's nothing major, I just wanted to ask Lord Orochimaru what his thoughts are on the upcoming war."

"Heh... you're worried I'll sabotage things, aren't you?"

Orochimaru saw through Aoki Tsuki's true intentions and replied, "I am not interested in your war."

"I just wanted to see what kind of changes a being with all Nine Tailed Beasts could bring to the Shinobi World."

"Haha... I naturally believe what Lord Orochimaru says. There are no winners or losers in war, only clashes of different ideas about peace."

Right or wrong is no longer important, if...

Aoki Tsuki paused here, then emphasized, "If we were to meet on the battlefield, given your strength, I wouldn't dare show any mercy."

"Same to you."

"Then I'll take my leave." Aoki Tsuki turned and left Orochimaru's base.

Even if Orochimaru joins the enemy camp, it doesn't matter. Legendary Sannin, working together, might be able to rival Pain.

None of these guys are reliable. Nagato, Obito, and Orochimaru might change their stance at any time. They completely lack the tenacity that villains should have.

Only Madara remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"By the way, Zetsu has been missing for a while now. Could he have dug up Madara's coffin again?"

Aoki Tsuki was a little worried. Madara must have placed a curse on Nagato, which was a huge hidden danger, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

Was he going to tell Nagato that those eyes belonged to someone else?

Headache.

Before returning to the village, they went to the moon one last time and agreed on a secret code.

This trip has almost completely resolved everything; now all that's left is to wait for the preparations to be completed before capturing the Nine-Tails.

"You're back. Where did you go?"

Konan circled around Aoki Tsuki, sniffed him, and her furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

It's not that she's petty; there's a saying that old habits die hard, so we have to be careful.

"Go deliver the puppet to Scorpion, and while you're at it, ask him to make Explosive Tag so you can be freed."

Hearing that Aoki Tsuki had gone to great lengths for her, she felt a warmth in her heart. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Next time you go out on errands, remember to come back before dark."

No overnight stays outside? What a selfish woman.

"Haha... we're thinking the same thing."

Their lives became quite regular after that. During the day, Konan went to work, and Aoki Tsuki went to cultivate. They drew talismans together in the evening.