Chapter 120 (Patreon)

Elsewhere, not long after Kakuzu was rescued, Danzō immediately withdrew from the Land of Waterfalls with his men.

If he remained there any longer, someone might uncover his designs on the Seven-Tails.

The current Seven-Tails jinchūriki was only three or four years old. At that age, she was still far too young to be of any practical use.

If Danzō were still in Konoha, with its vast pool of personnel at his disposal, he could have arranged for the Seven-Tails to be transferred into a more suitable vessel. But now, without any skilled sealing ninja capable of carrying out the procedure, his only choice was to mold the current jinchūriki himself.

Fortunately, the girl was still very young. It would be much easier to reshape her thoughts and raise her as an obedient weapon.

His other objectives—driving a wedge between the hidden villages and assassinating the Fifth Hokage—would also require time.

According to Danzō’s plan, he only needed to remain hidden for a few more years. Once the Seven-Tails jinchūriki was at least capable of fighting, he would return to Konoha and reclaim the position that rightfully belonged to him.

After leaving the Land of Waterfalls, Danzō headed directly for the Land of Rice Fields.

He knew that Orochimaru maintained several underground bases there, and he needed to replenish his supply of disposable pawns.

With so few capable subordinates remaining at his side, Danzō felt far from secure. He also needed to determine how his whereabouts had been exposed.

He could not rid himself of the feeling that someone was targeting him from the shadows.

In truth, Kakuzu had only managed to locate Danzō because Zetsu had provided him with the necessary intelligence. Zetsu had taken an interest in Danzō because the bounty on his head exceeded one hundred million ryō.

If they could claim that bounty, it would fund Akatsuki’s operations for a considerable length of time.

What Zetsu had not expected was for Kakuzu to fail to kill Danzō—and nearly lose his own life to the man’s underhanded tactics.

Danzō had not even been forced to take action personally. That outcome genuinely surprised Zetsu.

As far as Zetsu was concerned, Kakuzu’s strength was nothing extraordinary. There was no point comparing him to the Sage of Six Paths, and even Hashirama and Madara stood far beyond his reach.

However, Danzō should have been weaker still. Combined with Kakuzu’s near-immortal body, the outcome should have been certain.

Watching as Kakuzu replaced his lost hearts with those taken from rogue ninja, Zetsu finally asked, “Is Danzō truly that strong? How did you end up like this?”

“Hmph. I let my guard down this time,” Kakuzu replied coldly. “Do you have any information on those puppets Danzō was using?”

He had seized one of their hearts without difficulty, only for it to stop beating the moment he took it. Kakuzu had never encountered anything like it before.

Zetsu shook his head before offering his own theory.

“I’ve never seen them before. They are most likely connected to another missing-nin from Konoha—Orochimaru. White Zetsu previously discovered him abducting people for human experimentation.”

“Orochimaru? What a troublesome man.”

Despite being a Konoha missing-nin, Orochimaru had no bounty issued by Konoha at any black-market bounty station.

Other villages had placed respectable prices on his head, but after examining the available intelligence, Kakuzu had decided the risk was not worth the reward.

Now that he had prey as valuable as Danzō in his sights, Orochimaru’s bounty interested him even less.

The moment Zetsu revealed that Danzō was heading toward the Land of Rice Fields, Kakuzu prepared to pursue him.

“Leave Danzō alone for now,” Zetsu said. “The leader has a new mission for you.”

High above Amegakure, Nagato remained within the village’s central tower, completely unaware that Zetsu had directed Kakuzu toward Danzō. He also knew nothing about Kakuzu’s failed attempt to hunt him down.

Had Nagato known where Danzō was hiding, he would have gone personally and killed him to avenge what had happened in the past.

“Konan, Zetsu has sent word that he located Sasori of the Red Sand. Go and invite him to join Akatsuki.”

“Nagato...”

“Do not worry. As long as I possess these eyes, no one can defeat me.” Nagato’s Rinnegan remained unwavering. “We must gather the necessary members as soon as possible and begin the Nuclear Peace Plan.”

Konan was just about to leave when space rippled in front of her. A masked figure emerged from the distortion without warning.

“Nagato, Kirigakure is preparing to appoint its Fourth Mizukage. I will remain in the Hidden Mist for a while and persuade several ninja I have chosen to join Akatsuki. If anything happens, have Zetsu contact me.”

The masked man vanished again without waiting for Nagato’s response.

Konan parted her lips, but before she could say anything, Nagato spoke first.

“Go. Take care of your mission.”

Outside Kirigakure, the masked Obito materialized from a swirling distortion.

He stared at the village before him and whispered, “Three-Tails jinchūriki... You will pay for the sins you committed that day.”

“Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!”

A shark formed from rushing water tore through Obito’s body.

Obito turned, his gaze cold as it settled upon the attacker.

He did not think much of being discovered so soon after arriving. He assumed it was merely a coincidence. However, the man who had attacked him—Kisame—was one of the ninja he had taken an interest in and intended to recruit.

At the same time, mist began to spread around him. Someone nearby had activated the Hidden Mist Technique.

Obito swept his gaze across the area and sensed several chakra signatures concealed within the fog.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

“Water Gun Technique!”

...

Seven or eight different Water Release ninjutsu surged toward him from every direction.

No matter how confident Obito was, even he immediately realized that something was wrong. These people had not discovered him by chance.

Ninjutsu and ninja tools continued to pass through his body in an unbroken barrage. More importantly, none of the Kirigakure ninja showed the slightest surprise when their attacks failed to touch him.

Has information about me been leaked? Impossible. No one knows how my ability works.

Obito remained where he was and allowed the Kirigakure ninja to continue their assault.

So this is the Bloody Mist’s training. Every one of them has been shaped into a proper tool. Unfortunately, tools that cannot serve me have no reason to exist.

Obito refused to believe that anyone knew the secret of his Mangekyō Sharingan. He convinced himself that the Kirigakure ninja were simply too well trained to let an unexpected development disrupt them in the middle of battle.

But no matter how disciplined they were, they could not defeat him. Ever since he had fully mastered the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had suffered defeat only once—and that had been at the hands of that man.

Gradually, however, Obito recognized a far more serious problem.

The group’s coordination was flawless. Their attacks followed one another without the slightest pause, denying him any opportunity to counterattack.

The instant he ended his intangibility and attempted to strike back, one of their attacks would hit him.

Obito’s expression darkened behind his mask.

Impossible. Other than Zetsu and that dead man, no one knows the secret of my ability. These Kirigakure ninja...

He could not find a single opening. Obito had even prepared ninja tools inside his Kamui dimension beforehand. He could launch them faster than the enemy could release their ninjutsu, yet he still had no opportunity to use them.

There was only one possible explanation.

Kirigakure possessed detailed intelligence regarding his ability. They had also practiced extensively with that information in mind; otherwise, they could never have maintained such faultless coordination.

At that moment, uncovering how his secret had been exposed became even more important to Obito than taking revenge on the Hidden Mist.

He had already begun considering an immediate retreat, but his pride would not allow him to flee in disgrace without doing anything.

In the end, Obito made his decision. Even if he had to endure one of their attacks, he would strike back and claim at least one of their lives.

Relying on the Sharingan’s perception, he abruptly ended his intangibility and raised one arm to block several incoming kunai.

“Wood Release: Revolt of Hell!”

“What?!”

The previously composed Kirigakure ninja were shaken by the sight of Wood Release. Nothing in the intelligence they had received mentioned that ability.

“Water Release: Water Formation Wall!”

“Hydrification Technique!”

Some immediately used defensive ninjutsu, while others brought their massive swords around and used the broad blades as shields.

When Obito saw their formation break, the retreat he had planned vanished from his mind.

The interruption in Kirigakure’s continuous barrage gave his long-suppressed emotions the chance to erupt.

“Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!”

...

Ninjutsu, giant shuriken—Obito unleashed every attack at his disposal, one after another.

The roles of attacker and defender had reversed. Obito was now the one launching an unrelenting assault, while the Kirigakure ninja were forced to defend without pause.