Three months later, Gekko Chizan had his arm around Pakura as they strolled through a bustling town within the Land of Fire. Both were dressed casually, laughing and chatting while enjoying food and drinks along the way.
"So you fooled all those Anbu?"
"And now they're still miserably guarding the courtyard?"
Pakura covered her mouth and laughed softly, while Gekko Chizan nodded without the slightest hint of guilt.
"Trying to monitor me? They must have no idea who the true Grandmaster of Concealment is."
"Anbu, huh? I spotted them on the very first day. Tch tch, I really should offer the Hokage some advice."
"Can they even call themselves Anbu? If they can't stay hidden without being discovered, they're a disgrace to the name."
After finishing the dango in his hand, Gekko Chizan casually turned the bamboo skewer into crystal, then crushed it into fine powder — he was particular about not littering.
"But it's about time we head back."
"It's been three months. The battlefield at Iwagakure has calmed down, though Kirigakure is still stirring up trouble."
"My guess? Once their main force moves toward the Land of Hot Water, it won't be long before this Third Great Ninja War comes to an end."
Over these past three months, Gekko Chizan had slipped out of the village more than once. After all, in his eyes, having the Anbu spy on him was nothing but nonsense.
With a Shadow Clone and a flash of the Flying Thunder God, those Anbu could stare themselves blind and still never catch a trace of him.
"So what about your teacher?"
"Mm, don't even mention him. He's already left his human body behind entirely, walking a path of no return."
Gekko Chizan shook his head helplessly. He couldn't help but feel that Orochimaru still had one lingering obsession — that if he wasn't a snake, wasn't a blade, and didn't let snakes spit his name, he wasn't truly Orochimaru.
To make Orochimaru become the person he remembered, Chizan fully supported all of his teacher's pursuits.
Now, Orochimaru had already begun down the road of the Living Corpse Reincarnation. It might still be the early stage, but Chizan believed that given time, the Orochimaru he remembered would surely reappear.
"Is that really okay, though? I heard Jiraiya-sama has been investigating him nonstop."
"Even Tsunade-sama's been using her connections to track him down."
Gekko Chizan hadn't expected that Tsunade would actually give up on leaving the village, choosing instead to devote herself to medical research — even overcoming her hemophobia.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, couldn't order her around anymore.
"Don't worry about them. That's their business. Even if Jiraiya really finds my teacher, what can he do?"
"He can't necessarily beat him. And even if he could, my teacher wouldn't go back."
"You've no idea what Island Turtle looks like now."
"All those giant creatures have become his slaves — helping him with experiments every day, and when they're not doing that, they're still helping with experiments. Tch tch."
"You know what that bastard of a teacher says to me every time he sees me?"
Pakura burst out laughing, then said in a teasing tone,
"Quick, you're out of blood. Let me draw a few more tubes."
Gekko Chizan shook his head in exasperation, showing her his arm.
"Look at this — still full of needle marks."
"Ugh, it's terrifying."
These days, people with Kekkei Genkai weren't exactly rare. But with the war raging, every village's power was out in the open.
That was why Orochimaru had once gone to the black market to buy corpses of Kekkei Genkai users — all for research, of course.
...
At the same time, in the Land of Hot Water—
"No! No!"
"Akashige!"
"You bastards!"
"Ahhh!!!"
The colossal Demonic Statue of the Outer Path descended like a god of destruction, crushing every Konoha shinobi around it to death.
Among the fallen were even several elite jonin of Konoha.
No matter how they struggled, before the Demonic Statue they were nothing but ants.
And in the midst of those corpses stood Akashige.
"That settles it. Nagato's handled. Now he can become the blade in my hand."
"Black Zetsu, I've got to hand it to you — your heart is truly black."
"All that effort I went through to capture someone from so far away, even sealing the Three-Tails inside him."
"But that means the Three-Tails will need time to resurrect again."
The two figures stood before the bloody scene, talking leisurely — none other than Uchiha Makito and Zetsu, the ones pulling the strings from the shadows.
"What does it matter? We've got plenty of time for the plan. As long as Nagato enters our design, everything is worth it."
"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path has awakened. Hehehehe..."
The gloomy voice was filled with delight.
"Alright, take him back to Kirigakure."
"The Demonic Statue is too conspicuous. Can your ocular power handle it?"
Though Uchiha Makito's Mukyō was incredibly powerful, Zetsu still showed concern — after all, this was the Demonic Statue.
But Makito only let out a disdainful snort.
"Hmph. Who do you think you're underestimating?"
He strode into the battlefield, grabbed Nagato by the collar, and pressed his palm against the statue.
His Sharingan spun — Mangekyō power flaring — as Nagato and the statue began to shift. Blood filled his eyes, his aura turning menacing.
"It's just a giant stone man!"
"Let's see if I can't move you!"
"Move! A thousand miles in a step!"
With the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Makito forcibly transferred both Nagato and the Demonic Statue.
But his stamina and ocular power drained rapidly.
"That's enough. You've almost used up your Sharingan."
"We're already far from the Land of Hot Water. You can stop now."
Zetsu's voice drifted through the air, and only then did Makito release his technique. As Mukyō ended, he clutched his eyes with a sharp gasp.
The pain — overusing the Mangekyō's power was pure agony.
Even with Hashirama's cells mitigating the side effects, the backlash still remained.
"Hahaha, told you I could do it."
"Just a hunk of rock — how could I not move it?"
Watching him, Zetsu could only shake his head helplessly.
Nagato had fallen completely silent. Without his control, the Demonic Statue dispersed into a puff of white smoke before them.
"Nagato, this world is filled with mistakes."
"Let's set it right together."
"Your strength, combined with mine, will cleanse this world."
Uchiha Makito patted Nagato's shoulder again, extending his invitation.
Zetsu could only sigh once more. The road ahead was long, the burden heavy.
Still, with Nagato now harboring hatred toward Konoha's shinobi, things would be much easier.
Zetsu might not be good at much else — but when it came to manipulating people, he was a master.