In a cave somewhere in the Land of Wind...
Black Zetsu appeared once again, wrapped in a cloak and holding a book. He placed the *Naruto* manga in front of Madara.
Madara reached out to take it and casually asked, "How did the transfer of the jinchūriki go in Sunagakure?"
"It was successful. The new Kazekage possesses considerable strength. With Chiyo's sealing technique, Shukaku was quickly resealed. Although Shukaku doesn't seem too thrilled with his new host—probably because Bunpuku inherited quite a bit of that old woman Chiyo's sharp temper."
Black Zetsu replied calmly.
Each time he spoke, he made sure to mention Indra, subtly reinforcing in Madara's mind the idea that he truly was Indra. At least now, Madara was gradually accepting this truth—wasn't he?
"Weak and useless mercy will never bring true peace."
Madara said coldly, idly flipping through the manga. The battle between Itachi and Sasuke stirred something inside him, but once that moment passed, it was nothing special.
In the manga, Sasuke was undeniably inexperienced.
After flipping ahead a few pages, Madara could already tell that this brat was doomed to be manipulated by "Madara" until he lost all sense.
Page after page.
Madara couldn't help but let out a sneer.
You dare call yourself Madara?
A mere Amaterasu? Why bother using such complicated countermeasures? A simple sealing technique would have been enough to neutralize the damage from Amaterasu.
Also...
This so-called "Madara"—he looked like a clear impostor. Just by looking at his face, chances are this kid had been crushed under a boulder.
Then came the masked man's performance, successfully manipulating Sasuke into joining Akatsuki—and in the process, recruiting three others—forming his own "Snake" team.
Madara murmured thoughtfully, "Simple lies are easily exposed. Only mixed truths and falsehoods can form believable deception."
"That goes without saying."
Black Zetsu remained completely expressionless inside. He had read the manga beforehand and naturally knew exactly what it contained. Therefore, he had already prepared mental scripts for how Madara might respond.
Thanks to this preparation, Madara detected no emotional fluctuations from him.
Without comment, he continued flipping ahead, unconcerned over what he might discover. There was still time. As long as he kept developing his abilities, eventually he would uncover more secrets about Black Zetsu.
As for the next two chapters...
As an enemy of Konoha, Madara felt no sorrow while watching them. Finishing emotionlessly, he shut the book and shot Black Zetsu one last look.
"Next time, don't forget to bring me some *One Piece* manga too."
???
Black Zetsu looked confused. Since when had he become a professional errand boy for comics?
Before he could speak, Madara continued, "I haven't eaten anything in a while. There's nothing edible around this desert. Remember to bring some fruit and other snacks."
"…"
Getting arrogant, aren't you? So shameless.
Black Zetsu grew somewhat angry.
After all, wasn't he the son of the progenitor of chakra—the brother of the Sage of Six Paths? He hadn't sunk so low as to run errands for others, especially not someone who was many generations younger!
"The brat became a jinchūriki. I need to find time to strengthen my control. No hands free to spare. Could you do me a favor and fetch these things?"
"Rest assured, leave it to me."
News of these activities from Sunagakure quickly reached Konoha.
Thanks to a double agent in Sunagakure Village who controlled many informants, the communication was extremely fast. The reason Ebizō sold his village's intelligence so readily was mainly because he'd already gotten Danzo's reply.
Madara.
Just one word, yet it shocked him as much as if Sunagakure Village had been destroyed.
This name represented an unmatched legend, someone who dominated an era just like Hashirama Senju did, keeping every other ninja village too scared to even make a move against Konoha.
Forget Ebizō himself—even the previous two Kage revived from the dead would still get crushed before Madara.
Now this god-level figure was coming to Sunagakure Village, instantly bringing enormous pressure upon Ebizō as the Anbu leader.
Fortunately, he realized one thing.
Konoha was so willing to inform him—there must be their own purposes. Combined with the surface-level alliance contract between the two villages, cooperation was definitely the best choice.
After Danzo replied to him, Ebizō immediately threw himself into handling matters regarding the Anbu division.
After whispering some words into Akaba's ear, Dan Kato received a new mission. He was transferred into the Anbu and assigned to an Anbu squad, tasked with reconnaissance and assassination missions heading toward Sunagakure Village.
When Orochimaru learned about it, he expressed deep guilt, nearly shedding tears at the farewell.
To show his "apology," he personally helped Dan complete the puppet's last missing piece—granting it limited autonomous movement ability.
It was a basic mechanical feature—it would automatically go full speed at the first sign of an attack.
This 'mecha' might seem pointless to others, but for ninja who mastered Spirit Transformation Technique and whose weakest point was their physical body, this kind of mecha turned out to be just perfect.
Dan was delighted—he didn't show even a hint of displeasure on his face. Instead, he even told Orochimaru that originally he wanted to ask for help solving this issue, but left immediately when he saw Tsunade nearby.
Thus, Orochimaru felt awkward—he had actually been the person Dan intended to approach.
Alright then.
Better I betray others than let others betray me.
Akaba didn't know the truth, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care. Since he'd already planted ideas in Danzo's mind, would he really go back and ask Danzo to reassign Dan?
Once the war started, he himself would head to the front lines anyway—who had time to argue?
For example, right now, Akaba had accepted Danzo's mission—to escort Roshi to the Rock ninja village. Danzo was considerate enough to leave behind a specially crafted kunai in the Rock village, so long as Akaba had sufficient chakra, he could directly teleport there using Flying Thunder God.
But the chakra consumption wasn't too bad when transporting regular ninja via Flying Thunder God; however, carrying a jinchuriki all the way from Konoha to the Land of River would probably cost a significant amount of chakra.
No choice then—walking.
To prevent Roshi from resisting, Akaba personally gave him a few volumes of Naruto and One Piece manga as gifts—"the last present"—to keep him entertained along the way.
"Master, would you please spare me?"
Roshi spoke with low spirits.
He knew that after returning, he was probably going to die. Previously, he wouldn't have cared—it was just one life. Compared to being despised and imprisoned, death seemed better.
But after reading the manga, he suddenly no longer wished to die.
"Impossible."
Akaba replied coldly after glancing at him. "You either walk by yourself, or I control you to walk."
Roshi knew Akaba was a master of genjutsu, possessing formidable skills.
Previously defeating him had relied on genjutsu, Water Release, and Lightning Release techniques. He clearly possessed terrifying techniques, including genjutsu, Water Release, and Lightning Release.
He decided to walk on his own.
At least this way, he could finish the manga in his hands before the end came — that way, he wouldn't die with any regrets.
But obviously Roshi had been thinking too much — how could he possibly die without regrets when Naruto and One Piece hadn't even finished yet?
When they reached the border of the Land of Fire, Akaba roughly calculated that he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach Loguetown. He patted the boy's shoulder and told him to put away his manga books first.
Next.
[Flying Thunder God Technique] — teleportation.
Leaving the Land of Rivers, Akaba didn't stop but continued heading toward the Rock ninja village. Roshi dared not run away; Akaba was simply too strong.
Besides, if he ran, he'd probably lose his manga altogether.
Throughout the journey, Roshi quietly kept his head down like a mobile phone addict, reading manga while walking side-by-side with Akaba. Thanks to the tailed beast chakra nourishment, his stamina wasn't bad at all. Although younger than Akaba by a few years, he didn't seem particularly exhausted upon reaching the border of the Land of River.
Now, he saw Akaba come to a halt.
He vaguely understood — it must be the Flying Thunder God again.
So,
"Please wait a second. Let me finish this part first."
Roshi sat down, speeding up his reading pace. The plot deeply engaged him; both Naruto's perseverance and Gaara's transformation greatly moved him.
Maybe what I lack, he thought with slight regret, is someone like "Naruto" — someone who could change everything.
Guarding a jinchuriki came with significant credit, so Akaba was fine with letting him finish the manga. Besides, Onoki was no good man.
To be precise, purely good people just couldn't become Kage.
Onoki was no different — he was just as untrustworthy.
This mission might have been called an escort for a jinchuriki, but the real reason Danzo had assigned Akaba was to prevent Onoki from secretly harming Konoha behind their backs, hence needing plenty of chakra prepared.
Roshi read on until he reached the most emotionally charged parts, and it really got to him. After a long while, he finally finished.
"Lord Akaba," he asked, "will there ever truly be peace in the Ninja World later in the manga? Will jinchuriki still be treated this way?"
Roshi was someone who thought independently.
Even though he was still very young, he had many thoughts on the status of jinchuriki — most of what he said came directly from his own reflections.
He longed for peace. He hoped that jinchuriki would someday receive proper treatment.
Akaba fell silent for a long moment before gently shaking his head. "Peace is always fleeting — nothing lasts forever. As for jinchuriki… perhaps. If you're asking specifically about the manga, then yes, I suppose so."
"I see... I really hope someone like Naruto exists out there in the real world."
Roshi gave a faint smile, rose slowly, and brushed off his pants.
Time to go.
Akaba teased, "No interest in finishing One Piece?"
"Nope. Since it hasn't ended yet, I'd rather not carry two unfinished regrets into death." Roshi replied as he stood beside him.
Akaba placed a hand on his shoulder, channeling chakra to teleport to where Danzo had positioned specially crafted kunai.
After teleporting, they appeared on a distant mountain far from the Rock ninja village. From here, they could see the village below. Roshi wore a complex expression — this was the Hidden Rock Village, his homeland.
Not long after arriving, another figure materialized next to them.
"Konoha's ninja, and..."
The Anbu of the Rock ninja village caught sight of the two, hesitated for a moment, then vanished swiftly.
Akaba could sense it—he hadn't left, just hidden himself.
Meanwhile, numerous shinobi from the Rock ninja village were rapidly closing in from afar. There had to be dozens of them. Judging solely by their auras, most were at the Tokubetsu Jonin or Jonin level.
Not long after, a short figure arrived first—flying down from the sky.
Third Kazekage Onoki.
"No wonder. That kunai was intentionally dropped by Danzo. I never expected anyone else could master the [Flying Thunder God Technique] even after the Second Hokage's death."
Onoki looked down from above.
"You're not some lady I need to look up to," Akaba couldn't help but retort.
Then he raised his hand, instantly gathering blinding lightning. The sky darkened as storm clouds gathered quickly. In the blink of an eye, Lightning tore through the heavens and struck downward.
Startled, Onoki immediately dodged away from the strike.
Moments later, he suddenly found himself trapped in a Genjutsu. The next thing he knew, he plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily to the ground.
Crash!
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