Year 73 of Konoha's founding.
Wind howled, shifting dunes like ocean waves across the desert night.
Sunagakure itself was nestled in a unique "windbreak," yet the darkness and sandstorm seemed poised to swallow it whole.
Then—a deafening BOOM echoed from deep within Sunagakure. The semi-enclosed space amplified the blast. Firelight surged, a shockwave ripping the sandstorm apart overhead for a single, stark moment.
Clearly, someone was "working" in Sunagakure. The night shift.
Further out, others waited for extraction… After years of preparation, the Akatsuki was finally moving.
The extraction team was Yūshin and Jigen. By Akatsuki protocol, they counted as a single unit.
Yūshin watched the distant firelight, listened to the explosions mixed with the sandstorm's ghostly wails, and couldn't help but shake his head.
"The job's sloppy. A covert strike turned into an all-out assault. What's the point of this tantrum?"
No point at all. This style went against a shinobi's creed of efficiency and simplicity. But then again… blowing stuff up felt good. Especially for a kid. Left hand fire, right hand explosives, a pile of… targets ahead. Hard for anyone to resist.
"A matter of temperament," Jigen said. "The new brat the organization recruited isn't exactly likable. Too noisy… Let's hope they complete the mission smoothly and don't cause us extra trouble."
The artist currently "working" in Sunagakure was none other than Deidara, the youthful artist the Akatsuki had picked up from the Land of Earth.
Jigen's words were about the mission team, but his attention never left Yūshin. He couldn't pinpoint why, but his instincts screamed caution around this man.
This "Gan Wen Cui" seemed unremarkable, same as always. Yet standing beside him, Jigen felt an inexplicable, suffocating dread.
His instincts were sharp. Even disregarding pure combat power, in terms of life essence alone, Yūshin had surpassed him. Isshiki Ōtsutsuki was, after all, just an Ōtsutsuki. Yūshin had already sown, reaped, and feasted.
Proud as he was, Isshiki cared little for the Akatsuki or its grand plans. Child's play, all of it. But this "Gan Wen Cui"… he was the one opaque spot.
Caution aside, Isshiki wasn't one to fret over phantoms. Intuition was intuition. If they truly clashed, once that mysterious veil was torn away, he knew he'd be disappointed. Is that all?
The logic was simple. In theory, a termite could threaten a towering tree. But the sheer scale difference meant the threat existed only in theory. Meaningless in reality.
This Gan Wen Cui, bolstered by Wood Release, might at best reach the level of Asura—and that was being generous. What did Isshiki Ōtsutsuki have to fear?
…Though he didn't notice the mental gymnastics, the subconscious alarm bells his surface rationality kept trying to silence. Ahem. One really should trust their gut.
"The One-Tails' Jinchūriki… a rather famous shinobi, I hear?" Jigen asked, shifting the topic.
"Quite famous. Sasori of the Red Sand. The One-Tails was an inheritance from the previous jinchūriki, the monk Bunpuku. He's considered one of the candidates for the next Kazekage."
"The next Kazekage?" Jigen chuckled, a dry sound. "That'll be a long wait. I hear the current Third Kazekage of Suna is famously… cautious. Paranoid about his own safety to an extreme degree. A man like that tends to live a long time."
Which raised the question: Why was Kamakura, the supposedly "Strongest Kazekage," so relentlessly careful? Why did he avoid all risk, whether facing assassination or open combat? So hard to guess.
Clearly, his formative years must have involved some… unforgettable experiences.
Deidara, as a renowned artist, possessed offensive capabilities beyond doubt. His DPS far exceeded that of an average Kage-level shinobi… provided he didn't run into a Lightning Release specialist or anyone with flight capabilities.
Funny thing. The current Kazekage excelled at Lightning Release and could fly—Kamakura was a Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai user. Mastery of Magnet Release implied mastery of Lightning. And with his "Iron Wings," he could zip through the air just fine.
"He's in a tough fight. We should intervene," Yūshin stated.
Capturing the One-Tails was the opening move of the grand plan. Failure wasn't an option. Hence, the Akatsuki had assigned an extraction team. A wise precaution.
Forget who was stronger between Deidara and the Third Kazekage. The latter fought on home turf. If the former couldn't secure a quick victory, he'd lose. A major Hidden Village, with its leader commanding, wasn't just for show.
Artists, especially young, avant-garde ones, often had a self-destructive streak. If Deidara couldn't escape Sunagakure, he'd likely decide to go out with a big bang.
And since his partner on this mission was the mostly useless Jūzō Biwa, backup was necessary.
"Who goes?"
Jigen's tone dripped with disdain for Deidara's apparent incompetence.
"Rock-paper-scissors. Loser goes."
Yūshin was curious to see how Jigen would fight.
"Forget it. Too much trouble. I'll go."
Jigen couldn't be bothered with games. A wise choice… because in his current state, Yūshin couldn't lose at rock-paper-scissors even if he tried.
As he spoke, his figure vanished.
Given Jigen's—or rather, Isshiki's—nature, the aftermath of his intervention was predictable.
Moments later, he returned alone to Yūshin's side. Problem solved. Deidara had escaped Sunagakure with the target.
But the village didn't settle into calm. The distant chaos only grew worse. Because…
Though Jigen returned alone, he carried something in his hand. A head. The head of the "Strongest Kazekage."
This Kazekage seemed cursed, destined only for a mysterious, ignoble end.
"That… was a bit unnecessary," Yūshin remarked. "The mission was complete. No need to provoke a major village."
This man was utterly lawless. Or was it intentional? A show of strength?
Jigen shook his head, a gesture of profound disappointment. "The so-called 'Strongest Kazekage in history.' I fail to see where this 'strength' lies."
Truthfully, he'd have preferred to wring Deidara's neck for his ineptitude. But since he still needed to hide within the Akatsuki a while longer, he couldn't vent his frustrations on the artist.
If not Deidara, the Kazekage made a convenient substitute.
"The mission is done. We should withdraw. The next step seems to be sealing the tailed beast directly."
"Agreed."
As he spoke, Jigen tossed the head aside casually. A test, to gauge Yūshin's reaction. He got nothing. Just as Jigen treated killing a Kage as trivial, Yūshin showed complete indifference.
"Aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
"About the method of sealing a tailed beast into the Gedo Statue."
"Ah… I'll be sure to observe closely."
Deidara and his captive arrived first at the predetermined location—a massive, well-hidden cavern. Yūshin and Jigen followed soon after.
Next came the summoning of the Gedo Statue. Then, from faraway Amegakure, the Deva Path activated the "Projection Technique," magically connecting the scattered Akatsuki members for a video conference.
"Bit excessive, don't you think?" Kisame Hoshigaki's voice cut through, his single glance at the retrieved jinchūriki enough. "Did you really have to dismember all his limbs just to capture him?"
"Wasn't me," Deidara shot back instantly. "He did that to himself, turning into this half-man, half-machine freak… The jinchūriki wasn't hard. The Kazekage, though? That was something else."
As a puppet master, Sasori of the Red Sand had naturally modified his body extensively. But not to the insane degree of the original timeline, where only a few pounds of flesh remained.
Common sense said flesh was fragile, inferior to steel. So modifying oneself was a path to greater power… Not a wrong thought. Just conventional.
Even ignoring exceptions like Yūshin, mastering Sage Mode alone could make one's body tougher than a pile of scrap metal. Sasori's vision was simply… limited.
"You encountered the Kazekage… What is his current status?" The Deva Path seized the crucial point.
He assumed the Kazekage was in hot pursuit. They needed to seal the beast fast.
Then Jigen spoke. "Killed him."
All eyes turned. Understanding among Akatsuki members was shallow. Most hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary young man to possess such terrifying power.
The Deva Path fell silent for a moment, as if processing the information fully. Then he issued a command.
"Henceforth, during tailed beast capture operations, do not target the Kage of the major villages… unless absolutely necessary."
This wasn't mercy. It was cold, practical strategy. Everything for order.
Simple reasoning: only an ordered village could be properly intimidated. If the major villages were left leaderless and scattered, even if Nagato gathered all the tailed beasts, who would he threaten? Disorganized mobs?
A structured village could be cowed by a weapon of mass destruction. Nagato didn't want the villages to collapse. He wanted the Kage alive. Living Kage could act as enforcers, maintaining order under the shadow of terror, bringing about peace.
The leader's word was divine law. They would obey.
After the brief interlude, there was no time for chatter. To avoid complications, the Deva Path led the members in extracting the One-Tails, Shukaku, and re-sealing it.
Shoving a tailed beast back into the Gedo Statue was no easy task. Hence the need for the full roster.
During the sealing, however, one member remained at ease. Not only could he slack off, he could even converse with the tailed beast, hidden from all.
"Huh? This feels… familiar. Like going home. Except…"
"Except after years away, home has become a barren wasteland."
"Gan! What are you trying to do now?"
Shukaku immediately noticed Yūshin's presence within its consciousness. This time, it couldn't stay calm.
"Not my doing. I'm just here to make up the numbers… Someone wants to resurrect the Ten-Tails. Right now, they're transferring you from the jinchūriki to the Gedo Statue."
Yūshin finally explained what Shukaku was experiencing.
"Resurrect the Ten-Tails?! How is that possible?! Gan, aren't you going to stop them?"
"Unnecessary. What splits must join, what joins must split. Relax."
"Easy for you to say! It's not your consciousness being erased!"
"Don't be so dramatic. Reversing the Sage of Six Paths' Yin-Yang Release isn't so simple. Consciousness born over millennia might be suppressed, but erased? Impossible… Don't think of this as a prison. It's temporary detention. You'll be free again soon—permanently. No more shackles."
The tailed beasts' consciousness was created by the Sage. Yūshin, in his idle moments, had even strengthened it. Wiping it out wouldn't be easy.
"Free? What do you mean?"
"You'll know soon enough. Point is, assembling the Ten-Tails isn't that straightforward. We've all grown into five-hundred-pound entities. How are we supposed to squeeze back into a single toilet stall to live? …Forget it. Your intellect probably can't grasp the metaphor. Would I ever harm you all?"
Hard to say… Shukaku almost retorted. Then it felt its consciousness constrained within a dark, deep prison.
It wanted to ask about the jinchūriki's fate. But the conversation ended abruptly, again.
Even a wild spirit like Shukaku felt the urge to scream: Riddlers, get out of the shinobi world!
"It's over? That felt… faster than expected?"
"Yeah, wasn't it supposed to take three days?"
"Maybe the One-Tails is special?"
"Special? You mean weak? Lower chakra reserves? Possible."
Even Nagato felt puzzled. Theory was theory. Practice always had surprises. This one was positive, at least. Regardless, the One-Tails was sealed with unexpected smoothness.
"With the One-Tails gone, the villages will be on high alert. From now on, all actions must be quicker, more efficient… Dismissed."
...
Two days later, Konoha.
Hokage Uguisu Genkai received a report. Given its source, it was important. Yet it contained only a single, cryptic line.
At the same moment, the head of Konoha's Intelligence Division burst into the Hokage's office without ceremony.
"Hokage-sama! A terrible—"
The Hokage raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sprint.
Uguisu Genkai was thinking. The report in her hand read: "The war is about to begin. If you wish to fight."
What kind of riddle is this… She sighed inwardly, setting the report aside for now.
"What is it? Why the urgency?"
The man delivering the second report looked ready to combust. Finally granted permission, his words tumbled out in a torrent.
"Hokage-sama! A catastrophe! Recently, an unidentified enemy attacked Sunagakure. The Third Kazekage has fallen in battle! The jinchūriki has been abducted!"
"The Kazekage is dead? Killed by an external enemy inside his own village? Is this confirmed?" The Hokage shot to her feet.
Despite her shock, a strange, inexplicable sense of… satisfaction bloomed in her chest. Now this is proper intel.
"Confirmed. The Kazekage was… decapitated. Cleanly. They found his head days later."
"And the jinchūriki?"
"Also found. But the tailed beast inside him was stolen. The jinchūriki himself survived—apparently revived by some Suna life-for-a-life secret technique."
"…Jinchūriki? Tailed beast? Their target… is the tailed beasts?"
The realization hit her. Her gaze snapped back to the cryptic report.
"So that's what it meant."
The Moon people had given her a thorough education. She'd long been prepared for a great upheaval in the shinobi world. Now, she understood. The upheaval had begun.
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