Ten o’clock in the morning.

Kitazawa slowly lowered his hands, bringing his training to a halt.

He had been practicing the Wood Golem, and the chakra circulation within his body was still humming faintly.

"Lord Kitazawa."

An ANBU shinobi suddenly appeared before him.

It was Haru.

Kitazawa glanced at him calmly.

"Is Sensei looking for me?"

He asked the question almost instinctively.

Whenever Tsunade wanted to see him, she usually had Haru deliver the message directly.

If the matter wasn’t urgent, ANBU would inform Konan first, and she would then pass the message along.

"Yes," Haru replied.

"Hokage-sama requests that you go to her immediately."

Kitazawa nodded.

The next moment—

Space twisted.

In an instant, he appeared inside the Hokage Office.

Tsunade was already waiting.

Her expression was unusually serious.

"This intelligence just arrived," she said, handing him a scroll.

Kitazawa frowned slightly.

Seeing Tsunade with such a grave expression was rare.

He opened the scroll and began reading.

After only a few lines—

His eyes narrowed.

’So... the Eye of the Moon Plan has begun.’

Compared with the timeline of the original history, it had begun roughly four or five years earlier.

But after thinking about it carefully, the reason was obvious.

In the original timeline, the Akatsuki had been forced to wait for the Three-Tails to revive.

But now, the Three-Tails had never died.

Additionally, the Akatsuki now possessed two major financial sources:

The water trade.

And the silver jewelry business.

With sufficient funds secured earlier, advancing the plan’s timeline made perfect sense.

Despite this, Kitazawa did not feel particularly alarmed.

His current strength was already more than sufficient to deal with most threats.

Although he had not yet mastered Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands, the enemies he would face in the near future were not Uchiha Madara or Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

Obito relied almost entirely on Kamui.

As for Nagato, the Six Paths of Pain had struggled even against an eight-tailed semi-transformed Naruto during the invasion of Konoha in the original timeline.

The only real variable...

Was Black Zetsu.

But with Flying Thunder God in his arsenal, it would be nearly impossible for Black Zetsu to ambush him successfully.

After all—

Kitazawa already knew of his existence.

If he had been unaware of Black Zetsu, things might have been different.

But now?

A sneak attack was almost impossible.

Kitazawa steadied his thoughts and continued reading the scroll.

It described the capture of Gaara.

However, the circumstances were very different from the original storyline.

First—

The Akatsuki member responsible had changed.

Instead of Deidara, it was Sasori who carried out the operation.

During his battle with Rasa, Sasori had even deployed the Third Kazekage puppet.

Because of that—

His identity had been exposed.

Even if he hadn’t used the puppet, the truth would have surfaced sooner or later.

After all, there were only a handful of puppeteers powerful enough to fight a Kage-level shinobi.

As for Sasori’s partner—

He had not directly participated in the battle.

But from the description in the report, Kitazawa immediately recognized him.

Uchiha Obito.

Within the Akatsuki, only one member consistently wore a mask.

There was another major difference as well.

According to ANBU intelligence, the cause of the conflict had been identified as the ongoing struggle between Amegakure and Sunagakure over control of the water trade.

The reasoning was simple.

Before Sasori and Obito appeared on the battlefield, all Amegakure ninja had withdrawn back to the Land of Rain.

And for someone as powerful as Sasori—

Outside of the Five Great Villages, only one person would have had the authority to recruit him.

Hanzō of the Salamander.

Kitazawa had only informed Tsunade of Hanzō’s death.

The ANBU, unaware of the truth, still believed Hanzō was secretly orchestrating events from the shadows.

From a logical standpoint—

That conclusion actually made sense.

After all, Amegakure and Sunagakure had been clashing over the water trade for quite some time.

Kitazawa rolled the scroll back up.

"What’s the current situation in Sunagakure?" he asked.

Tsunade answered slowly.

"Fourth Kazekage Rasa has been seriously injured."

"Chiyo has already ended her seclusion and taken command again."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"According to the latest reports, Ebizo is currently holding the village together."

"As for Chiyo—she has already led a team to rescue Gaara."

"She had no choice," Shizune said from behind Tsunade with a sigh.

"No one expected that the attacker would turn out to be her own grandson... Sasori."

"And Sasori has even turned the Third Kazekage into a human puppet," Tsunade added.

"At this point, he’s effectively become a missing-nin of Sunagakure."

Kitazawa thought for a moment.

"Has Sunagakure requested assistance from us?"

Tsunade suddenly laughed.

"How could they possibly ask us for help?"

"Right now, Sunagakure is more afraid of us than a rabbit facing a tiger."

Kitazawa paused briefly.

Then he understood.

In the original timeline, Sunagakure and Konoha were allies.

That was why Sunagakure had requested assistance after Gaara was captured.

But the current situation was completely different.

There had been no Konoha Crush plan orchestrated by Orochimaru.

Rasa was still alive.

And Gaara had not become the Fifth Kazekage.

Under those circumstances—

Why would Sunagakure dare request help from a village that wasn’t their ally?

If Konoha decided to take advantage of Rasa’s injuries and Gaara’s capture...

It could easily launch a full-scale war against Sunagakure.

"Sunagakure has only requested assistance from the Hidden Mist Village."

Shizune spoke up, breaking the brief silence.

Kitazawa nodded thoughtfully before asking another question.

"How are the other villages reacting?"

"Kumogakure is too far away," Tsunade replied casually. "So far, there’s been no movement from them."

She leaned back in her chair and continued.

"As for Iwagakure, they’ve already reinforced the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain."

The moment Kitazawa heard that, he immediately understood Ōnoki’s thinking.

Although the Akatsuki Organization wasn’t particularly famous in the ninja world yet, many influential figures were aware of its existence.

Ōnoki was one of them.

Now that Akatsuki had helped Amegakure deal a heavy blow to Sunagakure, it naturally led people like Ōnoki to assume that the organization was under Hanzō’s control.

In fact—

Almost everyone who knew about Akatsuki believed the same thing.

Kitazawa had previously learned from ANBU intelligence that Deidara had already returned to Iwagakure.

Naturally, Ōnoki could obtain accurate information about Akatsuki from him.

That was precisely why the old Tsuchikage had strengthened his borders.

"The biggest question right now," Shizune said seriously, "is what Akatsuki’s true objective is."

"Are they simply fighting over the water trade..."

"...or are they trying to trigger a war?"

Tsunade frowned slightly.

"I once heard Jiraiya talk about Akatsuki."

"At that time, their goal was peace in the ninja world, and they even carried out many righteous actions."

She paused, her expression darkening.

"But now... it looks like their purpose has changed."

If Akatsuki were truly pursuing peace, they would never have captured Gaara.

Everyone understood one thing clearly—

A Jinchūriki was the absolute taboo of every hidden village.

Capturing one meant declaring a life-and-death conflict with that village.

By abducting Gaara, Akatsuki had effectively declared war on Sunagakure.

"Now that they’ve made their move," Kitazawa said calmly as he placed the scroll on the desk, "their real goal will reveal itself soon enough."

"Mm."

Tsunade nodded.

"For now, Konoha will simply observe the situation."

Kitazawa’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.

He remembered the system mission to create a new generation of Konoha Sannin.

And right now—

Sasori would be a perfect stepping stone.

Thanks to a series of coincidences, his identity had already been exposed.

Even worse, the long-missing Third Kazekage had been revealed as one of Sasori’s human puppets.

At this moment, Sasori of the Red Sand was arguably the most infamous shinobi in the entire ninja world.

In the original timeline, Sunagakure had requested Konoha’s help.

Sasori had eventually died in battle against Chiyo and Sakura.

Meanwhile, Gaara, whose One-Tail Shukaku had been extracted, had been revived by Chiyo using the Life Reincarnation Technique, sacrificing her own life in the process. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But now—

Konoha had not been invited into the situation.

Which meant Chiyo would most likely face Sasori alone.

The outcome was difficult to predict.

It would also depend on whether Obito decided to intervene.

Still—

Knowing Sasori’s personality, he would probably refuse outside interference and insist on facing Chiyo personally.

For Kitazawa, the real problem was that Sunagakure had not asked Konoha for help.

Without that invitation, it was difficult for Konoha to intervene openly.

But regardless—

Kitazawa intended to step in.

Because he had another idea in mind.

He wanted to bring the Akatsuki Organization under his control.

After all, every member of Akatsuki was a rare talent.

And considering his connection with Konan, it would be far too wasteful to eliminate them all.

As for Nagato...

Kitazawa already had a rough plan.

Nagato’s greatest hatred was directed toward Konoha.

But what if—

Nagato learned that his parents hadn’t truly died at Konoha’s hands?

What if he discovered that his entire life had been manipulated by Uchiha Madara?

Suddenly, the system interface appeared again.

[Current Mission: Incorporate the Akatsuki Organization into Konoha Village]

[Mission Reward: 50% Ōtsutsuki Clan Bloodline]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa glanced at it and accepted immediately.

With or without the system mission—

He had already planned to do this.

Besides, the reward was extremely tempting.

Fifty percent Ōtsutsuki bloodline.

That would bring him significantly closer to awakening the Tenseigan.

Even if defeating Akatsuki would make him practically invincible within the ninja world...

Beyond that world still existed the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

Not just Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, who was sealed away.

In short—

The stronger he became, the better.

Another system notification appeared.

[Current Mission: Defeat Sasori]

[Mission Reward: Red Secret Technique — Performance of a Hundred Puppets]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.

Compared to the previous mission, this reward felt somewhat underwhelming.

Performance of a Hundred Puppets was certainly the pinnacle technique of a puppeteer.

It allowed the user to control one hundred puppets simultaneously.

But for someone like Kitazawa—

It wasn’t particularly useful.

Then a third mission appeared.

[Current Mission: Recruit Gaara into the Genius Class]

[Mission Reward: Master-Level Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa blinked.

’Three missions at once?’

Still...

This particular mission actually aligned with something he had already considered.

When thinking about expanding the Genius Class, he had once contemplated recruiting Gaara.

And the current circumstances made it surprisingly plausible.

First—

Gaara’s relationship with Rasa was extremely strained.

Second—

He would soon be captured by Akatsuki and have Shukaku extracted.

Kitazawa could save him using an improved version of the Life Reincarnation Technique.

But why stop there?

Temari and Kankuro could join as well.

Of course, Sunagakure—and Rasa in particular—would never agree.

But that didn’t really matter.

If persuasion failed—

There was always physical persuasion.

"Kitazawa."

Tsunade’s voice broke his train of thought.

"For now, have the ANBU monitor this situation closely."

"Notify me immediately if there’s any new information."

"Understood."

Kitazawa paused briefly before adding,

"I’ll personally investigate the situation using Flying Thunder God."

Tsunade originally looked hesitant.

But when she remembered his space–time technique, she finally relented.

"...Be careful."

"Mm."

Kitazawa nodded.

After saying goodbye to Tsunade and Shizune, he headed toward the ANBU headquarters.

He pushed open the door to his office.

The moment he stepped inside—

His gaze landed on the familiar figure sitting on the sofa.

Konan.

"Kitazawa."

She looked up at him calmly.

"I’d like to request a week’s leave... to return to Amegakure."

Kitazawa looked at her for a moment before asking bluntly:

"Is it because your Akatsuki organization captured Gaara?

The Gedo Statue required a sealing technique to extract and absorb the chakra of a Tailed Beast.

That technique demanded ten shinobi working together, and the ritual itself would last three full days.

The moment Kitazawa mentioned the Tailed Beasts, Konan’s heart tightened.

A wave of unease rose in her chest.

She instinctively looked away, falling into silence.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Should she reveal the truth—that the Akatsuki’s real goal was to capture all nine tailed beasts?

If she said that aloud, it would be no different from declaring an open break with Kitazawa.

After all, she had long known that the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was Uzumaki Naruto.

"If this were only about the water trade," Kitazawa said calmly as he stepped closer, "there would be no need to go this far."

He stopped in front of her.

"Your real objective... is the Tailed Beasts."

Konan’s pupils shrank.

Shock flickered uncontrollably across her face.

She truly hadn’t expected Kitazawa to deduce the Akatsuki’s intentions so easily.

"Actually," Kitazawa continued softly, raising a hand to gently touch her cheek, "there’s another question I’m more curious about."

His thumb brushed lightly across her skin.

"Why did you still return to Konoha?"

Konan’s eyelashes trembled faintly.

She bit her lower lip without realizing it.

"Don’t worry," Kitazawa said gently, lowering his head to place a soft kiss on her forehead. "I’m not interrogating you."

Konan’s voice finally emerged, trembling slightly.

"...I’m sorry."

"I can’t stop the Akatsuki."

"Aren’t you one of them?" Kitazawa asked as he sat down beside her. "Why would you want to stop them?"

A shadow of sadness passed through Konan’s eyes.

"The Akatsuki... wasn’t always like this."

"Ever since Yahiko’s death, both the organization and Nagato himself had changed completely."

"I understand."

Kitazawa pulled her gently into his arms.

Konan looked up at him, doubt lingering in her heart.

From her perspective, Kitazawa couldn’t possibly understand the Akatsuki... or the power that Nagato possessed.

"You don’t need to worry about this matter," Kitazawa said softly, patting her head. "I’ll handle it."

Konan blinked, stunned.

’Not worry about it?’

Even if she wished to stay out of it, that simply wasn’t possible.

Kitazawa didn’t understand how terrifying Nagato’s Rinnegan truly was.

No one could stop him.

Not even someone as powerful as Kitazawa with Wood Release.

The Rinnegan was the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths.

Seeing the disbelief in her gaze, Kitazawa merely smiled.

He didn’t try to explain.

Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.

Once he defeated Nagato, Konan would understand.

"Don’t think too much," he said.

Konan stared at him, feeling strangely dazed.

The Eye of the Moon Plan had already begun.

Which meant her time remaining in Konoha was rapidly running out.

Although Kitazawa told her not to worry, she silently dismissed the idea.

’How could she not worry?’

After a long pause, Konan suddenly made a decision.

She stepped out of Kitazawa’s embrace and stood gracefully before him.

"What is it?" he asked, puzzled.

Konan didn’t answer.

Instead, she slowly removed her ANBU cloak, revealing the outfit she wore beneath it.

It was a sleek, backless bodysuit that clung closely to her slender frame, outlining every curve with elegant precision.

For a brief moment, Kitazawa was stunned.

Then—

The bodysuit slipped to the floor.

Konan’s pale, flawless skin caught the light like a pearl.

--------------------------------

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