Hidden Waterfall Village.
Swish swish. Amid the sound of rushing water, Itachi and Jūzō Biwa, clad in red-cloud cloaks, burst out from a waterfall, escaping Hidden Waterfall Village.
Jūzō Biwa glared at the sky. "Damn it, who'd have thought that kid would be so fast!"
Itachi, too, stared upward, his expression calm.
After infiltrating Hidden Waterfall Village, they had immediately triggered the village's defenses. A swarm of Hidden Waterfall shinobi attempted to surround them.
Ordinary Hidden Waterfall shinobi posed little threat to powerhouses like Itachi and Jūzō, so they quickly overwhelmed the village's guards and located the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, Maple, hiding within.
But unexpectedly, Maple didn't engage them. Instead, she half-transformed into her Tailed Beast state, using the Seven-Tails' ability to fly, and instantly soared out of Hidden Waterfall Village. Itachi and Jūzō, who had fought hard to breach the village, could only sigh at the sky.
Soon, Maple's figure vanished on the horizon.
Itachi and Jūzō halted, abandoning the chase.
Pulling out a water flask, Jūzō drank while muttering, "Our intel was outdated. That kid may be young, but she's already mastered Tailed Beast transformation. Against a flying target like that, we should've sent Deidara's team or Hiruko's!"
"Hm," Itachi nodded in agreement.
Jūzō tactfully avoided mentioning why Itachi hadn't used his Mangekyō dojutsuAmaterasu the moment they faced the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.
Itachi offered no explanation either.
A flying target was indeed troublesome for most, but for Itachi, it wasn't without solutions. Whether it was Amaterasu or the Yasaka Magatama of his Susanoo, both were highly effective against distant targets. If he had chosen to act, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki of Hidden Waterfall Village would likely already be his prize.
Nearby...
Zetsu emerged halfway from the ground.
At the same time, Obito stepped out from a swirling vortex.
Undoubtedly, they had been secretly monitoring Itachi. This mission was not only about capturing the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki but also about testing Itachi's loyalty.
Shinji's formation of his own Akatsuki had completely disrupted their plans. Coupled with the emergence of multiple Mangekyō Uchiha within Shinji's Akatsuki, Obito couldn't help but grow suspicious. His first target of doubt was Uchiha Itachi.
This was also one reason he hadn't joined the assault on Hidden Leaf to capture Naruto.
Zetsu remarked, "Didn't expect Itachi to fail."
Obito's expression darkened.
He instinctively felt Itachi's failure was deliberate, but the organization's intelligence had indeed been severely flawed, underestimating the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki's strength. So, he had no way to confirm whether Itachi had intentionally let her escape.
After all, Itachi had recently succeeded in capturing Hidden Rock's Four-Tails Jinchūriki.
Zetsu continued, "Judging by the direction, it seems the Seven-Tails kid is flying toward Hidden Leaf. Probably part of Hidden Waterfall's contingency plan."
Obito glanced in the direction the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki had fled, frowning slightly.
Her speed had caught him off guard, vanishing in the blink of an eye. He admitted that even if he had acted himself, there was a chance he'd have failed too.
Shaking his head, Obito ordered, "Let's go. We're heading back."
Zetsu asked, "We failed this time. Got a plan for facing Nagato?"
"We've already secured the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchūriki. Even with this failure, he can't say much," Obito replied, unconcerned.
Itachi, Jūzō, Moryo, and Shinno were all under his command, so even with this setback, he had successfully captured two Tailed Beasts.
As Zetsu sank back into the ground, he said, "Wonder how Nagato's doing with the Six-Tails and Nine-Tails Jinchūriki captures?"
"Hiruko's too arrogant. He's in for a rough time," Obito stated before vanishing into a swirling vortex.
…
Hidden Leaf Village.
By evening, the ravaged battlefield still hadn't been fully cleared. From the ruins, one or two wounded were occasionally unearthed, swiftly carried to Hidden Leaf Hospital amid shouts and relays by villagers.
The streets bustled with hurried shinobi and villagers, their faces a mix of anger, sorrow, fear, and other emotions.
Walking through streets still tinged with the scent of blood, Shinji remained silent.
"This is the cost, huh…" His mood grew heavy.
Reviving the Ten-Tails would inevitably spark war, an unavoidable truth. Yet, to save the shinobi world from the Hegemon, the Ten-Tails was an essential power.
Though he had long weighed the pros and cons, seeing the death and destruction before him and claiming to be unshaken would be self-deception.
"Shinji!"
A call came from the distance.
Shinji turned to see Shion, weaving through the crowd, running toward him while shouting.
Reaching him, Shion threw herself into his arms, sobbing, "Shinji, I'm so useless! I didn't dare face the demon, only hiding with everyone in the shelter!"
Shinji ruffled Shion's hair. "You made the right choice."
Shion looked up, tears in her eyes, and asked, "Really?"
Shinji said earnestly, "There were other Akatsuki members alongside that demon. If you'd recklessly charged in, not only would you have failed to defeat it, but you might've been absorbed by it. If that happened, the shinobi world would face a true catastrophe."
He wasn't joking—Shion, in her current state, was likely no match for the demon.
"But that demon killed so many people," Shion said, her expression falling again. "They died because of my weakness!"
Shinji said calmly, "Then make yourself stronger."
Shion stared at him, stunned.
Shinji leaned down, whispering in her ear, "You're Akatsuki's 'X.' The organization is now assigning you a mission: hunt down the demon Moryo."
Shion murmured, "Hunt down the demon…"
Shinji continued, "That's right. This isn't just a personal grudge anymore—it's a mission from me. So there's nothing to fear!"
"Mm!" Shion nodded, her gaze firming with resolve.
When Moryo was merely the dark side of the priestess, Shion, as a priestess, naturally feared it. But now that Moryo was an enemy of the organization, she had teammates to support her. She was no longer fighting for herself but for the Akatsuki!
This shift in identity gave the timid girl a reason to stop hiding and face her fears head-on.