As Kabuto, Jugo, and Guren plotted to rescue Orochimaru, two figures clad in red-cloud cloaks stood side by side on a mountain outside Hidden Leaf, gazing toward the village from afar.
They were none other than Obito and Zetsu.
"Uchiha Shinji…"
Obito muttered the name, his expression tinged with confusion.
He couldn't fathom how the two kids who survived the Uchiha clan massacre could so easily awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Sasuke was one thing.
But this Uchiha Shinji had been utterly unremarkable back then, nearly dying under Itachi's blade during the massacre. No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like someone destined for greatness.
"Takamagahara…" Zetsu shook his head beside him. "To awaken such a Mangekyo dojutsu—it's truly unexpected!"
Undoubtedly, with Hidden Leaf's public announcement of Shinji's Takamagahara, the Akatsuki had received this critical intelligence almost immediately.
This was why Obito and Zetsu were here now.
Obito sighed. "I misjudged him. I never thought that kid would become such a thorn in our side after just a few years!"
Zetsu said, "If the intel is accurate, it makes sense that Uchiha Shinji's strength has grown so rapidly with Takamagahara. But we still don't know how far its simulations can go. If it can replicate seventy to eighty percent of reality, it could pose a massive obstacle to our plans!"
Even at the Kage level, intelligence remained a crucial factor in shinobi battles.
Imagine if Hidden Leaf could use Takamagahara to endlessly rehearse tactics against Akatsuki members. No matter how strong the Akatsuki were, they'd be hard-pressed to act freely under such targeted strategies.
With three of the nine Tailed Beasts—Three-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails—still in the hands of the five great shinobi villages, a war between the Akatsuki and the villages was inevitable.
Obito said, "Let's head back. We need to move up our plans!"
Zetsu nodded.
Then, Zetsu's form sank into the ground, vanishing, while Obito disappeared in a swirling vortex.
…
In the Hokage's office.
Faced with formal requests from Hidden Cloud, Hidden Rock, Hidden Mist, and Hidden Sand, Tsunade, as Hokage, felt an immense headache.
Clearly, it wasn't just enemies spying on them—their allies were also keenly interested in Shinji's Takamagahara.
Anyone with a shred of foresight could see the staggering strategic value of Takamagahara.
Upon receiving reports from their shinobi stationed in Hidden Leaf, the leadership of the four villages had reacted swiftly, sending formal requests to experience Takamagahara.
And Hidden Leaf couldn't easily refuse.
For instance, Hidden Rock and Hidden Sand had already lost their Tailed Beasts to the Akatsuki. If they chose not to seek revenge, they could opt to stay out of the conflict entirely.
Hidden Cloud had previously agreed to let Naruto train in their village—a significant favor.
As for Hidden Mist, while Hidden Leaf owed them nothing, they still needed Mist's strength to counter the Akatsuki, so offending them wasn't an option.
Koharu Utatane shook her head. "This is tricky!"
Homura Mitokado nodded slightly. "They know we can't easily refuse, so they're banding together to pressure us."
Tsunade looked to the Third Hokage.
After a moment of thought, the Third said, "Takamagahara's effects exceeded my expectations. It shouldn't be widely shared with other villages, but given the tense situation, we could allocate a limited number of slots to let a few of their shinobi experience it."
"That's the plan, then!" Tsunade paused, then turned to Shizune, standing nearby. "What's the update on Yakumo and Naruto?"
Shizune replied, "Lord Jiraiya just sent word that Naruto's training is progressing quickly."
Tsunade instructed, "Inform Jiraiya about Takamagahara. Let him decide based on their situation whether Yakumo and Naruto should return to train here or stay in Hidden Cloud!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Shizune nodded and quickly left the office.
After Shizune's departure, the office, now containing only Tsunade and the three advisor elders, fell silent.
After a while, Tsunade asked, "Any results from the intelligence team?"
Koharu shook her head. "We lack relevant samples and data, so it's hard for them to assess how much these two large-scale activations of Takamagahara have affected Shinji's Mangekyo Sharingan."
Undoubtedly, the village wasn't just evaluating Takamagahara's effects but also the impact of these large-scale activations on Shinji's Mangekyo Sharingan.
From a benevolent perspective, the village wanted to gauge how long Shinji could sustain such massive Takamagahara sessions.
From a more malicious angle, they were assessing how much of his dojutsu power had been depleted.
Homura said, "Using Sasuke as a reference, Shinji's Mangekyo Sharingan shouldn't last long. But he hasn't shown the slightest sign of fatigue, so it seems, as he claimed, that Takamagahara's dojutsu power consumption is relatively low compared to other Mangekyo techniques."
The Third picked up the thread. "That's good. It means we can make more use of Takamagahara."
Tsunade added, "Still, we need to have Kakashi and the others hurry up and develop tactics against Akatsuki members in Takamagahara. The news has already spread, and the Akatsuki won't sit idly by. We don't have much time left!"
…
Inside the Hidden Leaf Police Force building.
Seated in a freshly cleaned office, Shinji glanced out the window, his eyes briefly scanning several well-hidden surveillance points before looking away.
The village's surveillance on him hadn't let up.
Or rather, because he proposed rebuilding the Hidden Leaf Police Force, the higher-ups' wariness of him had risen to another level.
But such surveillance had no effect on him, as he was communicating with Mumei in the adjacent office via Jikibi.
Shinji asked, "How did today's marking go?"
"Smoothly!" Mumei smiled, then added, "Not only were there more people marked today than yesterday, but their quality was noticeably higher too."
Shinji's lips curved upward. "Excellent!"
So far, Mumei had covertly marked two thousand Hidden Leaf shinobi through Takamagahara.
Proportionally, that was about one-ninth to one-tenth of the entire Hidden Leaf.
That number shouldn't be underestimated. If Mumei used Yachihoko to extract chakra from these two thousand shinobi, the gathered chakra could easily overpower any single Tailed Beast.