That's right—a sensor ninja who, at full capacity, could detect anyone approaching her position half a day in advance. Karin didn't need to be especially powerful—as long as she could avoid any potential confrontations, that was sufficient.
But that wasn't the only reason. The reason she didn't need strength was because she knew how to survive.
"It's because I know someone with a terrible habit—always surviving no matter what happens."
If, after he killed Sasuke, she had still hated him, then now, after he wiped out her entire squad when her teammates were at their prime, what would she feel? Whatever the case may be, if she wanted another chance after the war, he'd be waiting.
Anyway, this wasn't over by a long shot.
"Can you guys hurry up and take me back to the Land of Fire?" Naruto asked, turning around to prepare his report before returning to Konoha. They were already nearing the coast.
"I wanna go home right now."
******
This was the most surreal sight the prisoners had ever witnessed. It was also the most alarming and confusing.
A man had simply walked into the prison, past all the guards, past everyone.
They simply let him in—no resistance, no questions, just clear passage through the front gate and across the entire prison compound.
The Konoha guards stationed here merely observed as he walked past them, all the way until he opened every cell inside the control room.
All of this was done by a strange man wearing an unusual mask featuring a spiral pattern and a single eye-shaped hole.
He demanded nothing in return and placed no conditions on their release. He simply freed them all—and no one tried to stop him.
"Everything's going according to plan," Tobi muttered under his breath, standing amidst unconscious guards inside the control room. "Very smoothly. It only took six hours to replace all the guards and take control here. This should create enough chaos to lower the alert levels in the village."
It seemed that although White Zetsu's Transformation Jutsu wasn't flawless, it was effective enough to bring the prison to its knees.
All the freed prisoners would scatter far from Konoha, creating chaos at the village's borders—something Konoha couldn't afford to overlook.
Among these escapees weren't only criminals and rogue ninjas but also prisoners of war detained due to the recent conflicts. Such a large-scale prison break would definitely force Konoha to respond and try to minimize the damage.
Then, he'd send his White Zetsu units into Konoha Village. Although the village still had a defensive unit composed of numerous Jonin alongside countless Chunin and Genin, this wouldn't even qualify as a real fight.
Tobi had only one real objective.
Well, actually two. But neither of these targets was currently within Konoha; he still needed time to reach his destination. And he must proceed carefully.
"It's almost time," Tobi said as he felt Zetsu moving behind him. "When will our units be ready for deployment? I can't risk deploying them too close to the village yet—if things go sideways, we'll be in deep trouble."
"Do you intend to take a third of our forces this time?" White Zetsu asked. "That should be enough to scare them, right?"
"Exactly," Tobi replied. "I'm only going there to retrieve something. Fifteen hundred men will be more than enough to suppress the power within the village and give me all the time I need."
White Zetsu gave a knowing nod. He was still as decisive and resolute as he'd always been. "Fine. Within a day, I can relocate all of them here from their graves. If you want them ready and prepared to follow your orders, it'll take another three hours."
"Good." Tobi observed the White Zetsus who had transformed into prison guards. He decided against using them to infiltrate the village—it posed too great a risk to undermine Konoha's defenses from within.
Time was precious, but they mustn't rush. They had to act cautiously, or unnecessary losses would occur.
The people they replaced had been sent on long-term missions and wouldn't return for weeks. They had to stay here temporarily to keep up appearances until the plan's success was certain.
If things hadn't changed since his last clash with Konoha, everything would unfold exactly as he planned.
If those who were never meant to return suddenly came back to the village and caused chaos, it would alert their enemies. He didn't want to see everything ruined because he'd been too clever.
He was already dangerously close to the enemy's heart. He had to obtain what he wanted at any cost.
Time was running out. After years of effort moving steadily in the direction he'd set, things were finally about to begin.
The goal of the Moon's Eye Plan seemed within reach—but he'd hit a standstill.
He felt like someone building a tower to the heavens, only to reach for stars forever out of grasp. No matter how high he built, the stars remained forever beyond his reach. Any sense of closeness was just an illusion, and the rarefied air was starting to cloud his thoughts. Yet still, he continued building, continued climbing.
Curse the Uzumaki clan. Now he finally understood why Madara had gone to such lengths to destroy Uzu no Kuni.
They were a clan full of unpredictable elements—individual principles and wills beyond large-scale manipulation. You couldn't control them unless you wiped them out entirely.
"Nagato and Naruto," the masked conspirator muttered to Zetsu. "Who would've thought a pawn and a target, just by opposing each other, could bring everything crashing down?"
Nagato should have captured him during that failed infiltration attempt—that would have been enough. Then they would have taken Naruto, locked him away, and extracted the Nine-Tails at their leisure.
But somehow, he had managed to escape even the Six Paths of Pain under Nagato's control.
Because of Nagato's actions—triggered by Naruto and Jiraiya's interference, the destruction he caused across parts of Amegakure, and his continual flaunting of the Rinnegan—he had triggered a full-scale world war, making matters far more complicated.
None of it mattered to Tobi—not if he could still achieve his ultimate goal.
Some sacrifices and destruction that could have been avoided could be forgiven. Under the influence of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, anything broken could be restored. He had gone too far already.
He would bring that reality into this world, no matter who he hurt along the way.
Even if it cost him his life.
******
Outside the prison, a figure wearing a porcelain mask and a black hooded cloak watched as all the criminals locked away in Konoha's prison fled—unimpeded.
The masked man seemed somehow familiar.
Sai and Maki had thoroughly described the appearance of "Madara Uchiha"—the man with the spiral-patterned mask—to every member of the organization.
Such an enemy posed an outright threat to Konoha.
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