"This is the Five-Seal Barrier talisman. If one is here, then there must be four more placed elsewhere. Only by destroying all five simultaneously can the barrier be broken!"
A Cloud shinobi, well-versed in barrier techniques, quickly explained.
"We can't just smash it apart?"
The Fourth Raikage barked impatiently.
Killer B was likely sealed inside this mountain. Every moment wasted meant his brother's chances of survival grew slimmer. He had no patience to go searching for four other talismans scattered who knew where.
"No. The Five-Seal Barrier is incredibly sturdy. Even a Kage-level shinobi cannot brute-force their way through it."
The Cloud ninja shook his head.
"I don't buy that!"
Snarling at the answer, the Raikage's body crackled with lightning, forming the armor of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. He charged straight at the massive boulder marked with the talisman and drove a thunder-clad kick into it.
Boom!
The earth trembled with the impact, but when the dust cleared, the stone was unscathed. A shimmering layer of chakra had absorbed the blow.
Unwilling to yield, the Raikage kicked again. Another deafening boom shook the valley, but the barrier held firm.
"Damn it!"
Furious after repeated failures, he roared in frustration.
"Allow me."
Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward, activating his Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
His body was wreathed in a green radiance, nine Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind him. The overwhelming pressure that radiated from him made even the Raikage's heart tighten with unease.
One of the orbs shot forward, striking the boulder.
Pssh—
As if a thin film had been pierced, the orb passed through and obliterated the talisman. A dark passage split open within the rock.
The Five-Seal Barrier was powerful, nearly unbreakable even for "super Kage-level" shinobi. But against the Six Paths power of a Truth-Seeking Orb, it was nothing.
"B—!"
Without sparing a word of thanks, the Raikage, cloaked in lightning, dashed into the passage toward the Akatsuki's hideout. Fugaku and his team followed quickly; leaving the Raikage alone against multiple Akatsuki members could be disastrous.
Beyond the passage, they entered a vast cavern.
It was empty—no Akatsuki in sight. Only a single body lay on the ground.
Killer B.
But his chest was still. No breath, no heartbeat. The Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki was already dead.
"Too late…"
Fugaku's Tenseigan pierced the chamber. Traces of an enormous presence lingered—marks of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The Akatsuki had extracted the Eight-Tails here.
Because they hadn't found this base sooner, they had failed to save B before the beast was torn from him.
Not that Fugaku cared about Killer B's fate. What mattered was that Nagato had slipped through his grasp again.
"No—!"
The Raikage lifted his brother's corpse, then smashed a fist into the ground. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the impact, echoing his rage and grief.
But it was useless. A Jinchūriki whose tailed beast was extracted could not survive—unless revived by forbidden techniques like Chiyo's Life Exchange or the Samsara of Heavenly Life. Kumogakure had neither.
"Lord Raikage, please accept my condolences."
Fugaku offered the words perfunctorily.
In truth, he felt nothing. Cooperation between the Five Villages was temporary, born of necessity. If Naruto were the one lying dead here, the Raikage would feel no grief at all.
Declining Kumogakure's invitation to stay, Fugaku returned to Konoha with his three-man team.
Deep underground, in the White Zetsu base—
After the Eight-Tails was successfully extracted, Nagato, Konan, Obito, and Zetsu released the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. With Obito's Kamui, they teleported back to this hidden stronghold.
This base, even more secret than Akatsuki's scattered hideouts, had been chosen as their refuge after leaving Amegakure.
"It's a shame," Zetsu remarked. "If we weren't so drained from sealing the Eight-Tails, we could have taken advantage of Fugaku's absence and attacked Konoha for the Nine-Tails."
Obito's single eye narrowed. He, too, regretted the lost opportunity. By the time they recovered, Fugaku would already be back, guarding the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Nagato frowned. His last clash with Fugaku had ended in stalemate—their strengths evenly matched. Even if he pinned Fugaku down, Konoha had too many other powerhouses: Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, a Mangekyō Uchiha, and a Kage-level shinobi from the Snow Clan. Five Kage-levels in total—more than the Akatsuki itself.
"With Fugaku in Konoha, seizing the Nine-Tails directly is impossible," Zetsu said. "But there is another way."
The others turned to him.
"The Demonic Statue already holds eight tailed beasts. To revive the Ten-Tails, we don't necessarily need the Nine-Tails itself—its chakra alone will suffice."
Konan and Nagato's eyes widened. Even Obito stiffened in shock. He hadn't known this. Clearly, Madara had kept secrets even from him.
"It would be a weaker Ten-Tails, yes," Black Zetsu admitted. "But still a Six Paths-level being. Strong enough to fulfill our plan."
"Obtaining the Nine-Tails' chakra won't be easy," Obito said cautiously.
White Zetsu chuckled. "Actually, I've already discovered something. When the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha years ago, someone secretly harvested its chakra. They nurtured and sealed it inside a boy named Sora. Capture him, and we'll have what we need."
Obito's masked gaze lingered on Zetsu. He didn't believe this was a "recent discovery." Zetsu must have known long ago, but had chosen to keep it hidden. Just like Madara.
"Very well," Obito said. "Find this boy. Bring him to us. With his chakra, the Ten-Tails will rise again."
Back in Konoha, Fugaku brooded.
He had traced Nagato's movements, only to lose them once more.
After leaving that cavern, their chakra signatures had vanished completely—spirited away by Obito's Kamui.
Space-time ninjutsu left no scent, no trace to follow. Without leads, even his vast network of trackers could do nothing.
"Again, all I can do is cast the net wide," he thought grimly. "But the shinobi world is too vast. If only I had even a clue where they were hiding…"
Since abandoning Amegakure, the Akatsuki had vanished, taking no missions, leaving no trail.
"No… there is one man who might know."
Fugaku's eyes sharpened. He had thought of a single person—someone who just might hold the key to the Akatsuki's hidden lair.