Right now, at the eastern border of the [*Land of Stone*].
A large number of refugees, bandits, wandering samurai, and rogue ninja…
…were all fleeing toward the neighboring [*Land of Birds*].
They had no other choice—they *had* to run!
The [*Land of Stone*] had become a battlefield between two Hidden Villages, with battles erupting everywhere.
The scale and intensity of these conflicts were far beyond what wandering samurai or rogue ninja could possibly involve themselves in.
As for ordinary civilians, it was nothing short of a catastrophe.
If they didn't flee fast, they'd be buried here alive!
This gave rise to massive waves of refugees.
...
At this moment, beside the main road,
On a tall, towering rock stood several figures:
Obito wearing a tiger-patterned mask, Shimon Hiruko wrapped entirely in bandages, Kakuzu calculating an account book, Maki White Zetsu scouting for new hosts, and a blob of pitch-black Black Zetsu...
"What a pitiful sight!"
Maki White Zetsu chuckled heartlessly as he observed the stream of refugees below.
"Hmph! Disgusting great nations. In their eyes, these people aren't even worth as much as weeds."
"This is the harsh truth of this cruel world!"
Obito sneered coldly, spitting out his contempt.
"These guys have already been hollowed out. There's nothing left to squeeze from them. I don't like refugees like this either,"
Kakuzu added unusually, voicing his opinion.
"Everyone, we're not here to watch a show."
"Don't forget our objective,"
Black Zetsu interrupted, reminding them all.
As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter how many humans died in the Ninja World.
He only cared about unfreezing his mother Kaguya as soon as possible.
...
Obito cast a glance at Black Zetsu.
Inside, he was already thinking about the safest way to get rid of this ugly freak.
But, for now at least,
It wasn't yet time to turn against Black Zetsu or Lord Madara.
"Has our army arrived?"
Obito asked Maki White Zetsu.
"The vanguard has already entered the [*Land of Stone*]. The rest will arrive within two days,"
Maki White Zetsu quickly responded.
Right now, ten thousand White Zetsu clones were moving rapidly underground via the [Kagero Jutsu], converging on the [*Land of Stone*].
Obito: "Any news on the One-Tail?"
Maki White Zetsu: "Rumors say that in three days, the [*Sunagakure Village*] plans to deploy it at the battlefield of the ancient Louran Ruins to completely crush the [*Iwagakure Village*] defense forces stationed there."
Obito: "Battlefield of the Louran Ruins?"
Maki White Zetsu: "That place was once the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Louran, now lying in ruins; many rogue ninja and wandering shinobi have mixed in there..."
"Hmph! How foolish of [*Konoha*]—if they want to set up an ambush, why choose such a remote location..."
"And their bait is merely a single One-Tail? Truly laughable!"
Obito scoffed disdainfully.
Clearly, Black Zetsu had already revealed [*Konoha's*] entire plan to him.
Now, their organization—the [Akatsuki]—was the real hunter!
And right now, they were already watching from the second layer—seeing everything unfold beneath them.
"It seems the ruins of Louran are the center of their carefully designed trap."
"What do you all think?"
Obito glanced around and suddenly asked.
Maki White Zetsu: "I don't care either way."
Kakuzu: "Either option works."
Shimon Hiruko: "I'm only interested in my prey."
Black Zetsu: "Since we already know it's a trap, I suggest we avoid entering too early. We should wait until both sides grow impatient and withdraw their forces. Then, we strike immediately to seize the Tailed Beast!"
The ever-scheming Black Zetsu offered his sinister suggestion without hesitation.
Obito glared at Black Zetsu, his dissatisfaction growing by the second.
Still, just to keep things fair, he was about to share his own idea…
However, just then,
among the fleeing crowd below, the conversation between two remarkably conspicuous wandering ninja accidentally reached their ears.
"Hey, did you hear about it?"
"Hear what?"
"The legendary [Ryumyaku Chakra Control] of the Kingdom of Louran! Aren't Iwagakure and Sunagakure fighting tooth and nail exactly for this?"
"Huh? I thought it was because the Land of Wind provoked the Land of Earth first?"
"Pfft, that's bullshit! That's just an excuse! Their real purpose is to fight over the [Ryumyaku Chakra Control] of the Kingdom of Louran!"
"So what exactly is this Ryumyaku anyway?"
"It's said to be the life source of the ancient Kingdom of Louran, a blessing bestowed by God deep beneath the earth's surface — infinite Chakra itself."
"With it, one could gain the power to dominate the world!"
"Some even claim it can reverse space-time itself and send you back to the past!"
"What? Really that powerful?"
"Well, I don't know for sure. But that's what I heard from some Suna ninja. They apparently discovered its exact location!"
"Too bad the ruins of Louran have been occupied by Iwa ninjas, which is why they deliberately initiated this war!"
"I see!"
Hearing this,
Obito fell silent…
Black Zetsu fell silent…
And everyone else remained silent as well…
After a long pause, Obito finally asked cautiously, "Can the power of [Ryumyaku Chakra Control] truly reverse time?"
A wild, crazy thought began forming in his mind.
Maki White Zetsu: "When Chakra reaches a certain level, practically anything becomes possible..."
Obito clicked his tongue, "If that's really true…"
"One individual from Konoha, Suna, or Iwa might actually travel back in time before any of us were strong."
"Then wouldn't they be able to destroy all of us before we even had the chance to grow stronger?"
Obito didn't finish his sentence.
But everyone understood the implications.
Even the strongest among them today were once weak themselves…
If Konoha succeeded, there'd be absolutely no chance for Akatsuki to form!
For a brief moment,
even Black Zetsu couldn't help but shudder.
Truthfully, most of these rumors are probably nonsense!
But still… better safe than sorry, right?
Moreover, though others might not know, Black Zetsu certainly did.
That so-called [Ryumyaku Chakra Control] was nothing but the remaining roots of the God Tree from a thousand years ago — the same tree that had once drained the entire planet's energy!
Indeed, it truly contained boundless Natural Energy!
Whether it's possible to reverse the space-time continuum remains uncertain.
If Konoha actually gets their hands on it, Hashirama Senju's strength will skyrocket—and that'll completely mess up my 'grand plan to save my mom'!
I have to stop them!
As soon as he thought of that, Black Zetsu knew there was no time to waste.
He immediately contradicted himself and said,
"I think, to avoid wasting time, we should act fast and capture the One-Tail alive!"
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