In this windswept ruined city...
Three figures were hiding inside a dilapidated building.
Originally, Shimoku had planned to directly locate the entrance of the Tower of the Lost to check out the Ryumyaku first.
But after searching around, he couldn't find any underground ruins' entrance.
His memories from his previous life were still too hazy.
He just couldn't remember exactly where the underground entrance was.
Of course, Shimoku could have simply activated Susano'o and torn through the entire ruined city. There was a high chance he would've found it that way.
Unfortunately, such an action would be far too conspicuous.
He came here for 'the advantage of the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada,' not to 'show off publicly.'
He certainly didn't want to scare away Black Zetsu and others...
Furthermore, if he went too hard,
There was also a risk that the underground Tower of the Lost would be buried—complicating things further.
It would be better to just lay low for now.
"So, are the 'sentinels' set up yet?"
Shimoku asked Konan beside him.
Right now, Konan was activating her Paper Ninjutsu, dispersing her paper puppets throughout the Ruins of Loulan City as 'sentinels.'
This way, Shimoku's side could monitor intelligence across the entire Ruins of Loulan City.
Knowing:
Which areas were witnessing battles, and how those fights were going?
And when should their own forces intervene—striking like the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada?
This was precisely where Konan, the support-type ninja, showed her true value.
"No good; some areas are too open, and the wind is too strong."
"My paper cranes can't withstand the windblown sand for more than a few seconds before getting blown away..."
Konan frowned while replying.
The intense sandstorm indeed significantly limited her origami techniques.
"Then use this sandpaper..."
Shimoku pulled out a large stack of sandpaper from somewhere and handed it to Konan.
This sandpaper was tough and highly wear-resistant.
Certainly sufficient to endure the ravages of the storm...
Konan took the sandpaper hesitantly.
She gave Shimoku a puzzled glance mixed with slight irritation.
She really couldn't understand how this brat always carried so much sandpaper on him.
Could it be...?
Had he anticipated something like this beforehand?
"Oh right, these are chakra replenishment pills."
"Eat freely—don't worry about your chakra consumption. Try covering the entire ruined city with your paper clones as much as possible."
Shimoku passed a huge handful of low-grade chakra-restoring Pills to Konan in a very lavish manner.
After all, they were cheap throw-ins from his random draws—hardly worth anything.
He'd practically been snacking on them like candy already.
Looking at Shimoku's hand, Konan displayed a slightly disdainful expression.
Yet, her body was honest enough as she accepted the pills, ready to use them for energy.
Indeed, maintaining control over many paper clones over a long period was extremely strenuous.
She absolutely didn't want to exhaust herself until collapsing helplessly onto Shimoku.
Only giving this little brat another chance to take advantage of her!
Soon, the Paper Ninjutsu was activated again.
One by one, a stack of sandpaper transformed into short-tailed brown desert scorpions, quickly crawling outward.
They rushed toward designated locations, becoming Konan's eyes and ears.
Monitoring the entire ruined city on behalf of their group.
Not long later,
Konan started receiving abundant intelligence feedback.
"Found the location of the [Iwagakure Village] ninja."
"Found the location of the [Sunagakure Village] ninja."
Shimoku: "Where's Sunagakure's jinchuriki?"
Konan: "Jinchuriki?"
Shimoku: "A little kid, about six or seven years old, with short red hair. On a battlefield like this, a child should be pretty noticeable, right?"
Konan closed her eyes and carefully sensed the area.
She soon gave her response:
"I found him. There's definitely a red-haired child traveling beside Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage."
Shimoku: "That figures. Looks like the One-Tail jinchuriki has entered the battlefield too."
"Keep tracking his position. Don't lose him..."
Konan: "Alright."
"Oh, by the way, have you detected any traces of the [Akatsuki]?"
"We're still searching."
...
Ten minutes later, Konan suddenly felt a disturbance.
She shouted, "I found them!"
"Who?"
"Obito Uchiha, Kakuzu, and Black Zetsu!"
"Where are they?"
"Four kilometers ahead in the ruins on the right!"
"Wait, my Paper Clone seems to have been discovered!"
"Darn it! It's that Black Zetsu bastard. He destroyed the Paper Clone!"
Konan cursed angrily.
In an instant, the connection between that Paper Clone and her physical body was severed.
It was completely gone—no doubt destroyed by Black Zetsu.
"So that ugly Black Zetsu really came after all? Interesting!"
Shimoku smiled faintly.
He quickly grabbed Konan, who was filled with rage and ready to charge over.
Konan was furious: "Let go of me! You promised me you'd help me kill that bastard!"
Shimoku comforted her:
"Of course I will."
"But first, don't act too quickly."
"If we scare him off too early, it'll be hard to chase him down afterward..."
"You know how good he is at hiding."
"Once he hides, he becomes nearly untraceable!"
Konan: "Then what do you plan to do?"
Shimoku: "Since your Paper Clone has already been exposed anyway, send another one over to inform them of Sunagakure's position and the jinchuriki."
"Let them fight each other first and wear themselves out. Then we can make our move."
Konan: "Do you think they'll take the bait?"
Shimoku: "They will."
...
Meanwhile.
Black Zetsu, who had keen sensory perception, naturally noticed something strange instantly.
He stepped forward exactly where a tailless scorpion lay and crushed it beneath his foot.
Soon after, the scorpion transformed into a wrinkled piece of sandpaper.
"What's this? That woman's origami technique?"
"She actually came here too?"
"Talk about guts!"
Looking at the sheet of sandpaper, Obito murmured mockingly.
Were it not for the fact that one [Rinnegan] was still in Konan's possession, he would've almost forgotten about this woman who was nothing more than a decorative vase.
Never did he expect that instead of hiding away,
she would dare appear here.
How reckless!
Obito Uchiha: "Can you locate her position?"
Maki White Zetsu responded:
"She must be far from us. Her Paper Clones cover a very large area..."
"Our people are currently searching for the [Ryumyaku Chakra Control] location. We can't spare much manpower just to find her."
Obito frowned, hesitating for a moment.
He decided to prioritize the Tailed Beast and [Ryumyaku Chakra Control] first.
That woman was alone. She wouldn't escape him for long!
But before long,
another [Paper Crane] arrived through the sandstorm, landing in front of Obito and his team.
It quickly unfolded itself,
revealing the location of Sunagakure and the Jinchuriki to them.
Obito: "What is this? The location of the One-Tail?"
"Is that woman giving us information?"
"A trap?"
Kakuzu: "Most likely trying to lure us into capturing the One-Tail while Sunagakure attacks us."
Obito snickered coldly:
"Foolish bastards! Do you really think just a bunch of Suna punks can stop us?"
"Want to be the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada? At least have the strength to back it up!"
Maki White Zetsu: "So… what's our move next?"
"Let's move out and capture the One-Tail first!"
"So those pests don't get in our way later during the fight for [Ryumyaku Chakra Control]."
Obito immediately made the decision.
Leading the group forward, they headed toward where Sunagakure and their forces were gathered.
At the very back of the group,
Black Zetsu, who had just used [Secret Art] to report Konan's and Rinnegan's location to Lord Madara,
calmly followed behind as well.
Clearly, Black Zetsu shared Obito's lack of fear toward Konan being alone.
In fact, he secretly rejoiced at how she had willingly exposed herself—
which saved him the hassle of tracking her down later.
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