Meanwhile, outside Konoha.
A black ninja cat sprinted out of the village, tearing across the countryside in a straight line. Even when it was wheezing and about to collapse, it didn't stop.
It felt like all four legs were about to snap, but it gritted its teeth and kept going—until the world started to spin, a ringing filled its ears, and its vision went dark…
At last, it spotted a familiar figure not far ahead.
"—Meow!"
The black ninja cat no longer had the strength to speak human words. It could only force out a ragged, desperate yowl, which made an orange ninja cat up ahead puff up in alarm.
The figures in front of the orange cat halted on instinct.
"Chizumi-sama, that's one of my grand-kittens!" Jujirō glanced back and instantly recognized the black cat that was about to keel over.
A Police Force jōnin immediately doubled back, scooped the cat up, and carried it gently.
"Chi… Chizumi-sama… Jujiro-sama…" Only after a long while did the black cat catch its breath. Parched and panting, it finally managed in a hoarse human voice: "Those Root shinobi in the village… they…"
"Hah! They've taken Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Neji. They tried to attack Uchiha Izumi and Mitarashi Anko. Root waited until you and Jujiro-sama left, then moved on the followers of Absolute Justice!"
"And…"
"And they've put us ninja cats in their sights too. Eight or nine of us have already been grabbed by Root. The rest either went to ground or, like me, are trying to run and warn you."
Every word was a bombshell.
Jujirō's whiskers shot stiff with shock.
"How dare she?!" Jujirō spat—the "she" was obviously Utatane Koharu.
He knew the old woman couldn't stand Chizumi-sama.
But in the past, even when she was furious with him, she'd swallow it and keep a dark face—maybe toss a few snide remarks at most. Why was she suddenly playing hardball?
"Meow! Chizumi-sama, I'm heading back!"
Jujirō drew a deep breath, turned to Uchiha Chizumi with a grave cat face, and said, "That old woman laid hands on so many of my kittens and grandkittens. That's a grudge that can't be smoothed over. If any of mine are hurt, she pays."
Jujirō knew Uchiha Chizumi was leaving the village to hunt Orochimaru.
He couldn't let anything else distract him.
Just then, Jujirō noticed Chizumi toss something his way.
He sprang up and caught it in his jaws.
"Meow? A scroll?" he mumbled around it.
"A summoning scroll," Uchiha Chizumi said, expression blank. "It lets you summon a raven."
"A raven?"
At first Jujirō didn't get it. A beat later, he jolted, wide-eyed. He realized the "raven" in question was actually Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan—the eye with Kotoamatsukami.
Chizumi-sama was entrusting Shisui's eye to him.
Which meant Chizumi had given tacit approval for him to use it to stir up serious waves in Konoha if needed.
Of course, Jujirō hoped he'd never have to.
He remembered Chizumi telling him Kotoamatsukami took years—maybe ten, even decades—to recharge after a single use.
"Understood, meow!"
Jujirō opened his mouth and worked his big paws, trying to strap the scroll to his back.
"Should the three of us go with him?" one of the Police Force jōnin asked, unable to help himself.
With something this big happening in the village, sending only a ninja cat back felt… risky. And to the three of them, Jujirō looked like a pompous old tom who loved lecturing his juniors.
"No need."
Uchiha Chizumi watched Jujirō wheel around and bolt, sprinting toward Konoha without a second's hesitation.
"He's more reliable than anyone," Chizumi said. "Never underestimate him."
…
Land of Rain.
Akatsuki.
"Heh… this special ninjutsu again. Must be that eye of his that makes it possible." Orochimaru's gaze flicked over the hazy phantoms to either side.
He rubbed the ring on his finger and spoke first. "So, what's this meeting about? If it's nothing urgent, I'll take my leave."
"It concerns Konoha's Uchiha Chizumi," Deva Path Pain's projection said, and the name made Orochimaru arch a brow.
He remembered all too well—he'd finally planted a new spy in Konoha, only for Uchiha Chizumi to catch him.
That brat and he could barely share a sentence without clashing.
"Oh?" Orochimaru smiled thinly. "Don't tell me he's figured out Akatsuki exists. Given his precious 'Absolute Justice,' we're probably all unforgivable sinners to him. He'd love nothing more than to cut us into pieces."
Konan's projection cut in, ice-cold. "He doesn't just know we exist. He's come to the Land of Rain—and even got involved with one of Akatsuki's new recruits."
As she spoke, her gaze slid—almost imperceptibly—toward Uchiha Obito.
But the projection was fuzzy, and Obito didn't realize she was looking at him.
Obito ground his teeth at the intel she'd voiced.
Biwa Jūzō. It had to be him!!!
The bastard got attacked once and still didn't back off—he ran straight back to the Rain. Which meant he'd nearly blown Obito's cover.
Still…
Obito frowned. He hadn't expected Uchiha Chizumi to show up in the Rain too.
Wait—
No, that didn't add up. A few White Zetsu clones near Konoha had reported two days ago that Uchiha Chizumi was still in the village.
So who was the "Uchiha Chizumi" Konan meant?
A clone?
Then which one was the shadow clone—the Chizumi in the Rain? Or the one in the Land of Fire?
Obito suddenly felt an urge to leave the Rain for a bit.
Uchiha Chizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan had left him with plenty of mental scars.
Its bizarre ability had Black Zetsu still not fully recovered.
"He's a very dangerous shinobi," Deva Path Pain said. "The path he believes in is also extremely dangerous to our aims. Absolute Justice and Akatsuki's ultimate goal are fundamentally at odds.
"A threat like that—we eliminate it first. No matter where you encounter Uchiha Chizumi, kill him on sight. If you're not confident, use your ring to contact me."
Obito broke in, rasping his voice to keep up the Madara act. "Didn't that new recruit make contact with the Uchiha brat? Doesn't he know where the kid is? Through him, we could pinpoint his location easily."
Once, Konan might have felt cowed by that tone—he was supposed to be the legendary shinobi, after all.
Now, her mouth just curled into a cold smile.
She didn't interrupt Obito, letting him posture.
"The newcomer is very likely being coerced by Uchiha Chizumi," Deva Path Pain said. "Without Chizumi's permission, meeting any of us is a luxury he can't afford."
"Heh-heh, so it's a kill-on-sight order for Uchiha Chizumi…" Orochimaru licked his lips and cut in. "What about a different approach—can we bring him in alive?"
All eyes shifted to him.
"If any of you can capture Uchiha Chizumi alive," Orochimaru went on, voice oily, "send him to me. I'm willing to pay a price for that. I've coveted that body for a long time."
The implication in that last line sent a chill down Obito's spine.
"…Approved," Deva Path Pain said after two seconds of silence.
…
"Heh-heh—now it's getting interesting." Orochimaru cut off the Magic Lantern Body Technique, eyes narrowing. "What's that little justice freak doing in the Rain?"
He suspected the kid knew Orochimaru had joined Akatsuki—and had come to hunt him.
Fitting his M.O., really. Even when he'd been weaker, the brat had always moved fast.
Which suggested Chizumi had lifted some sensitive intel about him from that new spy.
But not too much, or he would have come straight to this human experimentation base—not the Rain.
With that thought, Orochimaru relaxed.
"I wonder… between the Uchiha's fabled Mangekyō Sharingan and that eye only a Sage can possess…"
"Which is stronger?"
The greed in Orochimaru's eyes was impossible to hide.
He wanted both—the Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan and Uchiha Chizumi's Mangekyō.
Unfortunately…
The Rinnegan was out of the question for now. Its power wasn't something he could handle yet.
But Chizumi's Mangekyō? That, he could look forward to—especially now that Akatsuki had put a hit on the kid.
"Just don't let him get killed first."
"Heh-heh…"
…
Konoha.
As the smoke thinned, Tsunade's face—frosty as ice—came into full view before Utatane Koharu.
Koharu hadn't imagined the day would come when Tsunade would turn such a cold face on her.
And in that tone—threatening her to let them go.
From the force of Tsunade's presence, it was clear:
If she refused…
Tsunade would throw hands.
The realization that Sarutobi Nadeshiko's death wasn't so simple made Koharu's old face tighten even more. It felt like the entire village was saying she was wrong.
As if no one believed Uchiha Chizumi was the killer. As if no one thought he could make a mistake.
Was she the only clear-headed one left in Konoha?
Koharu drew a deep breath. "Root won't release them. This is Hiruzen's order. Besides…"
She added, "My Root is not Danzō's Root. My subordinates aren't that extreme."
She knew that line was already a partial climbdown—an assurance they wouldn't torture the followers of Absolute Justice.
The pressure from one of the Sannin was real.
And Jiraiya also clearly found Root's behavior out of line.
Two Sannin bearing down left Koharu little room.
"If age has made you hard of hearing, I can treat you," Tsunade said. "I said: release them."
Tsunade took a few steps forward, and several Root shinobi edged closer to guard Koharu.
Koharu's face went darker with frustration. "Tsunade, you're over forty. By rights, you should despise that black-and-white 'justice' of Uchiha Chizumi's.
"Why side with him? Your grandfather was the First Hokage. The Will of Fire is his legacy. Are you going to betray it and embrace 'Absolute Justice'?"
"The Will of Fire has limits," Tsunade said, expressionless. "When you realize it has limits and refuse to improve it—clinging to old rules and old thinking—
"Only you fossils do that."
The words were so heretical that Koharu and Jiraiya were both left staring.
At this rate, Tsunade was two sentences away from overturning the First Hokage's Will of Fire.
"Koharu-sama?" a Root shinobi murmured, already stepping back to her side as one of the Sannin closed in.
"…"
Grinding her teeth, Koharu felt the animus rolling off Tsunade—and glanced at Jiraiya in the distance. He might not throw down alongside Tsunade, but he definitely wasn't going to side with Root.
"…Release them!"
Koharu could only swallow her frustration and force out the words.
Before, she'd only ever backed down under Uchiha Chizumi's pressure.
Now—
Even the pressure from other followers of Absolute Justice was making her yield.
The mix of stifled anger and humiliation almost robbed her of breath.
The Root shinobi traded looks, then obeyed Koharu's order and let Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Neji go.
Sasuke hit the ground and rushed to prop Neji up.
"Cough, cough…"
Neji had come to the moment Tsunade landed, but his gut still throbbed. After a few rough coughs, he lifted his head to her. "Tsunade-sama…"
"Deliberately injuring others—Root's actions count as a sin, don't they?"
Tsunade's eyes landed on Neji.
Then slid to Koharu, whose face had turned an even darker shade.
"Hyūga kid, you really like adding fuel to the fire, huh?" Tsunade's mouth quirked.
"Of course it counts."