In a dimly lit cave, Uchiha Obito, hidden behind his mask, listened quietly as Zetsu, who resembled a Venus flytrap, relayed information to him.
After hearing Zetsu's report, Obito was utterly stunned.
"The Uzumaki Naruto you're talking about… is he the same one I know?"
Fortunately, his mask concealed his expression, preventing him from losing the imposing demeanor befitting his role as the 'mid-game behind-the-scenes boss'.
That said, it wasn't entirely his fault. Anyone would be just as shocked upon hearing such unbelievable news.
How could Obito not know Naruto? It was just that Naruto didn't know him yet.
Twelve years ago, during the Nine-Tails Rampage, he had orchestrated the deaths of his teacher and his teacher's wife… that was when he first laid eyes on Naruto.
After that, Naruto had always been confined in Konoha Village, and Obito would occasionally receive information about him.
Previously, Naruto had been nothing more than a dead-last loser, just like Obito himself once was. But recently, he had undergone a drastic change, as if he were an entirely different person.
The first piece of information Obito received about Naruto came from Kakuzu, who was out earning bounties to fund the Akatsuki.
Of course, it wasn't Kakuzu's fault for being unaware of the Tailed Beast Capture Plan.
After all, at this stage, the Akatsuki was still lying low and building strength. So aside from Nagato, Konan, Obito himself, and Zetsu, no one else knew about the Tailed Beast Capture Plan.
When Obito learned that Kakuzu had accepted a bounty to kill Kakashi and kidnap Naruto, his first instinct was to rush to the scene.
It's not to stop him, after all, it would be a good thing if Kakuzu could catch the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
He just wanted to ensure everything went smoothly.
As a result, the news of Kakuzu's death came even faster.
This made Obito start paying serious attention to Naruto, the child of his former teacher.
Later, Orochimaru, who had already defected from the Akatsuki, sent a message proposing 'cooperation'.
So, Obito, still posing as Uchiha Madara, ordered Nagato to send Itachi Uchiha and his partner to Konoha.
According to Orochimaru's plan, he would draw out Konoha's main fighting forces elsewhere.
This way, Itachi and his partner would only need to deal with Naruto and a handful of proctors and Jonin.
In Obito's view, given Itachi and Kisame's strength, handling one Naruto should have been more than manageable.
The only concern was whether Itachi, as a 'double-agent', would truly put in the effort to capture the Nine-Tails.
However, with Kisame keeping watch, no matter what choice Itachi made, he wouldn't be able to escape Obito's scrutiny.
However, what happened next far exceeded Obito's expectations.
"You're telling me Uzumaki Naruto single-handedly repelled Itachi and Kisame, then personally killed Danzo right in front of Orochimaru?"
Obito's face behind the mask was full of disbelief, and he even wanted to ask Zetsu if he was still sleeping.
Though he had always looked down on Danzo as a scheming old worm, Obito was well aware of the man's strength.
From this point of view, Naruto is definitely more than just a Genin. In fact, the power he had displayed so far might not even be his full strength.
After all, according to Zetsu's account, Naruto hadn't used the Tailed Beast's power even once throughout the entire ordeal.
The only time the Nine-Tails' Chakra leaked lasted only a moment before it was immediately stopped.
Even Danzo, who possessed Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan, was effortlessly obliterated by Uzumaki Naruto without a chance to fight back.
'…Wait!'
'Shisui's eye!'
"What about Danzo's body!? The Sharingan he transplanted into his eye socket… where is it?"
Obito suddenly asked Zetsu nervously.
Zetsu shrugged helplessly and replied, "His entire body was completely vaporized by Uzumaki Naruto's punch. Not even a speck of residue remained."
After hearing this answer, Obito slumped back in frustration.
'What a big loss.'
'If I had known earlier, I would have gone there myself.'
'At least then, I could have salvaged that Sharingan.'
The [Kotoamatsukami] ability had always been something Obito both feared and coveted.
Even if it was a one-time use, it would have been worth it.
After all, it was a power that could directly 'rewrite' a person's will.
Obito began mentally reassessing the threat level of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, Naruto. At the same time, he felt the Tailed Beast Capture Plan he had previously devised would need some adjustments.
"Oh yeah, there's one more thing."
At this time, Zetsu seemed to suddenly remember something else and added, "Sarutobi Hiruzen has stepped down as Hokage. Jiraiya refused the position and had left beforehand, and Danzo is already dead."
"Now, Konoha's high-ranking people want to send people to find Senju Tsunade, the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama and one of the Sannin."
"Apparently, Uzumaki Naruto took on this mission alone and is planning to leave the village by himself."
"It seems Konoha's high-ranking people can't even stop the Jinchuriki from making his own decisions."
"Perhaps this could be an opportunity for us."
After saying this, Zetsu fell silent, seemingly leaving the decision to Obito.
Upon hearing this information, Obito fell into deep thought.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Spread this news, especially to those great Ninja Villages."
"Let them test Uzumaki Naruto's limits."
…
Sunagakure.
The Jonin, Baki, who had returned in disgrace with Gaara and the others, was explaining everything that had happened to Sunagakure's senior Advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo.
At the same time, he also revealed the fact that the Fourth Kazekage had been killed and replaced by someone long ago.
This was something they only discovered after being released.
At the same time, this also made their entire operation meaningless, even laughable.
"Do we know who was behind it?"
"It should be Orochimaru, the Missing-nin from Konoha. He and Danzo orchestrated a plan to overthrow the Third Hokage's rule."
"I see…"
Chiyo and Ebizo fell silent before finally coming to a decision.
An alliance with Konoha.
After all, Konoha had been surprisingly lenient, even allowing their people to return. With a common enemy now, it made sense to join forces, even if only temporarily, to stabilize the situation.
Just then, another Ninja entered and delivered a certain piece of news to the three of them.
"...Do not act recklessly. Sunagakure needs stability now."
In the end, the news stopped within that room and did not cause much disturbance.
However, not every great Ninja Village remained indifferent after receiving such explosive information.
…
Kirigakure.
The Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, still sat high upon his throne, ruling the village with an iron grip.
But in the shadows unseen by him, Terumi Mei and her subordinates whispered among themselves.
"Perhaps we should make contact with this person…"
These whispers gradually dissipated in the mist, as if no one had ever mentioned them.
…
Kumogakure.
"Hah! Incompetent Konoha!"
The Fourth Raikage, A, roared loudly and slammed the intelligence report onto the table.
"Now is the best time! We must act immediately!"
His order was ultimately dissuaded by his secretary, Mabui.
After all, while Konoha had indeed been caught off guard, their actual losses in strength were minimal.
It took some effort, but she finally convinced A to abandon his reckless plan.
However, barely a moment later, A slammed the table again and said, "We can choose not to deal with Konoha, but we can't just turn a blind eye to the son of Namikaze Minato!"
"Where the hell is that idiot B?!"
…
Iwagakure.
The shrewd Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, merely glanced at the intelligence before setting it aside.
He acted as if he had seen nothing.
'This kind of news, which came from an unknown source... clearly had someone pulling strings behind the scenes.'
'Still, perhaps we could hire some bounty hunters to test the waters...'
In an instant, the entire Ninja World began to stir… all because of one man's decision.