The next morning, Tsunade slowly pushed herself up from the bed and walked into the living room, only to find Uchiha Hikaru and Uchiha Saya already seated at the dining table.
She casually pulled on a loose green robe and sat down beside Saya. Her stomach was completely empty—last night's physical exertion had drained her thoroughly.
On the table were tofu pudding and fried dough buns, freshly prepared by Hikaru himself that morning.
The warm, rich aroma made her unconsciously pick up her chopsticks. She stirred the tofu pudding and took a mouthful, finally soothing her hunger.
Not long after breakfast, Tsunade tidied herself and headed to the Hokage Building to begin the day's work.
As for Uchiha Saya—
She had now officially become the Commander of Konoha's ANBU.
Shortly after the Chūnin Exams ended, Kakashi formally resigned from his position in ANBU.
Hikaru didn't stop him.
It seemed that the time Kakashi had spent leading Naruto and the others had finally helped him step out of his inner darkness and face his past.
As for Uchiha Obito—
He had already become a traitor to the village, even going so far as to launch a terrorist attack on Konoha itself.
Even though Obito had once been Kakashi's closest friend, Hikaru would never spare him for the sake of the village.
At most, when Obito was eventually captured, Hikaru would plead for a reduced sentence.
That was all.
"Hikaru," Tsunade asked, sipping her tea,
"How are things in ANBU? Are you getting used to it?"
"Did anything happen while I was away?"
Hikaru ate his bun while asking Saya about recent developments.
"Master Hikaru," Saya replied seriously,
"It's been pretty good. The Uchiha within ANBU were somewhat dissatisfied at first—after all, I was appointed directly from above."
"But after one sparring match, they all quieted down."
"As for recent intelligence…"
"In the Land of Rain, Nagato sent word three days ago. He seems to have discovered traces of Obito."
Hikaru's movements stopped. He swallowed the bun, his gaze turning sharp.
"…After two years, we finally found that bastard's trail."
"When Nagato was overseeing the North–South Water Diversion Project in the Rain Country, he attempted to summon the Outer Path Demonic Statue for assistance."
"But someone tried to seize control of it midway, triggering an emergency. With no other choice, Nagato contacted us."
"At the same time, using the perception of the Rinnegan, he suspects Obito is hiding in the Land of the Moon—a country once founded by rogue ninja."
"But the information isn't fully confirmed yet."
"After all, Obito possesses biological weapons like Impure World Reincarnation and White Zetsu. After two years, we have no idea how much power he's accumulated."
"Tsunade-sama has already dispatched Itachi and Kabuto to gather intelligence."
Hikaru nodded.
Sending an ordinary ninja team into the Land of the Moon would be suicide. White Zetsu were too elusive—without Sage Mode perception, Tailed Beast Chakra, or techniques like the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, detecting them was nearly impossible.
More often than not, the enemy would detect you first.
But if the ones sent were Itachi and Kabuto, there was little to worry about.
One was a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder transplanted with Hashirama's cells.
The other was Kabuto—a walking forbidden technique encyclopedia.
Even if something went wrong, they would still be able to retreat and bring the information back to Konoha.
...
"Itachi, it's time to leave."
"We've gathered enough information."
"If we go any deeper, we'll alert the White Zetsu army."
"They'll burrow through the earth with Earth Release and surround us. I'm already running low on chakra."
At that moment, Kabuto and Itachi were hidden within a tunnel.
Beneath them lay a vast underground cavern.
Rows upon rows of small white figures stood densely packed together—so many that it made one's scalp go numb and triggered an instinctive sense of claustrophobia.
At least one hundred thousand White Zetsu.
That number alone was equivalent to the combined ninja forces of all five great nations.
Even Kabuto felt a chill crawl up his spine.
No one could have imagined that in just two years, Obito and Black Zetsu could cultivate such an army.
Itachi's Sharingan glowed blood-red as he stared into the depths of the cavern. Suddenly, a dangerous thought crossed his mind.
"Kabuto," he said quietly,
"How about I use Fire Style to spread Amaterasu and burn them all?"
His tone burned with righteous fury—like a passionate patriot eager to act.
Kabuto felt cold sweat break out immediately.
He grabbed Itachi by the shoulders.
"Itachi," he said urgently,
"I know Amaterasu is an inextinguishable flame."
"But Obito controls space–time ninjutsu. We wouldn't be able to destroy many of them at all."
"Once we're exposed, we won't be able to deliver this information back to Konoha."
Hearing this, Itachi reluctantly suppressed the idea, disappointment flashing across his face.
Kabuto activated Sage Art: Earth Release – Floating in the Earth.
Using senjutsu chakra, he formed a thin earth membrane over their bodies, perfectly compatible with the surrounding soil.
The earth softened and parted as they moved—like a submarine traveling beneath the ground.
Unknowingly, the senjutsu Kabuto developed had achieved effects similar to White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique, and even surpassed it.
After all—
Kabuto moved faster.
One day later, Kabuto and Itachi returned to Konoha.
Tsunade immediately dispatched ANBU to summon Uchiha Hikaru to her office.
Inside, Kabuto and Itachi began reporting everything they had discovered.
"Hokage-sama. Hikaru-sama."
"At the beginning of the mission, Itachi and I split up to gather intelligence."
"In the Land of the Moon, we discovered a large number of rogue ninja."
"We also found remnants of Sound Ninja who fled after the collapse of the Sound Village two years ago."
"Their chakra was extremely twisted and evil."
"If nothing else, they've clearly undergone human experimentation."
"The chakra within their bodies rivals that of a Jinchūriki enveloped in tailed beast chakra."
Itachi then continued.
"On the border between the Land of the Moon and the Land of Lightning, I found several Kumogakure ninja."
"After placing them under genjutsu, I learned that the graves of the former Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, as well as Kinkaku and Ginkaku, had been desecrated."
"I suspect Obito intends to collect the remains of past Jinchūriki and use Impure World Reincarnation to unleash disaster upon the ninja world."
"Hokage-sama, please inform all villages immediately so they can prepare."
Tsunade nodded grimly.
Based on what Hikaru had once explained, gathering the chakra of all nine tailed beasts—along with the Outer Path Demonic Statue—could potentially summon the legendary Ten-Tails.
If that happened, it would be an unprecedented catastrophe.
What Tsunade and Hikaru didn't yet know—
Was that the graves of nearly every past Jinchūriki had already been robbed.
The other villages, out of pride and fear of losing face, had chosen to conceal the truth.
After all, it was "only a fragment" of tailed beast chakra.
Even if Obito resurrected the Ten-Tails, how strong could it really be?
Surely not that dangerous… right?
Impossible! (￣□￣;)
With that mindset, the other four great nations—and Takigakure—buried the news.
...
Intelligence (2)
Because they underestimated the severity of the situation, the villages chose secrecy.
And because of that—
The ninja world would soon face an unprecedented crisis.
"The former Eight-Tails Jinchūriki…"
"B…?"
"And even Kinkaku and Ginkaku's graves were robbed?"
"I wonder whether the previous Two-Tails Jinchūriki was disturbed as well."
"So Obito and Black Zetsu plan to use Impure World Reincarnation to gather the chakra of all nine tailed beasts… to revive the Ten-Tails?"
Hikaru's thoughts aligned quickly.
After all, in the original course of history, Obito used the remains of Kinkaku and Ginkaku—along with the chakra of the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails—to resurrect the Ten-Tails.
Tsunade stared at him in disbelief.
"I remember you saying the tailed beasts were split from the Ten-Tails by the Sage of Six Paths."
"But can we really resurrect the Ten-Tails with only fragments of chakra from past Jinchūriki?"
Itachi, Kabuto, and even Shizune looked at Hikaru expectantly.
To be honest—
Even Hikaru wasn't completely certain.
But the true key wasn't the Ten-Tails.
It was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
In the original future, only after Infinite Tsukuyomi succeeded did Black Zetsu betray Madara and revive Kaguya.
Infinite Tsukuyomi was the prerequisite—but whether a fully revived Ten-Tails was strictly necessary was unclear.
Hikaru sighed inwardly.
If that naïve goddess really revived—
He'd just beat her back down.
Simple.
"In theory, it should be possible."
"The Ten-Tails revived this way may be incomplete, but it will still far surpass ordinary tailed beasts."
"After all, even its empty shell can suppress the tailed beasts."
"We can't afford to be careless."
"Itachi, immediately send this information to the other four villages."
"I'll go to the Hidden Rain Village personally."
Itachi half-knelt.
"Yes, Hikaru-sama."
He vanished instantly.
Tsunade turned anxiously toward Kabuto.
There was more?
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. Fear flickered behind the lenses.
"The reason we returned so urgently…"
"…is because beneath the Land of the Moon, we discovered a massive underground cavern."
"Conservatively estimated—at least one hundred thousand White Zetsu."
"One hundred thousand?!"
Tsunade slammed her desk and stood up.
"That's not an estimate—that's insanity!"
Kabuto nodded heavily.
"One hundred thousand White Zetsu."
"Even all five great nations combined don't have that many ninja."
"And this is only what we've found so far."
"They may have hidden more elsewhere."
"That Uchiha Obito…"
"What a terrifying scheme."
Hikaru placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder.
"Relax."
"The average White Zetsu is only Chūnin-level."
"We've faced them before."
"And now—Second Uncle has already developed multiple generations of weapons."
"They're nothing but cannon fodder."
Tsunade exhaled slowly, though her brow remained furrowed.
"You're right—but White Zetsu can copy chakra and perfectly disguise themselves."
"Aside from those who've mastered your senjutsu…"
"Only my grandmother's Mind's Eye of the Kagura can detect them."
"If they infiltrate us, it'll be disastrous."
Hikaru paused.
Then—
A faint, helpless smile appeared.
"There's another way."
"Shadow clones alone are too inefficient."
"Before battle, I can use my Mangekyō Sharingan technique to place a mental mark on everyone."
"That way, we can distinguish allies from enemies."
"And even if White Zetsu infiltrate in advance…"
"I can read their memories and directly control them through the mark."
The room went silent.
Everyone stared at him.
"You still have a technique like that?!"
"Then why haven't you ever used it?!"
Hikaru scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well… I never needed it."
"I've never met an enemy I couldn't beat."
His gaze drifted—subconsciously—toward Tsunade.
Tsunade shuddered violently and immediately hid behind Shizune.
"Why are you looking at me like that?!"
"What are you planning?!"
"I'm the Hokage! Get rid of those dangerous thoughts!"
Kabuto pretended not to hear anything.
Shizune forced a stiff smile.
Lady Tsunade… I'm scared too… don't hide behind me… (Ｔ▽Ｔ)
Hikaru raised his hands innocently.
"Of course not."
"I'm your Hokage's assistant. What are you imagining?"
But inwardly—
A dangerous thought surfaced.
If Tsunade were conscious, fully aware, yet placed under Yachihoko—
Able to feel every movement of her body being controlled by illusion—
Just what kind of expression would she make…?