Chapter 206 - Konoha Moves Into Action
"Ahem."
Seeing everyone obediently turn their attention to him, Nagato cleared his throat with satisfaction and spoke in a deep voice:
"To realize our shared ideals, the most important next step for the organization is to amass a vast amount of funds and prepare for future actions. We've already accumulated enough strength to influence certain nations."
"I know many of you are eager to overthrow the rule of the Five Great Nations, but now is not yet the time to go head-to-head with the five major Hidden Villages. Our next move is to leverage our power to spark conflicts among the smaller nations. By manipulating them, we can pave the way to collecting the Tailed Beasts. Once we have the Tailed Beasts, we'll crush the Four Great Shinobi Villages and seize control of the shinobi world."
"In the end, once we've gathered all nine Tailed Beasts, we'll merge their power to resurrect the King of the Underworld. Using his power, we'll destroy the demon of the shinobi world—Hatake Kazane—and plunge the world into fear, finally bringing an end to all wars."
???
Shared ideals? Yeah, right. ×6
Here's what everyone's actual "ideals" were:
Kakuzu: Endless wealth, long life, and a world without Kazane.
Sasori: Eternal art.
Obito: Destroy Akatsuki, take down Uchiha Makoto, return to Konoha in glory and marry a rich and beautiful woman, preferably while stepping on an old love rival.
Konan: For Nagato to break free from Yahiko's shadow and live happily ever after with her. (//??//)
Yakura: Return to Sunagakure for revenge, and afterward… maybe get together with that idiot.
Zetsu: Rescue my mom, then kill all of you.
Uchiha Makoto: Manipulate Nagato into collecting the Tailed Beasts, kill him, seize the Rinnegan, become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, revive his father using its power, and dominate the shinobi world—forcing Hatake Kazane to kneel and sing Conquered.
When Nagato mentioned collecting all nine Tailed Beasts, no one spoke out, but internally, they were all scoffing.
Collect all nine? You dare go after the Nine-Tails?
Hatake Kazane will kill you before you even get close!
Even Uchiha Makoto, who had proposed this plan to Nagato in the first place, couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
Sure, he had been the one to find Nagato and feed him a half-truth about the King of the Underworld awakening with the nine beasts' power—but even Makoto didn't believe Nagato could succeed. The real reason? Other than Akatsuki, Makoto didn't know of any group capable of opposing Konoha.
Still, despite their conflicting motives, no one voiced opposition. Everyone nodded in feigned agreement.
Delusional people often live in a self-created world, blind to obvious signs. The expressions were clearly fake—Makoto even had a cold smile on his lips as if mocking Nagato's naïveté.
But Nagato either didn't notice or refused to acknowledge it. Instead, he basked in the illusion that everyone truly supported him.
Satisfied, he began assigning roles.
"Alright. Obito, you and Yakura will be responsible for…"
"Kakuzu and Zetsu, you two will handle funding and intelligence gathering on the Tailed Beasts."
"Sasori and Makoto, your task is…"
Everyone acknowledged the commands and left to carry out their missions, leaving Nagato behind, watching them depart with contentment.
After they left, Konan approached Nagato with a trace of concern.
"Nagato, can we really trust Uchiha Makoto? Aren't you worried he might be lying to you?"
Nagato took a deep breath, turned to face her, the concentric circles of the Rinnegan reflecting the vastness of the universe and his hope for the future. Forming the hand seals—Boar → Dog → Rooster → Monkey → Sheep—he declared:
"Because I really can summon the King of the Underworld! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"
Mysterious symbols resembling tadpoles spread across the ground behind him, forming what looked like a circular magic array in Konan's eyes.
From it, a massive black shadow slowly rose. The light from Obito's lantern cast the creature's form into partial visibility.
And with just a glance, Konan's heart was seared with an unforgettable memory.
Rising from the seal was a colossal humanoid with nine eyes.
If Uchiha Makoto had been present, he would have recognized the creature instantly—it looked exactly like the grotesque monster behind Uchiha Madara in that cave.
It was the Gedo Statue, the empty shell of the Ten-Tails formed from the God Tree.
Makoto, who had half-bluffed Nagato into believing the Underworld King could be summoned with nine beasts, had unknowingly told more truth than he realized—planting the seeds for the shocking surprise Nagato had in store for him.
The Gedo Statue continued to rise, almost reaching the ceiling of the meeting room before Nagato willed it back into the earth.
He wasn't ready for anyone to know he could truly summon the Nine-Eyed King. Amegakure was crawling with spies from every village, drawn by Akatsuki's rising power.
Even within the organization, there were few he could trust. Until the final showdown, Nagato would keep this trump card hidden—waiting for the perfect moment to surprise Hatake Kazane.
---
Outside the Meeting Room
After exiting, a tense atmosphere settled over the street. Uchiha Makoto and Uchiha Obito stood face-to-face in the rain-soaked streets of Amegakure, their auras clashing.
Everyone else clearly took Obito's side, standing behind him as spectators, eager for a fight.
Though they looked like they were supporting Obito, only Yakura showed genuine concern for him. The rest were there to enjoy the show—and maybe scavenge if the two injured each other.
Only Yakura truly worried for Obito's safety. She had never forgotten how he saved her, nor the kindness he had shown since. (//??//)
Obito's aura grew more concentrated. He knew—this fight was inevitable.
The moment he laid eyes on Makoto, he decided: only one of them would walk away.
If he hesitated now, the others might think he was weak.
These weren't friendly companions—they were all infamous rogue shinobi, killers through and through.
Makoto was no exception. Fueled by jealousy and resentment toward Obito, he also sought to assert dominance.
In a den of monsters like Akatsuki, power ruled. Makoto had tried to assert his place by taking out the top dog—but failed.
So he set his sights lower.
Number Two? A woman.
Fine, then Number Three.
To his shock, he learned Obito had risen to be Akatsuki's third-in-command in just a few months, next to Konan with Nagato at the top.
Makoto was delighted—to him, Obito was just a former loser. Surely nothing to worry about.
But their encounter brought an unexpected surprise. Obito's eye was still more than enough to pose a threat—yet it also presented an opportunity.
A chance to establish dominance in front of everyone. And Obito is the perfect stepping stone.
Their locked gazes tightened the air. The fight could erupt at any second.
But then—an overwhelming, sinister chakra burst from the meeting room, drawing everyone's attention.
It vanished as quickly as it appeared, but the timing was too precise—it clearly intended to halt the fight.
That aura was terrifying. Neither Obito nor Makoto were frightened, but they hesitated.
Nagato was too important in both their plans. Neither could afford to antagonize him just yet.
That single hesitation softened the atmosphere.
"Hmph. I'll let you go this time, Uchiha Makoto. But your luck won't last forever."
Obito backed down first. Though often impulsive, he knew when to think big.
His grand plans were just beginning, and crossing Nagato now wasn't wise.
Besides, the malevolent energy from earlier made him realize Nagato was far from simple.
Obito suspected Nagato had been hiding his true strength—laying traps all along, waiting for them to step in.
Quietly admiring the depth of Nagato's schemes, Obito lost his desire to fight and left with Yakura.
Once they were gone and the battle avoided, the others lost interest and dispersed, leaving only Makoto silently watching Obito's retreating figure.
Uchiha Obito… What a troublesome guy. If I want to survive in Akatsuki, the first obstacle I must remove… is him.
---
20 Light Years from the Shinobi World – Near the Planet Quarmas
A massive fleet approached the Shinobi World at faster-than-light speed.
The armada consisted of five ships: a command vessel in the center, flanked by four protective cruisers.
Anyone who could see through the warships' thick armor would find that aside from the navigators, every other lifeform had already entered deep sleep inside coffin-like cryo-chambers.
The chambers were arranged in perfect order. Through the transparent hatches, one could clearly see the inhabitants—each had four arms, razor-sharp teeth stretching from their mouths, and steel-like muscles gleaming with a slick sheen.
They looked like something out of myth—Asura warriors made real.
Even the strange man who once sat on the command ship's throne now slept within his personal cryo-chamber beneath the throne.
Only a few operators remained active in the control room, inputting commands as the five ghost-like vessels sailed silently toward their destination.
Back in the Shinobi World, no one yet knew that a deadly threat was racing toward them.
---
Konoha – Rear Mountains
"Harder. I can take more."
In the dense forest behind Konoha, Jiriku stood before Uchiha Itachi, casually tanking the boy's flurry of attacks while spouting sarcastic remarks—like wondering if Itachi had skipped lunch.
Boom!
After using all his strength and barely making Jiriku's arm twitch, Itachi gave up.
He used the recoil from their clash to backflip away and land some distance off.
Pouting, Itachi spoke like a typical Uchiha brat:
"I'm done. This is pointless. You don't cooperate at all, Jiriku-nii. Fighting you doesn't help me improve one bit."
Jiriku didn't take offense. Kids say the darndest things.
He walked over, grabbed the back of Itachi's collar, and lifted him off the ground like a cat, shaking the boy's scrawny frame with mock annoyance.
"Hey, kid. You act like I enjoy babysitting you. If you don't wanna train, fine—go back to school. And don't go name-dropping me to your teachers again. I'm not covering for you next time."
That's right—Uchiha Itachi was now an official student.
After Uchiha Fugaku and Tobirama Senju approached Orochimaru and subtly yielded, Orochimaru once again took control of Konoha.
The village underwent sweeping reforms from the inside out.
And one of Kazane's top priorities—education—led to a massive overhaul and expansion of the ninja academy.
Next to the old building, a new facility was built specifically for children without ninja talent.
The school followed a nine-year compulsory education model. Most kids started at age seven, and tuition was free—just like public schools from Kazane's previous life.
The goal? Eradicate illiteracy and cultivate scientific minds.
Becoming an elite scientist didn't require strength—it just required knowledge.