In Amekagure;
In a deep cave 10 figures flashed onto the ten fingertips of a massive statue it's eyes eerily vacant. One of the figures had 3 tomoe sharingan pair and his ring bore the 'Scarlet' insignia.
"Orochimaru, you have failed. Why?!" Pain spoke his voice monotone and absolute in his demand. Orochimaru felt a deep-rooted desire to kill this so-called leader of their only he knew that he was far outclassed. He had experienced the crushing power of the Rennigan, if in the past he had thought the sharingan was exceptional that had been rewritten by the power of the Rennigan.
"We arrive at the location as informed but during out attempted capture of the the 5 tails jinchuriki the 3rd Tsuchikage arrived arrived and interfered. Not to mention their elite forces were closing in so we had to retreat." Orochimaru answered his eyes glinting with playfulness and mad desire for chaos.
"You ran, you snake. Don't lump me with you." Sasori of the red sand smoke his voice rough against the clanking wood.
"It doesn't matter; you have failed and put us in sights of Iwakagure. The great villages are aggressively concentrating their strength if jinchuriki are now in the villages instead of being isolated. This means the task of capturing will be harder however the next failed capture will make deal with you personally. Disperse." Pain fizzled out, Tendo pain came to sitting on a ledge beneath a soaking sky as rained fell.
Tendo pain clenched his first, his chakra pulse dispersing the rain, "Yahito, it's taking too long, this path that we are walking but ultimately it is worth it." Tendo pain stood up walking further into the tower.
In an underground cavern;
A figure arose from the ground, having a half white half black body, "Obito, do you trust that Uchiha Itachi. Though it seems like he defected, he might just be fishing for information given how the Uchiha have been hunting the Akatsuki."
"I know," A figure in an orange mask answered wearing his gloves, "It doesn't matter what he is fishing for but it is all ultimately useless once the grand plan has been achieved. They all lack the conviction to bring about absolute peace and redemption to the world.
I will rescue this world. Now, to deal with that matter…" Obito vanished in a swirl his destination the hidden mist village.
One of the events that shook the world during Kudo's academy days was the dethroning of the 4th Mizukage Yagura and the ascension of the 5th Mizukage Mei Terumi. The 5th Mizukage's rise stopped the civil war but the result was a weakened great village that way behind in its readiness for war while other great villages had recuperated and increased their elite forces like Kumogakure.
The perfect Jinchuriki of Kirigakure died immediately after having the genjutsu cast on him broken by Ao. In a battle that truly shook the village somehow the clan coalition had come up on top but the years of civil war had scarred the village.
The shinobi world in the last few years had entered a temporary peace as each village sharped their blades but their fights in the darkness were escalating.
In Sunagakure, the Kazegake's office at night;
Rasa sat behind his desk his face looking pensively at the document before him, his jaw taught with frustration. His village was dying all due to stupid politics from a daimyo that would rather serve Konoha than his own hidden village.
"Come out." Rasa spoke hiss demeanour shifting to alertness, his vast chakra churning ready to fight.
"I am not here to fight Kazekage, rather I have head whispered that sou seek to overthrow the hegemeony of Konoha and I am interested in such grand ideals. Only I have a way to make such ideals a reality, what say you Kazekage?"
"Orochimaru, I have no idea how you penetrated my village but do not mistake Konoha's leniency on me. You dare to tress pass in my village; I should bury you where you stand that is if the true snake ever bothered to show itself. I have no need to scheme with vermin like you." Rasa spoke his irritation crystal.
"Kazekage, you wound me with our words," Orochimaru smiled his gaze sharp, "Would you rather starve at the mercy of the foolish or take what rightfully belongs to the strong, the capable? You know very well that killing your daimyo accomplishes nothing. You will have the great villages at your door so why not take the very thing he relies on, take away his precious Konoha."
"Leave, before I squash you myself," Rasa spoke his thoughts chaotic.
"Reach out anytime Kazekage but I am afraid you little village won't last so long." Orochimaru's clone dispersed into snakes vanishing into the darkness.
Rasa slumped into his chair, "Is this the only way out?" he wondered. He had done all he can, there is only so much water you could squeeze out of a dry sponge. His reforms low cost had brought stability to the village but they were running on fumes. His Anbu was dedicated to hunting down rogue shinobi just to bring flow of capital into the village while he was hunting in the desert for gold but it wasn't enough. Merchants rarely came and therefore just securing supplies left them broke as there is no steady flow of money.
In the early years when he took over, prices were through the roof and it took consistent effort just to secure some calm but the daimyo was choking them to oblivion.
Ater thinking it over for a few hours, Rasa leaned more into the idea. Crushing Konoha was always something he aspired to do; he would do it even if it meant working with that snake but he would be careful. The village's survival takes priority.
"Bang-bang" Furious knocking came from outside his office, "Come in Temari." He sighed, the door opened and Temari walked in, "Dinner." She said looking at him in the eye.
"Alright, let's go." Rasa rose from the seat following along, Temari in front of him smiled faintly. 'I will protest my family and village at any cost, including my life.' Rasa swore to himself.