"How... how terrifying! So Karin actually has such a frightening side!"
Seeing Sasuke's wretched state, Fu, the former Jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails, trembled as she clung to Neji's arm, projecting the image of a delicate, frightened bird.
"Damn it! Let go! There are so many people watching," Neji said, his face flushing red as he struggled to pull his arm free.
Unfortunately, Fu held on far too tightly. After a few futile attempts to break away, he eventually gave up and resigned himself to fate.
As the saying goes, a man chasing a woman faces mountains; a woman chasing a man faces only a veil.
Since Fu was naturally proactive and Neji, much like Sasuke, was a classic tsundere, cold on the outside but soft on the inside, he was utterly defenseless against her relentless persistence.
Consequently, their relationship had warmed rapidly over the journey, already beginning to show the faint inklings of a young couple.
Karin, who had been constantly trying to catch Allen's eye, witnessed this scene and felt a sudden critical hit of ten thousand points, just like any other "single dog" would. She hung her head in dejection and followed the group into the restaurant.
As for Sasuke...
Not only had he been beaten until he coughed up blood, but he also had to pay for the repairs to the destroyed wall. It was a truly miserable sight.
…
Naturally, Allen never concerned himself with these "minor squabbles" within the team. He made his way to a table by the window and sat down, picking up the menu and casually ordering a vast array of his favorite dishes. Then, with a faint smile, he asked, "What would you like to eat? Don't be shy, order whatever you want. It's my treat today."
"Oh? I never imagined that the man hailed as the most dangerous in the Shinobi world would possess such a gentlemanly side," Mei Terumī remarked, a look of genuine surprise crossing her face.
Based on the intelligence gathered by the Hidden Mist, she had always assumed he would be an incredibly arrogant young man, perhaps even one consumed by hatred for the world.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have proposed such unprecedented slogans, overthrowing the hidden villages, the Daimyō, and the nobility.
To achieve this goal, he had even treated precious Ninjutsu, Forbidden Jutsu, and that power called Nen like promotional flyers, handing them out for free to any commoner in need.
"Dangerous? Perhaps to the representatives of the decaying old order, the villages, the Daimyō, and the nobles, I am indeed an uncompromisingly dangerous element. But toward commoners, or those who do not stand in the path of my progress, I have always adhered to my principles," Allen responded meaningfully.
"Then what must one do to avoid standing in your path?"
Mei Terumī undoubtedly caught the subtext and immediately probed with caution.
"It's simple. Hand over the Tailed Beasts and the Jinchūriki, and I will ignore the existence of the Hidden Mist," Allen offered the condition nonchalantly.
Compared to the continent where the other four nations were located, the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village were relatively isolated. The waves of revolution would not break out there on a large scale for quite some time.
Furthermore, Obito's interference years prior had severely weakened the Mist, leaving their population significantly depleted.
If it weren't for that, Mei Terumī, who was only in her early thirties, wouldn't be worrying about finding someone to marry; the truth was that the young and able-bodied men of the Mist had nearly all been killed off.
Thus, in Allen's eyes, the Hidden Mist was like the Hidden Sand: they both clung to the title of a "Great Nation" while having long since lost the actual strength associated with it.
Currently, only two nations in the entire Shinobi world could truly be called great: one was the Hidden Leaf, teeming with geniuses, and the other was the Hidden Cloud, world-renowned for its Lightning Release Nintaijutsu.
Mei Terumī was clearly unaware that the man before her had already seen through the reality of her village. She purposefully used a tone of bluster, saying, "Handing over the Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki is possible. But what do you intend to give in exchange? You must realize that the Tailed Beasts are each village's ultimate trump card and weapons of war."
"Is the lives of everyone in the Hidden Mist Village enough?" Allen countered with a playful smile. "Remember. This is not a negotiation; you have no bargaining chips in your hand. If I so desire, I can send you all to the next world at any moment."
"Have you finally shown your true colors?" Mei Terumī's expression soured instantly upon hearing the threat.
Allen laughed and shook his head. "No. I'm merely reminding you to put away these tedious provocations. Just give me the information on Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchūriki, and then let us finish this meal happily. Isn't that better?"
"Fine! Here is what you want."
Seeing her little tricks exposed, Mei Terumī decisively tossed a palm-sized scroll onto the table. Simultaneously, she picked up the menu and began frantically ordering the most expensive and delicious items.
From her indignant attitude, it wasn't hard to see that she wanted to make his wallet bleed as a way to vent her frustration.
Unfortunately for her, Allen had seen this kind of feminine pouting many times before.
Moreover, a few dishes barely cost anything; with his current wealth, he could buy the entire street without a problem.
And so, the two of them enjoyed a sumptuous feast in silence.
Once everything was cleared, Mei Terumī took a deep breath. While sipping on juice to aid digestion, she asked with feigned casualness, "Why are you collecting the Tailed Beasts?"
"Have you heard the stories of the Sage of the Six Paths and the founding of the Ninja Creed?" Allen took a sip of his sweet and sour juice, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
"Of course! What does that have to do with you collecting Tailed Beasts?" Mei Terumī asked curiously.
"Because legend has it that before the Sage of the Six Paths appeared, there was actually only one Tailed Beast in this world. Its name was the Ten-Tails. The nine Tailed Beasts that appeared later were actually segments split from the Ten-Tails," Allen explained with feigned fanaticism.
At this very moment, in the shadows of the restaurant's corner, a dark, pitch-black unknown entity was intently eavesdropping on their conversation.
It was none other than Black Zetsu, who had come specifically to investigate Allen.
"The Ten-Tails?! You want to resurrect the Ten-Tails by collecting the existing nine?"
Mei Terumī was clearly startled by this insane idea, so much so that she didn't even notice the juice spilling onto her clothes.
"Yes! Haven't you noticed? Each of the nine Tailed Beasts possesses a unique Kekkei Genkai. Just imagine, when they are fused back together, what kind of magnificent and fascinating usion reaction will occur? I can hardly wait."
To play along with Obito's performance, Allen deliberately portrayed himself as a madman obsessed with the Tailed Beasts.
Upon hearing this, a satisfied smile appeared on Black Zetsu's face, and he quickly sank into the ground, vanishing without a trace.
For him, who collected the Tailed Beasts or for what purpose never mattered.
What mattered was that once the Ten-Tails was resurrected, Kaguya would have a suitable vessel.
When that time came, he only needed to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to awaken his mother's consciousness, and his plan, thousands of years in the making, would be a success.
Looking at it now, Allen was undoubtedly the most suitable tool to complete the task of collecting the Tailed Beasts.
All he needed to do was ensure that before the Ten-Tails was resurrected, Madara Uchiha was revived first. Using the unique power of the Rinnegan, he would then take complete control of the Gedo Statue...