After leaving the Land of Waves, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki gradually slowed down.
This trip had been a heavy loss for both of them.
Not only had Itachi burned through a good chunk of his precious Mangekyō Sharingan power, but Kisame had also lost his beloved weapon—Samehada. Their combat effectiveness had basically taken a solid hit.
Still, it wasn't all bad.
They had learned some valuable information.
Itachi now knew that Shisui Uchiha had successfully settled the remaining Uchiha, and Kisame confirmed that the Fourth Mizukage was no longer being controlled.
Things they once thought impossible… had already happened.
The only annoying part?
They missed all of it.
Yeah, great timing.
Just as they were about to contact Nagato (Pain), space twisted—
And Obito Uchiha appeared again.
Itachi frowned slightly.
"Madara… aren't you supposed to be allied with Uzushio Village?"
After everything that had just gone down, it was obvious Obito had been stirring shit behind the scenes. Otherwise, there was no real reason for Akatsuki to clash with Uzushio.
Kisame also looked over, curious.
Obito's expression darkened slightly, but he answered anyway:
"Uzumaki's ambition is too big. Controlling Uzushio and influencing Kirigakure wasn't enough—he's already reaching for the Land of Waves."
He paused.
"If we don't suppress him early, it'll mess up the entire plan."
Then his tone dropped.
"I just didn't expect him to be that strong."
Itachi narrowed his eyes.
So… even "Madara" has someone he's wary of?
That was… interesting.
Obito clearly noticed what Itachi was thinking and snorted.
"Itachi… Uzushio Village will threaten Konoha sooner or later. When that day comes, you should think carefully—who you'll stand with."
Then—
He vanished.
No more explanations. No more hints.
After he left, Itachi and Kisame exchanged a glance.
Kisame spoke first.
"So… you were recruited by him too?"
Itachi nodded slightly.
He was actually curious about Kisame's past as well—anyone personally picked by Obito definitely had a messy story behind them.
After a short exchange, they reported the mission outcome.
Failure included.
Nagato didn't react much.
To him, this was just another mercenary job.
Akatsuki had done far worse—starting wars, toppling countries… this was nothing.
Still, losing—or almost losing—top-tier members like Itachi and Kisame over some backwater island?
That was… irritating.
After reporting, the two headed toward the black market.
Akatsuki might not care about success rates—but bills still had to be paid.
Even terrorists need funding.
Halfway there, Itachi suddenly stopped.
Kisame raised an eyebrow.
"Enemy?"
Itachi shook his head.
"No… Orochimaru wants to meet. He's in the Land of Fire."
Kisame immediately frowned.
"That screams trap."
"It is a trap," Itachi said calmly. "But I have my reasons."
Of course he knew.
Orochimaru had been eyeing him since he was young. Now that he had the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Yeah… that snake definitely wasn't going to miss this chance.
Too bad for him.
He had no idea what kind of power he was messing with.
The next morning—
The people of the Land of Waves woke up to shocking news.
The Kado Shipping Company—which had ruled them for over a decade—
Was gone.
Wiped out overnight.
And in its place?
Uzushio Village had taken over.
Most civilians didn't care who ruled them.
They just wanted answers:
Are taxes going up?
Can we still travel?
Are we about to get squeezed dry again?
Simple survival questions.
At Tazuna's house—
The family had also heard the news.
Kaiza frowned.
He had spent so long preparing to resist Kado's tyranny… and now the guy was already gone.
Great. All that planning for nothing.
Now the problem was the newcomers.
Were they better… or just a different flavor of oppression?
Tazuna sighed.
"Kaiza… drop the rebellion idea for now. These new people are ninjas. If things go bad, we can't fight them."
He had seen what happened at Kado's base.
That wasn't a battle.
That was a damn natural disaster.
Calling them "ninjas" felt like an understatement.
"Monsters" sounded more accurate.
The little kid puffed his chest.
"Grandpa, stop being so negative! If they're bad, Dad will beat them up!"
Tazuna almost smacked him.
"Beat them up? With what? Your wooden spoon?"
Before things escalated into a family argument, Kaiza stepped in to calm them down.
Still…
His eyes drifted toward the ruins of Kado's company.
No matter what—
If the people kept suffering…
He wouldn't sit still.
Corporation or ninja—it didn't matter.
Just then, a neighbor came running over, panting like he'd seen a ghost.
"I finally found you! The new ninja leaders are looking for you!"
Tazuna's face changed instantly.
His eyes flicked toward Kaiza.
Shit… did they find out about the resistance?
The neighbor waved his hand quickly.
"Relax, it's not about that! They want to build a bridge to the Land of Fire. They're looking for experts!"
"…What?"
Tazuna blinked.
"Ninjas… building a bridge?"
Now that sounded suspicious as hell.
But—
Building a bridge had always been his dream.
If the Land of Waves could connect to the outside world…
Everything would change.
No more isolation. No more dependency. No more being squeezed dry.
Which made it even stranger.
Why would ninjas do something like this?
Were they really different from Kado?
Or just pretending?
After a long pause, Tazuna exhaled.
"I'll go meet them."
He needed to see this so-called leader of Uzushio Village with his own eyes.
Because if this guy turned out to be another Kado…
Then the Land of Waves was screwed for a long time.
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