With Nagato's addition, it could be said that chinatsu had essentially taken over the entire Akatsuki organization.
Meanwhile, inside the abandoned Akatsuki hideout in the Land of Rain, a masked figure stood silently in the darkness.
The cavernous headquarters felt unusually empty.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
So suddenly that even he, who had manipulated events from the shadows for years, had completely lost control of the situation.
"Where did everyone go?"
"I can understand if a few members are missing, but where's Nagato?"
Behind the spiral mask, Obito Uchiha's lone Sharingan narrowed in confusion.
He could not understand how the situation had changed so drastically in such a short period of time.
Obito lowered his head and began sorting through the information he had gathered.
Not long ago, Akatsuki's mission to capture the Jinchūriki had reportedly failed.
According to the reports he received, someone had interfered.
That person was Uchiha Chinatsu.
"Uchiha Chinatsu..."
Obito muttered the name softly.
He had some vague memories of her.
Not many.
After all, he belonged to Kakashi's generation.
When Obito was crushed beneath the boulder during the Kannabi Bridge mission, Chinatsu had merely been a young child of the Uchiha Clan.
Later, after Madara rescued him and filled his mind with despair, Obito severed all ties with Konoha and never paid attention to the clan's younger generation again.
His focus had always been elsewhere.
The death of Rin.
The fall of the shinobi world.
The Eye of the Moon Plan.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Creating a dream world where no one would ever suffer again.
If Chinatsu were here to evaluate him, she would probably classify him as another severely delusional patient, ranking even above Nagato.
At least Nagato wanted peace.
Obito wanted to force everyone into his version of peace.
The symptoms were clearly more severe.
Obito searched through his memories again.
Unfortunately, he found nothing useful.
"Forget it."
"As long as I know she's one of the survivors Itachi left behind, that's enough."
"I've heard she's become quite powerful recently."
"Even the Hokage treats her differently."
"But Nagato personally moved against Konoha."
"No matter how talented she is, she should be dead by now."
Obito muttered to himself.
In his mind, Pain's strength was unquestionable.
The Six Paths of Pain had flattened entire nations.
There was no reason for Konoha to survive such an attack.
As for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki, Obito assumed he had probably already been captured as well.
Thinking this, Obito's mood improved considerably.
"Let's go take a look."
Space distorted around him.
A vortex appeared.
Using Kamui, Obito vanished from the hideout.
Meanwhile, in Konoha.
The newly acquired "Akatsuki Organization" had changed into ordinary civilian clothing.
Without the black cloaks decorated with red clouds, they looked surprisingly normal.
Well...
As normal as a group containing several S-rank criminals could look.
One thing was certain.
The clothes were entirely paid for by chinatsu.
"These clothes are pretty good."
Kisame looked down at his outfit and nodded.
"Pretty good?"
Hidan immediately became dissatisfied.
"The young lady personally bought these for us!"
"The correct answer is fantastic!"
Kisame glanced at him.
Then ignored him completely.
Kakuzu adjusted his sleeves and spoke seriously.
"The material is expensive."
"The craftsmanship is good."
"A wealthy boss isn't impressive."
"A boss willing to spend money on employees is impressive."
Everyone nodded subconsciously.
Even Sasori found himself agreeing.
After all, throughout his years in Akatsuki, Pain had never purchased clothing for anyone.
"By the way."
"Where are we going now?"
Deidara asked.
"The young lady said we're celebrating."
"Eat whatever we want."
"She'll reimburse everything."
Kakuzu answered immediately.
His eyes sparkled slightly when he mentioned reimbursement.
The group continued walking through Konoha's streets.
Pedestrians instinctively moved aside.
Not because they recognized them.
Because the group's combined aura was simply too overwhelming.
Several young women passing by even blushed.
Objectively speaking, most members of the group were quite attractive.
Nagato possessed the distinguished appearance characteristic of the Uzumaki Clan.
Kisame looked intimidating but carried a unique presence.
Deidara and Sasori were both handsome.
Even Sasuke's looks alone could attract attention wherever he went.
"What should we eat?"
"Barbecue?"
"Sounds acceptable."
"How about ramen?"
"Ramen?"
Kisame looked surprised.
Then he remembered something.
"I heard the owner of that ramen shop is incredibly powerful."
Everyone froze.
"...Who told you that?"
"The young lady."
"..."
Silence filled the street.
No one knew whether chinatsu was joking or serious.
Unfortunately, after spending enough time around her, everyone understood one thing.
If chinatsu said someone was strong...
There was usually a reason.
Thus, the group unanimously chose Ichiraku Ramen.
As they lifted the curtain and entered the shop, Teuchi instinctively looked up.
"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen "
His voice stopped halfway.
His instincts as a veteran ramen chef suddenly screamed danger.
The people standing before him looked terrifying.
"Menu?"
"Menu! Right away!"
Teuchi immediately handed over the menus.
Choosing ramen itself proceeded relatively peacefully.
The real problem began when they reached the toppings section.
"Narutomaki?"
Hidan blinked.
"That sounds suspiciously similar to Naruto."
He turned toward Teuchi.
"Hey, old man."
"Don't you have something named after the young lady?"
"A Chinatsu Roll or something?"
Teuchi nearly dropped the menu.
What kind of topping was a Chinatsu Roll?
And why did these dangerous-looking people seem so obsessed with this Miss Chinatsu?
After several minutes of chaos, everyone finally received their ramen.
Then silence fell.
Because it was delicious.
Very delicious.
Several minutes later.
Every single bowl was empty.
Without exception, everyone raised their hands.
"Another one."
"Same here."
"Me too."
"Add extra pork."
"Double portions."
The requests continued endlessly.
Fortunately, everyone shared the same thought.
The young lady would reimburse them anyway.
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha compound.
The person responsible for the reimbursement was sleeping peacefully.
As the current head of the Uchiha Clan, whose membership consisted of exactly two people, chinatsu genuinely did not care about the expense.
She lay comfortably on a folding chair in the training ground.
Earplugs.
Eye mask.
Blanket.
Perfect setup.
After spending an entire night sleeping on the cold floor inside Nagato's hideout, she was determined to recover properly.
She had just resolved one of the biggest future threats in the Naruto world.
If she couldn't enjoy a nap afterward, then what was the point?
At that very moment.
A space-time vortex silently appeared near the edge of the compound.
Obito Uchiha entered Konoha unnoticed.
Question.
Why didn't he use the main gate?
Answer.
Because Konoha's security was annoyingly troublesome.
Even Pain had chosen to attack from outside rather than casually stroll through the entrance.
Standing atop a tall tree inside the compound, Obito looked down.
Then froze.
"Huh?"
His masked face filled with confusion.
Why was she alive?
Where was Pain?
Where was Nagato?
Where were the explosions?
Where was the destruction?
Konoha looked completely normal.
The village wasn't damaged.
The Hokage Monument was intact.
Nothing made sense.
Countless questions flooded Obito's mind.
After several seconds, he forcibly pushed them aside.
"I don't care anymore."
"If she's alive, then I'll eliminate her myself."
His Sharingan spun.
Then evolved into Mangekyō Sharingan.
Space began distorting around chinatsu.
Kamui.
One of the most broken abilities in the Naruto world.
Just as Obito prepared to drag Chinatsu into the Kamui dimension, a powerful sense of danger erupted within him.
His instincts screamed.
Run.
Immediately.
Without hesitation, Obito redirected Kamui toward himself.
A swirling vortex consumed his body.
In an instant, he disappeared from the branch.
At the same moment, several thick wooden vines erupted upward from below, crushing the location where he had been standing.
The folding chair creaked.
Chinatsu slowly sat upright.
She removed her eye mask.
Then clicked her tongue in disappointment.
"What a shame."
"I was hoping to skip quite a bit of the plot."
She looked toward the empty branch where Obito had stood moments earlier.
A trace of regret appeared on her face.
"Kamui really is a troublesome ability."
"Even Wood Release can't easily catch someone who can make his body intangible whenever he wants."
chinatsu stretched lazily.
Then smiled.
At least now she knew one thing.
The final stages of the story had officially begun.
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