In the wilderness of the Land of Fire, the enormous skeleton of a beast serves as the entrance to an underground lair.

This is the Akatsuki’s base, where the Gedo Statue sits on an altar, its hands bound by chains.

Masked Tobi sits on a stone chair in front of the statue. The hole in his orange mask reveals a Sharingan glowing ominously. The candlelight illuminating the cavern flickers with his shifting aura.

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu bring three shocking pieces of news, plunging this strategic mastermind into deep silence.

The invincible Pain Nagato has been defeated.

Nagato betrayed him, using the Rinne Tensei Jutsu to revive the dead of Konoha.

Naruto has allegedly betrayed Konoha and taken Nagato’s body.

Tobi’s voice rumbles from behind his mask: “Nagato’s betrayal was unexpected, but Naruto’s actions are even more so…”

White Zetsu asks, “What should we do now?”

Tobi turns and asks, “Did you hear the conversation between Naruto and Konan?”

White Zetsu replies, “I didn’t hear it. That kid can sense natural energy, so it was too dangerous to get close…”

Tobi looks away: “The worst possibility is that Naruto is after the Rinnegan…”

“Additionally, according to the intelligence Akatsuki intercepted, the Raikage has called for a Five Kage Summit. The purpose of the summit is to discuss taking down Sasuke.”

“I planned to take this opportunity to declare war on the Five Great Nations and reveal the Eye of the Moon Plan…”

At this, Tobi clenches his hand on his knee: “But our leverage for declaring war is the power of the seven tailed beasts that Akatsuki has collected and sealed in the statue.”

“And to control this power, the Rinnegan is indispensable!”

White Zetsu exclaims, “Then isn’t this bad? If Naruto gets the Rinnegan, he could summon the statue anytime and use that power against us!”

Tobi responds, “There’s no need to panic yet. The Rinnegan’s ocular power isn’t easy to master. How many years did it take Nagato to finally summon the statue…”

Although he says this, Tobi thinks to himself: Naruto has a whirlpool constitution on par with Nagato. If he sets his mind to it, it’s only a matter of time before he can do it. Whether he defeated Pain or revealed sudden ambition, he can no longer be underestimated as a child…

“To be safe, I’ll add an extra layer of security.”

Tobi rises slowly and reaches toward the Gedo Statue.

Whoosh!

A Kamui vortex releases from his right eye, absorbing the entire statue!

Snap!

The vortex closes, and the statue disappears.

Tobi says, “This… temporarily eliminates the risk.”

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White Zetsu cheers, “As expected of you, moving such a massive statue in an instant!”

Black Zetsu asks in a deep voice, “What’s your next move?”

Tobi ponders, “Deploy all the White Zetsu to search for Uzumaki Naruto’s whereabouts. He should still be in the Land of Fire. Report to me immediately once you find any leads. We must reclaim the Rinnegan before the situation spirals out of control!”

White Zetsu: “Understood!”

Tobi looks at Kisame Hoshigaki, who has been standing silently on the side.

Shortly after the battle between Itachi and Sasuke, Tobi approached Kisame and revealed his identity to him.

Within Akatsuki, Kisame is the person he trusts the most, apart from Zetsu.

“Kisame… I’ll leave the Eight-Tails to you.”

“Understood.”

Tobi’s eyes are deep: “We can’t let such a small setback disrupt our plans. The declaration of war on the Five Great Nations will proceed as planned. It’s time to properly cultivate our additional eyes through the Five Kage. Let’s meet our failed warrior. We still need an account for the Eight-Tails, right, Sasuke…”

In the Land of Fire, the Hawk Squad prepares to head to Konoha, resting in a forest.

Before Pain attacked Konoha, Sasuke led the Hawk Squad to attack the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, bringing back a piece of the Eight-Tails’ tail… After that, Hawk left Akatsuki, pursuing vengeance against Konoha.

Jugo, by the river, collects water alone. Birds chirp on his shoulder, and a gentle smile appears on his lips.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp…”

Suddenly… the birds scatter in alarm!

Jugo turns to the forest behind him, seeing a blond-haired boy with a bandage over his left eye approaching.

“Hmm? It’s you…” Jugo recognizes Naruto.

Before Sasuke and Itachi’s battle, Konoha had conducted a wide search for Sasuke… During that time, a shadow clone of Naruto had encountered the Hawk Squad, and Jugo remembered Naruto’s face.

To Naruto, who has returned from the future, Jugo is an old acquaintance.

He greets with a smile: “Long time no see, Jugo. You still like animals, I see.”

“Not really.” Jugo replies curtly, asking, “Are you here to see Sasuke?”

Naruto responds meaningfully, “No, I’m here for you. More precisely, someone I can meet through you!”

Jugo’s eyes darken: “That’s impossible…”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly… two figures rush from the side, advancing with Rasengan in hand!!

Jugo is shocked: “Shadow clones… When did he…!?”

Boom!!!

After the explosion… Jugo retreats quickly, leaving a trail across the water, stopping in the middle of the river. His shoulders are nearly sheared off, leaving concave wounds!

“He possesses a Sage power greater than mine…!”

Naruto walks on water calmly, saying, “Such minor injuries are nothing to you. If you come quietly with me, I won’t continue using force…”

Jugo thinks quickly: “Sasuke is ten kilometers away. If I unleash the Cursed Seal Sage power, Karin should be able to sense the situation here…”

Sizzle!!

The Cursed Seal power flows through his body.

Naruto’s eyes sharpen, and swoosh! In the next moment, he invades Jugo’s space with a body-flicker technique comparable to Shisui’s, pressing his palm on him.

In the previous life, Sasuke lost the Rinnegan, losing the convenient space-time transfer ability. Helplessly, he had to seek compensation elsewhere, prompting Naruto to learn the Flying Raijin!

With his soul crossing back to the past, the techniques in his soul can naturally be used!

As for the space marks needed for the Flying Raijin.

“The clones that launched the attack earlier already left the marks…”

Tap! Naruto’s left hand presses on Jugo’s chest!

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…

The Cursed Seal Sage power flows continuously into Naruto’s palm!

Jugo: “You’re absorbing my chakra!?”

As the Cursed Seal Sage power drains, Jugo’s body rapidly shrinks, eventually becoming a child, falling unconscious…

“What a remarkable body. No wonder Sasuke chose him…”

Naruto sighs, carrying Jugo on his shoulder, returning to the shore.

Swish!

Konan’s form gathers from paper: “It went more smoothly than I imagined…”

“He’s actually very strong. To avoid complications, I could only launch a surprise attack. Otherwise, if Sasuke and the others arrive, the outcome would be uncertain…”

The time spent in the apocalyptic era has cultivated an extremely cautious nature in Naruto. He wouldn’t act without absolute certainty, and even when confident, he acts conservatively.

He places Jugo down, removing the latter’s wet clothes, then drapes his own dry robe over Jugo to keep him warm.

Konan asks, “Not planning to take him with us?”

Naruto looks at the Cursed Seal in his left palm: “I’ve already absorbed enough Cursed Seal Sage power. There’s no need to take him.”

Konan gazes deeply at Naruto’s bandaged left eye, reflecting inwardly: Though the optic nerve of his left eye hasn’t fully connected, he can already use the primary power of the Rinnegan. Perhaps he is more suited to these eyes than Nagato…

Splash! Naruto wears Jugo’s wet, black robe and turns, lifting his cloak: “Let’s go to the next place…”