Blue flames roared in the center of the small town, dyeing half the sky in its hue.
Outside the town, Kumo's ANBU attempting to escape were blocked by Konoha's ANBU.
To make matters worse, due to Konoha holding the advantage from the start, a thousand-strong elite Konoha unit had arrived, completely cutting off all Kumo's escape routes out of the town.
The reinforcements from Kumo's stationed troops still needed time to realize the situation and arrive on the scene.
As an experienced jonin trusted by two generations of Raikage, Dodai decisively abandoned their original plan in light of the current situation.
"Return to the town, rendezvous with the Raikage, gather our forces, and fight our way out."
"Dodai-sama, doing that may trap us completely."
"We're already surrounded. We underestimated Konoha; they were aiming to annihilate us from the start. Any intel about the Akatsuki members?"
"They've already gone to assist the Raikage."
"Good. Relay my orders to everyone: tighten the defensive line."
After issuing his commands, Dodai led his men back toward the town center.
Halfway there, a giant azure-blue cat darted over their heads with a roar.
"Matatabi?!" Dodai froze. "It hasn't escaped yet? Pursue it! We can't let the Two-Tails fall into Konoha's hands!"
"Oh my, how touching. You really care about your village, don't you?"
A man riding a giant serpent conveniently smashed through a pile of buildings, casually passing by the Kumo ninjas and even toppling a few of them along the way.
"Ah, my apologies. No one died, right? You better not dock my pay; otherwise, the Raikage might not survive this."
"Orochimaru." Dodai raised a hand to stop his furious jonin comrades behind him, feeling their killing intent spike. "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the Raikage?"
"I came to help block the Two-Tails." Orochimaru's tone lacked any genuine interest, making it unconvincing.
The Two-Tails had already leaped away, almost disappearing from sight in just a few bounds, each jump leaving a trail of azure flames in its path.
In the darkness, lightning flickered.
Two massive spears of lightning pierced the air, forming a net that surged toward Matatabi.
The giant cat lowered its head and charged into the lightning net, its blue flames intensifying as it fought against the containment.
However, the technique's caster had a refined chakra flow control. The deafening thunder crackled persistently, managing to entangle the tailed beast for the moment.
This brief delay allowed a figure to appear above Matatabi.
A blue-haired woman, with wings made of paper spread behind her, revealed herself.
As she hovered, the wings extended and scattered numerous explosive tags, which elegantly danced through the air before attaching themselves to the tailed beast's body.
The moment they made contact, they detonated.
The deafening explosions momentarily drowned out the blue flames of Matatabi in bursts of fiery orange. The shockwaves rippled through the air, forcing everyone to brace themselves.
Orochimaru, slithering in on his serpent, observed the scene and casually added a wind jutsu for good measure. The wind fed the flames, creating a terrifying vortex of fire.
Dodai stood frozen in shock before erupting in fury.
"Weren't you all supposed to guard the Raikage?! Are you planning to breach the contract?!"
"What's all the yelling about?" Kakuzu emerged from the smoke, totally unfazed as he glanced disapprovingly at Dodai. "This was what your Kage requested."
After a moment of thought, he decided not to be overly petty. Customer satisfaction was important, especially with a client as lucrative as Kumo. Ensuring repeat business was crucial for maintaining a steady cash flow.
"This one's on the house," he added.
Dodai's face darkened to the point of resembling burnt charcoal.
"Forget about the Two-Tails! Return and support the Raikage. I have reason to believe Konoha's true objective is not negotiation but to assassinate the Raikage!"
"With his temperament, it'd be more surprising if they didn't want to kill him," Orochimaru commented while continuing his wind attack. "And just to be clear, the Third Hokage is there too. I'm not going."
Knowing when to engage and when to stay clear was a skill he excelled at.
"Orochimaru, why are you so difficult?" Kakuzu's irritation was visible, his threads writhing beneath his cloak. "You were paid, so do your job."
"You got the payment, not me. I'm already being generous by accompanying you."
"Don't worry," the blue-haired woman said, still bombarding Matatabi with explosive tags. "Pain is with your Kage. With him there, he will be fine."
Before she could finish, Matatabi once again broke through the encirclement.
The enraged beast swiped at them with claws of blue fire, but they nimbly dodged the attack, scattering in different directions.
"We make the decisions here! As the one who commissioned this mission, I'm ordering you to protect the Raikage now!" Dodai barked, signaling his jonin to form a battle formation. "We'll handle the Two-Tails ourselves!"
Konan frowned, her paper wings shifting in the heated air.
They weren't here to capture Tailed Beasts.
The time wasn't right. Without the power to simultaneously suppress all five Great Shinobi Nations, Akatsuki wouldn't target the Tailed Beasts.
"Orochimaru."
"Yes?" He turned with feigned interest.
"Kakuzu and I will guard the Raikage. Since you're unwilling, cooperate with the Kumo ninjas to subdue the Two-Tails."
"Fine." Orochimaru shrugged, unbothered.
"Good. You all go as well," Dodai instructed the remaining ninjas.
"Understood." The Kumo ninjas immediately turned and followed Konan and Kakuzu to support the Fourth Raikage, their forms disappearing into the smoke-filled streets.
Only Dodai and Orochimaru remained to confront the rampaging beast.
"Matatabi, stop! If you continue, you'll kill Yugito!" Dodai shouted.
But his words were only met with the beast's furious swipe.
---
Back in the town center, the scene had completely transformed.
"Masashi, this seems different from your Phase Three plan," Minato remarked to the red-haired man beside him. "The presence of such formidable individuals beyond the Five Great Nations is surprising. That eye... could it be the legendary Rinnegan?"
He recalled a story his mentor, Jiraiya, had once told him.
In the Land of Rain, there were three fellow disciples...
"How would I know, Hokage-sama? No one's ever seen it before," Masashi said. "Let him do his thing while we handle ours. By now, the Sandaime's squad is surely clashing with the Raikage."
Minato sighed.
Something about Masashi's words felt entirely off, yet somehow logical.
Masashi himself was equally intrigued.
Who would've thought Nagato would show up in person? It seemed he now had enough confidence to protect his Rinnegan.
But he wasn't early enough. The Konoha task force had already successfully trapped the Raikage within the town.
Phase Three was now officially underway.
With Hiruzen leading the Tobirama squad against the Fourth Raikage, Masashi and Minato could focus on clearing the field elsewhere.
While the specifics differed slightly from the original plan, the overall intent remained the same.
The Raikage's death was a task reserved for the Tobirama squad. Masashi wasn't competing for that kill.
He only needed the Raikage and the Kumo ninjas to die swiftly and cleanly.
"Hokage-sama, your presence here is a waste of firepower. Leave this one to me," Masashi said, his eyes fixed on the approaching figure. "The Akatsuki members there won't be weak. I'm worried they might disrupt the Sandaime's battle."
"Alright, but be careful." Minato marked Masashi's shoulder with his Flying Thunder God seal before heading toward the Raikage's location.
For Minato and Masashi, chakra sensing allowed them to monitor the battlefield accurately and provide instant support.
Presence wasn't everything; awareness was enough.
After Minato left, Masashi and Nagato locked eyes.
The Rinnegan.
Seeing it in person for the first time, he found it eerie yet oddly mesmerizing.
"Carrying around those eyes, aren't you worried about trouble?"
"I used to be, very much so," Nagato replied, meeting Masashi's gaze without fear. His Rinnegan was immune to all visual genjutsu, including the Sharingan's famed techniques. "I've always wanted to meet you, Masashi."
"Why? Just so you know, I'm not into men."
Unlike Obito, Nagato was a vessel for Madara's Rinnegan and wasn't aligned with Obito or Black Zetsu. Among Madara's tools, his priority was secondary to Obito's.
Nagato was stubborn and bore no goodwill toward Konoha, harboring a heavy killing intent. Masashi wasn't keen on interacting with him.
"I'm interested in your talent," Nagato explained. "I want to invite you to join Akatsuki."
"Oh, thanks. But I refuse," Masashi replied bluntly.
Akatsuki only had one female member, and she wasn't even an option to flirt with.
And such a bleak group wasn't for him. Let anyone else join if they wanted, but he wouldn't.
---
Nagato wasn't necessarily surnamed Uzumaki.
At least from the time he could remember, he never carried any surname.
Having the Uzumaki bloodline didn't mean he was definitively part of the Uzumaki clan. He also had Senju blood running through his veins. The complexity of his heritage often left him wondering about his true identity.
He was always just called Nagato.
But long ago, he began to pay attention to Masashi.
The intelligence reports indicated that this man had changed many things.
Because of his influence, Akatsuki's strategies had to undergo numerous adjustments.
Yahiko once firmly believed that peace could be achieved through mutual understanding and love. His eyes would light up when he spoke of it.
But when Yahiko died right in front of him, Nagato decided to use violence to realize Yahiko's dream.
Thus, during Nagato's era, Akatsuki shifted from a path of persuasion to one of violence. Of course, this wasn't evident at first—now, Akatsuki was just like any other ninja organization, extensively participating in mercenary activities.
It should have been entering its golden era of business.
After the end of the Third Great Ninja War, as the nations reduced their military budgets, organizations like Akatsuki, with real power, were destined to become important players in the geopolitical games of the great nations.
But the Association in the Land of Fire changed all that.
Because of its existence, the intensity of covert conflicts among Iwa, Konoha, and Kiri was significantly reduced. The improved relations among the three major nations even drastically reduced the number of mercenary missions available across the continent.
Although Suna and Kumo remained, Suna was now more concerned about having enough missions for its own ninjas to handle; there was no time to hire outsiders.
Among the Five Great Nations, that left only Kumo.
Now, Akatsuki had no choice but to rely on Kumo as its primary client for military commissions.
But this was inconvenient because Akatsuki's base of operations was in Ame, which was far from the Land of Lightning.
However, if Masashi, who controlled the Association, could join Akatsuki, things would be different.
The speed at which funds could be accumulated would dramatically increase.
At least, that's how Nagato saw it. The money of the Association was essentially Masashi's money.
If he joined Akatsuki, the Association's funds would become Akatsuki's funds.
As for whether Masashi would agree, he thought it wasn't important. What mattered was whether he could suppress this person.
"Don't be in a hurry to refuse," Nagato said calmly. After all, everyone refused at first before joining. Orochimaru even fought him before joining voluntarily. "You don't yet know the grand mission Akatsuki carries. I'll tell you."
"I have no interest in knowing," Masashi replied, his tone even carrying a hint of boredom. "If you don't want to fight, we can just stay out of each other's way. I'll kill my targets, and you can earn your money."
"That won't do. My mission is to protect the Raikage."
"Oh, come on. With the way you've been holding back, if I were the Raikage, I'd deduct your entire mission payment."
"Seems like we can't come to an agreement," Nagato sighed. "The arrogance of a great nation... Very well, then. Let's settle this with power."
The next moment, the two launched their jutsu simultaneously.
With his fingers spread and palm facing Masashi, Nagato instantly activated his Rinnegan ability.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Masashi didn't use Flying Thunder God to avoid the pull. Instead, before his feet left the ground, he kicked forward, accelerating his momentum. If he wants to pull me in, I'll give him what he wants.
Nagato curled his fingers, and the surrounding buildings began to disintegrate, with debris converging toward Masashi under the influence of gravity, like two massive hands pressing inward.
Midway, Masashi's figure vanished. Banshō Ten'in lost its target, and the debris collapsed pointlessly.
Nagato leapt backward, narrowly avoiding a flame sword that erupted from the ground. The fiery blade twisted like a snake, pursuing him.
"You're pretty sharp," Masashi reappeared, not far behind Nagato, with a flame sword in hand aimed straight at Nagato's heart.
Nagato raised his hand simultaneously.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The already ruined street was utterly destroyed this time. Chunks of earth and building fragments went flying in all directions.
The repelling force swept the surroundings like a hurricane.
When it dissipated, Masashi appeared once again, unruffled despite the devastating display.
If chakra sensing were only used to locate enemies, it would be far too underwhelming.
It could also be used to detect chakra activity and judge whether an opponent was preparing to launch a jutsu.
Nagato, standing opposite, seemed to have the same ability.
"Fighting you is troublesome," Masashi sighed, glancing at the now thoroughly cleared surroundings. "Sharingan versus Rinnegan really is at a disadvantage."
As an advanced evolution of the Sharingan, the Rinnegan nullified the Sharingan's genjutsu. Even using Susanoo against the Rinnegan wasn't exactly ideal.
It was inefficient and risked becoming a target for Chibaku Tensei.
After all, the Rinnegan's wielder was essentially a god-tier goalkeeper of the future.
"I've always been curious—who healed your legs?" Masashi asked, puzzled by Nagato's vigorous condition. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his opponent's movements.
Hanzo's explosive tag array was one of his signature jutsu, and it was powerful. Back then, Nagato hadn't fully mastered the Rinnegan, and even with the Preta Path's abilities, he couldn't completely avoid the damage.
In the original timeline, his reliance on a wheelchair was directly due to injuries from that explosion, which had crippled his legs.
"For that, I have Orochimaru to thank," Nagato replied coldly. "He was quite enthusiastic."
"In that case…" Masashi mused, pieces falling into place. "Orochimaru's here too? I already spotted Kakuzu earlier, and there was another—Konan, right?"
"You seem to know us well," Nagato inquired, his Rinnegan eyes searching Masashi's face. "Did Jiraiya tell Konoha about us?"
"No, only a few people in Konoha know about you," Masashi chuckled. "Now I know how to deal with you."
His figure vanished again. This time, he didn't reappear for a long time.
Nagato's expression darkened. He's going after them.
But he knew where to find Masashi.
As a chakra sensor, he detected Konan's presence.
At the moment, she was with the Fourth Raikage.
As for the Fourth Raikage…
---
"Hiruzen, is this your conspiracy?" Lightning crackled around A's massive frame.
The blue flames had gradually extinguished, and he glared at the three before him.
Hiruzen ignored him, instead gazing at the center of the battlefield, where he had just finished his jutsu. His hands still held the final seal.
There, in the flying ashes, two human figures began to take form.
"For Konoha, excesses and even despicable acts are justifiable. Killing you, is unquestionably the right course of action." One of the reanimated figures, with a bandaged face and a prosthetic right arm, spoke up.
"Hiruzen, although I dislike this body, at least you've finally come to your senses in your old age."
"Danzo, stop calling yourself an old man; it's embarrassing for me. We weren't that far apart in age…" said the other reanimated figure, youthful in appearance, whose eye sockets glowed with crimson Sharingan.
"Kagami, you died too young!" Danzō, reanimated by the Edo Tensei, grumbled. His one visible eye narrowed with old regret. "After you died so easily, you have no idea how much trouble the Uchiha clan caused."
Even in front of A, the two reanimated friends bickered, as if they had never been separated by death.
"You're delusional!" A sneered, lightning crackling more intensely around his body. "How much of your strength can you retain as Edo Tensei puppets?"
"That's not your concern." Danzō's gaze turned cold as he looked at A. "Today, you will die."