At this moment, Black Zetsu was heaping praise upon the ever-scheming Obito.
"Obito, you're a genius! Selling Konoha's intel to the Hidden Cloud what a brilliant move. Now they'll be too busy fighting each other to bother with us."
"Hmph, just a small trick," the masked man, Obito, scoffed coldly. "Let that fool Raikage test the waters. Lately, the Hidden Leaf has become far too unpredictable."
For some time now, Black Zetsu, the self-proclaimed king of intel, had been unable to track Uchiha Itachi anywhere in the shinobi world. That alone was deeply suspicious. Could Itachi really be dead?
No, it couldn't be that simple. For both Itachi and Kisame to fall during a routine clash with Konoha? There had to be more to the story. Black Zetsu was convinced.
So he had come straight to Obito to discuss it.
A man like Itachi, that dangerous, dying just like that? Do you buy that, Obito?
Was it that the Hidden Leaf's hidden strength was too great, or was there some unknown twist?
Whatever it was, Obito could feel unease creeping in. He immediately set his sharp mind in motion and devised a venomous plan leaking Naruto's identity to the Hidden Cloud. There was no way the Raikage could resist making a move.
An immature jinchuriki. Outside the village. Gifted. And possibly learning the Flying Thunder God.
With all those conditions stacked, the intel checked out. The Raikage, without hesitation, decided to personally lead the mission. If it succeeded, even war would be an acceptable consequence.
Chaos was what suited conspirators like them best. At this moment, Obito was living proof that evil can be born of brilliance.
"But what if the Nine-Tails really ends up dead?" Black Zetsu suddenly raised the one flaw in the plan.
If the Raikage killed the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, it would be who-knew-how-long before it revived. That would throw off Pain's nuclear deterrence plan, and it would derail Obito's Moon's Eye Project. As for Black Zetsu, it would delay his plan to split the moon and rescue his mother.
Obito waved a hand, exuding confidence. "Hmph. The Nine-Tails won't die so easily."
Black Zetsu knew Obito all too well and asked flatly, "You didn't even think about what to do if it does die, did you?"
Obito's face darkened beneath the mask but, thankfully, the mask hid that from view.
He let out a low chuckle. "It doesn't matter. Everything is within my plans. I'll be joining the fight myself."
"You have a plan?" Black Zetsu pressed. "What's your move?"
"I'll help whoever's losing."
Let Konoha and the Hidden Cloud destroy each other. That was all Obito needed. In the chaos of war, no hidden trump cards would stay concealed for long.
Black Zetsu gave Obito a long look and said seriously, "You really are getting smarter."
Internally, though, he thought, Even a fool grows up eventually. I'd better be more careful. Time to coddle this idiot a little more.
The truth was, Obito didn't think that far ahead. His plans had always been scattered ideas, jumping from one to the next, often acting on impulse. Just like the Uchiha incident. He only got involved because he had nothing better to do.
No wonder the world saw him as a certified "Mr. Improvisation."
The Akatsuki's "Art Duo" Deidara and Sasori were en route to capture the One-Tail. If things went smoothly, they would proceed directly to the Three-Tails' location.
The Akatsuki's "Immortal Duo" Kakuzu and Hidan were heading to capture the Two-Tails. If all went well, they would strike at the Seven-Tails next, located in Takigakure.
Elsewhere, the Akatsuki leader, Pain, had arrived with Konan at the hiding place of the Four-Tails jinchuriki, Roshi. Though Roshi was a Kage-level force on his own, he stood no chance before the Rinnegan.
It would be the same story for the Five- and Six-Tails soon enough.
The peaceful years of the shinobi world were rapidly drawing to a close.
In a grove not far away, things were escalating quickly.
Kakashi's squad, rushing to intercept Jiraiya's group, ran into a fully equipped team of Hidden Cloud jonin. A fierce battle broke out the moment the two sides met.
But Konoha had the advantage better numbers, better terrain, and better preparation.
The battle ended with Kakashi's high-speed Lightning Blade piercing through the chest of the last enemy. In war, there's no room for hesitation. As for intelligence, the Yamanaka in their squad could extract what they needed from the enemy's mind.
As the battle ended, Kakashi deactivated his Sharingan and tugged his forehead protector down to cover his left eye. Weary, he opened his pack and swallowed a soldier pill.
Cloud ninja corpses lay scattered across the forest floor, but Konoha hadn't escaped unscathed. The ANBU had suffered losses too.
Some ANBU were tending to the wounded. Others were gathering the bodies.
Even with superior numbers, Konoha still suffered casualties. These Cloud ninja had clearly been elites.
Soon, from the minds of the dead, they confirmed the unthinkable Raikage A himself had entered the Land of Fire.
An ANBU stepped forward and whispered, "Captain Kakashi, we lost several comrades. Here's the list of names..."
Kakashi nodded without expression and calmly issued orders for the unit to rest and reorganize. They would move again in fifteen minutes.
He committed each name to memory. He knew that after this mission, those names would be engraved on the Memorial Stone.
Among the dead from this short skirmish was someone Kakashi had once considered a friend Hayate Gekko. That quiet, coughing swordsman who had been his classmate back at the Academy.
"It seems war is now unavoidable," Kakashi said to his second-in-command, Yamato, and to Guy.
Guy nodded solemnly, saying nothing. Hearing Hayate's name, his fists clenched in silent fury.
Yamato, keeping a level head, asked, "Captain Kakashi, what are your next orders?"
Kakashi's gaze sharpened. The gentle teacher was gone. In his place stood the hardened commander. In war, sentiment had to be set aside. Every life no matter how familiar was now a piece on the battlefield's chessboard.
They'd braced themselves mentally, but it wasn't until they suffered actual losses that the weight of war truly returned.
Now that the battle had begun, they had to aim for the best possible outcome.
"We'll split into two units," Kakashi said with cold precision. "Yamato and I will lead one team to cut off the Cloud's rear. We'll block the Raikage's retreat path. Guy, take a squad of ANBU and support Jiraiya's team."
"Once we regroup, we strike together and eliminate the Raikage within the Land of Fire."
Hayate must not have died in vain. The Hidden Cloud would pay the price.
Yamato and Guy exchanged a glance and nodded. "Understood."
Before departing, Guy couldn't help but speak up, his voice tinged with worry. "Kakashi. Be careful."
And with that, the three split off, each leading their squad into the gathering storm.
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