I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Chapter 433: Black Zetsu’s Scheme

After Pain finished his explanation, most Akatsuki members had no objections. They were unruly but not fools. As the leader of Akatsuki, Pain would be the most affected by the losses from the relocation since the organization was his. Thus, his explanation held credibility; he wouldn’t harm his organization for no reason unless he was incredibly bored and sadistic, which he wasn’t.

To the members, Pain was undoubtedly a powerful and ambitious leader. He secretly controlled Amegakure and the Land of Rain. While outsiders believed Hanzo still ruled, Pain had taken over long ago. Pain didn’t care about the backgrounds of recruits when expanding the organization. Whether they were rogue ninja from minor villages or the five great nations, as long as they were strong, Akatsuki would accept them.

Given this, the Akatsuki members saw Pain as a formidable and ambitious leader. A typical leader would likely have fled by now, but Pain was not normal, and neither were the members. Some were solely focused on money, like Kakuzu, while others, like Sasori, were artists obsessed with transforming themselves into puppets. There were also those with ulterior motives using Akatsuki’s strength for their ends. It was a group of hidden talents and wildcards.

With Nagato’s order, Akatsuki began their move. First, they found a concealed location in the Land of Fields, set up barriers, and then moved in batches. Nagato kept the move discreet to avoid detection. He didn’t move all his forces; he left a contingent in Amegakure to maintain control and safeguard his plans. After all, he had invested considerable effort in Amegakure, which was crucial to his plans.

"Who knows what’s going on with Madara; he hasn’t contacted us in a while," Hiruko muttered, frowning in his lab. After absorbing his second kekkei genkai, he handed the complete Chimera Technique to Uchiha Madara, believing that capturing more kekkei genkai users would be easy for Madara.

With Madara’s help, Hiruko anticipated gaining a powerful ally effortlessly. Helping Hiruko capture five kekkei genkai users as part of their agreement and supporting Madara would also strengthen Akatsuki. Yet, Madara had gone silent after receiving the last kekkei genkai user.

Hiruko grew increasingly suspicious. If Madara intended to break their agreement, the last kekkei genkai user would not need to be sent. It would be pointless. "Could something have happened to Madara?" Hiruko speculated. Although he had acknowledged the masked man as Uchiha Madara, he doubted it in his heart, suspecting the man might be a successor or disciple of Madara.

If that were the case, then accidents and death were possibilities. No one was immune to death, not even the strong. History has seen influential figures like the Hokages and Hanzo die. Thus, Madara possibly had met with an accident or was simply preoccupied with other matters.

Hiruko hoped it was the latter. Having Madara’s assistance was ideal. Without Madara, capturing kekkei genkai users would be riskier for Hiruko, who lacked Madara’s abilities to come and go as he pleased. While he could fight, being discovered and surrounded was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

Just as Hiruko was deep in thought, a White Zetsu emerged from the ground, giggling. "Madara is busy with something important, so he can’t help you capture kekkei genkai users for now," White Zetsu said with a smile.

"I see," Hiruko sighed in relief. "I’ll wait patiently then."

After delivering the message, White Zetsu disappeared back into the ground. Hidden in the shadows, Black Zetsu pondered. Despite living for so long, Black Zetsu was not skilled in ninjutsu and often thought of ways to achieve his goals without using Kaguya’s resurrection method. However, he couldn’t accomplish much alone and admired the unique techniques developed by others, like Hiruko’s Chimera Technique.

Black Zetsu planned to nurture Hiruko, making him a pawn like Obito. He would help Hiruko capture the remaining kekkei genkai users to see how strong Hiruko could become. If successful, Black Zetsu would carefully guide Hiruko to accomplish what Obito had failed to do. Although Nagato was a powerful piece, he had flaws. Nagato’s only goal was to create a superweapon using the tailed beasts to deter wars, not the Moon’s Eye Plan. Nagato’s deviation from the original plan was a risk Black Zetsu couldn’t afford.

After some thought, Black Zetsu found Nagato. "Are you ready to start the Chimera Technique?" he asked.

"I need more time to study it," Nagato replied coldly. As a student of Jiraiya and a master of the five nature transformations, he found it easy to understand new jutsu. Although the technique’s promise of restoring his legs and enhancing his strength was tempting, Nagato remained cautious, wary of any hidden dangers.

"Take your time," Black Zetsu said before leaving.

Meanwhile, several Cloud ninjas gathered in a room in the Cloud Village’s resting area. A thin Cloud ninja said, "We should join this alliance!"

"Why?" the Raikage asked directly.

"This is Konoha’s experiment. The five great nations have never united like this before. Although it’s just trade now, it could lead to more significant cooperation. The trade alone offers many benefits, and with Iwagakure and Sunagakure already in, we should join too," the thin ninja explained.

Other ninjas expressed their support, seeing various advantages in joining. Although some opposed it, fearing Konoha would become too powerful, they were quickly silenced. Even medical talismans gave a significant advantage. They’d be isolated and at a disadvantage if they didn’t join.

"Then we’ll join," the Fourth Raikage decided, slamming his hand on the table.

Watching his subordinates argue over joining Konoha’s alliance made the Raikage uncomfortable. The mere decision to join or not highlighted how much they had fallen behind Konoha. Despite his frustration, the Raikage knew they had no choice. Just the medical talismans alone were too significant to pass up. Begrudgingly, he decided to increase their research funding, hoping to catch up with Konoha in new ninja tools and technologies.

Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, they also discussed the trade alliance. Without a proper advisory team, Yagura had notified the village for a detailed evaluation. As the second meeting began the following day, Yagura still had no definitive answer.

"We’re still deliberating internally, so I can’t give you an answer yet," Yagura told Nagasawa.

Nagasawa didn’t mind and acknowledged with a nod.

The rest of the meeting involved small talk. Onoki tried to pry information from Konoha, but Minato skillfully avoided disclosing any secrets. Rasa discussed future collaborations with Konoha. Yagura mostly stayed silent, flanked by Nagasawa on his right and the Raikage on his left, both of whom he disliked.

In his mind, Yagura reflected, "I’m surrounded by two people I dislike. My life truly is miserable right now."