Land of Fire
Inside a quiet town on the border of the Land of Fire, three figures entered beneath the fading evening light.
Pain.
Orochimaru.
And Danzo Shimura.
The contrast between them was striking.
Pain walked calmly through the streets as if he were merely traveling for leisure, his expression indifferent and unreadable.
Danzo, on the other hand, looked miserable.
His robes were dusty, his face tense, and exhaustion clung to him like a shadow.
For a man who had spent decades plotting from within Konoha's darkness, he had never imagined he would one day flee the village as a traitor.
Everything had happened too quickly.
He had made no preparations.
He had brought almost nothing.
The former power behind Root had been reduced to a fugitive.
Eventually, the three entered a small roadside inn and rented a room to rest.
The moment the door closed, Danzo's anger exploded.
"This must be the work of that inherently evil brat, Hirakawa Seisui!"
He slammed his fist onto the table, his face twisted with resentment.
He had been manipulated.
Outplayed by a mere youth.
The humiliation was unbearable.
Standing nearby, Pain—currently disguised as Orochimaru—remained silent, though amusement flickered in his eyes.
Poor Danzo had no idea that every step he had taken was already known to Seisui.
From beginning to end, he had merely been dancing in someone else's palm.
If Danzo ever learned the truth, he would likely collapse on the spot.
"And Hiruzen…" Danzo continued bitterly. "That fool actually believed the schemes of a child! He completely ignored the bond between old comrades!"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became.
With another strike of his palm, the wooden table cracked loudly.
"I swear it—one day, I will kill them all!"
The noise drew the innkeeper immediately.
He hurried upstairs in alarm and pushed open the door.
"Honored guests, what happened?"
Then he noticed the shattered table.
His worried expression instantly turned dark.
Danzo's killing intent rose at once.
He wanted nothing more than to silence the insolent civilian with a single strike.
But reason restrained him.
He was currently being hunted by a Konoha squad led by Hatake Sakumo.
Any disturbance could expose their location.
Grinding his teeth, Danzo forcibly suppressed his rage and coldly threw down money as compensation.
The humiliation stung worse than poison.
Pain watched the scene in silence, struggling not to laugh.
Only after the innkeeper left did Danzo finally calm himself enough to speak rationally.
"Enough. We need to decide our next move."
Danzo could not die yet.
At least, not before the cultivation of the Zero-Tails was complete.
That was precisely why Seisui had sent Pain to help him escape Konoha in the first place.
Danzo straightened and spoke arrogantly, as if giving orders.
"When my subordinates arrive, we will go to your base and lie low there for now."
Though Root's forces inside Konoha had been nearly wiped out, that did not mean all of Danzo's people were gone.
Officially, Root was only a training branch of the ANBU.
In truth, it had long become Danzo's private army.
Many operatives existed outside Root's formal structure—agents hidden across the Five Great Nations and beyond.
To avoid Sarutobi Hiruzen's suspicion, Danzo had secretly stationed them throughout the ninja world under the guise of intelligence gathering.
Those hidden agents were now being summoned.
They were already on their way.
Seeing Danzo behave as though Pain were his subordinate, the latter gave a cold laugh.
Still, he did not reject the proposal.
"Very well," Pain said calmly. "We will go to the Land of Rice Fields. I left a research base there."
Because Orochimaru had defected years earlier, many of his former bases no longer existed or were unusable.
Seisui's own secret laboratories naturally could not be shown to Danzo.
Too many valuable secrets were hidden there.
So the Land of Rice Fields was the most suitable choice.
Danzo nodded.
He had little room to negotiate anyway.
Yet another matter occupied his mind more urgently.
"You once said your Wood Release experiment had shown results."
His voice sharpened.
"When can I truly master Wood Release?"
To Danzo, power meant revenge.
And in his eyes, no power was greater than Wood Release.
That obsession had haunted him for decades.
Pain's lips curved faintly.
"Do not worry. Once we reach the base, we can begin immediately."
Seisui had already planned to use Obito's cells to help Tsunade awaken Wood Release.
But before experimenting on Tsunade, a test subject was necessary.
Danzo was perfect.
If Danzo survived and truly awakened Wood Release, Seisui could later kill him and convert the enhanced body into one of Pain's Six Paths.
Either outcome would benefit him.
"There is no loss," Seisui thought.
Danzo, however, knew none of this.
His face even showed excitement.
He imagined returning to Konoha with Wood Release in hand—stronger than ever, ready to crush all who had humiliated him.
He did not realize his fate had already been decided.
Meanwhile…
Far away, deep underground in Uchiha Madara's hidden cavern, Black Zetsu received a report from White Zetsu.
"The one who killed Obito was Hirakawa Seisui."
White Zetsu paused dramatically.
"He has awakened the Rinnegan."
Silence.
Then—
"Impossible!"
Black Zetsu roared in fury.
Its dark body trembled violently.
For a thousand years, it had schemed endlessly to recreate the legendary eyes.
After countless failures, it had succeeded only once—with Uchiha Madara.
Now some unknown civilian ninja had awakened them?
How could Black Zetsu possibly accept that?
"How could he awaken the Rinnegan?!"
If anyone could do it so easily, why had Black Zetsu spent centuries manipulating bloodlines, wars, and reincarnations?
This made no sense.
It was absurd.
It was unscientific.
It was not ninja-like at all.
White Zetsu scratched his head.
"But all intelligence confirms it. Hirakawa Seisui truly possesses the Rinnegan."
Black Zetsu fell silent.
It knew White Zetsu was foolish, but not deceptive.
Though Madara believed White Zetsu had been created through Hashirama's cells, the truth was far older.
White Zetsu were remnants of humans trapped by the Infinite Tsukuyomi a thousand years ago.
Black Zetsu itself had awakened and released portions of them.
They were tools—but reliable tools.
That made the report even more troubling.
Black Zetsu narrowed its eyes.
Then suddenly, inspiration struck.
"This matter… definitely has something to do with Hagoromo!"
White Zetsu blinked.
"Hagoromo?"
"The Sage of Six Paths!" Black Zetsu hissed. "That old bastard must have secretly interfered!"
To the world, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was a legendary saint.
To Black Zetsu, he was simply the eldest son of Kaguya—the one who had sealed his mother away.
Black Zetsu's hatred for him ran deeper than oceans.
"No wonder Seisui was an unknown nobody before adulthood," Black Zetsu muttered.
"It all makes sense now."
"He must have stumbled upon some hidden inheritance left behind by Hagoromo."
"A secret legacy."
"A forbidden method."
"Yes…"
"That must be it!"
The more it thought about it, the more convinced it became.
Its logic felt flawless.
A commoner suddenly rising to power.
The awakening of the Rinnegan.
The death of Obito.
Everything pointed toward secret intervention from Hagoromo.
White Zetsu tilted its head.
"So… what now?"
Black Zetsu's expression darkened.
"We observe."
Its voice dripped with malice.
"If Seisui truly inherited Hagoromo's power, then he may become a threat equal to Madara."
It clenched its fists.
"And if he stands in Mother's path…"
"We will destroy him."
Elsewhere
Far from the underground cave, Seisui remained unaware of Black Zetsu's dramatic conclusions.
Or perhaps he simply did not care.
The truth was much simpler.
He had no connection to Hagoromo.
No hidden inheritance.
No divine blessing.
Only a mysterious system bound to his soul.
Yet because of that misunderstanding, Black Zetsu had already placed him among the most dangerous beings in the ninja world.
And once paranoia took root in an ancient schemer's mind—
Chaos was sure to follow.
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