The Nine-Tails' power slowly dissipated from Naruto's body.
Suspended in the air, Naruto let out a groan of pain.
[Swish!]
A long white hair quickly spread out, wrapping around him and bringing him to Jiraiya's side.
After a quick inspection, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
Naruto was safe.
Now all that was left was…
Jiraiya gave Ōnoki a cold look.
"Hmph!" Onoki snorted coldly, turned around and flew away.
With his departure, the Iwagakure shinobi also began to slowly retreat.
The only ones left on the battlefield were the shinobi reanimated by the Impure World Reincarnation, who, after being destroyed by the shinobi of Sunagakure and Konoha, were sealed one by one.
As the last reanimated shinobi was sealed, the forces of Konoha and Suna also began their retreat.
Thus, the fierce battle came to an abrupt end.
Both sides suffered casualties…
...
"So Orochimaru is with Ōnoki?" When Funan received the news, she couldn't help but be surprised.
Yako on the other hand couldn't help but ask: "And you? When do you plan to intervene? Which battlefield will you go to?"
Funan stroked his chin and calmly replied, "I will definitely go to the front against Kumogakure. I want to finish them off once and for all. As for Iwagakure… hehe… leave that to Jiraiya."
He leaned towards Yako's ear, about to whisper something, but couldn't help but give it a small bite.
"You're unbearable!" Yako gave him a glare.
Funan let out a laugh and then muttered a few words under his breath.
Yako was stunned for a moment before letting out an incredulous laugh. "Really? You thought of something like that?"
"I'm just taking advantage of the situation," Funan replied indifferently. "Iwagakure is not happy with the Impure World Reincarnation. If we fan the flames, I want to see if Ōnoki is able to extinguish the fire."
"I understand!" Yako nodded firmly.
"And how is the shinobi army doing? Are the high-level fighters already on the move?"
"Almost all of them," Yako replied as he looked through some reports. "Most of the troops have already been deployed to the battlefronts."
"Including Jiraiya, they will all get support."
"As for the high-level combatants… Fugaku-sama will be among the last to leave. He is already on his way."
Funan nodded and muttered to himself, "After this war, the shinobi world will be much more peaceful."
"Of course!" Yako said with a smile. "The balance of power between the Five Great Villages will change. After a brief period of instability, peace will come."
Funan smiled slightly.
Yako believed that the Five Great Villages were the final enemy.
But he knew that after them, Akatsuki would come.
And after Akatsuki… Uchiha Madara.
After Madara there was Black Zetsu and Kaguya.
And beyond them… who knows? Maybe even the Sage of the Six Paths and his brother would appear.
Funan sighed in frustration.
If the only problem was the Five Great Villages, he would solve it himself.
He would activate his Susanoo and wipe out everyone.
"By the way, there is another piece of news that I think you will be interested in!"
"What?"
"Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen," Yako replied. "Someone spotted them near Kumo, and they weren't alone… They had a sizable group of shinobi with them."
Funan frowned thoughtfully. "They're both wily old men… We've got the Konoha shinobi under surveillance, but we can't rule out the possibility that they've been training shinobi in the shadows. Plus, the daimyos are a problem too."
"They haven't stopped moving," Yako stated seriously.
Funan narrowed his eyes. "What about those two cities?"
"They're doing great!" Yako replied enthusiastically. "The citizens of both cities worship you as a god. They are convinced that you are their savior."
Funan smiled slightly. "People at the bottom of society don't ask for much to be happy."
"It's time to move on to the second phase."
Yako's eyes turned solemn. "Understood!"
She knew that Funan was about to take the next step against the nobles.
Those two cities were nothing more than the spark… a spark that was destined to set the entire shinobi world ablaze.
Under Funan's orders, residents of both cities began to go outside, carrying with them stories of the life they had found in their new homes.
The reality was that in the shinobi world, life for civilians was miserable.
More than civilians, they looked like slaves…
Slaves of nobles and daimyos.
They were burdened with exorbitant taxes.
They endured constant abuse.
Their lives were at the mercy of those in power.
If a nobleman so wished, he could strike them down for no reason at all.
For some aristocrats, killing was mere entertainment.
And if it weren't for them, there were bandits and pirates...
Despite everything, they continued to fight to survive.
But in the cities under Konoha's rule, the story was different.
Now, the question was…
If civilians around the world saw that there were no nobles in these cities, and yet people lived much better…
What would they do?
The seed of rebellion had been sown.
...
"Konan, honey!"
"What's wrong?"
"I miss you!"
"Heh, do you really think I'm going to believe that?"
Konan's words were laden with contempt.
Funan sighed and said, "Konan, wouldn't I like to be with you all the time?"
"No, you have too many women. You're not going to leave a whole forest for a single tree."
Funan was speechless. Konan was acting strangely.
"Okay, tell me what's going on?"
Konan replied indifferently, "By the way, I'm telling you, a few days ago the masked man captured the Eight-Tails. But when we tried to seal it, it turned out that it was only one of its tails."
"Oh...." Funan narrowed his eyes.
Akatsuki planned to seal him away without informing him, let alone handing over the Tailed Beast to him.
"And what do you mean by this?" There was a slight hint of discontent in Funan's voice.
He didn't like the fact that Konan hadn't informed him about something so important.
But she calmly replied: "I was waiting for you to contact me. When you did, I would tell you."
"Who would have thought that you would be so cruel as to not contact me even once in months!"
"I knew you'd only come to me when you needed something."
Funan immediately gave in: "Konan, honey, don't be angry. It's not that I don't want to contact you, but you have to understand me. Look at everything I have on my hands. The shinobi war affects all of Konoha. If Konoha falls, do you think I'll be fine? Everything I do is for our future."
Konan replied coldly, "You always have an excuse."
"Did I say something wrong?" Funan protested. "Since we're talking about it, let me tell you that it's your fault too."
"And you blame me on top of that?" Konan's tone suddenly rose.
"Yes, it's your fault!" Funan said dissatisfied. "I've told you many times, if you wanted, you could come to Konoha whenever you want. I would welcome you with open arms and marry you publicly. But no, you stay there because of a man and on top of that you complain that I'm not going to see you."
A vein appeared on Konan's forehead.
"Enough!"
"Nothing is enough!" Funan insisted. "Tell me, when are you going to come to Konoha? If you come, I promise you, I will accept Nagato into Konoha and give him a legitimate identity. You won't have to worry about anything. For you, I am willing to face the entire shinobi world."
Konan fell silent.
Funan continued, "What's wrong? Do you think I'm lying? Do you think I wouldn't do it?"
Konan sighed and said, "No, actually, I think you really would be able to do something like that."
She paused for a moment, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
That was one of the reasons she had agreed to be with Funan. When he made a decision, he really followed through.
Konan had no doubt that if anything happened to her, the world would turn bloody.
She knew Funan all too well.
"Don't worry, Funan, I have a feeling it will be soon."
"Oh?" Funan's eyes lit up. "Looks like something's going on your side."
"No…" Konan shook her head. "But I have a strange feeling… As if a storm is about to break out. In the middle of that storm, I…"
"Be sure to take the scroll I gave you with you!" Funan's tone turned serious.
"Relax..." Konan smiled slightly. "I remember everything you've told me. I have the scroll with me, and I also have my explosive tags. By the way, do you need more? I can send you a few million more."
Funan: "..."
"Well, then send me a few million."
"Now tell me, why were you looking for me?"
"What else?" Funan smiled. "I'm about to attack Kumo and I wanted to know where Akatsuki stands on this. Or rather, where are those guys right now?"
"I don't have that information," Konan replied. "You know that Akatsuki has always been free to do things. When there are no missions, everyone does what they want and Nagato doesn't control them too much. At the moment, Akatsuki hasn't planned any action. Most of them are still acting on their own. The only one who is busy is the masked man, because Nagato is pressuring him to capture the Eight-Tails."
Funan's eyes narrowed slightly.
If Brother Obito was after the Eight-Tails, that meant he would also appear on the battlefront against Kumo.
Fuck!
Funan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Could he find a way to finish off Obito too?
The Rinnegan!
Funan rubbed his eyes, feeling somewhat uneasy.
His ability to absorb life energy was accelerating more and more.
He absorbed massive amounts of it daily.
At times, he no longer even cared about being discovered.
Time was running out.
Madara was probably about to revive.
And he… didn't have the Rinnegan yet.
The difference between the Eternal Mangekyo and the Rinnegan was too great.
Because of this, many in Konoha suspected that Funan was conducting human experiments, and that he was becoming increasingly ruthless and extreme.
Luckily, Funan's prestige in Konoha was high enough.
And most importantly... his power was unquestionable.
After talking with Konan for a while longer, Funan reminded her several times of the same thing: Don't forget. No matter what happens, you must always carry the scroll with you!
Konan: "..."
"Alas!"
The angel sighed helplessly and silently disconnected the communication.
Just moments ago, the conversation had been heartwarming… but in the end, Funan ended up ruining it like a complete idiot.
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