The Daimyō of the Land of Fire proposed renewing friendly relations with Konohagakure.
This news greatly pleased Minato Namikaze, who generously rewarded Kakashi and his team upon their return from the Daimyō's Manor.
But with good news often comes bad.
Kazuyama Gekkō vanished—again. And this time, he didn't disappear alone.
His entire family was gone!!!
In the Hokage's office, Minato Namikaze nearly lost it. The report delivered by the ANBU read:
"Hokage-sama, the entire Moonlight household is empty. Pakura-sensei, who was still teaching classes, has also disappeared."
"That includes Michihito Gekkō, Senko Gekkō, and Kazuyama Gekkō—the whole family is missing."
Minato Namikaze: ...What the hell! That bastard really just left!!!
Unaware of Minato's fury, in the serene and picturesque Land of Birds...
"Kazuyama, this isn't right, is it?"
"We just left like that—what about the Academy?"
Pakura held several new clothes in her hands, worry clouding her expression.
As a teacher at the Ninja Academy, leaving so abruptly made her uneasy. What about her students?
"What can we do? Let them deal with it."
"It's a big Academy—it's not like we're the only teachers. Let Sakumo Hatake worry about it."
"Hey, Michihito, stop eating so many ice pops! Senko, quit snacking on dumplings!"
Kazuyama Gekkō had long since changed out of his shinobi attire and deactivated Sage Mode. Dressed in nothing but beach shorts, he looked completely at ease.
"Dad, why couldn't we invite Grandpa Sakumo to come along?"
"I haven't finished learning his sword techniques yet."
Michihito Gekkō licked his popsicle while gripping the sword on his back.
The weapon had been custom-made for him by Hatake Sakumo. To perfectly match Michihito's Kekkei Genkai, the old man had even used chakra-absorbing steel—a material that made Kazuyama himself envious.
When he'd gone to ask Sakumo about it, the old man had brushed him off with one line:
"Forget it. There's only one piece of that steel left. If you want some, go to the Great Desert in the Land of Wind. Maybe you'll find a thumb-sized shard."
"Enough to make a single kunai."
That was exactly what the old man had said, infuriating Kazuyama so much he'd nearly turned the Hatake household into crystal just to shatter it.
Now, hearing his son still mention Sakumo made his blood boil again.
"Hmph! Learn on your own, got it? Always obsessed with swordplay—you're just like your uncle!"
"Keep that up, and you'll never find a wife!"
"For the next few years, we're not going back to the village. The Land of Birds is only our first stop, so get ready."
Yes, Kazuyama Gekkō truly didn't plan on returning to Konoha for years. The ninja world was vast, and he intended to see it all, one step at a time.
Since Akatsuki couldn't find him, there was no rush on his end.
While he enjoyed his carefree travels, Minato Namikaze, back in the village, lived each day buried in frustration.
...
Land of Fire, Kikyō Mountain—deep within the mountain's core.
"Zetsu, how are things lately?"
"Found any suitable recruits?"
Uchiha Muren leaned lazily against the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his voice full of boredom.
Since relocating their base to the Land of Fire, they'd avoided a lot of trouble, but progress had slowed to a crawl.
As of now, Akatsuki still consisted of only three members.
"None. A few days ago, Kazuyama Gekkō passed by Kikyō Mountain. One of my clones saw him."
"Maybe that bastard's still wandering the world looking for us."
"Have you thought about what I suggested before?"
"Now that Danzō is dead, if we move against the Uchiha clan, we could collect plenty of Sharingan."
"Combining Sharingan with Rinnegan, we could build a small army—enough manpower to handle anything."
Black Zetsu had long since lost interest in recruiting ordinary shinobi.
To him, even gifted ninja were too fragile in real combat. Only those who mastered ultimate power could survive the final confrontation.
That was why he'd turned his attention to the Uchiha clan, discussing the matter openly with Uchiha Muren.
"Do as you like. I don't care."
"Just decide when to act."
"But with Kazuyama Gekkō and Minato Namikaze around, even I can't easily wipe out the Uchiha. Those two aren't easy opponents."
Hearing that, Black Zetsu nodded in reluctant agreement.
Muren Uchiha had a point. Both Minato and Kazuyama were formidable—but the latter was especially troublesome. The man was actually the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.
That meant another inevitable confrontation down the line.
"I still can't believe that bastard turned out to be the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki."
"When did that even happen? I used to be a Konoha ninja—how did he have time to sneak into Takigakure?"
"Wait, that doesn't make sense. Black Zetsu, are your reports wrong?"
"Takigakure attacked Amegakure, and now the two villages have formed an alliance. How could they not realize the Seven-Tails was gone?"
"Shit, did that bastard pull off some grand scheme? Is Takigakure working with him?"
Uchiha Muren shot to his feet, his worldview shattered.
Even Black Zetsu fell silent. He realized their information was seriously outdated.
"You're right. I'll need to gather fresh intel—especially about Takigakure's current situation."
"By the way, where's that kid, Kabuto?"
Only then did Black Zetsu recall that since their arrival in the Land of Fire, Kabuto had vanished completely.
"Oh, him? He went to Sunagakure. Said he wanted to study the secret arts of Puppet Technique."
"There's a Chiyo there, right? She's the foremost puppet master of her generation."
"Sunagakure specializes in puppetry anyway. Let him go. With his current strength, no one there can stop him—unless they use a Tailed Beast."
Hearing this, Black Zetsu dropped the topic. The organization was too understaffed for any major operations, so letting Kabuto do as he pleased was fine.
With Uchiha Muren around, finding him again would be easy.
"Still, if we move against the Uchiha, his puppet techniques could come in handy."
"Human puppets could compensate for our lack of manpower."
"Never expected it—though Nagato's gone, he still left us a promising successor."
Black Zetsu's tone carried rare approval.
After all, the limits of puppet technique had been completely broken. As long as one didn't cling to humanity, its potential was limitless.