Land of Rain, Akatsuki Organization.
In the shadowy cave, members of the Akatsuki were engaged in serious discussion.
"Sasori, do you have any spies currently operating in Sunagakure?"
Tendo Pain suddenly asked, his Rinnegan turning to focus on Sasori of the Red Sand.
At this point in time, Sasori had completely transformed himself into a human puppet, with his core carefully hidden and his entire body concealed within the specially crafted puppet known as Hiruko.
Not only had Sasori's appearance changed dramatically, but his voice had also become hoarse and mechanical.
"I planted quite a few spies throughout Sunagakure over the years, but now there are only two or three still active and reliable."
"Excellent. Have them keep constant surveillance on the Kazekage! If anything unexpected happens to the One-Tail, we must arrive on the scene as quickly as possible!"
"Leave it to me!"
Everyone present understood exactly what Tendo Pain meant. The Three-Tails and Two-Tails had suffered catastrophic incidents one after another. If this pattern continued, Akatsuki's ultimate plan would have absolutely no chance of being successfully carried out.
So in addition to entrusting the surveillance of the One-Tail to Sasori, Tendo Pain had also stationed White Zetsu operatives to watch over the other surviving tailed beasts.
There was no need for these White Zetsu to actually capture the tailed beasts themselves. Their sole task was to monitor the various jinchuuriki with their exceptional stealth abilities to prevent any further disasters.
"Ahaha, why bother with all this complicated planning? Why don't we just kill Shihouin Naraku directly? If we offer him as a sacrifice to the Evil God, we will surely receive His supreme blessing and honor!"
Hidan opened his arms enthusiastically and shouted with obvious excitement.
"Shut up!"
Kakuzu growled menacingly, stopping Hidan from continuing his reckless rant.
This guy was genuinely ignorant and fearless, having absolutely no understanding of the true power level represented by the God of the Shinobi World.
Kakuzu, who had once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, understood far too well that he could never fight against enemies of this caliber. The only way to preserve his life and continue earning money was to stay as far away from such monsters as possible.
In the past, Kakuzu had felt a strong urge to capture Shihouin Naraku and exchange him for the enormous bounty. After all, the reward for Naraku in the underground bounty exchange had been truly staggering, and Kakuzu simply couldn't resist such temptation.
However, after Naraku had demonstrated his overwhelming strength that surpassed everyone else during the recent war, the underground bounty exchange had hurriedly canceled Naraku's bounty entirely, not daring to provoke the world-famous Phoenix!
As for Kakuzu himself, having once experienced being beaten like a helpless puppet, he had absolutely no desire to seek out Shihouin Naraku and receive another one-sided beating.
Sensing the genuine fear of Shihouin Naraku that permeated the organization, Tendo Pain spoke directly: "Shihouin Naraku will be dealt with by me personally. None of you need to worry about that particular problem."
Uchiha Itachi, who had been standing silently to the side, shifted his eyes slightly. It seemed that he would need to find an opportunity to send this crucial information back to Konoha.
Although Shihouin Naraku had stabbed him with a blade during their encounter, what Naraku had done was completely justified given the circumstances at that time.
It was perfectly normal logic for Konoha's high-ranking officials to hunt down and eliminate the village's missing-nin.
Therefore, Uchiha Itachi harbored no negative feelings toward Naraku whatsoever.
Since embarking on this painful path, he had known exactly what he would encounter and could fully accept the consequences.
However...
Uchiha Itachi glanced calmly at Haku, who was standing silently next to him!
Ever since Zabuza Momochi had died in battle during their last mission to Konoha, Haku's personality had changed drastically, and he was no longer as gentle and compassionate as before.
The bloodline limit that Haku had mastered—Ice Release—had undergone an extremely terrifying enhancement. Now even Uchiha Itachi didn't dare claim he could easily defeat Haku in combat.
In fact, Haku had originally been planning to commit suicide because of Zabuza's death in battle, but when he had returned to the Akatsuki hideout, he had been called away privately by Tendo Pain. No one knew what had happened during that meeting. When Haku reappeared, he had not only become incredibly powerful, but had also begun showing complete loyalty to the Akatsuki organization.
Uchiha Itachi desperately wanted to figure out what had transpired, but Haku was also an extremely careful and meticulous shinobi who couldn't be easily read or understood, even by someone with Itachi's perceptive abilities.
In the cave that had regained its tense silence, Tendo Pain's voice continued to echo throughout the chamber. "Iwagakure has just contacted us and issued a new mission assignment."
"This mission will be carried out by Uchiha Itachi and Haku. Failure is absolutely not an option!"
"Understood."
"Acknowledged."
"The meeting is now adjourned."
Naraku remained completely unaware of all the significant changes occurring throughout the shinobi world. At this moment, he had crossed an enormous distance and instantly arrived at the sacred territory of the Great Slug Sage—Shikkotsu Forest!
As soon as he materialized in this new environment, Shihouin Naraku immediately noticed an extremely obvious sense of humidity permeating the air.
This moist environment was exactly what Katsuyu preferred and thrived in.
"Lord Naraku, please follow me!"
A palm-sized Katsuyu appeared directly in front of Naraku, speaking with characteristic gentleness before beginning to guide him deeper into the forest.
"Of course."
Naraku nodded respectfully and followed the small slug. Along their journey, he could easily observe countless Katsuyu of various sizes living throughout Shikkotsu Forest.
But unlike the Katsuyu he was familiar with from summoning, these Katsuyu of all different sizes living in Shikkotsu Forest were actually all split bodies of the Great Slug Sage herself.
Yes, every single Katsuyu was a divided portion of the Great Slug Sage.
Naraku couldn't understand why the Great Slug Sage preferred to live this way, splitting into so many separate entities to exist throughout the forest.
Thinking about this curious phenomenon, Naraku asked tentatively: "Are there no other slug species in Shikkotsu Forest? Are all of these creatures split bodies of the Great Slug Sage?"
"That's correct."
The palm-sized Katsuyu crawled forward at what appeared to be a slow pace, but was actually moving quite rapidly.
"Currently, this entire area is filled with the Great Sage's split bodies. In the distant past, the Six-Tails also lived in Shikkotsu Forest, but that was an extremely long time ago."
Six-Tails Saiken?!
Oh yes, the Six-Tails Saiken was indeed a slug-like creature as well.
It seemed that the Six-Tails Saiken possessed the most gentle personality among all nine tailed beasts. Although incredibly powerful, it was remarkably docile and peaceful.
Were all slug-type creatures blessed with this easy-going, agreeable personality?
Naraku found himself lost in thought as he followed Katsuyu deeper into Shikkotsu Forest, where the humidity in the air continued to increase substantially.
Soon, Naraku arrived at an ancient temple located deep within Shikkotsu Forest.
The Great Slug Sage lived within this sacred temple!
This temple displayed obvious human architectural influences. Could it have been constructed by the Uzumaki clan for the Great Slug Sage?
Not necessarily. This temple must have been built an incredibly long time ago.
On the quiet and peaceful temple structure, the unmistakable traces of countless years were clearly visible on every weathered surface.
"Tap..."
The clear sound of footsteps echoed all around them, and Naraku could already sense an extraordinarily massive chakra presence not far ahead.
"Lord Naraku, this is your destination. I won't accompany you inside."
"Please proceed!"
Naraku nodded in gratitude, and the small Katsuyu departed the way they had come.
Looking at the spacious hall before him, with bright candlelight casting warm rays of illumination, Naraku took a deep, steadying breath and stepped into the sacred hall.
"Little Naraku, it has been quite a long time."
"Great Slug Sage!"
Inside the extraordinarily spacious hall, an enormous Katsuyu was resting peacefully. Because her massive body occupied so much space, a large portion of the Great Slug Sage's form extended into the rear sections of the hall.
Naraku looked up at the colossal creature before him and finally understood why the Great Slug Sage chose to split herself into so many smaller Katsuyu.
The Great Slug Sage lowered her head slightly and gazed down at Naraku with ancient, wise eyes, as if carefully recalling distant memories. "The last time you visited Shikkotsu Forest, it was Tsunade who brought you here. You were merely a small child at that time."
"I never expected that you would grow into such a remarkable man. I'm well aware that little Naraku has now become the God of the Shinobi World."
Naraku spoke with sincere politeness and respect, "Thank you for all your care and guidance over the years."
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