Curiosity is the first step toward entrapment.
Once you're intrigued by someone—or something—you start pursuing it. You seek answers. And before you realize it, you've stepped into a trap of your own making… unable to pull yourself out.
Yoru returned to Akakyu City, now thrown into complete chaos, and found Sara, who was visibly anxious and unsettled.
The once warm and tranquil hot spring city had transformed into a frozen wasteland in the blink of an eye. Countless tourists and even long-time residents were fleeing in panic. Even the Queen of Rōran couldn't help feeling nervous.
Fortunately—
She had already seen the truth.
And she understood one thing clearly: if anything happened now, Yoru was the only one she could rely on.
So, when the panic broke out, Sara had quickly composed herself. She calmed the Rōran survivors under her care and waited patiently for Yoru's return.
"You've done well," Yoru praised. "This is how a true queen should act."
If she had shown this strength and resolve earlier, perhaps the fall of the ancient kingdom of Rōran could have been avoided.
"Come on. It's time to return to the Land of Water."
"Mm."
Sara nodded firmly and turned to organize the Rōran survivors to resume their journey.
But it didn't take long before both Yoru and Sara noticed something unusual.
There were two figures trailing their convoy—keeping a consistent distance from far behind.
"…Them?" Sara frowned.
"No need to worry," Yoru said with a casual wave of his hand. "Just a couple of bored wanderers with too much curiosity."
As he spoke, he pulled out a scroll.
"We're about to enter the Land of Water. As for your status—and the arrangements for the people of Rōran—I've drafted two options."
"First, you can integrate into Kirigakure and become part of its family. Many among the Rōran survivors have the potential to become shinobi. Whether you take that path, or pursue something else entirely, the village will support you."
"Second, I can resettle you in Water City, where the daimyo can grant you official citizenship in the Land of Water, along with…"
"I choose the first one!"
Sara cut him off without a hint of hesitation.
Kirigakure's position in the shinobi world was unique.
Ever since it crushed Konohagakure during the Third Great Ninja War and then signed a formal alliance with them, Kirigakure had earned immense respect throughout the shinobi world.
And along their journey, Sara had come to learn just how much the village had changed.
The terrifying Blood Mist Era was over. In its place stood a reformed, modernized Kirigakure—ambitious and forward-looking.
To join such a village was a blessing for the Rōran refugees. Why hesitate?
"Alright," Yoru said, nodding with approval. "Then come back to the village with me directly."
Once Sara made her decision, Yoru didn't speak further. After arriving at a port in the Land of Hot Water, he chartered a vessel and set sail with the Rōran survivors—bound for home.
Yet in the waters behind them… a small boat continued to follow at a distance.
Land of Wind — Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village).
This village, rooted in the heart of the desert, had always been plagued by scarcity. Its barren environment and limited resources had pushed it to the brink more than once, driving the Sand Village to wage war repeatedly—just to survive.
But despite all those battles, despite the loss of elite shinobi and endless sacrifice, Sunagakure's gains remained minimal.
Then came the reign of the Fourth Kazekage.
He had implemented the Blood Sand Policy, aiming to toughen the village through ruthless reform. But rather than improving the quality of life, the people only grew more impoverished and bitter under his rule.
Still, many in Sunagakure believed that this was merely the darkness before the dawn.
That like Kirigakure, they too would undergo rebirth—shed their old skin, and emerge stronger.
Atop the Kazekage's Tower...
Uchiha Obito, wearing his signature spiral-patterned mask, stood silently. Below him, the Hidden Sand leadership was all smiles, welcoming Hōzuki Mangetsu back to the village with apparent enthusiasm.
From the ground beneath the tower, a subtle rustling noise reached Obito's ears. He withdrew his gaze and looked down.
Black Zetsu emerged silently, his half-white, half-black form rising from the ground.
"Konoha has completely denied involvement in the theft of the Ryūmyaku," Black Zetsu reported in his gravelly voice. "Minato Namikaze even offered to help Sunagakure search for it."
Obito didn't flinch.
"Heh. As if a thief would ever admit to being one."
Black Zetsu continued, his tone still hoarse. "But he did agree to Yuki Yoru's proposal—opening up large-scale infrastructure cooperation between the Land of Water, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind. That includes the transcontinental bridge project, the East-to-West Water Transfer, and others. He's willing to negotiate the distribution of project shares."
Obito scoffed. He wasn't surprised.
Given the geography, any cooperation between the Land of Water and the Land of Wind would inevitably go through the Land of Fire. Minato's support had nothing to do with kindness or charity. The Land of Fire was starving for influence.
With just a toe in these massive projects, Konoha could extract endless profits. More importantly, it would give them real-time insight into the dealings between two rival nations—perfect for manipulation and interference.
Everyone chased profit. No exceptions.
"Tell Minato this," Obito said coldly. "Securing participation from the Land of Fire will strengthen our partnership with the Land of Water—but the division of shares must be carefully negotiated."
"Propose it formally, in the name of the Fourth Kazekage: to ensure peaceful cooperation between the three great nations, we invite the Fourth Mizukage and Fourth Hokage to attend a summit."
"The location... will be the Land of Iron."
"The Land of Iron?" Black Zetsu blinked. "That formal?"
He stared at Obito in mild surprise.
Was he really going to invest that seriously in the development of the Land of Wind?
"And when?" he asked.
"Considering the duties of the Kage and the scale of the infrastructure talks," Obito said, "we'll schedule it for three months from now."
Three months.
Black Zetsu's expression suddenly shifted.
He remembered: the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki—Kushina Uzumaki—had become pregnant half a year ago. That meant her due date would arrive... right around that summit.
A sly excitement crept into Black Zetsu's eyes.
Even though the Three-Tails, Four-Tails, and other tailed beasts were still missing, if they could secure the most powerful one—the Nine-Tails—it would be a massive victory.
"Right," Black Zetsu added, as something else came to mind. "There's also an issue with Nagato."
"Ever since Kakuzu left the group, the Akatsuki has had an open slot. Nagato wants us to help find a new recruit."
Obito narrowed his eye, thoughtful.
Recruitment had always been a thorn in the Akatsuki's side. With Nagato's high standards—and the group's delicate operations—it wasn't easy to find qualified members.
Normally, in the aftermath of the Third Great Ninja War, strong rogue nin would've been easy to scout.
But there had been one problem:
Kakuzu.
That guy had turned nearly every potential recruit into a bounty. One after another, they were hunted down, their corpses sold off for bags of ryo.
To make matters worse, Kakuzu wasn't even selfish about it—he gave seventy percent of his earnings to the Akatsuki, using them as "organizational funding."
Nagato couldn't complain. He just had to keep recruiting.
Recently, both Kakuzu and Sasori had suffered setbacks. Though Sasori was brought back into the Akatsuki thanks to Obito's maneuvering, Kakuzu was lost for good.
They needed a replacement.
But who?
"Any solid candidates?" Obito asked.
"It's difficult," Black Zetsu said. "Nagato currently has two possibilities."
"One is Hiruko, an A-rank rogue ninja from Konoha. Nagato encountered him while collecting data for the Six Paths Puppets. Hiruko claims to have developed a forbidden fusion jutsu—Chimera Technique."
"It lets him combine different kekkei genkai to greatly enhance his own abilities. Nagato's keeping an eye on him."
"A-rank rogue?" Obito scoffed. "And he thinks he can fuse bloodlines? What a joke."
He dismissed the thought.
Kekkei genkai were volatile and powerful. Even attempting fusion required extraordinary skill—and even then, most attempts failed catastrophically. The idea that a lone A-rank rogue had pulled it off? Laughable.
"And the second?"
"Orochimaru," Black Zetsu said in a low voice.
Obito fell silent.
Yes. Orochimaru.
Now that was a worthy option.
In terms of status and skill, he was elite—one of the Legendary Sannin, commander of Konoha's frontline forces, student of the Third Hokage, and once even a candidate for the Fourth Hokage position.
Most crucially, he was a master of forbidden jutsu, biology, and human experimentation.
If the Akatsuki could bring him in, he'd be a game-changer for their long-term goals.
For instance—Nagato's current condition.
His body, strained by the Gedo Statue, was a wreck. His legs were nearly useless.
If Orochimaru joined the group, Nagato might finally have a way to heal.
You ask, "Why not have White Zetsu help instead?"
Well—ever since Yuki Yoru interfered with earlier plans, Nagato had grown suspicious of Obito and White Zetsu. Their current cooperation was shaky at best. There was no way Nagato would let White Zetsu anywhere near his body now.
"Orochimaru could really work," Obito murmured. "Do we know where he is?"
"Land of Rice Fields."
For the first time, White Zetsu spoke.
"He has bases all over the continent. Lately he's been moving between them—but just recently, he returned to the Land of Rice Fields. From the look of it, he might be trying to found a new ninja village."
"A village?" Obito raised a brow. Then he snorted. "What, is he still sore about losing the Hokage vote? Starting his own little nation to heal his bruised ego? What's he gonna call himself—Rice Kage?"
White Zetsu shook his head. "Actually, he's calling it Otogakure—the Hidden Sound Village. He's been referring to himself as the Otokage."
"Heh... well then," Obito smirked. "Let's go pay a visit to the Otokage (Sound Kage) ."
...
Deep within a dimly lit underground laboratory, the space was filled with test tubes, culture tanks, and humming instruments.
Glass chambers lined the walls—each glowing with a sickly green light. Inside floated grotesque tissue samples, swollen organs, and various indescribable biological specimens suspended in nutrient fluid.
And yet, for all its horror, the lab was... spotless. Every surface was meticulously clean, as if death and science coexisted in clinical harmony.
Wearing a white lab coat, Orochimaru focused intently on a microscope, studying the cellular reactions of a new specimen. His golden snake-like eyes followed every detail of the fusion process, comparing the results to notes on a scroll in his hand.
Under the lab light, one could make out the title of the scroll:
"Compatible Fusion Points in Kekkei Genkai Organs – Fuyuki Yukiko & Yuki Yoru"
Orochimaru's expression shifted.
"To think... in addition to Senju and Uchiha cells, even Hyūga and Kaguya clan tissues can achieve equilibrium under certain conditions... That Yoru... how far has he taken his bloodline research?"
He slowly raised his head, eyes wide in disbelief.
The data in this scroll had come from Kirigakure not long ago—some of Yoru's experimental records and partial results. Orochimaru had started testing them skeptically, but the findings were far more precise than anticipated.
It was real. It was groundbreaking.
Which only deepened Orochimaru's curiosity.
If they were willing to give him this much, it meant Kirigakure—and Yoru in particular—had already moved beyond this stage. They had gone deeper, reached conclusions Orochimaru hadn't even considered.
Why else would they casually hand over something of such value?
"Not only has he mastered the soul... but he's now one of the foremost figures in kekkei genkai fusion as well," Orochimaru whispered.
He trembled slightly, golden eyes gleaming with intensity.
But it wasn't envy.
It was pure, scientific thrill.
Orochimaru had always been alone.
Once hailed as a genius of Konoha, he had grown up alongside talented peers like Tsunade and Jiraiya. But when he began to pursue goals others deemed insane—like learning every jutsu in existence or achieving immortality—his path diverged.
And after failing to become Hokage, that path became irreversible.
He kept walking it alone.
And the further he walked, the lonelier it got.
There was no one to walk beside him.
Not until Yoru appeared.
"You've already surpassed me, haven't you, Yuki Yoru..."
Orochimaru muttered to himself, unaware that all of Yoru's research had been built on the "contributions" of his ever-generous ally: Shimura Danzō.
Back during the Third Great Ninja War, both men had started their research at the same point. But with time, Kirigakure had put its full support behind Yukiko and Yoru's experiments—money, staff, test subjects, everything.
Orochimaru, on the other hand?
He fought in the Land of Wind. Then the Land of Earth. Then got entangled in politics. And just when he finally returned to research... Minato Namikaze began cracking down on him.
No matter how gifted he was, he couldn't keep up.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Orochimaru looked up, alert.
His senses prickled—there were no alarms, no chakra triggers—but his instincts screamed danger.
His golden slit-pupils narrowed and focused on the far corner of the lab.
There, in the shadows, stood a figure in a spiral-patterned mask.
Orochimaru moved instantly.
With practiced speed, he flicked three kunai—each cutting through the dark like slashes of cold light.
But a strange sight unfolded: the kunai passed directly through the intruder's body, as if nothing were there.
Orochimaru's eyes sharpened.
That mask… that incorporeal body...
"It's you?!"
"You honor me," said Uchiha Obito, mimicking the calm, gravelly tone of Madara Uchiha. His blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed through the mask.
"To be recognized by one of the Legendary Sannin."
"You possess the Mangekyō Sharingan, Wood Release, and even space-time ninjutsu…"
Orochimaru licked his lips, wide-eyed. There was no fear in his gaze—only hunger.
He had studied this man before. A perfect genetic hybrid of Uchiha and Senju. Someone who had achieved what most deemed impossible.
Orochimaru had tried countless times to replicate this fusion—experiment after experiment, all failures.
The only partial success had been something akin to Danzō's approach: grafting limbs, sealing unstable energies with binding jutsu.
That was child's play compared to the perfect specimen standing before him.
And to top it off... this man wore the Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds.
Just the sight of that robe made a memory flash in Orochimaru's mind—those ripple-patterned purple eyes.
"After that mess in Higashimatsuyama, you vanished. So... you really did join Akatsuki."
Orochimaru licked his lips again, his eyes shining with a kind of mad excitement.
"That Rinnegan wielder has quite the ambition."
"You've met Pain, then," Obito said evenly. "So you know his vision. And his standards for recruits."
"I'm here to offer you a place."
Orochimaru chuckled. "I've never been one for serving under others."
His smile twisted wider.
"Besides, I don't recall our relationship with Akatsuki being anything but hostile."
He clapped his hands.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
A flood of snakes surged from his sleeves, launching themselves at Obito.
Obito didn't move.
The snakes passed through him harmlessly, unable to touch his incorporeal body.
"Definitely a space-time technique…"
Orochimaru's tongue flicked out again, confirming what he'd suspected. In the entire shinobi world, there were only a few people who could manipulate time-space like this.
One was Minato's student.
The other… was standing right in front of him.
Obito remained stoic, beginning to speak again in his gravely Madara-tone:
"Your attacks are utterly useless against me—"
"Sore wa dō ka na (We'll see about that)."
Orochimaru smirked darkly.
He formed hand seals slowly—ceremoniously.
A coffin burst from the ground, its stone door sliding open.
Inside stood a shinobi with long silver hair, wearing blue armor and a forehead protector from the Warring States Era.
His eyes were closed.
To defeat a space-time user... summon another space-time user.
Revenge, in kind.