Everyone present already knew about the existence of Black Zetsu and how he deceived Madara Uchiha. They were also aware that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was currently carrying out a top-secret S-rank mission—disguising himself and contacting Madara Uchiha in order to reveal the truth: that Black Zetsu was a liar, manipulating Madara from the start.
The specifics were unclear, but they knew Madara was now completely obsessed with gaming, teaming up with Hashirama every day, and the situation seemed favorable. Things were looking good.
It was precisely because of this that Black Zetsu felt a sense of crisis and began plotting something.
Everyone was already prepared for this. After all, a thousand-year-old manipulator hidden in the shinobi world wouldn't just sit idle once his best chess piece slipped out of control. If he didn't act, that would be the strange part.
In fact, they had already devised many countermeasures against potential actions from Black Zetsu. This was expected. Once Uchiha Kei realized Madara's secret would eventually be exposed, he decisively informed the others of the full truth, just as he had told Hashirama.
Once this thousand-year-old schemer's identity was known, the psychological pressure on everyone was immense. They began developing several counter-strategies.
However, only a few of those strategies were effective. After all, Black Zetsu was a being born of Yin-Yang Release, making him extremely difficult to capture. The only known counters were other users of Yin-Yang Release. At present, only one and a half people in the shinobi world could use it—Madara Uchiha, and Nagato to some extent thanks to his Rinnegan. The only Yin-Yang ability available was the Black Rod technique provided by the Rinnegan.
Whether this Black Rod could even affect Black Zetsu was unknown. In any case, they couldn't rely on it.
Aside from that, the Uchiha's Sharingan and the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques were also effective against Black Zetsu.
But again, the exact effectiveness was uncertain. Judging from Black Zetsu's millennia of stealth and his portrayal in the "original story," it was clear he had top-tier escape skills. In the original, if he hadn't fused with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and been caught by Six Paths Naruto using Yin-Yang Black Rods at the last moment, he would never have been sealed by the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
You could say his defeat had a strong plot-armor vibe.
Putting such events into the context of the current shinobi world, trying to capture Black Zetsu now was harder than launching humanity into the space age.
After discussing with the intelligence provided by Uchiha Kei, everyone had to admit that the most effective method to deal with Black Zetsu was to convert Madara Uchiha to their side. Once Madara reclaimed his Rinnegan and used full-power Yin-Yang Release along with powerful sealing techniques, they could finally capture him.
Alternatively, they could create a suitable environment and opportunity to use the Reaper Death Seal to imprison Black Zetsu—a theoretical possibility. Whether it would work depended on how vulnerable Black Zetsu was to it. The cost, however, was someone's life.
So clearly, the Reaper Death Seal was only a last resort.
Still, despite the grim options, something had to be done. If Black Zetsu was planning an unknown move, his scheme had to be sabotaged.
In short, whatever the enemy was planning must be opposed, even if they didn't yet know the details. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
When the topic shifted back to Rōran, both Sasori and Orochimaru showed great interest in the nation's Dragon Vein.
Sasori spoke first: "I once read a record about Rōran. It said that the Dragon Vein once spanned the entire Land of Wind. It was only after some ancient destruction that the country became a barren desert."
"Originally, I didn't care much about that record. If the Dragon Vein's power was really that great, how could Rōran now be on the brink of collapse?"
"But now, I'm very interested in the Dragon Vein. If it's alright, I'd like to visit Rōran."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Sasori-kun, you and I really are in sync. After hearing Kei-kun's description, I too developed a deep interest in the Dragon Vein. If you don't mind, let's go together."
"Besides, Rōran is right next to the Land of Wind, and you're native to the region. You must be familiar with the terrain. We'll watch each other's backs."
Sasori smiled. "Then I'll be in your care, Orochimaru-senpai."
"No, no," Orochimaru replied with a smile. "It's I who should rely on you, Sasori-kun."
And so, the two of them decided to go to Rōran. No one opposed it, since going to Rōran had already been agreed upon. If they wanted to sabotage Black Zetsu's plans, they had to go.
Since Orochimaru and Sasori were going together, it made sense to send them.
Of course, facing Black Zetsu couldn't be left to just two researchers. More help was needed.
After some discussion and a proposal from Uchiha Kei, the plan was finalized—Minato Namikaze would also go.
However, as an assistant to the Hokage, Minato couldn't leave the Hidden Leaf Village so easily. Therefore, he would send a shadow clone.
This clone would use Nine Tails chakra to maintain itself for a long duration and possess significant combat power—unlike ordinary clones that disperse after a single hit.
Yes, this was Kei's idea, inspired by how Minato's son Naruto Uzumaki in the original story used Nine Tails Chakra Mode to mass-deploy golden clones to support various battlefields.
While Minato wasn't a Jinchūriki, he had a special bond with the Nine Tails, allowing him to borrow pure chakra and enter Chakra Mode with a single request—the Nine Tails wouldn't refuse.
Incidentally, Kushina Uzumaki still hadn't formed a heart-to-heart bond with the Nine Tails to enter Chakra Mode. This was just… her personality—high EQ phrasing. Low EQ phrasing…
Ahem. Minato didn't want to end up kneeling on the laundry board, so he stopped there.
In any case, the plan to head to Rōran was set.
Uchiha Kei was also curious about Rōran. He wanted to see how the nation—only seen in the movie—was doing now.
According to the "original story," Rōran was nearly destroyed but still existed. It could survive for a long time, being a nation with supernatural power and no enemies targeting it. Unlike the Uzumaki Clan's country, it wouldn't be so easily wiped out.
Its downfall came later in the movie when the villain Anrokuzan traveled back in time using the Dragon Vein's power. He became a Rōran minister and secretly transformed the remaining citizens into human puppets, dooming the nation silently.
But that was the "original." What the current world held remained to be seen.
If Anrokuzan really did time travel to cause havoc, then the Konoha team would be doomed.
Incidentally, Uchiha Kei really wanted to mock that ridiculous name, though it was only an alias—the villain's real identity was the rogue ninja Mukade from Sunagakure.
—
Once the planning concluded, everyone exited the mental network.
Soon after, Konoha received a mission to purchase supplies from Rōran, issued directly by the Hokage's office to an Anbu member. It seemed completely ordinary.
Nothing unusual happened during the mission. The mysterious Anbu departed immediately toward the Land of Wind.
It seemed like an unremarkable mission, not worth mentioning.
But the truth was known only to a few. Even Konoha's top four didn't care about the details after glancing at the mission.
After all, it was just a minor matter.
Compared to that, a bigger piece of news was more interesting—the Sunagakure delegation had an incident.
There was internal conflict on their way back to the village.
To be specific, a conflict erupted between the delegation leader Rasa and one of its key members, Pakura . Pakura injured Rasa and several others before angrily leaving.
Shortly after, Sunagakure announced that the once-promising young talent Pakura had become a rogue ninja.
The sudden series of events stunned the shinobi world. No one could understand what kind of play Sunagakure was putting on.
Later, Pakura 's friends and supporters exposed the truth: Rasa had tried to court Pakura , hoping they could combine their bloodlines.
In theory, someone of Rasa's rank making such a proposal should have been welcomed.
But Pakura refused. She had her own ambitions—she wanted to become the future Kazekage. Accepting Rasa's proposal meant abandoning that dream.
The situation escalated.
Rasa never imagined Pakura would be so ambitious, even coveting his future position. He began suppressing her.
Knowing she'd be persecuted for revealing her ambition, Pakura resisted. Their rivalry played out in a drama worthy of any palace intrigue series—what began as a romantic subplot turned into a political struggle.
In the end, Pakura chose to defect. She realized that Rasa, once in power, could endanger her life. For instance, during wartime, he could assign her a suicide mission.
If she wanted to avoid "accidental death" and didn't want to submit, she had to leave the village.
But Pakura was a strong woman who chose to fight back. She battled Rasa head-on and left.
Normally, the Third Kazekage would smooth things over, but the conflict had gone too far. He had to choose between Rasa and Pakura —and he picked Rasa, likely due to internal political struggles unknown to outsiders.
Thus, Pakura became a rogue ninja.
What could one say…
The shinobi world gained another topic for gossip.
Still, it wasn't that surprising. The shinobi world had always been full of betrayal and power struggles.
The Warring States Era was chaos incarnate. Even during the ninja village era, such drama was common.
For example, many speculative tales circulated about the fallout between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Some versions could even be turned into mystery dramas or historical epics.
And let's not even get started on Kirigakure—it was the "Game of Thrones" village of the shinobi world. Compared to that, Sunagakure's palace drama was nothing.
So Pakura 's defection caused no real waves.
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure, inside the Kazekage's office, the Third Kazekage smiled after reviewing all the intel and said to Rasa:
"Rasa, your plan worked perfectly. The entire shinobi world believes Pakura was defeated in a power struggle and defected. Her entry into the Hidden Leaf Village via their recruitment program will now proceed smoothly."
"You've done a great service for Sunagakure. Your contribution won't be forgotten. Especially you, Rasa—using your own reputation to push this plan forward… I'm touched and deeply proud."
"You're now a fully qualified heir to the Kazekage position."
Hearing this, Rasa respectfully bowed and humbly replied that it was all for Sunagakure. He was willing to give everything for the village, so this sacrifice was nothing.
The Third Kazekage nodded in satisfaction, his gaze toward Rasa growing increasingly approving.