Inside the office at the leader's headquarters of Otogakure.
"Hey, you've been cooped up here in Otogakure the whole time. You don't even care about running the village anymore?"
Yahiko, who was buried in work at his desk, complained to Chinya, who sat on the sofa sipping tea with ease.
Chinya took a sip of tea and sighed, "I've got things to deal with too, you know."
Yahiko rolled his eyes, "You're not busy? If anything, you're the laziest guy in Otogakure. Even your son Sōnagi, along with Kimimaro and the others, has gone off to enforce order in the Rice Country—clearing out rogue ninjas and helping stabilize the region.
But look at you—the father—acting more and more like some old geezer! You're not like some seventy-year-old or something! What happened to your energy? Since you're so free anyway, why not pitch in a bit? Wasn't founding Otogakure your idea in the first place?"
Remaining calm in the face of Yahiko's complaints, Chinya replied, "Firstly, founding Otogakure wasn't even my idea—it was Teacher Orochimaru's idea. Secondly, while I may not be super busy, that doesn't mean I'm just loafing around.
You know I've been gathering intelligence across the Shinobi World. I've deployed many 'snakes' throughout the ninja world, but those snakes don't proactively report back to me. I have to check each one individually and then piece together all the intel they collect. It's a real pain in the ass, honestly."
Yahiko twitched his mouth slightly and asked, "So what exactly did you find out?"
Chinya grew serious. "Actually, there is something. Not exactly crucial intel, but it caught my attention—Takigakure in the Land of Waterfalls was attacked recently."
Yahiko looked puzzled. "So what? Isn't it normal for small villages in minor nations to get hit? Didn't our Otogakure also suffer harassment during its early days? Small countries nearby feared that once we got established, we'd start competing with them for missions, so they tried to hold us back."
Chinya shook his head. "This isn't that simple. Two attackers came in, but only one of them actually fought. That single person utterly crushed Takigakure's forces. Now, that part isn't too surprising on its own—let's face it, it's only Takigakure. Hell, I could wipe them all out alone if I wanted to.
The real mystery is that despite being completely overwhelmed, not a single person from Takigakure was killed. And worse, many of their ninja had strange markings on their bodies. We don't know what purpose those marks serve yet, but they must have some special function."
Yahiko scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That is pretty weird. No deaths—just leaving some weird marks on a bunch of ninja. So it means the attackers' goal was just to leave those marks on Takigakure's shinobi. What did they look like?"
Chinya answered, "Not clear. Both wore spiral-patterned masks. But according to descriptions from Taki ninja, judging by their silhouettes, one looked like an adult and the other like a child—but surprisingly, it was the child who did all the fighting."
Yahiko felt increasingly uneasy. "So it really was a kid who did all that?"
"So you're saying that adult is stronger than a kid?"
Chinya shrugged. "Who knows? There's almost no information on these two. I'm using my network of snakes across the Shinobi World to track them down. But one thing's certain—at least that kid isn't ordinary."
When Chinya first heard this news, the spiral-patterned masks immediately made him think of Obito Uchiha.
Whether those two people had any connection with Obito Uchiha, Chinya didn't know, but he always felt an uneasy premonition.
This wasn't just Chinya's personal feeling; it was the general sentiment of the entire Shinobi World.
Chinya felt like his very existence had completely thrown the entire Shinobi World into chaos.
If that were true, then much of what Chinya knew about how things originally unfolded would become largely obsolete.
What really troubled Chinya was the shift in the core storyline.
The original core plot could be summed up in a four-character phrase: "Black Zetsu saves its mother."
Everything revolved around Black Zetsu rescuing Kaguya otsutsuki.
Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha—they were all pawns on Black Zetsu's chessboard.
And in the end, Black Zetsu succeeded—but because Kaguya otsutsuki, despite possessing immense power, couldn't actually fight worth much, everything fell apart.
Actually, Chinya initially knew a bit about what happened after Kaguya otsutsuki's resurrection, but after so many years, his memories had become hazy enough for him to forget most of it.
Sometimes he only remembered certain details when he saw someone. At other times, even when he saw them, he still couldn't recall who they were.
Chinya had to admit—he'd already been completely assimilated by the Shinobi World.
All his actions now mirrored those of the people native to this world.
If the core story changed, Chinya wouldn't be able to stay ahead of events anymore. He'd have to rely solely on himself, taking things one step at a time as they came.
That's why Chinya was currently going to such great lengths gathering intelligence.
Without the advantage of foreknowledge, he needed a constant stream of intelligence to support his control.
Chinya hated being in a passive position. He preferred thorough preparation—leaving nothing to chance.
"Chinya! Chinya..."
Yahiko's call snapped Chinya out of his deep thoughts.
Coming back to reality, Chinya looked at Yahiko and asked curiously, "What is it, Yahiko?"
Yahiko gave him a strange look. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You suddenly spaced out and didn't respond until I called you several times."
Sighing lightly, Chinya replied, "Right, I just suddenly remembered something. By the way, how are Pakura and the others doing now?"
Yahiko raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you monitoring the Shinobi World with your snakes? Don't you know what Pakura and the others are up to?"
Chinya shot back impatiently, "Why would I waste time watching my own teammates?"
Yahiko clicked his tongue, "What kind of leader of Xiao organization doesn't even know what their comrades are doing? You really aren't fit for the job. Alright, don't glare at me like that—I'll tell you.
Pakura and Ruiga are currently accepting missions from the Black Market Bounty Network—to raise funds for the organization, and to improve their strength through combat experience."
Zabuza and Haku had taken on a new mission and were now in the Land of Waves.
They had been hired by the head of a shipping conglomerate. It was rumored that its CEO was among the richest men in the Shinobi World—Gato. However, this shipping company seemed to be a criminal organization. Zabuza planned to seize Gato's fortune to fund Otogakure and the organization.
Chinya knit his brows slightly, then a realization dawned on him.
It's about to start, isn't it?
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