It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

Although the Akatsuki organization is currently at its peak, it will likely face difficulties in dealing with the five great nations and some smaller countries. If they can prevent the Ten-Tails from reaching its complete form before the other nations become aware of it, the situation will become quite passive in the future.

However, if one of them is defeated before the war is started, the road ahead may be much easier.

While Pain was still considering which target to attack, he also set his sights on Konoha, which was the closest village.

Konoha is the closest to Amegakure and has the strongest forces, so it would probably be the best place to break through if we wanted to strike first.

……

Two weeks later, in the forest behind Konoha...

A few wisps of snowflakes were still falling from the sky. Zhishui was sitting in the wooden house, playing a game of Chinese chess with Zhixue.

Looking at Zhixue, who had been thinking for half an hour and was still hesitating to make her move, Zhishui glanced at the darkening sky outside and a bead of cold sweat dripped from her forehead.

"Ahem, Zhixue, it's almost time for dinner, so let's just say you won."

"No, no, I'm almost there! Nissan, give me five more minutes, and I'll be done!" Zhi Xue scratched her head, looking at the situation on the chessboard, but with her IQ of 5, she couldn't find a flaw.

Why is Chinese Chess so difficult? Is Shikamaru's high IQ just because he plays this game all the time? (Annoyed)

Seeing Shisui puffing out his cheeks, determined to win the game, Shisui scratched his head and sent a shadow clone home to cook.

After dark, the silvery moonlight shone on the earth, and Zhi Xue, who had suffered a crushing defeat in the chess game, lazily lay on the sofa.

Forget it, her brain capacity doesn't allow her to play such complicated games. She should play something else in the future…

Zhixue picked up the calendar from the table and sighed as she listened to the occasional sounds of fireworks outside.

"Another year has passed. It's hard to believe that several years have gone by." Zhi Xue got up from the sofa, put on her slippers, and ran towards the kitchen.

Zhishui, who was still cooking in the kitchen, smiled when he saw Zhixue peeking through a crack in the door.

"If you want to eat, go wash your hands first, it will be ready in a little while."

After dinner, Zhishui, who was washing dishes in his room, was puzzled when he saw Zhixue walk in mysteriously.

"Zhixue, what are you holding behind your back?"

"Of course it's a gift for my brother, as I mentioned before," Zhixue said with a smile, her hands behind her back.

Upon hearing what Zhixue said, Zhishui seemed to remember something. Although he didn't know what it was, he would be happy no matter what Zhixue gave him.

Although Shisui didn't really care what the gift was, he was still full of questions when he saw the unidentified object emitting a fluorescent green light in a jar.

"Is this... an ornament?" Shisui asked, holding the bottle in his hand and examining it.

"Ah, this is something used to strengthen the body. Believe me, once you successfully transplant it, you will definitely become much stronger," Zhixue said, pulling on Zhishui's other hand, which was covered in foam.

Shisui:…

At Zhixue's request, Zhishui complied with her opinion.

After using her shadow clones to stay behind, Shisui brought Shisui to the location of Ryuchi Cave to perform a minor surgery, transplanting her own cells into the cave.

While Shisui was resting in bed recovering from the transplanted cells, Shisui created several shadow clones to take care of him. Afterward, she left the area where Ryuchi Cave was located and headed towards the village of Jugo that she remembered.

After walking a few steps, Zhixue stood on the hillside and looked at the small village neatly arranged in the distance, feeling somewhat wistful.

In just a few years, the village has grown by half. Is it because Jugo is no longer running away?

Zhixue slid down the slope, dusted herself off, and then walked into the village.

Because of the approaching festival, the place seemed a bit lively. Several old men were sitting together playing military flags, and groups of children could be seen playing by the roadside.

After sensing the locations of Karin's parents and Jugo, Shiyuki raised a finger and walked towards the east.

"Damn chili peppers, today I'll show you why flowers are so red! Ora ora ora!" As soon as Zhixue stepped into the yard, she seemed to hear Karin's furious voice. Seeing the billowing black smoke coming from the kitchen, a bead of cold sweat dripped down Zhixue's forehead.

Are all members of the Uzumaki clan so short-tempered?

After bypassing Karin, who was still battling with the chili peppers to see who would choke to death first or be dried out first, Shiyuki quietly entered the house and met Karin's mother, whose hair was somewhat grayish-red.

"You, you are that person?" Upon seeing Zhixue's youthful face, Karin's mother dropped the needle and thread in her hand.

A few minutes later, Shiyuki also spoke with Karin's mother for a while and learned that Karin and Jugo had become guards on merchant ships.

Actually, that's not quite accurate. Jugo is a true bodyguard, the kind that's like a human cannon. He can take down almost any enemy unless there are two or more Jonin. As for Karin, she's more like a helper, since her Uzumaki bloodline hasn't awakened and not many people pay attention to her.

"I'm sorry, although Karin is your subordinate, she is only 13 years old this year and there is very little she can do. My body has not fully recovered yet, so I have no choice but to do some manual labor to supplement the family income."

"Ah, it's alright, I don't really care about these things, I just came to check on her." Zhi Xue walked up to Xiang Lin's mother and used her Byakugan to examine her current physical condition.

Well, although my physical functions were severely depleted in previous years, I have recovered to some extent now. If I can take some tonics and recuperate for a period of time, I should have no problem living to 70 or 80.

"Mother, I'm sorry, I failed, cough cough cough..." Xianglin walked in dejectedly, carrying a bowl full of dark chili peppers and covered in black ash.

It seems that stir-frying seasonings isn't her forte. She should try making something else for the crew instead. She has to practice ninjutsu this afternoon, so she won't waste time here.

"Is that Karin? It's been years, how come she's grown so much..." Zhixue looked at Karin's height, and then her gaze shifted down to the two small buns on her chest, her face stiffening.

Why is she almost 17, yet she's not even as good as a 13-year-old?! (Annoyed)

Chapter 237, The Plan Begins

In February of Konoha Year 61, Shiyu moved Karin and her son to the Western Desert Academy to take up positions, while Jugo stayed behind to take care of the villagers. However, Shiyu also gained some knowledge about sealing techniques from Karin's mother.

After being teleported back to Amegakure from Jugo's village, Shiki walked in, but after wandering around for a while, she didn't seem to find a single Akatsuki member. Even Kakuzu's treasury was empty, which left Shiki somewhat bewildered.

She hasn't come back for half a month. Where is she? Where has she gone?

“No need to look anymore, everyone else is in the Land of Rivers.” Obito said to Shiyuki, standing upside down on the iron pipe with his arms crossed.

"The Land of Rivers? Why did they change their base at the last minute?"

"The plan is probably going to start in a few days. Amegakure is a piece of Pain's heart, so naturally he doesn't want it to be involved in the war." Obito said to Shiyu after climbing down from the iron pipe.

Hearing Obito's explanation, Zhixue nodded in agreement.

"So what do we need to do next? Should we go to the Land of Rivers to meet up first, or...?"

"We just need to wait for Pain's orders. If you want to move faster, we can head to the Land of Lightning now."

"So fast..." Zhixue put her small hand on her chin and pondered for a moment.

Naruto and Sasuke, both reincarnations of chakra, are still just children and haven't experienced much hardship. If the Fourth Shinobi World War breaks out soon after the Tailed Beasts are captured...

"What are you thinking about?" Obito asked, seeing Zhixue deep in thought.

"Ahem, it's nothing. Aren't we heading to the Land of Lightning? Let's pack up and leave in the next few days. I'd like to see the mountain scenery of Kumogakure."

Watching Zhixue leave humming a song, Black Zetsu, who had popped his head out from the ground, said to Obito, "Pain is already on his way to capture the Six-Tails. When he attacks Konoha later, you'd better keep this unstable factor under control."

"Don't worry, I won't let her know..." Obito said, looking at Shisue who was hopping around in the distance.

The Akatsuki organization is not quite clear about Zhixue's attitude towards Konoha yet, so they plan to keep it a secret for now. As long as they can hold out until the Gedo Mazo reseals the nine tailed beasts, things will be much easier after this phase ends.

Two days later, while Zhixue and Obito were heading towards the Land of Lightning, Pain also returned to the Land of Rivers from the Land of Water and used the Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon to insert the Six-Tails into the body of the Gedo Mazo.

Looking at the one eye that had opened on the Gedo Mazo, Hidan, who was sitting on one of the fingers, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Sealing this damn thing is really a lot of work."

"Alright, this is just an experiment. You'll get used to it." Pain glanced at Hidan and said, then issued a mission, sending the remaining Akatsuki members on the path to capture the Tailed Beasts.

Deidara and Sasori went to Sunagakure to capture the One-Tailed Beast, Kisame Hoshigaki and Juzo Biwa were responsible for capturing the Four-Tailed Beast in Iwagakure, Hidan and Kakuzu were responsible for capturing the Seven-Tailed Beast in Takigakure, and Pain himself was also preparing to invade Konoha.

Although Pain considered himself a god, he was actually somewhat unsure of himself against Konoha, the strongest of the five great nations. Therefore, he needed the White Zetsu from the intelligence organization to use Orochimaru's identity to separate some of Konoha's forces.

"Can Konoha be fooled?" Zetsu asked Pain hesitantly.

Although Konoha hates Orochimaru to the core, it's hard not to be suspicious that this scoundrel comes to Konoha every few days.

"Just do as the plan says. Summon as many as you can. I'll make them feel the pain," Pain said, looking coldly at the location of Konoha on the map.

In a way, he has quite a connection with the Konoha ninjas.

"Okay." Zetsu nodded, seeing that Payne didn't hesitate at all.

If White Zetsu gathers the necessary chakra, even the Byakugan might not be able to detect the disguise techniques they use. If they can really lure out the Hokage along with a portion of the guards and Anbu, then Konoha will be much easier to defeat.

Because Hiruzen Sarutobi was not dead and the Uchiha clan was still thriving, Pain adopted a different approach than before to inflict heavy damage on Konoha.

At this moment, Shiyuki, who was eating skewers at an inn on the way to the Land of Lightning, was also taken aback when she heard the system notification.

Ding! The Tailed Beast Capture Arc begins (1/9)

Upon hearing the system notification, Zhi Xue sat up from her chair.

Has the first tailed beast been captured so quickly? Wow, that was fast.

"Shadow Clone Technique." Zhi Xue formed hand seals and created a shadow clone that appeared before her.

"Go to Konoha and keep an eye on things. If there's any disturbance, transmit it to me via chakra. Remember not to oversleep and miss any information." Zhi Xue handed a black rod to her shadow clone and said to her.

"No problem, just leave this kind of task to me!" The shadow clone patted his chest and assured Zhixue as he put the black stick into his pocket.

So this time I'm not going out to work? (Happy)

A crack appeared before Zhi Xue's eyes, but the shadow clone suddenly turned back halfway, pitifully hugging Zhi Xue's leg and rubbing against her, saying, "Wait, main body, look, you've given me chakra, how about some pocket money? If I have to watch over her for several days without snacks and drinks, that would be too tragic..."

"Ahem, get up first." Zhi Xue said, her face slightly flushed, as she felt the shadow clone's movements.

After taking out another 5 taels, the shadow clone excitedly left, while Zhi Xue continued reading her comics.

She didn't really want to get involved in Konoha, but for her brother's safety, it was better to be on the safe side.

Chapter 238, Pain Invades Konoha

"Orochimaru ran that way! Quick, chase after him!"

"Don't run! Stop!"

Zetsu, transformed into Orochimaru, smiled slightly as he watched the Anbu chasing after him.

"It worked! If we wait a little longer until everyone arrives, we can probably disperse quite a few people." Zetsu pulled out a kunai from his waist, attached an explosive tag to it, and left it where he had passed.

boom!

Just as Bai Jue was thinking about how to lure more people away, a flock of crows suddenly flew overhead and blocked his way.

"Uchiha...one against seven?"

……