Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 286 is about finding Black Zetsu.

The second video appeared silently on the anonymous platform's homepage, without a title, narration, or any explanatory text.

The footage even trembled slightly at the beginning, like a military record forgotten in some corner.

The first thing to appear in the frame are four figures moving quickly along the mountain path.

Their movements were swift and efficient, their formation was loose yet orderly, their sleeves concealed their headbands, and only occasionally revealed the hidden lightning patterns when they turned.

The camera followed behind, as if it were a fifth person among them, or an unnamed Eight Thousand Spear Node that had tampered with everything using their own chakra recorders.

The four figures suddenly stopped abruptly, as if blocked by an invisible wall.

Then the camera suddenly zooms out—a point of silver light on the distant cliff top, the light jumps very lightly and falls down.

The scene slowed down at that moment, and the four Cloud Ninjas turned around and began to flee.

They exerted all their strength, pushing themselves to the limit, their figures leaving afterimages in the sea of ​​trees.

But the silver light fell not quickly, yet it felt as if it had landed on the back of their necks, making everyone who saw the scene gasp for breath.

Then the camera began to zoom up and out, as if a god was looking down on the mountains and forests from the night sky.

The silver light in the valley suddenly went out for a moment, and then the entire mountain bulged up from the center, as if it had been pierced from the ground by an extremely fine needle.

The light silently surged forth: mountain peaks, forests, and rocky slopes; all were flattened into rolling, ring-shaped waves of gray within breaths.

There were no barriers, no earthen walls, and no tree barriers.

The full power of the small firecracker was fully revealed on camera.

The shockwave spread, and the mountain appeared to have been wiped off the map by an invisible giant hand.

The entire hill was leveled, leaving only a huge, unrealistic crater with charred edges, as if an eye had been gouged out of the earth.

The camera continues to zoom out until the scorched earth becomes a dark circle among the mountains, like the night sky itself looking down at the wounds it has left behind.

Four Cloud Village ninjas lay prone outside the pit, like rag dolls overturned by a strong wind.

He wasn't dead, but he was trembling violently, blood was seeping from his ears, and his fingers were unconsciously digging into the soil.

The video did not show their faces, nor did it reveal their fate.

It was simply raised a little higher so that all the viewers could see it.

At the edge of the ruins, a tiny white figure was disappearing into an irregular crack.

Finally, the screen went completely black.

No subtitles, no threats, no next time.

But everyone watching the video held their breath at the same moment.

What they saw was not an explosion, but "power".

A power that needs no explanation, no title, and no one's recognition.

All that remained was a sliver of silver light falling from the spatial rift, and the mountains that had been completely erased.

The next day, the Cloud Village's border troops quietly withdrew.

No official orders have been issued, but the density of all patrols by Kumogakure in the Land of Fire direction has begun to decrease.

The other ninja villages did not issue any public statements, seemingly choosing silence as a collective choice.

A kind of unfathomable silence, scorched by the image.

Inside the Akatsuki headquarters in the Land of Rivers, the light was as dim as ever.

A few lamps cast unsteady light on the damp cave walls, as if they might be swallowed up by the darkness deep within the cave at any moment.

Xiao Nan walked through the winding passageway, stopped in front of the stone platform, and handed over a piece of intelligence she had just compiled.

"Yunyin has retreated." Her voice echoed softly in the empty mountainside, like a pebble falling into a deep pool.

"There were no official orders, but the patrol density in the Land of Fire direction has clearly decreased."

"The other ninja villages have not made any public statements either. Iwagakure continues to observe, while Sunagakure and Kirigakure remain completely silent."

"The video on the anonymous platform has already spread through the intelligence systems of various ninja villages, and no one dares to say that it is fake."

"That meteorite crater can be detected using sensory ninjutsu even across the border."

Payne's eyes remained closed, his Rinnegan hidden behind his thin eyelids, like a sleeping statue.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes. Pale purple ripples gently swirled in the darkness, emitting a faint light.

"The fear has been sown," he said, his voice soft but his tone unusually clear.

"They will stop fighting as long as they demonstrate sufficient power and threat."

"Because they don't even know how many he has left, or if they might suddenly appear right above their heads."

"If they don't want to become the next Uchiha clan territory," Konan said, her tone still calm, "they must cease all operations until they find a solution."

"But his path may not lead to the end," Payne said. "Suppressing ambition with fear only brings temporary peace."

"As soon as that fear dissipates, they will pounce again."

"The difference between us and Izumi is not the means, but the destination."

"He wants the world to fear him, but I want the world to truly understand peace through suffering."

Xiao Nan didn't reply. She looked at Payne, knowing that these words were mostly directed at Payne himself.

The moment the Hidden Cloud Village retreated, the ninja world acknowledged Izumi's intimidation through their actions.

This means that after all that time they were working on the Tailed Beast deterrence plan, a living example has emerged on this simpler path.

But Payne did not waver; he simply closed his eyes again, as if reaffirming his answer.

"Have Zetsu keep an eye on Kumogakure, and send someone to investigate that crater to confirm whether it has any residual effect on the tailed beast's chakra."

He paused, his voice even softer, as if coming from underground, "As for Izumi, let him continue."

"His power is not absolute; there are still sufficient countermeasures. But the power of the Tailed Beasts—"

"It is an existence that is absolutely impossible to resist, and I will become a [god]!"

In a certain underground part of the ninja world, deep in a cave, where no light of day can be seen.

Several pots of fire were placed along the rock wall, their flames flickering.

Obito's shadow was cast on the cave wall, stretched extremely long, like a thin black sheet of paper that might break off the wall at any moment.

He sat on a flattened rock, his face completely covered by an orange spiral mask.

Only the right Sharingan was visible, its light flickering in the firelight like embers repeatedly blown by the wind.

Black Zetsu silently emerged from the ground, like a stain of ink solidified by darkness, and stopped beside Obito.

He recounted the messages sent back from the Cloud Village border, the Akatsuki organization, and the intelligence networks of various villages.

His tone was hoarse and slow, as if he were counting the cracks that appeared after a heavy rain.

"The second video has spread throughout the entire ninja world. The crater in Kumogakure is right there; it can't be hidden."

"The Fourth Raikage has not given any public orders, but the density of patrols by Kumogakure in the Land of Fire direction has begun to decrease."

"The Hidden Stone Village, the Hidden Sand Village, and the Hidden Mist Village all remain silent."

-

"After the briefing, Konoha also stopped making any provocative remarks against Izumikawa."

"His move forced everyone back into their shells."

Obito didn't say anything, he just sat there.

The firelight flickered again, and his shadow folded into an extremely unnatural shape on the rock wall, as if another body was breathing slowly in the darkness.

"This will ruin our plans," Black Zetsu continued. "Nagato will waver."

"He's willing to collect the Tailed Beasts not because he trusts you."

"It's because he believes that pain can bring peace, and that the Ten-Tails is an irreplaceable ultimate power."

"But now Izumikawa is telling him that he doesn't need the Ten-Tails, just one bomb is enough to silence the five great nations at the same time."

"Nagato won't change immediately, but he'll start to wonder if our path is the only path."

"Once he stops focusing all his efforts on collecting the tailed beasts, the progress of the Gedo Mazo will be delayed, and the Eye of the Moon Project will also be postponed."

"So you think Izumikawa will try to lure Nagato to his side before the Ten-Tails does," Obito said, his voice hoarse, as if seeping from behind a mask, devoid of any warmth.

"He doesn't need to pull Nagato over," Black Zetsu said. "He just needs to slow us down."

"Moreover, he now possesses Shisui's eyes, the Sharingan, Byakugan, Shikotsumyaku, Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Kamui, and a virtual reality helmet."

"He is very difficult to kill by conventional means; he is a very troublesome opponent."

"The situation is no longer just passive, but dangerous."

Obito remained silent as rows of flames burned, baking the stone walls until they gleamed.

It also entangled his shadow with Black Zetsu's, like two black snakes intertwined.

He slowly raised his face, the Sharingan on his mask staring at Black Zetsu with a chilling gaze.

"Go check that crater," he said. "I need to know if that thing reacts to the tailed beast's chakra."

"If the materials he used to make the bomb contained Tailed Beast chakra, then the Tailed Beast itself would still be the key."

"We can get just as many keys as he can." He paused for a moment. "Black Zetsu, relay my orders to Nagato."

"Kunin made the first move. He will soon figure out who made the move and how it was done."

"To let Nagato continue being his god, all you need to do is whisper in his ear, 'A true god doesn't make people kneel just by using a bomb.'"

"Let him figure out the rest himself." Black Zetsu didn't speak again, and just like when he came, he sank back into the ground.

Only a few fires remained burning in the cave.

Obito remained seated there, like a stone statue that had not yet come to life, with only his shadow flickering on the wall.

Inside the secret base of the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rivers, the air was cool and quiet.

A few lamps burned quietly on the rock wall, their light weak, enough to illuminate only a small, slightly flat area of ​​rock in the center.

Izumi sat on a stone platform, his elbows resting on his knees, his whole being seemingly blending into the shadows cast by the cave walls.

He had just finished talking to Payne about the chakra battery and the anonymous platform when he suddenly seemed to remember something, slightly raised his eyes, and spoke in an even more casual tone than before.

"Call Jue here," he said.

Xiao Nan stood by the stone platform, not moving upon hearing this, but simply turning her head to look at him. Izumi rarely mentioned who he wanted to see so directly.

"I want to see that pitcher plant that's always staring at others," he added, tapping his knee lightly twice.

"That strange guy, half black and half white, with two big leaves on his head, he should be here, right?"

-

His tone was flat and indifferent, as if he were asking someone he frequently visited if they had gone into hiding again.

But these casual words made Xiao Nan frown slightly.

Jue always appears in various places, and always disappears when no one is paying attention.

It is related to Akatsuki, and also to the masked man who never shows his face.

Izumi suddenly wanted to see it, and deliberately chose this dark underground cave as the location.

"Why did you see him?" Xiao Nan asked.

Izumi smiled, but instead of answering directly, he turned his gaze to Payne.

Payne kept his eyes closed, as if he didn't care about anything around him.

He then looked at Xiao Nan again, a half-smile on his face: "I just want him to come out and meet me."

"If he refuses, tell him that Izumi has something to ask and something he wants me to pass on."

Xiao Nan stared at him for a few seconds, but ultimately didn't ask any more questions.

The paper scraps gently slipped from her sleeve and flew out of the cave, like a few moths lost in the fog.

As Izumi watched the white figures disappear at the end of the passageway, he knew he wanted to see more than just Jue.

That guy who always wears a pitcher plant on his head and is half-hidden in the darkness is the most restless pawn in this game.

After all, the other party's identity is that of Kaguya's third child, left behind before she was sealed away.

For the past thousand years, he has been behind all the struggles and conflicts in the ninja world.

The purpose was to allow the Rinnegan to be born within the Uchiha clan.

Only by possessing these eyes, collecting the tailed beasts, and reviving the Ten-Tails can he unseal his mother, Kaguya.

The piece of paper slipped through the crack in the rock and drifted into the deeper, quieter darkness.

Konan's piece of paper gently landed in front of Black Zetsu. The message on it was very short: Izumi Kawa wanted to see him.

Black Zetsu didn't move. He recognized Izumi. From even earlier times, Black Zetsu had remembered this man who had emerged from the mire of Kirigakure.

The other party seemed to know something, or perhaps they were just bluffing.

But tonight, the other party specifically requested to see "Nepenthes".

This means that he was at least aware of the existence of Jue, and knew about the people and things inside who never appeared on stage.

-

Why are you looking for him?

Black Zetsu thought in the darkness that Izumi had dealings with Akatsuki, had made contact with Pain, and had a deal with Nagato involving chakra batteries and intelligence networks.

But he always remained hidden beneath the glamorous surface.

There could only be one reason why Izumi was looking for him. He had seen what lay below and wanted to know more.

To meet or not to meet?

If they don't see each other, it's tantamount to admitting they're hiding, and it also gives Izumikawa room to continue infiltrating and probing.

If you do meet him, you must speak in the tone that Black Zetsu is best at, and sit face to face with this man, who may or may not know how much he knows, under a ninja lamp, like two snakes testing each other.

White Zetsu's face suddenly twitched, his voice light and frivolous, like a bubble rising from mud: "That person is looking for you, did he discover something?"

Black Zetsu's expression suddenly turned cold, and White Zetsu immediately stopped talking, lowering his head again like a pitcher plant that had been hit by frost.

Black Zetsu slowly flowed from the cracks in the rocks, like a pool of breathing night, surging towards the center of the base.

He decided to go see Izumi!

It wasn't because he was afraid, but because he would never reveal his unease before knowing the other party's intentions.

On the contrary, he wanted to see clearly what this person was trying to do from the closest distance.

The wind was still blowing outside the rock face.

The two giant, Venus flytrap-like leaves trembled slightly in the darkness.

Like a hunter who has lived for thousands of years, finally called out from the shadows to the light.