Inside a cold, damp cave, several stone pillars stood tall. Atop each pillar was a figure draped in a black cloak adorned with red clouds.
With Orochimaru's defection, a new recruit had joined Akatsuki—Tobi.
At the center of the gathering, Pain stood in the main position.
"The world is in chaos," he declared. "It's time to begin the Tailed Beast capture plan."
Tobi clapped his hands excitedly.
"Wow! So it's finally happening! The world is about to have peace!"
Kisame grinned, his sharp teeth visible.
"Ah, I can't wait. The peaceful world our leader envisions… sounds thrilling."
Deidara smirked, eyes gleaming.
"Hmm! My explosive art will finally shine again. Right, Sasori-senpai?"
Sasori remained indifferent.
"Eternal puppetry is the ultimate art. Your explosions are just flashy tricks."
Deidara bristled.
"Sasori-senpai! You just don't get it! The beauty of an explosion—its fleeting brilliance—is the most artistic thing in the world! Life's true beauty lies in—"
"Enough," Pain interrupted, his voice firm. "We don't have time for this."
Deidara huffed but fell silent.
Pain sighed inwardly. If I let them keep arguing, we'll never get through this meeting…
"Let's move on," he continued. "We need to assign teams to capture the Tailed Beasts."
Kakuzu, arms crossed, looked unimpressed.
"Doesn't matter to me," he muttered. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my bounty collection."
That's right—Kakuzu was still alive.
Anyone who thought a few explosive tags could kill him clearly underestimated him.
Back when he abandoned Hidan and fled, he claimed he'd be back soon—just needed to make some extra money.
At the time, he didn't expect to run into any real trouble.
Then, by sheer bad luck, he ended up crossing paths with Sakiya.
What should have been an easy job turned into an absolute disaster.
When Kakuzu finally limped back to Akatsuki, looking like a mess, he became the punchline of a joke.
Since then, he had been obsessively scanning bounty lists, searching for anyone from Konoha.
If a Konoha ninja appeared, Kakuzu swore he'd take them down immediately.
But despite all his efforts, he still hadn't figured out how Sakiya's technique worked.
It was infuriating.
That damn kid's ability… It messes with my five senses. That's why I was so helpless against it.
Scowling at the memory, Kakuzu muttered under his breath.
"Konoha hasn't been offering many high bounties lately," Kakuzu muttered. "Don't bother calling me if you're going after the Nine-Tails."
The room fell silent for a moment. A few members exchanged glances, their expressions unreadable.
But no one called him out on it.
Itachi stepped forward.
"Then Kisame and I will handle the Nine-Tails. I know Konoha well enough to navigate it."
No one objected. It made sense.
Pain nodded. "Sasori and Deidara will take care of the One-Tail in the Sand Village."
Kakuzu spoke up.
"I have intel on the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki. Hidan and I will handle that one."
Pain agreed. "Fine. We'll strike when the war between Konoha and Iwagakure escalates. When the time is right, we'll move in to capture the Tailed Beasts."
Everyone nodded.
The rest of the Tailed Beasts weren't assigned yet due to a lack of confirmed locations.
But they all suspected that Pain himself planned to handle those personally.
---
Konoha's First Battlefield
The clash between Iwa-nin and Konoha forces raged on, soldiers rushing back and forth.
In the chaos, Sasuke broke away from Naruto and Sakura, charging into the fight alone.
His mind was elsewhere—trapped in the memory of that strange, surreal space.
It had been unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He could see the real world outside, aware that he was in a training ground… yet he was unable to escape.
On the first day, he tried everything—closing his eyes and running forward, unleashing Fire Jutsu, attempting every possible way out.
Nothing worked.
Gradually, he realized he was caught in something that blurred the line between illusion and reality.
At some point, he began to feel as if he wasn't even in the same world anymore.
The loneliness was suffocating. The helplessness nearly crushed him.
For a while, Sasuke sank into despair.
On the second day, still alone, he forced himself to calm down.
He gripped his sword tightly and began training.
Something was different.
In that eerie, isolated space, his movements flowed effortlessly. Techniques and strategies surfaced in his mind one after another, each one sharpening his skills.
He kept going.
On the third day, someone appeared—Naruto!
For the first time, Sasuke felt hope. He started shouting, trying to get Naruto's attention, even reaching out to grab him.
But his hands passed right through. His voice didn't reach.
Naruto was like a phantom.
It was as if Sasuke existed in a world parallel to reality—able to see but unable to touch.
A world apart.
But Sasuke refused to accept it. He charged forward recklessly.
Then—suddenly—he made contact.
He hit Naruto.
Sasuke froze, stunned. The position he saw Naruto in didn't match reality.
Then it clicked.
"This is still an illusion—visual deception! It's tricking my five senses!"
A spark of determination ignited in Sasuke's eyes.
He began experimenting. Again and again, he reached out, making slight contact each time.
Through repeated attempts, he noticed something—the real Naruto's position kept shifting. It never stayed where he saw it.
Yet, despite making contact, Naruto remained oblivious.
The realization irritated Sasuke.
"This idiot!"
Frustrated, he pushed harder.
He stopped aiming carefully and instead lunged forward with brute force.
Naruto, sensing something was off, instinctively dodged. But Sasuke had already figured out how to track him—almost hitting him by chance every time.
Naruto, growing uneasy, tried to retreat. But now, there was no escaping.
Soon, Kiba and Rock Lee arrived.
And that's when Sasuke understood something deeper.
It wasn't just about sight—it was intuition.
A sixth sense.
By relying on instinct rather than his eyes, he could ignore the deception and act on what felt real.
At last, Sasuke emerged.
He had sharpened his intuition to a whole new level.
Faced with life-or-death danger, he had made an astonishing breakthrough.
But his gains weren't limited to just intuition—his swordsmanship had also evolved, shaped by the illusion he had experienced.
Now, Sasuke moved like an unstoppable force.
With his Sharingan fully activated, he slashed forward, his blade infused with chakra and illusion.
For a split second, his opponent would see the blade coming from the left—when in reality, it was an inch further over.
That moment of miscalculation was fatal.
One strike—instant defeat.
Even such a small deception proved devastating in battle.
But Sasuke's attention soon shifted.
His gaze locked onto a massive, glowing formation in the distance.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"After experiencing that illusion firsthand, I understand just how terrifying it is."
"And to think it can be cast on such a massive scale..."
"Is that power really just an illusion?"
Sasuke kept these thoughts to himself.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the Konoha ninjas fighting alongside Sakiya exchanged glances.
They all had the same thought:
"We're basically winning without doing anything!"
Yes—just lying down and winning.
The moment Sakiya activated the formation, their job became simple.
All they had to do was swing their swords.
Iwa shinobi couldn't even see them.
The formation was in effect!
"Huh?! I can't see anything! They're invisible!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The Iwa shinobi panicked, completely blinded by the illusion.
They stood there, helpless—punching at thin air, waiting to be struck down.
At the center of the battlefield, Sakiya raised her small hands high.
With a dramatic flourish, she declared:
"Let the world be enveloped! Like a brilliant red flower blooming in the midst of death—enter an eternal dream!"
Suddenly, a hand appeared, offering a glass of water.
Sakiya blinked in surprise and looked up.
It was Kakashi.
He smiled. "Here, have some water. Take a sip and then continue."
Sakiya thought about it and realized her mouth was indeed a little dry.
"Alright!" she said, taking the glass and drinking.
Just as she set it down, another hand reached out—this time holding a lollipop.
"Here, have this. You must be a little tired, right?"
It was Chihiro, offering her the candy.
Sakiya hesitated for a moment, then gave in and unwrapped the sweet, popping it into her mouth.
Kakashi and Chihiro exchanged a relieved glance.
They had seen how the battlefield illusion was completely under Sakiya's control.
Still, they both wanted her to take a break.
After all, she was a one-person wrecking crew.
With the magic circle active, no enemy stood a chance.
But then—
"Look out! It's a tailed beast!"
A warning shout rang through the battlefield.
Kakashi's chest tightened.
He spun around—
A massive Tailed Beast Bomb was hurtling straight toward them.
"A sneak attack!"
Their target was clear—Sakiya.
Kakashi and Chihiro realized it instantly.
Kakashi exhaled sharply and pulled down his mask, revealing his Sharingan.
"No choice...!"
________
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