Land of Rain.
Inside a dim, shadowy room, accompanied by the low hum of sliding machinery, Tendo Pain slowly sat up from an open, circular capsule.
The scene shifted.
On the stone floor of the cavern housing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, a translucent projection of Pain appeared. A moment later, another astral projection manifested—Zetsu, his body topped with a Venus flytrap.
"The Three-Tails has been reborn," Black Zetsu said in his rasping voice.
Pain's Rinnegan fixed on him. "Location."
"At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron, at a place called Lake Renkai."
After answering, Black Zetsu continued, "There's also been a new development regarding the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails."
"What development?"
Pain's tone was cold and flat. Almost immediately, the projections of Deidara and Sasori appeared as well.
Black Zetsu's heart tightened. He could hear the displeasure in Pain's voice. Before Deidara or Sasori could speak, he hurriedly added, "I just received word from the spores monitoring Kumogakure. Orochimaru infiltrated the hiding places of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails—but after learning from Iwagakure and Takigakure's jinchūriki being captured, Kumogakure reinforced their defenses. Orochimaru failed."
"The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails have now been relocated. Their whereabouts are unknown."
Deidara clicked his tongue. "What's that disgusting snake up to now?! If he grabs the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails too, then the organization's ultimate plan to dominate the shinobi world is finished, yeah!"
"Shut it, Deidara."
Sasori swept his gaze around, noticing Kakuzu was absent. "The leader didn't summon us just to chat."
"You two," Pain ordered, "leave immediately and retrieve the Three-Tails."
Then he turned back to Zetsu. "Give them the exact location. And find the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails as quickly as possible."
With that, he cut the Astral Projection Technique.
Beneath a cliff somewhere else, Zetsu emerged from the trunk of a towering tree growing out of the rock face.
"Is it really safe to leave the statue there?" White Zetsu murmured. "Obito's fallen into Orochimaru's hands. The Infinite Tsukuyomi is definitely exposed now—and that guy will surely turn Obito into a chess piece with Edo Tensei."
"We don't have a choice," Black Zetsu replied. "We can only monitor it through the God Tree's roots underground. And 'Madara' hasn't shown himself in twenty days. If this keeps up, Pain will start to suspect something. We need a solution."
"What if Orochimaru goes straight to Pain?" White Zetsu said nervously. "If he reveals the secret of the Rinnegan…"
"Unlikely," Black Zetsu said calmly. "Orochimaru's an ambitious man. He won't share secrets. Still, we can't be careless. He already has four tailed beasts—we need to find him fast."
"Huh? And how do we do that?" White Zetsu complained. "Deidara and Sasori have been flying over the Five Great Nations for a month without finding even a trace of him. And even if they do find him… unless Pain personally steps in, no one in the organization can really deal with those Edo Tensei pawns."
"At the right moment, we can use him," Black Zetsu said with a low chuckle. "After all, his efficiency in collecting tailed beasts far surpasses Obito's. If worst comes to worst… we'll have to find an opportunity to meet that brat Nagato ourselves."
"…We're not his match either, are we?"
"Heh. Under normal circumstances, of course not. But we can let someone else do the dirty work for us."
Black Zetsu's tone grew sly. "For example—Orochimaru would be an excellent choice."
Meanwhile—
High in the sky near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron, a warped spatial vortex opened out of thin air. Orochimaru stepped out—and immediately began plummeting toward the ground.
Two breaths later, a palm-sized Isobu crawled out from his chest and nimbly climbed onto his shoulder.
"I didn't expect you to reincarnate here," Orochimaru said.
"That wasn't something I could control," Isobu replied. "Last time, I was reborn on Coral Island in Kirigakure. That was when I met Yagura."
"Speaking of Yagura," Orochimaru said, "you already know about the Pure Land. He can't be revived anymore."
"Even if he could," Isobu said softly, "I doubt he'd be happy. Staying in the Pure Land might be the best ending for him."
"We're here."
As the words fell, Orochimaru stabilized, floating above a lake shrouded in thick fog. The Isobu on his shoulder let out a cheerful plop and dove straight into the water.
This was Lake Renkai.
Gazing across the fog-choked expanse, Orochimaru couldn't see the far shore. The sheer size of the lake reminded him of the unnatural inland sea of the Land of Rain. He wondered just how deep it went.
Suddenly, his expression shifted. He turned toward the lakeshore in one direction, a faint smile curving his lips. His feet touched down on the water's surface—and he slammed one hand downward.
Five coffins burst up through the lake.
As the coffins sank again, five hooded figures stepped out from within.
Not long after, the once-calm lake erupted with violent waves. A head the size of a small mountain broke the surface—
Isobu, the Three-Tails.
"I've already signed the contract," Isobu said.
"Good," Orochimaru replied, nodding lightly. "Then we can leave."
In a flicker, he vanished.
The scene shifted again.
Orochimaru now stood in the plaza of Mount Myōboku—
then, with a poof, his form transformed into Naruto.
Walking into the center of the seven tailed beasts, Naruto rapidly formed seals and slapped his palm onto the ground. A pitch-black formula spread outward in an instant.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!
As the smoke cleared, Isobu's massive body appeared.
"Hehe! Space–time ninjutsu really is convenient!"
Isobu let out a simple, honest laugh. At that moment, another small Isobu—resting beside Mū—crawled over to Naruto. Naruto placed a hand on its shell—
and both of them vanished.
Flash!
In less than a breath, Naruto returned. The little Isobu was gone, but a black scroll nearly a meter tall had appeared in his hands.
With a light tap, the scroll shrank with a whoosh until it was no larger than a piece of chalk, which Naruto tucked away.
Smiling, Naruto said, "Alright, everyone. You've all signed summoning contracts with me now. Once we reach the moon, I'll summon you there. You'll be able to move around freely then."
"That's great!"
"Finally, we can breathe!"
"Yeah! This way, the Akatsuki won't find us!"
"I've seen Toneri's memories—the space inside the moon is huge~!"
"Wonder when we'll get to see Matatabi and Gyūki."
"Shouldn't be long…"
The tailed beasts exchanged excited chatter, clearly in high spirits. Only Kurama, seated off to the side, remained silent. Wearing a broad grin, he extended his fist toward Naruto.
Naruto blinked in surprise—then bumped fists with him.
A flash of light.
Kurama fused into Naruto's body.
The other six tailed beasts froze in shock.
In a unique inner space, the seven tailed beasts stood in a circle. Shukaku raised a claw and shrieked at Kurama, "What's so special about that, you stupid fox?! All you can do is possess him!"
Kurama bared his teeth smugly. "Can you?"
Elsewhere—
Above Lake Renkai, Deidara and Sasori stood atop a massive white clay owl. After scanning the area for a while, the owl descended toward the center of the lake.
"Zetsu's intel is garbage!" Deidara scoffed. "Didn't he say there was fog here that caused hallucinations, hmm?"
Peering through the monocular lens in his left eye, Deidara sneered.
"Be careful," Sasori warned. "A tailed beast without a jinchūriki isn't that strong—but it's still not something to underestimate."
"Don't underestimate my art, Sasori-no-danna, hmm!"
As Deidara reached into his pouch and grabbed a lump of clay, a crimson barrier suddenly rose in front of him.
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