Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 177: A New Storm Within Konoha

Outside Konoha Village, two figures moved stealthily through the forest.

They were none other than the Edo Tensei reincarnations of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, and the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.

Naturally, Kabuto wouldn't risk his own safety by entering Konoha. He controlled the two resurrected Kage remotely. During this time, Kabuto had unearthed the Second Tsuchikage's grave, pairing him with his old "friend" the Second Mizukage for this mission.

"Never thought..."

Mu frowned at Gengetsu's figure, clearly unhappy with being brought back by Edo Tensei.

"That the two of us would be resurrected one day—by a technique invented by that Second Hokage of all people!"

"Seems like a lot's happened lately..."

Gengetsu stroked his small mustache, relatively easygoing despite the situation.

"Our mission is to bring back the last surviving Uchiha... Hard to believe the once-famous Uchiha clan has been reduced to a single child."

"Speaking of which..."

Gengetsu glanced sideways at Mu with feigned curiosity.

"Why do you think the caster resurrected the two of us as a team? Wouldn't the Second Kazekage have been a more reliable partner?"

Truthfully...

Gengetsu held the Second Kazekage Samon in high regard, especially after they fought together against Shigen in the First Great Ninja War—where Samon had proven to be dependable.

"I'd have preferred that too," Mu grumbled, turning away. He clearly wasn't thrilled about being paired with Gengetsu, who had been rather unhelpful during their battle with Shigen.

Teammates like this...

He didn't trust them one bit.

Unfortunately...

They didn't get to choose.

Kabuto's version of Edo Tensei—perfected thanks to what he learned from Shigen—left them no room for resistance. He issued one command, and they had to follow.

That said...

Kabuto did enjoy occasionally puppeteering his resurrected corpses.

After all, these legendary shinobi possessed abilities he himself had never had access to. The temptation to manipulate them in battle was strong.

However...

He had too many pawns to manage now. He could only give basic commands, letting them operate semi-independently.

Truth be told...

Kabuto was thriving.

Compared to his former master Orochimaru, Kabuto was now far more extravagant.

Meanwhile...

Orochimaru had to sneak into Konoha alone after all the Hokages he revived during the Chunin Exams were crushed by Shigen and sent back to the afterlife.

Inside a sweets shop in Konoha...

Orochimaru and Obito sat at one table.

Itachi and Kisame sat at another.

Had any Konoha ninja realized three S-rank rogues were casually sitting in the same shop, they might've had a mental breakdown.

But one of them had changed noticeably.

Obito had already transplanted a Rinnegan into his left eye socket. As soon as he acquired it, he implanted it without hesitation—since the Rinnegan allowed him to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, ensuring the Akatsuki's ultimate weapon was under his control.

As long as he had the statue and the Rinnegan...

Shigen and Black Zetsu would have no choice but to accept reality.

But first...

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He needed to cut off their last hope:

Uchiha Sasuke.

The Uchiha heir who might awaken the Rinnegan in the future.

But to take Sasuke, Obito couldn't ignore Itachi. He had to loop in his agent.

"Relax."

"I won't kill Uchiha Sasuke."

"That's a relief," Itachi replied, lowering his gaze. Though he said nothing more, his eyes had already turned blood-red.

"Then it's settled."

Obito glanced at Kisame and gave a quiet order.

"Stir up a conflict in Konoha—create a distraction. We'll snatch Sasuke in the chaos. Got it?"

"Understood..."

Kisame grinned, seemingly casual.

"Let's hope that explanation's enough to report back with."

"Who cares about that?"

Obito smirked.

"If they won't accept reality, I'll just take the Demonic Statue!"

"Once they lose the statue and the Rinnegan, the Akatsuki will be nothing but an empty shell. We'll toss Shigen and Black Zetsu aside and build a new Akatsuki!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

Honestly...

The plan wasn't bad.

The only problem was that it was Obito proposing it—and only Kisame seemed on board.

"Then..."

Itachi finally asked the question that had been troubling them:

"What if they choose to go to war?"

"They won't," Obito scoffed, shaking his head.

"If Shigen had the resolve—or the ability—to chase me and Orochimaru, he'd have done it by now!"

"As long as we take Sasuke..."

"He'll have no choice but to compromise."

"I agree."

Orochimaru chuckled, eyes narrowing.

"That man already knows your connection to Obito, yet he still sent you to retrieve Sasuke."

"There's only one reason for that..."

"He wants a graceful compromise."

"Even if Sasuke can awaken the Rinnegan, that journey will take a long, long time. Not to mention..."

Orochimaru turned toward Itachi, his tone pointed.

"...some essential conditions."

Clearly...

Orochimaru had squeezed some valuable secrets from Obito, including details about the Rinnegan's origin and the Uchiha's path of evolution.

"..."

Itachi felt a chilling gaze on him.

But he said nothing. He couldn't afford to reveal his true thoughts here—not with these wolves.

Truthfully...

Neither Shigen's Akatsuki...

Nor the "new Akatsuki" Obito and Orochimaru dreamed of...

Were suitable for Sasuke.

Only one place was.

Konoha.

Itachi lifted his eyes and spotted a familiar silver-haired Konoha ninja standing outside the shop—Kakashi Hatake. His forehead protector reflected the sunlight, the swirling emblem still bright and clean.

Outside the shop...

A warm laugh rang out.

A Konoha jonin in a green vest walked over with some comrades and greeted the man at the door with enthusiasm.

"Yo, Kakashi! What brings you out here today?"

"I've got a meeting with Sasuke..."

Kakashi tilted his head, adjusting his headband slightly. His eyes scanned the sweets shop—and already, he could sense a few familiar, unwelcome presences.

He sighed inwardly.

Right now, he had only one hope:

That his prideful, hotheaded student wouldn't show up.

"Hey, Kakashi. I'm not late, am I?"

Sasuke's voice reached his ear, followed by a casual complaint:

"I hate sweets. Why'd you pick this place to meet?"

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