I've Already Confronted the Five Kage, and the System Just Arrived!

Gensou had encountered Naruto before, so he was quite familiar with the Nine-Tails.

Now, seeing the slightly opened eye on the Gedo Statue, he recognized the chakra it contained as that of the Nine-Tails.

Although there was a significant amount, it was clear that it couldn't compare to the full power of the actual Nine-Tails.

"This Nine-Tails chakra didn't come from Naruto," Gensou thought to himself. Suddenly, he remembered a trip to the Land of Fire when he passed by the Fire Temple and encountered a boy named "Sora," who had some of the Nine-Tails' chakra within him.

If he wasn't mistaken, the Nine-Tails chakra in the Gedo Statue had likely come from that boy.

"Planning ahead, huh?"

Gensou considered this possibility.

Among all the tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails in its rampage mode was the hardest to deal with.

According to the reports from Deidara, none of the Akatsuki members had visited the Fire Temple recently.

It was highly likely that this was Obito's doing.

Gensou mentally thanked Obito for the "gift."

Back to the present, with his objectives accomplished, Gensou turned to Nagato and curiously asked,

"Judging by your previous attitude, I expected you to resist the Eye of the Moon Plan with all your might."

Nagato responded calmly, "Rather than giving the Gedo Statue to 'Uchiha Madara,' it's better to exchange it for Konan's safety and hand it over to you. At the very least, now 'Madara' will focus on you. And the entire ninja world will unite against you. I have faith in this world and its future. In the end, falsehood can never triumph over reality."

"You're quite sincere," Gensou chuckled, "and bold."

With the Gedo Statue now in his possession, Gensou could easily betray Nagato if he wanted to.

However, for the sake of his reputation, he wasn't about to risk it over someone like Konan.

"Your time is almost up. You should say your goodbyes."

Gensou then approached the Gedo Statue, placing both hands on its wooden exterior, focusing on sensing the true form of the Ten-Tails' shell.

"How should I deal with this massive thing? It's too big to fit inside a sealing scroll."

After a while, as Gensou pondered, he suddenly sensed something. Turning his head, he saw that Nagato had already passed away.

Konan, not one to weep openly, gently laid Nagato down and covered him with a blanket.

Afterward, she glanced back at Gensou.

There was no visible hatred or anger in her eyes.

What remained was a cold silence that seemed to encase her entirely.

From this day forward, Konan would no longer live just for herself. She would live for Nagato, for Yahiko, and for the hopes and regrets they had left behind.

Without saying another word, she took Nagato's body and quietly left.

Judging by the direction, she was likely going to retrieve Yahiko's body as well.

The three of them would never be separated again.

Gensou watched her leave, then turned his attention back to the Gedo Statue, continuing his exploration without concern.

The era of Pain, and the old Akatsuki, had come to an end.

Now, it was time to usher in a new wind.

Gensou suddenly looked into the distance.

By now, the others should have already started their own actions.

...

Land of Fire, Eastern Coastline.

The sound of wind chimes echoed softly in the sea breeze.

Finally free from the monotonous task of searching for the Three-Tails, the two Akatsuki artists, Deidara and Sasori, were walking along a narrow path when Deidara took out a pocket watch and checked the time.

Noticing this yet again, Sasori asked, "Deidara, you've been doing that a lot lately. What's going on?"

Without looking up, Deidara answered casually, "What else? I'm checking the time, yeah!"

"My question is, why are you checking the time?"

Sasori's voice grew darker.

Had his body not already been turned into a human puppet, his face would have been filled with frustration.

"What do you mean 'why'? Of course, it's... wait!"

Deidara's eyes fixed on the pocket watch as the hands finally reached the prearranged time.

A wide smile spread across Deidara's face.

Crunch.

He crushed the pocket watch he had been holding so preciously for days and then turned, brimming with enthusiasm, toward Sasori.

"Sasori-danna, you asked why I've been checking the time? Well, here's your answer: it's to get YOU!!"

As he spoke, in an instant, Deidara's normally handsome face swelled up, along with his entire body, which ballooned like a giant, ever-expanding balloon.

"Sasori-danna! Feel my passion! Experience the purest expression of art!"

C4: Karura!

The real Deidara, now turned into an explosive puppet, waved kindly to Sasori.

"Art is an explosion! Hm!"

With a loud, excited shout—

Boom!!!

A blinding white light erupted from Deidara's now-massive puppet body, expanding dozens of times over in an instant.

"Sasori!!"

Caught completely off guard, Sasori let out a furious roar.

As a fellow artist, he immediately recognized Deidara's technique—one of the very few that he genuinely feared.

What shocked and confused him even more was:

Why on earth was Deidara suddenly attacking him?

Why?!

Just before everything was engulfed in white light, Deidara, with a deep voice, kindly explained,

"Sasori-danna, I'm sorry. I'm a spy~ Hm!"

"Dei! Da! Ra!!"

Sasori's final shout was swallowed by the explosion's brilliant white light.

Not far away, observing his latest masterpiece, Deidara rubbed his chin and smiled in satisfaction.

"That's it! That moment of betrayal, the fury, the pain, the despair, and then the explosion! It was truly a moving work of art! All that waiting was worth it! Hm!"

Before leaving to confront Pain, Gensou had specifically assigned Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Jin, and Deidara to deal with the remaining Akatsuki members, ensuring the group would be firmly under his control.

To avoid alerting anyone, Gensou had synchronized the timing of their attacks.

Deidara had been checking his watch constantly, waiting for this exact moment.

Sasori, though slightly suspicious, had never imagined that the carefree and youngest member of the group, Deidara, would betray him.

As a result, Sasori suffered the full brunt of Deidara's artistic explosion without any defense.

At the same time, other members of the Akatsuki faced similarly grim fates.

...

Land of Hot Water, in a private mountain hot spring.

Kisame, as usual, was enjoying a hot spring bath with his eyes closed.

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps approached without any attempt at concealment.

Kisame opened his eyes.

A pair of familiar Sharingan entered his view.

...

Land of Earth, Iwadan Mountain Range.

Kakuzu and Hidan were returning with their prize—the Five-Tails jinchūriki—when a sudden gust of wind blew through the area.

It brought with it dust, and a pair of young figures, both wearing clothing emblazoned with the Uchiha fan emblem.

(End of Chapter)

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