Out at sea, two figures in black cloaks patterned with red clouds stood upon the surface of the water.
One was Nagato.The other was Konan.
Swoosh—
From the depths, another figure in the same cloak rose, ignoring the crushing water pressure as he surfaced.
It was Uchiha Obito.
Breaking through to the surface, Obito turned to Konan."It's ready."
Konan nodded in understanding and quickly formed hand seals.
"Explode!"
From the seabed below, a chain of detonations erupted.
Rumble—
Like an undersea volcano erupting, the ocean heaved and churned violently, waves surging upward in massive swells.
Nagato grabbed Konan and flew into the sky. Obito, meanwhile, used his Kamui phasing to ignore the raging waves entirely.
As the sea boiled, a massive shape floated belly-up to the surface.
It was a colossal beast, as large as an island. Its body resembled a turtle's, but with three massive tails and spikes covering its shell. A terrifying aura radiated from it, though the beast itself was unconscious.
The Three-Tails—once driven into the sea—had finally been captured.
Nagato extended his power, drawing the unconscious beast up into the air. The Three-Tails, helpless under his pull, floated skyward.
Nagato and Konan landed atop its massive belly. Obito appeared beside them.
"The Five-Tails has already been captured. Now with the Three-Tails in hand, only the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails remain," Nagato said.
"The Nine-Tails is still in Konoha," Obito replied. "Capturing it will be extremely difficult. The Eight-Tails, on the other hand, should be far easier."
Konoha now held multiple Kage-level shinobi, and even a super-Kage-level force in Uchiha Fugaku. Seizing the Nine-Tails from such a village would be nearly impossible.
Konan added, "But to prevent an ambush, Kumogakure has secretly relocated their Eight-Tails jinchūriki. He's no longer in the village, and his whereabouts are unknown."
Obito's single eye gleamed. "I anticipated that. My White Zetsu clones have been watching. We've already narrowed down his location."
"Then we'll start with the Eight-Tails," Nagato decided.
Even he had to admit: Konoha was too dangerous right now. The Nine-Tails could wait.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku returned quietly to the Hidden Leaf. Apart from a handful of confidants, no one knew he had ever left.
He had hidden his absence deliberately. If Nagato had known Fugaku was away, Akatsuki would never have wasted the chance to strike Konoha and seize the Nine-Tails.
Back home, Fugaku smiled at his wife."I'm back."
"You finally returned!" Uchiha Mikoto greeted him warmly, carefully looking him over. She was one of the few who had known of his departure, and she had helped him conceal it from the village.
"Anything happen while I was gone?" Fugaku asked.
"No major incidents," Mikoto replied. "But Lady Tsunade has returned to Konoha. I heard it was at your request—Jiraiya went to bring her back?"
Fugaku nodded. "Tsunade is not only Kage-level, but also the foremost medical ninja in the shinobi world. Her return greatly strengthens our medical capabilities. I told Jiraiya to try persuading her back. Honestly, I didn't expect him to succeed."
"And Sasuke?" he asked.
"He's been training in the forest near the clan grounds. Ever since returning from the Land of Iron, he's been more diligent than ever," Mikoto said.
"That's good, but make sure he doesn't overdo it and damage his body. I'll speak with him tonight."
Later, Fugaku went to the Hokage Building and summoned his trusted First Spore Clone, now serving as commander of the ANBU. From him, Fugaku learned everything that had happened during his ten days away.
"Tsunade refused the position of hospital director," the clone reported, "but she agreed to occasionally visit and instruct Konoha's medical-nin."
"That alone is valuable," Fugaku said. Tsunade's guidance would raise Konoha's medical standards dramatically.
The clone added, "She has also taken on a new disciple."
"Haruno Sakura?" Fugaku guessed.
The clone shook his head. "No. Uzumaki Karin."
Fugaku was surprised. He had expected Sakura, but instead Tsunade had chosen Karin. Upon reflection, the reasons were clear: Karin's unique healing constitution, her extraordinary chakra sensitivity, and Tsunade's Uzumaki heritage naturally drew her closer to Karin than Sakura.
Fugaku gave his next order:"Mobilize all forces to track Nagato. Every division, every spore—focus entirely on locating him."
Far from Konoha, near the waters of Kumogakure, a massive island thick with forests drifted across the sea.
But this was no ordinary island—it was alive. A gigantic turtle, even larger than the Three-Tails, carried it upon its back, creating a floating fortress.
Vrrrm—
A black vortex opened in the sky above. From it stepped Obito, Nagato, and Konan.
Nagato immediately sensed something unusual."This… is a living creature, even larger than the Three-Tails."
Obito nodded. "Correct. The Eight-Tails jinchūriki is hiding inside its shell."
"Konan, make some noise. Lure him out," Nagato commanded.
Konan scattered dozens of explosive tags that folded into origami cranes midair, swarming down toward the island.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions lit up the island. Trees shattered, fire spread.
Swoosh!
In response, figures burst out from the turtle's shell—Kumogakure shinobi. Among them stood one carrying seven swords upon his back: the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer Bee.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Nagato unleashed his gravity pull, dragging Bee and his allies toward him.
"Partial Transformation!"
Realizing the enemy's power, Killer Bee cloaked himself in the Eight-Tails' form, transforming into a giant, eight-tailed octopus.
The monstrous beast opened its maw, gathering and firing a massive Tailed Beast Bomb at Nagato.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato reversed his pull into a crushing repulsion. The overwhelming force smashed the bomb back into Bee, detonating against his own body.
Kumogakure's other shinobi were hurled into the ground like ragdolls, blood splattering as they were killed instantly.
Boom!
Even Bee, struck by his own blast, was badly wounded. His octopus body was charred, his eight tails trembling.
Nagato descended, unleashing another devastating Shinra Tensei.
Crash!
The force nearly flattened Bee, slamming him deep into the earth. His tails whipped in fury but could not breach Nagato's repelling field, stopping short only meters away.
Nagato raised his hand again—another crushing wave of Shinra Tensei hammered Bee, driving the massive turtle-island down as though it would sink.
The Eight-Tails collapsed, battered and weakened, temporarily unable to move.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Nagato dragged the unconscious beast upward, rejoining Obito and Konan in the sky.
Obito frowned. "Its form is far too massive for space-time transfer."
"Then we fly it back to our base. By the time Kumogakure realizes, it will be hours too late," Nagato replied.
All enemy shinobi on the island were dead—no one left to raise the alarm.
The three of them stood atop the wounded beast and flew off into the distance.
Hours later, Kumogakure shinobi, concerned by the silence from Turtle Island, arrived to investigate.
What they found horrified them: scorched earth, dead comrades, and the absence of Killer Bee.
"Lord Killer Bee is missing! Turtle Island has been attacked!"
The message reached the Fourth Raikage. His rage and grief boiled over, but deep down, he knew—this was Akatsuki's doing. And with Nagato among them, even he could not win alone.
With no choice, the Raikage swallowed his pride.He sent a desperate plea for aid to the Hidden Leaf.