"…Knew something was off. Good thing I watched Cautious Hero—wait, no, Shinchou Yuusha in my past life."
In less than two days, Izayoi and his shadow clone, while monitoring the Land of Fire, noticed something suspicious.
Because he saw a familiar figure.
Back when he was in the Land of Rivers, he'd caught a glimpse of this person in the neighboring Land of Rain through his Tenseigan.
It was none other than one of Jiraiya's disciples—the Angel of Amegakure, the White Tiger of the Akatsuki—Konan.
She was riding a large, sharp-beaked bird as she flew into the Land of Fire, heading in a particular direction.
Ever since Nagato's condition had worsened, Konan had rarely left Amegakure.
Once the Akatsuki had gathered all their members, she hadn't gone on any solo missions at all, always staying by Nagato's side—assisting him with affairs and taking care of his body.
In the original story, wherever Konan appeared, Nagato or one of the Six Paths of Pain was always nearby.
Now that Konan had shown up in the Land of Fire, she clearly wasn't here on vacation.
Izayoi had a hunch that she was here for him.
Half a day later, his guess was confirmed.
Fifty kilometers northwest of the black market, atop a small hill, Konan leapt down from the back of the Yatagarasu bird. Her body cracked apart, and sheets of white paper detached from her, forming two large wings behind her back. Like an angel descending, she landed in the forest below.
The Yatagarasu dove after her and, upon a steady landing, burst into a huge puff of white smoke.
When the smoke cleared, a massive tree made entirely of paper appeared.
Then, from bottom to top, the tree colored itself automatically. In a few blinks, it looked like a real tree, blending perfectly with the surrounding forest.
Through the perspective of the Tenseigan, the entire tree glowed blue with chakra. Countless tadpole-shaped runes emerged from the chakra, forming a barrier that blocked sensory detection.
Even the Kagura Mind's Eye probably wouldn't detect it.
But it couldn't fool Izayoi's Tenseigan.
Through his eyes, he saw eight chakra signatures inside the tree—Konan, Nagato, and the Six Paths of Pain.
"Hiding in the bird's mouth… so that's how they move around. I thought it was Konan's lip piercings summoning them."
Watching the entire process, Izayoi suddenly realized the truth.
Then he couldn't help but mutter, "The strongest figures in the current shinobi world are moving in person. Aren't they overestimating me a bit?"
But right after, he fell silent.
The tree split open, and the Deva Path Pain walked out.
Floating up into the air, he rose to a nearby cliff.
Soon after, space beside him distorted, and a small black hole the size of a fist appeared.
Two warped figures emerged from the vortex.
It was Uchiha Obito—and another familiar face from Izayoi's first year, someone he'd seen several times at the academy gate… the dutiful son, Uchiha Itachi.
Seeing this lineup, standing in formation like a world-famous painting, Izayoi couldn't help but offer his most sincere greeting in his hometown dialect:
"Ding your lungs." (T/N: Chinese slang insult akin to "screw you.")
Deva Path Pain, the gatekeeper of super Kage-level power.
Uchiha Itachi, who had taken his Mangekyou Sharingan to the limit and had numerous trump cards.
Uchiha Obito, who could spam Kamui without worrying about going blind…
This lineup, even the likes of Ōnoki, at the peak of the Five Kage, wouldn't stand a chance if targeted.
Each of them could face off against the combined might of the Five Kage.
If they let go of mutual distrust, even the Five Kage together wouldn't be able to defeat them.
Sending a team like this to deal with him—what did he do to deserve such honor?
At that moment, Izayoi heard his shadow clone's voice, this time in standard Mandarin:
"Look, something's happening at the black market too."
Upon hearing this, Izayoi immediately switched his vision to the black market.
There, he saw the suited middle-aged man already impaled by a tree branch.
Then a white creature morphed into the man's appearance.
"Kagerou Technique… So even the Tenseigan couldn't detect it," Izayoi's expression turned grim.
"His disguise technique is flawless—definitely the best transformation jutsu in the shinobi world," the clone added. "If even the evolved Tenseigan can't see through it, then we must train Kagura's Mind's Eye to include moral alignment detection."
Izayoi fell into deep thought upon hearing that.
His mind began racing—aside from Kagura's Mind's Eye, what other powers in the shinobi world could see through such disguise techniques?
Preferably ones that could counter the Kagerou Technique as well!
After all, what made Black and White Zetsu so terrifying wasn't their disguise or possession techniques—but that Kagerou Technique, which allowed them to ignore barriers, move at high speed, and fuse with the earth and vegetation.
Even a Six Paths-level powerhouse wouldn't be able to sense it.
Just imagining being spied on from the shadows by such eyes made Izayoi feel disgusted.
But for the moment, he had no clear countermeasure.
So, he shelved the thought.
His Tenseigan scanned both the white Zetsu clone in the black market and the ultimate combo on the cliff, then he chuckled lightly:
"I was planning to give you a welcome gift, but on second thought, why waste the effort? I'll just let you stand around here for a while."
This, too, was good news in a way.
Their bold and public ambush meant Black Zetsu either didn't know the Tenseigan existed—or didn't understand its abilities.
That was Izayoi's advantage.
And how could he give up such an advantage?
"Good thing I had a backup plan. Otherwise, the loss this time would've been massive. This grudge… I'll be sure to return the favor later."
(End of Chapter Tease: Latest chapter first released at 69 Book Bar!)
Izayoi gave one last glance at the direction of the strongest team in the world before he dispelled the shadow clone and returned to the cave to take Zabuza with him.
…
Three days later, at dusk—
Uchiha Itachi was staring at the half-set sun in the northern hemisphere and asked the man beside him, also watching the sunset,
"The target still hasn't appeared?"
"You'd have to ask Zetsu about that," Obito replied quietly.
Upon hearing this, half-hidden in the ground, Black and White Zetsu responded. White Zetsu said:
"The item has already been handed to the clone, but that guy hasn't shown up yet—and the clone hasn't encountered any trouble."
"Have we been exposed?"
"That's not impossible," said Black Zetsu with a heavy tone.
If that mysterious person really was a descendant of Hamura, then his Byakugan would have incredibly high purity. A vision range surpassing even the Hyuga clan's wouldn't be surprising.
But even after pulling back by fifty kilometers and frequently hiding in barriers and other dimensions, they were still exposed?
That was even more absurd than the Kagura Mind's Eye.
"You two keep waiting a bit longer. Itachi and I will spread out," said Deva Path Pain before turning to leave.
Itachi followed silently.
Obito also vanished into the Kamui dimension.
Only Black and White Zetsu remained, using the Kagerou Technique and the white Zetsu clones to monitor the black market and expand their surveillance radius—hoping the target might still be lurking nearby.
Another day passed. Still no appearance.
The world's strongest combo, left empty-handed, departed with mixed feelings.
If they couldn't catch that person this time, it'd only be harder next time.
With such overwhelming sensory ability, they were already at a disadvantage before the fight even began.
…
Six days later, in a forest near the Land of Fire's border—
"Sir, here's what you asked for. Total cost was twenty-nine million, eight hundred and seventy thousand ryō."
Freshly returned from the Land of Rivers, Haku unloaded three large scrolls from his back and respectfully reported to Izayoi.
"Well done. Keep the leftover money as a reward."
Izayoi used gravity to take the scrolls, then soared into the sky and left.
Watching his figure disappear, both Haku and the barely recovered Zabuza—now able to stand with a crutch—let out sighs of relief, worried he might go back on his word.
"Zabuza-sama, where should we go next?" Haku asked while supporting him.
"To rob the robbers," Zabuza said in a deep voice, eyes gleaming with sharp light, as if a new world had just opened before him.
After getting schooled by Izayoi, Demon Man Zabuza had leveled up!