Konoha, Just Like Kizaru

A month passed quietly.

Kushina's due date was getting closer.

Even though Simu was deeply focused on his research, he had stayed by Kushina's side for the past half month.

Four teams of Anbu were assigned to guard the area 24/7.

"You really don't have to go through all this trouble," Kushina said casually.

She could feel the heavy atmosphere around her.

Still, she believed she was strong enough to handle things herself, even if something went wrong.

Simu gently took her hand and shook his head.

"You can protect yourself but what about our child?"

"And when you give birth, the seal will be at its weakest. If the Nine Tails breaks free then, it could be dangerous."

After hearing that, Kushina finally agreed to his arrangements.

Beside her, Lindy, whose belly had grown large, looked worried.

"I wonder if giving birth hurts..." 

Kushina chuckled and waved her hand.

"Don't worry, Lindy! I'll go first and let you know how it feels."

Mikoto smiled softly.

Of the three, she was the last to become pregnant only about half a month behind Lindy.

In other words, Simu would be welcoming three children within just two months!

As Kushina's due date drew closer, all of Konoha entered a state of high alert.

Of course, most villagers only knew that a strict martial law had been ordered, they had no idea why.

Only three people knew the exact date of Kushina's delivery: Simu, Minato, and Tsunade, who would be handling the birth.

As for the Anbu protection, Minato personally selected trusted members from among his closest subordinates.

"Let's hope nothing goes wrong," Shikaku said with concern, standing inside the Hokage's office.

But Minato was more relaxed.

"With Simu around, there shouldn't be any problems."

Unlike most others, Minato had seen Simu in action, he was there during the battle with Uchiha Madara.

He knew better than anyone just how terrifying Simu's true strength was.

...

At the same time, in the Freedom Fighter Branch of the Land of Rain

Night had already fallen, but Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko were still gathered in the command room.

"With support from headquarters, we've almost wiped out the noble forces near the border," 

Konan said, pointing to the area between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire on the map.

After the fall of Hanzō the Salamander, Amegakure's strength had dropped sharply.

This made neighboring countries begin to take interest, and the internal situation grew unstable.

The daimyo of the Land of Rain was trying to regain full control over Amegakure. 

He wanted to erase Hanzo's influence and rebuild the village into a powerful weapon for the noble class.

At the same time, several rebel armies backed by Iwagakure had emerged, along with the rise of a new force known as the Freedom Fighters

In short, the entire Land of Rain was in chaos.

Even so, the most noticeable group was still the Freedom Fighters led by Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko.

Thanks to solid support from their allies, they followed a steady and careful strategy easily sweeping away the noble forces along the borders.

All food seized from the nobles was handed out to the people.

Any valuables were sold, and the money was used to buy even more food, which was also distributed.

This approach won them strong support and praise from the local population.

Yahiko sat in his chair, clearly annoyed.

"Brother Simu was right. Those nobles really deserve to die!"

"Do you know how much food we took from them today? It was piled up like a mountain!"

"Some of it had even started to rot or sprout. Those awful nobles rather than give the food to the people, they'd rather let it go to waste!"

At first, Yahiko and the others had doubts about the Freedom Fighter movement.

But after carrying it out themselves in the Land of Rain, they saw firsthand just how corrupt the noble class truly was.

Konan, however, didn't seem surprised. She pointed to a hill in the middle of the Rain Country.

"According to the intel I found, there's a rebel group hiding here. They're likely being funded by the Land of Earth. That'll be our next target."

"Just in time too headquarters sent us the latest batch of ninja tools. Let's see if we can wipe out all 3,000 of them."

Although the rebel force had around 3,000 members, they weren't all strong.

Aside from a small group of elites, most were just low-level ninjas who barely knew a few basic jutsu.

Still, with such numbers, they were a real threat.

The Freedom Fighters, on the other hand, chose their members carefully only those who truly shared their ideals could join. Their recruitment process was strict.

That's why the Freedom Fighters only had around 1,200 members.

If it weren't for how well their ninjas had performed so far, Konan wouldn't have dared to go after the rebel army so soon.

When the topic of ninja tools came up, Yahiko's eyes lit up.

"The tools Brother Simu designed are amazing! You have no idea..."

They continued discussing Freedom Fighter policies and current issues until early morning before finally going to bed.

Lying in bed, Nagato thought about the smiles on people's faces Konan's and Yahiko's included.

A small smile appeared on his own face.

"Jiraiya-sensei... the dream we once had is slowly becoming real."

If they could wipe out the noble forces still clinging to power in the Land of Rain, then maybe the people could finally live in peace.

Just as his eyes were about to close, they suddenly snapped open.

A figure appeared on the ceiling, looking straight down at him 

Half black, half white, wrapped in what looked like a green pitcher plant.

Seeing that Nagato had already noticed him, Black Zetsu chuckled.

"As expected of the Rinnegan… you noticed me so quickly."

The mention of "Rinnegan" instantly put Nagato on high alert.

He knew the eyes were powerful and unique—but very few people even knew about them.

"Who are you?!"

Nagato jumped out of bed and backed against the wall.

The presence of the figure was so faint that if it weren't for the Rinnegan, he might have died in his sleep.

Black Zetsu remained calm and spoke slowly.

"I'm just here to reclaim those eyes."

Nagato's heart sank.

He hadn't been born with these eyes.

They had mysteriously appeared when he was a child.

Black Zetsu's words stirred up all kinds of suspicions in his mind.

"It seems you understand now," Black Zetsu said, reaching out a hand.

"Since you know the truth, hand them over."

Nagato stared at the strange half-black, half-white figure in front of him and replied coldly:

"Impossible."

Nagato knew he needed the power of the Rinnegan.

Only with these eyes could he help Yahiko achieve their shared dream.

Just as Black Zetsu was about to speak again, the white half cut him off impatiently.

"Enough talk. Let's just kill him already."

The original White Zetsu had been killed by Simu.

This one was a special version no longer the silly, talkative type.

Instead, he was cold and ruthless.

Heiji let out a sigh.

"I really preferred the chatterbox version…"

Nagato didn't fully understand what they meant.

But one thing was clear, he couldn't let them take the Rinnegan.

Not only that, he wanted to capture them for trying.

He raised both hands, and the power of the Rinnegan surged.

"Shinra Tensei!"

But the moment the attack launched, Nagato sensed something was wrong.

The powerful repulsion Nagato imagined never came.

Instead, a wave of darkness suddenly covered his eyes.

Strange black markings appeared in his purple pupils.

"You really thought someone would just give you eyes without adding a little insurance?" Black Zetsu laughed.

Before Madara died, he had explained exactly how to activate the curse mark—

That's why Black Zetsu dared to come alone.

"What… what's happening…" Nagato's voice trembled in panic.

At the same time, countless white spores sprouted from the ground, quickly surrounding him and draining his chakra.

With searing pain in his eyes, Nagato couldn't resist at all.

Black Zetsu moved in and drove his fingers deep into Nagato's eye sockets.

Blood sprayed out as Nagato let out a scream of unbearable pain.

The sound of his cries shook the entire building cracks spread across the walls.

In the next second, Yahiko burst into the room

Wearing the [Spellcaster Type I] armor he had received from headquarters.

It was clear Yahiko had been working on ninja tools even late into the night.

The moment he saw Nagato covered in blood, a surge of rage overwhelmed him.

"Heh, you got here fast," 

White Zetsu sneered, raising his arms.

Suddenly, countless branches shot out from the ground, forming a wall between them and Yahiko.

Yahiko didn't hesitate. He immediately activated his [Caster Type I] armor.

Natural energy surged around him.

"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"

A jet of high-pressure water shot from Yahiko's mouth, slicing through the wall of branches with ease.

Black Zetsu looked a bit surprised.

"Is it the power of that device…?"

At that moment, the sky darkened when Konan had arrived, her paper sheets spreading to block the sky like a storm.

Seeing this, Black Zetsu knew he had no reason to stay. He had already gotten what he came for.

"Let's retreat"

With that, both Black and White Zetsu sank into the ground, leaving behind the wounded and now-blind Nagato.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED

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