My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

Mist clung tightly to the shoreline.

Orochimaru and Kabuto both stared wide-eyed at the two men standing before them.

That black cloak adorned with red clouds, no one could be more familiar with it than Orochimaru, who had once been a member of Akatsuki.

Kabuto, too, instantly recognized it. After all, both of his former masters had come from that very organization.

At first, both of them thought the two figures had come to settle old scores. But then Orochimaru's sharp gaze caught something unusual. His expression shifted into disbelief for a moment, then steadied as realization dawned. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"How interesting... Since when did the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure join Akatsuki?"

Thanks to Orochimaru's reminder, Kabuto quickly realized something too. The man in the cloak and straw hat, his face half-obscured, was unmistakably Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, the same man who had supposedly died at their hands, and the very one they had just been discussing.

What in the world was going on? Indeed, it was Rasa who stood before them now, and the man beside him was none other than Black Zetsu.

Rasa, however, had no intention of answering Orochimaru's question. He simply asked,

"Orochimaru, are you interested in seeing a broader world?"

"!!!"

Orochimaru was startled. Then, as he grasped the implications, he licked his lips, visibly excited.

"Does this have something to do with your resurrection?"

"You could say that."

Rasa's tone remained calm.

At that, Orochimaru completely relaxed.

"Oh? Then what brings the Kazekage of Sunagakure to me?"

Without a word, Rasa pulled out a set of Akatsuki robes from his sleeve and tossed them to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru caught them, looking a little surprised. Only then did Rasa speak again.

"From here on, I'll be using the identity of 'Akatsuki' to capture the Tailed Beasts and extract some of their chakra. While I could do this alone, for the sake of convenience, I need a partner. And no one is more suitable than you, a former member of Akatsuki."

"!!!"

Orochimaru was stunned, his gaze shifting to the figure beside Rasa, Zetsu.

As a former member of Akatsuki, Orochimaru certainly recognized Zetsu. And that's precisely what made things so strange.

Based on Rasa's words, he was merely borrowing Akatsuki's name, implying he wasn't truly part of the group. So then, what was Zetsu doing by his side? Could it be that Zetsu, one of Akatsuki's intelligence agents, had also betrayed the organization?

Orochimaru couldn't make sense of it. But since he couldn't, he didn't bother to think too hard.

"How fascinating."

Orochimaru didn't refuse. Holding the Akatsuki cloak in his hands, he looked at Rasa with clear interest.

"I do have one question, though. I wonder if the Kazekage-dono might indulge me?"

Rasa remained unfazed.

"Ask."

"Hehehe… Could you tell me how you managed to come back to life?"

Rasa wasn't surprised by the question. He responded half-truthfully:

"Strictly speaking, I don't owe you an answer. But for now, I'll tell you this: I broke free from the control of the Sage of Six Paths through a special method, and then used a unique jutsu to resurrect myself."

At those words, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with an intense light, while Kabuto beside him trembled all over.

"S-Sage of Six Paths… Isn't he supposed to be a mythical figure? Could he actually be real?"

Rasa let out a soft snort and looked at Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, with your intelligence, you should've long figured it out. Where do you think the souls summoned by Edo Tensei come from?"

Orochimaru gave a sinister smile, visibly excited, while Kabuto was so shocked he was left speechless.

"Then, if I agree to help, what do I get in return? A vast world and such... it sounds rather far-fetched to me."

"Hmm."

Rasa paused for a moment in thought.

"You're right. In that case, as long as I successfully capture the Two-Tails through Seven-Tails, I'll return the arms sealed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to you. How's that?"

"!!!"

Orochimaru was stunned, then broke into a wide grin.

"Deal!"

With that, Orochimaru once again donned the Akatsuki cloak. His expression was tinged with nostalgia as he looked at Rasa and Black Zetsu.

"How nostalgic. So then, where are we headed next?"

Rasa had already made up his mind.

"We're going to the Land of Water. Let's capture the only wild Tailed Beast first... the Three-Tails."

---

Konohagakure.

Three days had passed since Naruto and Sasuke's intense battle at the Valley of the End, and Naruto's failure to bring Sasuke back.

Because of Rasa's earlier intervention, this time, the team pursuing Sasuke had no assistance from Sunagakure's trio.

Though they eventually won their respective battles, it was a brutal victory at best.

Fortunately, the current Fifth Hokage of Konoha was none other than the greatest medical ninja in the entire ninja world, Tsunade. Without her, it would've been uncertain whether the Konoha 11 could even be saved.

This incident strengthened Jiraiya's resolve to take Naruto away for training. However, when he presented this idea to Tsunade, she unsurprisingly refused.

Naruto was the village's Jinchūriki. There was no way the village could allow him to leave, especially in such chaotic times.

But Jiraiya's one sentence swept away all of Tsunade's objections:

"Tsunade, there is no place in this world safer than by my side."

And so, Tsunade was convinced. Naruto, eager to grow stronger and bring Sasuke back, naturally had no objections either.

Yet just as Jiraiya was preparing to leave Konoha with Naruto, an unexpected message arrived.

"Jiraiya-sama, the Great Toad Sage wishes to see you!"

---

Mount Myōboku.

In the vast palace where the Great Toad Sage resided, when Jiraiya laid eyes on the Great Toad Sage again, he was taken aback. He had never seen him so serious before. This wasn't the forgetful old frog from his memories.

Even Fukasaku and Shima, standing at his side, looked extremely grave.

This gave Jiraiya a deeply uneasy feeling.

"Great Toad Sage-sama, why have you summoned me?"

The Great Toad Sage's voice was completely devoid of his usual playfulness, stern and solemn as he spoke:

"Jiraiya… remember carefully what I'm about to say."

Jiraiya gulped a mouthful and nodded.

"The future has changed. A soul that was never meant to exist in fate has appeared. I don't know what it means, but in my dream, I saw him. He is about to make a move on the Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki. If he gathers the power of all nine, the entire ninja world will be destroyed."

"!!!"

Jiraiya was shocked. He wanted to ask more, but the Great Toad Sage had already fallen asleep, as if nothing had happened.

All Jiraiya could do was leave Mount Myōboku in confusion and deep worry.

And after he left, in a mysterious, pure realm beyond the living world,

"Hagoromo, I've carried out your request. Jiraiya should begin noticing soon. But… even you can't identify the origin of that strange soul?"

"No… I know where he comes from. What confuses me is how he escaped my control. But in any case, our plan must not be disrupted. It's not yet time for Mother to be revived, Indra and Asura have not yet fully matured..."

Before this white-haired elder, a transparent crystal orb hovered in the air. Inside the orb, the images of two figures shimmered, and before them lay a vast, still lake.