Naruto: What Kind of Starter Pack is 13 Years Late?

"Konoha is sending people to Amegakure?"

"That's right. According to intelligence, they are here to deliver the invitation for next year's joint Chunin Exams."

Inside a secret room beneath the steel buildings of Amegakure.

Nagato and Konan stared at Obito and Black Zetsu, surprised by the news.

However, after some thought, Nagato seemed to understand. After all, such a joint Chunin Exams was essentially a display of strength.

After the Third Great Ninja War ended, the Ninja World temporarily entered a period of peace, but necessary deterrence and displays were still needed.

Furthermore, for a village, its financial income, aside from the Daimyo's support, came from mission shares from various places.

Such a display could most directly showcase the talent and caliber of each village, attracting people from other places to allocate more mission shares to these villages.

Moreover, this kind of assessment would also attract Daimyos from various countries to observe, thereby determining future financial support.

Of course, for truly powerful villages, this was not something to consider too much, but it was also a competition for prestige.

Besides that…

It was about deterring and attracting other smaller nations!

Small nations often had no say, and under the pressure of large nations, they had to make some compromises and concessions.

In times of peace, what better and more direct way to observe the comprehensive strength of the major villages than through such a public joint Chunin Exams?

"Hmph, Konoha is as arrogant as ever." Nagato snorted coldly after understanding these matters.

"But this is good. After all, we were already planning to go to Konoha, and this is a good opportunity."

"Indeed, but if they are coming to Amegakure, their intentions are probably not simple." Obito spoke coldly.

"They most likely want to thoroughly investigate the specific situation of Amegakure and perhaps even want to meet Hanzo."

Black Zetsu also chimed in, his voice sounding somewhat solemn, "That's right. Although we obtained intelligence from Konoha in Hanzo's name, Hanzo has been dead for a long time."

"Konoha is not that easy to deal with."

"Hmph." Nagato snorted coldly.

He pondered for a moment before speaking, "Should I find Hanzo's corpse for disguise, and who are the people coming?"

Although Hanzo had been dead for several years, he was confident he could make use of him.

And he was very curious about who Konoha would send.

"I advise you not to, because Takemi is very likely among the people coming this time, so it's better to let us handle it."

Black Zetsu immediately shook his head upon hearing this, and Nagato's expression changed in that instant.

"Takemi?"

"That's right, he peeked into your secret, so it's hard to say your disguise won't be discovered."

"Indeed, Takemi is not just any trouble."

Nagato's fists clenched slightly, painful memories already flooding his mind.

But this instead made Nagato calm down. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke, "Perhaps, this time I can do something."

"Hmm?"

Obito frowned, not understanding what Nagato meant, and even Konan was somewhat puzzled.

"Nagato, do you have any plans?"

"We can prepare for the Chunin Exams in advance."

"Chunin Exams? You mean…"

"That's right, didn't you say it would be better to act after Danzo loses trust, and you can solve the problem with Hanzo."

Nagato looked at Black Zetsu and Obito, then slowly spoke, "Then the reception will be handed over to you. If necessary, you can remind them that the Land of Rain has always been watched."

"You can even say that perhaps someone in Konoha has also leaked intelligence, telling them to be careful."

"And once they leave the Land of Rain, I will make my move."

He was unwilling to let go of the grudge of Takemi shattering Yahiko's body, and to take revenge on Danzo, he must first make him lose trust to act more effectively.

Therefore, combining these two matters, now was a good opportunity.

"Won't this be too risky?"

Black Zetsu frowned in thought. In fact, he felt this plan was fine.

Even if it seemed deliberate, as an old schemer, he knew that a combination of truth and falsehood was the most deceptive.

If it succeeded, it could not only sever all ties between Amegakure and Akatsuki, but also make Danzo face scrutiny.

However, if it failed, the trouble would be immense. Furthermore, fighting Takemi and his companions also made Black Zetsu uneasy.

"And don't forget, there's also an 'Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki' lurking around, so isn't it better to be careful?"

"I have my own plans. I must do this, consider it an early investigation." After pondering for a moment, Nagato finally shook his head.

"This time, I will use all my Shadow Clones together. Whether I can kill him or not, I will at least figure out his actual situation. I want to investigate it myself."

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, he indeed had no confidence in killing Takemi. To truly do so, he would have to remain in Konoha.

What he wanted to do was personally test him to see what he was capable of, to prepare for the future.

As for letting Black Zetsu remind them, that was merely the arrogance of a 'god'.

He didn't believe that with all his Shadow Clones, he couldn't accomplish what he set out to do.

"The matter is settled. Go prepare."

"...Alright, I'll do my best."

Black Zetsu could only nod to Nagato's request.

Obito also spoke up, "Then for this operation, I'll go with the newly joined Kurotsuchi Raiga."

"He seems a bit unwilling. Although his adopted son was handed over to others, he seems completely unwilling."

"As you wish."

Nagato did not object, nodding in approval of the matter.

After discussing these points, the remaining matters were merely minor details. After a brief discussion, Obito and Black Zetsu left.

"What do you think of this time?"

After leaving Nagato's underground secret room, Obito said.

"Is it possible we'll encounter that guy again?"

"Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki?"

Black Zetsu was actually very worried, but after a moment of hesitation, he still said, "I'm not sure, but if it doesn't involve Tailed Beasts or other things, probably not."

"Is that so?"

Obito responded with some hesitation, and finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure there's no curse mark or anything like that on me?"

The last time he was inexplicably hit by a 'Heavenly Judgment,' he still remembered it vividly. He didn't want to encounter it again.

"We haven't found anything yet. Perhaps you were just unlucky and he happened to see you, since you were both near the Fire Temple." Black Zetsu was silent for a moment before speaking.

"But after such a long time, we haven't seen any movement from him, so the problem should be minor, and besides..."

At this point, Black Zetsu paused before slowly continuing, "I can't just do nothing because of this guy. How else can we achieve our goals?"

After saying this, he looked up at the sky.

This wasn't just directed at Obito, but also at himself.

(End of Chapter)

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