The cold was suffocating.

Of the entire group, only Sasori was unperturbed by the unnatural atmosphere Esdeath's ice wasteland exuded. Attributed to his puppet body. The warming seals Minato, Jiraiya and Orochimaru distributed could only combat the frigid weather up to a certain degree.

The uncomfortable weather crept under their skin, suffusing through their bodies and reminding them of how dangerous their opponent was.

They landed at the edge of the battlefield, watching the four enemies vigilantly. Holding back wasn't an option, for the ninjas believed that the dragon could easily wipe Konoha off the map.

No words were exchanged as the two sides collided.

Tatsumi unleashed a deafening roar. It tore the battlefield, ice breaking underneath the shockwave it produced. The ground shook, glass shattered, and buildings cracked. Esdeath created a barrier around her and the homunculi sisters, allowing the wave to wash over them.

Minato stabbed a Hiraishin kunai into the ground, gathered everyone, then flashed away just as the attack reached them. Once the attack washed over the Hiraishin seal, another flash appeared as the shinobi returned as a group.

The remaining summons shrugged off the shockwave and jumped at Tatsumi. With him occupied by four large beasts, the remaining Akatsuki members were forced to contend with their opponents alone.

Shards and ice fragments scattered into the air, Esdeath taking the opportunity to manipulate them and rain down a barrage on the ninja.

In response, Rasa gathered the kicked-up dust in the air, preparing to counter her. Little remained of his unique golden dust, forcing him to use another kind of material.

Two different waves clashed in the middle, fighting for supremacy.

Esdeath grinned. The ice wave slowly froze the dust wave from contact alone. But for a brief moment, the exchange blocked Esdeath's view on the ninja. Orochimaru threw a number of explosive tags, then flashed a handsign, triggering the hidden explosive seals he snuck behind the dust wave.

Ice and dust scattered from the explosion, opening a path to Esdeath.

"Needle Jizo!" Jiraiya's hair lengthened and shot a barrage of hardened strands at the Akatsuki member. Esdeath waved her hand, using the scattered ice around her to intercept the projectiles, knocking them in different directions.

Four puffs of smoke appeared around Esdeath, the replacement jutsu switching the places of four S-ranks with the needles. She was forced to twist her body, avoiding impalement from Sasori's blade. The blade coiled back, returning to the chamber that appeared from the stomach of his puppet body.

Tsunade attempted a punch, only to get caught by Esdeath's hand. Hiruzen launched an attack at her arm, forcing the woman to let go of his student.

Kushina summoned her chains, used them to boost herself beside Esdeath, who didn't expect the sudden burst of speed from midair. A powerful fist slammed into her side, throwing her into another direction.

Finally, an opening.

Esdeath's miscalculation gave Minato an opportunity to disengage from their fight, having been locked on to him from the very beginning. Their best chance to beat Akatsuki was to seperate them into individuals and using the superior number to their advantage.

But even with the four shinobi summons, they were still capable of keeping up. Tatsumi's sudden spike in size and strength was the larger threat to the village as it currently is.

With Esdeath pushed back, Minato didn't have to stay and help the group, opening up a window of opportunity for them.

Suddenly, on the other side of the fight, the Hiraishin seal Gamabunta carried flashed brightly, Minato appearing on top of him.

Tatsumi's eyes widened. The Yondaime was too close for him to dodge, his large size hindering his escape.


"Konan, we need support. NOW!" Eugen's voice urgently reached out.

Pein and his team watched as a sudden flash of yellow enveloped the dragon towering over Konoha, whisking away the other SS-ranked member off the battlefield.

This was bad.

"Konan, Yahiko, we're moving in."

Pein's Deva Path dashed forwards heading towards Konoha followed by his two compatriots.


Well, isn't this a familiar situation?

Shirou used his Mana Sight to read the positions of his pursuants. They were all around him now, coordinating together to trap him.

A few targeted areas with his traced explosive kunai barrage was all that was needed to open up a path, the Konoha teams pulling back as large sections of the forest exploded.

Shirou took a moment to confirm whether his package was still tucked safely within his pocket.

Pein's message to Jiraiya.

To anyone else who looked at it, the contents looked like a bunch of gibberish, and it wasn't clear who wrote the message, nor who was it for. But Shirou knew of a fact that this was some sort of code between the leader of Akatsuki and his former teacher, Jiraiya of the Sannin.

The window of opportunity was closing and Shirou didn't know how much longer he had left, before Tobi or Zetsu reached out to save him.

It had been a few minutes now, and Shirou was still nowhere close to identifying where Itachi was.

Dodge.

Shirou's instincts screamed at him, reinforcement pushed to his very limits as he jerked his body sideways, dodging an attack that would've fatally wounded him.

He quickly turned to face the new threat, shocked at how someone managed to sneak so close to him.

No. He didn't sneak.

It was almost as if the man teleported behind him. His presence, invisible all but up until the point when the shinobi appeared, striking at him with his katana.

Shirou was greeted with an Uchiha, glaring at him with his bloodline activated, the red pupils of the Sharing an staring back at his golden eyes.

A breeze rustled the forest, peacefully shaking leaves into a relaxing cacophony of sound around them, an opposite of the atmosphere between the two combatants.

Shirou activated his Mana Sight for a moment to check the shinobi perimeter around him. His eyes glowed slightly, an action his opponent considered a threat.

The katana-wielding man dashed in at speeds even Shirou would struggle to reach, slashing at him in fast, precise strokes. Shirou stuck his hand in his cloak pocket, keeping the illusion that he carried a storage seal, traced a kunai to block the attack. Their weapons clashed in the middle, a loud clang reverberating throughout the clearing. Shirou disengaged, backing off from the Uchiha, but found himself forced to parry a set of quick attacks, the man's swordsmanship far swifter than his reinforced movements. It took all of Shirou's experience and the skill of his teenage body just to keep up the defense, blocking and redirecting attacks he could, and letting others through when he couldn't.

This wasn't just any A-ranked shinobi, he was clearly an S-rank. One that wasn't listed appropriately according to the records Akatsuki had.

There could only be one Shinobi with such a status…

Shisui Uchiha, the only other Uchiha capable of matching Itachi.

A kick broke past Shirou's defense, slamming into his stomach and flooring him. He landed on the ground in a heap, rolling immediately to recover his stance. Only for a fist to slam into his side, tossing him into a tree.

Shirou danced around the tree, placing it between him and his attacker. From his understanding, Shisui had been sent in to deal with him alone, only a few other ninja, likely ANBU, to support him, judging from the change of the perimeter dynamics.

Change of plans.

Cobbling together a new scheme, Shirou changed his original target.

Jiraiya and Itachi weren't around? Shisui would do fine.

Shirou traced his own sword, a nondescript noble phantasm that boosted the defense of its wielder, just in time as Shisui appeared to his side, katana already in motion.

Clang.

"Why aren't you attacking me?"

Shirou glanced at Shisui, who held the lock between their weapons.

"Your defense is insane. Already comparable to an A+ rank, and at your age? Plus, you haven't used any of your opportunities to attack me."

"You misunderstand."

Shirou traced another kunai, wrapped around it, an explosive tag.

"I was holding back."

He tossed the kunai up between them, Shisui jerking back as he recognized the explosive tag.

Shirou attempted to stab him, deliberately aiming for an obvious opening. Shisui blocked the attempt, only to jump back as Shirou grabbed the kunai midair. Their situations switched, Shirou charging at the Uchiha with two weapons, pushing him back.

Not for long.

Shirou's experience and multiple forms of swordsmanship weren't able to breach the gap between him and Shisui, the far more powerful ninja slowly turning the tide. Even his speed was crazy, the katana flashing every which way. Shirou could only rely on his instincts to defend from the killing blows, having to move ahead of the attack.

Shisui charged forwards, overwhelming Shirou and pushing him back. Once again, he disengaged, throwing the kunai at the enemy. Shisui redirected the attack midair, the kunai flying into the tree behind him.

Suddenly, his instincts screamed for the second time. Shirou reinforced his body as Shisui suddenly disappeared, followed by a cut that broke through his side. Shirou leapt back, coughing blood as he held his right flank, a deep cut, slashing across his body.

The first true damage of the battle.

What was that?

It wasn't like any other technique Shirou had seen before. The closest would be the Sunshine no Jutsu, but even that paled in comparison to the speed he just witnessed.

Was this really the famed Shunshin no Shisui?

Dangerous. At his current physical ability, Shirou wouldn't be able to defend from it.

But he wouldn't have to.

"Helloooo~!"

"Tobi, you've just saved my life." Shirou breathed thankfully, the arrival of his supposed ally stopping the fight between them.

"Of course! What kind of teammate would I be if I let you die?" Tobi proudly announced from his position, having appeared out of thin air.

Faster than Shirou could react, a katana sliced through Tobi.

Or, it should've sliced through Tobi, except that the katana simply phased through him like a mirage.

Shirou's eyes widened at the implications. He hadn't expected Tobi to have this kind of ability.

This could be a problem down the line.

"You are under arrest for attempting to unseal the Kyuubi on Konoha thirteen years ago." Shisui seethed with barely contained rage, his voice dipping beyond mere threat.

"Ehe. Woops?" Tobi looked my way. "Lunea has been picked up by Zetsu, if you head towards the walls, you will find him."

"What about you?" Shirou asked.

"I'll fight Shisui-chan! It's so rare for our kind of shinobi to meet after all!

The cheerful voice of Tobi prickled Shirou's instincts. He opted to get out of the area before things got real bad.

Shirou hobbled away, clutching a hand to his bleeding side.

Once he was gone, Tobi turned to face Shisui.

"Let's see how much you've improved…on the Mangekyou, boy."

Two pairs of eyes flashed, Sharingan mutating into their evolved forms.

Instantly, Shisui flickered, running through Tobi with his katana.

"Fast, but not fast enough, cousin. How can you be worthy of the Mangekyou if you aren't able to use its abilities?" Tobi taunted.

Shisui growled, attacking his fellow Mangekyou user.

The sounds of battle in the clearing echoed as the two Uchiha fought.

In the tree behind them, a traced kunai was left forgotten. Slipped underneath its explosive tag, lay Pein's message, a hastily sketched Mangekyou Sharingan in one corner.

Shirou's mission had been accomplished.

There was no chance the Konoha forces wouldn't sweep past the obliterated areas for evidence, and once they discover his kunai, Shisui would jump at the weapon.

Which by extension means…

Itachi.


Minato was exhausted.

He had used Hiraishin to transport not only a dragon, but also three other summons. At least, Gamabunta was easily summoned using his contract with the toads.

The dragon was now far away from Konoha, and was fighting the four summons.

Time for him to return.

Once he flashed back, all hell had broken loose.

Minato braced himself behind cover as a literal wave of ice and debris slammed into his position. The storm lasted for a few seconds, before he saw the light of day again. He peeked over the cover, eyes widening in horror.

An entire sector of Konoha had been wiped out.

In its midst, the number of black cloaked silhouettes had more than doubled.

They had just managed to drive away one member…now where three remained, five more suddenly showed up.

Five.

They had barely even pushed back the four members from the vanguard team.

As Minato came closer, both sides of the conflict had a brief lull in combat. Konoha and its allied S-ranks sat back, while the same could be said for Akatsuki. He landed beside his wife, who was holding herself back from attacking their enemies. She wasn't the only one showing emotion, as even Jiraiya carried a grim face, looking into the eyes of his other students.

"Stand down. We need to wait for Minato's decision." Hiruzen ordered Konoha's S-ranks, Rasa and Sasori withholding as well.

They were outgunned and they knew it.

The sheer power of Pein's Deva Path had shocked them all, and they doubted they could continue fighting at the sudden turn of events.

Akatsuki brought three SS-ranks to Konoha.

"Hmph. Konoha sure knows how to put up a fight. If we didn't have back up, we'd probably have lost right away." Esdeath grinned from her position. Stretching her arms, as if the entire fight had been one fun event.

Behind her, the rest of their team had arrived.

The Deva Path, Yahiko, Konan, and Zetsu appearing from the ground with Lunea.

Tatsumi may have been teleported away, but at least the remaining three from the assault party didn't have to face an overwhelming disadvantage in numbers.

Together, the eight of them matched the Konoha faction's numbers. But at that point, the balance of power had heavily tipped to the side of Akatsuki.

"Yondaime Hokage, it's a pleasure to finally meet Jiraiya-sensei's prized student."

Minato took in the appearance of his senior, an older student of his master.

Hair dyed red, purple ringed eyes, and a powerful atmosphere.

This man was dangerous.

"I can't say the same after what you've done to my home." Minato replied, his voice tinged with forced calmness.

"This was a warning. We cannot let Konoha interfere in our plans any longer."

Interfere? Konoha has not had-

Danzo.

Minato exchanged glances with Jiraiya and Hiruzen, both of which had caught on to the only possibility that Konoha could get dragged into a conflicting position against Akatsuki.

"You did all this just to threaten us? Invading Konoha, destroying the village?" Hiruzen asked. "This will only make Akatsuki a threat all villages would watch out for."

"We needed an example. So that no other villages would think twice about helping Hanzo."

It was all about the rumored war gearing up in Amegakure. Practically all shinobi villages knew about it already, and were planning to profit off by playing the two sides against each other. Hanzo was an SS-rank with a village underneath him, and Akatsuki had a small number of rebels, with their core organization being made up of powerful criminals.

But after today, no shinobi village would attempt to take advantage of the opportunities, not when Akatsuki has three SS-ranks, and are capable of assaulting even the five major villages.

"What is needed for you to leave the village? We can discuss the terms, but we will not agree if it means bloodshed. It is against Konoha's will."

"Meet us a month after you have reconvened with your council. Jiraiya will be our intermediary."

Jiraiya was surprised at Pein's suggestion. Despite the change in his former student, was he still considered trustworthy enough? It was both heartwarming, yet painful, seeing how Nagato had transformed into what he was.

Behind them, the Zetsu clone narrowed his eyes.

Tobi will want to hear of this.


Shirou trudged into the clearing filled with Zetsu clones.

A whole group of them had taken over the area, their numerous distinctive white bodies easily recognizable from a distance. This was the backup Shirou requested earlier, here to help extract him from the village, even carrying him if he asked, but his pride wouldn't allow that.

Pride, how weird.

The only pride Shirou remembered in his previous life was his culinary skills, but his second chance awakened him to the other human experiences.

He wasn't the same Shirou Emiya from his previous world.

"Shirou, do you need help?" One of the clones offered once he got closer.

Shirou's wound was visible from the bloodied bandage wrapped around his body. The wound wasn't fatal, but it was enough to hinder his movements. It only proved the strength of his opponent, Shinshun no Shisui.

"I can deal with it. Better if the rest of you could focus on keeping us safe."

The clone nodded, returning to his post along with the other clones.

Shirou wasn't going to let Zetsu come close to him if he could help it. Not since learning of his connection to Tobi. The both of them were a dangerous pair of enemies he would prefer to distance himself from.

"Zetsu, what's the status of the assault team?"

"Tatsumi has been teleported out of Mondstadt by the Yondaime, location unknown. The reserve team has entered the battlefield and has regrouped with the assault team. Discussions are in place for a ceasefire."

So Pein decided to intervene himself.

"That makes things easier…"

Shirou wondered if Pein could slip his message to Jiraiya, but it would be difficult with that many eyes.

Shirou started walking in the direction of the walls, finally eager to leave the hidden village.

"Zetsu? Why aren't you moving?"

Just because Shirou was with a comrade, doesn't mean that he became complacent, still applying Mana Sight in short instances to keep track of the surroundings.

And most of the Zetsu clones were still standing in place, with a few grouping together ahead of him. The fact that they weren't grouping behind him towards the direction of the Konoha ninja, gave him an ominous feeling.

"I'm afraid we still have a problem to deal with."

Shirou blinked. He couldn't imagine dealing with a problem while inside Konoha. Surely tackling the problem after leaving the hidden village would be the safer option?

"We can deal with it once we leave the area. It's too dangerous to keep staying here."

"No, we deal with it now."

He turned around to face the third voice, who wasn't in the area when he arrived.

"Tobi? You're done fighting Shisui?"

"Hehe, yeah. He was a lot of fun to play with!" The cheerful Akatsuki member answered.

Shirou narrowed his eyes, senses tingling.

Danger.

'Trace On.'

He did a full scan of the area, including the man in front of him.

"You're not Tobi."

The person in front of him differed from the real Tobi, instead, his body composition looked exactly like that of Zetsu's with a small difference. So the question was, why would Zetsu replicate an Akatsuki member?

"W-what! I am Tobi! I'm the real one!" He persisted.

"Impressive…so you can tell if I'm real or not…"

Shirou's nerves were on high alert now. He slowly turned to face the real Tobi, who had appeared out of nowhere. He forced his stance to stay relaxed, trying to avoid alerting Tobi of his caution. The sudden shift in his comrade's usual tone sent warning signs alarming through his mind.

The situation was bad, surrounded on all sides by Zetsu, and Tobi looking more and more like a threat.

He stayed silent, watching for the next move Tobi, the clone, and Zetsu would do.

"Surprised are we? For a kid, you hide your emotions well." The Akatsuki member uttered, while the clone lost his colors, turning into a pale white resembling the shade of Zetsu.

"Is there something you need from me, Tobi? Shirou quickly jumped to the subject.

Tobi tossed Shirou a weapon. Not just any weapon, but the exact same kunai he traced for the fight with Shisui.

Without the hidden message.

"I suggest leaving no evidence for the Konoha shinobi next time."

Shirou swallowed the lump down his throat. How had Tobi found out about the kunai? He shouldn't have noticed anything special about a random weapon. It was clear that his betrayal had been found out.

Cornered and with no other choice, Shirou was forced to play along with whatever Tobi had in mind.

"Shirou, is there something you want to tell us? Snooping around where you're not supposed to is a very bad thing to do." Tobi continued.

Shirou inhaled a deep breath. There wasn't any way out of the situation, his injuries slowing him down, and against two, possibly three, S-ranks. The white clone was still sticking around, carrying the same mask Tobi was.

Just who was this third person? It wasn't Zetsu, because while he carried the same mana as the environment, his physical composition was different.

"Nothing? Fine then, would you mind telling me what this is?" Tobi pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, the very same message Shirou left behind for Shisui to find.

He continued to stay silent, slowly preparing his magic for the inevitable fight.

"I have no idea how you managed to find out about the Gedo Mazo and its connection to the nine bijuus, but going as far as alerting Konoha about it?"

Shirou released the breath he was holding. Tobi had fallen for the fake message, and that was all he needed to know.

"That Gedo Mazo is dangerous. So why does Akatsuki have it?"

It was the same argument he used with Heinrich and Eugen, but now it was a weapon he could use to fool Tobi.

In reality, Shirou made several contingencies to pass along Pein's message to Jiraiya. The truth was that he sent it using another method, replacing the message in the kunai with his own.

The content of Pein's message was not anything dangerous, only a coded message that Shirou couldn't decrypt, and as such, had no idea about the content.

Tobi wouldn't see it that way. Tobi would see the message from Pein as a direct betrayal to him. But not by Pein, it would look as if Shirou attempted to send Konoha a coded message.

So he doubled down.

Shirou replaced Pein's message with his discovery of the Gedo Mazo, alerting Konoha of the threat.

He fully intended to fail from the very beginning.

That was why he locked Lunea down, showing Tobi and Zetsu that he was acting alone. He couldn't let his friend take the fall with him.

Replacing the message did two things.

One, it revealed Shirou's true allegiance. That he was willing to betray Akatsuki, a cover he was perfectly willing to adapt.

Two, it protected Pein and his faction. With Tobi's attention on Shirou's betrayal, his eyes wouldn't be on the other members. Hiding their

If it meant increasing the chance to take down the Gedo Mazo, Shirou would willingly take the fall.

No more words needed to be said.

It was time to reinforce the facade of his betrayal.

Shirou reinforced his body, dashing backwards into the trees. He aimed for the direction of the Konoha shinobi, away from the congested Zetsu clones. Suddenly, the trees behind him shook and grew, blocking the path he intended to use. Shirou forcefully twisted his body despite the pain, avoiding the kunai Tobi threw at him.

"Oh wow! He's pretty fast!" The white Tobi clone exclaimed excitedly.

But not fast enough.

Shirou barely braced himself as Tobi reached him, slamming a kick into his injured side. He hissed in pain, flying through the air and maneuvering to land on his feet. Tobi shot another kunai at him, Shirou forced to trace his own to deflect the projectile. He overloaded the traced kunai with prana, throwing the weapon at his assailant. Tobi didn't even move, letting the kunai phase past him, landing into the ground.

"Are you still going to fight? You can barely keep up."

Shirou grabbed the large rock closest to him, his reinforced muscles easily carrying the body-sized boulder with one arm. He had never shown Akatsuki the true extent of his reinforcement abilities, only using them to keep up with the faster members. He flung the stone at Tobi, watching the same thing happen, the large boulder phasing past him.

"It's hopeless, Shirou. You won't hit me."

Tobi began walking towards him slowly, Shirou walking backwards to keep his distance. But there was no escape, and the Zetsu clones were behind him, stopping him from escaping.

There was only one way this would end. Shirou doubted Tobi would let him survive after this betrayal, and killing him here would just easily be attributed to Konoha's shinobi.

The girls wouldn't even know the truth behind his death.

Time to use one of his hidden trump cards.

Shirou traced a noble phantasm in front of Tobi's eyes. Underneath the mask, the man's eyes widened in surprise at the reveal of a secret technique. The noble phantasm wasn't anything special, just an unnamed sword that enchants the user with increased speed and agility.

But with Shirou's reinforced body? He doubted even Tobi and Zetsu could keep up.

With a burst of speed, Shirou launched himself to the side, jumping on the trees with speed that even Zetsu found difficult to catch. The trees started moving, but were too slow to stop the escaping teenager.

Shirou made some distance before Tobi appeared in front of him, stabbing forwards with a kunai. He twisted easily, and tried to ram his strengthened fist into his stomach, only for it to phase through.

What the hell is this?

Tobi reached out to grab him, Shirou quickly dancing away from the hand. His Mana Sight activated, reading the environment. Zetsu and the weird clone were chasing now, their heightened mana signatures moving to his location.

Shirou attempted to escape again, dashing into the rampaging forest. But he didn't get far, Tobi appearing in front of him again. This time, Tobi lobbed an explosive tag at Shirou, the boy was forced to brace, still too slow to avoid the point blank explosion.

Just because his body was reinforced, doesn't mean that he was immune to damage. The point blank explosion hit harder than he expected, blowing him back several meters. Shirou crashed into the ground while coughing blood, still holding on to the noble phantasm.

Tobi emerged from the smoke, not bothered by it. He walked over to Shirou's trembling form and kicked his side before he could react. His world flashed white briefly, the pain overwhelming.

A stronger body didn't lessen pain.

He rolled away, climbing to his knees before Tobi swiped it from under him, crashing him back into the ground again. Another stomp smashed against his wound, drawing a cry of pain from him.

Just a little longer.

Shirou's Mana Sight could see the energy of a shinobi contingent burning their way through the forest, and a glowing purple skeleton leading the charge.

If he was going to survive, then he only needed to last long enough for them to reach him.

He crawled to his knees, shaking as he did so.

"I can't let you live, Shirou. Not after what you've learned."

Tobi walked forward, suddenly pausing midstep. His eyes widened, as his instincts screamed.

But it was too late.

Shirou had stabbed the materialized Black Key into his shadow, momentarily stunning Tobi.

Unlike him, Tobi's body wasn't reinforced, and couldn't tank damage as well as him.

So when Shirou used Tobi's surprise at being frozen as an opportunity, he activated the traced explosive kunai hidden underneath a mound of dust.

Blowing him and Tobi up.


"Tobi, where is Shirou?"

The Akatsuki members regrouped dozens of kilometers away from Konoha, waiting for their last two members.

When Tobi arrived, he was being half carried by a Zetsu clone. The man was burnt badly, limping, and bleeding from many injuries.

Tobi couldn't even keep up the same upbeat tone of voice, his injuries drawing on the last vestiges of his energy.

"W-we couldn't escape safely…Itachi and Shisui caught us near the walls." He coughed out. "Shirou was on the ground last I saw, I have no idea if he's alive or not."

In other words, Shirou was either dead or captured.

Lunea screamed, vision turning red with rage as she tried to jump on him, but was held back by Heinrich.

"You fucking bastard. You had Zetsu clones with you." Eugen growled out. Grabbing the injured member and jerking him forwards.

"Eugen, enough." Pein voiced out.

The girl glared for a moment, releasing Tobi and stomping back to her sister.

"Regardless of what happened to Shirou, the plan must move forward. We shall await news, and if he is indeed dead, mourn for our comrade."

Pein looked over the grouped members, eyeing the ragged but relatively intact organization.

"In one weeks time, we begin the war. Hanzo cannot preside over Amegakure any longer."

In the background, Lunea cried as she collapsed on her knees, the two sisters comforting the younger girl.


"How is he?"

"Bad. He was already injured from the previous fight with Shisui Uchiha, but the explosion afterwards put him in a critical condition."

Tsunade reviewed her medical chart, along with the mission reports of shinobi who faced the captured Akatsuki member.

"Do we have any idea why they fought?"

Tsunade shook her head. When Itachi and Shisui arrived, they had found not only one Akatsuki member, but two. Both of which Shisui identified as enemies he fought.

So why were they fighting?

On one side was a teenager and on another was the man who attempted to unleash the Kyuubi on Konoha. They knew some of his capabilities, including his apparent intangibility, negating all attacks on him.

For a young teen to injure Tobi where Konoha has failed, spoke volumes of his ability.

"To think Akatsuki had members this young…hearing about them was one thing, but seeing it is another."

Across her, Jiraiya crossed his arms. He had taught the three Amegakure orphans, and seeing them establish such an organization made his heart ache. But to even go as far as induct children into their ranks was something he had never imagined.

Not to mention this was an established member, for Akatsuki stopped accepting applicants after their last two.

Tatsumi and Esdeath, two SS-ranks.

No wonder Akatsuki didn't need more members, even the perceived weakest, an A-rank in the bingo books was this dangerous.

"Minato is calling me for a meeting. I'll be back to update you on everything." Jiraiya left the specially designed jail cell for the highest caliber of prisoners, an underground section of Konoha's prison.

By the time he arrived at the council room, he could hear the chaos unfolding within.

That was to be expected. The civilian council would be up in arms about the invasion, and with Minato's agreement to a ceasefire, would be naturally pissed. Many would want revenge, with only a few being content with successfully surviving the ordeal.

Jiraiya opened the door, banging it loudly against the frame.

"Shut the fuck up for once and listen you idiots!" He roared while stomping into the room, using a special toad technique to enhance his vocal chords to insane levels.

"If you want revenge, we'll happily send you to Amegakure. Good luck fighting Pein, Esdeath, and that dragon."

"Jiraiya, thank you for intervening." Minato expressed his gratitude.

The shinobi and civillian council sat across from each other, one side miserable, the other pissed.

"As I have said earlier, I have agreed to a short ceasefire. Akatsuki offered us a discussion on their terms, with Jiraiya being our middleman." Minato clarified.

"And what good would that do? Aside from a little more time, Akatsuki has us on the ropes, and we're going to be busy with the reconstruction of the village." One civillian member uttered, shuffling through the reports of damages all over the village.

"Akatsuki has no interest in continuing the attack. At most, they want our assurance not to swoop in and save Amegakure from their rebellion." Hiruzen stated from his position. The Sandaime may have retired, but he was still very much an active member in advising the council.

"Even if they want more, have faith in our ability to hash out an agreement with them. Akatsuki cannot be treated like a threat, but rather like a power on par with the major villages."

The meeting took two hours to finish, going over damages and where the resource allocation would be directed.

But after the civillian council left, the shinobi clans stayed to discuss the attack.

"Now then, let's talk about the reason Akatsuki attacked." Minato nodded to his ANBU commander, Kakashi Hatake, to take the stage.

Kakashi brought out an envelope, opened the contents and placed it in the middle of the table.

"This mail was received by the Narumi Namikaze a few days after the invasion, with the courier claiming it came through Uzushiogakure."

Minato didn't like the idea of an enemy contacting them through his daughter, but the mail contained some damning information, suspiciously specific for only one person to read.

Jiraiya frowned.

"Kakashi, that paper on top, what is that?"

"We ran it through our intelligence department, but couldn't break the decryption. Whatever it is, it resembles your personal cipher, but seems altered heavily." Kakashi uttered, a blush appearing underneath his mask, which no one saw.

Of course it was altered heavily, Jiraiya himself created this cryptogram as a gag based on his own work, replacing the format it was written in.

Only a few people knew of it, mostly those outside of Konoha, used as a way to interact with him secretly.

But to the rest, it would only seem like a normal, yet rather perverted message.

For the paper on top was a fan mail about Icha Icha Paradise and on the bottom was a signature from…

Nagato Uzumaki.

To anyone else, opening the package would only expose a highly perverted fan mail awaiting the next installment of the series.

Jiraiya picked up the paper, reading through the contents seriously. The rest of the shinobi clan heads watched him scan the paper, his face grim.

"Jiraiya, would you mind sharing what it contains?" Minato asked.

"It's a location. Pein just sent me a location to pick up a package."

"From Pein?" Fugaku Uchiha, the father of one Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, asked with surprise.

"It's his name back when I trained him as an orphan."

"What about the other one? Seems like another message." Hiashi Hyuga noted, the second and third pages being more fan mail, but from a different person.

Roushi Fujimura.

Jiraiya also picked the second and third up, reading through them.

"These don't carry a code, they're literally fan mail."

It must be said that Shirou took his research seriously. Studying Pein's message and using source materials to replicate the context that an avid fan would've written.

Which meant reading through some Icha Icha Paradise volumes before writing his own message.

Oh the pain Shirou had to endure just to build a cover.

Jiraiya frowned, picked up the closest cup of water and dumped it on the paper. Suddenly, the contents shifted, washing away the fake message, exposing the true one underneath.

Roushi Fujimura turned into Shirou Emiya.

The council's eyes hardened at the name, knowing that the first name matched the identity of their captured Akatsuki member.

"If you read this message, please don't kill me. Nor release any information about my survival to Akatsuki." Jiraiya read out loud.

The mood stayed silent as Jiraiya read the contents to the rest.

He did the same for the third paper.

At that point, even the lazy Nara clan head was alert, sitting straight on his chair while absorbing the information.

"He planned to get captured from the very beginning."

In Shirou's message, he wrote down his discovery of the Gedo Mazo, along with the exact plan of the invasion to prove his identity. Furthermore, it even contained his objective to break away from Akatsuki.

"H-he what?!" Hiashi coughed out. Shocked by the extreme detail that went into Shirou's deviation and contingency plans to get himself caught.

"How do you know?" Minato asked Shikaku.

"It looks very solid from my point of view, something even I would be impressed at. Not only that, but the sheer effort he put into planning at least five different possibilities for each section meant he thoroughly worked out most scenarios."

Nara himself shivered at the scheme. It was like seeing someone with the intelligence on par with a Nara, combined with the work ethic of an overachiever.

Scary.

"See here? It even specifies fighting other members if it meant escaping." Nara pointed to a section on the paper, which included the names of Tobi and Zetsu.

"He's an A-rank in his teens, but with enough insight to even predict our reactions, in addition to the movements of his allies."

Several council members shivered at the threat Shirou represented.

How could someone so young be so dangerous?

"Can we send someone to interrogate him?" Fugaku asked.

"He's recovering from his injuries. I'll go myself once he awakens." Jiraiya answered.

The kid was a treasure trove of information, but to gain that information would need an expert of his caliber.


Author's Note

The last few chapters are utter garbage in my opinion. So I took some time with this one to improve it. Don't worry, I'm not dropping this fic any time soon.

We are now entering the final stages of volume 2, and I can't wait to begin on volume 3.