Chapter 201

The lively and uplifting sound of a flute echoed along the road, like a bluebird riding the wind, drifting far away.

While on his journey, Gensou slowed his steps, glancing at the long caravan beside him. An artist, wandering and playing his flute joyfully, caught his attention.

The melody was beautiful.

For once, Gensou slowed his pace, tilting his ear to listen.

When the song ended, applause erupted from the gathered crowd.

Gensou nodded in approval. Just as he was about to leave, his gaze swept over one of the guards by the caravan.

The guard seemed no different from anyone else, but as soon as Gensou appeared, his heartbeat quickened.

Now, it was even faster.

Gensou retracted his gaze and continued on his way.

A few minutes later, the guard, confident that the figure had moved far enough away, sighed in relief and quickly whispered to those beside him, "I'm going to the restroom."

He stepped into the dense forest lining the road and pulled out a scroll, writing: "Spotted Gensou. Time and location."

Just as he was about to perform the summoning technique, a hand rested on his shoulder, and a pair of eyes met his.

Without even a moment to feel shock or fear, the guard lost consciousness instantly.

"Konoha's ANBU has been very active lately," Gensou said thoughtfully as flames arose in his palm, quickly burning the guard's freshly written scroll.

On his way to Mount Katsuragi, he had already encountered several groups of Konoha shinobi.

Initially, he thought they were on some kind of mission, but now it was clear. These people had only one goal—to find the whereabouts of New Jomae Village.

Among the search teams, not only were there openly uniformed Konoha shinobi, but also undercover agents blending into the world of shinobi, like this guard.

The intensity of this search was far beyond that of the past two years.

Gensou had gleaned a significant amount of information from the guard's mind.

It wasn't just Konoha. The other four major shinobi villages and even the smaller villages under their control had mobilized the majority of their forces, both openly and covertly, in a bid to uncover the location of Jomae Village.

Individually, the power of a shinobi village may not seem impressive.

But war—that was their forte.

Now, the five major villages were trying to shift the situation to their most familiar battlefield.

"This reaction is quite intense. Have the five great shinobi villages finally realized that they're no longer the players controlling the pieces on the board?" Gensou chuckled but didn't dwell on it too much.

His current objective remained the key to all of his plans—the Rinnegan!

"I'll deal with you bigger fish later," Gensou muttered as he disappeared, moving swiftly once more.

While Gensou himself paid it little mind, the sudden massive search by the five great shinobi villages caused trouble for many others.

Pain, also on the move, sensed the strange happenings in the shinobi world. After extracting the memories of several Konoha shinobi using the Human Path, he roughly understood the situation.

"So, the entire shinobi world is searching for Gensou's forces? That's fine."

If White Zetsu had discovered the location of New Jomae Village, he wouldn't have minded spreading the information to fan the flames.

But now...

Pain paused, rubbing the ring on his finger.

Soon, the members of the Akatsuki, upon receiving the notification, appeared beside him in their holographic forms.

"What's the matter, Leader?" Kisame, who was on leave after his teammate Itachi's death, asked curiously.

Pain replied calmly, "The five great shinobi villages are now focusing all their efforts on searching for Gensou's forces. Everyone should be more cautious for the time being. If things seem off, you can put your tasks on hold."

Pain hadn't forgotten that his subordinates were all S-rank missing-nin. If they were caught by shinobi from the major villages, especially given the current mobilization levels, it wouldn't end well.

Until the mission of capturing the tailed beasts was completed, keeping everyone intact was the best course of action.

"Great!" Deidara was the first to voice his agreement. "I've been flying over the ocean for days! I'm exhausted. I'll take this opportunity to rest. Hmm!"

"I was already resting. Since the Leader says so, I'll just rest a bit longer," Kisame chuckled.

Hearing that, Deidara turned to Kisame and asked, "Are you still soaking in the hot springs of the Land of Hot Water, on that famous street of bathhouses?"

Kisame had mentioned during the last meeting that he was going to take a vacation in the Land of Hot Water, and Deidara had been "curious" about it.

Now, with the perfect opportunity, he wanted to confirm Kisame's location.

Kisame, never suspecting Deidara's motives, nodded without hesitation. "Why? You want to come too?"

Deidara grinned. "Of course! That street is part of my artistic vision!"

Knowing all too well what Deidara meant by "art," Kisame quickly waved him off. "You better not."

On the other side, Kakuzu reported to Pain, "We've tracked the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails to the Iwadan Mountains in the Land of Earth. We've already arrived and will proceed cautiously."

Pain nodded.

He had merely issued a reminder. He wouldn't stop Akatsuki members from carrying out their plans if they were confident.

"The message has been delivered. Dismissed."

Without another word, Pain's holographic form vanished, and he continued on his way, his objective unchanged.

While others might fear the power of the shinobi villages...

He was different.

If discovered, he'd simply eliminate them.

No one could escape the gaze of the Rinnegan.

...

At the same time.

On a distant coastline...

"The hot spring street in the Land of Hot Water and the Iwadan Mountains in the Land of Earth... Thank you, Kisame, Kakuzu, and the Leader."

Deidara, feeling thrilled with his first time as a spy, gleefully wrote down the intel on a tiny bird he created and secretly let it fly away.

After completing everything, he joyfully returned to where Sasori was.

Sasori shot Deidara a sideways glance.

For some reason, this guy had been randomly grinning lately.

"Deidara, are you sure you're not sick?" Sasori asked coldly, distancing himself.

Deidara patted his chest. "Of course not! Brother Sasori, I've got an amazing art piece in mind. When the time comes, you'll be shocked! Hmm!"

Deidara eagerly anticipated Sasori's reaction when he eventually revealed, "I'm a spy."

Such a wonderful artistic moment, happening between two artists.

Just the thought made him excited!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Loud explosions echoed within Mount Sumeru.

"There's a secret base here!"

"There are shinobi! It's likely the target, New Jomae Village!"

"Gather more people! Seal the area, quick!"

...

People's circumstances were different.

The five great shinobi villages had yet to find Gensou or the Akatsuki, but by chance, they stumbled upon another individual.

Sitting at home, Utakata was bewildered as he watched the rising shinobi techniques drawing closer and the large number of shinobi behind them.

"Was this really necessary? I've been out of the shinobi world for years," Utakata murmured, still unsure what had just happened.

(End of Chapter)

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