Plots and Plans.

3 HOURS LATER

Zetsu was moving through the ground, he, in contrast to Obito, was giddy with glee at this outcome, while losing Nagato was unexpected, Obito was now almost fully made up of White Zetsu flesh, and once he implanted the Rinnegan into him, he would be an almost perfect vessel for Mother.

More than that, he had access to Obito for hours while he was unconscious from his injuries, Black Zetsu had taken some creative liberties with the White Zetsu he had used, a little seed was planted deep.

All he had to do was find a source of Chakra large enough to serve as a replacement for the incomplete Tailed Beasts, but that shouldn't be too difficult, he knew of many different places where Chakra could be found.

A thousand years of life meant he knew secrets hidden beyond anyone's reach.

It grated at him that he would not be able to resurrect Mother at full power, but this new plan removed the variable that was Madara, and left Obito very vulnerable to betrayal.

The part of the plan he always disliked was the reliance on Madara and Obito, they were both willful people with sharp intuition, making an early resurrection risky, he had always prioritized patience over speed.

Over the centuries of manipulation, he learned that the most successful attempts relied on people who thought that their own plans were being put in motion, the times when he revealed himself did not end well, Indra's Reincarnations always had a tendency to go out in a blaze of spite if they found out about his manipulations.

But now Obito was being slowly shaped into a perfect vessel, unaware that his new flesh would be his doom.

As long as he wasn't foolish, and played his cards right, he could set up a situation where Obito would become a sacrificial lamb for Mother without triggering a war full of new variables and complications.

Black Zetsu wanted to laugh, after 1000 years of failed plans upon failed plans, he finally had some good fortune.

Mother's resurrection was in sight, finally, after so long.

But before he got too excited, he needed a way to store the collected Chakra.

And he had a way to create an army of bodies, an army of bodies that could learn how to draw seals.

Seals that could store Chakra.

***

2 WEEKS LATER

Sara was looking over the caravan, from her hilltop perch, she could see everyone preparing for departure, it was time to move on again.

Himiko was sitting next to her, eyes also glued to the people below them.

Her daughter had spent almost every waking moment by her side, even when the news of her recovery had spread through the camp like wildfire and an almost week-long festival had started.

She understood, Sara herself did the same when Himiko was born, any second she was not in the same room as her, she would have an irrational fear that Himiko would just disappear into thin air.

She was interrupted from her quiet enjoyments of the festivities below her by a dark shape flying over the horizon.

Sara instantly stood up, recognizing the being flying towards them. It was one of those 'Star-Eaters' her notebook mentioned, there was little else that looked the same, a large wingless body, the head of a crow, three golden eyes...

Himiko's startled gasp meant she was not the only one to see the strange being. She put a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder.

It landed gracefully in front of the palanquin Sara had been sitting in, it's massive size dwarfing her own.

She bowed at the waist deeply, but prepared herself, her people's safety came first, and with Shinobi running around every corner, this Star-Eater could be an impostor, even if it seemed unlikely.

"Greetings." The creature's voice was deep, but polite. "My name is Yatagarasu, I am here to inform you that Rōran will be rebuilt."

Sara straightened up and stared at Yatagarasu in surprise.

Her earlier suspicions slapped out of her head by the unexpected declaration.

Rōran? Rebuilt?

She felt hope bubbling up within herself as she looked Yatagarasu in its eyes. It wasn't joking.

It was a dream she had many times, but logistically it never worked, they lacked the raw materials needed to do so, and without the constant moving they did they would run out of food due to the Land of Wind's harsh climate.

A part of her wanted to accept the words as they were said, but her responsibility to her people kept her from doing so.

"How would we feed ourselves?" She questioned intently.

Yatagarasu tilted its head and let out a thrill, she thought it sounded approving.

"A caravan is leaving The Land of Waves at this very moment, it will be loaded 200 tons of food, enough to feed your people until the new farmland is established, regular expeditions will also be sent out..."

Yatagarasu and Sara talked for quite a while, even Himiko's awe had faded after the first half an hour of logistical planning.

But eventually, she was satisfied.

Sara gathered her people. They stood before her as she prepared to make an announcement. She reinforced her throat with the blessing granted to her by The Watcher, a trick she had figured out years ago.

"MY PEOPLE!" Her voice boomed across the entire caravan. "IT IS TIME TO RETURN TO RŌRAN! OUR HOMELAND WILL BE REBORN!"

A cheer went up amongst the crowd, many happy tears were shed at the proclamation.

Most here remembered Rōran as it was before it became a ruin, for some they had lived in Rōran for decades, for others it was a childhood memory that faded with time.

But all of them held the dream of returning, that they had a place to belong, and now that dream would come true.

***

Haruka looked over the gathered expedition crew, 1000 strong, some of the best workers Wave had to offer, their job was simple, but monumental. They needed to rebuild a city that had fallen into ruin.

She was just waiting for the final confirmation.

Thankfully, even thought the message was late, she saw a crow descend from the sky towards her.

She recognized this one, one of the younger members of the Crow Clan, he loved flying, and thus was tasked many times with bringing messages back and forth.

If he was here, then Shun must have received a response from Yatagarasu about the status of Rōran.

As he landed on her offered arm, he chirped happily as she stroked his head.

"So, what is the news?"

"The Queen of Rōran accepts The Watcher's offer, she will lead her people back to their homeland." The crow spoke in the most serious voice he could, which wasn't very serious at all. He was much too small for that.

"Good work." Haruka complimented him. "Now go have some fun, you've waited around enough for today."

The crow nodded with another chirp before flying off.

Haruka turned to face the expedition crew and whistled loudly to gain everyone's attention.

"EVERYONE, OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE SEA HAVE ACCEPTED OUR AID! RŌRAN SHALL BE REBUILT!" She announced loudly, making sure everyone could hear her.

A loud cheer went up amongst the assembled people, they had been waiting for the confirmation for a while now, and they were excited to finally leave.

The caravan started slowly moving, loaded up with food and building materials and surrounded by almost 100 Initiates and almost a dozen Acolytes. Enough to protect it from anything short of a war.

As the procession left Wave, Haruka felt satisfaction flow through her.

Wave really had changed, even before Gatō's takeover, a group like this could have never happened.

But now it was a mild expense, not even putting a strain on their food or money, Wave really progressed so much in so little time.

"Praise the Watcher."

Those words were echoed by everyone who heard them, how could anyone not? Without Him, Wave would still be languishing in its own misery, at the mercy of those more powerful than it.