Chapter 159: Smug Zetsu

A merchant caravan moved unhurriedly along the road from Amegakure to Iwagakure.

At that moment, Senshi's party was resting in the final carriage of the caravan, leisurely enjoying the journey.

This escort mission wasn't taken by Senshi; rather, it was one Sasori accepted. Ever since Sasori realized that he needed to keep upgrading his Hex Rejuvenation Core and eventually accumulate three billion ryō to purchase the Destroyer Armor, he'd begun utilizing every single minute, frantically taking on missions to earn money.

Seeing Sasori's unrelenting efforts, Senshi secretly nodded his approval.

After all, no matter how many missions Sasori completed, as the leader of the mercenary group, Senshi would receive half of those commissions in employment points.

Thus, Senshi encouraged all group members to follow Sasori's example and fully uphold the "Will of Rain," so he could collect more employment points without having to lift a finger.

Inside the roomy carriage, Senshi leaned lazily against the interior wall, looking utterly at ease. Karin sat next to him, cheerfully counting her scratchcards. She'd already accumulated quite a few, and at this point the number was near three hundred.

Watching Karin, Senshi couldn't help feeling a bit wistful. This little girl truly has boundless potential! In his eyes, she was not only bright and resourceful, but also knew how to leverage financial tools to generate new missions.

In contrast, old veterans like Kakuzu and Hidan had likewise delivered large sums of employment points to the mercenary group, but they still relied on "traditional" methods: going to the black-market hall, accepting tasks, then completing those tasks and receiving their fees. In the fast-changing ninja world, that model was starting to look outdated.

But Karin was different. She not only took missions—she created them. For instance, she'd just taken on a mission from Sasori worth 120 million ryō in commissions by extending him a private loan service. That "brand-new approach" made Senshi see her vast potential.

At the thought, Senshi reached out and gently patted Karin's head, secretly hoping that in the future, Karin might become the group member who contributed the most employment points.

As soon as she was patted, Karin gave her head a shake and pouted, "Senshi, don't bother me! I might miscount my scratchcards!"

Senshi chuckled, drew his hand back, and went on leaning against the carriage wall, savoring this rare spell of leisure.

Just then, Sasori climbed in from outside the carriage. So as not to waste any time, he had gone off from the caravan to tackle a few side missions in the area. Having finished them, he returned to the carriage with a serious look on his face: "This caravan's cargo is likely quite valuable."

Deidara was fiddling with a skewer of tri-colored dango—experimenting with Karin's "edible but also explosive" brand of art—and asked curiously, "Why do you say that, Big Bro Sasori?"

Sasori shot Deidara a glance, sighing inwardly: This kid is still stuck on that skewer of dango? Hopeless.

But he explained, "I was out doing missions, and I noticed many mercenaries tailing this caravan. If there's supposedly no trouble, it's sure to mean trouble."

Senshi nodded calmly. "Indeed so, but they're just a bunch of small fry. Not worth caring about. Let's just do our thing."

Sasori hadn't much interest in those who were following the caravan. Hearing Senshi's words, he said nonchalantly, "All right. I'll keep doing missions, then."

Deidara frowned slightly. "Big Bro Sasori, aren't you going to take a break?"

Hearing that, Sasori gave a proud smile. "A break? Only those stuck with feeble fleshly bodies need rest. I long since escaped the shackles of flesh and can continue on forever without sleep."

He spoke with a mixture of pride and intense fervor: in his view, an eternal existence was the ultimate art he pursued. Then, giving Deidara no chance to retort, Sasori's figure flickered and vanished from the carriage in a flash.

As for Sasori's notion of "mechanical ascension," Deidara simply couldn't accept it. He believed firmly that only the momentary, dazzling brilliance of an explosion was the world's ultimate art.

Once Sasori had gone, Deidara promptly turned to Karin with keen anticipation: "Karin-chan, you also think that the dazzling instant of an explosion is the ultimate form of art, right?"

Leaning against the carriage wall, Senshi raised an amused brow at that thought. Deidara's definitely asking the wrong person here.

Sure enough, Karin didn't let him down. From her Kamui dimension she pulled out some blackish, "oil-flavored" dish and set it in front of Deidara, solemn-faced: "This delicious dish I made is the truly unique and unmatched art of this world!"

Deidara: ?? (O_O)

He stared at that black, oil-like plate of food in total bewilderment: "Karin-chan, how in the world is that art? That tri-colored dango you showed me earlier—that you can both eat and blow up—that was real art!"

Karin shook her head vigorously, like a little rattle-drum: "The dango bombs aren't particularly strong; they're only good for handling weaker ninjas. But the tasty food I cook can conquer Tailed Beasts—that is perfect art!"

Deidara: (O_O)!!!

Karin's remark left Deidara floored. He stared at the blackish dish in disbelief. It conquers Tailed Beasts? Seriously?! If Shukaku, Matatabi, or Saiken in Karin's Kamui dimension could speak, they'd be nodding in frantic agreement. At that moment, those three small Tailed Beasts lay collapsed, foaming at the mouth, seeing stars as they digested her cooking.

Just as Karin was about to continue her artistic debate with Deidara, Senshi reached over, patted her head, and spoke softly: "Karin, put that dish away. That kind of lethal weapon shouldn't be shown around lightly."

She nodded obediently, though she still looked eagerly at Deidara. "Wanna purchase my art piece? Study my perfect art?"

Deidara waved his hands frantically. Seeing this, Karin could only regretfully stow her dish, sighing inwardly at how "such perfect artwork couldn't find a market."

Right then, Senshi and Karin simultaneously directed their attention toward the same spot. Noticing, Deidara asked, "What's going on?"

Senshi gave a light laugh. "Oh, nothing. There might be 'guests' waiting for us up ahead."

Deidara grinned, pulling out a clay bomb shaped like himself: "Guess I can show off my art again!"

At that point, the caravan's escorts were already on alert, sword blades glinting coldly, eyes fixed on the mercenaries blocking the road in front. These mercenaries were many, led by a decently strong missing-nin from Iwagakure named Lie. Like Deidara and Gari, Lie once belonged to Iwa's Explosion Corps, having Explosion Release, and excelled at using the powerful Landmine Fist.

Lie stood at the forefront, rough-featured and intimidating. He swept his gaze over the caravan and barked in a coarse voice, leaving no room for argument: "Hand over all the cargo and get lost."

His tone was supremely arrogant, clearly not taking Deidara's people seriously. In his view, a "kid playing with clay" was nothing but trickery; real Explosion Release came from heavy-hitters like him and Gari.

Before the caravan owner could speak, Sasori's icy tone cut in. "Don't you know that this caravan is under my protection? You dare target it? Clearly, you've grown tired of living."

Sasori's voice was dripping with killing intent, but the other side obviously wasn't cowed. One of the mercenaries even sneered, "Ugly freak! Playing dumb there? You think a couple lines from you are gonna scare me?"

Shwip!

Sasori wasted no words. He directly answered with action. The tail-stinger of his Hiruko puppet lashed out like lightning, instantly skewering that mercenary and another behind him like a kebab, blood splattering in midair. The two mercenaries died before they could even cry out.

But Sasori's move didn't scare the rest. Instead, the sight of their comrades' blood only made these already vicious mercenaries more insane. They charged at the caravan without hesitation.

Bzz!

Beside the Hiruko puppet, Sasori's "Third Arm" hovered forth, a Death Ray stabbing precisely at the mercenary closest to the caravan members.

Splorch!

In an instant, the beam pierced that mercenary's body, then continued to blast through a few more behind him. Witnessing this, Deidara couldn't help but caution, "Big Bro Sasori, no need to waste so much chakra on a bunch of nobodies, right?"

While they weren't strong individually, there were a lot of them. If Sasori kept using a high-cost jutsu like Death Ray, he might run out of chakra soon.

Yet Sasori paid no heed, continuing to control the Third Arm as it unleashed volley after volley of crimson Death Rays. Speaking calmly, he said, "Doesn't matter. My Hex Rejuvenation Core has been upgraded twice, so I have tons of chakra. Even if Death Ray is costly, I've got more than enough to wipe them out."

Deidara gaped in shock. He knew Sasori had significant chakra reserves, but not to this degree—this was more overwhelming than many Tailed Beasts.

Shwip! Shwip! Shwip!

The Third Arm's Death Rays flared repeatedly, mowing down each mercenary who charged. At first, the mercenaries pressed forward fearlessly, but soon realized every comrade who ran ahead dropped without even touching the enemy. Their nerve broke, and their offensive faltered.

Lie, the mercenary leader, hadn't taken Sasori's group seriously at first. But watching his men get slaughtered so easily, he finally recognized the danger. Without pause, he launched himself at Sasori, roaring, "Ugly freak, time to die!"

Inside the Hiruko puppet, Sasori's face darkened. Ugly? Where? This puppet is my masterpiece—an artistic creation!

Buzz!

Sasori retaliated instantly, firing a Death Ray straight at Lie.

Whoosh!

Lie's reflexes were sharp, and he jerked to the side, barely evading the beam. Before he could so much as breathe, a second Death Ray followed immediately.

Rumble!

Teeth clenched, Lie dodged again, narrowly avoiding the second shot. That scarlet beam collided with the ground and sliced through solid rock like tofu. At that strength, a human would be sliced in half.

After risking his life to dodge three Death Rays, Lie finally got close enough to strike. He bellowed, slamming both fists into the ground: "Landmine Fist!"

Boom!

KABOOM!

Crimson flames flared, bursting in a brilliant yet terrifying explosion. A massive fireball spread outward from Lie's position, hurling rocks and earth in all directions. Sasori's Hiruko puppet took the brunt of the blast wave, sent flying and slamming to the ground. Lie spotted this and flashed a smug grin. Yet that smugness barely lasted a second before his heart lurched.

"Gravity Field!"

Just as Lie used Landmine Fist, Sasori unhesitatingly unleashed his new jutsu. It formed a barrier that intensified gravity to a terrifying level, making movement virtually impossible. Lie felt as though an invisible mountain bore down on him. His formerly agile moves slowed drastically; lifting a finger became a strain. Horrified, he tried to break free of the Gravity Field but was far too late.

Boom!

The Death Ray from Sasori then crashed down like thunder. Lie had no choice—he gnashed his teeth, channeling all his chakra into his fists, harnessing Explosion Release in a last-ditch effort to endure that strike.

Rumble, rumble!

The Death Ray clashed violently with Lie's Landmine Fist. Deafening booms and blinding fire burst forth, thick black smoke rolling up to blanket the battlefield. Sasori, however, had extensive battle experience. Not about to leave a potential "smoke but no casualty" scenario, he continued firing Death Rays into the smoke, each scarlet beam homing in on Lie's location. At first, muffled blasts came from the smoke, but soon all fell silent.

When the smoke finally thinned out, a huge blackened crater lay before them. Lie's body was buried under the dirt and rubble, unrecognizable—he was well and truly dead.

Finishing off Lie left Sasori faintly elated. This fight let him clearly see how the second Hex Rejuvenation Core upgrade had boosted his strength.

Without gaining the new "Gravity Field" jutsu and that large chakra increase, he could never have so cleanly dispatched someone as agile as Lie. Gravity Field was a perfect counter to swift ninjas, while Death Ray was best at cleaning up. The combination propelled Sasori's combat ability to a whole new level.

With Lie gone, the remaining black-market mercenaries were in disarray. Their leader was effortlessly killed, so staying any longer was suicide. All scattered like startled birds and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Deidara watched Lie's remains lying in the scorched crater, showing no pity. Instead, he was astonished by Sasori's power. "Big Bro Sasori, that Gravity Field plus Death Ray synergy is amazing!"

Even more startling was that from the start of the battle to its end, Sasori had fired more than fifteen Death Rays and still showed no sign of running out of chakra. His chakra was positively monstrous!

Deidara inwardly felt a fresh surge of respect for Senshi. If Senshi could make Sasori and Karin's artistry skyrocket, then as long as he paid enough commission, Senshi could surely perfect his explosive art as well!

Once the skirmish subsided, the merchant caravan quickly tidied up and moved on.

Everyone in the caravan was deeply relieved. Thank goodness they had hired someone as formidable as Sasori; if they had faced these black-market mercenaries led by Lie without him, they would have been powerless to do anything but watch their cargo be stolen.

…

Meanwhile, far below the Mountain Graveyard, Obito was continuing his Kamui and Susano'o training as usual.

Since the day he'd personally witnessed "Narusuke" display a Rinnegan, his heart had never settled.

That bizarre scene shook him to the core, even making him question his entire plan. Unsure how to deal with such a sudden development, he could only train nonstop to raise his strength, preparing for more unforeseen changes.

Just as Obito was immersed in his training, a continuing source of aggravation reared its head.

Lately, Zetsu had been off somewhere, lugging a massive worn-out bag around all day, impossible to find. And now, sure enough, Zetsu came creeping through the rock wall, huge bag in tow, only to meet Obito's resentful glare the moment he emerged.

"What's with that look?" Zetsu asked innocently.

"What's with it? I should be asking you!" Obito retorted indignantly. "You've been wandering around with that damned bag all day—there's major trouble outside, you know!"

Catching Obito's scolding, Zetsu felt a pang of awkwardness, rubbing his nose in reflex.

In the past, while he'd manipulated Obito into doing work, he'd still helped push the plan along. But ever since stumbling on Senshi's existence, Zetsu's full attention was on collecting gold and silver to commission more tasks from Senshi.

Now Obito had caught him red-handed, so Zetsu could only chuckle sheepishly, trying to change the topic.

But Obito wouldn't let him off so easily. Scowling, he said, "You're out slacking off day after day, clueless about the major changes in the outside world! Listen—just recently, I fought two of Senshi's students, that 'Narudo' and 'Sasugay!'"

"Oh?" Zetsu finally focused. Though he didn't care much about Senshi's other pupils, Naruto (Naru) and Sasuke (Suke) were extremely special: they were this era's reincarnations of Asura and Indra. Any changes in them definitely mattered.

Seeing Zetsu looking so ignorant, Obito's anger grew stronger. He let out a cold snort and continued, "A short while ago, I fought Naruto and Sasuke. At first, things were normal. Then, once they were losing, they suddenly started dancing."

"Pffft!" Zetsu couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"You dare laugh at me?!" Obito roared in fury.

Zetsu quickly shook his head and said with perfect seriousness, "No, I'm just a special creation of Uchiha Madara made to help execute your plan. Emotions like laughter are superfluous to me, so I do not laugh."

Obito, half taken in, swallowed his anger and went on: "Naruto and Sasuke were losing. Suddenly, they launched into some weird dance steps, and then..."

"Pffft!" Zetsu laughed again, but hastily covered his mouth, putting on a solemn face: "Carry on."

Obito frowned, battling his annoyance, and pressed on: "After they finished dancing, they merged into a new ninja calling himself 'Narusuke.' He not only had both Naruto and Sasuke's abilities, but also a pair of blue Sharingan. Then partway through the fight, those eyes... actually evolved into the Rinnegan!"

Zetsu: (O_O)???

He was taken aback. Whether it was that Naruto and Sasuke could fuse, or that there was a blue Sharingan, or even a Rinnegan—everything outstripped his expectations. As the hidden manipulator of the ninja world's history, Zetsu prided himself on knowing all. Yet here, he felt an unprecedented confusion.

He certainly knew who Naruto and Sasuke were: the modern Asura and Indra. Everything about them influenced the ninja world's future. But he never expected Senshi to be able to merge them into "Narusuke." That completely went beyond Zetsu's knowledge. But that alone wasn't the main issue.

The crucial point was that Uchiha Madara had spent the bulk of his life, enduring every difficulty, to eventually awaken his own Rinnegan.

Meanwhile, Senshi, seemingly without breaking a sweat, had also let "Narusuke" acquire Rinnegan. That was beyond astounding—a downright supernatural feat!

Zetsu now felt even more faith in Senshi. If Senshi could manage even that, then the odds of him rescuing Zetsu's mother soared as well. At this, Zetsu felt a flicker of concealed delight.

But Obito had no inkling of Zetsu's thoughts. Seeing Zetsu still dazed, Obito's temper flared once more, and he roared, "Zetsu, have you left your brain behind with that damn bag? Do you realize what this means?! A second Rinnegan has appeared! That means Narusuke can also summon the Gedo Statue, even command the Ten-Tails, which is a huge roadblock to our Eye of the Moon Plan!"

His shouts echoed through the underground. Zetsu, however, remained calm, acting as though none of it mattered. Seeing this only further enraged Obito, who was about to grab him by the collar. But at that moment, Zetsu realized he'd seemed too calm, not at all like the "shadow of Uchiha Madara."

So he adjusted quickly, putting on a face of anxiety and concern, looking deeply worried. He was, after all, quite the seasoned actor, able to fool even Madara in the past. "You're right, Obito. This is serious," Zetsu said with a heavy, worried tone. "The emergence of a second Rinnegan will absolutely interfere with our plans. We must act fast, or the consequences are unimaginable."

At last seeing Zetsu "come to his senses," Obito's rage eased slightly. He nodded with a grave expression: "Yes, we must move quickly. Narusuke's existence is threatening our plan already."

Zetsu frowned on the surface, while inwardly smirking.

Obito's anxiety is pointless.

Two Rinnegan sets? Great—twice the failsafes. Senshi sure knows what he's doing.

Plus, one set was in the hands of Senshi's kinsman and ally, and the other was with Senshi's student.

Should Senshi wish, he could call on either set to carry out the plan. No fear that if one set had issues, the entire plan would collapse.

Better still, rumor said Senshi's mission success rate was one hundred percent. Zero chance of failing. He can't even fail if he tries—there's no cause to worry.

Entrusting the rescue of Mother to Senshi, there's nothing to fret about. I can be more than confident.

~~~

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