Chapter 130: Brothers Meet

"What's with that look in your eyes?"

Seeing Izayoi looking at them strangely, Uchiha Sasuke immediately frowned and asked unhappily.

"You were urgently summoned too?" Izayoi asked.

"Urgently summoned? What urgent summon?!"

Team 7 was slightly stunned. Then Uzumaki Naruto raised his hand and pointed at Tsunade, shouting, "Granny Tsunade, is there another big mission? You actually urgently summoned Izayoi's team but not us. Do you look down on us? That hurts, ow ow ow…"

Before he could finish, Naruto covered his head in pain.

Hatake Kakashi had already slapped him on the head and scolded, "Idiot, don't talk to the Hokage like that."

Tsunade didn't get angry. Instead, she found it nostalgic.

The still immature Naruto reminded her of Nawaki—both his looks and his personality were so similar.

"Here's your mission scroll. Go negotiate with the client yourselves."

Tsunade first threw a scroll to Hatake Kakashi, then glanced at Naruto and said, displeased, "I can tell with one look that you must've ranked last in your academic subjects at the academy. Each team has its specialties—some are balanced, some are good at taijutsu, others specialize in genjutsu or perception."

"Izayoi's Team 8 is currently the strongest perception team in Konoha. I summoned them because this mission specifically needs perception support. What are you guys joining in for? Can any of you even sense anything?"

"With Izayoi's strength, what kind of perception ninja is he…" Naruto muttered.

"You're going on a mission? Then be careful on the road," Izayoi reminded kindly.

"Why?"

Team 7 looked confused.

"Based on your past missions," Izayoi said with a teasing smile, "I've concluded that eight or nine out of ten times, you guys encounter accidents. This mission might be another exception."

Team 7 instantly had black lines on their foreheads, but had nothing to say.

What made it worse was that they couldn't even get bonus rewards for those unexpected S-rank missions, and they didn't count on the official records either.

"You're such a troll!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at Izayoi and waved for Team 7 to leave.

Not long after they left, Hinata and Aburame Shino arrived at the Hokage's office.

Tsunade folded her arms and spoke seriously, "The reason I summoned you urgently is because I have an assistance mission for you."

"Yesterday, a mysterious army suddenly attacked a port city in the Land of Wind. This army has extremely advanced steel warships, and the soldiers are all heavily armored men with the ability to release powers similar to ninjutsu."

"Because their ships are very fast and they always attack at night or early morning—and they have no chakra—the perception ninja of the Sand Village can't detect them at all. They've requested help from us as allies."

Tsunade took out a scroll from a drawer, tossed it to Izayoi, and said, "Your mission is to help the Sand Village locate the enemy. That's all—ignore everything else."

"Yes!"

Team 8 nodded and then left the Hokage's office.

Izayoi went to apply for a travel permit, while Hinata and Shino went back to pack.

Not long after, the three gathered at the village gate.

Coincidentally, they ran into Team 7 again.

"Hey! You guys are going to the Land of Wind too?"

When he learned about Team 8's destination, Naruto was surprised, then excitedly invited them, "Why don't we travel together? It'd be more fun that way!"

"I'd like to go with you too," Izayoi replied with a smile, "but we're in a hurry, so we'll head out first. Kana\~\~"

With a wave, the three of them turned into afterimages and vanished.

Watching Team 8 disappear, both Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke were deep in thought.

At the same time, in Uchiha Obito's Kamui space—

Ten figures were seated at a round table built from Wood Style and Earth Style techniques. They were elephant-transformed clones of all the Akatsuki members.

"Well, Afei, I didn't expect you to have such an ability."

Deidara looked around the dark Kamui space and praised Uchiha Obito, who was seated nearby.

"Hahaha… No no, Senior Deidara, you flatter me," Uchiha Obito responded modestly, rubbing his head and speaking in a goofy tone.

But aside from Deidara and Hidan, everyone else took Obito's ability seriously.

"Space-time ninjutsu… I didn't expect someone like that to be in Akatsuki," Kakuzu said in a deep voice. "Under that mask—is he someone from the black market?"

"With such an ability, but still just an intern—how embarrassing," Kisame laughed.

Uchiha Itachi opened his three-tomoe Sharingan and stared at Obito for a moment.

After confirming he was just a clone, Itachi withdrew his gaze.

"Why meet like this?" Sasori asked. "Did you find Otsutsuki Toneri and are preparing to counterattack?"

"All future meetings will be held like this," Tendo Pain said calmly. "Toneri's Rinnegan has perceptive powers beyond our own. I suspect he can summon meteorites because he can sense and even see them in space. That's likely why he can precisely bombard targets from the sky."

Everyone's expression changed slightly.

"If he can really see that far… doesn't that make his Rinnegan an enhanced Byakugan?" Kakuzu asked with shock.

You're exactly right, Black Zetsu thought to himself.

The thought that such a terrifying enemy could be watching them from somewhere unseen sent a chill through the room.

Tendo Pain didn't respond, and instead moved to the main topic: "Last night and this morning, my main body sensed a huge and unusual energy fluctuation in the direction of the Land of Rivers. It flashed by quickly."

"During that time, the Land of Wind was attacked by a mysterious army. A port city was bombarded—half the city turned to ruins."

"But this army didn't use ninjutsu or detonating tags. They used artillery from steel warships and a type of energy similar to chakra. The soldiers were all heavily armored men."

"Zetsu also discovered that their base isn't overseas—it's a mobile flying fortress."

"Armored men? Mobile fortresses?" Sasori was intrigued. "Has the ninja world's technology really advanced that far?"

White Zetsu chuckled. "According to our eavesdropping, they attacked the Land of Wind claiming to build an ideal nation. But in truth, they're looking for a mineral called Gray Stone."

"Gray Stone? What's that?" Deidara asked.

"No idea," White Zetsu replied, "but it's likely related to their energy."

"My main body is very interested in that energy and their technology," Tendo Pain said. "Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame—you four are closest to the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers. Go and capture those who can use the special energy, and bring back their mobile fortress."

"Understood." Kisame grinned and turned to the art duo. "Want to act together or separately?"

"I'm more interested in those armored men, and I know the Land of Wind well. I even have spies in the Sand Village. I'll handle that," Sasori said.

"Then Itachi and I will deal with the fortress," Kisame nodded.

"Zetsu's clone will support you. If anything goes wrong, call the Six Paths of Pain," Tendo Pain ordered as he stood up. "Dismissed!"

...

Without using Flying Thunder God, Team 8 spent three days traveling to the Sand Village.

"The Hyuga clan heiress, the genius of the Aburame clan, and a Wood Release user…"

In the Kazekage's office, Chiyo looked at Team 8 and sighed. "I didn't expect Princess Tsunade to send you three. Very thoughtful."

"We were ordered to assist the Land of Wind," Izayoi responded solemnly. "We need more detailed information. Please assign someone to take us to the most recent attack site so we can check for remaining traces."

"I'd like to be a good host," Chiyo said, "but the situation is dire. I'll get straight to it."

She clapped her hands, and a familiar figure walked in.

"Temari, take Lord Izayoi and the others to the latest attack site," Chiyo instructed, even using an honorific.

"Yes, Lady Chiyo," Temari responded respectfully.

Outside the Kazekage building, Temari hesitated, but Izayoi smiled and said, "Long time no see."

"Y-yeah… long time no see."

Grateful that he broke the ice, Temari bowed slightly. "Lord Izayoi, thank you for sparing Gaara's subordinates last time."

Izayoi paused, then smiled. "No need to thank me. Your Sand Village must've paid a heavy price."

"Even so, thank you for sparing Gaara," Temari said earnestly.

After learning Izayoi had Wood Release, and analyzing his battle data, the village realized that he could've easily killed Gaara and taken the One-Tail during the Chunin Exams—but he didn't.

That kindness remained in Temari's heart.

Especially after seeing how much Gaara had changed in the year since, Temari felt even more grateful.

"I accept your thanks," Izayoi said, shielding his eyes from the sun. "But let's focus on the mission first. Your Land of Wind is too hot. Feels like it'll burn the skin."

"That's because you're not wearing cloaks," Temari smiled. "Let's get you cloaks and water first."

After stocking up, they left the Sand Village and headed toward the latest incident site.

On the way, Temari tried to chat with Hinata to be a good host, while Izayoi communicated with his wooden clones, checking for new information.

Although the Rinnegan could scan the ninja world, it wasn't omnipotent:

* It couldn't eavesdrop, and Izayoi couldn't read lips.

* It only had two perspectives—overhead and first-person—so he couldn't monitor multiple places at once.

* If the enemy had no chakra and was hiding, Izayoi couldn't locate them unless he already knew their position.

People without chakra looked like ordinary civilians even through his Rinnegan.

But in three days of searching, Izayoi had found traces of the mysterious army. Just as Tsunade described, they were all armored soldiers with no chakra.

Not only did they ride rare steel warships, but the ships were amphibious. After attacking, they didn't flee—they hid in the desert.

Since the ship didn't return and the soldiers lacked chakra, Izayoi couldn't locate their base.

Still, he believed this must be a plot he hadn't seen before—or a butterfly effect caused by him.

After all, such a large-scale battle involving Sand Village wouldn't be easy to forget.

"Huh?"

Izayoi suddenly frowned, his expression amused.

"What is it?" Shino asked.

"Nothing," Izayoi replied vaguely. "Just remembered something."

He almost smacked his head in frustration. "Relying on the Rinnegan too much has made me lazy…"

Two wooden clones sent real-time images:

* One showed Scorpion and Deidara finding a massive steel ship hidden in the desert.

* The other showed Naruto missing, and Team 7 discovering a fortress hidden in a mountain while following ninja dog Parker.

That fortress housed many armored soldiers.

Clearly, this was the army's headquarters.

And its location? In the Land of Rivers!

Izayoi had scanned the Land of Rivers earlier—but because he hadn't detected any strong chakra, he dismissed it.

Normally, reconnaissance was left to Hinata and Shino.

He never imagined the enemy's base would be disguised as a mountain in the very land they passed through.

But Scorpion and Deidara's appearance sparked Izayoi's curiosity.

Were they simply interested in the armored men and their weapons—or were they acting under orders?

If it was the latter, then maybe Nagato had discovered something—hence the secret meeting.

At that moment, another image flashed in Izayoi's mind—sent by the clone monitoring Team 7 for unexpected events.

Seeing the image, a brilliant idea suddenly struck Izayoi.

If he could carry it out, the difficulty caused by Nagato's precautions would be resolved instantly.

Izayoi immediately issued instructions to the clone.

Meanwhile, in the fortress of the Land of Rivers, Team 7 was searching for Naruto—only to run into another group.

"Uchiha Itachi!!!"

As soon as he saw him, Uchiha Sasuke's face twisted in rage. The killing intent and hatred rolled off him like dark smoke, frightening Haruno Sakura beside him into going pale.