**Swoosh! Swoosh!**
The wind howled.
Sasuke sped through the forest, letting the gusts blow his black hair straight back. His sharp eyes vigilantly scanned the surroundings, alert for any movent.
Suddenly, he noticed sothing and swiftly stopped, hiding behind a large tree. He cautiously peeked out to look ahead.
"One, two, three, four. It's a Konoha patrol squad."
Konoha's forces weren't all concentrated in the village.
Aside from the border guard units, there were nurous patrol squads outside Konoha, serving as an early warning system to prevent enemy incursions.
The recent Chūnin Exams had drawn many VIPs and tourists, causing Konoha to reallocate many external squads to maintain internal security. This lapse allowed the surprise attack to succeed so easily.
Learning from that, Konoha had now intensified its external patrols, even with tight resources, to avoid another unexpected assault.
After waiting for the patrol squad to pass, Sasuke resud his journey.
The Sound Four faced similar obstacles but, being stronger, could force their way through any unavoidable encounters with Konoha ninja.
Thus, despite the distance Sasuke had gained, the Sound Four managed to keep up.
anwhile, Shikamaru's squad, although the last to set out, utilized their ho-field advantage to steadily close the gap.
In the grand sche, the distances between Sasuke, the Sound Four, and Shikamaru's squad were gradually shrinking over ti.
But they weren't the only ones in play.
The news of Konoha's last Uchiha's defection had already reached interested parties, even though it had happened only recently.
**Beep-beep.**
In a dim underground base, Orochimaru, lying on a hospital bed and hooked up to an IV, suddenly sat up, crying out in pain.
"The new drug didn't even last a day. Is it still not enough?" Kabuto sighed, adjusting his glasses as he stood by.
"Where...where is Sasuke?" Orochimaru, sweating profusely from the pain, glanced at his bandaged arms and asked urgently.
"There's been a complication," Kabuto replied. "According to the latest report from Tayuya and the others, Sasuke has left the village but didn't join them."
"Seems...he has a new option?"
"Idiots!"
Grinding his teeth, Orochimaru cursed through the pain.
"Who else besides can give Sasuke the power to avenge himself? Tell the Sound Four, if they can't bring Sasuke back, they needn't return!"
Kabuto nodded. "I'll convey the ssage. By the way, that boy wants to give it his all at the last mont. Should we grant his request?"
"Send Kimimaro."
Desperate to achieve his goal, Orochimaru was willing to use all his cards at this point.
Receiving his orders, Kabuto turned to leave, and as the door closed, Orochimaru's cries of pain resud intermittently.
"Damn old man...who is it, who is ruining my plans...ah!!"
"Madara! Madara! I have big news!"
In the Land of Rain, Uchiha Obito, enjoying the rain, was interrupted by Zetsu's voice. He turned and asked:
"Is it about Hagoromo Gengetsu?"
Like the other ninja villages, Uchiha Obito had found no trace of Hagoromo Gengetsu recently. Although Zetsu's information-gathering abilities were impressive, they weren't omnipotent.
Instead, several Zetsu clones had mysteriously vanished recently, raising his suspicions, though investigations yielded no clues.
"It's not," Zetsu shook his head.
Obito lost interest, but Zetsu's ntion of Uchiha Sasuke piqued his curiosity.
"Uchiha Sasuke has defected!" Zetsu announced with a grin.
"Defected?"
Obito's eye under his spiral mask narrowed.
He had long planned for Sasuke to replace Itachi and attain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Why not have Itachi evolve the Eternal Mangekyō instead?
Besides Itachi's severe illness, Obito was deeply wary of him.
Among the Akatsuki, even with Pain and his Rinnegan, Obito considered him just another useful pawn in his elaborate ga.
However, Itachi, possessing his own Mangekyō Sharingan and a deep mind, was the only one Obito couldn't fully control.
Thus, he had Kisa, his loyal subordinate, partner with Itachi to keep an eye on him.
Fortunately, Itachi's health issues sowhat alleviated Obito's concerns.
"Why did Sasuke defect?" Obito asked.
Zetsu shook his head. "Not sure yet. But there's another tidbit—Orochimaru's n are pursuing him."
"Orochimaru..."
Hearing the na, Obito tapped his fingers on the iron railing.
As an Akatsuki defector, Orochimaru was under a kill-on-sight order from Pain. Obito also wanted to eliminate this snake, who knew too much about the organization.
But Orochimaru had always been slippery, evading capture despite several Akatsuki raids on his bases.
"If I recall, Itachi and Kisa are still in the Land of Fire?" Obito asked.
"Yes. After failing to capture the Nine-Tails, they remained in the Land of Fire. It's a large country, after all," Zetsu replied cheerfully.
"Inform Itachi about this. He will know what to do. Also, notify Pain," Obito instructed.
Knowing Itachi's nature, Obito was confident of his next steps.
This was a perfect opportunity to sever Orochimaru's reach and ensure nothing jeopardized his plans for Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Additionally, interrogating Orochimaru's subordinates might reveal his location, which many in Akatsuki were eager to discover.
With such a dual benefit, Obito felt the plan was flawless.
Zetsu dutifully went to relay the ssages.
Soon, Pain responded.
Seizing a chance to eliminate the Akatsuki traitor, Pain wouldn't miss out.
Using the Akatsuki rings for remote communication, Pain contacted Itachi and Kisa miles away.
Receiving the orders, Kisa's shark-like face twisted into a grin. He turned to Itachi and said, "Itachi, looks like we'll see your dear brother again."
Itachi calmly donned his hat, the clear ring of his wind chis sounding as he replied:
"He was never the target."
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