Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 241: The Exposure of Lockfront Village

The relentless rain, allowed to fall freely by the barrier, washed the dust off the various buildings of the Sky City.

Inside the office, after dealing with the Three-Tails and returning to the village, Hagoromo Gengetsu stood by the window. His purple, swirling eyes rippled as he focused his gaze beyond the barrier.

Through the drizzle, a flying ninja tool could be faintly seen speeding toward the sea.

It wasn't a flying ninja tool from Lockfront Village.

"Have the remnants of the Sky Ninjas been found by the Five Great Ninja Villages?" Hagoromo Gengetsu asked without turning his head as Hanare entered.

Hanare, who had returned with Hagoromo Gengetsu, wasted no time resting and quickly compiled and analyzed the intelligence from various locations. She stood before Hagoromo Gengetsu and reported, "Yes. It is reported that the Mist Ninjas discovered the remnants of the Sky Ninjas on a secret island and captured their flying ninja tools technology. More importantly, they have learned of the existence of the Sky Fortress."

Since Hagoromo Gengetsu had captured Shinnō and relocated the Sky Fortress, he hadn't paid much attention to the Sky Ninjas. Matters like these were typically handled by the village's high-level officials, who had done a decent job.

With Shinnō's cooperation, to prevent the secrets of the Sky Fortress from leaking, the village had begun absorbing the Sky Ninjas. With their leader subdued and many Sky Ninjas tired of living on the edge, they readily joined Lockfront Village.

However, there were always a few diehards in any organization who wouldn't comply, especially considering Shinnō's frequent travels and less-than-absolute control over the Sky Ninjas. Despite Lockfront Village's decisive efforts to eliminate these diehards, a few managed to escape and remained undiscovered.

But their luck had run out.

While Hagoromo Gengetsu was chasing Orochimaru, these diehards were found by the Mist Ninjas, who were conducting a large-scale search. Under severe interrogation, they confessed everything.

The Mist Village now knew everything they needed to know.

Consequently, the other four great ninja villages, who were closely aligned with the Mist Ninjas, quickly learned of this information and immediately deduced that Lockfront Village was most likely in the sky.

This made sense!

A village with so many people, yet no traces could be found under the extensive search by the Five Great Ninja Villages and their subordinates. It seemed suspicious unless they were in the sky.

Before finding the Sky Ninjas, the Five Great Ninja Villages hadn't considered this possibility. They had even searched the seas but overlooked the sky.

Now that everything was clear, the great ninja villages rapidly produced flying ninja tools and dispatched ninjas to search the skies.

The flying ninja tool seen earlier belonged to the Mist Village.

It had flown by without noticing the hidden Sky Fortress nearby.

But continuing at this rate, it was only a matter of time before Lockfront Village was discovered.

"The true rulers of the ninja world for over sixty years—when they set their minds on something, they can still achieve it," Hagoromo Gengetsu remarked.

"Chief, should we move the Sky Fortress?" Hanare asked.

"No," Hagoromo Gengetsu declined.

While the Sky Fortress could be relocated, there was a problem: how to manage the daily needs of thousands of villagers. The fortress's limited space made large-scale farming impossible.

During this period, the village had been procuring the necessary food supplies from the Land of Waves. The Nozaki group, which secretly controlled the Daimyo of the Land of Waves, easily masked these purchases.

Moving elsewhere would require reestablishing these connections, which would be time-consuming and risk further exposure. Staying put was the best option.

Moreover...

"It won't be long before the Five Great Ninja Villages have bigger problems to worry about than Lockfront Village," Hagoromo Gengetsu said calmly.

With the Three-Tails captured, the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts was entering its final phase. Soon, the Five Great Ninja Villages would feel real pain. If they still focused their main efforts on Lockfront Village, Hagoromo Gengetsu would find it amusing.

As Hagoromo Gengetsu's confidant, Hanare was aware of the Tailed Beast capture plan. "Is it about to begin?" she asked.

"Almost," Hagoromo Gengetsu nodded. "Instead of waiting for the Five Great Ninja Villages to trouble us, we'll trouble them first."

"Notify Samui to find the locations of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki as quickly as possible."

"Yes!" Hanare responded.

Watching Hanare leave, Hagoromo Gengetsu returned his gaze to the window. Once the positions of the two Jinchuriki from the Cloud Village were confirmed, the Tailed Beast capture plan would officially conclude. The ninja world was about to experience unprecedented changes, and the real drama was about to unfold.

In a hidden base, Uchiha Obito, once the mastermind behind the ninja world's turmoil and now recently reduced to a lone wolf, sat silently in the main seat, deep in thought.

Until a Zetsu emerged from the ground.

From Black Zetsu came the voice, "I heard from Konoha that the Three-Tails has been captured by Deidara and Kisame and is likely being absorbed by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."

"The Three-Tails..." Uchiha Obito's eyelids twitched under his mask. "So now the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path has Five-Tails, Four-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and now Three-Tails."

"Don't forget about the Nine-Tails chakra you captured," Black Zetsu reminded him.

"That's just for emergencies. With Hagoromo Gengetsu's personality, he won't settle for just a bit of chakra. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, is already on his list," Uchiha Obito said calmly, unfazed by the change in address.

He looked at Black Zetsu and asked again, "Are you sure the technique you mentioned about the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path truly exists?"

"Of course," Black Zetsu nodded. "As Madara's will incarnate, I know more about the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path than Pain and even Hagoromo Gengetsu."

"Then it's time to make plans," Uchiha Obito said, standing up slowly.

"I need a chance to meet with Hagoromo Gengetsu in front of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."

"In front of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path? That won't be easy," Black Zetsu frowned.

He noticed the confident look on Uchiha Obito's face and asked curiously, "Do you already have an idea, Obito?"

"Yes. It's time to visit the Land of Lightning," Uchiha Obito said, walking out of the base.

Watching Uchiha Obito's departing figure, Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes, thinking, "I hope you can surprise me, Obito."

"Preferably to the extent that you are no longer of any use."