The ninja world has entered an era of peace. This consensus was reached by many after 56 years of Konoha's leadership.

  Three of the five major ninja vilges—Konoha, the Cloud Shinobi, and the Mist Shinobi—have established an unbreakable bond, with Hatake Tatsuya serving as the stabilizing force holding this connection together. As long as he refrains from causing trouble, the chances of war in the Shinobi world remain minimal.

  As for the remaining two major vilges, their position has changed since the end of the Sengoku era. Sunagakure, the youngest and weakest of the five, has rgely been ignored. Because there is nothing in that desert for which anyone would wage war. Meanwhile, Iwagakure, despite its strength, has been powerless against the unity of the three stronger vilges and can no longer stir up any significant conflict.

  Many in the Shinobi world specute that, as long as Hatake Tatsuya has no interest in starting a war, the peace could st at least another 30 years, until his eventual death.

  However, life in Sunagakure has been far from easy. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, believes his second son, Gaara—now the current Jinchūriki of Shukaku—is a failure. Genin has been dispatched several times to assassinate him. Additionally, the increasing power of the Land of Fire has led wealthy businessmen and nobles from various countries to favor Konoha for high-level missions, resulting in a sharp decline in Sunagakure's financial strength and, by extension, the strength of the entire shinobi vilge.

  In Konoha's 58th year, the Land of Wind's Daimyo announced a policy of disarmament. This move aimed to reduce the number of ninjas and save on expenditures. The decision was met with fierce opposition from Rasa and a group of high-ranking officials, but in the end, they were overruled, and the disarmament decree was enacted.

  ...

  ...

  "Pain, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Kakuzu and Hidan, and Sasori of the Red Sand were part of our organization. However, after I left, the organization should have absorbed new members to pair with them. As for that guy—Bck Zetsu—he always acts alone."

  In the Rain Country, within the Rain Shinobi Vilge, Konan, now known as "Angel," leads the vilge. On the surface, it still appears to be a closed-off and isoted vilge, but only a select few know of Konan's secret connection to Konoha.

  At this moment, in the top room of the restored Iron Tower, a room that once belonged to Obito, Pain, and Konan, the trio is present: Tatsuya, Orochimaru, and Konan. Orochimaru is reporting on the information he uncovered before defecting from Akatsuki.

  That's right—Orochimaru eventually betrayed Akatsuki. He wasn't defeated by Itachi, as in the original timeline. Instead, he had learned from Uchiha Itachi that "Madara," the masked figure in the organization, was actually the former student of the fifth Hokage, Uchiha Obito.

  Initially, Orochimaru had stayed in Akatsuki to study Uchiha Madara. But upon discovering that the man behind the mask was none other than Obito—the same brat he once knew—he felt nothing but disappointment. He no longer had any interest in the situation and refused to continue his association with the organization.

  Obito, of course, would not allow anyone who knew his true identity to remain in Akatsuki. Sooner or ter, he would have had Orochimaru killed. With this in mind, Orochimaru made the decision to leave without hesitation.

  "Akatsuki's ultimate goal is to capture the nine-tailed beasts," Orochimaru continued. "Originally, the pn was for there to be ten Kage level missing-nins."

  Konan, holding her fan, responded calmly, "The number is almost right. It's time to take action."

  When she heard the word "Pain" from Orochimaru, Konan inwardly sighed. In her view, Nagato's alliance with Uchiha Obito was like seeking a tiger's skin. She feared that Nagato would ultimately fall into Obito's hands.

  "After all, Akatsuki only has 10 S-rank rogue ninjas. They're still far from being able to compete with the Five Great Ninja Vilges. Their only option is to conduct lightning-fast operations when the Five Vilges aren't paying attention, capturing all the tailed beasts as quickly as possible."

  Tatsuya pced his hands together and rested them on his knees. "It should take a while."

  Konan frowned, gncing at Orochimaru. "Don't you know where Akatsuki's headquarters is now?"

  "No one knows," Orochimaru replied with a strange smile. "Since you took control of Kirigakure, I haven't seen Obito or Pain in person. All communication has been through the Magic Lantern Body Technique. That guy is very cautious."

  Konan's expression tightened, but Orochimaru suddenly grinned, turning toward Tatsuya. "Oh, I think there's something I can use, Tatsuya-kun."

  Tatsuya raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

  Orochimaru's grin widened. "Are you pnning to marry again?"

  At his words, Konan, sitting to Tatsuya's left, shot him a disdainful gre. Her lips parted slightly, and the words "Scum" seemed to be silently written in her expression.

  "I don't pn on making a big deal out of it—just getting a certificate," Tatsuya replied, somewhat exasperated.

  He had to admit, that Tsunade had made countless remarks about this at home. But the girls had been with him for so long, it was hard to avoid giving them a name.

  Tatsuya couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. Even a scumbag like him had to understand that much.

  "You can make use of this, right? Rin, that little girl—wasn't she Obito's former lover?" Orochimaru chuckled in his usual strange manner. "It might be better to have a wedding. That way, maybe you can draw him out and kill him~"

  Tatsuya raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "If you can come up with such a crude idea, it should be you, not me."

  He casually tugged at his hair, resting his cheek on one hand. "But honestly, I'm just getting the certificate. I'm done with weddings."

  "Scumbag!" Konan didn't hesitate this time, cursing directly.

  Tatsuya shot her a bnk look. "What are you getting so worked up about? It's my business."

  Shifting the topic, Tatsuya added, "The goal of peace has been achieved, but Obito isn't pnning to stop. He's not after peace—he's just trying to escape into the world of Infinite Tsukuyomi."

  Tatsuya smirked, thinking to himself, In other words, he's just running away from reality...

  ---

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