"Boss, are you sure this will really work?"
Kakuzu furrowed his brows, clearly uncertain.
Ryo waved his hand, giving him a reassuring look. "Don't worry. People in bad situations can't resist an offer like this."
After all, they weren't selecting from ninjas or the wealthy. Even many ninjas couldn't turn down such benefits—let alone ordinary people.
Kakuzu nodded, half-convinced. "Got it. Then I'll head out now."
Ryo nodded back. "Alright, take care. And remember to keep training your Pokémon. Don't just think about money all the time."
Kakuzu grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
With that, he tossed out a Poké Ball. A yellow-brown, fox-like Pokémon appeared in midair, floating steadily. Two long whiskers fluttered under its nose, giving it the aura of a wise old sage.
"Alakazam!"
As soon as Alakazam appeared, it greeted Ryo happily.
Ryo smiled upon seeing him. "Alakazam, it's been a while."
Seeing Alakazam reminded Ryo of just how much effort Kakuzu had put into catching him.
Back when Kakuzu first saw Ryo use Teleport, he immediately took interest in the move.
He kept complaining that walking around to complete missions was too time-consuming—it was costing him money.
Once he found out from Ryo that Abra could also use Teleport, he began the arduous process of capturing one.
In the beginning, it was a nightmare. Kakuzu practically lost all his hair. Every time he approached an Abra, it would instantly teleport away.
That phase alone lasted nearly a month.
And that was just the beginning. He spent another two months being an absolute simp before finally earning Abra's trust and capturing it.
Ryo still respected Kakuzu's perseverance to this day. It amazed him that the guy stuck with it.
But it paid off. Without Alakazam now, Kakuzu's job efficiency would be way lower.
After all, Kakuzu had to travel constantly between various Pokémon House branches. Without Alakazam's Teleport, the time lost on travel alone would be staggering.
"We'll be heading off now, Boss."
After greeting Alakazam, Kakuzu had no intention of lingering—he had plenty to do.
"Alright. Stay safe out there," Ryo said with a nod.
Kakuzu nodded as well and glanced over at Alakazam.
"Alakazam."
Understanding the cue, Alakazam gave Ryo one last look and then teleported away with Kakuzu, vanishing from the backyard.
Watching the duo disappear, Ryo turned his gaze toward the mountains behind the house. "Where the hell did those guys run off to now? Always wandering around."
He shook his head. "Ah, let them go. No one in this world has the power to mess with them anyway."
Ryo leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began meditating.
In recent years, his cultivation progress had slowed drastically. He used to break through multiple stages within a single month, but now he hadn't advanced at all in years.
He was still at Kage-level. But to be fair, there had been progress—his mental strength had reached the peak of the Kage-level. He felt that a breakthrough might come in just a few days.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Naruto world, inside a pitch-black cave—
Obito, wearing his trademark mask, stood above a group of masked figures, his expression tense.
As he looked down at them, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Rin… Soon. Very soon, I'll create a world where you still exist."
As he lost himself in his thoughts, Zetsu approached. Black Zetsu spoke up, "It's time. Shall we begin?"
Obito glanced at him and then looked back at the ten masked individuals below. "Not yet. We'll wait for the Pokémon Battle Tournament to start. That event will grab everyone's attention—it'll be the perfect time for us to act."
Black Zetsu nodded. "Alright. But some of the Jinchūriki will be participating in that tournament. Are we going to Konoha?"
Obito shook his head. "No. Now isn't the time to confront them. We'll go after the ones who aren't participating and take them out in one sweep. As for the rest, we'll deal with them later."
Although he had already reached Super Kage-level and was considered extremely powerful even among others at that level, Obito still lacked confidence in facing Ryo and that Pokémon called Hoopa.
He couldn't afford to make a mistake. Another failure would be the end of everything.
Black Zetsu nodded again. "Understood. Still, we should prepare—there's no avoiding a clash with them in the future."
He knew that, realistically, they couldn't match Ryo yet. Even with ten Kage-level members and Obito at Super Kage-level, taking down Ryo would still be a stretch.
But they had to face him eventually. There was no escaping it.
Obito also understood this and waved his hand. "I know. But once our plan succeeds, not even Hoopa will be able to stop us."
As he spoke, the Sharingan behind his mask spun rapidly, emanating a terrifying killing intent.
The Zetsu duo and the masked followers below all felt a shiver run down their spines.
They looked up at Obito in shock—none of them had expected his hatred for Ryo and the others to be this intense.
But the killing intent faded just as quickly as it appeared. Obito's gaze turned cold as he addressed the group again.
"We've confirmed that aside from the hosts of the One-Tail, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails, the other Jinchūriki have no interest in the tournament. I'll handle the Two-Tails. The rest of you split into pairs and target the others."
"Yes!"
The group responded firmly, their eyes filled with determination.
Obito nodded in satisfaction. But then, his voice turned icy again. "This mission must succeed. If it fails... I don't think you want to find out what happens."
The masked subordinates trembled slightly and nodded with heavy expressions.
Seeing this, Obito nodded again. "If you succeed, I'll reward each of you with a vial of Divine Blood. I hope you all come back alive to claim it."
Their eyes lit up with greed.
"Rest assured, Chief! We will complete this mission."
"Yes! Even if it costs us our lives, we won't fail!"
Obito nodded once more. "Good. Go prepare. Dismissed!"
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