Inside the council hall of Hidden Waterfall Village, the atmosphere was solemn.

Every elder and high-ranking official with any authority in the village was present. They sat upright, looking at the young figure in the main seat with complex expressions.

Uchiha Kei.

Just sitting there, without releasing any Chakra or deliberately displaying authority, the aura stemming from his absolute strength still made everyone present feel breathless.

Beside him, Uchiha Itachi was like a shadow, eyes closed as if resting, indifferent to everything around him.

On the other side, the Seven-Tailed Beast Jinchūriki, Fu, seemed somewhat restless.

She looked at Uchiha Kei, then at Uchiha Itachi, her orange eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of nervousness.

She had been called here by Elder Shibu in the name of "discussing the future of the village," but she vaguely felt that the core of this meeting was related to her.

Shibu cleared his throat, breaking the silence first.

He stood up and bowed deeply to Uchiha Kei again.

"Lord Uzukage, your purpose for coming, as well as the conditions you proposed, have already been explained to all the elders by this old man."

"We have no way to repay the kindness of you saving our village, and the generosity of your promise to provide sanctuary for our village."

Shibu's voice still trembled, but it was more of an excitement after the dust had settled.

He looked around at his colleagues, and every elder's face wore an expression identical to his own.

"We have unanimously agreed to form the strongest alliance with the Land of Whirlpools! From now on, Hidden Waterfall Village will take the will of the Land of Whirlpools as our highest guidance!"

These words were equivalent to complete submission.

For a Ninja village with hundreds of years of heritage, this was an incredibly difficult, yet incredibly correct decision.

They knew that if they missed this opportunity, the only thing awaiting Hidden Waterfall Village was the fate of being completely erased by the Akatsuki.

A faint smile appeared on Uchiha Kei's face.

"Elder Shibu, you are too kind. I would prefer this to be an equal relationship of mutual support and assistance. The Land of Whirlpools will not interfere with any internal affairs of Hidden Waterfall Village; what we provide is merely a guarantee of security."

His words of advancing by retreating moved the high-ranking officials of Hidden Waterfall Village beyond measure.

Compared to the great nations that often threatened with force and demanded greedily, this young Lord Uzukage was simply the embodiment of benevolence and righteousness.

"Then..." Uchiha Kei changed the subject, his gaze falling on Fu, "Regarding my small research request..."

Shibu understood immediately and turned to show Fu the kindest smile of his life.

"Fu, this Lord Uzukage is our savior. He hopes to obtain a portion of your Chakra for a great research project, which will not cause you any harm. Are you willing?"

Everyone's gaze focused on the young girl instantly.

Fu blinked, seemingly not having reacted yet.

She looked at Uchiha Kei, then at the expectant elders, and asked in a low voice: "Is it... just a little bit of Chakra?"

"Yes, just a little bit." Uchiha Kei spoke personally, his voice gentle. "It is as simple as taking a single strand of hair from your head."

Fu nodded, seeming to understand, a bright smile appearing on her face.

"Of course!"

She answered crisply, without a hint of hesitation.

"You saved everyone, and you saved me! If you only need a little bit of Chakra, then that is no problem at all! You can have as much as you want!"

In her simple world, the logic of this matter was very simple.

The other party was the hero who saved her and the village. How could she refuse such a trivial request from a hero?

Moreover, she had always longed to make friends.

And these two powerful yet gentle people in front of her were simply the most ideal friends in her mind.

Seeing Fu agree so readily, Shibu and the elders breathed a long sigh of relief.

A satisfied smile also appeared on Uchiha Kei's face.

Everything was even smoother than expected.

"In that case, let us not delay."

Uchiha Kei stood up and took out a specially made, palm-sized sealing scroll from his robes, along with a matching Chakra collection device that looked like a syringe.

These had all been prepared by the R&D Department before he came.

He walked up to Fu, crouched down, and leveled his gaze with the seated girl.

This respectful gesture made the girl feel a bit more favorable toward him.

"It might sting a little, but it will be over soon." Uchiha Kei said gently.

"Mm!" Fu nodded heavily, not only not afraid but actively reached out her arm.

Uchiha Kei picked up the collection device. The moment the needle, with its faint Sealing Jutsu glow, was about to touch Fu's skin, he paused.

He looked up at the girl's clear, trusting orange eyes, and a strange feeling suddenly flashed in his heart.

This pure trust was so precious in this cold Shinobi World.

Perhaps this was what the new order he was striving to build needed to protect.

A faint, almost imperceptible sting came.

Fu only let out a soft "Ah," and before she could even frown, the collection was finished.

A wisp of Chakra emitting a faint green fluorescence and full of life energy was successfully extracted and instantly sealed into that small scroll.

The system's notification sound rang in Uchiha Kei's mind one after another.

Success.

A surge of excitement welled up in Uchiha Kei's heart.

The biggest bottleneck hindering the development of the Land of Whirlpools, the energy problem, finally had the possibility of being completely solved from this moment on.

But the expression on his face remained calm and gentle.

He carefully put away the scroll and then gave Fu an approving smile.

"Thank you, Fu. Your help is crucial to my research."

"From today on, you are a friend of me, Uchiha Kei, and the entire Land of Whirlpools."

Friend!

Hearing this word, Fu's eyes lit up instantly, the light more brilliant than the stars in the sky.

She stood up excitedly and nodded vigorously: "Mm! We are friends!"

Watching this harmonious scene, Shibu and the elders all showed gratified smiles.

A crisis that could have led to the destruction of the village had ended in a way that satisfied everyone, which could be called perfect.

The Land of Whirlpools had gained its first official ally on this continent.

Although the power of this ally was negligible.

But the political significance it represented was extraordinary.

It marked that the Land of Whirlpools, this dormant dragon, had finally begun to extend its tentacles from the ocean to the vast inland.

With matters settled, Uchiha Kei did not plan to stay here too long.

There were still a pile of things waiting for him to deal with back in the Land of Whirlpools.

Especially the "Miniature Tailed Beast Chakra Reactor" theoretical model he had just obtained; he could not wait to make it a reality.

After discussing some details regarding subsequent aid with Shibu and leaving a communication scroll specifically for contact, Uchiha Kei took Uchiha Itachi and prepared to bid farewell.

Before leaving, Fu mustered the courage and chased after them.

"Um... Uchiha Kei, will we... be able to meet again in the future?" The girl's face carried a hint of reluctance and anticipation.

Uchiha Kei looked at her and smiled.

"Of course. When my research has results, perhaps I will invite you to visit the Land of Whirlpools. We have many interesting things there that you haven't seen."

"Really? That's great!" Fu jumped up happily.

Uchiha Kei nodded at her, and then, with Uchiha Itachi, walked towards the village entrance under the respectful send-off of all the Hidden Waterfall Village villagers.

"Let's go, Uchiha Itachi."

"Yes."

The two came to the waterfall, and Uchiha Kei activated Kamui.

A familiar black vortex slowly emerged before them.

The moment before stepping into the vortex, Uchiha Kei looked back, taking one last look at this village hidden by the waterfall, and the girl waving vigorously in the distance.

Their figures disappeared into the twisted space.

Meanwhile.

In the distant Hidden Rain Village, inside that metal tower shrouded in cold rain all year round.

The Six Paths of Pain, and Obito, who had taken the form of Tobi, were holding an emergency meeting with other members of the Akatsuki through the Astral Projection Jutsu.

On the giant Gedō Mazō, illusory projections lit up one by one.

But everyone noticed that the two fingers representing Kakuzu and Hidan were empty.

"Kakuzu and Hidan have lost contact."

Pain's emotionless voice slowly resounded in the great hall.

"According to the last intelligence transmitted back, they encountered an accident in Hidden Waterfall Village."

"An accident?" Sasori, in the projection, made his unique hoarse sound, "Being able to make those two guys who claim to be immortal lose contact simultaneously is not something that can be explained by just the word 'accident'."

"Is it Konoha's people? Or the Anbu of other great nations?" Kisame asked in a deep voice, carrying his Samehada.

"No."

This time it was Tobi, who stood beside Pain, who spoke.

His tone changed from his usual flippancy to being unusually grave.

"According to my intelligence, the ones who appeared there were the Kage of the Land of Whirlpools, Uchiha Kei. And... Uchiha Itachi."

Uchiha Kei!

As soon as this name was mentioned, the projections present all fluctuated to varying degrees.

This man who had recently risen to fame in the Shinobi World had actually gotten involved with the Akatsuki again.

Pain's pair of light purple Rinnegan flashed with a cold chill.

"It's him again..."

This Uchiha Kei, and his Land of Whirlpools, were destroying the Akatsuki's plans time and time again.

"It seems we have all underestimated this emerging force."

Pain's voice was like a final verdict.

"Their goal is very clear: to be our enemy and actively sabotage our Tailed Beast capture plan."

Obito added from the side: "And their strength is far stronger than we imagined. Even if the combination of Kakuzu and Hidan encountered a Kage-level powerhouse, they would have enough strength to protect themselves. But they lost contact in such a short time, and didn't even manage to send out a distress signal..."

This meant they had encountered an overwhelming, irresistible power.

The entire great hall fell into a brief, dead silence.

After a long time.

Pain spoke slowly, making the final decision.

"Pass down the order. Before dealing with Uchiha Kei and his Land of Whirlpools, all capture operations targeting other Tailed Beasts are suspended."

"From now on, list the Land of Whirlpools as the Akatsuki's number one target!"

"Concentrate all power, and at all costs, we must completely eradicate this biggest obstacle!"