Chapter 187
Several days had passed since the end of the conference, and the Sky City had drifted above an unknown desert.
News came from various nations: the Four-Tails and the Six-Tails had been captured by the Akatsuki, and even the Two-Tails couldn't escape. The Akatsuki's capture efficiency had skyrocketed—it was far quicker than before. Reportedly, six members involved in these captures had the Rinnegan, and the only known ability among them was that the lead ninja could pull people toward him with some unknown power.
Jiraiya, now Hokage in Konoha, had confirmed that Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village) might be the Akatsuki's stronghold. Though he'd typically go alone for a mission like this, his status as Hokage meant he couldn't be so reckless anymore.
At this time, Kakashi's Team 7 volunteered for the mission to gather intelligence, hoping to contribute to the effort to eliminate Akatsuki. They also requested support from Zixu.
Zixu agreed without hesitation. He couldn't leave right away, and Rosinante was maintaining the Sky City's barrier. Karin and the others had been promised some rest—if things went on like this, there would only be one path left.
"What kind of clone should I create this time?" Zixu pondered. "Haki alone can form a complete combat system. Let's focus on that and integrate it with taijutsu like Gentle Fist (Jūken)."
He concentrated, forming a shadow clone.
A classical-looking man appeared, dressed in black and blue training gear resembling traditional Chinese clothing. Standing still like a tall pine, the clone's calm eyes exuded restrained power—a sword with no edge, fully retracted.
Zixu nodded in satisfaction. This clone, reinforced with Armament Haki (Busoshoku Haki), would be sturdier. What happened last time shouldn't repeat.
After giving it some instructions, Zixu sent the clone down.
Having handled that, Zixu walked to the edge of Sky City. Looking down, all he saw were clouds at an altitude of 10,000 meters. The entire floating city drifted above a sea of white clouds, like a small boat on a heavenly ocean.