After the Fourth Great Ninja War was officially declared, the five great hidden villages began to assemble. Most missions were halted as they took stock of weapons, medicines, and other necessities for combat. They also had to consider personnel numbers, as too many would be difficult to manage and organize.
Obito needed to create one hundred thousand White Zetsu, a process that, even with the power of the seven tailed beasts, would require vast amounts of chakra and time.
Consequently, a period of calm settled over the ninja world. The Five Kage convened another meeting, ultimately agreeing not to involve the jinchuriki in the war.
Tsunade, under the guise of assigning Naruto an S-rank mission, sent him to an island in the Land of Lightning's Cloud Village, accompanied by Yamato, Might Guy, and Aoba Yamashiro.
Privately, Tsunade requested the Raikage allow Killer Bee to teach Naruto how to control the power of the tailed beasts. The Raikage agreed, and Naruto was currently en route to the Land of Lightning by ship, to keep his movements secret.
...
Land of the Waterfall.
Rixing and Karin met Yugito at the rendezvous point designated by Kabuto.
A man in a cloak that concealed his body stood before them. Upon seeing Rixing, Kabuto removed his hood and bowed to the three.
"Long time no see, Lord Rixing, Lady Karin, Lady Yugito. I am Kabuto."
Kabuto's appearance had changed significantly. His eyes resembled those of a snake, and his cloaked body was covered in snake scales. His legs had transformed into snake bodies, but instead of a tail, they terminated in snake heads.
"So disgusting, Kabuto. Stay away from me." Karin found Kabuto's appearance repulsive and retreated several steps. Yugito, unusually in agreement with Karin, also kept her distance.
Rixing smiled, thinking they would find him even more revolting if they saw his full form beneath the cloak. Rixing had seen through Kabuto's entire disguise.
"What happened to your body? Can you change back?" Although Rixing didn't mind Kabuto, he couldn't stand the snake skin.
Hearing Rixing's words, Kabuto immediately began to shed his skin in front of him. A relatively normal human emerged from his mouth. This sight made Karin and Yugito uncomfortable, and they had already retreated further away when Kabuto opened his mouth.
"Xing-kun, we'll wait for you outside!"
Rixing smiled wryly. "Don't mind them. It seems you've learned Sage Mode from Ryuchi Cave. This shedding technique is even more formidable than Orochimaru's. Tell me, what is this significant discovery you mentioned?"
"Yes, Lord Rixing."
Kabuto clapped his hands together, and a coffin emerged from the ground. As the lid opened, Rixing saw a long-haired man: Uchiha Madara.
"This is my most significant recent discovery: Uchiha Madara, the ninja as renowned as the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju."
Rixing wasn't particularly surprised to see Madara. He had guessed it was Madara when Kabuto had contacted him about a major discovery. Apart from Madara, nothing else could be considered such a significant finding.
"Lord Rixing, the masked man from the Akatsuki has recently declared war on the Five Great Nations. I have now found the real Madara, so that masked man is merely an Uchiha who has borrowed Madara's name."
Rixing patted Kabuto's shoulder. "Kabuto, don't spread this information. I've always known the masked man's identity. I will provide you with the corpses and blood of some powerful individuals. Use them to participate in the war."
Saying this, Rixing produced what he had collected: Sasori's heart, Itachi's corpse, Asuma's blood, and the skeletal remains of some Leaf Village ninjas, including Neji's father, Tsunade's short-lived boyfriend, Dan Kato, who had died the very night their relationship had been established.
"Oh, right. Let me Edo Tensei one for you first. From now on, you will Edo Tensei according to my jutsu." Rixing suddenly vanished and reappeared moments later, holding a Cloud Village ninja.
Then, Rixing slowly drew the hand seals, threw Sasori's heart onto it, and added a piece of an extraterrestrial meteorite.
"Reanimation Jutsu!"
Instantly, black smoke enveloped the Cloud Village ninja. At that moment, he formed another hand seal, and the Cloud Village ninja slowly took on Sasori's appearance.
"Normally, I wouldn't form hand seals, but I'm showing you clearly this time. The final seal is to prevent the deceased's emotions from fluctuating and automatically releasing the Edo Tensei. Do you understand?"
Kabuto understood. Rixing's Edo Tensei was more perfect than his own. Apart from the necessity of a living sacrifice, it was flawless in all other aspects. With the integration of the meteorite, the deceased's power would likely surpass their living strength.
"Lord Rixing, I understand. What should we do next? Should we dig up more corpses, or meet directly with the masked man?"
"The war requires some preparation time, there's no rush. I'll go with you to dig up corpses. Let Karin and Yugito play."
Rixing then awakened Sasori's consciousness, allowing him to act freely, whether to help the Sand Village or the Akatsuki, as the Five Great Nations would ultimately be victorious.
"Where is this... I see. Orochimaru's Edo Tensei. Rixing, Kabuto."
The moment Sasori awoke, he realized he had been reanimated. He moved his hands and body, finding himself in his pre-modification form.
Rixing threw Sasori's final scroll: "The Akatsuki and the Five Great Nations are about to begin their war. You can cause trouble however you wish. This is your scroll."
Rixing had already examined the final scroll; it was merely a human puppet technique, which didn't interest him much.
"Then I will fulfill my last wish. You mentioned a flying puppet earlier."
With that, Sasori walked out, showing no emotion.
Rixing and Kabuto also departed. Outside, they saw Karin and Yugito watching ants on the ground, a rare moment of harmony between them.
"Karin, Yugito, we're going to the Village of the Waterfall. Kabuto, wait here for a moment."
...
In the Village of the Waterfall, Fu was playing with butterflies in a courtyard when Rixing and the two others descended from the sky.
"Yo! My friend, I'm here to fulfill my promise. Want to go out and play?"
Upon seeing Rixing, Fu immediately flew to him and grabbed Yugito's hand. "I've been waiting for you! The village elder said it's dangerous outside and kept me locked up here. It's no fun at all."
"That's why I'm here to take you out. Leave a clone here to fool them, and let's go." Rixing opened a portal, signaling Fu to sneak out and play.
Fu immediately created a shadow clone, grabbed Yugito's hand, and eagerly rushed in, appearing outside the Village of the Waterfall a second later.
"Karin, Yugito, you two take Fu to play. I have some business to attend to with Kabuto." Rixing gave Karin some money, explaining that he was going to dig up corpses and it wouldn't be convenient with Fu.
"What? You're not coming to play with us? Hurry up and finish your business! Yugito, Karin, let's go! I'm already excited!"
Fu, full of joy, flew around the sky. The outside world was amazing. Although she couldn't play with Rixing, having Yugito and Karin with her, Fu didn't think much of it.
"Go!"
Rixing waved goodbye with a smile. Karin and Yugito were accustomed to Fu's behavior and followed her.
"Xing-kun, don't forget us!"
The reason Karin and Yugito readily agreed to go with Fu this time was that they knew Rixing was going to dig up corpses with Kabuto, and Kabuto's appearance was truly too revolting for both of them to bear.
...
After parting ways with the three, Rixing returned to Kabuto's side and put on his haori. "Let's go. We'll start from the places that experienced war in the great nations!"
"Yes, Lord Rixing."