As Li Xing was drinking tea and watching the wooden dummy practice swordplay, a patch of aloe vera slowly grew from the ground beside him. As the aloe vera unfurled, the faces of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu appeared before Li Xing.
White Zetsu: "Huh? Wasn't that woman the jinchuriki of the Two-Tails from Cloud Village? Li Xing, did you save her?"
Black Zetsu: "Who else could it be besides Li Xing? Never mind that, I'm here today for something, Li Xing."
Li Xing took a sip of his green tea and said, "It's been a long time, Black Zetsu. Speak your mind. I'm in a good mood today, maybe I can help you."
"The scent of the Three-Tails has been detected in a lake within the Land of Water. Pain said that whoever is closer should go, either you and Karin, or Deidara and Tobi. Itachi and Kisame just captured the Four-Tails, and Kakuzu and Hidan are still searching for the Five-Tails. Only the two of you are available now."
"Alright then, I'll go take a look. I'm free anyway. This way, I'll have helped you capture three tailed beasts."
With that, Li Xing packed his things and prepared to head to the Land of Water. He soared into the sky and disappeared. Karin and Yugito followed closely behind. During this time, both Karin and Yugito had learned the Super Weighted Rock Technique. It was mainly because Karin liked flying that Li Xing taught her, and when Yugito fought with Karin, Karin always flew up. To defeat Karin, Yugito also learned this move from Li Xing.
Watching the three disappear, White Zetsu couldn't help but sigh, "Such a mysterious person. Can someone like that really be trusted? We don't even know Li Xing's abilities."
"Heh! I've never trusted Li Xing. The only one I can trust is myself!"
Black Zetsu let out a cold laugh, and then he and White Zetsu merged into the ground and disappeared.
...
"Li Xing, I want to know, why are you capturing tailed beasts everywhere? Isn't that making enemies of the whole world?" Yugito asked Li Xing, confused about the Akatsuki's actions.
Karin also didn't understand why the Akatsuki were collecting tailed beasts, she only heard from Pain that it was for peace.
"It's a simple principle, for world peace. The leader of the Akatsuki is someone who will stop at nothing for peace. He collects tailed beasts to deter the world, so that other countries dare not easily start wars."
"The general idea is to possess absolute power, and then hire it out to the Five Great Nations. This way, every country can hire it, making all countries afraid to easily launch wars."
"However, behind this lies a deeper goal, a world of absolute peace, filled with love and hope. It's just an illusion."
Li Xing explained the Akatsuki's scheme to the two. Although they were all pawns of Black Zetsu, their thoughts and goals were quite good. If he could see his parents and everyone from the Butterfly House again in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Li Xing would be willing. However, it was just a dream, and he should leave after experiencing it.
"Peace? It's said that even Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, couldn't achieve it. Can this Akatsuki really do it?"
"Yugito, you're overthinking it. There will be no peace in this world. Even if there is, it will only be temporary. As long as there is life, there can be no peace. Even two trees will fight for underground nutrients, let alone humans."
This was Li Xing's understanding. If true peace were to be achieved, primates should be exterminated first, and the surface of the planet should be cleansed. Only then would there be permanent peace.
"In that case, why are you still helping the Akatsuki?" Yugito still didn't quite understand Li Xing's thoughts.
"Yugito, why do you have so many questions? You'll understand when you follow Lord Xingjun," Karin said, seeing Yugito asking too many questions. She quickly ended the topic, lest Lord Xingjun recall some sad memories.
"Alright, alright. We're about to enter the Land of Water. Let's go soak in a bath and rest for a few days before slowly searching for the lake where the tailed beast resides."
The three of them landed together in a hot spring town on the border of the Land of Water. Soaking in hot springs had become an essential part of their daily routine.
...
Meanwhile, Orochimaru had already inquired about the existence of the Three-Tails and had sent Kabuto to search for Guren, the child who could control the Three-Tails.
Following Orochimaru's instructions, Kabuto found Guren, a ninja with the Kekkei Genkai, Crystal Style. After selecting a few subordinates, he set off towards the lake where the Three-Tails was located.
...
In Konoha, Tsunade had also learned of the Three-Tails' existence, but it was within the Land of Water. To avoid conflict, she first communicated with the Hidden Mist Village, and then the two sides reached a cooperation to seal the Three-Tails together.
Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village, had a simple plan. Since the Fourth Mizukage's death, no one had been able to subdue the Three-Tails. Coupled with the defection of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the incident of the Bloody Mist, they had no way to deal with tailed beasts. Now that they had time, they would seal the tailed beast with Konoha, and find a suitable person to become a jinchuriki next time. As for the Akatsuki, Mei Terumi was not worried at all, for no other reason than her confidence in possessing two Kekkei Genkai. She believed the Akatsuki wouldn't be able to cause any significant trouble.
Unfortunately, Mei Terumi's vision was a bit too narrow. Living on an island nation, she rarely interacted with other major powers. Her information about the outside world was now outdated.
Most importantly, there were four Akatsuki members coming to capture the tailed beast this time. Including Yugito, that made five members, all of whom could be considered to have formed a formidable team, and each of them was a Kage-level powerhouse. Li Xing was even beyond the ceiling.
...
"Found it, found it! Hey! Senior Li Xing! Senior Karin! Huh? Who's this extra person?" Tobi and Deidara had also arrived in the Land of Water and planned to meet up with Li Xing for him to appreciate their new art.
"Li Xing, Karin, long time no see! You've got another woman, as expected of you, hmm!" Deidara descended from the sky and greeted Li Xing and the others.
"I thought you guys would be a few days late? I was just about to go to the hot springs, do you want to join?" Li Xing had received a message from Deidara when he landed, asking him to come and appreciate his art, so Li Xing had waited for Deidara here.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We want to go! We want to go! Senior Deidara must be tired too!" Tobi shouted with his hands raised, enthusiastically agreeing to go to the hot springs.
Deidara couldn't be bothered with Tobi and walked up to Yugito. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. What is your art? My art is the transient beauty, it's an explosion, hmm!"
"Art? What is that? Li Xing's art is my art," Yugito said, looking at the two eccentric people in front of her.
"Deidara, she's the jinchuriki of the Two-Tails. I just saved her, and now she's mine. Her art is ultimate speed. Speaking of which, your art seems to have evolved. Transient beauty. Did you learn my fireworks?"
Li Xing put an arm around Deidara's shoulder, and the two walked towards the hot spring town, discussing art along the way.
As for Tobi, he ran off to flirt with Karin, constantly asking how Li Xing saved Yugito and how he extracted the tailed beast. However, Karin couldn't be bothered with Tobi and pulled Yugito away from the perverted Tobi who liked to flirt.