Would they be able to return without any further incidents beyond the encounter with the gossip group from Konoha?
Of course, peace couldn't last.
"Chad-sama!" a rather thin Kumogakure ninja by usual standards rushed in from the rear to report "Some of ours at the back of the troops have been ambushed! The strange thing is… there are also casualties among the Kirigakure ninjas. In fact, they seem to be the main target!"
"Ambushes?" Chad frowned in confusion, looking at him "How have we not noticed anything until now?"
Because the emphasis was that it hadn't been just one incident, but several.
There were alarms and countermeasures in place for situations like this in war. Even if they had technically already won, the troops never lowered their guard until returning to the village.
"This…"
"Hmm?!"
"It seems there's only one enemy… the same one each time…"
A single enemy? In these circumstances? Someone with the audacity to go against them?
Chad immediately made the connection.
"Have we seen the enemy?" he asked, just to be sure.
"Yes! He was discovered in their last attempt," the ninja reported "He wore a black cloak, used chains, and had an orange mask over his face with only one eye exposed. The survivors claim they saw the Sharingan."
"I see." Chad ran a hand over his face. Of course it was that idiot throwing a tantrum "Relay the orders: everyone should merge into squads four times larger. If the enemy has been able to come and go unnoticed until now, he likely has some kind of spatial ability. Pay special attention to the Kirigakure group; if they're truly his main target, he's more likely to strike there again if he returns."
"Yes!" the ninja withdrew to inform everyone.
Of course Obito had to make a move. He just couldn't help himself, could he? Chad thought, irritation growing by the moment. Everything had gone too smoothly thanks to the secret cooperation with Terumi.
He had expected Kirigakure's annihilation, but in the end, apart from scattered casualties along their path—the groups in the Water Capital, the extremists eliminated by Mei, and those pursuing Darui—the death toll had actually been reduced for a conflict of this scale.
Kirigakure had bled and collapsed, but instead of being annihilated, it had been absorbed.
This was not the outcome Obito wanted.
Black Zetsu likely hadn't had the chance to inform him, because it was clear Obito had acted purely on emotional impulse, trusting his Kamui. It was astonishing how someone with barely chūnin-level abilities could become such a threat with the right dōjutsu.
But to kill so indiscriminately like that… almost too conveniently…
"Was it because of the Uchiha and Hyūga group we found?" Chad deduced sharply, forming a rough idea of Obito's intentions "Did he think that if we saw someone with the Sharingan killing our people, we'd pick a fight with Konoha?"
Obito had even gone as far as wearing a completely black cloak instead of his Akatsuki one.
Or maybe it was the same cloak worn inside out? Not impossible.
If I take the Kirigakure people to Kumogakure, Obito will start a wave of killings out of pure spite, which will strain the village and could cause unrest before Kiri even settles… Chad thought In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he did exactly that to sow chaos and try to capture Yugito and B. He vents his hatred and, at the same time, secures one or two tailed beasts for his grand plan…
Conclusion: Obito must be killed. This matter can no longer be delayed.
The big problem was that he didn't have any sealing tags with spatial formulas on him, nor the materials needed to create fuinjutsu at the moment.
Should I ask Black Zetsu to possess him by surprise and paralyze him long enough to snap his neck?
It wouldn't be that easy.
…
Obito watched the blood running along the chains and felt dissatisfied—very dissatisfied. Far too little Kirigakure blood had been spilled, and what he had done was nothing more than a drop compared to what he truly desired.
Although Nagato and Konan's capture of Utakata had been a success, and the jinchūriki was now in a permanent coma connected to a drug cocktail, he still wanted to see Kirigakure burn to ashes.
But instead of a proper war… they were suddenly negotiating?
And on top of that, they actually reached a successful conclusion?!
Cowards! Trash!
They all deserved to die!
"Obito, what was that?" Black Zetsu emerged from a nearby tree and questioned the deranged lunatic "The mission was a success. We got the money and the jinchūriki! The profits this week are enormous, why did you do that?"
The unspoken question was clear: why suddenly draw attention to yourself like that?
Zetsu knew of Obito's hatred for the Mist and expected him to react badly, but he also believed he would at least request help for any move he intended to make, giving them time to act in secret.
But this could disrupt the plans he had devised with Chad.
At least Nagato and Konan had acted according to his calculations!
"I'm only creating friction between Konoha and Kumo," Obito said coldly. He owed no explanation to this manifestation of Madara's will "By exploiting the appearance of that Uchiha group, if Kumo is emboldened by its victory over Kiri and starts another war against Konoha, we'll be able to obtain their jinchūriki much more easily."
Black Zetsu didn't like the answer, but he held back a sarcastic reply.
He had lived a thousand years—did this idiot really think he could fool him with such a shallow excuse?
"Forget it. What's next?" he said, knowing arguing with a closed mind was pointless.
Obito, as expected, immediately refocused without further questions.
"Send some clones to cause trouble tonight among the Kumogakure troops. Have them disguise themselves as Konoha shinobi and focus on attacking Kirigakure ninjas," he ordered "When they're taken down, make them self-destruct. And while chaos reigns… I'll take the Eight-Tails jinchūriki!" The Sharingan in his eye spun fiercely. "Let's see if the Raikage doesn't lose his temper when he thinks Konoha took his 'brother'."
Black Zetsu did not immediately approve. He remained silent for several seconds, as if evaluating the viability of the plan.
He needed to maintain consistency in front of Obito, though apparently not for much longer. He didn't believe Chad would be pleased with the deaths Obito had caused among Kumogakure's ranks out of nowhere.
"What do we do about Kumogakure's Dodomeki? He's in charge at the front and isn't easy to deal with. Don't be fooled by his muscles—he's more perceptive than he looks," he said explicitly "My White Zetsu won't be able to distract him no matter how many I send, and even if you place the jinchūriki under a genjutsu with your Sharingan, if he's given enough time he could break free," he explained "If, because of these actions, they later discover there's no one like you in Konoha and realize you're tied to Akatsuki, it'll become a problem," he concluded "The Eye of the Moon Plan might need to be delayed…"
Obito furrowed his brow behind the mask. That blond guy was indeed a problem that needed careful handling, especially with the abilities Zetsu had reported.
A direct close-range fight was suicide. He needed another approach.
Black Zetsu waited for a long time, expecting Obito to come up empty, before suggesting ideas.
"Should I drug him? He eats a lot compared to the other ninja."
"Useless. He's a medical ninja. He'd notice," Obito dismissed.
"Separate him from the camp?"
"I still couldn't handle him."
He could send him into the Kamui dimension and let him starve, but he needed a few seconds to trap him, and he doubted the man would cooperate with his own death.
Both fell into thought for several minutes.
"I have an idea," Black Zetsu said, tilting his head "But I'll need both of us to cooperate."