Returning empty-handed, Nagato ordered Deidara to conduct a thorough, carpet-like search. Aside from the Konoha ninjas who happened to arrive investigating the temple's destruction, there was not a single trace left of that person—vanished as if into thin air.
Lightning, fire, earth, water, dual-wielding swords… who could escape under Akatsuki's watchful eyes? More importantly, why was this person so familiar with their ninjutsu?
Akatsuki was clouded with uncertainty. Obito's nerves were on edge.
"Wow, what a coincidence! I've been hanging out in the Kamui dimension, and then I remembered Kakashi was heading to the temple for support. I wanted to mess around with him, so I figured I'd wait there. Didn't expect you guys to be there too! Boss, that wasn't fair—you catch someone without letting me join. If you'd told me in advance, we could have grabbed her!"
"Her?"
Eyes narrowing, highly alert, they stared at Obito. None of them had met him before, and he'd never seen the person—how could he know it was a woman?
"Yeah, that's what Kakashi said—there was a scent of women's perfume." Obito opened his eyes wide and lied. In truth, Parker had conducted a meticulous search. The scent tracked was extremely faint, merely residue from Kisame's strike on Zaraki Kita.
There was no perfume, but the faint scent of hair oil remained. Nagato frowned, casting a harsh glance at Obito. In that brief contact, something about her seemed extremely, incredibly familiar.
"That person's swordsmanship… resembles the Second Hokage Sword Style."
Kakuzu's words dropped like a pebble in a still lake—causing small ripples, but nothing major. Obito immediately looked at Konan, her face as cold as frost. She showed no reaction to the name, but the fingernails nearly piercing flesh betrayed her, trembling slightly beneath her robes.
"The posture is similar, but Second Hokage Sword Style relies on wide, sweeping motions. That person's movements are small," Itachi said calmly, frowning. He had a sense of having seen this sword style before, though the memory was vague. Before he could ask, Hidan's faint voice cut in.
"What do you mean? What's wrong with Second Hokage Sword Style?"
Hidan's body had been thoroughly destroyed by lightning release. Even after a day, he was extremely weak.
"It's a powerful sword style, but it's lost to history." Itachi spoke plainly, offering no further explanation. "That person knows all of our abilities. Hidan's skills are known only to the dead—but she not only broke his ritual, she also incapacitated him in the most effective way. That's hard to analyze mid-battle, which means the likelihood of intelligence leakage is extremely high."
"Orochimaru?" Deidara suggested, thinking of the former Akatsuki member who had defected.
Kakuzu shook his head. "Orochimaru didn't know Hidan's abilities."
All eyes turned to the lone Akatsuki member who hadn't participated in the fight: Uchiha Obito.
Obito's mouth opened, realizing he might have jumped into the Land of Water and couldn't clear his name.
"I swear on Rin, I, Uchiha Obito, have never betrayed Akatsuki. I've never leaked your information. Even if I'm close with Kakashi, I've never told Konoha anything."
He pounded his chest for emphasis. Everyone remained silent, watching as if to see his performance.
Obito pressed his lips, raised a black rod born of Yin-Yang Release, and declared decisively:
"I swear with my life."
The rod pierced his heart as he spoke. No hesitation, no theatrics. The long black rod penetrated fully. Blood flowed from his mouth and onto the weapon—proof he hadn't used Kamui to cheat death.
It hurt—so much that Obito doubled over and collapsed.
"Cough… I…I… cough… I used to be scum… cough cough… but… I will never betray my comrades again…"
Obito always acted before thinking—Nagato deeply respected that. Even before speaking, Obito had sworn his resolve through action. Truly… too reckless…
Even with half his body composed of Hashirama's cells, proper medical ninjutsu was essential. As Konan treated him, Nagato hesitated, contemplating whether to enter Obito's mind to investigate.
"Do you believe him?" Konan paused, glancing at Nagato leaning against the door, struggling. The temporary Akatsuki lodging—Obito didn't live here, he had his own place.
Nagato snapped out of his thoughts, not answering her question. Instead, he asked:
"What do you think?"
"You mean Obito, or that person?"
"Both."
"Regarding the information leak, I trust Obito didn't betray anyone. As for that person… they have the strength to kill any of us, but they didn't. And during the battle, they didn't use weapons. Their true strength is far greater than what we've seen."
Calm, analytical—typical of Konan. Nagato mulled this over, then asked again:
"What about the Second Hokage Sword Style?"
Konan paused briefly, then shook her head.
"No. We haven't seen all variations of Second Hokage Sword Style. Their technique resembles it, but may not be the same. Second Hokage Sword Style is suited for group combat. That day, their movements were optimized for one-on-one."
"So… conclusion: not the style?"
"What do you feel?" Konan countered.
Nagato fell silent, then spoke:
"When I briefly made contact with her, she felt familiar… like an old acquaintance."
"You think it's possible?"
Nagato shook his head.
"The chakra is different. And she's not a reanimated body."
Konan lowered her eyes, refusing to dwell on certain thoughts or people.
"In any case, caution is key. Whatever her goal, she has our information. One thing is strange: three temples destroyed, heavy casualties in each, yet Konoha ninjas stationed at the temples suffered none. According to them, they were knocked out. From her methods, she clearly doesn't value human life—but why spare Konoha ninjas? And the Land of Fire temple was attacked only three days after the Land of Earth one… This behavior is disturbingly calculated."
"A religious fanatic?"
"Do you think so?"
Konan shook her head.
This strong, stuttering woman… didn't resemble a religious fanatic at all.
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