Inside a cavern.
Obito sat on a protruding rock, fiddling with an orange swirl mask.
The dim candlelight cast shadows across his half-ruined face, making his Sharingan appear exceptionally deep and dark.
The ground rippled.
A pitcher-plant-like figure, Black Zetsu, slowly emerged. His yin-yang face looked eerie under the flickering firelight.
"Kakuzu is complaining again."
Black Zetsu's raspy voice broke the cave's gloom. "To expand our recruitment and stockpile resources, the organization's cash flow is indeed tight. That fellow Nagato is even more anxious than we are."
Obito did not respond, only tracing the cold edge of the mask with his thumb.
He didn't care about Kakuzu's complaints.
As long as the plan progressed, if they needed money, they would simply take it.
Seeing Obito's silence, Black Zetsu's yellow eye shifted, its gaze landing on the slight dampness on Obito's hem.
It was the distinct moisture brought by a sea breeze.
"The frequency of your visits to the Land of Water seems to be a bit high lately,"
Black Zetsu mentioned casually. "Moreover, according to my observations, you stayed in the Hidden Mist Village for a long time but did nothing. You didn't even show any intention of further strengthening the genjutsu control over the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura."
Obito's hand paused.
He slowly lifted his eyelids, his crimson eye casting a cold glance at Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu acted as if he didn't notice the chill in that gaze and continued his analysis. "The Akatsuki has indeed been short-staffed lately. That brat from the Hidden Mist, Kisame Hoshigaki, has an enormous amount of chakra. He is certainly a promising candidate."
"Are you planning to personally scout and then recruit him?"
"If it's him, it would indeed be worth several trips."
Obito lowered his head again and snapped the mask back onto his face.
With a soft 'click,' the deep, brooding Uchiha Obito vanished, replaced by an entity known as 'Tobi.'
"Shut up."
The voice from beneath the mask was low and raspy, carrying an unquestionable aura of authority. "It is not yet the time."
Black Zetsu froze for a moment.
It looked at the man before it, an odd feeling inexplicably rising in its heart.
Since the failure of the Nine-Tails Incident, this pawn it had personally nurtured seemed to have become somewhat unpredictable.
The old Obito had been obedient to its suggestions, his mind filled only with creating that 'world with Rin.'
But now, this pawn seemed to have developed his own thoughts.
"Madara."
Black Zetsu tested him by using that alias. "According to your plan, shouldn't we be controlling the Mizukage and continuing the policy of the Bloody Mist Village?"
"If we don't, how are we supposed to obtain Tailed Beasts and soldiers?"
"I said, shut up."
Obito suddenly turned his head, his lone eye staring fixedly at Black Zetsu.
The chakra that erupted in that instant actually made Black Zetsu, a product of Kaguya's will, feel a slight sense of pressure.
"My plan does not require your interference."
Obito stood up, his black cloak fluttering in the wind. "I have my own arrangements for the Hidden Mist. As for Kisame Hoshigaki... he is a piece for later. Moving on him now would only alert the enemy."
Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment before its body slowly began to sink back down.
"Since you have a plan, I won't say more. However... do not forget our ultimate goal."
As Black Zetsu's presence completely vanished into the ground, the cavern returned to a deathly silence.
Obito stood in place, unmoving for a long time. Eventually, he touched his chest.
There, a seal had been implanted by Madara.
During this time, he had followed a trail of clues to re-examine the ancient texts left by Uchiha Madara. He had even taken advantage of Minato Namikaze's absence to sneak back into Konoha and look through some sealed scrolls.
Although he had yet to find definitive evidence, he had a vague feeling that the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and Rin's death were not as simple as Madara had claimed.
That old man who had saved him, taught him, and claimed he would create a new world with him...
And this Black Zetsu, who claimed to be Madara's will but whose origin was actually shrouded in mystery...
It smelled of lies.
Obito watched the flickering candlelight through the hole in his mask.
He felt like a moth drawn to this flame, trapped in a massive web.
He used to think he was the one weaving the web.
Now it seemed he might just be another insect caught in it.
"Rin..."
Obito whispered that name.
In his mind, the image of the girl who always had a warm smile and would bandage his wounds seemed to become a bit clearer.
The Obito Uchiha who once dreamed of becoming Hokage and wanted to protect his comrades had not completely died.
He was merely asleep.
And now, a seed of doubt was waking him up.
'What if the Eye of the Moon plan is also a lie?'
'What if the world created by it is just another, even larger hell?'
Obito clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm.
He couldn't rush.
He couldn't turn hostile yet.
That fellow Black Zetsu hid too many secrets.
Before he could uncover the whole truth or possess an adequate way to deal with it, he had to cooperate and continue the act.
He had to play the role of 'Uchiha Madara' well.
He had to play the mastermind behind the Akatsuki.
"Since you want to play..."
Obito let out a soft chuckle, one that carried three parts self-mockery and seven parts icy coldness.
He turned and walked toward the depths of the cave, his back gradually swallowed by the darkness.
"Then let's play along."
...
The sky over the Rain Village remained an oppressive leaden gray.
The fine drizzle was like an endless net, shrouding the city forged of steel.
Jiraiya stood atop a thick drainage pipe, letting the rain soak his signature white hair.
He didn't use chakra to ward off the rain. He just stood there nonchalantly, his red coat swaying slightly in the wind and rain.
Every drop of rain here was an extension of Nagato.
From the moment he stepped into the boundaries of the Rain Village, he knew he had been exposed.
But he had no intention of hiding.
"Splash."
A strange sound broke the monotony of the rain.
Countless white scraps of paper danced in the air, rapidly converging into a form.
A blue-haired woman wearing an Akatsuki cloak with paper wings on her back floated in mid-air, looking down at her former teacher.
Konan was expressionless, her pale orange eyes reflecting a coldness that kept people at a distance of a thousand miles.
"Master Jiraiya."
Konan's voice pierced through the curtain of rain, reaching Jiraiya's ears clearly. "Why have you returned?"
An aloe-vera-looking guy?
Zetsu?
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