Uchiha Obito frowned. "Why?"
"The reason lies in the shift in Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude," Black Zetsu explained. "By all logic, Minato Namikaze shouldn't even be qualified to compete with Orochimaru. His foundation simply isn't strong enough."
"The fact that Minato can now rival—and even surpass—Orochimaru is entirely because of Hiruzen's support."
"Compared to Hiruzen, Orochimaru is still too inexperienced."
Obito grew even more confused. "But Orochimaru is Hiruzen's direct disciple. Shouldn't he support him?"
Black Zetsu snorted coldly.
"And what of that? In the face of power, even a biological son can be cast aside."
"Compared to the deeply entrenched Orochimaru, Minato—who lacks that foundation—is far easier to control."
"Even if Minato becomes Hokage, he won't have enough loyal subordinates to fully control Konoha."
"And that gives Hiruzen a perfectly legitimate reason to keep his own people in power."
Obito's expression darkened.
"So Hiruzen is trying to install a puppet Hokage?!"
"More or less," Black Zetsu nodded. "Which means that even then, the will of Konoha's leadership would still be Hiruzen's will."
He let out a faint sigh.
"It seems we underestimated Hanzo."
"If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have thought this far either."
Obito clenched his teeth.
"The power struggles between these people… are disgusting."
Black Zetsu was about to respond when his attention suddenly shifted.
"Wait—Nagato… that was a Shadow Clone?"
"Shadow Clone?" Obito also noticed the dispersing smoke. "When did that happen?"
"No idea," Black Zetsu shook his head. "He didn't form any hand seals just now—so it must've been earlier."
"Perhaps he anticipated Danzō's intentions and avoided sending his real body."
"Which means… Nagato's real body is still back at the Akatsuki base," Obito concluded.
Watching Yahiko and Konan fleeing, he quickly made a decision.
"Let's follow them."
With Obito's space–time ninjutsu and Zetsu's ability to traverse terrain, the two quickly caught up.
Ahead of Yahiko and Konan, space distorted into a swirling vortex.
Obito appeared atop a hill.
Moments later, Zetsu emerged from the ground.
Before Obito could ask, Black Zetsu spoke:
"I checked with nearby White Zetsu. Nagato isn't here."
"What do we do?"
Obito frowned.
"A Shadow Clone can relay its memories back to the original. The last thing Nagato will know is that Yahiko and Konan were pursued by Root."
"If they die here, the blame falls on Danzō."
"Even if Hanzo didn't intend to kill them, Nagato will still develop resentment."
"It may not be perfect—but it's enough to let him glimpse the darkness."
After only a brief moment of thought—
Obito decided to kill them.
Black Zetsu hesitated.
"But if Nagato finds out it was us, he'd rather die than help with the plan."
"His will may not matter—but if he resists us completely, he could still cause trouble."
"The risk is too high."
Black Zetsu had schemed for thousands of years to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. He knew even small variables could derail everything.
Obito's eyes flickered.
"Then we just make sure he never finds out."
"We'll disguise ourselves as Root."
"Konan can live—to report back."
"But Yahiko… must die."
"He has too much influence over Nagato."
From his previous interactions, Obito understood—
Convincing Nagato through words alone was impossible.
Especially while Yahiko was alive.
Yahiko shaped Nagato's will.
To change Nagato—
Yahiko had to be removed.
And more than that…
At times, Obito saw his own reflection in Yahiko.
That—
He could not accept.
Black Zetsu said nothing more, only watching him.
Obito had accepted Madara's plan—
But he had his own intentions.
Perhaps he never meant to revive Madara at all.
Perhaps he intended to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan himself.
Black Zetsu didn't expose him.
Madara was just a pawn too.
As long as Obito moved toward the plan, it didn't matter.
If he failed—
Madara could still be revived as a backup.
Right now, Obito was in a rebellious phase—difficult, but manageable.
So Black Zetsu chose to go along with him.
Obito acted immediately, grabbing a nearby White Zetsu.
His body—enhanced with Hashirama's Cells—allowed easy integration.
The White Zetsu merged with him seamlessly.
"Impersonation Technique."
His body twisted—
Transforming into a masked Root shinobi.
Unlike a standard Transformation Technique, this method perfectly replicated the user's chakra signature.
Even sensory shinobi couldn't detect the difference.
In the original timeline, White Zetsu used this ability during the Fourth Great Ninja War to infiltrate and sabotage the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Only Naruto Uzumaki's sensory ability in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode exposed them.
Under normal circumstances—
It was undetectable.
"I'm going."
With that, Obito rushed toward Yahiko and Konan.
He didn't conceal himself.
They noticed him immediately.
"Careful—it's Root!"
Yahiko stopped abruptly, pulling Konan with him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito attacked instantly.
A massive fireball—over ten meters wide—roared toward them.
"So strong—Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Yahiko unleashed his strongest Water Release.
But—
Against Obito's fire, enhanced with superior chakra control—
It was useless.
Compared to Nagato's Rinnegan and Konan's paper techniques—
Yahiko's talent was ordinary.
His current strength—elite chūnin—was the result of sheer effort under Jiraiya's training.
Against Obito—
He stood no chance.
The fireball overwhelmed the water and continued forward.
"Watch out—split up!"
Yahiko and Konan leapt in opposite directions.
Exactly as Obito intended.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Flames surged from three directions, cutting off Yahiko's escape.
The relentless assault overwhelmed him.
His eyes widened as the flames closed in.
Am I… going to die?
"Yahiko, look out!"
At the last moment—
Konan acted.
She raised her hand, unleashing a storm of paper that blocked the flames.
Though the paper burned quickly—
It bought enough time.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Yahiko retreated, forming a defensive barrier and barely escaping the inferno.
But before he could recover—
Obito was already in front of him.
"Die."
A kunai thrust toward his throat.
Yahiko barely dodged—
But Obito followed up instantly.
This time—
He couldn't react.
Am I… going to die again?
"Paper Style: Shuriken!"
Konan intervened once more.
Dozens of paper shuriken shot toward Obito.
He hesitated—
Then chose to retreat rather than reveal his abilities.
"Tch. Annoying."
He had nearly used Kamui out of instinct—
But that would expose him.
Konan rushed to Yahiko's side.
"Yahiko, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
His expression was grim as he stared at Obito.
"So this is Konoha's ANBU… they're strong."
This was his first time facing such an opponent.
The gap in power—
Was overwhelming.
His nails dug into his palms.
The helplessness filled him with anger.
"Yahiko…"
Konan spoke softly, worried.
"I'm fine."
He took a deep breath, steadying himself.
"Konan… his target is me."
"I'll hold him off."
"You take the chance to escape."
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