Without another word, the masked man vanished.
"..."
Standing where he was, Shisui Uchiha clearly hadn't expected the other party to pull sothing like that. His expression carried both vigilance and helplessness.
His hand slowly rose to the black cloth covering his eyes.
He knew very well that he had once lost both of them.
Yet beneath this strip of cloth, he now possessed a perfectly intact pair of eyes.
Soone else's eyes.
The Akatsuki.
That na had once appeared within Konoha ANBU investigation records, though only briefly—a fleeting organization that had once surfaced in the Hidden Rain Village before disappearing again.
But Shisui never imagined that such an organization concealed secrets on an even greater scale.
And he himself…
Had ended up here precisely because he learned those secrets.
anwhile, within a strange, isolated dinsion—
Obito Uchiha stood before a massive wall covered in intelligence regarding countless shinobi across the ninja world. Deep in thought, he suddenly spoke.
"How did it go?"
Another masked figure appeared behind him.
It was the sa masked man who had accompanied Shisui earlier.
He removed his mask, revealing a pale white face carrying an unsettling, almost malicious expression.
White Zetsu.
"Communication with Pain is complete. They're already heading toward the Hidden Mist Village. The operation should begin in about three days."
He hesitated briefly before glancing toward Obito, who remained focused on the information wall.
"You're really planning to let Shisui Uchiha capture a Tailed Beast alone?"
"He's strong enough."
Obito casually pulled down the information sheet related to Shisui.
"The eyes I transplanted into him belonged to his relative, Kagami Uchiha. Combined with Hashirama cells, even though he lost the Mangekyō Sharingan technique Kotoamatsukami, his remaining abilities have surpassed what they were before."
"In terms of pure combat ability…"
Obito's tone remained calm.
"He's stronger than I currently am."
"But his opponent is the Fourth Mizukage," White Zetsu reminded him deliberately. "Back then, even you weren't a match for the Three-Tails."
"Yagura Karatachi…"
Obito stopped moving.
His gaze turned complicated as he looked toward the information regarding the Hidden Mist Village on the wall.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.
A young man with pink eyes.
The jinchūriki of the Three-Tails.
Once upon a ti, Obito had controlled him using Sharingan genjutsu driven by pure hatred. Through Yagura, he transford the Hidden Mist into the infamous "Bloody Mist Village" as revenge against Kirigakure.
He forced the village's shinobi into endless slaughter.
Only those who survived were assigned even more dangerous missions, leading to constant defections and assassinations targeting the village leadership.
And Obito—who had already descended into madness by then—had genuinely enjoyed it.
After all…
During the Third Shinobi War, it was Kirigakure that sealed the Three-Tails inside Rin, intending to use her as a weapon against Konoha.
In the end, however, that sche resulted in Rin dying by Kakashi's hand.
Yet for so unknown reason, not long ago, when Obito attempted to use Yagura's body to properly research thods of extracting Tailed Beasts from jinchūriki—
Yagura suddenly broke free from his genjutsu.
And before Obito could even react, he was heavily wounded.
Had it not been for Kamui's unique space-ti ability and the fact that nearly half his body consisted of Hashirama's cells, Obito might very well have died there.
During complete Tailed Beast transformation, Yagura had sohow retained his sanity while unleashing overwhelming power.
Exactly like the "Perfect Jinchūriki" described in the records Madara left behind.
But the strength Yagura displayed vastly exceeded anything Madara's records had ever described regarding the Three-Tails.
After all, jinchūriki possessing Tailed Beast chakra were naturally resistant to genjutsu.
The Sharingan didn't truly control the jinchūriki.
It controlled the Tailed Beast inside them.
Madara had once told him that only Mangekyō Sharingan at his level could control the Nine-Tails, while Obito's own dōjutsu was sufficient to dominate the Three-Tails.
But clearly, sothing had changed within the Three-Tails itself.
It broke free from his control.
Yet Obito had no idea how.
This sudden developnt filled him with both fury and alarm.
After all, Yagura was the Fourth Mizukage.
Even though Obito escaped, mories manipulated through Sharingan genjutsu would not simply disappear.
Yagura could very well trace the clues back to both Akatsuki and Obito himself.
That was why Obito wanted this hidden danger eliminated as quickly as possible.
Before Yagura cleaned up the chaos Obito left behind in Kirigakure—
He had to die.
And if killing him proved impossible…
Then at the very least, Obito needed to ensure his own escape route remained intact.
Once an entire hidden village focused its attention on him, every future move would beco heavily restricted.
"If Shisui loses, that's fine too."
Obito suppressed his thoughts and calmly explained his plan.
"I've never exposed my true identity to anyone. The only information they possess regarding the enemy is that he has the Sharingan."
"And if Shisui Uchiha fails during the battle…"
"I see."
White Zetsu suddenly understood.
"Then he'll beco your scapegoat. They'll assu Shisui Uchiha was the one controlling the Mizukage all along."
"Even leaving his appearance unchanged was part of the plan from the beginning. After all, 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' carries considerable fa in Konoha."
"If he truly falls into Kirigakure's hands…"
White Zetsu grinned.
"Then Konoha won't be able to clear itself of suspicion no matter what."
"Hmph. After all, Konoha can't publicly use Shisui Uchiha's death as evidence."
Obito sneered coldly.
"When the ti cos, let the hidden villages tear each other apart like dogs."
"If another shinobi war erupts because of it…"
"That'd be fine too."
"... Truly ruthless. But what about the original goal of capturing the Tailed Beast?"
White Zetsu sighed in admiration before asking again:
"If you really lose Shisui—the powerful new piece you worked so hard to obtain—won't all future operations stall again?"
"The Uchiha clan doesn't only have Shisui anymore."
Obito's gaze shifted toward the Uchiha information section on the wall.
And the person he focused on—
Was a young man whose expression already carried unusual maturity far beyond his age.
Itachi Uchiha.
"Alright, looks like you've already planned everything out."
White Zetsu no longer questioned him.
Soon, a black shadow erged and rged into his body, turning his pale face into a grotesque half-black, half-white split.
Then he put his mask back on.
"I'll return and continue monitoring Shisui Uchiha for you."
"Still…"
"I'm honestly hoping he defeats the Fourth Mizukage directly with Pain's assistance. If that happens, your plans will beco much easier to carry out."
"..."
Obito gave no response.
He simply fell into silence once more.
He still felt uneasy.
Because until now, the records Madara left behind had never contained major errors.
Logically speaking, the Three-Tails shouldn't have possessed strength at that level.
So was it rely the Three-Tails alone that changed?
A simple coincidence?
Or had the other Tailed Beasts also…
At that very mont—
Inside Naruto's inner world, the Nine-Tails abruptly opened its eyes.
For a being as ancient as Kurama—one who had spent countless years subrged in endless malice—it was rare for genuine excitent to erge so openly within him.
Sensing Kurama's emotional fluctuation, Minato Namikaze—who had been ditating nearby—turned toward him as well.
He had sensed an unfamiliar yet strangely familiar energy presence.
One that left him uncertain.
But Kurama made no effort to hide it.
Seeing Minato's gaze shift toward him, the giant fox grinned and slightly released that energy outward.
"This is…"
Minato's eyes widened in shock.
"Natural energy?!"
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