XIII
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Arc XIII Chapter 8
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Asami leaned back in her seat, all the stress washing over her. Her guest had finally left, leaving her alone, able to gather her thoughts. Whether she liked it or not, Itachi had given her much to ponder.
To think that Itachi was not the cold blooded butcher the world believed him to be. Quite the contrary, in fact. A man who had sacrificed so much for so little, all in the na and for the sake of Konoha and his little brother ... The irony ...
To think that Konoha had ordered the extermination of the Uchiha clan to preempt a coup at their hands. It was sothing that she had long since suspected, and yet the truth still ca as a surprise. Danzo and his fellow councillors had never been friends of the Uchiha, but even then, their marked ruthlessness stood out. For the village to resort to such drastic asures when a more comnsurate approach would have probably yielded better results. To be fair, though, it had neither been their intention, nor their desire to preserve the Uchiha clan in any shape or form.
To think that in truth Uchiha Madara was behind it all. Not only did he instigate the Uchiha to rebel against Konoha, but he was also responsible for the Kyuubi attack and by extension necessarily for the death of the Fourth. It was he who killed the Fourth and broke the seal on the Kyuubi, unleashing the beast upon the village while under his control. All in order to achieve his revenge against both Konoha and his clan ...
And this man was supposed to be none other than Tobi, her foolish, little Tobi. It would be a lie to say that she did not find it hard to believe. From the very beginning, it was evident that Tobi was playing the fool, his entire persona being nothing but an act ant to deceive. It was obvious that he was a spy dispatched by Pain to keep an eye on her and her operations. Furthermore, she also ca to know recently that the man was an Uchiha, just like her. All of it was understandable. All of it made perfect sense to her.
Never in a lifeti, though, she would have even remotely considered the possibility that Tobi among all people would be Madara, the legendary patriarch of the Uchiha clan, renown throughout the ages for his unmatched pride, now reduced to the role of the bumbling fool, rely to mask his true identity. It sounded implausible, impossible, even absurd, and yet it appeared to be the truth. Tobi was Madara, hiding in plain sight, just as Itachi had said, albeit a shred of doubt remained.
She knew what she had seen and felt that day. Her senses were not mistaken, the man calling himself Tobi was undoubtedly in possession of the mangekyou sharingan. During the fight, he had deployed a spatial based jutsu that evidently relied on the unique ability of his mangekyou, and yet the chakra signature of his jutsu aligned precisely with the signature of the jutsu that Kakashi had previously employed against her as a asure of last resort in order to protect Sakura.
Ignoring the fact that both jutsu shared similar characteristics, with them both being spatial based and visual in nature, the conclusion was obvious, both jutsu originated from the sa unique set of sharingan, which either ant that their self proclaid Madara and Kakashi had both acquired their mangekyou from the sa source, or that the forr must have donated to the latter one of his precious eyes. Neither option sounded particularly plausible, considering Madara’s supposed age and that Kakashi had received his sharingan at the end of the Third Great Ninja War. Unless ...
Asami chuckled deviously, all alone in her room, all on her own. Unless not even their supposed Madara was not the one he preclaid to be. Was he another re pretender? Possibly. Well, in the end, it did not matter. Whether Tobi was Madara, or not, was quite irrelevant. What mattered was that he spoke and acted in Madara’s na. The implications were significant.
All this ti, she had been under the assumption that Tobi was just another of Pain’s lackeys, a re executioner of his master’s plans, but as it turned out, her Tobi was in truth the real puppeteer all along, the grey eminence behind the entirety of the Akatsuki.
The sole question was, who was manipulating whom here? It was obvious that Tobi was pursuing his own goals, but so did Pain. Both of them were rely using each other to further their respective aims, with their current arrangent being nothing but a marriage of convenience.
Whereas Pain hoped to grant the world peace through pain by resorting to the combined power of the Tailed Beasts, Tobi evidently desired revenge and more. Considering their conflicting agendas, it was only a matter of ti before they would inevitably backstab each other, which was, of course, sothing that worked to her advantage. If she were able to play them off against each other. It would simplify things a lot, would it not?
Eventually, Asami stopped her musing, finally returning to reality. “Nobuo.”
The man answered her summon, being part of her personal guard. Clad in black armour and with a black chrysanthemum on his sleeve, Nobuo appeared before her kneeling, his head lowered in deference. “Yes, Lady Asami.” Obviously, she had never been alone. At least, not completely.
Asami closed her eyes. “Redact everything that you have heard today. Not a single word must leave this room. Am I understood?”
“Understood. We will see to it.” Nobuo nodded, he and his n well aware of what was at risk. Her partner’s supposed identity was evidently a delicate piece of information.
Asami resud her discourse, “That being said, inform Yuriko that I require another report on my desk regarding the Uchiha clan, with particular emphasis on Uchiha Madara. I want a summary analysis of his character and personality, of his fights, battles, and any other relevant episodes that she can get her hands on. No rumours, or hearsay. Only certified and reliable sources are desired, even at the expense of quantitative output. Furthermore, Yuriko and Masanari shall arrange for my arrival in Kusashiro. The operation will proceed as planned. We will strike soon. Speaking of which, let my cute little sister know that she will accompany on the operation. Not only her, but also her friends. Yuki has proudly declared that she had recently made two friends. I wish to et them again in person, and not just their dossiers.”
“Hai!” The guard nodded in confirmation.
Asami waved her hand. “Dismissed.”
“...” The man did as ordered. He disappeared, flickering out of existence.
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