The Land of Rain, the Central Tower.
Obito stood in the spot where Deva Path Pain had stood before.
Without Deva Path Pain's presence, the Rain Tiger at Will Technique was also lost, but today was unusually another overcast day.
Snap--
Black Zetsu, resembling a pitcher plant, appeared behind him, looking at Obito before him. "Truly... a complete defeat. That piece of trash Nagato actually let someone steal his Rinnegan!"
Obito didn't turn around, but the Sharingan beneath his mask was unusually cold.
"Shut up, what's the point of saying this now? Konoha has already taken the Rinnegan, Demonic Statue of the Outer Path can no longer be summoned."
"A stray dog should act like a stray dog."
Black Zetsu stared intently at Obito's retreating figure, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "A stray dog?"
This question made Obito his head and look at him, "What? Am I wrong?"
"Perhaps, but don't forget, we still have a trump card in our hand: the Three-Tails."
"Three-Tails?"
Obito Uchiha turned around abruptly, his Scarlet Sharingan fixed on Black Zetsu.
"Without the Rinnegan, one cannot become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki! What can one do with just the Three-Tails? The Five Great Nations have already united!"
"At that time, the Allied Shinobi Forces of tens of thousands will wear us down even if they just grind us down. I think you haven't forgotten that it took the Rinnegan to bring out 100,000 White Zetsu."
This was also what frustrated Obito Uchiha the most.
He knew from the beginning that Uchiha Itachi was an undercover agent, yet that Nagato ignored his warnings.
He was full of nonsense, but someone found out about his information and launched a sneak attack. If he hadn't lost one of his Sharingan and used Izanagi, he might be dead by now.
Most importantly, knowing that Konoha already knew about their plan to launch a surprise attack Chunin Ninja Exams, they still led their men there without making any changes.
At this moment, Obito even began to doubt whether Nagato had a brain at all.
Or perhaps, Nagato is the biggest mole!
Black Zetsu ignored Obito Uchiha's anger and said in a slightly mocking tone, "'Madara Uchiha'."
"Shut up! There's no one here!"
The mere mention of that name filled Obito with rage, especially since Black Zetsu's tone was clearly mocking him.
Black Zetsu stopped provoking Obito: "You're just blinded by the desperate situation you're in right now."
"Back then, Madara alone was able to wait quietly for decades. He still managed to cultivate 100,000 White Zetsu before choosing Nagato."
"So what? Now that Nagato is dead, they can't even muster 100,000 White Zetsu."
Obito retorted sarcastically once again.
He now feels as if all his hard work of more than ten years has been wiped out overnight.
"What? You've given up on the Eye of the Moon Plan?"
Black Zetsu spoke in a very calm tone, bringing up the topic that most annoyed Obito.
The Eye of the Moon Plan is what he used to create the illusory world of Rin, and he would stop at nothing to achieve it!
"What do you want to say?" Obito closed his eyes, suppressing his inner turmoil.
"The Five Great Nations Shinobi Alliance?"
"It is nothing more than the most fragile thing in the world; without a united enemy, suspicion and greed are enough to rot it from within."
Having lived for over a thousand years, Black Zetsu has seen this kind of thing countless times.
It looked directly into Obito's eyes. "We don't need to fight the entire alliance, but... we just need to give it a gentle push."
"That would cause them to fall apart."
Obito narrowed his eyes, for the first time he truly faced the will of this so-called Madara Uchiha.
Is it really possible that this guy is his creation?
"How to do it?"
Without revealing his thoughts, Obito slowly approached Black Zetsu.
"Just like you did to Kirigakure, and... your Kamui is the perfect tool to execute this plan."
"No need for a massive army, just you, or a select few White Zetsu, are enough to become a... ghost that keeps the Five Great Nations in constant fear."
Black Zetsu's lips curled into a strange grin that reached his ears, emitting a low, sickening laugh.
Obito Uchiha frowned. "Specifically, how?"
Black Zetsu twisted his neck, turned around, and gestured for Obito to follow.
The two slowly walked to a huge space that was even deeper than the basement where Obito usually stayed.
Obito squinted at everything before him, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
"This..."
"These are spores that I had White Zetsu leave behind. I've been eyeing them since the time when Shinnō was able to absorb the chakra of the Tailed Beast Chakra."
Black Zetsu, completely unconcerned by Obito Uchiha's shock, explained.
These were the spores that he had White Zetsu separate, and then gave some to Shinnō for research. The price was that Shinnō gave up some of the Tailed Beast Chakra he had previously absorbed.
Having lived for over a thousand years, Black Zetsu naturally understands that it's enough to believe half of what some people say.
As expected, Shinnō readily agreed when he proposed exchanging spores for Tailed Beast Chakra.
"Here, there are three thousand White Zetsu, plus the spores I've scattered throughout the Shinobi World over the years, totaling nearly five thousand."
"Before the Three-Tails is sealed into your dimension, we need to make good use of its Chakra to increase the strength of these White Zetsu."
His tone was sinister, Obito Uchiha and stepped forward to look at the White Zetsu standing in front of him.
It now appears that they are not without the power to fight back.
"If these White Zetsu can advance to the level of ordinary Jonin by relying on the Chakra of the Tailed Beasts, then they can become our eyes and ears, helping us find the most vulnerable points in the Alliance."
"The Five Great Nations are easily thrown into disarray with just a little provocation."
"And you, on the other hand, need to rely on the intelligence you've gathered to directly transform into your 'self,' capable of throwing the entire Shinobi World into chaos."
"This time, we don't need to use the slow, insidious methods like Kirigakure. Now, speed, precision, and ruthlessness are the only way to make them lose trust."
Obito Uchiha before Black Zetsu: "For example?"
"There are many methods, and I think you should know better than anyone how to break down fragile trust—that's when the flames of war will be reignited."
"Even if the Five Kage can suppress the situation for a while, can they suppress it forever?"
"Once war breaks out, things will be chaotic enough..."
Obito continued Black Zetsu's words, "Enough chaos will allow us to fish in troubled waters, whether it's the Tailed Beasts or the Rinnegan stolen by Konoha."
"Good!"
Black Zetsu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Having lay dormant for a thousand years, how could it not have made other preparations?
However, proceeding in the original manner offers the best chance of success.
Now is no longer the time to steadily advance the previous plan, so let's first let this world go mad!