True Gold Is Tempered by Fire

Seeing Obito silently gazing toward the distant Forest of Death, Zetsu followed his gaze and teased, "That intelligence source of yours seems awfully invested in the Ninja Academy. I heard that after taking office, he carried out numerous reforms at Konoha's Ninja Academy. This practical exercise was apparently pushed through by him as well. From the looks of it, he wants to train these brats to fight against us!"

Obito's face showed disdain. "Hyuga Kagami is still as naive as ever. No matter how much those brats are trained, what use can they possibly be? The future of the shinobi world has already been decided!"

Zetsu suddenly said, "I heard that Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will also be taking part in this practical exercise. Perhaps we can seize the opportunity to abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Obito hesitated for a moment. "Iwagakure was just destroyed by us, yet Konoha is holding such a high-profile event and even allowing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to participate. Don't you find that strange?"

Zetsu turned to Obito. "You're worried this is a trap set by the God Organization?"

"We can't disregard that possibility." After a pause, Obito explained, "You were there when Nagato lost to the God Organization's 'Yama' last time. That man's strength was not something the two of us could contend with."

Remembering the earth-shattering battle between Nagato and "Yama," Zetsu was immediately filled with lingering fear. "Yeah, that monster Yama could summon meteors with a wave of his hand. Even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path couldn't withstand them. Nagato's injuries from that battle still haven't fully healed! If we run into him, we're probably in for a disaster."

Otsutsuki Toneri's meteor assault from the moon, launched with the Giant Tenseigan, had always been blamed on Hyuga Kagami by Akatsuki. Thus, everyone in