Tobi's Life

White Zetsu are creatures that, in essence, have no emotions.

Although they sometimes seem to have their own personalities—some are funny, some are gloomy, some are talkative, and some are silent—that's just an appearance.

Just like puppets being pulled by strings to make various movements, they do not possess a true self.

There is no desire, no obsession, no concept of "I want" or "I don't want".

For Kaguya Otsutsuki, this creature was the best soldier. Absolutely obedient, without ulterior motives, incapable of betrayal, and could be produced in unlimited numbers.

Of course, this doesn't mean they'll listen to anyone.

The authority to make them obey exists in only two things.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Rinnegan.

Moreover, those eyes must truly belong to the person who transplanted them. It's not something anyone can command just because they have the Rinnegan transplanted—if that were the case, Nagato would have countless White Zetsu serving him long ago.

The truth is, Nagato never commanded any White Zetsu.

Because those Rinnegan belonged to Uchiha Madara.

Therefore, after Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed away, the White Zetsu obeyed Madara's will, not his eyes or his power, but the will of that person himself.

But now— Uchiha Madara is dead, and Uchiha Obito, who inherited Madara's will, is also dead.

Those beings who could command the White Zetsu are all gone.

Therefore, the remaining White Zetsu in the world fell into a state of idleness.

There were no orders, no goals, and no reason for existence.

They just wandered around, not knowing what to do or where to go.

Among this group of White Zetsu, there is one special individual.

White Zetsu Tobi.

It's White Zetsu.

When Uchiha Madara created it, he injected Hashirama Cells into its body. Those vital cells from Hashirama Senju gave it something else—an independent personality closer to that of a human.

So Tobi developed his own temper, his own thoughts, his own... Although he was quite silly, it was definitely something that belonged to him.

It will slack off when performing tasks, talk to itself when bored, and play by itself when no one pays attention to it.

It even made a friend.

Uchiha Obito.

The boy Madara rescued from the ruins, the boy who struggled in the darkness for so long, the boy who finally donned the Spiral Mask and became "Uchiha Madara".

Tobi stayed with him for a long time.

I accompanied him as he emerged from that dark cave, walked with him through those dark days, and did those crazy things with him.

Then, Obito died too.

The master is dead, and so is the friend.

Tobi returned to the cave where he had once lived with Madara and the severely injured Obito.

one person.

As for continuing to carry out the master's will, to capture the Tailed Beast, and to complete the "Moon Eye Plan"?

Tobi knows himself quite well.

First, it is implanted with Hashirama Cells, making it more human-like than other White Zetsu. But precisely because it is human-like, it is also more aware of its own limitations.

Capture Tailed Beast? It can't even defeat one.

If they can't even defeat One-Tail, let alone the others.

Moreover, Tobi doesn't have Black Zetsu's millennia-long obsession, nor does he possess Madara's "grand ideals."

For Tobi, "catching the Tailed Beast" was too much trouble.

Nothing beats the comfort of sunbathing, the fun of digging burrows, or the joy of playing with small animals.

So even if he lived alone in this empty cave, Tobi could still find amusement.

Tobi thinks his days are always interesting, though not very lively and a little lonely.

Morning.

The sun had just risen, and sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the cave ceiling, casting a thin beam of light onto the ground.

Tobi emerged from the ground.

It sleeps in a very special way—it burrows directly into the soil and buries itself, like a seed waiting to sprout.

Ah~ it's a new day again~

It reached out and rubbed the spot on its face where there was no eye at all.

"The sun's shining on my butt! Huh?"

It lowered its head, looking at its own white, shapeless lower body.

Where's my butt?

I froze for three seconds.

"Oh right, I'm White Zetsu, I don't have a butt..."

It tilted its Uzumaki head, then turned around and waved at the empty coffin in the corner of the cave.

"Good morning, Lord Madara!"

Tobi shouted in that cheerful, carefree tone.

"Today is another day without you~!"

Of course, there will be no response.

Tobi didn't care. It hopped and skipped Earth Flow the other side of the cave, where there was a simple shelf made of stones, on which was a calendar that it had picked up from an abandoned village.

What day is it today...?

It opened the calendar, stared at the numbers and words it didn't quite understand, and studied them carefully for a long time.

"... never mind."

It closed the calendar.

Anyway, nobody celebrates my birthday.

It stood there, silent for three seconds.

Then suddenly he jumped up excitedly!

"Then I'll celebrate my own birthday! Happy birthday, Tobi!"

It shouted loudly, and its voice echoed through the cave.

Happy birthday, Tobi!

Happy birthday, Tobi!

Happy birthday, Tobi!

The echo gradually faded away.

The cave returned to silence.

Tobi stood still, gazing at the empty surroundings.

"... It's so deserted."

It doesn't need to eat, thus saving you the trouble of cooking.

But precisely because it doesn't need to eat, it also has fewer things it can do.

So Tobi decided to go out for a walk.

Make some friends.

It emerged from the cave, passed through the Forest it had traversed countless times, and arrived at a wide-open meadow.

A wild boar was rooting around in the dirt, looking for something to eat.

Hello!

Tobi skipped and hopped over, greeting him in the most enthusiastic tone.

"My Tobi! Can we be friends?"

The wild boar raised its head and glanced at it.

Then continue to bend down and dig into the soil.

"I can turn into a wild boar!"

Tobi spoke, his body began to wriggle, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a wild boar that looked exactly like the one in question.

The wild boar raised its head again and glanced at it.

Then continue to bend down and dig into the soil.

"Then I'll turn into a mushroom that wild boars love to eat!"

Tobi transformed again, turning into a brightly colored, delicious-looking giant mushroom, rolling around on the ground.

The wild boar finally stopped moving.

It stared at the rolling mushroom for a long time.

Then it turned and left.

Tobi reverted to his original form, watching the wild boar's departing figure, and muttered to himself.

"... Do you think I talk too much?"

The wild boar ignored it, Tobi decided to play by himself.

It split into several versions of itself, each taking on a different form.

Hello everyone~ I'm Rabbit Tobi ~!

A White Zetsu with long ears hopped and skipped around.

"I'm Squirrel Tobi!"

A White Zetsu with a fluffy tail hopped around in the tree.

"I'm Tanuki Tobi ~!"

A round, White Zetsu rolled around on the ground.

"I'm Ah Fei, Ah Fei~!"

Tobi, unchanged, stood in the middle, looking at the other versions of himself.

Then, the group of Tobi started playing together.

They chased each other, jumped around, chattered and made a lot of noise.

Ten seconds later.

They stopped.

"... a bunch of people playing by themselves."

The Tobi in the middle sighed.

"I'm so tired."

Tobi decided to try his luck somewhere else.

It ran to the entrance of a village and transformed into the shape of a child.

Hi everyone!

It waved its hand and called out in the cutest voice.

"I'm newbie Tobi ~! It's our first time meeting, so I'm treating everyone to Ramen today~!"

Several children from the village gathered around, their eyes sparkling.

"Really?!"

"Really, really!"

Tobi nodded vigorously.

Then it added loudly.

"... But I have no money."

The children were stunned.

Then, they scattered in all directions. Tobi stood alone, staring blankly at the children who had run away.

Then it ran behind a big tree, squatted down, hugged its knees, and muttered to itself pitifully, "I just wanted someone to talk to..."

I squatted for about three seconds.

It stood up, dusted off non-existent dust, and resumed its carefree demeanor.

"Never mind, never mind~ Let's go home, let's go home!"

night.

Tobi lay in the cave, gazing at the patch of night sky visible through the cracks above him.

The stars are twinkling, they're beautiful.

It is happy because it has a wonderful companion.

That's Uchiha Obito's mask...

That was a Tiger-Pattern Mask; Obito stopped using it a long, long time ago.

But Tobi kept it and placed it in the most conspicuous place in the cave.

In Tobi's mind, this mask is Obito himself.

"Obito."

It spoke softly to the mask.

Where are you now?

There was no response.

"Heaven or hell? Or are you like me, in a place no one knows?"

It rolled over and hugged the mask to its chest.

"How about I die too, and join you?"

There was a moment of silence.

"No."

It shook its head.

"If you die, there will truly be no one to mourn you."

It hugged the mask even tighter.

Obito ~

See you tomorrow~

Five seconds later.

"... No, we won't see him tomorrow either."

It tossed and turned.

"I won't see him the day after tomorrow... I won't see him the day after that either..."

Suddenly, it sat up.

Facing the night sky above the cave, and the round moon, he shouted a question.

"Moon! Moon! Can you see Obito?!"

The moon is silent.

Of course, it won't speak.

You're so useless!

Tobi pointed at the moon and shouted angrily.

"He can't even speak!"

The moon remained silent.

Tobi stared at the moon for a long time.

Then, its voice suddenly became very soft.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

It lowered its head and bowed deeply towards the moon.

You are more lonely than I am.

The moon hung silently in the sky, casting a cool, clear light.

Tobi lay back down, hugged the mask to his chest, and gazed at the starry sky.

Let's be lonely together.

It said softly.

"Moon Friend."

This is Tobi's daily life.

Day after day, year after year.

It had seen this in a book it found in a human village. The book said that its behavior was pitiful; it had no friends, no family, no home, and could only talk to itself and play by itself.

But Tobi didn't think so; he felt that his life was quite enjoyable.

Sleep when you want, play when you want, become whatever you want.

Nobody cared about it, nobody scolded it, nobody ordered it to do this or that.

How wonderful.

And so, Tobi lived this peaceful life alone.

Until that day.

That day, a power that made it tremble suddenly came from the direction of Konoha Village.

All the White Zetsu who were still alive sensed it; it was the power of a newly born Rinnegan.

Awakening is happening in that direction.