Obito's face turned livid beneath his mask.
He hated being looked down on more than anything. His voice immediately turned hoarse, and he barked in a rough, aged tone:
"Foolish youngster!"
"You happened to obtain a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, and now you think you're invincible, full of yourself."
"I've roamed the Ninja World for decades and slain countless powerful enemies. I even pacified the era of chaos alongside Senju Hashirama and established the hidden village system. What right does a youngster like you have to question me?"
"Humph!" Uchiha An glanced at him disdainfully and sneered. "Uchiha Madara was a man of such imposing presence. Why would he hide his face like you?"
"If you've got the guts, take off that mask and show everyone what you really look like."
Obito, of course, refused. He only put on an affected air and said:
"When I left Konoha, I fought Hashirama and injured my face. That's why I cover it with a mask. I never expected a youngster like you to look down on me and doubt me because of it."
"Looks like you won't understand how formidable I am until I teach you a lesson!"
Uchiha An pursed his lips, turned toward Pain, who was seated at the head of the table, and spread his hands.
"Hey, Leader, I wasn't the one who started this. Can I kill him?"
"Infighting within the organization is forbidden!" Pain's face darkened as he rejected An's request.
Pain had fought "Uchiha Madara" before and knew his Dojutsu was incredibly powerful. He didn't think the newcomer Uchiha An could pose any threat to Madara, and didn't want Madara to use this as another chance to establish his authority.
Uchiha An felt rather disappointed.
He'd been thinking that if Pain agreed, he'd take the chance to hit Obito hard and give him a nasty surprise.
Even with White Zetsu keeping Obito alive, An might not be able to kill him outright, but he could surely make him pay. It would be a down payment, at least. He could settle the rest of the debt with him later.
"Ah, what a shame!" Uchiha An sighed, as if all his motivation had drained away. He slumped over the table and fell silent.
"All right." Pain rapped his knuckles on the table. "You'll all be comrades in the organization from now on. You'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other."
"An, let me introduce you to the others in the organization."
"All the current members of the Akatsuki Organization are here."
"My code name is 'Zero,' and Konan's is 'White.' We're a team."
"On the left are Zetsu and Juzo Biwa. Their code names are 'Black Zetsu' and 'South,' respectively."
"On the right are Sasori of the Red Sands and Orochimaru. Their code names are 'Jewel' and 'Sky,' respectively."
"Madara is the organization's partner. He shares our goals, but he isn't a member and has no code name. He doesn't need a teammate, either."
"You and Itachi are the newest members. Your code names are 'North' and 'Vermillion.'"
"Neither you nor Itachi has a partner yet. I imagine you wouldn't want to team up with him, so you can both work alone for now. We'll form teams once we find new members."
As soon as Pain finished speaking, Uchiha An raised his hand high again.
"Leader, I'd like to team up with Lord Orochimaru. I'm sure Lord Orochimaru would also be happy to discuss things like the plan to destroy Konoha with me."
But Orochimaru had no intention of letting An use him. He shook his head, quite unceremoniously, and sneered:
"Although I'm a missing-nin from Konoha, I have no particular interest in destroying it."
"However, if you have information about how the Fourth Hokage resisted the Underworld's call after using the Reaper Death Seal, or how he came back to life, I might change my mind."
"Got it, got it..." Unfazed by Orochimaru's blunt rejection, Uchiha An waved a hand as if he hadn't heard him, still smiling. "I know Lord Orochimaru is only interested in immortality. You and Sasori of the Red Sands are the 'Immortality Duo,' after all!"
"But don't bother setting your sights on Namikaze Minato. His soul should still be inside the Shinigami's stomach. The figure that appeared earlier was just Chakra he'd stored in Naruto's stomach in advance."
"Most of the energy he used in that fight came from the Nine-Tails' Chakra. And the reason he could control the Nine-Tails was probably because Uzumaki Kushina did something inside Naruto's stomach."
"He most likely did it to leave his son a way to protect himself. Now that it's been used up, it's gone for good."
"However, I have other information about the Art of Immortality. I'm sure you'll find it worthwhile."
"So that's what happened! But..." Orochimaru's slit pupils contracted sharply. He extended his long, forked tongue and licked his lips, speaking ominously. "This is classified information even I don't know. How did an ordinary Uchiha Jōnin like you find out? How am I supposed to know if your information is true?"
"Oh, come on. You can verify it yourself once I tell you!" Uchiha An shrugged nonchalantly and spread his hands. "As for how I know, does it really matter?"
"I just know!"
"And I know plenty of other things, too!"
"For instance, that guy over there, pretending to be Uchiha Madara and acting all high and mighty, is actually the long-dead Konoha Hero—Uchiha Obito."
"Heh heh... What do you think? Didn't see that coming, did you?"
"Hm?" Everyone's gaze shifted toward him at once.
Everyone had harbored some doubts about this Uchiha Madara's identity. After all, Uchiha Madara had long since become a legend in the Ninja World, and he'd been very old.
Several generations had come and gone in the Ninja World since then. No matter how powerful someone was, they should have died of old age by now.
And Obito had kept his mask on to maintain an air of mystery, so no one present had ever seen his real face.
Naturally, that only deepened their suspicions.
But the Leader had introduced him, so even if he wasn't Uchiha Madara, he had to be an incredibly powerful ninja. That was why they'd grudgingly accepted him as Madara.
Now that they'd heard this Uchiha Madara really was an impostor, a mocking glint appeared in everyone's eyes.
Their amusement wasn't just directed at Uchiha Madara, but at their own Leader, Pain, too.
If this guy was an impostor, and the Leader, who called himself a "god," hadn't seen through him, while a newcomer had, that would be quite something.
Obito wasn't as composed as Itachi. Now that his identity had been exposed, panic surged through him. He instinctively snorted and retorted:
"Hmph!"
"Utter nonsense!"
"What could a youngster like you possibly know?"
"Who knows what rumors someone fed you. You believed them, and now you dare question my identity!"
"Absurd!"
"Did Kakashi tell you that?"
"Humph!" Uchiha An gave a scornful laugh. "I just know!"
"What you think of as top-secret information holds no mystery for me."
"Not only do I know you're Uchiha Obito, I also know your Dojutsu is called 'Kamui.' It's a space-time Ninjutsu that lets you escape into another dimension."
"Heh... Turns out a Dead Last stays a Dead Last, even after awakening the Mangekyō. What a useless failure, running away from everything!"
Before you continue