Obito's Advantage

"Tobi."

"I'm here, Lord Madara!"

Tobi, a White Zetsu with a swirl on his face, emerged from the ground beside him, his tone exaggerated.

"Have Obito's next moves been confirmed?" Uchiha Madara asked.

"He should be heading this way in the next couple of days. However, Lord Madara, that Yellow Flash's sensory abilities are too strong; I didn't dare get too close to investigate."

Tobi said, spreading his hands.

"Minato Namikaze..." Uchiha Madara's eyes flickered as he murmured the name.

What a troublesome guy.

Even though his eyes were only for Hashirama, he had to admit that Minato Namikaze, this junior, was truly difficult to deal with.

He was of commoner birth, yet possessed a vast amount of Chakra rarely seen even among the Senju and Uzumaki clans, coupled with powerful Sensory Ninjutsu, and...

The Flying Thunder God Technique of that insidious little man, Tobirama Senju!

That bastard, dead for so many years, and his Ninjutsu was still causing him trouble.

To scheme against Uchiha Obito, he had to lure Minato Namikaze away, and in a way that would prevent him from easily returning to reinforce, even with the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Uchiha Madara pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, Tobi, you go to the front lines of Konohagakure and clear out the ninja stationed at a few strongholds, tearing open some gaps in Konoha's defenses."

I need to add more fuel to the fire for Konoha!

The more critical Konoha's situation became, the less Minato Namikaze would be able to look after his own disciples.

"Yes, Lord Madara!"

Tobi gave a proper salute and then pleaded, "Lord Madara, if I complete this mission, can you find a way to help me get a defecation organ?"

He had always wanted to know what it felt like to poop.

"...Get lost!" Uchiha Madara's face darkened.

Tobi, this guy, was a rare powerful individual among the White Zetsu, capable of dealing with an elite Jonin without issue.

But his strength was likely gained at the cost of his brain.

Watching Tobi get chased away, White Zetsu A cautiously said, "Lord Madara, why do you place so much importance on Uchiha Obito? I feel like Uchiha Aoya has more potential."

He usually communicated with other White Zetsu.

That Uchiha Obito hadn't even awakened his Sharingan yet and was constantly acting like a lovesick fool, his mind filled with that girl named Nohara Rin.

And he didn't seem very smart... perhaps he and Tobi would have a lot in common.

Uchiha Madara closed his eyes and said casually, "The smarter and more scheming a Uchiha is, the harder they are to manipulate."

"In comparison, that boy Obito has an advantage in this regard."

"Furthermore, as long as he can awaken the Mangekyo, being a bit dim-witted won't matter then. Coupled with Hashirama's cells, he'll be enough to handle most people in this ninja world."

"On the other hand, manipulating Uchiha Aoya would be much more troublesome."

The underground exchange.

Aoya, dressed in a pitch-black hooded robe and wearing a mask, had his entire body tightly wrapped, and he had deliberately altered his voice.

"Hurry up!" Aoya commanded coldly.

"Yes, yes, almost done!"

The staff member wiped sweat from his brow, verifying the identity according to procedure, making a record, and confirming that the bounty hunter Gari, with a bounty of fifty million ryo on the bounty list, had been hunted.

He had never encountered such a large bounty more than a few times in his life.

Who was this mysterious person?

Hiding his identity, he showed up without a sound and handed over a corpse worth fifty million ryo!

Could it be that immortal Kakuzu who frequently appeared in underground exchanges everywhere?

But he hadn't heard of Kakuzu hiding his identity.

The staff member retrieved the corpse and cautiously said with a smile, "The identity has been confirmed. Sir, how would you like to receive the payment? All in cash?"

"Twenty million ryo in cash, and the rest can be deposited into my black market account."

Aoya then provided the account name and confirmed the password.

The staff member quickly checked and saw that the account named Enma had a remaining balance of a little over a million ryo, along with related transaction records.

This account's previous deposit was also due to a bounty.

The corresponding hunted individual was the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure, Raiga Kurosuki!

However, looking at the time, this was a record from over a year and a half ago.

This person truly either doesn't make a move, or when they do, it's someone like Raiga Kurosuki or the Explosion Release Gari, well-known elite Jonin in the ninja world!

"It's Lord Enma!"

The staff member respectfully addressed Qingye upon seeing his account name.

"Cut the nonsense and hurry up with the ledger and withdrawal!" Qingye grew impatient.

He was being targeted by Uchiha Madara, a veteran of the ninja world!

Furthermore, he was currently in the underground exchange, and if he stayed too long, what if he encountered another veteran ninja with nine lives?

Not long after, a briefcase containing twenty million Ryo in cash was presented, with the remainder being deposited into Qingye's black market account.

Without even bothering to count the money, Qingye left with the briefcase.

The underground exchange had been operating for who knows how many years; its reputation in this regard was trustworthy.

After leaving, he carefully avoided all populated areas and ran for several hundred miles before finally stopping in a forest.

"Stop hiding, come out."

"You've been following me for so long, aren't you tired?"

The forest was silent.

After trying to provoke for a while and confirming no one was tailing him, Qingye immediately formed hand seals and performed a Summoning Technique.

POOF!

"Meow--"

A small black cat with glossy black fur darted out from the white smoke.

"Nine Lives, your master has safely survived another three months," Qingye said, vigorously rubbing the cat's head.

This cat was a summoned ninja cat that Qingye had contracted through his clan's arrangements with Cat Granny after graduating from the Ninja Academy.

Qingye had named it Nine Lives, signifying his hope to have nine lives on the battlefield like a cat, surviving any situation.

However, despite being a ninja cat, Nine Lives possessed very little actual strength.

Qingye hadn't chosen Nine Lives for its strength back then, but because it had a certain talent for space ninjutsu, capable of performing the Reverse Summoning Technique!

This way, he might be able to escape danger on the battlefield using Reverse Summoning!

Yet, after more than two years on the battlefield, it had proven largely useless.

When facing opponents he could handle, he didn't need to summon Nine Lives to escape.

When facing opponents he couldn't defeat, he was usually instantly killed upon engagement, making summoning Nine Lives futile.

Now that he was being targeted by Uchiha Madara, having Nine Lives might be crucial for using the Reverse Summoning Technique to save his life at a critical moment.

"Enough talk, let's get this box of money back first." Qingye handed the briefcase to Nine Lives.

He instructed Nine Lives to take the money and dismiss the summoning, bringing the cash home. Then, after he returned to the Konohagakure camp, he could summon Nine Lives again to bring the money to him.

This way, he wouldn't risk being robbed on his way back.

After that, Qingye had Nine Lives return and didn't rush back to the Konohagakure camp immediately. Instead, he found a town nearby and stayed for two days.

Until the afternoon of the last day.

[Three-Tomoe Sharingan Chakra Loan Remaining Repayment Period: 10 hours.]

"Now I can head back."

Qingye was very satisfied and finally set off.

It wasn't easy!

He had finally managed to drag out the three-month repayment period.

Twenty million Ryo was enough to be exchanged for ten thousand Explosive Tags, plus another thirty million Ryo in his black market account for emergencies.

Coupled with the fact that the repayment period was about to end, and once the old loan was settled, he could finally take out a new one.

The shadow of the great war that had loomed over Qingye's head had finally receded significantly.

After traveling continuously for over an hour, he finally returned to the Konohagakure camp. As he walked in and saw his single-person tent from afar, a boy wearing goggles suddenly jumped out.

"Uchiha Qingye, I challenge you!" Uchiha Obito declared aggressively.