Brother Obito, I Think We Should Form the Akatsuki

"Youhu has objections to the Moon Eye Plan?"

Obito furrowed his brow.

Youhu, an unaffiliated member of the Akatsuki, thought he was qualified to make suggestions?

Wait... how did Youhu know about the Moon Eye Plan?

Obito hurriedly glanced at the White Zetsu Clone beside him, who was grinning foolishly. He thought bitterly that the White Zetsu Clone was hopelessly stupid, and that Youhu was even more capable than he'd imagined.

After asking the White Zetsu Clone what had happened, Obito's expression turned strange.

Youhu's sensory abilities weren't particularly strong, but his luck was almost absurdly good. By pumping in a huge amount of Chakra, he'd happened to force the White Zetsu hiding in spore form to reveal himself.

Fortunately, Youhu trusted him enough.

Not only had Youhu failed to realize that White Zetsu was spying on him, he'd actually thought White Zetsu was a bodyguard Obito had sent to protect him.

If Obito's personal charm hadn't been so extraordinary, his plan to plant spies near Kakashi and Itachi would have died before it even began. He'd better not use the Spore Technique so carelessly in the future.

Thinking of this, Obito opened the letter Youhu had sent him.

The ink was still wet, and a faint, fresh-paper scent rose from the page. Youhu must have finished writing it only moments ago.

Unfolding the letter, Obito began to read it carefully.

It began with a long stretch of pointless concern. Youhu, his subordinate and fan, was worried about him, reminding him to dress warmly while on the run and to remember to eat on time every day.

"What is Youhu trying to do?"

Obito found it strange. How long had it been since anyone had reminded him to eat on time?

Aside from his family, who had died years ago, only Rin had ever cared whether he ate regularly. After he'd been implanted with White Zetsu, he no longer needed to eat—a terribly inefficient source of energy.

As he read on, Youhu began making specific suggestions about the Tailed Beast Plan.

Youhu believed it was unrealistic for the few Uchiha among them to capture all Nine Tailed Beasts at once. They needed to recruit more people and form an organization if they wanted to carry out the Tailed Beast Plan.

Recruiting powerful shinobi directly from the Five Great Ninja Villages would have little chance of success and would increase the risk of exposing themselves.

It would be better to recruit rogue ninja from the Five Great Ninja Villages. These rogue ninja had survived pursuit by the Anbu, so they were strong enough for the job and unlikely to go around spreading secrets.

No one in the Ninja World would believe the nonsense rogue ninja spouted.

Obito froze. Youhu was truly on the same wavelength as him; they'd arrived at the same idea independently.

Back when he'd teamed up with Nagato and Konan to create the Second Akatsuki, he'd planned to strengthen the organization by recruiting rogue ninja.

Over the years, they'd recruited a number of powerful fighters, including Kakuzu, Scorpion, Orochimaru, and Juzo Biwa.

Though the Akatsuki still couldn't match the combined might of the Five Great Ninja Villages, it was more than capable of dealing with a single, weaker village.

It had taken him a whole month to come up with the idea.

And yet Youhu had thought of all this in less than half a day.

Was Youhu actually smarter than he was?

Obito wasn't sure.

He kept reading. By the time he reached the end of the letter, his respect for Youhu had turned to dread.

Youhu had not only suggested recruiting wandering rogue ninja like Orochimaru and Kakuzu, he'd also claimed that they were collecting Tailed Beasts to break the Five Great Nations' dark rule and bring the dawn of a new day to the small nations of the Ninja World.

The organization might as well be called the Akatsuki.

"Hold on. Youhu, how did you know our organization was called the Akatsuki?"

Obito's first thought was that White Zetsu might have been caught in an Illusion Technique and leaked all their secrets. But there wasn't the slightest sign that White Zetsu had been controlled.

That filled Obito with an unfamiliar fear of the unknown.

He even started wondering if Youhu was another of Uchiha Madara's planted successors, another executor of the Moon Eye Plan.

After a moment, Obito turned to the Pitcher Plant Monster and asked, "Black Zetsu, did Madara train anyone else? Youhu must be one of his successors too."

"..."

The Pitcher Plant Monster was just as perplexed. He was Madara's "will" and had watched Madara right up until the moment he died. How could he not know whether Madara had chosen another successor?

Still, this Uchiha named Youhu had terrifyingly sharp reasoning skills.

From a few words alone, he'd deduced the Akatsuki's precise plan, then, by sheer coincidence, guessed its exact name.

How had Black Zetsu failed to notice someone like him back then?

The Pitcher Plant Monster—or rather, Black Zetsu—couldn't help feeling that it was a great shame.

But no matter how regrettable it was, he'd already chosen Obito. All Black Zetsu could do was reassure the person he'd picked.

"Obito, Youhu definitely wasn't trained by Madara. You're the only Uchiha who can inherit Madara's name."

"No matter how sharp Youhu is, he's still your subordinate."

"..."

Obito felt as if Black Zetsu was insulting him, but he couldn't find any proof. Besides, Youhu's concern made him feel good. It had been a long time since he'd felt anyone cared about him.

Obito destroyed the letter and gave a haughty, all-conquering smirk. "That's right. Any Uchiha who hasn't awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan is just an ordinary nobody, no matter how impressive they might be."

"As long as Youhu stays close to Kakashi and Itachi and does his job as a spy, I don't mind giving him a place in the new world."

With that, Obito took a Ninja Technique Scroll from Kamui Space and handed it to the White Zetsu Clone.

"Take this Ninja Technique Scroll to Youhu. And tell him I'm doing just fine and don't need his concern. He should stay undercover in Konoha. The Moon Eye Plan will come to pass."

The White Zetsu Clone took the Ninja Technique Scroll, sank into the earth, and disappeared.

At that moment, in the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage was frazzled over the Masked Man.

"Should I reveal that the Masked Man is Obito?"

"Revealing Obito's identity might help us catch him, but the Uchiha will be affected too. Will the hardliners among them resort to desperate measures, attack the Hokage Building, or even join forces with Obito?"

"Is Obito really the only one who inherited Uchiha Madara's legacy? What if there are others?"

"Given Uchiha Madara's cunning, if he hadn't died back then, why hasn't he attacked Konoha all these years? With his strength, Konoha would have had no way to resist."

"Could Uchiha Madara and Obito be plotting something earth-shattering?"

"Should I send someone to capture Obito? Kakashi would be a good choice, but what if Obito attacks the village again while Kakashi is away?"

After agonizing over it for several hours, the Third Hokage still hadn't come up with anything reliable. His anxiety had only driven him to smoke so much that the Hokage Office was thick with smoke.

After smoking the last of his tobacco, the Third Hokage knew he couldn't make such a major decision by himself.

He sighed softly, then called to the Anbu beside him. "Go summon the Elder Advisors. I have an important matter to discuss with them."