Obito's Hiding Place

Afu was forced to sign a Summoning Contract.

Staring at the mark on its body that identified it as a Summoning Beast, Afu was on the verge of tears. Although it was just an ordinary White Zetsu, it still had a mind of its own.

It hadn't yet traveled around the Ninja World or even experienced what it felt like to poop, and it had already been forced to become a Summoning Beast.

Youhu didn't care how Afu felt. After forcing it to sign the Summoning Contract, he could finally sense Afu's exact location. He no longer had to worry about being spied on by it.

Now he'd also have an excuse ready for Obito: everything was for the Moon Eye Plan.

Still, even White Zetsu could become a Summoning Beast. That surprised Youhu a little. After all, White Zetsu had originally been humans trapped in the dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Their minds had sunk into the dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi, while their bodies had been transformed into White Zetsu to fight the Otsutsuki Main Family.

But with White Zetsu's frail strength, could they really fight the Otsutsuki?

Or were all the White Zetsu in the Ninja World defective, with only exceptional cases like Tobi and Black Zetsu, who had the potential to reach Kage Level, counting as true White Zetsu?

Youhu left White Zetsu at home to clean for him, then headed for the Anbu Base and opened the System Panel.

[Your lie, "Izuna's Inheritance," became known to Uchiha Yachiyo. He was "skeptical but half-convinced." Reward: 50 Deception Points]

[Your lie, "Izuna's Inheritance," stirred strong emotions in Uchiha Inaho. He was "skeptical but half-convinced." Reward: 50 Deception Points]

...

The System Panel was full of unread messages about the success of the lie about "Izuna" and the Deception Points it had earned.

It seemed Tiehuo had kept working hard for the Uchiha cause while Youhu slept.

Youhu didn't use the Deception Points right away. He saved them for a chance to make more money from money later.

Besides turning lies into reality to increase his own strength, Deception Points would surely help lay the groundwork for his next lie. He wasn't in the habit of spending recklessly.

The Deception Points earned from "Izuna's Inheritance" had already surpassed those from "Hokage's Dark History."

After all, "Izuna's Inheritance" could genuinely increase the strength of his clan members. That was far more believable than a few scattered mentions in historical records.

As for the lie that "Obito had been resurrected," it had earned the fewest points.

Not many people in the Ninja World cared whether Obito was alive or dead. Even if word spread that the Masked Man was Obito, people wouldn't care whether Obito had survived or been resurrected.

When it came down to it, the only people in the Ninja World who truly cared about Obito were Kakashi and Youhu.

Still, Youhu believed Obito had plenty of potential. There was a lot more to explore about Kakashi and Obito's past.

For now, the most important thing was spreading the lie about "Izuna's Inheritance."

"Izuna's Inheritance" was different from "Hokage's Dark History."

If he loudly proclaimed that he had inherited Izuna's legacy, Tiehuo and the others might believe him, but everyone else in the village—and even the High Officials—would be suspicious.

After all, if Uchiha Izuna had truly been strong enough to leave behind an inheritance, he wouldn't have been stabbed by Flying Thunder God and left doubting his whole life.

Only if he let them investigate for themselves and fill in the blanks with their own imaginations could Izuna's Inheritance twist reality and come to exist in the Ninja World.

After all, ninjas only believed what they wanted to believe.

As long as he could prove to the Ninja World that he was Izuna's Successor and show strength worthy of Izuna's Inheritance, even Izuna himself couldn't deny that he was Izuna's Successor if he came back to life.

A while later, Youhu arrived at the Anbu Base.

He was about to change clothes and head to the Surveillance Room for work when Kakashi stopped him.

"Youhu, you're finally here. I was just about to come looking for you at home."

Youhu noticed that Kakashi was already fully equipped. He had an idea what was going on, but still asked, "Kakashi, what are we doing? Didn't we drive Obito away?"

Kakashi shook his head and said,

"We drove Obito off, but the threat hasn't been dealt with. The Hokage and the other High Officials have decided to keep pursuing him. We can't let him keep operating in the Ninja World."

"The High Officials also think that since Obito inherited Madara's Will, he won't stop at taking revenge on the village once or twice."

"With Uchiha Madara's cunning, he must have other plans to take on Konoha. He might even be secretly building an organization to bring Konoha down."

"To prevent an even greater danger in the future, the village has to find these threats and stamp them out before they can grow."

Uchiha Madara had indeed made many plans, but his goal wasn't merely to bring Konoha down. He wanted to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi and trap the entire Ninja World in an eternal dream.

Obito and Nagato had both been groomed by Uchiha Madara.

The Akatsuki they had founded was already powerful. It controlled the entire Rain Country and commanded a host of rogue ninja. It was already strong enough to fight Konoha to a standstill, and it would only grow stronger in the future.

Youhu was even an unofficial member of the Akatsuki.

It was a shame he wasn't a full member yet. If he could meet Nagato and the others and convince them to believe his lies, perhaps his strength could break into the transcendent ranks.

This mission might give him a chance to meet more Akatsuki members.

Thinking this, Youhu nodded and said to Kakashi, "As expected of the Hokage. He thinks things through far more deeply than we do. I'll get my things together and join you in pursuing Obito, Captain Kakashi."

"Once we defeat the mastermind who controlled Brother Obito, we can bring him back."

Youhu still believed in Obito as much as ever...

Kakashi was deeply moved. He no longer believed that Obito was innocent, but Youhu was still willing to believe in him. Was it because he'd spent too long in the Anbu and no longer wanted to believe in the Will of Fire?

Itachi fell silent at the sight.

Danzo had sent him to keep an eye on Kakashi and Youhu.

But among the three of them, he was the only one who might actually get close to Obito. He was the only one who wanted to know why Obito had betrayed them. The others only wanted to bring Obito back.

After changing clothes and clearing out nearly half the Anbu Warehouse, Youhu seemed to remember something and asked,

"But Captain Kakashi, do you know where the forces behind Obito are based? We can't even find Obito, let alone the place where he used to hide."

"..."

Kakashi had no idea either. He knew Obito often operated near the village, but he had no clue where Obito went the rest of the time.

Youhu glanced at Itachi and hinted, "Itachi, you were the first to meet Obito. Did he tell you anything?"

Itachi shook his head. He felt that Youhu suspected he was in league with Obito, but he really didn't know where Obito was hiding. He and Obito hadn't even managed to talk.

One interruption after another had kept getting in the way.

"He doesn't even give us an exact location, yet he sends us out on a mission. I think the Hokage's getting senile..."

Youhu muttered under his breath. Then, as if remembering something, he opened a map of the Ninja World and said, "Captain Kakashi, didn't you tell me about the Battle of Kannabi Bridge?"

"You and Obito were on a mission back then, and Obito died near Kannabi Bridge."

"Do you think Uchiha Madara's Inheritance might be near Kannabi Bridge? Otherwise, no one would have found Obito after he died, brought him back to life, and made him the new Uchiha Madara."

Youhu had actually wanted to suggest Amegakure, but he was worried about Nagato's strength and feared they wouldn't make it back.

So he settled for Grass Country, near Amegakure. Uchiha Madara had a base there, and it had indeed once been Obito's hiding place.

"That does make sense..."

After Youhu's suggestion, Kakashi's thoughts suddenly cleared.

That was right. Obito had died at Kannabi Bridge. If someone wanted to resurrect him, they wouldn't have traveled a great distance just to bring back a Three-Tomoe Uchiha.

Uchiha Madara, or the previous heir to Uchiha Madara's legacy, had to be near Kannabi Bridge.

"Obito's base is in Grass Country, where Kannabi Bridge is located."

"Maybe Obito had already infiltrated Kusagakure. The entire village could be his logistics base. No wonder Kusagakure's been acting more and more arrogantly."

The more Kakashi thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Itachi couldn't find a single flaw in his reasoning either.

The place where Uchiha Madara's Inheritance had been left was most likely Kusagakure, on the battlefield of the Fourth Shinobi World War. The forces behind Obito had to be closely connected to Kusagakure as well.

"Then let's go check out Kusagakure first."