Obito's Plan

While Uchiha Rei was at the Kurama Clan Villa, Uchiha Obito was quietly pushing ahead with the final preparations for his clan massacre from the shadows.

A black vortex twisted silently. The distortion of Kamui Space tore through the air, and Obito's figure appeared without a sound in Konoha's most secretive corner.

Root basement.

This time, he hadn't come to steal information. He had come to persuade Danzo himself.

They would work together to wipe out the Uchiha Clan once and for all.

Ever since Rin Nohara's death, Obito's world had long since crumbled. To him, reality was nothing but ashes and illusion. His hatred for this world ran bone-deep, a fury bent on destruction. He would bury the world that had taken Rin from him.

The previous night, under the identity of "Uchiha Madara," he had secretly met with a group of Uchiha hardliners.

"When the rebellion begins, I'll appear and control the Nine-Tails. The Uchiha will rule Konoha," he had declared with absolute conviction.

Hope had immediately blazed in the eyes of those clan elites. They believed him.

But Obito knew full well that it was all a lie. His hatred for the Uchiha ran as deep as his resentment toward Konoha. From the very beginning, he had never considered his clansmen allies.

They were nothing more than a stockpile of Sharingan waiting to be harvested.

"Seeing them so happy makes me want to laugh," Obito murmured inwardly, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

Back in Konoha, he had been the Dead Last. The clan elders and elites had never given him a second glance. Only Rin had gently bandaged his wounds.

Now, those who had once looked down on him were delirious with excitement over a single word from him. The thrill of revenge spread through his chest like wildfire.

The more obsessive an Uchiha was, the stronger he became; the stronger an Uchiha was, the more obsessive he became. Obito had long since fallen into extremism, with no intention of turning back.

Still, one thing left Obito vaguely uneasy.

Uchiha Itachi had gone out of control.

Obito had already convinced him in front of the Clan Stone Tablet, and together they had drawn up the clan massacre plan. Itachi was supposed to eliminate the old, the weak, and the infirm, while Obito took out the clan's elites.

But recent developments had veered completely off course. Uchiha Itachi had exposed his identity ahead of time, making his betrayal of Konoha public knowledge.

"Damn it..." he cursed under his breath.

If the plan hadn't gone off the rails, Itachi could have quietly eliminated the old, the weak, and the infirm without anyone knowing.

Now, everyone knew Itachi had betrayed Konoha.

Even Kamui couldn't eliminate targets in two different places at the same time.

The situation gave Obito a serious headache.

He had already notified Black Zetsu and arranged for a small Akatsuki Organization squad to provide support, but that was nowhere near enough to make up for the loss of Itachi, a blade from their ranks.

He had no choice but to come to Root in person.

First, to update the intelligence.

Second, to stoke the Konoha high-level's hatred of the Uchiha again, making Konoha the true driving force behind the massacre.

But one unexpected variable after another kept appearing, and Obito was beginning to feel out of his depth.

Root's corridors were deep and cold, their stone walls laced with barely perceptible Fuinjutsu seals.

Danzo was already waiting for him.

Danzo sat on a stone chair, clad in a black robe, half his face hidden beneath bandages and shadows.

But the most striking thing about him was his swollen, almost distorted face. The swelling hadn't gone down.

It was a "trophy" left behind by "Uchiha Itachi." That slap had landed squarely, and even Root's best Medical Ninja had been helpless.

Danzo's face was dark as a storm cloud, his eyes blazing. His usual cool calculation had been replaced by fury.

"Uchiha Itachi! Where is he now?" Danzo asked in a low, icy voice.

Uncontainable anger roiled in his eyes. The boy he had once dismissed had thrown the entire board into chaos right under his nose.

"You never truly understood Itachi." Obito's voice drifted slowly from behind his mask, carrying a hint of mockery. "He's the kind of person who, once he betrays you, never turns back."

Danzo didn't respond. He only fixed Obito with a frigid stare, as though he might turn his fury into murderous intent at any moment. He had never imagined that one day an Uchiha boy would leave him utterly unable to fight back. He had underestimated Itachi.

Uchiha Obito looked at Danzo's swollen, piglike face and couldn't help sneering inwardly.

"I'm not the only one who's been left in such a sorry state by Uchiha Itachi."

"I'm looking for Uchiha Itachi too," he said calmly, as if everything were still under his control.

"You're useless," Danzo said coldly, his voice full of disdain. "Uchiha Itachi was your man, and you couldn't even control him?"

The remark was like a slap to Obito's face. Once, he had confidently assured Danzo that Itachi was just a brat he could manipulate at will. Now, reality had dealt him a brutal blow.

"Itachi's defection changed everything... That little brat always has to ruin my plans," he snarled inwardly.

The air thickened with mutual distrust and scheming as the two conspirators began exchanging terms.

Obito proposed that, during the operation five days later, Root provide its full support and seal off the entire Uchiha district so that no one could escape.

What he failed to notice was the deep gleam already stirring in Danzo's eyes. His hatred for the Uchiha went far beyond that.

Influenced since childhood by the teachings of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, Danzo had always regarded the Uchiha Clan as a menace. He didn't merely want to help massacre them; he wished not a single clansman would survive.

"Find out everything you can about Uchiha Itachi, especially the Akatsuki Organization he mentioned," Danzo said in a low voice, heavy with authority.

Obito merely nodded, sneering inwardly.

If Danzo knew the masked man standing before him was one of the Akatsuki Organization's founding members, the swelling on his face might have doubled.

Both men concealed their true motives. Their words passed back and forth in a show of cooperation, while each harbored his own agenda.

Obito thought Danzo was merely a pawn, while Danzo saw Obito as a weapon.

Neither knew that beyond the plans they had so carefully woven, the true Black Hand—

Uchiha Rei was quietly examining Kurama Yakumo's health in the Kurama Clan Villa.

He was the true arbiter of that night, the one hidden behind every shadow.

Yet these two men, who fancied themselves masters of the whole board, hadn't given Uchiha Rei a second thought.

To them, he was nothing more than an ordinary Jonin whose toxins hadn't been fully purged, incapable of stirring up the slightest trouble.

But this time, on the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, Uchiha Rei would give them a real "surprise."

The conversation ended. Uchiha Obito's figure slowly blurred, then vanished as space twisted around him.

In the dark, cold depths of Root, only Danzo's swollen, distorted face remained, still seething with rage.

"Lord Danzo." A Root ninja slowly emerged from the darkness, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"My lord, why did you let him leave? That man is dangerous."

"Dangerous?" A look of scorn crossed Danzo's lips. He reached out and gently touched his swollen cheek, his expression chilling.

"Don't you think he'd make an even better weapon than Uchiha Itachi?"

Danzo's voice was low, yet brimming with confidence and calculation. "Whether or not he's Madara, he's arrogant, conceited, and thinks of no one but himself."

"A man like that only sees himself and never notices anyone else. His arrogance is his sharpest blade—and the easiest tool to control."

"All we need to do is pay him a few ordinary Sharingan, and he'll wipe out the Uchiha Clan for us. We'll seize their wealth and remove Konoha's threat." He spoke as though describing a fact already written into history.

Even his swollen left cheek couldn't diminish his confidence that he had the situation under control.

Danzo fell silent for a moment, then spoke again in a low voice. "Over the years, I've manipulated more than a few brats. Whether it was Uchiha Shisui or this masked 'Madara,' they thought they were clever. In truth, they were nothing but pawns on the board."

Uchiha Itachi alone was the exception.

"He... isn't swayed by words. He has his own judgment and convictions." Danzo's brow furrowed slightly, his gaze turning sinister. "People like that are the biggest nuisance."

He touched his still-swollen face, fury boiling in his heart.

"Once the Uchiha Clan is dealt with... I'll use all of Konoha's power to hunt him down." Danzo's voice was cold.

"I'll make Uchiha Itachi learn what Konoha's fury means."

The blade aimed at the Uchiha Clan had already been raised in secret.

Deep within Root, the exchange between the two "Black Hands" had set the stage for the approaching "Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall."

Five days later, the moonlit night would run red with blood.