Their Respective Plans

After leaving the underground base, Nagato hurried toward the tower, the wind at his back and a chill running through him.

The gray-white sky was heavy with rain clouds. Every so often, a bolt of bright white lightning streaked across the heavens, illuminating the entire street.

Rain fell without pause in this country, all year round. As he walked, he could feel the dampness lingering in the air.

Though stopping the rain would have been easy for Nagato, he had no intention of doing so.

He looked around at the tower-like buildings everywhere and listened to the water gurgling through the drainpipes on their outer walls as it flowed from the rooftops to the ground. Only then could he truly feel that he had returned to this country.

It was a strange experience. Though this was his first time walking here, his mind was full of memories of the place.

Familiar, yet strange.

All around him, vibrant Natural Energy floated through the sky and over the earth. It looked like countless green specks of light, completely unaffected by the rain.

It would have been easy for him to absorb the Natural Energy, and his Sage Mode had no time limit. Even so, Nagato had no intention of doing so. Just as drinking too much strong tea during the day could keep an ordinary person awake at night, absorbing Natural Energy for a long time would keep his mind in a state of excessive alertness.

That state was useful in battle, but with war about to begin, he needed to let his body rest properly first.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful he was, he wouldn't be able to bring that strength to bear in a real fight. That was what Nagato had learned from years of war. In his memories, it was as if he had lived on the battlefield since childhood.

He had seen plenty of rookies who were too nervous or excited to sleep the night before a battle. Those rookies rarely survived the battlefield. Experienced ninjas didn't make that kind of mistake. The time before a battle was precious; not a single minute could be wasted.

So what was Obito Uchiha doing at a time like this?

With the help of the Natural Energy around him, Nagato's sensory abilities were even stronger than before, even without entering Sage Mode.

In an instant, he could tell that Obito was no longer in Amegakure.

······

Meanwhile, somewhere in an underground space.

Deep in the dim cave, Zetsu emerged from the ground. After unfolding the aloe leaves wrapped around his body, he turned to Obito, who was sitting nearby, and said, "Sasuke has agreed to go to Amegakure. I thought he wouldn't accept."

"Hmph. He still isn't a match for Nagato..." Obito replied coldly, not at all surprised by Sasuke's choice.

He was completely hidden in the darkness, as if he had become one with it. "I don't know why Nagato's body has recovered. Could it be because of Katsuyu in Shikkotsu Forest?"

"The Three Great Sage Regions each have a sage with very unique abilities. With Sage Katsuyu's healing powers, it shouldn't be difficult to heal Nagato's injuries, should it?"

Zetsu's white half-face wore a sly grin. Since his lower half was still underground, his field of vision was low; he had to look up to see the displeasure written across Obito's face.

"His injuries aren't that easy to heal. They're the result of prolonged exposure to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's Chakra. Besides, the nerves in his legs have long since died. Even the most advanced Medical Ninjutsu couldn't have restored him to his current condition." Obito stared at the ground and muttered to himself, "The plan we had before won't work anymore. A healthy Nagato with the Rinnegan won't be easy to deal with."

"Our plans have hit another snag," White Zetsu said with a sly grin, looking completely unconcerned. His expression seemed to mock Obito.

The taunt earned him a fierce glare from Obito.

Earlier, when Zetsu had reported that Nagato had suddenly abandoned the hunt for the Nine Tails and disappeared from Konoha, Obito had arrogantly remarked that he couldn't believe his plan had run into a snag.

White Zetsu had quietly remembered those words and had brought them up now just to mock him...

Obito was long used to White Zetsu's habit of undermining people, but at that moment, he still couldn't contain his displeasure. He thought White Zetsu was being a nuisance.

His expression darkened, and White Zetsu smiled happily at the sight.

He still remembered how Obito had used Kamui to take everyone back to Amegakure, leaving him behind. Seeing Obito unhappy made him very happy.

"Did you find out what I asked you to investigate?"

After a while, Obito asked in a cold voice, turning his gaze away from White Zetsu.

White Zetsu's expression grew serious as well. "The clone I sent out has returned from Konoha. It didn't bring back your left eye. The clone found Kakashi's body, but someone had already taken the Sharingan that belonged to you."

White Zetsu hesitated, then asked, "Do you think someone from Konoha recovered your left eye, or did Nagato take it?"

Obito said nothing. He simply stared coldly at the rough cave wall in the darkness.

There was a kind of pain in this world that came from an ally screwing things up and killing your best friend in the process. Then the eye you had left with your best friend went missing too. Obito wanted to know why this hellish world hadn't ended yet.

"Madara, what should we do next?"

Zetsu kept asking questions. Obito glanced helplessly at his two-toned face, his eyes full of contempt.

"We can't confront Nagato directly anymore," he replied.

"Not even with your... Kamui?" White Zetsu continued.

He had meant to ask, "Can't you use your Uchiha power?" But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he shouldn't provoke Obito just then. The man was clearly in a bad mood.

"What good would that do? Nagato no longer has any Black Receivers on his body, so the contingency Madara left behind has lost its effect. If I use Kamui alone, I might be able to trap him in the other dimension, but I won't be able to take his eyes. What if he summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into the other dimension and absorbs it into his body?"

For Obito, the best possible outcome of capturing the Eight and Nine Tails was for both Sasuke and Nagato to succeed, while Konoha further weakened Nagato's physical condition.

That way, once the Eight and Nine Tails were sealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he could tamper with the Pains before they were activated and persuade Nagato to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.

It would be best if he could persuade Nagato with words. Even if that failed, he could force him with violence. Given Nagato's physical condition, without the Pains he wouldn't be a match for Obito. What's more, Obito had the Yin-Yang Release Madara had taught him, which he could use to restrain Nagato with the Black Receivers on his body.

Everything had been planned perfectly, and success was within reach. Obito had even prepared himself to see Rin in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. As for Zetsu's intentions or the matter of reviving Madara Uchiha, what did any of that have to do with him?

Unfortunately, everything had gone out of control. Nagato in particular had become completely different from before, as if he no longer cared about Obito's opinion at all.

"Besides notifying Sasuke, what else did Nagato ask you to do?" Obito asked Zetsu, his expression grim.

"The Five Kage Summit... the Land of Fire... and Hidan..." Zetsu repeated the tasks Nagato had given him.

"Anko?" Obito murmured, confusion in his eyes. He couldn't figure out why Nagato wanted to find her.

He remembered that Anko had once been Orochimaru's student. After Orochimaru defected from Konoha, he had abandoned her, which showed she wasn't particularly talented.