"Obito, congratulations on graduating! Be extra careful on the battlefield."
"Obito, I heard you have someone you like. When are you planning to get married...?"
"Obito, once you become Hokage, can you make the clan accept me?"
"Obito..."
"Madara!"
Black Zetsu's call
pulled Obito out of his memories.
"An acquaintance?"
he asked.
Obito shook his head. "Not really."
"It's a little surprising. Why would a Uchiha clan member leave Konoha with Orochimaru?"
How had the coward from before found the nerve to betray his clan?
He had always worked so hard to earn the clan's acceptance!
Had the Uchiha fallen so far that they couldn't even tolerate a clan member who was trying to better himself?
What kind of injustice had Ao suffered to make him betray his clan and leave with Orochimaru?
Or...
Had Orochimaru threatened him?
"Orochimaru's been researching Hashirama Cells for a while, hasn't he, Zetsu?"
Obito suddenly asked, looking toward Zetsu.
"Ah, right! What about it? That man even guided his research for a time."
"It's nothing. I'm just curious how his research is going."
Obito spoke softly.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eye slowly turned, transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Let's go. We'll wrap up this mess in Kirigakure, then meet the legendary Sannin and see if he's worth recruiting."
"After tonight, there will be no Yuki Clan!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
Obito and Karatachi Yagura vanished, their figures turning into afterimages.
White Zetsu ventured, "Obito was angry just now, wasn't he? Looks like that Uchiha clan member named Ao has a good relationship with him."
"Keep watching him."
"See if there's an opportunity to use this Uchiha clan member."
Black Zetsu didn't respond. He simply continued giving orders.
"He has the aura of a Sacred Land. He's probably already become the successor of one, and he also has an aura like mine. He'd easily detect my Spore Clone."
"I can't follow too closely."
White Zetsu replied, rubbing his head with a helpless look.
"Damn, this kid's unusual! Hashirama Cells and a Sage Inheritance from a Sacred Land?"
Black Zetsu's face darkened. A sudden, ominous feeling welled up inside him. Why did this combination seem so familiar?
Where had this Uchiha brat come from?!
With such great talent, he'd somehow evaded Madara's investigation and hadn't been made a candidate for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
What a waste.
Could he interfere with the plan?
Black Zetsu hesitated.
"Let's go."
"Keep an eye on Obito. Make sure he doesn't do anything else to disrupt the plan."
White Zetsu warned him.
Obito had been unstable lately. He'd already slaughtered several Yuki Clan elders, provoking the entire clan.
His actions were sure to cause a major disturbance in Kirigakure.
"Obito... he's at the Yuki Clan."
White Zetsu's expression shifted.
"That guy... he really can't hold back. He's going to do it himself!"
Black Zetsu said, his face dark.
He didn't dare openly contradict Obito's decision. He could only act like a babysitter, slowly guiding him to follow the plan.
As long as he didn't stray from the main course.
Obito could do as he pleased with the other little complications.
The Yuki Clan.
Dark clouds hung over them.
The disappearance of several important elders had put the clan on alert.
The Yuki Clan Head called a clan-wide meeting.
Every clan member gathered at the family shrine.
"Everyone has noticed the situation in the village lately. The villagers' hatred of Kekkei Genkai is growing more intense."
"A large number of Kekkei Genkai users have mysteriously disappeared."
"My investigation suggests that the Anbu under the Mizukage may have taken them."
"Our Yuki Clan isn't the strongest Kekkei Genkai clan in the village, but the Ice Release techniques we possess may still make the Mizukage wary of us."
"To be safe, I discussed it with the elders, and we've decided to secretly move some of our people to the mainland. That way, even if the worst happens, our bloodline will survive."
"Does anyone have any objections?"
The Yuki Clan Head quickly explained the clan's current predicament to everyone.
He'd sensed the Mizukage's hatred of Kekkei Genkai.
Even though the Yuki Clan had chosen to remain loyal and had no intention of rebelling,
they still couldn't escape persecution.
All the missing elders had belonged to the clan's hawkish faction.
That was enough to show what the village intended.
The Yuki Clan had nowhere left to turn.
They just didn't know whether they'd survive this time.
The Yuki Clan members present remained silent.
They were naturally cold and reserved, like the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai they wielded. They gave off a chilling, keep-your-distance air.
They had no allies in Kirigakure and were quite isolated.
Now, facing this crisis,
they had only one choice: fight to the death.
"Clan Head, give the order!"
"We'd rather die than ever submit to that old turtle, Karatachi Yagura."
"If we have to die, we'll die fighting."
A Yuki Clan member shouted.
His eyes brimmed with resolve.
"Since no one objects, I'll begin making arrangements. All pregnant women, children under five, and the children's mothers will be sent away. They can't help us in battle, and they'd only hold us back."
"To be safe, they'll leave tonight."
"I've already arranged for a group of clan members to draw the Mizukage and his Anbu away outside the village."
"All you need to do is board a ship to the Land of Whirlpools. From there, you can travel onward and settle in the Land of Fire, the Land of Lightning, and elsewhere, in separate groups."
The Yuki Clan Head immediately gave his orders.
As soon as he finished speaking,
two figures suddenly appeared beside him.
"Well, well. Still planning to run?"
Karatachi Yagura's aged voice rang out, silencing the entire shrine.
He glanced around. Thousands of Yuki Clan members filled the shrine's front courtyard, their crowds stretching all the way to the torii gate.
"Too bad. You won't get the chance to escape!"
"Men! Kill every one of these calamities who betrayed the village!"
"Kekkei Genkai are the root of internal strife, an ominous power! Anyone with a Kekkei Genkai could threaten the safety of the village."
"Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"
Karatachi Yagura's voice rang through the shrine. In an instant, large numbers of Kirigakure Anbu appeared around its perimeter, surrounding the shrine completely.
There wasn't a single gap.
"Break through!"
The Yuki Clan Head cried out, his voice filled with grief and fury.
He hadn't expected more than twenty of the clan's elite to be killed before they'd even bought them a single night.
He charged furiously at the Fourth Mizukage, but before he could reach him, a pair of strange eyes flashed before his face...
A Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
By the time he realized what was happening, he was already caught in a genjutsu.
The next second, Karatachi Yagura's iron rod struck his chest, shattering his heart with a single blow.
He spat blood and collapsed to the ground, powerless.
A generation's heroic clan leader died there without a sound.
Against these Jonin-level elites, the Mangekyō's Kage Level ocular power meant instant death.
After taking care of the most troublesome opponent, Obito didn't act again.
Dressed in Kirigakure Anbu attire, he stood quietly behind Karatachi Yagura, watching the bloody slaughter.
A faint smile curled his lips.
With every Kirigakure Ninja who fell, his mood improved a little, and the smile beneath his mask grew brighter.
Suddenly, he noticed several Yuki Clan members working together to use Ice Release. They killed the Anbu surrounding them and broke through the encirclement.
That was unexpected.
One of them displayed strength far beyond that of an ordinary Jonin.
It didn't seem to be the Ice Release unique to the Yuki Clan, either.
A special kind of... genjutsu? No, there was something strange about him.
Watching him fight, Obito felt a faint sense of danger.
Who was this guy?!
Obito's gaze turned grave as he stared fixedly at the back of the mysterious Yuki Clan member.
He was about to go after him
when a Kirigakure Anbu appeared in front of him and blocked his way.
"Mizukage, aside from more than ten Yuki Clan members who escaped to the west, every other member of the Yuki Clan has been killed, including the clan head, elders, and all the clan's Jonin elites! Their bodies have all been gathered. All that remains is to clean up the battlefield."
An Anbu Captain knelt and respectfully delivered his report.
Blood still covered the floor, along with severed limbs and the cries and pleas of some Yuki Clan members.
"How many men did we lose, Kaguya Clan Head?"
Karatachi Yagura glanced at him. He knew exactly what the old man was thinking: he wanted to take charge of the cleanup and claim the Yuki Clan's treasures, accumulated over a thousand years.
"Under your wise leadership, the Anbu suffered no losses. Our Kaguya Clan members were at the very front, though, and many were injured to varying degrees."
The Kaguya Clan Head answered with a smile.
"That's good. Since you worked so hard, I'll leave the cleanup to you as compensation!"
Karatachi Yagura reassuringly patted the Kaguya Clan Head on the shoulder.
"You've worked hard, Kaguya Clan Head! We owe this success to you. Without your help, we couldn't have wiped out the Yuki Clan so easily. You deserve the credit! I'll have the Administration Department reward you for your service."
It was a feast before the execution.
The Yuki Clan's wealth would be easy to seize, but hard to spend!
The Kaguya Clan Head didn't sense the malice at all. He happily accepted, thinking the Mizukage had rewarded the Kaguya Clan for their loyalty.
Before you continue