Pawns Are Still Just Pawns

Madara landed before Obito, his feet crunching softly on the rubble. His silver-white hair drifted in the violet-black glow, while nine Truth-Seeking Orbs hovered behind him like nine silent satellites. His left Rinnegan looked down at the man who had once called himself "Uchiha Madara," while the ordinary Sharingan in his right eye showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.

Obito lay on the ground, his gray-white hair scattered among the broken stones. His left eye socket was an empty hollow, while the Rinnegan in his right eye emitted a faint glow, so dim it was nearly invisible. Layers of Black Zetsu's black substance wrapped around his body, making him resemble an insect specimen preserved in resin. Only his right hand was barely exposed—the fingers convulsively curled, his nails already broken, the blood on his fingertips dried into dark-red crusts.

Black Zetsu's voice came from within Obito's body, low and steady. "Madara-sama, the other Rinnegan is still in his socket. I have already taken control of his body. It can be removed at any time."

Madara did not move. He merely stood there, looking down at Obito as though examining a worn-out tool.

Black Zetsu's black substance began peeling away from Obito's body. The viscous, tar-like matter slowly rose from Obito's chest, arms, and neck, like black snakes waking from hibernation and slithering toward Madara. Black Zetsu was separating himself from Obito—extracting himself from this "vessel" and returning to the side of the true master he had waited a thousand years for.

Obito's pupil suddenly contracted.

His right hand—the only hand that could still move, the hand Black Zetsu had abandoned control over—suddenly clenched. Rather than trying to pry Black Zetsu's wrist apart as before, it seized the black substance being peeled from his body. His fingers sank deep into