Obito's Subordinates

Night City, Great Hall.

In the spacious hall, Obito sat leisurely in the central seat, one hand casually resting on the armrest, looking down at his subordinates below.

The cool white light shone down from above, enveloping the entire empty hall in a solemn atmosphere.

Before him, three figures were kneeling on the cold stone steps.

Besides the Raiga Kurosuki he had just brought with him, there was an old man with long white hair and a gloomy face in front of him, and a white-haired "boy" whose entire body was wrapped in bandages, with only a pair of gloomy eyes showing.

Shennong, former leader of Sky Village and current head of the Night City Medical Department.

Konoha, an S-rank missing-nin from Hiruko and the only "scientific research expert" in Night City.

At this moment, the two men looked extremely aggrieved, clearly unwilling to kneel here in such a humble posture.

Obito slowly swept his gaze over the three subordinates in front of him, each with their own thoughts, and a playful smile crept onto his lips beneath the mask.

Unlike Raiga Kurosuki, who was only recently recruited to monitor Uchiha Itachi, Shennong and Hiruko prey who had been included in "their" plan as early as four years ago.

However, in the beginning, I didn't actually approach them with the intention of establishing an organization.

However, as the "plan" progressed, he unknowingly gathered around him a group of subordinates, each with their own ulterior motives, yet forced to submit to his control.

Looking back now, the process was quite interesting...

Thinking about this, Obito couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Lord Madara!!"

An excited shout came from outside the main hall, instantly pulling Obito back from his brief reverie.

Obito watched the three figures quickly enter the main hall and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Hmm? They're here."

Kaneki Twins and Mui arrived together at the foot of the stone steps in front of Obito and knelt down on one knee.

Mui his usual expressionless and taciturn demeanor, Kaneki Eito's small face was full of excitement as he looked up reverently at Obito, who sat high in the main seat.

For this young man who had always valued his family highly since childhood, the "Lord Madara" in front of him, who had single-handedly pulled the Kaneki Clan out of the persecution and ostracism of Iwagakure and given them a place to live and the power to take revenge, was already a savior-like figure!

Obito's gaze fell on the twin boys kneeling side by side, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth beneath his mask.

"Kaneki Eito, Kaneki Mitero... you've both improved a lot since we last met."

"This is all thanks to Lord Madara's teachings!"

Hearing the praise from Madara himself, Kaneki Eito nodded excitedly and shouted to Obito:

"If it weren't for you, Metro and I would never have achieved our current strength!!"

Obito nodded noncommittally, then slowly turned his gaze to Raiga Kurosuki was kneeling at the very edge.

"This is Raiga Kurosuki, a new member of the organization. I introduced him to the others on your way here."

You should all be familiar with him, so I don't need to introduce him further.

"He is... that defeated opponent from back then?"

Kaneki Eito followed Obito's gaze to Raiga Kurosuki, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"This kind of trash dares to work for Lord Madara?!"

Hearing Kaneki Eito's disdainful comments, Raiga Kurosuki showed no reaction, simply keeping his head down in silence, as if listening to something that had nothing to do with him.

At this moment, the only thing that matters to him is to end this so-called "meeting" as soon as possible and get to Ranmaru's side.

Dignity—he lost it all the moment Ranmaru was taken from him...

"Recruiting him was my decision."

Obito turned his gaze back to Kaneki Eito, the gentleness and approval in his voice subtly diminishing.

"Since I've made this decision, it must have its purpose. We'll be working together from now on, so let's try to get along well."

I don't want to have to say it a second time.

"I'm so sorry, Lord Madara!!"

Seeing Kaneki Eito's trembling and fearful expression, Obito slowly nodded, then asked the white-haired "boy" kneeling beside him in a deep voice:

"Hiruko, what's the progress of your research on the Chimera Technique?"

How long do you estimate it will take to fully perfect this technique?

Hiruko slowly raised his head, looking warily at the biggest investor who had forcibly dragged him onto this pirate ship, and honestly answered:

"The research is progressing smoothly so far, but we still lack sufficient high-quality experimental materials."

"Assuming sufficient experimental materials are available, it is projected that the Chimera Technique can be fully perfected within five years."

As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly, greedily scanning the Kaneki Twins kneeling side by side beside him.

Obito frowned slightly and warned Hiruko:

"You don't need to worry about the experimental materials. There are some prisoners with Kekkei Genkai locked up in the city's dungeons, enough for you to conduct experiments for quite some time."

Don't have any inappropriate thoughts, and don't forget your current position.

Your life is now in my hands.

As he spoke, Obito gently tightened his grip on the armrest with his right hand.

Feeling a sudden, sharp pain in his chest, Hiruko's pupils contracted sharply. He clutched his chest tightly, curled up on the stone steps, and howled in agony:

"No, I'm very sorry, Lord Madara!"

I, I will never have any inappropriate thoughts, please, please rest assured!!

Under Kaneki Eito's gloating gaze, Obito slowly loosened his clenched hand.

As the excruciating pain slowly subsided, Hiruko, then silently knelt down again, lowering his bandaged face deeply.

"Mui" (wuwei)

Obito didn't look at him again, but instead gave orders to the tall man who had been kneeling silently and expressionlessly at the foot of the stone steps:

"Transfer another batch of prisoners from the dungeon and send them to Hiruko's laboratory."

If any new prisoners with Kekkei Genkai are subsequently imprisoned, there's no need to request further instructions; they can be sent directly to fully cooperate with the development of the Chimera Technique.

"The Chimera Technique is necessary for the subsequent plan to capture the Tailed Beast."

Mui remained silent for a long while, then took a deep look at Obito, who sat high in the main seat. Finally, he sighed helplessly in his heart and replied in a low voice:

"... yes."

Obito nodded, and finally addressed his five subordinates, each with their own distinct thoughts, in a deep voice:

That's all I wanted to say. This meeting is now adjourned.

Gentlemen, you may leave now.

As he spoke, Obito's gaze finally settled on Shennong, and he added casually:

"Shennong, take Raiga Kurosuki to see that boy named Ranmaru."

"Tell him everything about that kid being here. From now on, you'll be in charge of taking care of him."

"... yes."

Shennong clenched his hands tightly in his sleeves and responded in a low voice, extremely unwilling.

He suppressed his resentment and glanced impatiently at Raiga Kurosuki beside him:

"Come with me."

After saying this, Shennong walked out of the main hall without looking back.

Raiga Kurosuki suppressed his excitement, stood up abruptly from the cold stone slab, and hurriedly followed the old figure that was about to disappear into the shadow of the palace gate.

As the two figures disappeared one after the other at the end of the long corridor outside the main hall, the others also got up and dispersed silently.

In the empty hall, only Obito, sitting high in the main seat, remained.

He remained silent for a long while, then slowly turned his gaze to the shadowy corner at the far end of the hall, and spoke in a cold tone:

"They've all left. You... can come out now."