Obito: Orochimaru Has Defected Again

Knock instantly noticed the spatial Uzumaki, his heart tightened, and the light in his black eyes changed from contemplation to alertness.

His body reacted faster than his mind; with a flick of his right hand across the table, the scroll was silently stored in his ninja tool pouch.

He looked utterly bored, lounging lazily in the chair.

Kou's legs were crossed and propped up on the corner of the table, one hand supporting his chin, but his eyes, through his half-open eyelids, were fixed on the Uzumaki distortion of space.

Obito's figure stepped out from the spatial Uzumaki.

He wore his signature Black Cloak with Red Clouds with red clouds and an orange Spiral Mask.

The exposed right eye moved slightly through the hole in the mask, locking onto the languid figure the instant it landed.

Looking at Obito who had suddenly appeared before him, he raised an eyebrow slightly and said slowly in a tone tinged with surprise:

"Didn't you just leave yesterday? How come you're back so soon?"

As he spoke, he casually pulled out a beautifully packaged box of Anko cakes from under his desk and gently placed it in the center of the table.

Obito's gaze fell on the box of Anko cakes, and his expression behind the mask faltered slightly.

After a brief silence, his hoarse voice slowly broke the silence, with a barely perceptible pause:

"I don't need these things now..."

But before he could finish speaking, Kou casually opened the exquisite packaging, picked up a piece of Anko cake with his slender fingers, and swallowed it in one bite.

His cheeks were bulging, and he mumbled something indistinctly as he chewed:

"Huh? What did you just say?"

Obito: (ーー゛)

"This guy... he definitely did it on purpose."

Obito, watching the person in front of him respond to his knocking with the sound of chewing with righteous indignation, silently made his judgment in his heart.

Normally, he would probably exchange a few words with this guy, or pull out a photo album that guy had hidden under the bed from his Kamui Dimension.

Then, right in front of him, he watched with great interest, enjoying the strange look on the guy's face as he stared at him...

But now is not that time.

Obito shifted his gaze from the Anko cake, his single eye meeting Koko's eyes again, and his voice beneath the mask noticeably deepened:

I'm here today because I have something important to tell you.

Hearing Obito's words, Koko paused for a moment while chewing on the Anko cake.

"Why are you so serious...? Has something happened...?"

A flicker of thought crossed his eyes; the light in his dark pupils shifted from casual to thoughtful.

Kou quickly swallowed the Anko cake in his mouth, then abandoned all his casual demeanor and said seriously to Obito:

"Explain in detail."

Obito looked at Kou in front of him, his voice deepening without any unnecessary preamble:

Orochimaru... has defected from Akatsuki.

knock. "???"

A very subtle crack appeared in Kou's expression for a fleeting moment.

Orochimaru's defection wasn't surprising to him; rather, it would have been truly abnormal if that guy hadn't defected.

Even before Itachi joined Akatsuki, he had already drafted the outline of this scenario in his mind more than once.

But so fast? Itachi's only been a few days since he joined! Is he really that impatient?!

Kou quickly suppressed these inner complaints, a perfectly appropriate look of surprise appearing on his face.

He feigned surprise and said with a puzzled expression:

"Defect? Didn't we just have a meeting a few days ago? That stinky snake was perfectly fine back then."

My drool was practically dripping on the ground. Was I hoping and begging to team up with Itachi? How did this suddenly happen...?

Koko seemed to have thought of something, his brows furrowed slightly, his gaze returning to Obito, and the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"No way..."

"That's exactly what you think."

Obito nodded, spread his hands, and continued in his hoarse voice, with undisguised mockery:

"During the two days you were on your mission, Orochimaru finally couldn't contain himself. Without waiting for the organization's instructions or following the formal procedures, he went to find Itachi on his own."

The details are unclear; all that is known is that a battle took place between them.

"As expected—a crushing defeat."

Obito a playful tone:

"That guy probably realized he couldn't defeat Itachi and figured he couldn't get any more benefits from the organization, so he defected."

He paused, then continued with a gloating tone:

"Nagato is probably aware of this news by now, and he'll likely be holding a meeting soon to explain it."

"Is that so...?"

He murmured softly.

Upon hearing the established fact that Orochimaru had defected, he felt a slight, uncontrollable sense of relief.

He leaned back in his chair, concealing the almost imperceptible sense of relaxation beneath his relaxed posture.

Although it was tinged with self-deception, he still felt at ease putting the idea of cooperation back from his mind for the time being.

Kou suppressed all these fleeting emotional changes, then turned his gaze back to Obito's face, feigning impatience as he said:

"We should have known this from the Akatsuki meeting, right? You just left yesterday, and then you came back today. It couldn't have been just to tell me Orochimaru was gone before Nagato."

"Well, it's still necessary."

Obito looked at Kokoro, his tone becoming more serious:

"After all, the direction that guy fled in after being defeated by Itachi..."

He raised one hand, his index finger extending from the sleeve of his Black Cloak with Red Clouds patterns, pointing over his shoulder to the half-open window behind him.

Knock on the ground and look in the direction he was pointing.

That was outside Kirigakure, in a gray, misty direction.

"--That's the place."

Obito's voice was very soft, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

Kō stared in the direction Obito was pointing, his gaze instantly hardening.

The light in those black eyes shifted from nonchalant to sharp, and then from sharp to... murderous intent.

That's the direction Kimimaro is heading back from his mission!