The Rinnegan as Bait

Obito had come to terms with reality: his strength barely ranked in the Ninja World.

The corners of Kabuto's mouth lifted into a sharp, sinister smile, like a snake's.

"We were comrades once, after all. This is our first reunion since our leader fell in Konoha. You don't have to welcome me with open arms, but why are you so wary of me?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Kabuto a cold look.

If he hadn't been wary of Kabuto's Sage Mode from Ryūchi Cave, about which he had no intelligence, he would have dealt with him already.

"Spare me the act, Kabuto! Tell me, why did Uchiha Genya send you here?"

Kabuto chuckled. He showed no anger at having his act exposed. Instead, he looked at Obito and the half-black, half-white creature that hardly seemed human.

"So now that your leader has fallen, this old man Sarutobi Hiruzen speaks for the Akatsuki Organization?"

With a single sentence, Kabuto drove a wedge between Obito and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Granted, raising the issue now was rather pointless. The Akatsuki Organization had only a handful of members left.

Black Zetsu didn't care about being leader, so the position would fall to either Obito or Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Then again, with only two or three people left in the Akatsuki Organization, did it really matter who was in charge?

As it turned out, Obito thought it did.

Even when Nagato had been around, Obito had never held anyone else in high regard. Now that Nagato was gone, he certainly wouldn't defer to an old man whose life he'd personally saved.

Obito was the sort of person who naturally believed, no matter the circumstances, that he was the true leader of the Akatsuki Organization.

He shot Sarutobi Hiruzen a glare, though he was suspicious of Kabuto's arrival too.

"Enough