How the Various Factions Responded

Obito had chosen to slow things down a little for now.

But only where Uchiha Itachi was concerned.

In other aspects of the plan,

Obito instead needed to pick up the pace.

Including the Akatsuki.

Nagato was the most useful pawn at his disposal, but also the one most likely to slip out of control. Obito had to handle him with the utmost caution. Given the current situation, the Akatsuki under Nagato's leadership was the key to Obito carrying out his Eye of the Moon Plan. Coordinating—or, rather, controlling—the Akatsuki's overall strength was the most important part of his plan. Compared with Uchiha Itachi alone, even though Obito valued the possibility that a clash between Itachi and Sasuke might give rise to another Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he still needed to yield a little when it came to his primary plan.

Besides,

Itachi's position was still rather ambiguous.

For now,

Obito still believed Itachi could be won over.

So the decision to end the surveillance

was understandable.

Uchiha Itachi, the man at the center of all this, had no idea that he had just fought Uchiha Obito in the void. He had Naruto to thank for that. After getting what could be considered a satisfactory answer from Naruto, Itachi didn't linger in the Land of Snow. He had very little time to spare, and to avoid raising unnecessary suspicions or causing trouble, he left the Snow Ninja Village and headed straight out of the Land of Snow, returning to the mainland to resume the various missions assigned by the Akatsuki. After meeting Naruto, his resolve to follow his plan had only grown stronger.

The world of the future

was bound to be one of utter chaos.

Only by following his plan could Sasuke gain the power to take control of his