Uchiha You's Partner

Of course, he couldn't really spend all his Behind-the-Scenes Points on repairing his eyes.

Once he returned to Konoha, there would be an even bigger game to set in motion.

"Activate ocular power maintenance once."

[1000 Behind-the-Scenes Points consumed.]

[Repairing ocular power depletion...]

The next instant.

A cool power flowed into his eyes.

The searing pain deep in his eye sockets quickly eased.

His vision became clear.

His mind felt much lighter as well.

Uchiha You closed his eyes, sensing his ocular power recover as the smile on his lips deepened.

Comfortable.

No wonder transmigrators all loved systems.

This feeling of having cheats really was addictive.

But he quickly suppressed those emotions.

A golden finger was a tool.

Not something to rely on.

In a world like Naruto's, the truly frightening things had never been just power.

There was also intelligence.

Planning.

The human heart.

Black Zetsu had hidden for a thousand years, and it certainly hadn't been because of his fists.

Obito had been able to stir up the shinobi world not because he was invincible in a one-on-one fight, but because he knew how to hide, deceive, and exploit others.

And what Uchiha You had to do was hide better than them, deceive better than them, and exploit better than them.

The system suddenly sounded again.

[Branch missions available.]

[Branch Mission One: Save Shisui Uchiha.]

[Mission Reward: 10,000 Behind-the-Scenes Points; increased resistance to Kotoamatsukami.]

[Branch Mission Two: Turn Itachi Uchiha.]

[Mission Reward: 15,000 Behind-the-Scenes Points; increased resistance to Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu.]

[Branch Mission Three: Seize Root's core archives.]

[Mission Reward: 12,000 Behind-the-Scenes Points; Hashirama Cells compatibility increased by ten percent.]

[Branch Mission Four: Have at least four core Akatsuki members participate in Uchiha Massacre Night.]

[Current Progress: Pain, Konan, Sasori, Kakuzu, Kisame. Five members have preliminarily met the requirement.]

[Mission Reward: 20,000 Behind-the-Scenes Points; beginner-level Akatsuki command authority.]

As Uchiha You looked at these missions, his eyes gradually brightened.

Excellent.

These missions completely overlapped with his upcoming plans.

Save Shisui.

Turn Itachi.

Destroy Danzo.

Bring Akatsuki into Konoha.

The system wasn't forcing him down another path. It was rewarding him for the path he already intended to take.

Now this was the most satisfying kind of system.

Uchiha You said softly,

"Looks like Uchiha Massacre Night has to be done beautifully."

Not only did he have to prevent the Uchiha Clan from being massacred.

He also had to keep the casualties as low as possible.

More importantly, he had to use the opportunity to destroy Root and ensure Danzo would never have a chance to rise again.

If he could also pull the Third Hokage down from the center of Hokage power while he was at it, that would be perfect.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

Kisame's voice came from outside.

"You."

"That masked guy is here."

The panel in Uchiha You's eyes slowly faded away.

He turned and walked to the door, opening it.

Kisame stood outside with his great sword over his shoulder, a spectator's grin on his face.

"He doesn't seem very happy."

Uchiha You smiled.

"Normal."

"When a chess piece suddenly starts playing its own moves, the player naturally won't be pleased."

At the end of the corridor.

Tobi stood there, his body slightly tilted, still acting frivolous as ever.

"You, Pain has agreed to let you join Akatsuki for the time being."

"Next, we need to arrange a ring and a partner for you."

Uchiha You walked over.

"A partner?"

Tobi nodded.

"Akatsuki generally works in pairs."

"Juzo is dead, Kisame has just joined, and the two of you returned together from the Land of Water."

"So Pain's intention is for you and Kisame to form a team for now."

Kisame grinned.

"I don't have a problem with that."

Uchiha You glanced at Kisame.

This arrangement suited him perfectly.

Kisame was strong, not stupid, and straightforward by nature. Most importantly, he had not yet been completely led astray by Obito's Eye of the Moon nonsense.

Keeping him at his side would make him ideal to cultivate into his first blade within Akatsuki.

Tobi said with a giggle,

"You don't have any objections either, do you?"

Uchiha You replied flatly,

"No."

Tobi clapped his hands.

"Then that's wonderful."

"However, Pain also gave me one more instruction."

Uchiha You asked,

"What is it?"

Tobi said,

"Since you want Akatsuki to take part in the operation on Konoha's side, you need to provide sufficiently accurate intelligence."

"Konoha's internal situation, the Uchiha Clan's current state, the location of the Root Base, Danzo's habits of movement..."

"These can't just be empty words."

Uchiha You looked at Tobi.

"You want intelligence?"

Tobi spread his hands.

"It's not that I want it. The organization needs it."

"Fine."

Uchiha You took a scroll from his clothes and tossed it to Tobi.

Tobi caught it.

"This is?"

Uchiha You said indifferently,

"The Konoha Police Force's patrol routes, ANBU surveillance points around the Uchiha Clan Grounds, and three possible underground entrances to Root."

Tobi's gaze shifted slightly behind his mask.

He was actually giving it to him?

He had originally thought Uchiha You would make excuses or bargain.

He hadn't expected him to be so direct.

But soon, Tobi sneered inwardly.

Still too young.

He was handing over such vital intelligence so easily.

Yet in the very next second, Uchiha You added,

"Of course, this is only the first copy."

"Some of it is true, and some is false."

"If you want to know which parts are real, that depends on the organization's sincerity."

Tobi: "..."

Kisame nearly laughed out loud.

This Uchiha truly refused to take even the slightest loss.

Tobi's hand holding the scroll paused slightly before he resumed his giggling tone.

"You really are cautious."

Uchiha You said,

"Likewise."

"After all, you're not someone worth trusting either."

Tobi's tone turned exaggerated.

"Oh dear, I'm being hated."

Uchiha You ignored him.

He turned to leave.

Tobi suddenly spoke.

"You."

"Do you really hate Konoha that much?"

Uchiha You stopped.

Tobi continued,

"Konoha is still your village, after all."

"The Uchiha Clan is also part of Konoha."

"If you bring Akatsuki into Konoha, there'll be no turning back."

Those words sounded like advice.

But in truth, they were a test.

A test of Uchiha You's bottom line.

And a test of whether he would truly go to war with Konoha's upper ranks for the sake of the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha You turned back and looked at Tobi.

"You're right."

"Konoha is my village."

"That's why I want to clear out those parasites."

Tobi's gaze shifted.

Uchiha You continued,

"I don't hate Konoha."

"What I hate are the people who slaughtered my clan in Konoha's name."

"If a tree's roots have rotted, some people will kneel and beg it not to fall."

"But I'll dig out the rotten roots myself."

"Even if blood flows like a river while I do it."

Tobi fell silent for a moment.

That answer was more troublesome than simply hating Konoha.

If Uchiha You merely hated Konoha, he would be easy to use.

As long as they kept magnifying his hatred and made him completely break with Konoha, that would be enough.

But Uchiha You was not merely venting his anger.

He had a goal.

Danzo.

Root.

The Third Hokage's old power structure.

He wanted to purge Konoha, not destroy it.

People like him were harder to control than madmen.

Tobi smiled.

"You-kun truly has ideals."

Uchiha You said flatly:

"I wouldn't call it an ideal."

"I just prefer letting those who deserve to die die first."

With that, he left with Kisame.

Only Tobi remained in the corridor.

White Zetsu poked his head out of the wall.

"He's hard to deceive."

Tobi's voice deepened:

"The smarter someone is, the more they trust their own judgment."

"As long as we show him what he wants to see, he can still be guided."

White Zetsu asked:

"What do we do next?"

Tobi looked at the scroll in his hand.

"Investigate this intelligence first."

"Whether it's true or false doesn't matter."

"What matters is finding out what he's trying to hide."

White Zetsu smiled.

"What if he isn't hiding anything?"

Tobi said coldly:

"Then that means he's hiding it even deeper."