Choice

He watched Uchiha Fugaku suddenly freeze in place. That was right, just like the man before him!

What is this guy spacing out for?

Takuya noticed Hyuga Hiashi staring blankly at him, and he furrowed his brow with a trace of displeasure.

Nara Shikaku, standing off to the side, caught this scene and let out a soft cough.

Hyuga Hiashi snapped back to his senses with a start, quickly recovering as he said awkwardly, "Lord Fugaku, as you said, there really is someone in that grove, and their strength is not weak."

Hyuga Hiashi hesitated inwardly. Should he tell Uchiha Fugaku what he had discovered?

He opened his mouth, yet ultimately decided against it. Since Uchiha Fugaku already knew someone was in the grove, perhaps that person belonged to the Uchiha Clan, especially with chakra signatures so similar.

Takuya squinted toward the small grove. From his angle, he could see nothing at all, completely unable to make out Uchiha Obito.

He sneered inwardly. You little bastard really are here. You're still hanging around waiting for Uchiha Itachi?

Obito, oh Obito, you surely never imagined that I threw Itachi down into the depths of the Naka Shrine, did you?

By now, Itachi should be awake in all likelihood, and maybe he's still down there writhing around like a bug.

Takuya gazed toward the small grove and fell into deep thought. So, how should he deal with this stupid hound named Uchiha Obito?

Most members of the Uchiha Clan were mentally unstable. The reason was that chakra stimulated the brain and triggered pathological changes, and the clinical symptoms were extremism and paranoia.

Uchiha Obito was an even more prominent example of this. He was far too paranoid, and compounded with being manipulated and falling into darkness, he later went on to commit a series of unhinged acts such as murdering his master and mistress.

Takuya felt that Obito was beyond redemption. Anyway, he had never liked this character from beginning to end.

For him, knowing Obito's weaknesses while Obito knew nothing of his intelligence—not even knowing that he had unlocked the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan—gave him the advantage.

It would be simple for him to take out Obito right now, but getting rid of Obito would not solve the core problem.

There was still Black Zetsu scheming behind the scenes.

At the very least, he currently knew how the plot was supposed to unfold. If he killed Uchiha Obito right here, what kind of trouble would that old schemer Black Zetsu stir up? That single advantage of plot foresight would be lost.

This left Takuya somewhat conflicted.

If only Black Zetsu had tagged along too, so he could directly snuff out the source and wrap things up with celebratory confetti.

But things were never that convenient.

Takuya sighed.

Nara Shikaku read the room, noticing Takuya's distressed expression. He rolled his eyes and spoke up, "Fifth, do you have something weighing on your mind? Feel free to share it. We can all help brainstorm together."

The Fifth~?

Hyuga Hiashi covertly rolled his eyes. Nara Shikaku was such a slick and slippery bastard. Uchiha Fugaku hadn't even become Hokage yet, and here you are already calling him the Fifth. Have you no shame at all?

Deep down, Hyuga Hiashi felt absolute contempt for Nara Shikaku. Wasn't it just for the position of Hokage Advisor? Just look at this toadying behavior of yours!

"Hmm?"

Yet the moment Uchiha Fugaku's gaze swept over, Hyuga Hiashi—who had been inwardly despising Nara Shikaku the very second before—submissively squeezed out a trace of a smile the next second.

Takuya's gaze did not linger, sliding past Hyuga Hiashi to land on Nara Shikaku instead.

Hyuga Hiashi wiped away his smile as if putting on a mask, comforting himself internally: I am definitely not bowing to Uchiha Fugaku for the sake of becoming a Hokage consultant. It's simply that the Hyuga Clan rarely gets a chance to enter the upper echelons of Konoha, and I cannot let a minor pride ruin the bigger picture.

Takuya brewed over it, uncertain whether he should bring up the matter of Uchiha Obito, but after a moment's thought, he decided against it.

"Sigh, forget it. There's no use telling you lot."

There were too many eyes and ears about here, and Black Zetsu's affairs were still not suited to be discussed in a place like this.

Takuya touched his eyes, hardening his resolve as he finally made up his mind: Anyway, I've got a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingans, so why should I be afraid of some petty old schemer?

Let's do it!

A fierce glint flashed in Takuya's eyes. Uchiha Obito—this malignant tumor—still had to be dealt with. Keeping him around brought no benefits anyway. Since the butterfly's wings had already flapped and he had already altered the plot, what was there to be afraid of?

In the current Ninja World, very few could go toe-to-toe with this pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingans of his. Even the Six Paths of Pain were not particularly terrifying to him.

Nagato was a sickly ghost now; how long could he even hold out? He would just drop a Complete Body Susanoo and grind Nagato down through sheer exhaustion.

Therefore, overthinking all those other possibilities was completely useless!

Since he had been brought to the Naruto World, let him write a completely new future!

Having made up his mind, Takuya stopped dawdling and gave instructions, "Wait here. Do not come over."

With that, Takuya strode forward, walking toward the small grove with a harmless and innocent air.

Nara Shikaku and Hyuga Hiashi exchanged a look of mutual dismay.

"What did you see?"

Nara Shikaku broke the deadlock, probing with a question.

He connected this to Hyuga Hiashi's earlier daze, coupled with the hesitation the man still wore after speaking. His clever mind guessed that this old fellow must have discovered something else hidden away that he hadn't mentioned.

Hyuga Hiashi withdrew his gaze from Uchiha Fugaku's retreating back, shot a sidelong glance at the curious Nara Shikaku, and kept his face stern without uttering a sound.

Nara Shikaku curled his lips. Big brother, are you still trying to maintain your dignified persona? Isn't it a bit too late for that? I saw your face change expressions loud and clear just now.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps treading on dead leaves drifted over.

The masked man in the black robe, who had remained as motionless as a stone sculpture, finally showed a sliver of reaction. He raised his head slightly, the sole remaining single hole of his mask turning toward the source of the noise.

A flash of scarlet gleamed beneath the single aperture.

Are they here?

Uchiha Obito silently watched the approaching figure.

As expected of the genius I've taken a fancy to. Such massive pupil power! Only half a month has passed, and his pupil power can already grow this rapidly? Truly incredible.

The approaching figure let his pupil power scatter unreservedly, that ominous chakra circulating freely. To Uchiha Obito—who was himself a wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan—the other party looked like the sole beacon of light shining in the dead of night.

So dazzling, so searing...

Wait.

His height and build seem to...

Did he grow that fast in half a month? Has his growth spurt arrived?

Although Uchiha Obito sensed something amiss, he didn't take it to heart.

Half a month ago, he had already infiltrated the Uchiha Clan. Aside from Uchiha Itachi, everyone else in the clan was a sack of wine and bag of rice; none of them possessed the talent to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The newcomer was clearly a Mangekyo Sharingan user, and three-tomoe pupil power could never surpass his own.

Yet why was he approaching with his Mangekyo active like this? Had he been discovered?

Doubts welled up in Uchiha Obito's mind, and he immediately felt an inner wave of admiration. As expected of the genius I've set my sights on, so sharp...

The very moment that thought crossed his mind, he caught sight of a pair of intricate, exquisite hexagonal pinwheel Mangekyos spinning under the moonlight.

Before he even had time to react, he froze in place.

"What is this place?"

Uchiha Obito realized he had suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar environment, and he calmly surveyed his surroundings.

He discovered that he was standing atop a massive floating island.