Uchiha En clenched his fists.
"As long as we get rid of Fang Xu, Konoha will lose its strongest fighter."
"Kirigakure and Iwagakure can keep Konoha tied down."
Black Zetsu emerged from the ground beside him.
"Don't be reckless."
Its voice was low.
"Even Madara Uchiha couldn't defeat Fang Xu back then."
"If you go after him now, you'll only get yourself killed."
Uchiha En whipped his head toward Black Zetsu.
"My Mangekyō's power has grown considerably."
"Kaguya is under my control, too."
"With all of Kirigakure's forces behind me, we might have a chance."
Black Zetsu shook its head.
"All Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are dead."
"The Six-Tails has been captured alive."
"Shukaku and Rasa were defeated by Fang Xu as well."
"The number of ordinary ninja means nothing to him."
It stared at Uchiha En.
"The conditions aren't right to take on Fang Xu yet."
"If you expose yourself, every plan that follows will be affected."
Uchiha En fell silent.
Hatred had clouded his judgment, but he hadn't lost it entirely.
The strength Fang Xu had displayed was indeed far beyond his own at this stage.
"Then what about the Hidden Mist Battlefield?"
"Abandon it."
Black Zetsu answered without hesitation.
"Let Fang Xu end this war."
"The plan involving Nagato is already moving forward."
"Compared to a war in the Shinobi World that's about to end, the Rinnegan is what truly matters."
Through Kaguya's eyes, Uchiha En watched great swaths of Mist Ninja being forced back.
"Kirigakure still has value."
"It could become our Secret Base."
"Of course."
Black Zetsu sank back into the ground.
"We're only giving up the battlefield for now, not Kirigakure itself."
"We can still control it later."
Uchiha En gave Fang Xu one last look.
His Mangekyō Sharingan stopped spinning.
"To