[The last chapter had a lot of setup, so I stayed up late to bring you another one!]
Obito watched the crowd draw closer.
He raised an arm and put an orange mask over his face.
Then he stood there in silence, doing his best to look cool and aloof.
Yahiko spoke with Nagato for a while.
Then he left Nagato and Konan behind and walked over to Obito.
When he saw the mask on Obito's face, he asked in confusion,
"Obito, what's with...?"
Obito waved a hand, signaling Yahiko to lower his voice.
"Yahiko, I don't want to reveal my identity yet."
"When other people are around, call me Tobi from now on."
Yahiko murmured the names under his breath.
"Obito, Tobi... You reversed your name?"
"All right, but why, Tobi?" Yahiko asked.
A faint glint passed through Obito's eyes behind the mask.
"Because I plan to deal with Shimura Danzō as Tobi."
"If Jiraiya learns who I really am, it'll put him in a difficult position."
To deal with Shimura Danzō...
Yahiko's expression turned serious at once.
"I understand, Tobi. I'll tell Konan and Nagato."
Obito nodded, then glanced at the others nearby.
"Yahiko, can we count on the people you and Konan brought?"
Yahiko smiled.
"Of course. Many of them already sympathized with Akatsuki."
"They just hadn't formally joined for one reason or another."
Obito gave Yahiko a thumbs-up.
"As expected of Akatsuki's spiritual leader!"
The four of them hadn't seen one another in a long time.
After trading a few jokes, they gathered together.
Their expressions turned serious as they discussed the plan to launch a surprise attack on Amegakure.
Konan looked at Nagato and asked,
"Nagato, how well have you mastered the Rinnegan's power?"
Nagato smiled, perfectly at ease.
"Thanks to Tobi's guidance, I can