Light and shadow shifted across the Sky Screen.
Black Zetsu made a special trip to find Obito, who was still stirring up trouble in Kirigakure.
He wasted no words and laid out all the latest intelligence he had gathered.
"Kushina is nearing the end of her pregnancy. Her due date is coming up soon."
Behind his mask, Obito's eyes were frighteningly calm. After hearing everything, he fell silent for only a moment.
The remnants of tenderness, memories of his youth, and guilt buried in his heart flickered through his eyes, only to be crushed completely beneath his cold obsession.
He spoke slowly, his voice utterly level and chillingly indifferent.
"When her due date arrives, I'll act personally."
Taking revenge on Konoha was a crucial step in advancing the plan. He would not allow the slightest mistake.
Black Zetsu nodded slightly, a confident smile on his face as he replied calmly.
"Don't worry."
"I've already stationed White Zetsu around Konoha, keeping a close watch twenty-four hours a day."
"Kushina's physical condition, Konoha's defenses, the Anbu's movements-we have all of it under control. There won't be a single slipup."
Every preparation was complete.
All that remained was to unleash the catastrophe when the time came.
The image on the Sky Screen abruptly shifted, cutting straight to Konoha's cemetery.
A bleak breeze blew among the rows of gravestones, gently stirring the vegetation. The atmosphere was quiet and solemn.
A lone, slender figure stood silently before a gravestone. It was the young Kakashi Hatake.
He had lived through the Third Shinobi World War, witnessed Rin's death, and lost his closest friend. Filled with loneliness, he had grown increasingly cold, withdrawn, and taciturn.
He stood alone before Rin Nohara's grave, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, which he gently laid before the stone.
His usually