Konoha must become the beacon of the Shinobi World!!

As far as Obito was concerned, before the Eye of the Moon Plan began, he had to kill Bai Ye first.

At the very least, he needed to figure out exactly what Bai Ye's ability was.

Without knowing Bai Ye's Mangekyo Sharingan ability, everything they had now was pure speculation.

To Obito, that offered no sense of security whatsoever.

"But right now, we need to keep an eye on Konan. She seems to be doing things outside the scope of our plan..."

Black Zetsu offered a reminder.

He did not actually care about Obito at all.

After all, even if Obito was gone, as long as Nagato remained and Black Zetsu could find a chance to control him...

Or even work with Orochimaru to develop Impure World Reincarnation...

Then none of that mattered to him.

After all, who was the prerequisite for everything?!

Obito did not matter to him, and neither did Nagato. The Rinnegan was what mattered most!

As long as Madara could be revived...

Then his ultimate plan could succeed.

So they would collect the tailed beasts if they could. If they could not, they would wait for Madara's revival.

Madara was the person closest to completing the plan now.

Black Zetsu had waited a thousand years, yet not a single reincarnation of Indra or Asura had awakened the Rinnegan in all that time.

He had nearly given up hope.

Back at the Valley of the End, he had even thought that this generation was finished too.

After all, Hashirama had killed Madara then.

But who could have imagined that Madara had a dirty trick up his sleeve?

And he had even awakened the Rinnegan!

That changed everything!

In truth, Black Zetsu had appeared as Madara's supposed will to monitor Obito and protect Nagato.

He did not want to meddle too much with Obito, as long as Obito followed the plan.

No matter how much trouble Obito caused along the way, it did not matter.

Nagato was different, though. Absolutely nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

"Konan has never trusted us. Nagato, on the other hand, shouldn't be much of a problem."

Obito sneered. Deep down, he had always known that Konan had never believed them.

That was why Konan had been beyond their control from the beginning. Obito's original plan had been to drive Nagato completely into darkness. Both Konan and Yahiko were supposed to die.

Yet Konan had survived in the end.

That woman was always on guard against him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

But as long as Nagato remained under his control and accepted his plan to capture the tailed beasts, Obito did not really care.

"The main issue is that she went to Konoha. She is that man's student, after all. If someone recognizes her, things could go wrong. The organization can't be exposed yet..."

They had not even begun capturing tailed beasts, and they had yet to recruit everyone they needed.

If the Akatsuki was exposed now, the difficulty of capturing the tailed beasts would increase by orders of magnitude.

Obito was powerful, but he could not fight the entire Shinobi World. Once someone figured out how to counter Kamui, even he could be killed.

Kamui was not without weaknesses.

More importantly, he did not have Dual Kamui.

Besides, was developing Amegakure really necessary?!

Black Zetsu certainly did not think so.

They were all just pawns anyway. Why couldn't they simply focus on completing the Eye of the Moon Plan?!

Why did they always have to waste their time on things like this?!

"Don't worry. Bai Ye will die in Kirigakure soon. Then whatever Konan intends to do won't matter. Once the new Hokage takes office, I'll work out my next moves.

"I'll deepen the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha, then stir up a war between the major nations. We can spend a few years building up our strength during that war.

"Those shinobi villages will lose plenty of fighting forces over those years. When they're ready to rest and recover, that's when our Eye of the Moon Plan will begin!"

Obito had originally intended to wait and see.

After all, the Shinobi World had been like a stagnant pool back then.

There had been no need for him to rush.

But now that he had decided to act, he might as well go all out.

First, he would plunge the entire Shinobi World into war.

That would actually make capturing the tailed beasts easier for him.

The key was to watch out for jinchūriki entering the battlefield and accidentally dying there. Waiting for their tailed beasts to revive would take a very long time.

That would be acceptable early on, but not later.

Should I sacrifice the Fourth Mizukage in Kirigakure...?

Obito weighed his options. If he sacrificed the Fourth Mizukage to kill Bai Ye, the tailed beast would take several years to revive.

That might delay his plan.

But leaving Bai Ye alive would be even worse for it.

Fortunately, Bai Ye had done him a favor too.

Obito had wanted to get rid of the Byakugan in Kirigakure anyway.

After all, the Byakugan could see chakra flowing.

That was why he never allowed Ao to meet him.

If Ao used that ability to see the chakra flow, his secret would definitely be exposed.

As it happened, Bai Ye had demanded the Byakugan's return this time.

After that, Obito could openly appear while controlling Yagura.

That would eliminate his concern in one fell swoop.

Naturally, he was happy to hand the Byakugan over to Bai Ye.

One Byakugan and one Kirigakure in exchange for a war across the Shinobi World was certainly no loss.

After hearing Obito out, Black Zetsu said nothing more.

He considered Obito's plan and felt there should not be any major problems.

His guess was that Bai Ye's Perfect Susanoo most likely came from an amplification provided by his Mangekyo Sharingan.

That would undoubtedly consume a considerable amount of Bai Ye's ocular power.

Even if Kirigakure failed to kill Bai Ye, as long as they exhausted his ocular power...

Then Bai Ye would no longer pose much of a threat.

Given Bai Ye's hard-line approach, he would have to go to war with Kirigakure. Otherwise, he would be removed from office shortly after returning.

Neither Bai Ye nor the Uchiha could accept that.

So Obito's plan did seem quite sound.

There was no need to dwell on Konan's contact with Bai Ye now. Their dealings would come to a complete end soon enough.

Konoha.

At that moment, Shikaku was going over Bai Ye's upcoming itinerary.

"First, you'll bring Tsunade back, and then, after the Third Hokage's funeral, you plan to head to Kirigakure?! Do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know...

"Given the situation in Kirigakure, going there like this... would be extremely dangerous!!"

Shikaku's expression was grave.

He had not asked for the details before, assuming Bai Ye would merely send a delegation.

He had never imagined that Bai Ye intended to go in person.

"That's right. I'm going there myself. I understand the situation very well. Precisely because I understand it, I have to go..."

Who is in Kirigakure... that makes you so determined to go there...?

Hearing Bai Ye's answer, Shikaku's lips twitched, and he could not help grumbling inwardly.

Bai Ye had left him at a complete loss for words.

He had no idea who was in Kirigakure that made Bai Ye so intent on going to all this trouble.

How had the Second Hokage died back then?

Had Bai Ye forgotten?!

"But what if they attack you!?"

Shikaku voiced the biggest concern.

Kirigakure was full of lunatics, and they were still enforcing that Blood Mist Policy in their village.

If Bai Ye went there, they lost their minds, and they killed him...

Then Konoha would inevitably be affected too.

And the impact would be enormous.

The main issue was that, given Konoha's current situation, only Bai Ye could keep everything under control.

Bai Ye had risen to power through force.

He was also the only Uchiha Hokage, which was what kept the Uchiha appeased now.

On top of that, major clans such as the Hyuga Clan had chosen to support him.

In other words, Bai Ye was someone who could maintain the balance between the major clans.

Combined with the strength he had displayed back then, he was capable of resolving any disputes that followed.

His position as Hokage was absolutely secure now, especially since the issue with the Land of Fire had also been resolved.

For Konoha's sake, absolutely nothing could be allowed to happen to Bai Ye.

If anything happened to him...

Whoever took office would be wary of the Uchiha.

After all, they had a history, and the Uchiha might rebel again.

And without sufficient strength, that person would not be able to keep everyone else in line either.

With so many of its major fighters dead, Konoha's strength had fallen to an unprecedented low.

Kumogakure was already itching to make a move.

Although Iwagakure had yet to act, if Bai Ye died and Kumogakure started a war, Iwagakure would definitely join in.

And if Kirigakure decided to attack Bai Ye, it would certainly go to war with Konoha too.

Finally, Sunagakure would take one look and think, Well, everyone else is piling in. We can't be left behind! Then it would join the fray as well.

Wouldn't that be the end of everything?!

If Bai Ye died, Konoha would be completely finished!

Another Four-on-One War, only this time there would be no Sannin or Minato Namikaze.

"I think I can beat all of Kirigakure!"

"?"

Shikaku opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Seriously?!

You think you can beat all of Kirigakure!

What else can I possibly say, then?!

Fine, go ahead!!

"Shikaku, just keep Konoha stable. Even if everyone in Kirigakure attacks me, I'm not afraid."

"What about the tailed beasts?"

"Too dangerous. If they deploy the tailed beasts, I'll seal them!"

Fine, fine, fine!!!

So that's how you're going to play this!

At the pinnacle of immortals, looking down upon the world... with you, Bai Ye...

If you'd stepped in during the Nine-Tails' Rampage, would anyone else have had anything left to do!?

"Oh, and send a Konoha squad to Uzushio Village to see if there's anything left that we can bring back. Also, send Kusagakure a formal demand to hand over the surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan.

"Otherwise, Konoha will take military action against them!"

Karin Uzumaki was still in Kusagakure.

He did not know whether her mother had died yet. If she was still alive, he would bring them both back.

After all, there were relatively few members of the Uzumaki Clan left in the Shinobi World.

"A village like Kusagakure probably won't agree. That village is notorious for being despicable and shameless."

"Then that will be my reason to start a war!"

"..."

So he had said that deliberately to start a war. He was just looking for a pretext.

If someone wanted to attack you, they could pick any excuse and start fighting.

"And after we attack them?!"

Shikaku's lips twitched. Bai Ye really did act on whatever came into his head.

Ever since taking office, he had not stopped making moves.

But if they really attacked, had Bai Ye thought about what would come next?!

"If I've conquered it, doesn't that make it mine?!"

"What about the Land of Grass?!!!"

Shikaku let out a shrill cry.

Seriously?!

"If you conquer it, it's yours?!"

"Then what are you planning to do with the Land of Grass?!"

"It's mine too! The Daimyo will agree. Be ready when the time comes. From then on, the Land of Grass will be an inseparable part of Konoha!"

"..."

Shikaku opened his mouth, at a loss for what to say.

All right, then!

I knew it. Bai Ye's thought process really was beyond my understanding.

The Land of Grass was going to be incorporated into Konoha?!

And he was starting a war over such an absurd excuse.

If that happened, what would the other ninja villages and countries think?!

Was Bai Ye really not afraid at all?

But then Shikaku remembered what Bai Ye had just said: he already had the strength to take on an entire village by himself.

If Bai Ye had not lied to him, then doing this did not seem entirely unreasonable.

"You don't need to worry about any of that for now. First, improve the village's infrastructure and technology. Start with my earlier plan and aim to hit a modest target within three years!"

Commerce had to be developed.

No matter the world, developing commerce was essential to boosting the economy.

"I've read all the proposals you gave me. We're already working on the Konoha Bank you mentioned, and it's currently in the pilot phase. But we need you Uchiha to take the first step and bolster our own people's confidence.

"A lot of people in the village are still skeptical about this bank.

"We're also carrying out the commercial and agricultural reforms, but we can't take agriculture that far just yet. As for technology, establishing a Science Academy alongside the Ninja Academy... I have no idea where to begin right now!"

When it came to developing technology in this world, Shikaku genuinely had no idea how to go about it.

But Bai Ye had also said that science and technology were the primary productive force, and that they had to vigorously develop science.

They could not neglect training ninja, but they also had to do everything they could to catch up technologically.

"What do you think of Orochimaru?"

"..."

Shikaku fell silent. Why did listening to Bai Ye keep making his heart lurch?

What was all that you said when you overthrew the Third?!

And now you're actually considering Orochimaru?!

"I'm kidding. Look around the village. There are definitely people with that kind of talent here. Even if there aren't, just offer a fortune to poach talent from other countries. As long as you pay enough, there's no one you can't recruit!

"If they won't come, it can only mean you're not offering enough money!"

Bai Ye knew perfectly well that the Hokage World definitely had scientific talent.

Kumogakure's cannon that could blast apart the moon, along with cloning and all the other technologies developed later on.

All of them were founded on science.

Bai Ye did not need them to develop those things right now. He only needed them to first develop things that would improve people's everyday lives.

By showcasing Konoha's strength and comfortable living conditions, they could attract all the talent from the surrounding areas to help build Konoha.

Konoha... had to become the beacon of the Shinobi World!!