At an oasis somewhere in the desert.
Having left the battlefield, Obito stepped out of a vortex and nearly fell into a pool.
Seeing Obito's bedraggled state, Zetsu, who had been waiting there for some time, poked his head out and asked, "Obito, what happened to you? Did the mission to capture the One-Tail fail?"
Obito's face was ashen, and he nodded slightly.
Zetsu circled Obito, asking in confusion, "That shouldn't have happened. The Sand Ninja couldn't possibly stop all four of you. It should have been easy."
"I ran into Oto Uchiha, Zou Hyuga, and the others..."
After a pause, Obito said darkly, "And Shisui Uchiha isn't the only one who awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. Oto Uchiha has it too, and Zou Hyuga seems to have mastered Senjutsu."
Two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan, two users of Sage Mode.
Just thinking about it made Obito feel lucky to have escaped last time. Even with Izanagi, his survival had come down to luck.
That was also why he had ultimately chosen to withdraw after seeing Shisui fall earlier.
It wasn't just whatever Dojutsu Oto Uchiha or Shisui Uchiha had kept hidden. Izanagi alone would be enough to give him serious trouble, and it was no secret among the Uchiha's upper ranks.
Zetsu's expression changed at this. "I never imagined Konoha had so much power hidden away. It's a good thing you dealt with the Fourth Hokage earlier. Otherwise, even the entire Akatsuki might not be a match for Konoha, let alone capture the tailed beasts."
Obito fell silent. Zetsu was right.
Never mind all of Konoha-even Nagato, with his Rinnegan, might not be able to deal with Zou Hyuga's team alone. Their plan to capture the tailed beasts ahead of schedule was bound to meet unimaginable resistance.
And once Sunagakure and