Time goes back to three days ago.
Deep in a long-abandoned mine, Obito was sitting with his back against the stone wall, his mask taken off and placed on his knees. On the orange paint surface, the cracks swept out by Kakuzu's tentacles were particularly dazzling in the dim light.
He reached out and touched the crack and clicked his tongue.
Black Zetsu slowly "grew" out from the rock wall behind him, his half-black and half-white body glowing with a layer of water in the humid air.
"--But it's worth eating that old thing in vain." The white half said lazily, with a lingering aftertaste.
"Noisy." Black Zetsu's black half spoke with a hoarse voice.
Obito glanced at it sideways. "Can you two just say one sentence at a time? I'm tired of dealing with things here, and I don't want more dual personalities to cause trouble for me."
Black Zetsu didn't answer the question and went on to report the business, "Hanzo of the Salamander, he's dead."
"You guessed it, I'm not blind." Obito put the mask back on his face.
He paused and couldn't help but murmur, "Speaking of which, the ninja I fought seemed to be an old monster with a bounty of more than 200 million on the wanted list. The one who was said to have fought against both "God of Shinobi" and "Hashirama Senju" - Kakuzu, but the other later one felt stronger with a knife, and I don't know where they came from."
"The Akatsuki organization has these two masters. If they attack together, Hanzo of the Salamander's old bones will definitely not be able to withstand it."
"Our intelligence is still lagging behind!!!"
Black Zetsu was silent for a moment.
Although it didn't know who the master was, the one who really killed Hanzō was neither Kakuzu nor the knife master, but it was not prepared to tell Obito about this.
"Probably..." Black Zetsu responded vaguely, changing the topic, "Well, the important point now is that Akatsuki suffered heavy casualties, and leader Yahiko was seriously injured on the spot, and has basically been confirmed dead."
The expression on Obito's face instantly changed from teasing to excitement.
"Dead? Is that Yahiko really dead?" He stood up suddenly, with an almost ecstatic excitement in his voice, "Then our plan this time is mostly completed!"
"Now Land of Rain's "Demigod" Hanzo of the Salamander is dead, and the leader of Akatsuki has also fallen. Once the leader dies, Akatsuki's 'spiritual support' is gone. Nagato must be the most desperate person in the world now."
Obito seems to have seen the script play out perfectly according to his vision.
"Sadness, despair, nowhere to go, complete loss of trust in this world..." He counted one by one on his fingers, "Isn't this the best time for 'Madara Uchiha' to appear? I even thought about the lines - 'People who have lost everything like me, do they also want to have the power to change the world?' Tsk, listen, this line is so touching, hahaha."
(Black) It even has a script written.
(White) I would rather know what Yahiko's meat tastes like, but unfortunately I didn't get it.
The two voices of Black Zetsu alternately appeared in the bottom of my heart, and neither of them paid attention to the other.
"Okay, no more nonsense." Obito waved his hand and his tone returned to his usual efficiency, "Go find the locations of Nagato and Konan. I want to 'save' them myself."
"Got it." Black Zetsu responded, and his body slowly sank into the ground, like water droplets melting into a lake, disappearing without a trace.
Obito leaned back against the stone wall, hugging his arms, and already started planning the next plan in his mind.
He knew that both Black Zetsu and Madara Uchiha wanted him to use Rinnegan to activate "Tsukuyomi", but Obito was actually guarding against them. In his plan, Nagato was his "touchstone" for testing.
But how to contact Nagato next, how would he appear, what identity would he use, how would he speak in a way that was both compassionate and inflammatory, and how would he plant the seed named "Tsukuyomi" into Nagato's heart without leaving a trace when he was at his most vulnerable?
He still needs to think carefully about this script.
Half a day later.
"Report." Black Zetsu emerged from the ground again. This time, his tone lacked the natural calmness just now.
Obito opened his eyes. "Found it?"
"No." Black Zetsu's voice paused, "I searched all Land of Rain's known Akatsuki hidden strongholds, and Nagato... are not there."
The expression on Obito's face froze for half a second.
"Huh?... What did you say?"
"The stronghold is empty." Black Zetsu repeated, "Even the female ninja who has always been inseparable - Konan is missing. The ninja who stayed behind said that the two disappeared not long after the battle ended. No one knows where they went."
Obito stood up abruptly, a shadow flashing through the one eye under the mask.
"Impossible." He murmured, "One is seriously injured and the other is mentally exhausted. Where can they run to? They can't just grow wings and fly, right?"
Black Zetsu did not answer.
"Since you can't find it, let's change the direction." Obito quickly adjusted his state and his tone became firm again, "Akatsuki's stronghold will definitely become a mess without its leader. Let's go directly to Land of Rain's main city to have a look, maybe we can get some clues."
Obito disguised himself as a wandering businessman and took the clone of Black Zetsu, slowly walking into the largest town of Land of Rain.
The moment he entered, he froze on the spot.
On the street, people were coming and going in an orderly manner. Several members wearing Akatsuki logo cloaks were busy distributing food and medicine. The injured were placed in temporary shacks and received proper care. At the entrance of the town, a brand new signboard read "Akatsuki Temporary Relief Point" in large characters.
An old woman, leaning on a cane, tremblingly took a bowl of hot porridge from the hands of a Akatsuki member, her eyes filled with tears of gratitude.
"Thank you... Thank you very much... When Lord Hanzō was here, we didn't even have enough to eat..."
"You're welcome, old man, this is what we should do." The person who replied, Obito, recognized him at a glance - it was Kakuzu.
I saw Kakuzu with a straight face and a stiff tone, but in those green eyes, there was a kind of patience that even he himself was not aware of.
"Hey, line up over there, don't jump in line, come one by one, there's enough to eat." Kakuzu shouted to the crowd, then lowered his voice and muttered to Hatake Sakumo not far away, "This job is really not what I am meant to do, when can I finish the work."
Hatake Sakumo is standing at the other end of the town, directing several Akatsuki members to clean up the ruins after the war. He said in a calm tone, "Transfer the injured first, and use the remaining personnel to strengthen the defense. Hanzō's remnant party may still counterattack, so don't be careless."
"Yes!"
Obito stood outside the crowd, his face looking a little ferocious through the mask.
Typical jealousy changes people beyond recognition. Obito was already a little messy at this time.
This... is wrong, is this script going in the wrong direction?
According to his imagination, Land of Rain at this time should be in chaos without a leader, and the people are panicked and in urgent need of a "savior" to clean up the situation.
And he should be the real "savior"!!!