White Zetsu froze in disbelief, his expression twisted somewhere between shock and amusement.
"You… actually lost to a kid?"
Obito's face darkened. "That kid is nothing like an ordinary Hyuga. Don't underestimate him."
As he spoke, he pressed his fingertips against his ruined left eye, extracting the blind Three-Tomoe Sharingan. With practiced motions, he unsealed a replacement eye from a scroll and pushed it into the socket. White Zetsu stared at the destroyed Sharingan lying on the ground. The words he wanted to mock Obito with died in his throat.
Anyone capable of killing Obito even once was no ordinary child.
Black Zetsu's yellow eyes narrowed with deep contemplation.
Hyuga… descendants of Otsutsuki Hamura. Their Byakugan can evolve into Tenseigan — a power comparable to the Rinnegan.
If Hyuga Neji had defeated Obito decisively, it likely meant he had awakened the legendary Tenseigan. That realization made even the ancient Black Zetsu uneasy.
For a thousand years, not a single Hyuga had managed to awaken the Tenseigan — not even the "Heavenly Ninja" from the Warring States Period. Black Zetsu, who had manipulated the shadows of history since ancient times, had already set his hopes on resurrecting his mother through Madara. Though the plan wasn't going perfectly, everything had remained within acceptable bounds.
But the appearance of the Tenseigan…
That was not part of the script.
Black Zetsu murmured, "Increase the threat level of the Cloud's Star. His existence can affect our entire plan."
Obito nodded but remained silent. This failure cut deeper than the night he retreated during the Nine-Tails Attack. He had spent more than ten years turning the Hidden Mist Village into an extension of his will — only for it to collapse within days because of Hyuga Neji.
Neji had seen through his strongest trump cards.
Information — this was the backbone of every victory in the ninja world. If his identity as "Madara" fell apart… Would Nagato still obey him?
Obito's mind drifted, unbidden, to Rin. Her final moment, the helplessness he felt — the same weakness he now tasted again.
Black Zetsu's voice cut through his thoughts. "Obito, the Cloud's Star poses a serious threat. You must make your decision."
Obito frowned. "What do you mean?"
Black Zetsu's voice dropped to a cold whisper.
"Go to Konoha and take back what belongs to you."
Obito stiffened. "Zetsu… that eye isn't mine anymore."
Black Zetsu stared at him with open disappointment. "Your left eye is your birthright. With it, you regain twice the vision. More importantly, you gain the Mangekyo's third ability — Susanoo. Are you hesitating because of that girl?"
"No!"
Obito snapped, voice echoing across the island.
"Heh," Black Zetsu sneered. "Look at you now. You aren't willing. Did a Hyuga child intimidate you? If that's the case, Madara truly misjudged you. You're a failure — a coward hiding in the sewers."
Obito opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out.
Even White Zetsu tilted his head in confusion.
Obito had killed his own teacher… and his teacher's wife. So why, when it came to Kakashi, did he hesitate?
It wasn't just because he didn't want to face Kakashi.
It was because that left eye had once been his gift—a symbol of the young boy who wanted to become Hokage.
Taking it back would mean burying the last remnants of his old self.
But Black Zetsu didn't care about sentiment.
"You don't have a choice, Obito." He paused. "If necessary… I will take action myself."
"…Fine," Obito muttered. "When the time is right, I'll move."
He quickly changed the subject. "Any word from Hiruko?"
White Zetsu perked up. "Steel Release, Storm Release, and Dark Release have been collected successfully. Only Swift Release and the Sharingan remain for the Chimera Technique."
The Akatsuki's manpower was stretched thin — far too thin to capture Tailed Beasts at this stage. Nagato had reluctantly agreed to Hiruko's insane Chimera plan out of desperation.
Obito asked, "Hiruko and Sasori were tasked with the Swift Release ninja and an Uchiha target, correct?"
White Zetsu nodded eagerly. "Hehe! But there was a problem. They were ambushed by elite forces from Sunagakure. Hiruko managed to escape alone, but Sasori… is missing."
Obito's expression sank.
The plan was incomplete, and they had lost a valuable member.
"Leave Sunagakure alone for now," Obito ordered. "Find new targets."
White Zetsu chuckled. "A clone of mine spotted a Swift Release user from the Cloud on the Hot Water battlefield. And since most Uchiha are stationed there, finding a Sharingan shouldn't be difficult."
Obito's eyes hardened. "I'll hunt them myself."
A swirling vortex enveloped him, and he vanished.
---
Water Country — A Remote Island
Neji sat cross-legged atop a flat stone, glancing impatiently at the shrubbery. Behind him, Uchiha Hikari crouched alertly beside Uchiha Izumi, who had her sword drawn.
"Where is he?" Neji muttered. "If he makes me wait any longer, I'll raid his hideout myself."
He had instructed Raiga Kurosuki to contact Orochimaru for a meeting. Predictably, Orochimaru had ignored the request — but Neji had deliberately leaked information regarding the Sharingan.
Orochimaru's obsession would never allow him to ignore such bait.
This unmarked island near the Mist Village was ideal. The ANBU couldn't intervene, and Orochimaru would sense no traps.
Neji considered all possibilities while waiting.
Orochimaru, even without Edo Tensei, was notoriously difficult to kill. During his Akatsuki days, Uchiha Itachi had defeated Orochimaru using only a genjutsu — Binding Stake — and a single stroke of the Totsuka Blade.
That defeat showed how vulnerable Orochimaru was to high-level illusion techniques.
Neji wasn't a genjutsu genius, but he had Hikari — whose Tsukuyomi-engraved Sharingan was a refined, more vicious variation of Itachi's own technique.
More importantly, Neji already knew every trick Orochimaru possessed:
Eight-Headed Serpent
Living Corpse Reincarnation
Cursed Seal experimentation
White Snake immortality
Hidden jutsu he'd only ever used once
Orochimaru knew nothing about Neji's trump cards. And nothing terrified a scientist more than the unknown.
Yet Neji didn't want to control Orochimaru with a mind-altering seal. That would destroy his personality — and Neji needed his brilliant mind intact.
He had ideas Orochimaru could bring to life:
Cloning the Byakugan
Creating artificial Tenseigan
Replicating Sharingan and producing Mangekyo artificially
Constructing a Great Mangekyo, a concept even beyond Kaguya's records
For these projects, Orochimaru had to remain himself.
Just as Neji sighed in irritation—
The seal he had placed earlier pulsed lightly.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"He's here."
Hikari and Izumi instantly heightened their guard. Hikari stepped to Neji's side, while Izumi maintained a defensive stance, blade angled toward the bushes.
Rustle—rustle—
Something slithered through the tall grass.
"Careful," Izumi whispered.
Then, with a whisper of wind, Orochimaru rose from the shadows — silent, serpentine, golden eyes gleaming with sinister curiosity.
"Orochimaru, you took your time," Neji said with a mocking smile.
Orochimaru folded his arms, his vertical pupils flicking from Neji, to Hikari, to Izumi.
"So you are… Neji-kun." His voice was soft, drawn-out, dangerous.
Neji's reputation preceded him. A Hyuga who had captured a Jinchuriki and humiliated the Hidden Mist. But Orochimaru cared little about the Byakugan.
His gaze lingered on Izumi — on her flame-fan crest and her three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Beautiful eyes…" Orochimaru murmured, licking his lips. "I wonder what they can truly see."
Izumi stepped back instinctively.
Neji stepped forward.
"Orochimaru," he said calmly, "I have something even more beautiful."
Their eyes locked — and in that moment, Orochimaru felt something electric pass between them.
"Interesting," the snake mused. "Am I being treated like prey?"
Before Neji could reply, Orochimaru grinned wide — and lunged.
"Kusanagi no Tsurugi!"
A gleaming blade erupted from his mouth, whipping toward Neji like lightning.
Neji didn't move.
He simply raised his hand.
A massive repulsive force — a shockwave like a divine breath — blasted outward.
BOOOOM!!!
The ground split open, a ravine carved deep into the soil. Orochimaru was flung back violently, crashing into the sea.
Izumi stared in horror. "Neji… did you kill him?!"
"Hardly," Neji replied. "He's annoyingly hard to kill."
Sure enough, a pale body crawled from the discarded snake skin floating atop the sea.
"Hehehe… Fascinating." Orochimaru coughed, golden eyes trembling with excitement. "That technique… that pressure… it felt like the Deva Path's Shinra Tensei."
His eyes widened.
"Could it be…? Does your Tenseigan truly rival the Rinnegan…?"
Hikari almost exploded. Orochimaru's lovestruck gaze at Neji made her grip her kunai so tightly her knuckles whitened.
This snake has the nerve to look at Neji like THAT?!
But Neji only smiled faintly.
"Orochimaru," he said, "shall we begin our real negotiation?"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)