Chapter 230: Land of Snow
"What do you mean by that?" Obito's voice dropped into something sharp and dangerous. "What do you mean a part is missing?"
Black Zetsu immediately lifted both hands, waving them as if to calm him down, even as Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life in an instant. It was obvious now, more than ever, that Rin was Obito's one true trigger.
"Exactly what it sounds like." Black Zetsu's tone remained unhurried. "At the time, I was gathering intelligence in Konoha. And didn't you ask me to look into those missing Uchiha?"
Obito's brow twitched, but he said nothing.
He was waiting.
His heart was burning with impatience.
Rin's body should have been buried beside his. Even though he was not dead, Kakashi had made him a cenotaph, and Obito knew where it was.
As for missing Uchiha… who cared?
Even if the entire Uchiha clan vanished overnight, it would not compare to a single strand of Rin's hair.
"While I was moving around," Black Zetsu continued, "I happened to pass by your grave and Rin's. And I discovered something."
He leaned forward slightly, savoring the moment.
"Rin's grave is missing a left hand."
Obito froze.
He stood there in complete silence, still facing the Fourth Mizukage's body, but Black Zetsu could not help swallowing hard.
The last time Obito had looked like this was the day he had "accidentally" learned about Rin's death.
Black Zetsu never expected to see that expression again.
So… what was Obito going to do now?
For Obito, the world tilted.
A buzzing filled his ears, drowning out everything else. His vision swam, and the only thought left in his mind was a single, unbearable truth.
The person he loved most could not even rest in peace after death.
A fire roared in his chest.
He wanted to tear the Fourth Mizukage apart.
He knew it had nothing to do with the man in front of him, not logically, not directly, but Obito did not care.
He just wanted to vent.
Pure venting.
Obito took several deep breaths.
Then he vanished from where he stood.
Black Zetsu sighed, almost helpless, and followed.
That day, a small tsunami erupted off the coast of the Land of Water. No one noticed it, aside from a few fishing boats that happened to be caught in it.
After some time, Obito finally calmed down.
He stood on a fishing boat out at sea. Only he and Black Zetsu remained.
As for the boat's owner, he had already become food for fish.
Obito inhaled slowly, forcing his breathing steady.
"Did you find out who did it?" he asked.
After releasing his anger, the question that truly mattered crawled to the surface.
Why would anyone take Rin's left hand?
It made no sense.
Obito cared about Rin more than anyone, but even Obito knew the truth. Rin was an ordinary shinobi. Not famous. Not monstrous. Not a once in a generation genius like him or Kakashi.
If she had anything noteworthy, it was her medical ninjutsu. People praised her as talented, and that was about it.
She had no bloodline limit.
So why steal her hand?
For what purpose?
It could not be related to him, could it?
In the eyes of Konoha and the entire world, Obito Uchiha was already dead. When he returned to Konoha, even his teacher did not recognize him.
Kakashi still talked at that grave. He spoke about the village, about his missions, about his life.
Kakashi had no idea Obito was alive.
So Obito did not even consider himself as a factor. He could not imagine anyone else in the world knowing the truth.
Except Madara… and Black Zetsu.
Even Nagato did not know who he really was.
"I don't know," Black Zetsu said, chuckling lightly. "It was done cleanly. No traces at all."
He sounded almost pleased. He enjoyed watching Obito like this. There was a thrill in tugging someone's emotions like a string.
Obito stared out at the sea, hollow and cold.
He could not understand it.
Why steal Rin's body part?
Which kind of pervert did that?
Did they have some disgusting fetish?
"Achoo!"
Far away, Kenichi sneezed hard and rubbed his nose.
Everything about high altitude flight was fine, except for one thing: cold, and wind.
Even with glass shielding him, the chill still slipped through.
The real culprit was not some mysterious curse, only the weather itself.
Below the airship, the scenery finally changed. The endless ocean gave way to a white land, a vast stretch of snow and ice spreading across the world beneath them.
"It looks like we've reached the Land of Snow." Kenichi stared down, lips twitching. "Time really flies. Less than two days by airship."
The ninja world really was small.
Even a place as "distant" as the Land of Snow felt close once you had the sky.
No wonder Kishimoto never bothered introducing an air force. If an air force existed, crossing the Five Great Nations in a single day would probably be normal.
"Teacher, we've arrived." Kenichi checked the map again. He was certain the land below belonged to the Land of Snow. The territory looked huge.
But it was all ice and snow.
A place like this could not support many people. Kenichi found himself thinking of "Big Mao" from his old world. The terrain and feeling were eerily similar.
"Hm? We're here already?" Orochimaru only snapped out of his focus when he heard Kenichi. He set down what he was holding and sealed it into a scroll. "Then let's move. We'll finish the mission as soon as possible."
Kenichi caught a glimpse of what Orochimaru had just put away.
It looked like a jet engine.
Like the kind used in jet aircraft.
Kenichi rubbed his eyes.
If his eyes were not a three tomoe Sharingan, he would have thought he imagined it.
Teacher… you built a jet engine in two days?
Teacher, put away your cheat device.
He knew Orochimaru stood at the peak of the ninja world's research. Before the Ōtsutsuki and the whole Boruto era madness, Orochimaru was practically the leader of ninja science.
But two days?
That felt excessive.
So Kenichi asked, unable to hold it in. "Teacher… what was that?"
Orochimaru shook his head calmly. "It's not finished. I only made a rough model based on your description. I want to study what kind of power could actually support it in flight."
Kenichi finally exhaled.
That sounded far more reasonable.
If Orochimaru had truly completed it by hand in two days, Kenichi might have started questioning reality. A rough model was still shocking, but at least it stayed within the realm of "possible."
Orochimaru stepped to the door and tugged it open. It resisted. The pressure at this altitude made opening the airship door difficult for normal people.
For shinobi, "difficult" only meant "requires effort."
"So how do we get down?" Orochimaru asked.
Kenichi answered quickly, like he had explained it many times before. "Either we descend the airship, or we jump and use Wind Release: Great Breakthrough near the ground to create counter force and cushion the landing."
He personally preferred the second method.
It was fast. It was safe.
And most importantly, it was exciting.
Orochimaru chose the second option as well.
The moment they stepped out, the wind slammed into them.
They dropped.
Snowflakes whipped into Kenichi's face, forcing him to narrow his eyes. Instinctively, he circulated Fire Release chakra, forming a thin heat membrane around his body.
A small trick he had developed over time.
His physique could handle the wind, but comfort was comfort. No one wanted to suffer if they did not have to.
And the Land of Snow was not just cold.
It was Siberia cold.
Kenichi could see his breath turning to mist the moment it left his lips.
As the ground rushed up, Kenichi performed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, blasting downward for counter thrust. The reactive force steadied him, and he landed cleanly in the snow.
Orochimaru was already waiting nearby, as if the fall meant nothing.
"Next time," Orochimaru said, glancing at him, "use it a little earlier. For us, heights like that aren't truly dangerous."
Kenichi nodded. The difference in landing time was not huge, but if Teacher said it, listening would not hurt.
"But it's really cold here." Kenichi sneezed again. The moment he touched down in the Land of Snow, discomfort crawled all over him. This kind of extreme weather was not suited for humans.
No wonder the Land of Snow had such a large territory and yet so few people.
Food would be difficult to grow here.
Still, Kenichi remembered something from that movie plot.
"But there's supposed to be a secret treasure here," he muttered, looking out at the endless white. "A super large heater. If it's activated, it can bring the whole country back to life."
He exhaled slowly.
"Though I don't know if 'reborn' is a blessing or a curse. A man without sin becomes guilty just for holding a treasure."
He stopped himself there.
This was not the time to get philosophical.
First, the mission.
They needed to reach the Snow Ninja Village, meet the Kage, and understand the situation.
Kenichi was not optimistic about finding the scientist. If even the village's Kage could not locate that person, then the odds of two outsiders succeeding were slim.
.....
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