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But right then—
space twisted into a spiral.
A masked man stepped into the alley as if he'd walked out of a whirlpool. He wore an orange mask with a single vortex pattern.
Uchiha Obito.
"Who is that?!"
"Protect Danzō!"
Root operatives hidden in the shadows reacted instantly. In a blink, several appeared and formed a wall in front of Shimura Danzō, kunai drawn, killing intent rising.
"Heh…"
The masked man didn't flinch. His voice stayed calm—almost indifferent.
"I'm not your enemy. I'm here to propose a partnership—with your leader."
The Root operatives hesitated, then instinctively glanced at Danzō for instructions.
Danzō narrowed his eye.
"And who are you? I don't recall ever meeting you."
"Who I am doesn't matter," the masked man replied lightly. "What matters is this—I can help you punish the Uchiha clan."
"Hmph. No need."
Danzō refused without hesitation, voice cold and dismissive.
"I won't cooperate with someone of unknown origin—unless you take off that mask."
"Oh?" The masked man chuckled. "What a shame."
"There was a win-win deal on the table. Looks like you won't be getting that chance."
Then, as if twisting the knife on purpose, he added:
"No wonder Ren called you a useless old dog."
"Shut up!"
The moment Ren's name came up, Danzō's temper snapped.
He clenched his fist, teeth grinding—then forced the anger down into something sharper.
"…Fine. I'll cooperate with you against the Uchiha."
His voice dropped into a warning.
"But if you harbor even a trace of ambition toward Konoha, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Pleasure doing business."
Behind the mask, Obito's mouth curved slightly.
"Under our cooperation… the Uchiha will be wiped out. Completely. Erased from the shinobi world."
Danzō inhaled slowly, steadying himself.
"And how, exactly?"
"The Uchiha hold real weight in Konoha," he said carefully. "Even the village's upper ranks can't just move against them."
"Relax." Obito's tone stayed casual.
"The Uchiha will soon face a crisis of trust."
He leaned forward a fraction.
"When that happens… it'll be your time to shine."
Shhh—
Space rippled again.
A spiral distortion swallowed Obito—
and he vanished.
"…Nonsense."
Danzō's brow furrowed deeper.
The war was over. Konoha had won. What "trust crisis" could possibly hit the Uchiha now?
It sounded impossible.
Irritating.
Suspicious.
But Danzō's instincts didn't dismiss it outright.
"You—clean this up."
He waved impatiently at his subordinates and turned back toward the Root base, needing time to sort through what he'd just heard.
Today had been… messy.
Hokage Rock
Space rippled again.
Obito reappeared atop Hokage Rock, looking down at Konoha with an emotionless gaze.
Once, this village had been home.
After Rin died…
it became nothing but a graveyard in his heart.
If not for his "ideal," he wouldn't have set foot here again.
A black figure seeped up from the ground beside him like tar given shape.
Black Zetsu.
"Can you really bring yourself to destroy the Uchiha clan?" it asked, curiosity threaded through the voice.
"Destroy them."
Obito's answer was flat.
"I have no feelings for Konoha."
"And I have no feelings for the Uchiha."
His gaze stayed fixed on the village lights below.
"Soon, I'll summon the Nine-Tails and give Konoha a 'greeting' it won't forget."
He didn't say the rest—
that Rin's death had burned his faith in this world to ash, leaving only hatred and doubt.
This was his first step.
"Have White Zetsu continue monitoring the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki," Obito ordered.
"It won't take long."
Space twisted into a vortex again.
Obito disappeared—like he'd never been there at all.
Black Zetsu stared up at the moon, lips curling into a strange, mocking smile.
"Everything is proceeding exactly as planned…"
Even someone as overwhelming as Uchiha Madara had only ever been a piece on the board.
Now Obito was a piece too.
And that was Zetsu's handiwork.
"Stupid brother…"
Black Zetsu murmured at the moonlight.
"One day… I'll free Mother—Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
Its body sank back into the earth and vanished.
Meanwhile…
Not long after Black Zetsu left—
a figure landed on Hokage Rock with a soft step.
Ren.
He folded his arms, looking in the direction Obito had vanished.
"So the 'dead-last' really did crawl back onto the board…"
Ren's Observation Haki was honed to the highest level.
Any unusual ripple in Konoha—especially a space-warping distortion—was impossible to hide from his perception.
"Obito's showing his face… which means Konoha is about to get hit."
Ren's expression shifted as his thoughts moved fast—then he exhaled and let the tension go.
Come what may.
If it was the Nine-Tails Incident, then it was also—
an opportunity.
…
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