Chapter 74: Shadows in the Rain and a Missing Mask
"That old fossil, Sarutobi Hiruzen, has taken the hat again." Nagato's voice dripped with contempt as he absorbed the latest intelligence from Konoha.
After three days of intensive healing fueled by Hashirama's cells, he was nearly back to full strength.
Konan, standing beside him in their Amegakure hideout, frowned. "A village as large as Konoha… they couldn't find a single successor after Minato? They have to drag a declining old man out of retirement?"
"It's not a lack of candidates," Nagato corrected, his Rinnegan eyes distant. "Jiraiya-sensei, Orochimaru, Tsunade of the Sannin… Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head… all are powerful, capable. This is likely Hiruzen's own doing. Clinging to power, unwilling to let it pass to a new generation."
Konan sighed, a note of weary recognition in her voice. "These old men… they're all the same. Hanzo was like that. Now Hiruzen."
At the mention of Hanzo, Nagato's expression hardened into a mask of cold fury, the memory of Yahiko's death a fresh sting. "Hanzo… I'll deal with him soon. Keeping that parasite alive is a waste of resources."
"It's time," Konan agreed, her voice firm. "Bringing the Land of Rain fully under Akatsuki's control is the next step. The people have suffered enough under his rule. He allows foreign ninja to treat our country as their battlefield. Survival is a daily struggle here; how can they dream of peace?"
"Under our guidance, the Rain will know true peace," Nagato stated, the conviction absolute in his tone.
"Of that, I have no doubt," Konan said softly. "Our vision far surpasses the petty tyranny of a man like Hanzo."
Nagato turned to her, broaching a subject he'd been pondering. "Konan… we need to expand. Our organization lacks high-end combat power. To confront the tailed beasts, to secure the peace we envision… we'll need allies. Powerful ones. I'm considering recruiting skilled nukenin."
Konan met his gaze. "You are the leader of Akatsuki now, Nagato. The decision is yours."
Nagato was silent for a long moment, then shook his head. "No. In my heart… Yahiko will always be Akatsuki's true leader."
Their conversation was interrupted by soft, shuffling footsteps. From the shadows of the damp tunnel, the bizarre, pitcher-plant-like form of Zetsu emerged.
"Zetsu. Do you have news?" Nagato asked, turning.
"It's about 'Madara,'" Zetsu's dual-toned voice announced without preamble. "Something may have happened to him."
The statement landed like a physical blow. Since the night of the Konoha attack, when Obito had retreated to heal his catastrophic wounds, Black Zetsu had been unable to sense his chakra signature at all. It was as if the man had been erased from the world. At first, Zetsu assumed he was deep in recovery within the Kamui dimension. But as days passed with no contact, no ripple of activity, alarm bells began to ring.
A confrontation with the simple-minded White Zetsu, A Fei, revealed little. Obito, wary, never allowed Zetsu's spores to linger on him. A Fei only knew Obito had been healing alone.
For Black Zetsu, the millennia-old will of Kaguya, Obito's fate was a tactical variable, not a tragedy. The Gedo Statue was already summoned. The key now was a vessel to gather the tailed beasts and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was perfectly suited for that role—perhaps even more directly useful than the unpredictable Obito had been. Madara and Obito's plans had never intended Nagato to be the final vessel, but Black Zetsu saw no reason to be bound by their scripts. Obito's disappearance could be an opportunity.
"'Madara'… in trouble?" Nagato's disbelief was plain. "Impossible. He may have urgent business, or still be in deep recuperation. He wouldn't just vanish."
Konan, in contrast, felt a surge of cold, hopeful satisfaction. Could it be? Is that manipulative monster truly gone? What luck for Nagato.
Zetsu shook his head, Black Zetsu's voice taking over. "Three days is more than enough for his recovery, given his enhancements. And it is not in his character to go completely silent for so long, not with plans in motion."
Nagato's brow furrowed. "But Zetsu, you are always with him. Weren't you guarding him?"
"Heh…" Black Zetsu's laugh was dry. "When 'Madara' heals, he tolerates no one near him. Not even me. He sends us all away."
"Regardless," the black half continued, fixing its yellow eye on Nagato, "in my perception, he has not manifested in this world for days. The conclusion is unavoidable. He has met with misfortune."
"Could something have happened… within his personal space?" Nagato mused, recalling the strange dimension Obito had pulled him into.
"We cannot access that place. No one can, except him. Therefore, I believe it more likely he was attacked while vulnerable in the outside world," Black Zetsu analyzed, planting the seed of external threat.
Nagato was silent, wrestling with the idea. "We should wait a little longer. With his power… I cannot conceive of an enemy who could make him fall without a sound."
He performed his role well that night, Black Zetsu thought, observing Nagato's defensiveness. He earned real trust. A pity it's now wasted. Aloud, Zetsu simply spread its plant-like hands. "As you wish. We will wait. Perhaps he is merely… detained."
For Black Zetsu, there was no hurry. Time would prove the truth of Obito's demise. And in the meantime, he could begin the subtle work of guiding Nagato down the path he himself required—a path that led not to a moonlit illusion, but to the true, terrible revival of his mother.
(End of Chapter)
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