"Zetsu?" Jokichi sneered softly. "You mean the guy who treated all of you like toolmen?"
"Toolmen?"
Obito didn't quite understand the term at first.
However, grasping its literal meaning was not difficult, and the expression under his mask instantly darkened.
All this time, Obito had been acting as the mastermind, manipulating others like pawns on a chessboard. Even with Uchiha Madara...
Though he knew Madara was using him and intended to manipulate him as a pawn...
Between a dead man and himself, who was using whom in the end was still up in the air.
Now, suddenly learning that he had been manipulated and used by someone else all along, the rage in his heart could easily be imagined.
Because Obito wore a mask, his facial expression could not be seen.
However, Jokichi could still tell from his eyes and aura, and he immediately burst out into a delighted laugh.
"What's wrong?"
"Does it feel great to be kept in the dark and used as a pawn?"
"Do you want me to tell you a bit more of the actual truth?"
Jokichi gleefully recounted the story of Kaguya and Black Zetsu, followed by the tale of Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara, and finally Uchiha Madara and Obito.
The other members of Akatsuki watched from the side, thoroughly enjoying the drama.
As for Obito...
Though the more he heard, the angrier he grew and the colder his heart became, he did not interrupt Jokichi's words.
He wanted to figure out the whole story from start to finish.
However, when he learned that the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan was nothing more than Black Zetsu's scheme to save his mother by absorbing all of humanity as fertilizer, his mind shattered completely.
"Impossible!"
"That's absolutely impossible!"
"Plunging everyone into a dream to achieve eternal peace cannot be a lie!"
"You must be lying!"
Obito clutched his head, screaming in agony.
The heart belonging to "Obito" had died the moment Rin passed away.
He had felt the cruelty of this world firsthand and wanted to change everything so that a tragedy like Rin's would never happen again.
He wanted to turn this hell into a paradise.
The Eye of the Moon Plan was the sole drive that kept him alive...
He hadn't hesitated to erase his own personality, commit countless atrocities, and wander the Shinobi World under the identity of a dead man to set up his grand design...
Everything had been for that beautiful dream.
Yet, Jokichi had exposed the entire truth.
The beautiful dream had shattered. The motivation that kept him alive collapsed, and his mind broke down along with it.
"Tsk! This guy is pretty ruthless, huh?"
Deidara watched the broken Obito, then looked at Jokichi. A hint of wariness had crept into his eyes.
He wasn't afraid of dying.
Therefore, even when Jokichi appeared as an enemy and displayed absurdly terrifying power, Deidara hadn't felt much fear.
At this moment, however, he was genuinely feeling a bit terrified.
It wasn't just Deidara. The way the others looked at Jokichi had also subtly changed.
Even Nagato couldn't help but frown.
"Can't you just kill him directly?" Konan couldn't help but speak up at this moment.
As the saying went, a man can only be killed once; there is no need to humiliate him.
Even if he was an enemy, was it really necessary to break his spirit completely like this?
This kind of behavior was far more cruel than any S-rank rogue ninja in Akatsuki.
Konan wasn't feeling pity for Obito, nor was she softening up.
It was simply that they were going to follow Jokichi from now on.
If their new leader was this kind of person, who could feel at ease?
Konan did not hide her thoughts, so Jokichi caught them instantly.
He sneered softly, "When facing Hanzo, did you feel that doing this was going too far?"
Hmm?
Konan, Nagato, and Itachi froze for a second upon seeing Jokichi's expression, seemingly realizing something.
"This guy killed my parents. How could I possibly let him off so easily?"
Jokichi looked at Obito, who was clutching his head in painful screams, refusing to accept reality. Jokichi's heart felt no emotion whatsoever.
In his past life while watching anime, he had also felt that Obito was a pathetic figure.
However, who was going to pity the people Obito had murdered?
After the Nine-Tails' Rampage...
In his room at the orphanage, Jokichi could hear the painful wails of countless people every day. Some had even ended their own lives, unable to bear the pain of losing their loved ones.
Even now, there were still people struggling to survive because of that calamity.
Still...
Although he harbored intense hatred toward Obito and had thought about how to torture him if he ever fell into his hands...
Now...
Seeing Obito in this pathetic state, Jokichi felt no satisfaction or joy. He only felt a hollow sense of boredom, losing all desire to continue torturing him.
"I'll send you on your way then."
A black receiver slid from his sleeve into his hand.
Holding the black rod, Jokichi walked toward Obito at an unhurried pace.
Obito seemed unable to recover from the blow, completely failing to notice Jokichi's approach.
Right then, a sudden change occurred.
Kisame grabbed the hilt of Samehada and lunged forward, stopping directly in front of Jokichi. The heavy sword, wrapped in bandages, swung down toward him with a harsh whistle.
However, just as the sword was raised, it froze in midair.
Jokichi had thrust the black receiver in his hand straight into Kisame's shoulder, disrupting the chakra inside his body and rendering him momentarily immobile.
"Kisame!" Itachi's expression shifted slightly.
"After learning the whole truth, do you still want to follow that guy?"
"I'm quite curious myself."
Though he claimed to be curious, Jokichi looked at the tall man before him with a calm gaze. "He promised to show you a world where truth and falsehood could be distinguished, yet he lied to you about his very identity. Why do you still want to help him?"
Blood trickled from the corner of Kisame's mouth as he let out a tragic laugh. "Because he allowed me to see hope!"
As those words fell, Kisame managed to adapt to the chakra disruption caused by the black receiver. The sword raised high in the air swung down with brute force.
Before the blade could fall, however, Jokichi's free left hand gripped another black receiver and drove it cleanly through Kisame's neck.
Amidst a spray of fresh blood, Kisame's tall body collapsed heavily backward.
Inside the cavern, everyone except Obito watched in silence.
They followed Nagato, not Obito.
Although they could vaguely tell now that Obito was the true leader of Akatsuki, Nagato had apparently switched sides.
Furthermore, judging from what Jokichi had just said to Kisame, he didn't seem to have any intention of attacking them.
Because of this, they all chose to stand by and watch.
Jokichi swept his gaze around, taking in everyone's reactions, before generating another black receiver and slowly walking toward Obito.
Perhaps sensing danger, Obito's survival instincts kicked in.
His chaotic screams gradually quieted down.
His breathing remained heavy, and he glared at Jokichi with bloodshot eyes.
"How pathetic," Jokichi said softly.
In the next moment, Obito's body was pierced through.
"What happened?!"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
The two were clearly still separated by a distance, and no one had seen Jokichi make a move. Why did a massive hole suddenly appear in Obito's torso?
Obito was equally incredulous.
He stared blankly at the gaping hole in his chest and abdomen, his eyes wide open as he fell backward.
He truly died without closing his eyes.