Inside Uchiha Obito's body, there was a considerable portion of Kaguya's chakra...
"So that's the source of this brat's ocular power... No wonder he's so formidable. Must be that woman's backup plan."
Isshiki stared greedily at Obito's body. If Kazuki weren't already the optimal choice, Isshiki would have seriously considered using Obito as a temporary vessel instead!
Having been nourished by Black Zetsu, Obito appeared to Isshiki like a delectable piece of cake—he could hardly resist the urge to devour him in a single bite.
"No… I must stay patient. Replacing a vessel is no small matter. The cooldown is lengthy. I've already set my sights on Kaguya, who alone is enough to restore me to my peak. Why settle for anything less?"
Isshiki calmed his inner greed, but his eyes remained fixed on Obito, unwilling to look away.
He had spent a thousand years secretly nurturing a new vessel within the shinobi world…
But in the beginning, his injuries had been too severe. He had lost nearly all of his power, and out of fear of the Sage of Six Paths' contingencies, his progress had been painstakingly slow.
Only recently—
Isshiki had come to a revelation: he didn't need to cultivate anything himself at all!
Uchiha Obito, Kaguya's contingency plan; Uchiha Madara, the Sage's contingency plan... The entire Kaguya bloodline was nothing more than a convoluted mess of pawns manipulating one another—and that alone was more than enough for Isshiki to exploit for his own gain!
But just as he'd figured this all out, some ridiculously ferocious mortal went and yanked Kaguya out of the moon!
Even Isshiki—who had always looked down on mortals—felt an urge to sigh from the depths of his chest: "This shinobi world is quite the grand stage. If you've got a part to play, then come on up!"
In this web of one scheme atop another—
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna… Black Zetsu and Obito… Isshiki…
Each believed themselves to be the true mastermind behind the curtain, pulling strings from the highest vantage point in the shinobi world and watching the board from above!
And now, the war revolving around Kazuki was—under the push and pull of all these players—rushing inevitably toward outbreak.
Yet hidden inside Obito's body, Black Zetsu had no idea that at this very moment—
The man who even Kaguya had once feared was staring hungrily at Obito's body, mistakenly assuming that the power Black Zetsu had granted him was Kaguya's own backup plan.
"I'll come rescue you, I swear. I won't let you suffer at the hands of those traitorous brats Hamura and Hagoromo… or that man…"
Black Zetsu made his solemn vow in silence.
Then, with tenderness, he murmured to himself: "This time, I've brought an ally. His name is Uchiha Obito… He's a good person."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the shinobi world—
Pakura, who had been sent to Konoha, was the very same kunoichi that Isshiki had described—opposed to war with Konoha, and constantly stirring up unrest within Sunagakure's leadership.
Senju Tobirama, too occupied with researching the Dragon Vein and unwilling to provoke conflict with the other Hidden Villages while trying to save Kazuki, had already refused when Rasa wrote to offer her as a prisoner.
But Isshiki had still manipulated Rasa into sending Pakura to Konoha—
He just reframed the context, spinning it as Pakura being sent to seek forgiveness from Konoha. And as it happened, that aligned perfectly with her own desire to avoid war.
"Lady Pakura, once we cross that mountain, you'll reach Konoha. Please—do everything you can to win peace for Sunagakure!"
The Sunagakure jōnin wore a pained expression as he spoke: "Uchiha Kazuki is just too terrifying… It was only thanks to your persuasion that Fourth Kazekage Rasa finally changed his mind and gave up on starting a war!"
Pakura gently patted his shoulder and walked ahead, her voice soft but clear: "I know none of us want war… But to believe a rumor from who-knows-where that Kazuki sealed himself away voluntarily? That's just laughable…"
"Don't forget—at the very beginning, Uchiha Kazuki feigned weakness. Even though his personal strength was overwhelming, even though he had access to advanced ninja tools and powerful allies, he still pretended to seek a peace agreement with us."
"I suspect… this might just be another one of Kazuki's tests. If we truly launch another unprovoked attack, we'll lose the moral high ground. Konoha will have no more reason to hold back—no more need to protect their reputation. They'll crush us without mercy. And in the end, the last threads holding Sunagakure together… will scatter like sand in the wind."
Pakura and the Sunagakure jōnin were still speaking when—suddenly—their eyes went wide in shock!
A sharp blade had pierced straight through Pakura's back—
The Sunagakure jōnin sneered coldly.
"Cowardice before the battle even begins… Shinobi like you, who can think of nothing but surrender—too scared to fight back—you're already a Konoha loyalist in spirit!"
"Whether Uchiha Kazuki is truly dead or not, this is Sunagakure's last chance!"
"Have you forgotten the hatred of all the comrades who've died?! The Fourth Kazekage intended to use you as a way to test Konoha's intentions—but to think they didn't even bother killing a high-ranking target delivered right to their doorstep…"
"It only makes them look even more suspicious! And as for you—a useless tool—you can just die now!"
He leapt backward at high speed—and from one side of the valley, an overwhelming storm of shuriken rained down, completely engulfing Pakura's figure…
The once-renowned wielder of Scorch Release collapsed in a pitiful heap at the hands of her own comrades.
The Sunagakure jōnin took one final glance at what appeared to be Pakura's lifeless body, then cast a wary look in the direction of Konoha before calling his comrades to retreat quickly.
Lying on the ground, Pakura struggled in utter despair—only to find her body completely drained of strength…
As her consciousness began to fade, a shadow appeared before her.
"As expected… of a shinobi from Sunagakure. Even when I'm gravely injured, you still make sure to land the finishing blow…"
Clenching her teeth against the excruciating pain that pierced deep into her spine, Pakura forced herself to lift her head, trying to see who had struck the final blow.
But what she saw left her utterly stunned.
She saw the man who had once seemed like a demon on the battlefield—now looking down on her with a gaze full of mercy and compassion…
"U-Uchiha Kazuki!" Pakura cried out in despair. "You really aren't dead!"
"Why would you think I was dead?"
Kazuki leaned down, examining the wounds that covered Pakura's body and her steadily fading chakra. With a slight flick of his finger—
A gentle glow of green medical chakra enveloped her injuries, pulling her back from the brink of death.
Warmth spread through Pakura's body. Kazuki's medical ninjutsu quickly alleviated her physical pain…
But in its place, a suffocating fear took root—one that gripped her soul far more tightly than any bodily torment. Her heart pounded wildly, as if it were about to explode!
"I was right... I was right all along!"
Staring at Kazuki in panic, Pakura's mind flashed with countless images in an instant—
Back during the decisive battle between the Allied Shinobi Forces and Kazuki...
She had been the first to launch an attack, the one who essentially opened the gates of hell.
Her Scorch Release had been the first technique used, followed by the Magnet Release of the Third Kazekage, and then Ōnoki's Dust Release…
The most prideful jutsu of the Allied Forces—each and every one Kazuki had seen…
Had been instantly copied by this man and unleashed in forms far more violent than the originals, crushing the Allied Forces with ruthless power!
Pakura still couldn't understand—
After witnessing such hell firsthand, how did Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, still dare to provoke Konohagakure?
"What exactly were you right about?" Kazuki sighed.
"Go ahead, tell me. It always feels like the shinobi world misunderstands me far too deeply..."
Pakura gritted her teeth and growled, "Don't worry. We definitely don't misunderstand you!"
"Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure... there have been all sorts of rumors lately—claims that you only gained power rivaling a god through forbidden jutsu. That the reason you vanished for so long was because you were wounded, and used a secret technique to seal yourself away in the Land of Water to recover..."
"I've been telling every shinobi: this is just another one of your traps—just like when you used the peace treaty to feign weakness and bait us into war!"
Thanks to the healing chakra, Pakura's strength gradually returned. She struggled to her feet, forcing herself not to face Kazuki while lying down—but to stand, even if it meant meeting death upright.
Kazuki studied Pakura's defiant stance and gave a small smile.
It was precisely because of shinobi like her—of which there were still quite a few throughout the ninja world, and many of them the very backbone of their respective villages—that he had to make them understand he was doing all this for the sake of the entire shinobi world...
They feared death. But once their fear crossed a certain threshold, that fear alone was no longer enough to push them further—it had to be replaced with something else: hope.
Otherwise, slaughtering the entire Allied Shinobi Forces right there on the battlefield would've been easy for Kazuki.
To him, the firm beliefs of so-called Kage-level weaklings and jōnin-tier insects were as precious as gold coins…
He wanted to bind all their emotions to himself—shaking them, pulling them, dragging them back and forth until every ounce of feeling in their hearts had been squeezed dry, and all of their power ultimately attributed to Kazuki alone.
To simply kill them outright… would be like taking a fine cut of meat and boiling it plain, eating it raw—without even a sprinkle of seasoning.
What a waste that would be.
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