Upon hearing those words, Tōshirō looked down and fell completely silent.
At the same time, he dismissed the Soul Fire around him.
After a long time, Tōshirō raised his head. "Alright. As long as you can revive Tsunade, I'll do whatever you want."
Tsubasa Fubuki's eyes widened. "Lord Tōshirō..."
Tōshirō said bluntly, "Shut up."
Tsubasa Fubuki closed her mouth, looking a little hurt.
A pleased expression appeared on Obito's face, hidden by his mask.
Tōshirō said in a low voice, "But the condition is that you help me revive Tsunade first."
Obito's expression showed a hint of difficulty. "You're making this difficult for me."
What if he revived Tsunade for Tōshirō, and then Tōshirō simply broke his promise?
Besides, he didn't even have that ability.
"Then don't bother."
The melancholic Tōshirō from a moment ago suddenly erupted.
Spirit fire
Tōshirō's chakra materialized into blue flames, which swirled and converged into a blue giant standing before Obito.
Tōshirō leaped and stood on the Soul Fire's head, his gaze from above carrying a cold, domineering gleam.
"Wait!"
Obito was stunned and quickly called out.
Tōshirō didn't want to hear any explanations. Without another word, he commanded the Soul Fire to attack.
This wasn't a test this time; its speed and strength were noticeably different from before.
It slammed its fist down.
BOOM!
With a loud crash, the smoke rising from the ground cleared, revealing a massive crater. Obito's figure was already gone.
Tōshirō glanced around, saw no sign of Obito, and knew he had left.
The Soul Fire dissipated like smoke, and Tōshirō slowly landed on the ground.
Tsubasa Fubuki ran up to him and asked, "Where did that guy go?"
Tōshirō replied calmly, "He ran away..."
On a tree branch, a green figure slowly emerged near Obito's feet. It then split apart like a pitcher plant, revealing a black-and-white figure that was divided down the middle.
He said to Obito, "Looks like it was a failure."
Obito didn't immediately respond to the Zetsu's question.
The original plan was to deceive Tōshirō into coming to Pain, then use the power of the Rinnegan to subdue him and slowly manipulate him. But Tōshirō had turned on him in an instant.
It was clear that Tōshirō hadn't trusted him from the beginning.
In that case, there was no reason to continue.
White Zetsu asked, "What do we do now?"
Obito pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "We'll wait and see."
With Tōshirō here, he wouldn't be able to interfere with the Uchiha as recklessly as he had in the past.
He had originally wanted to use this coup to collect Sharingan and then use them to activate a forbidden jutsu, just in case.
Now, it seemed that would be very difficult.
"Uchiha Tōshirō is a really troublesome guy," White Zetsu said, underestimating their own abilities.
"This guy is a variable..."
Black Zetsu looked specifically at Obito, his voice low. His words were not just for Obito but also for himself.
Others might not know Tōshirō's background, but he knew it better than anyone.
Madara probably never would have thought that the pawn he personally raised would become the biggest variable on his path to success...
At that moment, White Zetsu, in his talkative way, said, "Should we get that eye back?"
Obito's eyes narrowed, lost in thought.
White Zetsu's suggestion wasn't without merit. The Sharingan only worked to its full potential as a pair.
His right eye's ability to phase in and out made him invincible, but that was all it did.
Using one Mangekyō Sharingan against two was, after all, a bit too difficult.
He hadn't taken the eye back before for two reasons: first, it would alert Konoha, and second, the ability of his left eye was sufficient.
But now, with Tōshirō's forceful intrusion, those two reasons no longer stood.
Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Obito didn't know what Tōshirō's attitude was toward Kakashi's eye.
After all, Kakashi wasn't a member of the Uchiha clan, so it would be perfectly reasonable for Tōshirō to take it back.
If Tōshirō were to take back Kakashi's eye and even discover its secret, it would undoubtedly put him in a very passive position.
"We'll observe for a while first," Obito said in a deep voice. "If there's no other way, I'll take the eye back."
After forcing Obito to retreat, Tōshirō acted as if nothing had happened and continued their previous conversation. "Right, where were we?"
Tsubasa Fubuki said with some concern, "Lord Tōshirō, that guy who called himself Uchiha Madara..."
"That's not your concern..."
"..."
Probably sensing that he had been too harsh, Tōshirō's tone softened. "Are you scared?"
Tsubasa Fubuki shook her head, wondering if the enemy's words were true and if she had a chance to fill the void that had been created.
Thinking of this, she secretly swore to try even harder to please him. "You said you'd narrow down the scope for me. Where do you want me to go?"
"You'll gather intelligence in the Land of Water from now on."
Tōshirō looked at her and gave her a clear area of responsibility.
By his estimation, it wouldn't be long before Obito manipulated the Fourth Mizukage and threw the Hidden Mist Village into chaos. At that point, many capable ninja would flee the village.
Ninja with names like Haku, Zabuza, Hōzuki Suigetsu, and Kimimaro all fled the village during this period.
Besides Zabuza, who was a bit older, the rest were still very young. Tōshirō could take this opportunity to absorb these naive individuals and make them his most loyal direct subordinates.
He was especially determined to get Kimimaro, who had the same abilities as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
One day in the future, if he had the chance to give him a pair of Byakugan, he might even be able to create a budget version of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
After assigning her the work, Tōshirō didn't forget to promise her something big. "Do well, and if you gather useful intelligence, I can grant you power."
"Power...?"
"That's right."
The tempting whisper lingered in her ears, stimulating Tsubasa Fubuki's mind. She looked at Tōshirō with fascination. "Yes, I will do my best."
In reality, more than power, she just wanted to stay by Tōshirō's side.
But she also knew that if she wasn't strong enough, Tōshirō would soon abandon her as useless.
In the future, more and more powerful allies would gather around this great man. She had to take advantage of the fact that he didn't have many people around him right now, prove her worth, and gain more power so she could continue to be by his side.
Tōshirō smiled slightly. "Then what are you waiting for..."
"Yes."
Tsubasa Fubuki vanished, heading toward the Land of Water.
Tōshirō looked up at the sky. "Now, where should I go..."
He didn't need to go looking for Orochimaru. With his intelligence-gathering skills, he would soon learn that Tōshirō had been revived and returned to the village.
In other words, Orochimaru would come to him.
That left getting money, the Land of Demons, and the Land of Grass.
Tōshirō thought it over and decided to go to the Land of Grass first. It was a neighbor to the Land of Fire and quite close. He could get there in a short amount of time.
The Land of Grass.
A small country living in the cracks between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth naturally became a chessboard for the great nations. Whenever there was a problem between the great nations, the people of this country were the first to suffer.
Even so, the people of this country had survived with a tenacity as strong as grass, hence the name, the Land of Grass.
To survive, this country had done whatever it took, including but not limited to selling information and copying ninjutsu, which made them despised by other countries.
In response, the leaders of the Land of Grass would say, "Our great country has its own unique circumstances."
And now, the mother and daughter of the Uzumaki clan were living in this country after the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools.
If you looked closely at a map, you would see that the Land of Whirlpools was to the southeast of the Land of Fire, while the Land of Grass was to the northwest of Konoha.
After the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, the scattered Uzumaki clan members were willing to take a huge detour rather than stay in the allied Land of Fire in Konoha Village. Tōshirō was certain there was something fishy going on there.
Although the Land of Grass was small, it wasn't easy to find that mother and daughter in the vast population.
But for Tōshirō, who had the Sharingan, it was a breeze. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Tōshirō took a stroll through a bustling city in the Land of Grass and targeted a Hidden Grass ninja who was on a mission.
He beat him up without a word, then interrogated him with his Sharingan.
It only took a moment for him to find useful information.
If it were anyone else, it might not have been so effective, but the Uzumaki clan was too recognizable.
After getting the information, Tōshirō looked at the dazed Hidden Grass ninja. He was no longer of any use.
Although a ninja of this level wouldn't provide much of a power boost for the Soul Fire, a little bit was better than nothing. Tōshirō still summoned his Soul Fire and used its blue flames to freeze the man into a block of ice, then crushed him with his bare hands. The man's soul floated out of the ice shards.
The Soul Fire reached out, grabbed the soul, and brought it to its mouth. In a moment, it had devoured it.
After taking care of everything, Tōshirō set off for the Hidden Grass Village, ready to kidnap the mother and daughter.
(End of Chapter)
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