In Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village), after Shikaku Nara arrived, Naruto Uzumaki convened a meeting overnight.
The meeting took place on the ninth floor of the high tower in Amegakure.
The attendees were Naruto Uzumaki, Konan, Orochimaru, and Shikaku Nara.
Naruto sat facing south, gazing at the rain falling outside the tower windows, while Konan stood respectfully behind him.
Orochimaru and Shikaku sat on opposite sides, east and west respectively.
Orochimaru: "It truly is an honor to discuss such important matters with the greatest mind of the current ninja world."
Shikaku: "Orochimaru-san, let's skip the sarcasm and get straight to business."
"Based on the information obtained from Konoha's autopsy of Obito Uchiha, I have drawn the following conclusions:
First, Obito used the Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei) technique on himself.
Second, Obito's Sharingan was duplicated. One pair is a fake created through Edo Tensei, while the other is authentic."
Orochimaru: "Only eyes at the level of the Rinnegan would be impossible to perfectly replicate through Edo Tensei. If they were Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, however, there would be no distinction between fake and real—the ones created by Edo Tensei would still be genuine."
Shikaku: "Did Obito calculate even this? That makes things even more troublesome. But what's even more concerning is his obsession with the Eye of the Moon Plan. It's impossible that he would sacrifice becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki just to reuse his eyes. That would be putting the cart before the horse.
So, I speculate that even in his Edo Tensei state, he has found a way to utilize the Ten-Tails. Naruto, Konan, Orochimaru-san, what are your thoughts?"
After a moment of thought:
Konan: "I agree."
Orochimaru: "That sounds reasonable."
Naruto (resting his chin on one hand): "As expected of Uncle Shikaku. What I only figured out tonight, you've already analyzed so thoroughly."
Shikaku: "Alright, then the crux of the matter is figuring out exactly how Obito achieved this. Only by understanding his method can we develop countermeasures to address the potential threats ahead."
Konan: "The intelligence we have is still too limited."
Shikaku stood up and said, "In situations like this, brainstorming is key. We need to think boldly, unconstrained by logic or the current information. Even the wildest speculations are welcome.
Then, we can connect these speculations and deduce a relatively reasonable conclusion."
Naruto (smirking): "You mean a brainstorm?"
Shikaku (smiling approvingly): "Exactly."
Konan (hesitant): "Is this approach reliable?"
Shikaku: "For others, perhaps not. But here, we have the most experienced member of the Akatsuki, Konan; a former Akatsuki member and one of the Sannin, Orochimaru; and the current Naruto, not to mention myself. This is undoubtedly the most advanced team in the ninja world. It's worth a try!"
Orochimaru (teasing): "And don't forget the greatest brain, Konoha's chief strategist with an IQ over 220, Shikaku Nara~"
Shikaku (smiling faintly): "Let's get started." He pulled out a small blackboard. "Everyone, share your thoughts. Specific reasoning or vague ideas—everything is welcome."
Konan: "The Gedo Statue."
Orochimaru: "Cloning."
Naruto: "White Zetsu."
(Shikaku wrote down the ideas on the blackboard.)
Konan: "Wood Release."
Orochimaru: "What do you mean by that?"
Konan: "Doesn't the outer shell of the Gedo Statue look like wood? After seeing Naruto's wooden golem, I feel the resemblance even more strongly."
Orochimaru: "You're really fixated on the Gedo Statue."
Shikaku: "It's fine. Brainstorming isn't bound by logic."
Naruto: "Ramen."
Konan: "Grilled fish."
Orochimaru: "Apple cider vinegar."
Shikaku (coughing): "Let's try to stick to some logic!"
Konan: "Black Zetsu."
Orochimaru: "Some kind of forbidden technique."
Naruto: "Hashirama's cells."
Konan: "Soul transfer."
Orochimaru: "Soul splitting."
Naruto: "Reconstruction."
Konan: "Tobi transplanted both eyes and became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki in Obito's place because the two shared similar twisted ideals."
Naruto: "Obito was killed by Madara, who then took his eyes."
Orochimaru: "Kabuto used Edo Tensei to resurrect Obito."
Everyone threw out their ideas one after another. Shikaku filled the blackboard with keywords, crossing out the obviously implausible ones and leaving the following:
Gedo Statue
Tobi
Black Zetsu
Hashirama's cells
Some kind of forbidden technique
Shikaku: "Let me explain my thought process for narrowing it down to these five keywords."
He circled "Gedo Statue" on the blackboard. "First, the Gedo Statue is the shell of the Ten-Tails and has already sealed eight of the tailed beasts. If it's going to be utilized, it's unavoidable."
Next, he circled "Tobi." "Tobi is Obito's most trusted White Zetsu. Tasks like eye retrieval and Edo Tensei would undoubtedly involve him. He's privy to everything. But as Konan suggested, having Tobi transplant both eyes and become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki in Obito's place doesn't seem practical. Someone determined to go to such extremes wouldn't rely on anyone but themselves if they had a choice."
He circled "Black Zetsu" next, hesitating before glancing at Naruto. After seeing Naruto nod, he continued, "Everyone here knows Black Zetsu's true nature. It's the will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and is highly enigmatic. While we might not necessarily include it, we can't exclude it either."
Finally, he circled "Hashirama's cells." "Returning to the earlier point, Obito is determined to go to extremes. There's no reason he wouldn't utilize Hashirama's cells, which are on par with the Sharingan."
Shikaku: "Now, I have a bold hypothesis, though it lacks any concrete evidence."
He drew a wavy line under "some kind of forbidden technique."
"Combining all these elements, I propose that Obito used some kind of forbidden technique to create an unknown entity, X. This entity inherited Obito's eyes and became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki in his place, thereby realizing the Eye of the Moon Plan. What do you all think?"
Everyone fell silent, deep in thought.
Orochimaru (muttering): "Now that I think about it, when I was in the Akatsuki, I had the opportunity to closely observe the Gedo Statue. There seemed to be a man-made body of Hashirama on it, whose origins were unclear. If that were utilized, it might be possible. But that Hashirama body is mindless. How would it be used?"
Naruto (staring at the blackboard and suddenly inspired): "Yin-Yang Release. Black Zetsu is a product of Yin-Yang Release. I've seen Obito's memories—Madara once demonstrated a similar process, attaching his consciousness to White Zetsu. If Obito replicated this and attached his consciousness to that Hashirama body, could it work?"
Konan (thoughtfully): "The Gedo Statue is the precursor to the Ten-Tails. If Obito successfully utilized that man-made body and then absorbed the statue into it, it could work."
Lighting a cigarette, smoke swirling around him, Shikaku smiled knowingly.
"It seems the truth is finally within reach."
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