Kabuto drew a long breath, swallowed the urge to curse, and silently pulled out every black receiver. He stowed them away, and he didn't discard Yahiko's body either—he planned to try Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) with it later.
After he finished, he sent up a signal. Before long, his partners gathered.
Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo, and Guren—wielder of a Crystal Release kekkei genkai. The finest talents Kabuto had unearthed from various bases—by no means weaker than Kimimaro's former quintet.
A solid squad.
Guren scowled first. "Hey, Kabuto! You ran off to crash Konoha and didn't even bring us, then made us wait forever. Got a good explanation? Watch it, or I'll turn you into crystal."
Karin chimed in, "Guren's right. That's not what a proper leader does!"
"Heh. I never thought he qualified to lead anyway," Suigetsu said, tightening his grip on the Decapitating Blade. "He only inherited Orochimaru's leftovers. He's not actually Orochimaru. We don't have to listen to him, do we?"
Jugo stayed silent; talking wasn't his thing.
Guren and Karin, though, were itching to rough Kabuto up.
Kabuto pushed up his glasses, a thin, unsettling smile on his lips. "Now, now—no need to be so hasty. I can tell you what happened in Konoha. You'll love it—and you'll see I had your best interests at heart. Konoha isn't a place just anyone can barge into. Go in careless, you die."
Their faces said they didn't buy it.
If it's that dangerous, how did you stroll back alive? Are you saying we're worse than you?
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's move first. I'll fill you in on the way."
Kabuto set off. Truth be told, the others had no firm destination anyway, and their curiosity about Konoha tugged at them, so they followed.
A day later, they crossed into the Land of Rice Fields.
On the road, Kabuto sketched the battle of Pain's assault on Konoha: the Six Paths tools, the Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye), the Mangekyō Sharingan (Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye), and that terrifying chakra flow—anyway, Konoha was frightening, and even the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye) had lost there.
So it was good they hadn't gone; they might not have returned.
As for how Kabuto got back—well, he hid well. That was all.
Guren, Karin, and Suigetsu mostly believed him, and, secretly, each let out a breath.
Karin changed the subject outright. "What are we going back to Rice Fields for? Keep doing Orochimaru-style stuff? No thanks. Corpses and snakes are gross. Why can't we get away from all that?"
Kabuto shook his head, glasses glinting. "We're not staying in the Land of Rice Fields. We're going to Kumo—Kumogakure."
Kumogakure? For what?
A bad feeling stirred in them; Kabuto's brand of madness was no lesser than Orochimaru's.
"Heh. We can't afford to poke Konoha, but Kumo doesn't scare me. The Hachibi Jinchūriki (Eight-Tails host) is ours to capture. Then I'll use him as a bargaining chip—to sit down and talk with a certain Akatsuki heavyweight's 'son.'"
Light flashed off Kabuto's lenses.
He hadn't only inherited Orochimaru's estate—he'd inherited his pursuit. He would chase ultimate power.
He had thought the Senjutsu of Ryūchidō (Ryūchi Cave) would suffice. Then he discovered how many monsters roamed the shinobi world. Far from enough. He had to keep exploring. And since the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye) was a Sage's eye, it was naturally one of his targets.
Elsewhere, Obito ferried Nagato and Konan back to Akatsuki's Rain Country stronghold.
Konan stood guard in front of Nagato, all but threatening Obito.
The man had posed as Madara to manipulate them; now that the mask was off, who knew what he might try—he could even attempt to seize the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye).
The Rinnegan was essential to the leader of Akatsuki—the lynchpin of the Tailed Beast Weapon plan.
So caution was only prudent.
Obito had stopped wearing his mask. He smiled. "No need to be so on edge. Our motives differ, sure—but we're all collecting Tailed Beasts. Our direction aligns. There's no conflict. I won't take the Rinnegan—relax."
Nagato said, "Obito, you deceived us by impersonating Madara, so there's no mutual trust. Distance is better for now. But you're right—our direction aligns. So please go recruit more capable people for us to fold in."
Obito nodded. "All right. I'll see who I can find."
He faded from sight.
Nagato and Konan both exhaled. Against an Obito who could "ghost" through attacks, even the Rinnegan felt… uncertain. Could Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) repel someone who was intangible?
Better to stay wary.
Nagato turned to Konan. "Konan, I need you to find strong corpses again. I'll recreate the Six Paths of Pain. As for Yahiko's body… we'll recover it later."
He could craft a new Animal Path and try to summon Yahiko back, but the receivers would likely have been removed by then; summoning wouldn't respond.
Konan nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll also pick elite shinobi from Amegakure to replenish us. Right now we're almost out of members, and some tasks can't be done. Obito can't be trusted; recruits he introduces won't be either."
It had to be said: Akatsuki had lost badly in that incursion.
All Six Paths destroyed, Kisame never returned, Kabuto vanished, and the Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) forces were gone as well.
Now they had only their leader, his right hand, and an untrustworthy shadow. Who would imagine such a battered group could still threaten the world?
Outside the base, Obito reappeared.
He glanced back. Moments earlier, he really had considered ripping out the Rinnegan—but with Nagato and Konan on guard, success wasn't guaranteed, so he let it go.
His thoughts drifted to that clash with Kakashi in the Kamui space, and his heart stirred uneasily.
Kakashi had said Rin's death was engineered by Madara—crafted to be seen by a hot-blooded fool like Obito so he'd break and become a pawn.
Kakashi had said Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Tsukuyomi) could indeed blanket the world in genjutsu—but the cost would be turning everyone into White Zetsu, and the shinobi world would be destroyed.
Kakashi had continued: Black Zetsu was the true mastermind, that he had deceived Madara, and the purpose of Infinite Tsukuyomi was to release his "mother," Kaguya.
Every word—outrageous.
Obito didn't know how Kakashi learned any of this, but he refused to believe it.
If it were true, then he had been working for the very hand that killed Rin. Everything he'd done would be meaningless.
He refused to believe. He would not believe.
It was like girls who'd choked down foul diet shakes for months; if someone suddenly told them the shakes didn't help weight loss, would they accept it? If they did, wouldn't all that suffering turn into a joke?
Ah, humans—such complicated creatures.
(End of Chapter)
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