While Haruki was savoring the joy of being an educator, Obito found himself busier than ever.
He was either on the road recruiting new members or heading out to accept mission requests.
Nearly two months had passed.
Obito felt he had worked harder in this short time than he had in over a decade back in Konoha.
He had completed so many missions that he would have already been promoted to Jonin.
Under his efforts, the Akatsuki Elite Cell now consisted of ten teams—twenty members in total.
All were rogue ninjas from various hidden villages.
However, due to the high-risk nature of their missions, losses were heavy.
Eight members fell within just two months.
Well, three of them were betrayed and killed by their own teammates.
The excuses given were "slowing them down" and "just couldn't stand him."
Obito outwardly feigned deep sorrow, fully displaying the image of a responsible team leader.
But inside, only six words echoed in his mind:
Come on, fight each other!
After all, these were evil rogue ninjas.
Their deaths brought him zero sadness.
It was as if purging the ninja world, striving for a brighter future.
Obito felt a rare kind of satisfaction.
Of course, more importantly, his personal achievements kept increasing.
Each death of a rogue ninja added another layer to his list of accomplishments.
He wondered what reward Teacher Haruki would grant him in the end?
Ideally, perhaps he could be appointed as Kakashi's superior officer.
Place Kakashi directly under his command.
Just thinking about it sent a thrill through him.
So much so that his yearning for Rin had noticeably faded.
"Zetsu, what do you think?"
Madara Uchiha stared intently at Obito in the distance.
"Based on his recent performance, he's been working extremely hard."
Zetsu, as Obito's partner, rarely left his side.
Officially, he was only an intelligence operative. Therefore, while Zetsu observed from the sidelines, it was always Obito who fought on the front lines.
Because of this, Zetsu had come to understand Obito more deeply.
"Hmm."
Madara Uchiha remained expressionless.
He was considering the possibility that Obito might be deceiving him.
But based on his personality and intelligence, could he really pull something like this off?
Somehow, it didn't seem likely.
Could Obito truly see through Madara's schemes, turn the tables, and become a counter-infiltrator?
Though Madara didn't truly believe it, he still thought one final test was necessary.
If everything checked out, he could finally pass away in peace.
Then, his will carried forward by Black Zetsu, could continue his grand plans.
Otherwise, prolonging his miserable existence wasn't pleasant.
Being old and frail, unable to exert himself physically, and stuck living in dark underground chambers all day—it was unbearable.
Since when had Madara Uchiha endured such humiliation?
In his prime, he dominated the ninja world without opposition. Returning to those days—that was his true desire.
"Zetsu, although Obito has been faithful in his duties during this time, he hasn't targeted Konoha yet."
Madara said coolly, "Assign Obito to eliminate Kakashi."
"Oh?"
Zetsu immediately smiled. "Now this is interesting."
He tapped the ground, and a White Zetsu clone disappeared instantly.
Time passed.
Zetsu received a scroll from beneath the earth, stood up, and approached Obito, saying, "Tobi, there's a job for you—an S-rank ninja with a bounty of 50 million ryō."
"Who is it?"
Obito opened the scroll and glanced at it. The name meant nothing to him.
But fifty million ryo was indeed a high bounty.
Obito always trusted Zetsu's intel.
"Let's go."
Obito put away the scroll.
According to the rules of the Akatsuki elite unit, White Zetsu clones gathered intelligence and received missions, which were then assigned to ten teams.
With the other nine teams still out, the task naturally fell to him.
The target was named Wu Nan, a ninja from the Land of Rivers.
According to the description, he had given the daimyo of the Land of Rivers a rather embarrassing scandal—the green kind.
A disgrace that couldn't be ignored.
Hence, the fifty million ryo bounty placed on his head.
First, Wu Nan was strong—an elite among jonin.
Second, he supposedly had a unique ninjutsu technique with incredible escape capabilities.
Ordinary people would find it hard to capture him.
But for Obito and Zetsu, it was nothing at all.
Under the Mangekyo Sharingan, nothing remained hidden.
At the southeastern border of the Land of Grass,
Obito stood on the trunk of a tree.
Zetsu, on the other hand, had completely merged with the tree, leaving only his head exposed.
"They're here. Thirteen in total. Wu Nan is hiding among them."
Zetsu reported his intel, paused, then grinned, "Also, there's a surprise you might find interesting."
"What?"
Obito hadn't sensed anything unusual yet; everything seemed like usual.
"This caravan has hired Konoha ninja as escorts."
Zetsu glared at Obito's swirling mask, his voice dripping with malice. "I suppose you won't hesitate over that, will you?"
"Of course not."
Obito replied evenly, betraying no emotion whatsoever. "I'm no longer a ninja of Konoha. To me, any village's ninja are the same."
"Good to hear."
Zetsu smiled. "Then I look forward to your fight with your old comrade Kakashi."
A tension arose in Obito's heart.
Kakashi?
Why Kakashi?
Why such a coincidence?
There was only one answer.
This was Madara Uchiha's final trial for him.
Obito snorted coldly and said, "Exactly. I've never liked him—he always looked down on me. Now that I have the Mangekyo Sharingan, we meet again—with Haruki no longer interfering. Let's finally settle this once and for all."
Zetsu looked at him in slight surprise.
The two eyes visible beneath the mask spun with swirling black blades—his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Zetsu furrowed his brow slightly but soon cracked another smile.
Obito's words held no contradictions, but would the fight with Kakashi really unfold as he expected?
"Very well, I'll just wait and see."
Zetsu said, clearly intrigued.
"Your call."
Obito leapt straight down from the tree trunk.
"Who's there?"
Kakashi, the guard of the caravan, immediately sensed movement and turned toward this oddly dressed ninja.
"Where is Wu Nan?"
Obito scanned each member of the caravan with his Mangekyo Sharingan gaze.
However, apart from Kakashi, there were no other shinobi present.
At this moment, he realized the so-called Wu Nan must have been fabricated by Zetsu.
Their real purpose was simply to trick him into killing Kakashi.
"Who's Wu Nan?"
Kakashi gazed into his eyes.
They looked familiar.
Almost identical to Mikoto's eyes.
He already had a guess about who this was.
"You must be part of that enigmatic organization gaining fame recently?"
Over these past two months, the Akatsuki elite cell had been very active.
They had eliminated numerous renowned ninja.
Their reputation had gradually spread.
However, since the Akatsuki name hadn't been revealed, Kakashi referred to them as an "enigmatic organization."
Obito gave no denial.
He hurled the scroll toward Kakashi and pointed at his own eye.
"There's no other Jonin with those eyes besides you. So you're Wu Nan, hiding here disguised as a Konoha ninja to escape pursuit!"
Obito spoke solemnly while spouting complete nonsense. "Surrender now, Wu Nan! There's nothing I despise more than a thief!"
"???"
Kakashi looked utterly bewildered.
What the hell is "stealing people" supposed to mean?
God damn it!
That bastard Obito, using this opportunity to slander me!
Kakashi got furious, unsheathed two blades and slashed toward Obito.
"You fool, I'll show you just how powerful these eyes really are!"
Obito immediately activated both eyes' abilities.
[Ame-no-Habakiri] and [Kamui].
His body disappeared into thin air.
Kakashi's eyes widened in shock—it was a Space–Time Ninjutsu!
For a brief moment, he was genuinely stunned.
Ever since meeting Haruki, he had longed to master the Flying Thunder God Technique, but alas, lacked the talent.
He never would have imagined Obito possessing a technique like this.
Kakashi gripped both swords tightly, scanning his surroundings warily.
Where...? Where did Obito go?