"Where is this...?" The frail Nagato slowly regained consciousness, his blurred vision clearing as he roused from his coma.

  "I told you not to rush into that fight. This is exactly what I feared," the masked man said, his arms crossed as he stood before Nagato, his tone indifferent. "This is Kirigakure. Don't worry, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, is under control—through my Sharingan. Now, don't lose your temper and cause any more damage here."

  Nagato gritted his teeth, frustration bubbling up inside him. The satisfaction he had felt from easily defeating Hanzo was now gone, repced by a sinking feeling of helplessness. Suddenly realizing the one person he couldn't afford to lose was missing, his eyes narrowed.

  "Where is Konan?"

  Obito's voice was cold and uncaring. "It's a pity... I don't have time to save her."

  Nagato's face darkened with fury. "What a joke! Go and save her—now!" he roared.

  Konan was his only remaining tether to Yahiko's dream. He couldn't, and wouldn't, let her fall into danger.

  "Calm down, Nagato," came the voice of Bck Zetsu, emerging from the wall nearby. White Zetsu, standing beside him, continued, "The test intel is that Hatake Tatsuya didn't attack Konan. She's still in Rain Shinobi Vilge."

  Nagato's eyes widened in surprise. He had assumed Tatsuya had kidnapped or worse killed Konan, which was why he had panicked so quickly. But now, the situation seemed entirely different from what he had imagined.

  In Nagato's mind, this was a stroke of luck—an unexpected, almost unbelievable twist.

  "I'm afraid it's a trap," Obito said coldly, his voice ft and emotionless. "Pcing Konan deliberately in Rain Shinobi Vilge is just bait. They'll wait for us to return and then track us down along the way."

  Nagato's tone grew more detached as he replied, "So, you don't pn to bring Konon here at all?"

  In his mind, this was the perfect opportunity to bring Konan here, and yet Obito seemed to be opposed to the idea. If "Madara" dared to say "no," Nagato would immediately sever ties with him.

  Obito, however, was far from naive. He had inherited Uchiha Madara's cunning, and with a single sentence, he shattered Nagato's assumptions.

  "I mean," Obito continued with a sinister smile behind his mask, "this choice of yours could be a chance to remove Konan from the dangerous path of the Akatsuki."

  Nagato's expression faltered. "What do you mean?"

  Obito's smile widened slightly, and he spoke with a tone of cold calcution. "After all, the pns we have for capturing the tailed beasts carry great risks. In the future perhaps we Akatsuki shall be the enemy of the entire Ninja world. Since Konan is so important to you, you wouldn't want her involved in such a dangerous mission, would you?"

  Obito's words slithered like poison, designed to manipute and control. "Let her stay safely in Rain Shinobi Vilge. We'll handle the risky business. You can take responsibility for her protection. How does that sound?"

  For a moment, Nagato fell silent. Obito, ever perceptive, could see that Nagato was already wavering.

  Obito didn't believe for a second that Tatsuya, a ruthless man who overthrew the old monkey and made his wife Hokage, would so kindly leave Konan behind. Even if he knew Tatsuya had not set a trap for him, he had no intention of taking this risk. But for now, Obito couldn't afford to turn against Nagato. He needed to py along, at least for a while.

  "Take your time and think it over," Obito said, turning to leave. "I'll handle other matters for now."

  As he stepped out of the room, a Bck Zetsu quickly caught up with him, trailing at his heels.

  "What are you going to do now Obito?" Bck Zetsu asked.

  Obito shot a sharp gnce back. "Watch your tone, Bck Zetsu." He didn't appreciate being addressed so casually.

  "Ah, my apologies, Madara-sama," Bck Zetsu replied, its voice dripping with insincerity.

  Obito let out a dismissive grunt, his tone ced with irritation. "Hmph. Konan is irrelevant to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and so is Nagato. He’s becoming more of a liability with each passing day. Once he’s outlived his usefulness, we’ll discard him without hesitation."

  Bck Zetsu’s smirk deepened, the ever-present shadow of malice flickering in his coal-bck eyes. "Ah, but it’s not that simple, Obito. You know as well as I do that Nagato’s role is crucial. His sole purpose is to wield the Rinne Tensei Technique and resurrect the real Madara. Until that is achieved, he remains indispensable."

  Obito’s silence in response spoke volumes, though his expression betrayed nothing. Internally, his thoughts were a storm of dark deliberations. Why does Madara’s resurrection even matter? The ultimate goal was clear: to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and bring Project Tsuki no Me to fruition. And yet, the question lingered. Why would the real Madara need to return when Obito had already seized control of the pn?

  His musings flickered to the recent confrontation, the memory of a battle still fresh in his mind. A mere twelve-year-old Uchiha had forced him onto the defensive, something that shouldn’t have been possible. The Uchiha… Always a thorn in my side. Always an obstacle.

  ...

  ...

  Konoha Vilge, the back mountain of the Uchiha cn.

  "A mysterious Uchiha ninja who uses space-time ninjutsu and wood style like you?" Itachi's voice carried a hint of surprise as he processed the information from Shisui.

  Shisui's expression darkened as he continued, "Yeah, the same guy who freed the Nine-Tails that night a year ago and pinned the bme on the Uchiha cn."

  With that, Shisui punched the wn in frustration, his teeth grinding with hatred. "If we catch him, we can clear the Uchiha name, but his space-time ninjutsu makes it far too difficult."

  Itachi, ever the calm and mature figure, responded, "Even if you expin this to the vilgers, it won't help. Unless we capture him, clearing Uchiha's name will be impossible. It could even make things worse."

  Shisui nodded solemnly, squeezing his fists. "Next time, I'll catch him for sure."

  "By the way, Itachi, I haven't seen the cn leader tely. Have you?" Shisui suddenly asked, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

  Itachi paused for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Yeah... I've noticed that too. It's strange."

  ...

  ...

  "Master Tatsuya, the one who nearly killed Kushina-san... is it really Obito?"

  While Tsunade wasn't paying attention, Rin sneaked over to Tatsuya's training ground and asked softly. Tatsuya couldn't help but feel a bit speechless. It was like she was sneaking around as if she were trying to steal a secret. She could have asked openly at home!

  "What? You want me to expin the whole situation about that night?" Tatsuya asked rhetorically.

  Rin's face flushed with embarrassment as the memory of that night came flooding back.

  She stammered, "Th-that was just an accident…"

  Tatsuya raised an eyebrow, "So, you're saying you don't like it?"

  "No! That's not it!" Rin's response was quick and flustered, her voice rising without thinking.

  Tatsuya's lips curled into a teasing smile, and Rin's face turned as red as a kettle. She clenched her fists, feeling both angry and embarrassed.

  "You're so mean!" she muttered, though her voice cked conviction.

  Tatsuya gently took her small fists in one hand, his expression pyful as if to say, "Remembering how you felt that night, huh?"

  ---

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