vncnus Chapter 396 Obito: This is going to be fun.
Chapter 396 Obito: This is going to be fun.
Chapter 396 Obito: This is going to be fun.
Just twenty kilometers outside Konohagakure, the forest becomes exceptionally dense.
The canopies of the towering ancient trees almost blocked out the sky, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the gaps and falling on the ground covered with fallen leaves.
The air was filled with the smell of damp earth.
Deep within this remote forest lies a long-forgotten village.
The dilapidated earthen walls are half-hidden under vines, the decaying wooden houses are reduced to rickety frames, and weeds grow rampant from the cracks in the stone path.
But today, this once-dead village has suddenly come "alive".
Dozens of figures moved through the forest like ghosts, silently converging on the square in the center of the village.
They wore uniform gray combat suits and headbands bearing the name of the Hidden Sound Village on their foreheads. Their movements were synchronized and their discipline was impeccable, clearly indicating that they were not ordinary ninjas.
The four leaders met in the center of the square.
Sakon, Ukon, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Jirobo.
Of the original Sound Five, only four remain.
Because the most powerful and most valued genius, Kaguya Kimimaro, had been taken to the Land of Stars by Shura during the turmoil in Kirigakure. Although Orochimaru was very dissatisfied, he could do nothing about it.
Without Kaguya Kimimaro, among Orochimaru's henchmen, Sakon and Ukon quickly became the leader of the Four, thanks to their ruthless methods and strength surpassing that of their peers.
"Have you brought all the people and supplies?" Sakon licked his dark green lips and glanced at the other three.
Kidomaru replied, "The troops have all been set up. There are twenty squads, a total of sixty men, all of whom are elite."
Jirobo let out a muffled sound: "The explosive tags and various supplies needed for this surprise attack are all ready, enough to blow up the important Konoha buildings and facilities that Lord Orochimaru ordered. In addition, poison gas bombs and smoke bombs have been prepared to create chaos."
Tayuya popped the bubble in her mouth and said impatiently, "The loophole in the Konoha Village Protection Barrier provided by Lord Orochimaru has been tested and it still works."
Zuo Jin nodded, a satisfied smile spreading across his dark green lips.
When Orochimaru defected from Konoha, he was certainly not alone.
He had been operating in Konoha for many years and had secretly cultivated many followers. Although some, like Mitarashi Anko, chose to stay in Konoha, there were quite a few who were willing to follow Orochimaru.
These followers are all ninjas trained by Konoha, a major ninja village. They have a solid foundation and their strength far surpasses that of ninjas from ordinary small ninja villages.
They were also the backbone of Orochimaru's establishment of Otogakure.
In this "Konoha Crush Plan," Orochimaru selected these old subordinates and formed a surprise attack force with other Sound Ninja.
The plan was for this unit, familiar with Konoha's terrain and defense system, to launch a surprise attack from the outside while Konoha was thrown into chaos by the Chunin Exams and Orochimaru's attack, thus maximizing the damage to Konoha from both inside and outside.
"Very good." Sakon looked around at the three: "The rest of you, rest and await orders as planned, and remain hidden. Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Jirobo, the three of you will come with me to Konoha to meet with Lord Orochimaru. He has new instructions."
"Yes!" the three answered in unison.
Tayuya spat out the gum in her mouth, pulled a short flute from her waist, and twirled it in her hand: "It's finally about to begin."
Kidomaru simultaneously formed hand seals with all six of his hands, his body slowly merging into the shadows of the ground, leaving only his voice echoing in the air: "The ninjas of Konoha—I wonder if they can satisfy me."
Zuo Jin ignored his companions' chatter.
He raised his hand and made several gestures to the Sound Ninja waiting around him.
The well-trained ninjas immediately understood and silently dispersed, disappearing into the ruins and forests as if they had never been there.
The square returned to its deathly silence.
But about 300 meters away from the abandoned village, on the trunk of a giant tree that requires five people to hug.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
It was a man wearing a long robe with a black background and red clouds.
The robe swayed gently in the forest breeze, its red cloud patterns resembling congealed blood.
Wearing an orange tiger-striped mask, Obito Uchiha stood quietly on the tree trunk, his scarlet Sharingan coldly watching everything happening in the distant village through the holes in the mask.
"The ninja from Otogakure—Orochimaru, that guy, is quite well-prepared," Obito muttered to himself, his voice muffled beneath his mask.
His Sharingan could clearly see details 300 meters away, and he could also decipher the conversation between Sakon, Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Jirobo through lip reading.
He could even see the bloodthirsty expressions on the faces of the Sound Ninja and feel the killing intent emanating from them, a result of rigorous training.
However, Obito did not believe that Orochimaru and these Sound Ninja alone could inflict any fatal blow on Konoha.
Although the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was old, Konoha still had a deep-rooted history.
Konoha has the most Jonin among all the ninja villages, along with Konoha's Anbu, elites from various clans, Danzo (that stinking rat in the gutter), and even that troublesome Jiraiya.
Orochimaru's plan might cause chaos and kill some people, but it's far from enough to severely damage Konoha—or even completely destroy it.
However, this did not stop Obito from hoping that Konoha would be hit.
After all, that village—
"Obito~"
A strange sound suddenly came from the tree trunk next to them.
Obito didn't turn around, but he knew who it was.
The surface of the tree trunk beside them rippled like water, and a strange black and white creature "grew" out from it.
Its upper body is humanoid, but its lower body blends into the tree trunk like a plant.
The body is divided in two, one half pure black and the other pure white, like the two poles of yin and yang.
The white-haired half of the White Zetsu wore an exaggerated, playful expression as he said in a flippant tone, "Yo, Obito, guess what important information I've gathered from Konoha! I guarantee it'll surprise you!"
Obito's brows furrowed beneath his mask, his voice turning colder: "How many times have I told you, call me Lord Madara?"
"Alright, Obito-sama!" White Zetsu continued to laugh and joke, completely ignoring Obito's warning.
Obito gave a soft snort, but he wasn't really angry.
This White Zetsu was the one who accompanied him when he was saved by Madara Uchiha and lay on the verge of death in a hospital bed, along with another White Zetsu named "Tobi".
At that time, Obito was completely wrapped in bandages and unable to move. Only Tobi and the White Zetsu were chatting incessantly around him, telling all sorts of boring jokes and gossip.
In a sense, this sharp-tongued White Zetsu was one of the few people Obito could confide in. However, since Rin's death, Obito has gradually hidden his true emotions.
Black Zetsu spoke in a deep, husky voice, getting straight to the point: "It's that little guy named Menma who you were following before."
Obito paused for a moment.
Face numb?
Obito still remembered the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, when he snatched a baby from Kushina Uzumaki's arms—Naruto Uzumaki's twin brother and Minato-sensei's other child.
However, because he had absolutely no experience in taking care of babies, and because his main focus at the time was on Nagato, planning to use Nagato's Rinnegan to realize the "Eye of the Moon Plan," Obito ultimately decided to place Menma in an orphanage in Konoha.
He wants to wait until the child is a little older, around three or five years old, before taking him away to raise him.
His original plan was cruel: to train Menma into a ruthless ninja, and then send him to assassinate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, his younger brother Naruto Uzumaki, once he grew up.
Obito wanted to personally direct this drama of brothers killing each other.
However, the plan went awry.
Seven years ago, the year Shura suddenly appeared in the ninja world, the White Zetsu lurking in Konoha began to disappear on a large scale.
Obito initially thought that the White Zetsu had been discovered by the Konoha Anbu, but after investigation, he found that the White Zetsu had disappeared very strangely, and even their bodies could not be found, nor could any information be sent back.
Based on the fact that Shura appeared at the Hyuga clan's territory in Konoha, it is preliminarily determined that Shura may have killed those White Zetsu and taken them away for some kind of experiment.
Among them were some White Zetsu who monitored facial paralysis.
After that, Menma's life completely escaped Obito's surveillance.
Obito only knew that the child had been adopted by the wealthy merchant Gato and fostered in Konoha, but he didn't seem to receive any special attention because Gato had adopted children in many ninja villages as an investment in and to show affection to those villages.
As he lost control of the child for an extended period, he eventually lost interest in him.
Later, he had White Zetsu investigate Gato and discovered that Gato's true master was actually Shura.
Obito then became wary again.
He urged Nagato to have Akatsuki send someone to "invite" Gato and Kakuzu to join.
Ostensibly, it was to recruit new people, but in reality, it was a test.
As expected, both Kakuzu and Gato were Shura's men.
This deepened Obito's fear of Shura, and he secretly wondered if Shura was behind Gato's adoption of Menma.
But Menma is Minato-sensei's child, which should be something only he knows.
Obito was puzzled and dared not alert the enemy. He only learned from occasional reports from White Zetsu that Menma had entered the Ninja Academy and seemed to have excellent grades, earning him the title of a commoner genius.
Now that he heard Menma's name, Obito was indeed a little curious.
"What's wrong with that guy?" Obito asked.
White Zetsu eagerly answered, his tone exaggerated: "That kid has already graduated from the Ninja Academy and become a Genin! And guess what? He teamed up with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! Their instructor is Kakashi! And finally, they also participated in this Chunin Exams!"
A barrage of information struck Obito's heart.
Menma and Naruto are in the same team?
Or was he being led by Kakashi?
Kakashi —
That name was like a thorn, piercing his already frozen heart.
Memories from over a decade ago flooded my mind uncontrollably.
He spent his days with Kakashi and Rin, following Minato-sensei on missions.
Those sunny afternoons, those moments of fighting side by side, those unconditional trusts and bonds—
Then everything shattered.
At Kannabi Bridge, he was crushed by a boulder and thought he was going to die, so he entrusted his Sharingan to Kakashi.
He is "dead".
Then he saw hell.
Kakashi's hand pierced through Rin's chest.
Obito's breathing became somewhat heavy under the mask, but the mask effectively concealed his emotional fluctuations. Only the intense fluctuation that flashed in his Sharingan eye revealed the storm raging within him.
"Hmph." Obito finally let out a cold snort, his voice icy as he said, "Kakashi—does he even deserve to be a teacher?"
Even White Zetsu could sense the sarcasm and hatred in those words.
Black Zetsu continued, "According to intelligence, the second round of the Chunin Exams is a three-day survival challenge in the Forest of Death. Both the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the One-Tail Jinchuriki should be going in. This is an opportunity for us to obtain the One-Tail's chakra."
Obito remained silent for a few seconds.
He always felt that Black Zetsu had been a bit too eager lately.
Black Zetsu used to be calm and composed, just like that old guy Madara Uchiha—as if he was scheming about the whole world.
But recently, Black Zetsu seems to be pushing many things to proceed at an accelerated pace.
Why?
Unbeknownst to Obito, Black Zetsu had already secretly formed a partnership with Shura.
In exchange for precise information about the One-Tailed Jinchuriki, Black Zetsu sent a thousand White Zetsu to Shura as a token of his "sincerity."
This deal was kept secret from Obito. Black Zetsu was worried that if he mentioned his cooperation with Shura, Obito might become suspicious.
Furthermore, Black Zetsu was also worried that Shura might change his mind at any time, or that other variables might arise, so he hoped to obtain the One-Tailed Chakra as soon as possible to advance the Eye of the Moon Plan.
"The Chunin Exams might alert them," Obito said slowly. "Konoha is on high alert right now, and all the major ninja villages have sent their elites. If we act rashly, we might expose Akatsuki's purpose."
"But this is a rare opportunity!" White Zetsu perked up again. "The Forest of Death is so vast; in three days, anything that happens inside will be difficult for those outside to detect immediately! Besides, both the One-Tailed Jinchuriki and the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki are inside—this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
Just then, White Zetsu's body suddenly trembled slightly; its body inside the tree trunk was receiving some kind of remote intelligence transmission.
A few seconds later, White Zetsu said with a grin, "Oh, it seems our leader also thinks the second round of the Chunin Exams is an opportunity. The leader just gave us orders to wait for the right moment and, if conditions permit, to try to capture the One-Tailed Jinchuriki."
Obito's brows furrowed even more.
Does Nagato think so too?
"Also, it seems that Itachi Uchiha is heading towards Konoha," White Zetsu continued.
Obito suddenly turned his head: "Didn't Pain send Itachi Uchiha and Ringo Ameyuri to the Land of Waves yesterday to investigate how those two useless trash, Zabuza and Midori Aoi, died?"
Several days after the events in the Land of Waves, news of Zabuza and Midori Aoi's deaths, the turmoil in the Land of Waves, and the unusual activity of the "Red Star Alliance" in the Land of Waves finally reached the Akatsuki headquarters.
Pain immediately ordered Itachi Uchiha and Ringo Ameyuri to investigate.
But now Itachi is heading towards Konoha?
Black Zetsu slowly said, "They might be here because of Shisui—"
Uchiha Shisui.
The name brought a playful smile to Obito's lips beneath his mask.
Once the most dazzling genius of the Uchiha clan, "Shisui of the Body Flicker," and Itachi Uchiha's best friend.
Now that Shisui has returned to Konoha in a high-profile manner as the leader of the Star Country delegation, the news has probably already spread.
What would Itachi Uchiha's reaction be upon hearing this news?
"That's going to be interesting," Obito said softly, his tone carrying a hint of malicious anticipation. "I'd love to see what kind of battle will unfold when Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, these two once like-minded friends, meet again."
He could almost see the scene: Itachi standing in front of Shisui, their Mangekyou Sharingan staring at each other. One was the Uchiha sinner who almost massacred the clan, and the other was the current clan leader who saved the Uchiha clan.
The brilliance of this play is equally anticipated.
I'm really looking forward to it.
"Wow~ Should we get involved?" White Zetsu asked expectantly.
Obito shook his head: "No need, they will finish writing the script themselves. We just need to wait and see."
He looked again at the abandoned village in the distance.
The Sound Ninja had completely concealed themselves, and the village returned to its deserted silence, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
"Hmph, the show is about to begin." Obito hummed softly, his body slowly sinking into the spatial vortex and disappearing from sight.
It silently blended into the tree trunk, as if it had never existed.
The forest has regained its tranquility.
The only sounds were the rustling of leaves in the wind and the faint clamor of Konoha Village in the distance.
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