Chapter 439: Black Zetsu's Dejection
Obito Uchiha and Black and White Zetsu arrived at another base.
At this time, apart from a few left behind to monitor the Gedo Statue, the numerous White Zetsu clones had already returned ahead of them.
Obito looked at Black Zetsu and said firmly, "Black Zetsu, it was definitely the pupil technique of a Mangekyō Sharingan. I was being tracked."
Black Zetsu also nodded. During this time, they had never left the base in the Land of Hot Water, yet they had been attacked at their doorstep. There was only one possibility: their position had been discovered the moment they had transferred to the Land of Hot Water.
"It must be Ishiro. He found out we were in the Land of Hot Water long ago, but he didn't make a move. He passed the information to the other hidden villages."
"The reason for the delay of so many days must be because he was stealthily leaking the intelligence to the other villages."
It was a rare moment of intellect for Obito; the intel he had analyzed basically matched the facts.
Black Zetsu nodded. "Obito, don't be too worried. The abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan also have their limits."
"After so much time has passed, that Mangekyō should no longer be able to determine your whereabouts. Let's summon the Gedo Statue here first."
Speaking of the Gedo Statue, Black Zetsu was in a terrible mood. He had plotted in the shadows for a thousand years and had finally seen hope. The Rinnegan had appeared, and the Gedo Statue had been summoned from the moon. Just as he was getting closer and closer to success, he had been exposed for some inexplicable reason.
He glanced at Obito and felt slightly relieved.
Fortunately, this fool was still in front. The Five Great Villages should only know that there was an Uchiha causing trouble in the shadows; they shouldn't have thought that he was the real planner.
Obito didn't know what Black Zetsu was thinking. He calmed his mind, bit his finger, and began to communicate with the Gedo Statue, preparing to perform the Summoning Jutsu.
However, the next moment, he froze. After a while, he said in a tone of disbelief, "Black Zetsu, my connection with the Gedo Statue... it seems to be broken."
Black Zetsu was shocked. "Impossible! Your authority was given by Lord Madara. He waited so many years to find a descendant who had awakened the Mangekyō. How could those guys who don't even have a Sharingan possibly sever your connection with the Gedo Statue?"
"Could it be Nagato? Did he summon the statue with his Rinnegan? Impossible. I've mentioned it to him many times, and he always refused."
"Could it be Kakashi? Did he use that eye of yours to snatch control of it?"
Black Zetsu remembered seeing Kakashi in the Land of Hot Water. It was just that a ninja like him, at this stage, couldn't play much of a role against the massive statue, so he hadn't made any brilliant performance this time.
Obito's eyes narrowed. He looked at Black Zetsu with displeasure and said coldly, "Black Zetsu, are you hiding something else from me?"
"How come I didn't know that Kakashi's Sharingan could seize control of the Gedo Statue?"
Black Zetsu, knowing he had misspoken, hurriedly explained, "I was just guessing. Lord Madara must have successfully transferred control of the statue to you through your Sharingan."
"If you weren't a member of the Uchiha clan and hadn't happened to awaken the Mangekyō, it would be impossible for you to control it."
"Kakashi possesses your other eye. If he knew the method, it's not impossible that he could also control it when you are not around."
Seeing that Obito was about to say something else, Black Zetsu quickly cut him off. "However, this possibility is unlikely. Kakashi does not have Uchiha blood."
"I estimate that the Fourth Raikage and the others must have used some special means to temporarily sever your connection with the statue."
To prevent Obito from guessing wildly, Black Zetsu's mind raced, searching for a reason. Fortunately, his thousand years had not been wasted. He quickly guessed the means Tsunade had used.
"It's a sealing jutsu. An Uzumaki clan sealing jutsu, one that can sever the contract between a ninja and their summoning beast. During the Nine-Tails incident, Minato Namikaze used it on you."
"At that time, he successfully cut the connection between you and the Nine-Tails."
Obito was indeed led astray by Black Zetsu. He recalled the night he attacked Konoha; that did seem to be the case. Minato had given up a rare opportunity to attack him, choosing instead to first sever his contract with the Nine-Tails.
Looking at Black Zetsu, Obito asked, "Do you have a way?"
Black Zetsu said, "We must investigate first. This must have been done by the Konoha ninja; only they have the seal to sever contracts. Let's first see what the Hokage and the others have done."
Just then, a White Zetsu clone suddenly poked its head out of the ground. "Obito, the Fourth Raikage wants to make a trade. He wants to exchange the Gedo Statue for the Two-Tails Jinchuriki."
This White Zetsu was one that Obito had left behind to monitor the Kage when he had retreated.
Hearing this, Black Zetsu thought for a moment. "Obito, let's trade. Without the Gedo Statue, there's no use in capturing the Two-Tails."
"And without the Rinnegan, we can't extract the Tailed Beast and seal it into the statue."
Hearing this, Obito said, "What if we have Nagato use his Rinnegan to summon the statue directly? Can the Uzumaki's sealing jutsu stop him?"
Black Zetsu said with great certainty, "It cannot."
How could it? The Rinnegan can pull the Gedo Statue down from the moon. How could a mere Uzumaki seal possibly block it?
Although Nagato's mastery of the Rinnegan was certainly not comparable to Madara's, the Uzumaki's seals were still far too inferior compared to the means of the Sage of Six Paths' brother.
Obito asked, "Then can you persuade Nagato to summon the statue?"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Nagato doesn't trust us."
"He hasn't trusted us from the beginning. Last time, when Konoha and Suna joined forces to deal with the Akatsuki, we withheld the intelligence in order to make Nagato lose strength in the battle and finally stand on our side. This has made him unwilling to even see me now."
"The clones I send over are killed immediately. He doesn't want to listen to me at all. The Dark Akatsuki he has rebuilt already has its own intelligence department."
Obito was a little annoyed. "Nagato's strength is getting stronger and stronger, and his compatibility with the Rinnegan is getting higher and higher. He is already out of control."
"Did Madara not leave any means to deal with this situation?"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "We can only change Nagato's thinking, to make him proactively do things for us."
Obito said impatiently, "But Nagato only listens to Yahiko. Even if his ideas are different from Yahiko's now, he still doesn't believe us."
"Why don't we take this opportunity to frame Nagato for the Gedo Statue incident, and let the Five Great Villages—no, the three great villages—go find trouble with the Akatsuki," Black Zetsu thought of a solution that would kill two birds with one stone.
Obito asked, "Do you have a specific plan?"
Black Zetsu took out a ring. "This is my identity token in the Akatsuki. Let White Zetsu take this ring to meet the three Kage."
"Konoha and Suna have both seen this ring before. We don't need to deliberately reveal anything; they will make the connection themselves."
"Moreover, Kumogakure has a perfect Jinchuriki. They will naturally know the relationship between the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue."
Combining the two, the three villages would definitely link the Gedo Statue to the Akatsuki.
Obito nodded. "I understand."
Black Zetsu asked tentatively, "Then, do you plan to exchange with the Fourth Raikage?"
Obito sneered. "Exchange? Of course we'll exchange."
In the Land of Hot Water, at the former site of Unsen Mountain. The mountain had been pushed aside, leaving only a deep pit and the incomparably huge Gedo Statue within it.
The Fourth Raikage had already returned from Kumo. Rasa was the first to quickly step forward. "Raikage, did you take down the Tsuchikage?"
The Raikage had told them his reason for returning before he left. Rasa was very expectant. If Ishiro had died in Kumogakure, then Iwa's hegemonic status would naturally not be stable. And as the culprits who had killed him, Kumo would certainly face Iwa's full retaliation. Once the two sides started a great war, his Suna's opportunity would come.
But unfortunately, looking at the Raikage's grim face, Rasa knew the chances were not high. It was possible that not only had Kumo failed to take him down, but they had also suffered a loss.
Well, this is also good. Kumo's hatred for Iwa will be even greater. Once a conflict starts, they can charge to the front.
The Fourth Raikage did not keep them in suspense. He said directly, "No. I besieged him with the entire village's strength and even set up an internal defensive barrier to restrict his movements."
"In the end, he still broke through the encirclement and escaped. Our Kumogakure is now in ruins, and the village has suffered heavy casualties."
Hearing this, Tsunade was astounded. She immediately stated, "Raikage, since Kumo has suffered an attack, the previously mentioned compensation will be waived. You should rebuild your village first. We are allies now, so consider this a small gesture from Konoha."
Hearing her words, Rasa felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly, but since Konoha had spoken, he could only pinch his nose and follow suit.
Tsunade continued, "Raikage, did you, Killer Bee, and Darui all attack? And you mobilized the ninja army?"
The Fourth Raikage nodded. He knew what they were thinking. "The Tsuchikage has a super-strong sensory ability that can encompass our entire village. He can sense all our attacks in advance."
"His mastery of Yin Release is very high; just in terms of Yin Release, he probably has Kage-level strength. So he can be distracted in many areas, and in coordination with his sensory ability, all sneak attacks are useless against him."
"His chakra control is the greatest I have ever seen in my life, probably even more powerful than yours, Hokage. Super chakra control doesn't just mean fast hand seals. Combined with his extraordinary spiritual power, his unsealed Porcelain Release can attack many targets at the same time."
"He has Sage Mode, and it can amplify not only his five elemental ninjutsu but also his Porcelain Release Kekkei Genkai. With the two combined, he alone can rival a ninja army."
"He is also very proficient in sealing jutsu. His sealing jutsu can be combined with his Kekkei Genkai, and can easily and completely seal from a distance. It's a sealing jutsu that can truly be used in combat."
"In addition to the Storm Release and the blue Kekkei Tōta that everyone knows about, he also knows Blaze Release. It has a miraculous effect in breaking defenses, seals, and barriers."
"He also has an unsealed gravity ninjutsu that can repel all attacks. We have not yet tested the limits of this."
After speaking, he very thoughtfully gave Tsunade, Rasa, and the others enough time to analyze the information.
After a while, seeing that everyone was frowning and beginning to discuss in low voices, he continued, "Apart from fighting a war of attrition, we can't think of any other way."
As he spoke, he looked at Shikaku Nara, but he was speaking to Tsunade. "Hokage, does your Konoha have any targeted plans?"
Previously, when fighting Obito, Shikaku had found the weakness of Kamui almost instantly. So, the Raikage held him in particularly high regard.
Rasa also looked at him. As someone who had personally fought Obito, he admired Shikaku even more. He, the one who had experienced it, had not discovered the flaw in time, but Shikaku, merely by watching from a distance, had quickly found it and thought of a countermeasure.
Seeing this, Tsunade nodded at Shikaku.
He bowed to the three Kage. "Lady Hokage, Lord Kazekage, Lord Raikage. The Tsuchikage's abilities are many and varied, and he seems very comprehensive, but he also has obvious shortcomings."
"All of his abilities are long-range. Including his flight ninjutsu, all his unique abilities are centered around ranged attacks."
"His close combat has always been his short board. To deal with him, we must close the distance."
"First, we must, like Lord Raikage did, restrict his movement space. A large-scale internal defensive barrier is good. If that's not possible, we can lure him into a narrow space, such as underground or a canyon."
"Secondly, within this limited space, we must use jutsu that can fill the space, such as Earth Release, Water Release, or Gold Sand or Iron Sand."
"If we can fill the already small space and turn a ranged battle into a melee, and then have a close-combat master like Lord Raikage attack, we still have a chance of winning."
When the Fourth Raikage heard this, he inwardly exclaimed at the professionalism, and at the same time felt deep regret. Why didn't I think of this before?
Isn't this what Kirigakure's Kisame did? He used an ultra-large-scale water jutsu to directly change the terrain and restrict my speed.
Although Kumogakure didn't have as many Earth and Water Release ninja as Iwa or Kiri, they could still have split the village in two and compressed his movement space step by step. As long as they continuously reduced his dodging space, he would have been finished sooner or later.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.
(End of Chapter)
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