At this time, Uchiha Obito was in a very bad mood.
He had been watching the show, curious to see how Nagato would deal with Orochimaru.
Although Izayoi's appearance surprised him a little, it only made him more interested.
Yet, before he could even take two bites of the melon, he became the melon himself.
The "Uchiha Madara" identity, which had always been successful, used to easily bluff Nagato and Uchiha Itachi with the help of Kamui—no matter whether they truly believed him or not—was now ruthlessly torn away.
All because he had visited Rin's grave every year, and during the year of the Uchiha clan's downfall, had lingered around Konoha to observe Uchiha Itachi, a promising talent. Because of that, he got exposed.
And the one who discovered this flaw… was just a kid still in the upper ninja school back then.
This made Uchiha Obito feel aggrieved and shocked at the same time.
With such a mind, orthodox Wood Release bloodline, ninjutsu talent, and the chakra to create various S-rank jutsu…
This kid might be even more terrifying than Nagato and that Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
Before Obito could continue thinking, a figure appeared in front of him.
"How are you going to explain, Madara—no… Uchiha Obito?" Nagato asked with a smile, a smile completely different from his previous seriousness and fear.
Just seeing that smile, Obito knew—this man would no longer treat him with caution, nor see him as an equal.
"Let's go talk inside."
Before Black and White Zetsu could appear, Uchiha Obito used Kamui to open a fist-sized vortex and sucked both himself and Nagato inside.
Nagato didn't resist. He let Uchiha Obito pull him into the Kamui space.
"This idiot… What is he thinking?"
Seeing this, Black Zetsu, who had merged with the grass and earth, couldn't stay calm.
"Obito won't spill all of Madara-sama's plans to Nagato, right?" White Zetsu said worriedly.
"These two pawns are out of control," Black Zetsu said in a low voice. He became even more determined to prepare a backup plan.
"Is this your eye technique space?"
Nagato looked around at the dimly lit Kamui space formed by stone pillars, then turned to Uchiha Obito with interest. "You won't become intangible in here, right? Dragging me in like this—aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"Killing me… what's the point?"
Uchiha Obito sat cross-legged on the ground, his face calm, though he had already prepared to activate Izanagi at any moment.
"I hope your explanation will satisfy me," Nagato replied ambiguously.
Seeing that Nagato hadn't acted, Uchiha Obito secretly sighed in relief.
As long as Nagato didn't make a move, his true strength wouldn't be exposed—and it also meant Nagato still feared his eye technique a little.
If he could recover from this slip-up, maybe Nagato wouldn't completely break with him, and he and Black Zetsu could remain in the Akatsuki.
So, Uchiha Obito organized his thoughts and asked, "Do you remember the conversation from when we first met?"
Hearing this, Nagato's mind drifted back to that rainy day, back when Yahiko was still alive and their ideals had yet to change.
But then they had appeared—and disaster followed.
Nagato, no longer the innocent boy of the past, now looked at Obito coldly and replied, "So what if I do?"
Obito, unaware that Nagato had already guessed many things and was just biding his time, thought Nagato was thinking of Yahiko's death. He continued his act:
"I said back then—where there is light, there must be shadow. As long as the concept of winners exists, there will be losers. The selfish desire to protect peace inevitably creates war. If you want to protect love, then hatred will be born... This is an inseparable cause and effect. Even the God of Ninja, Hashirama Senju, with all his strength, couldn't sever this rule of the world!"
"But…"
Obito pointed at Nagato's eyes and said in a deep tone: "Your Rinnegan can."
Nagato subconsciously raised his hand and touched his eyes. He then looked at Obito and said with certainty: "The Demon Statue."
"Yes. Don't you want to know why Ōtsutsuki Toneri came to retrieve the Demon Statue?" Obito asked.
Nagato's pupils shrank. He replied in a low voice, "Why?"
This was something he truly wanted to know.
Not just him, but the entire ninja world was curious.
What kind of treasure could make two owners of the Sage's Eye fight over it? It had to be something beyond even the power of the Rinnegan.
Nagato only knew the Outer Path Demon Statue could seal tailed beasts and use chakra dragons to annihilate enemies instantly.
But he didn't think such an ability was enough to make a clan that had lived on the moon for a thousand years descend and start a war in the ninja world—exposing their origins just to retrieve it.
Clearly, Obito knew the true ability of the Demon Statue.
Sure enough…
Uchiha Obito raised a finger, and with the tone of reciting scripture, said slowly: "Everything becomes one with me—the perfect body that unifies everything."
Nagato frowned slightly and repeated the phrase in his mind before asking, "The perfect body that unifies everything—refers to the Outer Path Demon Statue reclaiming all the tailed beasts' chakra. What do the words before that mean?"
"What is a jinchūriki?"
Obito's words were like thunder.
Nagato's eyes widened in shock. "You mean—"
"Yes. The Outer Path Demon Statue actually has another name—the Ten-Tails." Obito said slowly. "The Uchiha clan has a stone tablet passed down through generations. On it are secrets left by the Sage of Six Paths, readable only by those with powerful dōjutsu. I deciphered it—revealing the secrets of the Outer Path Demon Statue and the Rinnegan's techniques. The Uchiha clan was tasked with guiding the true owners of the Rinnegan."
Obito pointed directly at Nagato and continued, "Once the Outer Path Demon Statue reclaims the chakra of all nine tailed beasts, it will revert to the Ten-Tails—an existence of overwhelming power. At that point, the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb will become a strategic weapon the ninja world can't defend against. It will help you bring about peace."
"Also, the Ten-Tails possesses the power to sever cause and effect."
Obito spread his arms wide, excitedly explaining: "Once you become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, you'll possess the strongest chakra. You can cast a genjutsu over the entire world, putting everyone into an eternal dream. In that world, all dreams come true—only winners, no losers. Only peace, no war. Only love, no hatred!"