After the meeting ended, Yagura returned to his room with a vacant stare in his eyes.
Inside, two figures were already waiting.
"Master!"
Looking at the puppet-like Yagura, Black Zetsu smirked, "You certainly have a cruel sense of irony, Madara-sama!"
Obito remained calm. If it had been the Third Mizukage he was enslaving, he might have felt some satisfaction, but Yagura was merely a convenient tool to him.
Seeing Obito unmoved, Black Zetsu teased again, "You didn't stop the Mizukage from silencing their discussions just because you still have feelings for your past memories, right?"
"Senpai avenged Rin after all. He's not like the others," Obito said indifferently, as if speaking about something completely unrelated to himself. "You don't need to worry — I've already cut off all emotions!"
"How touching... How tragically sentimental!"
"You've been talking too much lately," Obito coldly glanced at him before asking, "How does Senpai's strength compare with your original body?"
Black Zetsu feigned a moment of thought. "If we're talking about my original body back then, he should be more or less equal. After all, he's still too raw and can't hold a candle to prime Hashirama Senju."
Obito looked surprised. Was Madara actually admitting he was inferior to Hashirama Senju?
However, as he recalled how Madara had always brought up how Hashirama did things when he was learning from him, he no longer found it strange.
Seeing Obito's strange gaze, Black Zetsu's heart sank. He thought it was because his "average Joe" evaluation didn't match his identity as Madara's consciousness fragment, which made Obito suspicious. He quickly tried to fix it.
"Of course, that was only my original body during the Valley of the End battle! If my original body were restored with full power and the Rinnegan awakened, that guy wouldn't even be worth mentioning!"
Obito nodded slightly. "With Senpai's strength, he will undoubtedly become the biggest obstacle to achieving our plan!"
Black Zetsu's eyes lit up. "Does that mean you've already figured out a way to deal with him?"
"Idiot!" Obito sneered. "Haven't all the previous examples taught you that any conspiracy against Senpai will only backfire on us?"
"Then what do you mean?" Black Zetsu's eye twitched. Being looked down upon by others was one thing, but being scorned by Obito was something else entirely.
"Obviously, we just need to actively avoid him!" Obito said naturally. "In the future, wherever Senpai treads, we simply won't involve ourselves."
So that's your plan... Black Zetsu's eye twitched violently, but then he reluctantly admitted that it might actually be the best solution.
Do we really belong on the same intelligence level... Just as Black Zetsu was questioning his existence, he heard Obito ask, "How are the negotiations with Yahiko and the others going?"
Black Zetsu snapped back to focus and lowered his voice. "Hmph! That guy still doesn't trust us. He's only willing to work with us up to a point."
Obito pondered for a moment, then coldly asked, "Is there any possibility of eliminating him?"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "That guy Nagato is now taking the Rinnegan's power seriously. It'll be hard to guarantee our small moves won't be noticed by him!"
"If that's the case, then why don't we just join him actively?"
"Join him actively?"
Obito said, "Join Akatsuki, take control from behind the scenes, and then lead them down our planned path under Akatsuki's name!"
"Indeed worthy of Madara-sama. I understand now!"
...
Half a month later, in Takumi.
"Never thought something like this would happen to Lord Seiki!"
"Yeah, truly unexpected!"
Shibuya, the leader of Takumi, and Chikuma, the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails, were talking with deep sentiment. Because of Takumi's geographical location, what happened half a month ago was still news to them.
In the midst of these discussions, Shibuya suddenly looked at Zukiri.
"Speaking of Seiki, an elite Jonin, Zukiri, has that guy finally spoken?"
Zukiri slightly shook her head. "He still won't say a word."
"That's somewhat normal," Chikuma sighed. "For Kakuzu-senpai, the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu is nothing less than a life-saving protection."
"But we can't afford to wait any longer," Shibuya frowned. "Several Hidden Villages somehow heard about Kakuzu's matter and claim that some of their ninja were assassinated by him. They're demanding we hand over Kakuzu's head soon as explanation."
Even though Takumi is geographically secluded, they still need to maintain contact with the outside world. Unless they can become completely self-reliant, they can't afford to ignore these demands.
"That indeed sounds somewhat troublesome," Chikuma's expression turned heavy. "What if we just kill Kakuzu directly? After all, haven't we been doing fine without the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu for these years?"
"Absolutely not!" Zukiri shouted loudly.
"Captain Zukiri, what are you..." Shibuya looked in confusion.
"Haha... Ha ha..." Zukiri managed a smile. "What I meant was, the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu is a precious legacy created by our predecessors. How can we easily abandon it?"
"That does make sense," Shibuya hesitated. "However, we cannot completely ignore the warnings from the other villages either."
"How about this," Chikuma proposed, "We'll give him three more days. This time, we won't be as soft-handed as before. We'll use the cruelest punishment to force him to reveal the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu!"
"Hmm, let's do it this way," seeing Zukiri's expression slightly change, Shibuya proactively comforted her, "Captain Zukiri, don't take it personally. Chikuma didn't mean to imply your previous methods for guarding Kakuzu were flawed. But in special times, we can only adopt some special measures!"
Zukiri managed a smile. "Ha ha, I understand."
...
At night.
Zukiri slipped out of her room unnoticed, made her way quietly to where Kakuzu was held, and knocked out the guards.
Suddenly opening his eyes in the darkness, Kakuzu asked, "Why are you here? Has anything changed?"
Zukiri whispered, "Some Hidden Villages somehow found out about you, demanding the leader kill you immediately to give an account for those ninja you've assassinated."
"Never thought even in prison I still have people thinking about me. What an honor!"
"Enough with the jokes."
"Zukiri's breathing grew a bit quicker. 'How's the seal breaking coming along?'"
"Not nearly enough progress yet," Kakuzu replied coolly. "Do you know who sealed me? His seals aren't easy to break at all."
"I guess that's true," Zukiri nodded in agreement. "I heard even the Nine-Tails was effortlessly brought under control by Seiki Shimaseki using Wood Release."
"What?" Kakuzu's composed expression broke instantly. "Nine-Tails? Wood Release? What exactly happened during this time?"
"Keep your voice down!" Zukiri warned with a glare, then explained in a whisper, "Apparently someone attacked Konoha not long ago and released the Nine-Tails, but Seiki Shimaseki unleashed Wood Release to bring it down."
"[Wood Release!]" Kakuzu murmured, his eyes distant as if recalling memories. "Indeed, it was an incredibly powerful force!"
Zukiri hesitated, couldn't help but ask, "I heard you once assassinated the First Hokage. Tell me, what do you think? Is Wood Release really that powerful?"
"It's definitely very strong!" Kakuzu said with a sigh. "After all, it was the very power that managed to defeat me!"
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