Chapter 100
2-in-1-chapter: 100 chapter WhOoO!
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Arriving at the tenshu,
The space was empty except for a dozen zabuton cushions.
Rēn took off the Gunbai, chose a zabuton, and sat down cross-legged. Under the astonished gazes of those present, he placed the Gunbai beside him. It wasn't that they were blind; rather, their attention had previously been captured by Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, so they hadn't noticed that what Rēn carried on his back was not the living Blade Samehada, but the Uchiha clan's fan that had been lost for decades.
Only now did they realize—
As Rēn set down the Gunbai, everyone suddenly reacted. This was the Uchiha clan's fan, not the Samehada. Their faces immediately took on an expression as if they had seen a ghost.
"Lord Rēn, is that… the Uchiha Fan?"
The first to speak was Mimura Yomaki, a civilian-born shinobi. This bearded middle-aged man didn't seem remarkable at first glance, now simply observing the gourd-shaped fan with pure curiosity.
But during the Third Shinobi World War, he had been the frontline commander on Konoha's northern front against Iwa-nin, having skillfully manoeuvred while being outnumbered and forced them to hold them at bay, believing until the very end that the Yellow Flash would arrive, even when only four men remained including himself.
He was one of the staunchest supporters of the Fourth Hokage.
After the Fourth Hokage's death, he fell into obscurity, leaving the village and serving in the northern border defense forces. It was only recently that the acting Fifth Hokage summoned him back, citing his frontline experience to assign him as Rēn's aide.
Yet despite his distinguished record, his background was clearly insufficient for him to understand what the Uchiha Fan truly meant to the Uchiha clan. Others from noble families were too stunned to speak.
"You may call it the Uchiha Fan or the Gunbai,"
Rēn gently brushed his hand along the long handle of the Gunbai.
"Lord Rēn, wasn't the clan's fan taken away and lost by that individual? What does this have to do with the Fourth Mizukage?" Hyūga Masayuki couldn't hold back anymore. What exactly was going on? First Yagura, then the Uchiha Fan—where had this young Uchiha clan head even gone?
Captured Yagura, and on the way back also picked up the long-lost Uchiha Fan?
What kind of joke was this?
It made more sense to say the Uchiha Fan had been hidden by Kirigakure.
"I will explain everything in detail. Unkai, record the minutes of this meeting. The situation is very complicated. Once complete, prepare a copy and send it immediately to the village for the Hokage." Rēn called on Kurama Unkai by name.
The elderly Kurama Unkai quickly replied, "Yes."
He hurried downstairs to fetch paper, brush, and a low table, then knelt at the table, ready.
"I won't waste time on greetings. We have a pile of problems to address… I'll be blunt: The enemy who attacked the eastern border defense command was the Fourth Mizukage and his guard unit."
Kurama Unkai wrote rapidly.
The seated Hyūga Masayuki, Aburame Shikuro, Yamanaka Mokuren, and others leaned in to listen.
"However, upon engaging him I discovered the Fourth Mizukage was not acting normally—he was under a genjutsu."
A single statement stirred a thousand ripples.
The color drained from everyone's faces; clearly, none of them had expected this development. The Fourth Mizukage, under a genjutsu? Could this be real? He was the Mizukage, one of the Five Kage of the ninja world, the supreme leader of Kirigakure, whose words alone determined the fate of many lives.
That such a figure could have been placed under a genjutsu?
Kurama Unkai's hand trembled as he tried to keep his writing legible.
"The Fourth Mizukage was controlled…"
Nara Suzaku cast a glance at Yagura's unconscious body lying flat on the wooden floor nearby, his brow furrowed deeply. Suppressing his shock, he realized that if this was true, then the complexity of the war between Kirigakure and Konoha was at least ten times greater than he had imagined.
But he held back from questioning at this moment, instead watching the calm demeanor of Uchiha Rēn seated above them; clearly there was more intelligence yet to come.
Rēn paused for a few seconds to let everyone absorb this, then continued: "The one controlling the Fourth Mizukage wore a mask and a black robe. His true identity is unknown for now. However, during our fight, he claimed to be Uchiha Madara."
Another shock—not a stone this time,
But a deep-sea bomb. A splash followed by a thunderous detonation, blasting not only the pond but the entire courtyard sky-high.
"Uchiha Madara?"
"How is that possible?"
"Didn't he die at the hands of the First Hokage?"
Hyūga Masayuki completely lost his composure.
He was much older than Aburame Shikuro and Nara Suzaku, a contemporary of Sarutobi Hiruzen. Unlike them, who had only heard the name Uchiha Madara from clan histories, he had personally witnessed the battle between the First Hokage and Madara.
He understood exactly what the news that Madara might still be alive truly meant.
Konoha no longer had its First Hokage.
If Uchiha Madara were to attack again, how could the current Konoha possibly withstand a man who once seemed like a demigod?
"Masayuki-senpai, calm yourself. This is only what that masked man claimed. Apart from the Sharingan and the Gunbai, there's no other evidence proving he is Madara," Rēn said to reassure the elder.
It was ironic. This man, said to have led the suppression of reinforcements during the Root incident, had been manipulated by Sarutobi Hiruzen into making poor decisions. The Hyūga clan elders had offered him up to Hiashi for punishment.
But unwilling to accept the punishment, Masayuki had instead sworn allegiance to Hiashi, becoming his supporter and was sent to assist Rēn as the Hyūga clan's representative in this war against Kirigakure.
His performance here would determine his future standing within the Hyūga clan, and Rēn's opinion would be key.
"Sharingan and the Gunbai…"
Masayuki's white eyes widened.
Was that not enough?
"The Gunbai has been lost for decades and cannot be relied upon. As for the Sharingan—it is authentic, but the problem is he wasn't as strong as clan records describe. Otherwise, Yagura and the Gunbai would not be in my hands," Rēn's words left Masayuki speechless.
That made sense. The capture of Yagura and recovery of the Gunbai proved that this so-called Uchiha Madara, real or fake, was not invincible. Whatever others might say, at least Uchiha Rēn had the ability to contend with him.
"That's the situation. This war between us and Kirigakure was deliberately provoked by that man. While we don't yet know his ultimate goal, I suspect the Nine-Tail's rampage five years ago was also his doing."
"That's all I will say about the past. What we must focus on now is the present. The border defense command has been destroyed, and we must reorganize our defensive system as quickly as possible. Masayuki-senpai, I leave this to you."
"And regarding the handling of Yagura, Suzaku, I want the Planning Division to draft a plan to maximize the benefit we can extract from him. I give you two days."
"Everyone, stay sharp. Capturing the Fourth Mizukage was merely an accident. What we can actually gain from a puppet Mizukage remains uncertain. Until then, the war will not stop. Do not grow complacent!"
"Yes, Lord Rēn!"
Everyone answered in unison.
The war was not over; it had only just begun.
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Uchiha Obito opened his eye as he layed on the stone bed, his crimson solitary eye spinning in confusion for a moment before finally focusing on the human-sized pitcher plant standing beside the bed.
"Zetsu?"
He spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Do you still remember who you are?"
"...Uchiha Obito." As he spoke, he slowly moved his limbs. "I remember everything clearly. That mental breakdown was just an accident. Don't worry, until I create a new world, I won't die, nor will I go mad."
This was the normal Uchiha Obito.
Black Zetsu silently let out a sigh of relief. If Obito had truly gone insane, it would have caused endless trouble.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Since your defeat at the hands of Uchiha Rēn, a little over ten hours have passed."
"More than ten hours? Then this must be... a temporary base." Uchiha Obito propped himself up, the tomoe spinning in his scarlet eye as he took in the surrounding scenery, which still carried faint impressions.
"In other words, we're still on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. That means we're not too late yet. White Zetsu, transform into Yagura Karatachi and go direct the Kirigakure shinobi to continue attacking Konoha."
"Eh? You still want this plan to continue?"
White Zetsu was shocked.
"Whether Konoha wins or Kirigakure suffers a crushing defeat, the final result benefits us either way. Ideally, they'd both suffer heavy losses. But unfortunately..." Uchiha Obito shook his head regretfully. He knew better than anyone what a sorry state Kirigakure was in now; they couldn't possibly be a match for Konoha.
"But Yagura Karatachi has already been captured by Uchiha Rēn. Can Konoha and Kirigakure still keep fighting?"
White Zetsu, clearly reluctant to engage in undercover operations, was frantically looking for flaws in the plan.
"Don't worry. The war won't end so quickly. Negotiations between Konoha and Yagura won't yield results anytime soon. Besides, Kirigakure itself is changing. Some things can no longer be decided by Yagura alone. White Zetsu, all you have to do while impersonating Yagura is find ways to keep the war going. Even if your identity is exposed afterward, it doesn't matter."
At this point, White Zetsu realized he couldn't avoid this mission.
Black Zetsu hadn't voiced any opinion the entire time.
He didn't care at all how this war between Konoha and Kirigakure turned out—victory or defeat made no difference to him. As long as it didn't interfere with his plans, he had no interest in meddling. Seeing that Obito was still thinking clearly and assigning tasks to White Zetsu actually improved his mood somewhat.
His mind didn't seem broken!
He was still usable!
The pitcher plant squirmed, and White Zetsu split off. Having previously interacted with Yagura Karatachi, he didn't even need hand seals or preparations. As he fully separated from Black Zetsu, his appearance had already transformed into that of the green-haired, purple-eyed, youthful-looking Mizukage, complete with Yagura's short stature of just over 1.4 meters.
The only flaw was the Three-Tails.
No matter how skilled White Zetsu was, he couldn't replicate a tailed beast. But as long as he didn't pick fights, there was usually no need for the Mizukage to act personally. And without actual combat, White Zetsu's Transformation Technique couldn't be seen through, not even by the Byakugan. As long as he didn't self-sabotage, his identity shouldn't be exposed too quickly.
White Zetsu was a large collective.
However, most White Zetsu clones had very low combat ability, useful only as surveillance devices to gather intelligence. Only a small number possessed sufficient strength and mobility to assist Uchiha Obito directly—like this one transforming into Yagura Karatachi, or the one who had used the Wood Human Technique to attack Rēn.
Once the transformed White Zetsu left, Black Zetsu somehow produced another White Zetsu from somewhere and merged with it, forming another large pitcher plant before Obito's eyes.
"Obito, what exactly happened? Why did things turn out that way?"
At last,
Black Zetsu finally asked the question he cared about most.
"Why didn't you use Izanagi?"
Uchiha Obito raised his pale right hand, silently glancing at it, offering no comment. Half his body had already been replaced with White Zetsu tissue, so losing a right hand was insignificant. His fingers touched his mask, removing the orange mask.
Black Zetsu wasn't interested in Obito's scarred face.
His gaze was fixed on Obito's left eye, where he saw a dull, ash-colored eye, as if covered in dust, with three faint tomoe-like black dots barely visible. Obito pressed his fingers into the socket and removed the now-ruined Sharingan, leaving behind an empty, hollow eye socket like a gateway to hell.
"Since you used Izanagi, then..."
Black Zetsu found himself momentarily confused.
This forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan had been used by many Uchiha before. Uchiha Madara himself had once used it to fake his death and deceive Senju Hashirama—this was an ultimate technique capable of overturning even death itself!
Why, then, had it failed for Uchiha Obito?
"Uchiha Rēn's dōjutsu is bizarre. It's called a genjutsu, but it differs from ordinary genjutsu. His dōjutsu... can devour my ocular power!" Uchiha Obito wasn't interested in keeping secrets. He leaned against the cold stone wall, his solitary gaze resting on the dim flame of an oil lamp set on a stone platform nearby.
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