There's a saying sharp enough to cut bone:
People rely on their own knowledge and cognition to understand the world but those same things bind them. They call it reality.
Yet knowledge and cognition are vague, and even reality is just an illusion we create inside our own preconceived ideas.
When Itachi guessed and concluded on his own that Obito was Madara Uchiha, the mask was sealed. No more cosplay slip-ups.
Finally, Obito thought with quiet satisfaction.
A cold, deserted stretch of the Land of Snow. Several figures stood in the open expanse.
"Water Style — Water Severing Wave!"
A pressurized stream of water, sharp as a blade, cut toward Obito with a piercing hiss.
Obito tilted his head with a quiet hm, sidestepping.
The torrent sliced clean through the small hill behind him, taking the top off in one perfect diagonal cut. Ice and snow crashed down in an avalanche of powder.
"Very good," Obito said, watching Terumi Mei lower her hands, a black face mask covering her mouth. "You're controlling Sage Chakra well now. Ninjutsu output's up significantly."
"But still not enough." Mei's eyes glimmered. "This Water Style is powerful on its own worthy of the Second Hokage himself."
Over the past year, in between Sage Art training, she'd raided Obito's library and devoured high-level ninjutsu. This A-rank technique, Water Severing Wave, was one of her trophies.
"You've all mastered the basics of Sage Chakra," Obito continued, glancing over the three women. "Next step: condense natural energy. When you hit the threshold, I'll teach you a secret technique."
"What kind?" Mei asked, curiosity sparking.
Yugao and Pakura both leaned in slightly, waiting.
After all, Obito's training method had made them stronger at frightening speed. A "secret technique" from him could only mean another leap forward.
"Hmm… let's just say it'll increase your training speed and your power quality. You'll see for yourselves soon enough."
He let the words hang with a meaningful smile, watching the flicker of anticipation in their eyes.
Time flew. Another year slipped past.
December's deep winter arrived with news from the outside world, news that made Obito straighten from his chair in the study.
"Konoha and the Hidden Cloud finally stopped fighting?" he asked, a note of eagerness in his voice.
White Zetsu nodded. "Cloud sent a delegation to sign a peace agreement. Just a day ago."
Zetsu didn't know why Obito seemed almost excited.
But Obito's mind was already moving fast. He'd been waiting for this.
On paper, the Cloud delegation was here for peace. In truth, they were wolves sniffing around for Konoha's treasure, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan.
They were planning to try something. And Obito was going to make sure it happened.
In the anime, Cloud Village's plan was simple in its stupidity, fake a kidnapping of the Hyuga clan's heiress, get "caught" on purpose, then die dramatically in Konoha's custody.
The death of their shinobi would give them the leverage to demand the Hyuga killer be handed over… which, in Cloud's mind, meant they'd get their hands on the Byakugan sooner or later.
Because, really...if you think you can snatch a Hyuga out of Konoha without getting your soul skewered by that 360-degree all-seeing eye, you're not planning to escape. You're planning to die.
Obito intended to… improve the plan.
His version? Use the Sharingan to nudge the Cloud kidnapper's mind, make him think he'd escaped.
Then, when the Hyuga pursued, Obito would quietly sabotage them so the escape looked real.
Halfway through, he'd pull the plug. Swap in a fake Hinata for the Cloud shinobi to "escape" with, and take the real one for himself.
Let both the fake Hinata and the Cloud ninja die together in some "tragic" ending.
And then… oh, he could already see Hiashi Hyuga's face when he realized the "rescued" girl wasn't his daughter.
Cloud Village would carry the heat for him.
Konoha and the Hyuga would swear it was Cloud's doing.
Cloud would think their plan succeeded, they'd lost a man and could still make demands as planned.
But the Hyuga? With their heiress gone? Would they hand over the "killer" to Cloud? Would they choke down the insult?
Obito hoped not. The best-case scenario?
The two villages went at each other again.
And in the meantime… he'd have Hinata.
Sitting somewhere safe. Watching the chaos unfold from his own private theater.
A calamity on the verge of breaking out. The kind of unpretentious fun a bored man sometimes needed.
With that thought, Obito left the Land of Snow immediately.
A day later, he was perched on the branch of a broad tree outside Konoha, cloaked in shadow, watching the street below. Villagers bustled about, stringing decorations, smiling wide.
Although he had thought about paying Kushina a visit, this kind of drama was too good to pass up.
Warmth could wait. Entertainment like this? Rare.
Tomorrow night, the Cloud delegation would arrive to sign their "peace agreement." Today, Konoha was readying a full festival to welcome them.
Obito snorted quietly.
A few months ago, these same people were at each other's throats with Cloud. Now they were hanging up lanterns for them.
And yet, he thought bitterly, the night of the Nine-Tails… that hatred's still burning, isn't it?
They could forgive an enemy. But never the enemy inside.
It was pathetic. And hilarious.
"Hm… Cloud's still a day away. Why not go visit that snake bastard first?"
Night fell.
In a dim underground laboratory outside Konoha, harsh white light spilled from a surgical lamp over an operating table.
A scalpel glinted in the hands of a pale man as he worked on the cadaver beneath him.
"Hisss~"
A tiny viper slithered up his sleeve, curling onto his shoulder. It hissed in his ear, bringing a message.
The scalpel paused mid-cut. Yellow eyes narrowed, irritation flashing before the corners of his mouth curved upward into something darker. His tongue flicked out, wetting his lips.
"Someone found my den, hmm…? And I'm low on test subjects. Perfect."
He set the scalpel down and looked at the corpse one last time.
"A pity… another failure."
Then he turned toward the entrance, steps slow, deliberate.
Outside, Obito sat on a boulder, waiting.
He'd made sure the snakes had seen him. Orochimaru wouldn't ignore bait like that.
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and Exclusive R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 300 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.