The opportunity came quickly. Even faster than Emiya Shirou had anticipated. Because a certain someone, it turned out, was absolutely terrible at hiding his little schemes.
In the Land of Rice Fields, within Orochimaru's gloomy base, two minds were plotting.
Uchiha Obito was stewing over how to reclaim the Eye of the Moon plan from Shirou, while Orochimaru was concurrently scheming his own escape from Shirou's control.
On the matter of mutually wanting to deal with Emiya Shirou, their thoughts could be said to have hit it off immediately.
They both sensed each other's intentions, and both recognized the other's potential role in their respective plans.
Orochimaru noticed that the "observer," Obito, wasn't exactly friendly towards Shirou and figured turning him would be a great asset for his future escape.
Obito, meanwhile, knew Orochimaru was the user of the Impure World Reincarnation and believed that recruiting him would be the key to getting rid of Shirou and reclaiming his rightful place.
In the dim laboratory, Orochimaru conducted his experiments, all the while secretly observing Obito, who had been showing up with suspicious frequency.
Orochimaru possessed extraordinary patience; a snake always waits for the perfect moment to strike.
Even though he'd already overheard Obito's grumblings about Shirou to Itachi, he played it cool, waiting for the ideal opportunity.
Unfortunately, Obito didn't seem to share his patience. For a man who supposedly bore the weight of darkness and pain, he was remarkably bad at hiding his true intentions.
"Orochimaru," Obito began, leaning casually against the wall, "do you want to escape Emiya Shirou's control?" He didn't seem to care that the question laid his own hostility bare. "I can help you."
This was Obito's style.
Direct, to the point, whether he was trying to manipulate Nagato for his Rinnegan or recruiting Itachi. He just came right out and asked.
Orochimaru was taken aback by his bluntness. A sinister, low laugh escaped his lips. "It seems the proud Uchiha are indeed not very good at hiding their little thoughts..."
"There's no need for us to hide things from each other," Obito crossed his arms. "I want to take back the power of the Akatsuki from Shirou. You want to escape his control. Our goals align."
"That is indeed true," Orochimaru slowly nodded, perfectly understanding Obito's motive, if not his baffling directness.
But it didn't matter.
Finding a partner within the Akatsuki was proving difficult. The other members practically worshipped Shirou. Finding anyone in the world hostile to the man was a challenge.
Of course, that wasn't the real problem.
The real problem was Shirou's power. "It won't be easy to deal with Lord Emiya," Orochimaru said, a hint of regret in his voice as he recalled their brief clash.
"Even if the Impure World Reincarnation body limits his full strength to less than a tenth of his peak, it doesn't seem like something we can handle."
Obito couldn't help but frown.
He'd been beaten by Shirou's Flying Thunder God Technique once, and while he was confident he wouldn't be defeated so easily again, actually winning was another story.
Unless...
"You're the user of the Impure World Reincarnation," Obito said, his voice low. "What are its weaknesses? How do you deal with a reanimated person? You, of all people, should know."
"Sealing," Orochimaru proposed, though it wasn't much of a solution. "Theoretically, the body is immortal. But once it's broken, there's a period of immobility. We could try to seal him then."
He let out a wry smile. "But getting that opportunity from Lord Emiya... would be extremely difficult. I, for one, don't think I have that chance. Of course, if we had more help..."
His snake-like pupils narrowed, his tongue flicking out to lick the corner of his mouth. "Using an immortal reanimated person to deal with a reanimated person... It's just that it will require a certain amount of time. My Impure World Reincarnation isn't perfect, and I don't have enough corpses. I need a thorough plan."
"That does require time," Obito nodded. "However, if our plan takes too long, even with more reanimated puppets, you still won't be his opponent."
Black Zetsu's patience was wearing thin. It had been pushing Shirou to accelerate the plan, and they were already scouting for manpower and Tailed Beast intelligence.
Once the plan truly started, with Shirou's power, they could capture the Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails in no time.
At that point, Shirou would become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, and it would be too late for Obito. He didn't trust Shirou, nor did he trust Madara.
He only trusted the world he would create himself.
"I will send Itachi back to the Land of Rain to scout the Akatsuki's internal movements," Obito stated. "To see how much time we have left. I hope the situation isn't too bad."
"That would be for the best," a smile reappeared on Orochimaru's lips. He didn't mind a delay, he still wanted to extract more from Shirou.
But an opportunity was an opportunity.
Standing outside the lab, Itachi's expression was a perfect mask of indifference.
He'd been ordered to stand guard, keeping Anko away while Obito and Orochimaru had their little chat.
Now, Obito wanted him to go back to the Land of Rain to gather intelligence. Coincidentally, this gave him the perfect cover to report Obito's own intelligence back to Shirou.
A double agent. It seemed this part of his life would never change. .
Before, it was for Konoha and the Uchiha.
Now, it was for Obito and Shirou. It didn't matter.
This kind of life made no difference to him anymore.
-----
In the Land of Rain, at the Akatsuki's underground base, Shirou was, as always, busy with his scrolls. Itachi stood before him, calmly reporting what he'd learned.
"Uchiha Obito and Orochimaru are getting closer. They're plotting against you. Should we take action?"
"There's no need," Shirou said casually, without looking up from his writing. His tone was almost arrogant. "Once the Akatsuki's plan begins, any underhanded tricks will be meaningless in the face of absolute power."
"I happened to be in Konoha recently and saw their Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. While the strongest Jinchuriki's power has not yet grown, it's the perfect time to start our plan, to avoid any difficult problems later."
Itachi's fingers dug into his palm.
"The plan is about to begin," Shirou continued, oblivious to Itachi's reaction. "Once it's complete, all their efforts will be in vain. The order of this world will be shattered. No matter whose little tricks they are..."
He paused, his words seeming to carry a hidden meaning. "Nothing can stop the dawn that will eventually come to this world."
Itachi lowered his head. "Then should I go back and continue to monitor Obito's every move?"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Shirou's attitude towards him was distant, as if he'd never really cared about the spy who had defected to him. "For now, you can do whatever you want. After Black Zetsu returns, I will summon all members of the Akatsuki, including you and Obito."
"Yes," Itachi's figure slowly retreated.
After he had gone, the brush in Shirou's hand finally stopped. He looked up at Itachi's departing back, his face as calm as ever.
This fellow, Itachi... there was no loyalty in him.
Once Konoha was involved, he would always find a way to interfere.
The brush in Shirou's hand tapped lightly on the scroll's rod. "Don't disappoint me..."