Chapter 366: Obito's Sense of Urgency
In the dark underground, Obito Uchiha, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu were all present.
Black Zetsu said to Obito, "Obito, did you make the Fourth Mizukage commit suicide?"
Obito nodded. "Yes. There is nothing left to use in Kirigakure. Although Yagura Karatachi still held the title of Mizukage, he had long since been reduced to a figurehead. His orders couldn't even leave the Mizukage's building."
"Rather than let him fall into the hands of the Mist ninja alive and expose our existence, it was better to just have him self-destruct. It could even inflict some damage on the Mist."
Black Zetsu said, "Then do you know who the newly appointed Fifth Mizukage is?"
Obito said, "It doesn't matter who it is. Kirigakure is finished. They don't have a single decent fighter left. It's only a matter of time before they are removed from the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Perhaps as soon as the news of the Fourth Mizukage's death spreads, the other hidden villages will already be discussing how to attack them."
At this moment, White Zetsu said, "Obito, the newly appointed Mizukage of Kirigakure has already signed an alliance treaty with Iwagakure. The two sides will advance and retreat together. Anyone who dares to declare war on Kirigakure is declaring war on Iwagakure."
"With Iwagakure's strong stance, Konoha and Kumo probably won't dare to act rashly. Kumo was already gathering its ninja before, but after hearing the content of this treaty, they immediately abandoned their plans."
Obito frowned. "How so fast? I know the situation in Kirigakure. It's not that easy to elect a Mizukage that all factions can accept."
"For that, you have to thank yourself. You controlled Yagura to self-destruct, which directly caused the Minazuki and other major clans to withdraw from the Mizukage contest," Black Zetsu said sarcastically.
"As a result, the previously unknown Hoshigaki Kisame unexpectedly rose to power. I suspect he has the support of Iwagakure behind him."
"Considering the modus operandi of that 'Fox of Iwagakure,' he was very likely in Kirigakure at the time. You have indirectly helped Iwagakure."
Obito gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "What did that Ishiro get from Kirigakure? I destroyed the Mist's ninjutsu scrolls long ago."
Black Zetsu shook his head. "I don't know about that either. We no longer have any spies in the high command of Kirigakure."
"However, we cannot allow Iwagakure to continue developing like this. Otherwise, the ninja world might be unified by them before Lord Madara is revived."
Obito snorted. "Iwagakure has a way to counter space-time ninjutsu. My Kamui cannot be fully utilized there. So, if we are to deal with Ishiro, the battlefield absolutely cannot be in Iwagakure. We must lure him out of the village."
White Zetsu said, "Luring him out of the village is also useless. Unsurprisingly, he has mastered a sensory ninjutsu that can detect my clone's reconnaissance. His movements cannot be monitored."
"Moreover, he can fly, and none of us can. If we want to deal with Ishiro, we must find a ninja who can also fly to cooperate with."
Black Zetsu said, "We could also arrange the ambush in an enclosed space to render his flight ninjutsu useless."
Obito said, "But what kind of bait can attract Ishiro and make him willing to take the risk?"
The group fell silent. Although Obito had suffered several losses at Ishiro's hands, their understanding of him was still insufficient. They didn't know what Ishiro cared about most.
Black Zetsu said, "If a trap won't work, then we can only use absolute strength to crush him. How is Nagato's side? In the current ninja world, if we have to find someone who can defeat Ishiro in a direct confrontation and prevent him from escaping, it would probably only be Nagato."
Speaking of Nagato, Obito's mood became even more irritable. He had no control over Nagato at all right now. Although Nagato was technically cooperating with him, he basically used him as an information broker. All of Nagato's decisions regarding the Dark Akatsuki were made after consulting with Yahiko and Konan. Nagato simply didn't see this secretive, self-proclaimed "Madara Uchiha" as an equal partner.
Obito didn't even know that Ishiro was also considered a member of the Dark Akatsuki, let alone that Nagato and his friends would occasionally ask Ishiro for advice on how to govern a country and a village. If he did, he might have been even more furious.
"We must eliminate Yahiko and Konan. Otherwise, Nagato will never listen to us," Obito said hatefully.
White Zetsu interjected, "Back then, Hanzō of the Salamander and Konoha's Danzō once ambushed them. They almost succeeded in killing Yahiko at the time, but this Ishiro interfered."
"After that, the three of them rarely separated. Even when my clones pretended to get close to Yahiko and Konan by chance, they would be killed by Nagato. I have already lost many clones because of this."
Obito said, "In that case, let's arrange some enemies for Nagato's group. Only a Nagato who has felt the cruelty of the ninja world might change his current attitude towards life. Also, it's time to tell him about the Gedo Statue and the matter of retrieving the Tailed Beasts."
While Obito was planning who to target first, Ishiro returned to Iwagakure.
After returning to the Land of Earth from the Land of Water, Ishiro first made a trip to the capital to meet with the Daimyo and discuss trade between the Land of Earth and the Land of Water. The Daimyo naturally gave his full support to something that could both expand the Land of Earth's influence and bring in tangible financial benefits.
Thus, Ishiro, with a large sum of funds allocated by the Daimyo, happily returned to Iwagakure.
Upon entering the village, Ishiro immediately convened a high-level meeting with the advisors.
At the meeting, Ishiro first took out the ninjutsu scrolls from Kirigakure and said to Saka, "Gather the village's Water Release ninja. Have them practice these ninjutsu well to improve their overall strength. Try to ask for as few contribution points as possible in exchange."
Saka opened the ninjutsu catalog and took a look. His eyes instantly lit up. "So many! We've really struck gold this time. We'll no longer have to worry about not having enough high-level Water Release jutsu."
Ishiro nodded. "I plan to get a few high-level Water Release ninjutsu for Kiyoshi Ishizawa as well. This time, I was able to stay in Kirigakure for so long without being discovered thanks to the Hydrification Technique he figured out."
Everyone nodded, indicating no problem. Although these ninjutsu were to be added to the public repository, as the ninja who obtained them, Ishiro giving his own student a little convenience was something no one had an issue with, especially since he had a legitimate reason.
After dealing with the ninjutsu scrolls, Ishiro handed over the extra funds allocated by the Daimyo to Bella. Bella immediately beamed with joy. "Perfect timing. We've been setting up the natural energy sealing barriers for the shark colony recently, and the village's finances have been a bit tight. This fund has come at just the right time. For the sake of this fund, I'll temporarily let the matter of you staying in Kirigakure for so long slide."
The shark colony had contributed greatly in the fight against the Monkey Clan, so after another period of observation, Ishiro and the others had begun construction on their habitat. Due to the sharks' particularly large size, setting up these seals in their habitat required a large amount of the village's funds.
Ishiro rolled his eyes, didn't respond to Bella, and changed the subject. "Since we have already signed an alliance treaty with Kirigakure, we must also open a trade route to them. Ikura, you will be in charge of this."
Ikura nodded. "The Land of Iron might be difficult to deal with. They have always maintained neutrality and probably won't easily agree to open up trade route restrictions and allow our caravans to pass through frequently."
Ishiro thought for a moment. "If that doesn't work, we can go by sea. Going through the Land of Sound, the Land of Hot Water, or even the Land of Moon is also an option."
Ikura frowned. "The Land of Moon is too close to the Land of Lightning. I'm afraid it won't be safe."
Ishiro said, "There's nothing unsafe about it. The Fourth Raikage is not the brute he appears to be. This guy also knows how to assess a situation."
"Otherwise, he should have already invaded the Land of Water by now. Since he was unwilling to use force against Kirigakure out of fear of our strength, he will certainly not interfere too much with our caravans."
"By the way, has there been any news from the Third's side during this time?" After arranging Ikura's task, Ishiro said to Saka.
Saka replied, "There has been no contact at all. We don't even know which country they've gone to."
Ishiro sighed. He really wanted to complain a little, but he held it back. Although Ōnoki was a wanderer, Ishiro was in the least position to complain.
Seeing that Ishiro was done with his business, Kitsuchi suddenly took out a letter and handed it to him. It had just arrived from Konoha two days ago, mixed in with other intelligence.
Ishiro took it curiously, glanced at it, and said in surprise, "A letter from Hatake Kakashi? How did he contact us? Who gave him a contact channel?"
Kitsuchi shook his head. "No one gave him a contact method. He found it himself. He took the initiative to find our intelligence ninja stationed in Konoha and had him send the letter back."
At that time, the ninja responsible for gathering intelligence in Konoha was nearly scared to death.
Ishiro was taken aback. "Truly worthy of being Hatake Kakashi. He has his methods."
Kakashi's letter was very simple. He was just asking Ishiro how to persuade Shisui Uchiha to support his approach.
Ishiro frowned. Kakashi has chosen the wrong teammate. Although Shisui Uchiha is strong, his vigilance is too poor. He's easily stabbed in the back by his own people.
In Konohagakure, Kakashi received Ishiro's reply. In the letter, Ishiro suggested that Kakashi could persuade Shisui from the perspective of Itachi Uchiha.
He should tell Shisui: if the problem between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership is not resolved, then his "little brother" Itachi might die in the internal strife before he even reaches adulthood.
Kakashi hesitated, but in the end, he decided to follow Ishiro's advice.
The next day, Kakashi found Shisui Uchiha just as he was getting off his shift from Root.
Using Obito as a starting point, Kakashi had a long and pleasant chat with Shisui.
Kakashi had originally thought that Shisui would be relatively hostile towards him, but the result was unexpected. Shisui was very enthusiastic towards him, this companion of Obito's, and showed none of the anger that other Uchiha displayed when they saw an outsider using a Sharingan.
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