Chapter 205 – Akatsuki Can Continue to Exist, But the Tailed Beasts Must Be Handed Over to Us
Uchiha Obito stared at Uchiha Dali for a while before he had to admit his respect.
Shaking his head, he once again mocked his own former innocence—or rather, foolishness. Eternal peace? This world was indeed filled with lies everywhere.
"So you've already thought that far ahead?"
"From the memories inside Black Zetsu's head, that so-called Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's power is ridiculously strong—without limits, even."
"If that's the case, then the forces behind her must be far beyond anything we can imagine…"
At this point, Obito had clearly begun to place himself in a new role—
Abandoning resistance. Abandoning illusions.
He was starting to stand on Uchiha Dali's, or rather Konoha's, side—thinking from the perspective of representing the entire human world against an unknown threat.
Seeing Obito starting to believe him and giving up his internal fantasies, Uchiha Dali couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.
"For something like that, of course, we'll take it step by step. Right now, the most important thing is stopping Black Zetsu's plan."
Hearing this, Obito's heart stirred. "What are you planning to do?"
"Kill him."
As soon as Dali finished speaking, his spiritual consciousness withdrew from Black Zetsu's mind.
Obito immediately pulled out of Black Zetsu's mental sea as well.
He glanced at Nagato and Konan—both were still watching him—while Black Zetsu was still bound and unable to move. But there was no trace of Uchiha Dali.
"He's already capable of this…?"
Obito was shocked inside.
Invading another's mind and peering into everything—without physical contact—then forcibly controlling their thoughts and actions.
From what he knew, only clan heads from Konoha's top secret-technique families could do this.
For example, the Yamanaka clan were experts in such arts.
But clearly, as a member of the Uchiha clan, Dali shouldn't logically have such an ability.
Regardless, this man had once again broken his understanding.
Turning to Nagato and Konan, Obito said, "I just discovered that Black Zetsu is a traitor to Akatsuki. He's been hiding an enormous ambition—planning to use us to achieve his own personal goals."
"Don't believe a word he's said."
"We're not even sure now whether we should trust you or him—or maybe you're both lying to us."
Konan looked calmly at Obito. "So you're saying… you doubt me now."
Obito was about to try and smooth-talk them—
But at that moment, a voice came from behind him.
"You still haven't done it? You really are slow."
As the voice sounded, a figure stepped right through the massive tree camouflage Konan had created and walked in.
Seeing Uchiha Dali, Konan and Nagato instantly tensed up, glancing questioningly at Obito.
"So, you're actually a Konoha ninja?"
"Something like that. Forget it—since you all know the truth now, I'll just say it. I'm not Uchiha Madara."
"Also, I just learned the truth, so the plan I made before is scrapped. Akatsuki is disbanded—right here and now."
Obito spread his hands as he spoke.
"Akatsuki was never yours to begin with. Disbanding it is not your call. Since you no longer acknowledge yourself as a member, and you've been deceiving us all this time under Madara's name, we'll just part ways here."
Nagato's voice was deep and steady.
As soon as he finished, Dali followed up immediately: "You can go. If Akatsuki wants to keep existing, then fine—but the tailed beasts must be handed over to me."
"That's impossible."
Nagato rejected him without hesitation.
Konan's eyes sharpened instantly.
At that moment, the restrained Black Zetsu began to laugh.
"Heh… Nagato, this is the result of not cooperating with me. No matter what, Akatsuki is doomed now."
"You can't possibly stand against all of Konoha. By now, they already control most of the shinobi world, don't they? Heh…"
"If you want to keep Yahiko's dream alive and create a truly peaceful world, you must revive the real Uchiha Madara. Do exactly as I say, and maybe there's still a chance to fix things, Nagato—"
Before he could finish, still trying to lure Nagato into using the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive Madara—
His voice suddenly cut off.
A sharp short blade pierced his throat.
Then, with a flash of cold light, the blade sliced clean through, splitting his head in two.
"You really talk too damn much."
Dali withdrew his short blade as if nothing had happened, then looked up at Nagato and Konan.
"I intend to unify the entire shinobi world—merge all countries and all people into one whole, one big family. From then on, everyone will be compatriots of a single nation—bound by blood."
"That way, there will be no more conflicts between nations, and the shinobi world will see everlasting peace."
He spoke directly to Nagato and Konan.
Hearing this, the two were momentarily stunned.
Wasn't Dali's ideal the same as Akatsuki's original purpose?
The difference was slight—in the past, Yahiko's plan was to build Akatsuki, take on all missions, and monopolize every war.
That way, they could stop conflicts from even starting, creating a truly peaceful world.
For this, they later devised a plan to capture all nine tailed beasts as strategic weapons.
In other words, their method was to use overwhelming force to push the entire shinobi world into peace and stability.
Dali's proposal now was to first merge every country, large or small, into a single entity—where the people of the continent no longer distinguished between one another, all being compatriots of the same nation.
That way, disputes would vanish naturally.
Although this sounded relatively gentle, in essence it still required first conquering every nation by force, until their leaders willingly brought their people into submission.
Different paths, same destination.
"Your plan is the same as ours—just with a slightly different process. So, are you saying you want to cooperate with us?"
Nagato asked calmly once he recovered from his surprise.
"No."
"I'm just telling you—those who follow me will live, those who oppose me will die."
"The shinobi world is under my control now. If Akatsuki doesn't want to be my obstacle, you'd better stay far away from us—otherwise, I won't hesitate to wipe you all out."
"All for the sake of peace."
Dali spoke with complete nonchalance, but his words made Konan and Nagato's hearts tighten.
Off to the side, Obito silently thought—
That's ruthless.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)