Chapter 206 – Submission
Uchiha Dali's tone gave off an air of casualness, as if he were joking with you.
However, once you learned about the things he had done, there was no way you could believe he was merely jesting.
Since the end of the Third Shinobi World War until now, three of the former Five Great Nations — the Land of Water, the Land of Wind, and now the Land of Earth — had all already submitted to the Land of Fire.
Along with them, the smaller nations surrounding these three great countries had also chosen their sides, aligning themselves with Konoha.
Just this alone was enough to prove that Uchiha Dali was no benevolent saint.
Now, he was openly putting forward demands targeting the Akatsuki.
As for what Konan and Uzumaki Nagato were thinking, Uchiha Obito had no idea — he only felt a chill slowly creep up his spine.
His identity had already been exposed by that backstabber Black Zetsu.
Unable to continue using the name "Uchiha Madara" to control the Akatsuki, he naturally no longer cared whether the organization lived or died.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.
The atmosphere between the two sides grew subtle and tense.
After a brief silence, Uzumaki Nagato finally spoke. "If you truly can unify the entire shinobi world and bring everlasting peace to it, then having all members of the Akatsuki submit to you… is not impossible."
At least he wasn't completely foolish.
The man before him was not someone he could defeat. Besides, the one who had been impersonating Uchiha Madara now seemed to be standing on the other side.
In such a situation, butting heads was outright suicidal.
Most importantly, Uchiha Dali's goal resonated deeply with him.
As long as Yahiko's ideal could be realized, it didn't matter if the peaceful world was created by the Akatsuki itself.
The premise was — it had to truly be possible.
"Nagato?"
Konan, on the other hand, couldn't quite understand. She turned to him in astonishment.
Nagato ignored her, keeping his gaze fixed on Uchiha Dali. The latter smiled slightly. "You've made a wise choice — you haven't disappointed my regard for you."
"Nagato, you actually believe this guy?"
Black Zetsu grew anxious immediately.
If Nagato really bought into Uchiha Dali's words, gave up resisting, and even joined him, then he would be left with no trump cards whatsoever.
Reviving Uchiha Madara would be a fantasy, the Divine Tree couldn't be summoned, Infinite Tsukuyomi would be unusable, and his mother Ōtsutsuki Kaguya could never be resurrected.
Then what had the millennium of scheming and preparation been for?
"Oh? You're not dead yet?"
Uchiha Dali looked at Black Zetsu in surprise.
He remembered clearly that he had taken care of this guy earlier.
Black Zetsu sneered coldly. "Heh… you can't kill me, Uchiha Dali. There's no one in this world who can kill me."
"Is that so? As expected, a product of Yin-Yang Release really is like a shameless snake that won't die."
Uchiha Dali wasn't overly shocked — he simply nodded casually.
Being seen through at a glance, Black Zetsu's eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew that Obito had just infiltrated his mind and learned important information. Now that the secret was out, the plan to revive his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, would have to be shelved.
If he kept moving about, it would only invite true disaster.
After a moment of hesitation, Black Zetsu simply played dead and fell silent.
Uchiha Dali paid him no further attention. Instead, he turned to Nagato. "So, you can speak for the Akatsuki now, right? Have all members join my team, and very soon I can show you what a truly peaceful shinobi world looks like."
Nagato remained silent — which was basically as good as agreement.
Konan then voiced her stance. "If you can really achieve the goal you've described, what's the harm in becoming your subordinates? The Akatsuki's original purpose was exactly that — to create a truly everlasting peace in the shinobi world."
As one of the three founders, if she was already speaking like this, there was basically no suspense left.
Uchiha Dali smiled faintly and gestured in welcome. "Welcome to the light. I'm glad you're joining my team."
"So, where is the Seven-Tails?" he asked.
Nagato didn't answer right away. Instead, he said, "Before that, we have to deal with this guy. But first, you need to tell me the truth. What exactly happened?"
As he spoke, he looked toward Obito and then at Black Zetsu.
This man had been impersonating Uchiha Madara, controlling everything from the shadows.
Now he needed to know the truth.
Uchiha Dali also looked toward Obito, who stepped forward without prompting. "In that case, I'll start from the beginning…"
He then explained how, during the Third Shinobi World War, he had been ambushed and killed on the battlefield, how he met the elderly Uchiha Madara, how he was saved, and how he ultimately inherited Madara's will and took over the "Eye of the Moon Plan" in his stead.
Of course, he glossed over the part about Kakashi and Nohara Rin.
After that, Obito also recounted what he had seen in Black Zetsu's mind — everything about Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the Sage of Six Paths, and the Sage's younger brother.
When Nagato and Konan learned that the previous orders to collect all nine Tailed Beasts had nothing to do with creating the ultimate weapon to monopolize war and bring peace, but were in fact part of Black Zetsu's plot to revive Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, both fell silent.
"So… these eyes of mine were part of that lie too?"
"What else did Uchiha Madara do to me?"
Nagato reached up with his withered hands, touching his eyes.
That unintentional gesture made something stir in Uchiha Dali's mind, and he walked toward him.
"Can I take a look at your eyes?" Uchiha Dali asked.
"They aren't mine… but what are you planning to do?"
Nagato sounded somewhat dazed.
Looking back on his life, he felt it had been nothing but tragedy from start to finish.
As a child, his parents were killed by shinobi.
When he grew older and finally gained close friends, he had to watch as they were killed before his eyes by enemy schemes.
Later, when he awakened the Rinnegan, he thought at last he could control his own fate.
Only to find out now that he had been nothing more than a puppet chosen by Uchiha Madara.
Everything he possessed didn't truly belong to him.
Uchiha Dali ignored his despondency and didn't answer his question.
He reached out and touched Nagato's Rinnegan.
In that instant, it felt like an electric shock.
At the same time, a notification sounded in his mind, just as he expected.
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