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"What evidence?" Yū Uchiha demanded.
The others turned their eyes toward Tsunade with expressions of varying intensity.
Obito had died at Kannabi Bridge, giving his life in service to the Hidden Leaf Village. And now Tsunade was claiming not only that Obito had survived, but that he might very well be the perpetrator behind the attacks on the Leaf. They regarded this information with open skepticism—even though it was Tsunade herself delivering it.
Tsunade opened the notepad resting on the table and withdrew two sheets of paper. "Every Mangekyō Sharingan has its own distinct pattern. The drawing in my left hand was made by Midorima. He has fought against 'Madara' and encountered him at close range, so he's fully aware of the pattern of 'Madara's' Mangekyō Sharingan. The drawing in my right hand was rendered by Kakashi—it depicts the pattern his own eyes formed when he first awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. The two patterns are completely identical. You're all aware of where Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan originated, aren't you?"
Yū Uchiha nodded.
Sharingan eyes that ended up outside the clan were certainly not as rare as lost Byakugan, but whenever possible, the Uchiha clan strongly preferred that their dōjutsu not fall into the hands of outsiders. Consequently, the origin of Kakashi's transplanted eye was well known among the Uchiha shinobi. That eye had belonged to Obito.
"Furthermore," Tsunade continued, "when the Leaf shinobi were attacked in the Hidden Sound Village, the others were all killed, yet Kakashi merely lost his Sharingan... When you connect this to the fact that Itachi joined the Akatsuki right after killing Kimimaro, the two events inevitably become linked. Therefore, Obito should indeed be 'Madara Uchiha.' The probability stands at roughly sixty percent." She passed the two drawings to Jiraiya, seated beside her.
Jiraiya studied both images intently, his brows rising slightly, before handing them on to Yū Uchiha at his side. Once the papers had made a full circuit around the room, no one spoke a word. If those two drawings were genuine, the likelihood that Obito was Madara was overwhelmingly high.
"Why would he impersonate 'Madara Uchiha'? If he didn't die, why not simply return to the Leaf Village?" Hiruzen asked, his confusion evident.
"I have no answer to that. Perhaps only the man himself could tell us," Tsunade replied with a shake of her head. Midorima hadn't disclosed that piece of information to her either.
Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeply. No matter how he turned the matter over in his mind, he simply couldn't make sense of it.
The primary purpose of this meeting was to arrange the tasks that lay ahead, keep every shinobi's nerves pulled taut, and ensure they remained perpetually on guard with no spare time to dwell on the matter of the "rogue ninja." Beyond that, it was to brief Tsunade and the others in advance, so that when the Five Kage Summit reconvened in the afternoon, they could proceed with clear and focused objectives.
When the meeting adjourned, Hiruzen's mood had not lifted in the slightest. The primary reason for his gloom was that Naruto's whereabouts remained unknown. Did they truly have no choice but to march straight into the Hidden Rain Village? Hiruzen had no answer within himself, but he understood one thing: even if they did go to the Rain Village, there was no guarantee they could rescue Naruto. Pain's power was immense; if he himself could do nothing against Pain, then others stood even less of a chance.
Ah, the worry. Hiruzen rubbed his forehead and let out a heavy sigh.
…
Konan ascended the high tower of the Hidden Rain Village and came to stand beside Pain. Rainwater cascaded off the rooftop in unbroken threads, connecting the sky to the ground below.
"How is Kisame faring?" Pain asked.
"Him? He's alright. The wound on his arm was severe, but after your treatment, there's no longer any risk of him losing it. Still, a full recovery is going to take some time."
"And the others?"
"Deidara is dissatisfied with Itachi. He believes Itachi's incompetence dragged down the entire operation. Itachi, annoyed by his constant noise, made him be quiet," Konan explained.
"He wasn't injured, was he?"
"Deidara will probably need about a week to recover as well," Konan replied, shaking her head.
"Is there anything else?"
"There's the matter of the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki. He refused to eat for the longest time, but we finally discovered why. He was actually just one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles the whole time. I've sealed him inside the Amber Purifying Pot. Madara says that even with just this, the Eight-Tails' chakra can still be merged to produce the Ten-Tails. The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is locked in a containment cell, and we're now simply waiting for the Six-Tails' jinchūriki. Not being able to capture Midorima was a truly massive loss." Konan closed her eyes.
"I know," Pain said. "But Midorima is extraordinarily powerful. He single-handedly destroyed both the Naraka Path and the Preta Path... Have you located new bodies for them?"
"Yes. I found Orochimaru's corpse. It should be usable, shouldn't it?" Konan studied the Deva Path closely and noticed his lips twitch slightly. "Is there something else you want to say to me?"
"There is... You know that during my battle against Midorima, he shared his perspective on war with me. Do you remember that?"
"Yes."
"What is your stance on it? Do you believe what he said?"
Konan rested both hands on the guardrail and gazed out at the road below, scrubbed immaculately clean by the ceaseless rain. Her mood at that moment was much like that rain-washed pavement—free of any extraneous thoughts.
"I don't believe him... We once placed our trust in people like them, and they disappointed us," she said.
"Do you trust me?" Pain asked.
"Neither of us can afford to trust anyone. We can only rely on ourselves, isn't that right?" Konan looked directly at Pain.
"That's right. We can only rely on ourselves," Pain agreed with a nod. "Go and notify Zetsu. Have him track Midorima's movements. The moment he's located, we move out immediately. This time, we cannot fail."
Konan nodded gravely.
…
Orochimaru yawned listlessly as he sat beside a campfire. It wasn't nighttime; the only reason a fire had been lit at all was because Midorima's stomach had started growling. Orochimaru couldn't fathom how someone who appeared so normal could get hungry so rapidly. But that wasn't what mattered—he needed to eat as well. What he objected to was what Midorima was eating: snake meat. And not wild snake either, but one of the serpents he personally kept. Midorima had called it a "change of palate." As a devoted enthusiast of snakes, Orochimaru was obviously not about to hand his serpents over willingly. Yet in his current condition, he was decidedly no match for Midorima. Besides, out here in the desolate wilderness, catching wild game was genuinely harder than simply cooking up a snake.
Orochimaru watched Midorima wolf down his meal and swallowed hard. Fine, eat it if you must—but did you have to make it look so delicious?
"Aren't you worried about being discovered by the Akatsuki? We're already quite close to the Hidden Rain Village," Orochimaru said, forcing his attention elsewhere.
"This distance is just about perfect," Midorima replied. He tore off another bite of snake meat, then tossed the empty skewer into the flames. "Isn't our whole objective to be found by them? Otherwise, how do we run into the White Zetsu?"
"Just don't end up dragging Pain over here as well. If that happens, I'll surrender immediately," Orochimaru stated flatly.
"Do you think they run a garbage collection service? Don't glare at me—right now, you're barely a combatant at all," Midorima scoffed.
After leaving the Leaf Village, he had already parted ways with Orochimaru, Tayuya, and Kabuto. Those two contributed practically nothing in terms of combat strength and might even become liabilities in a confrontation with the Akatsuki. Midorima was acutely aware of his own shortcomings. Throughout the journey, he had been continuously communicating with the Six-Tails, working on how to make their coordination more seamless, while simultaneously hoping to lure the White Zetsu out. So far, however, the White Zetsu still hadn't taken the bait.