Chapter 143: Gains
"Huff… huff… are you absolutely sure that was Uchiha Kei?"
Far off in a secluded valley in the Land of Grass, Uchiha Obito was hunched over, hands on the ground, gasping for breath. A trail of blood-tears streaked from his right eye.
His chakra and ocular power had been heavily drained. Even with the support of White Zetsu's cells, it had barely been any time since he'd awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. He hadn't even had a proper opportunity to study or familiarize himself with its powers—and worse yet, he'd lost one of his eyes. Forcing a space-time ninjutsu under such conditions had clearly taken its toll.
"It should be him, no doubt," came White Zetsu's voice, echoing by Obito's ear—though even he didn't sound entirely certain. "According to intel from one of my clones, he had just clashed with a squad of Hidden Mist ANBU. The capture of Nohara Rin happened as a direct result of that battle. Kakashi was the first to go rescue her, and Uchiha Kei followed soon after he'd finished off the Mist-nin."
"Then why the mask?" Obito asked, still panting, brow furrowed.
"Maybe he didn't want his identity revealed," White Zetsu guessed, "or maybe… he didn't want anyone seeing his eyes."
At that moment, a darker, raspier voice joined in—Black Zetsu emerged slowly from the earth, his black-and-white form blending eerily into the landscape. "The Mangekyō Sharingan is no ordinary dōjutsu. You of all people should know the power it holds. I'm not familiar with Uchiha Kei personally, but concealing it is the smart move."
"Tch… what a sly bastard," Obito growled. His voice was low and full of malice.
In his memory, Uchiha Kei had always come across as polite, yet distant—an aloof figure who kept people at arm's length. He had never imagined that behind that reserved exterior hid someone so dangerously cunning.
As Obito brooded, Black Zetsu allowed himself a subtle smile.
Obito likely hadn't even realized just how much trust he was placing in these creatures born of Yin-Yang Release. But that was the brilliance of it—Black Zetsu and White Zetsu had never outright lied to him. Everything they told him had been true—just carefully selected and subtly directed truths. That was all it took to manipulate Obito into seeing things from the "right" perspective.
The boy had lost the one person who meant the world to him. The kind, naïve child had essentially lost everything. When a man's beliefs shatter, all it takes is a new doctrine to anchor him—and then he becomes more fanatical than anyone.
The zeal of the converted. Maybe the world didn't have a term for it, but Obito embodied it perfectly.
Even though he was secretly making moves behind Uchiha Madara's back, his heart still clung to that fabricated dream world. Until the day he met Naruto Uzumaki and got talked to death, that is.
For now, Black and White Zetsu were simply working to deepen his trust, solidifying his beliefs—guiding him toward the "right" path. They wanted him to believe they were the only ones who truly cared about him.
After a while, Obito finally seemed to recover. It was astonishing, really—after expending that much ocular power, anyone else would still be collapsed on the ground. If it had been Uchiha Kei in his place, he'd likely still be paralyzed, unable to move.
"You know…" Obito's eyes narrowed with venom, "what if we exposed his identity? That bastard clearly doesn't want people knowing how strong he is. If we make his power public…"
"…Then we'll only make things harder for ourselves," Black Zetsu cut him off flatly. "All it will do is bring some heat his way, but we'll have to work even harder to avoid catching his attention. He's talented—he already deduced a fair chunk of your abilities in no time. Meanwhile, we know almost nothing about him. Don't forget—he's your greatest whetstone."
"Tch, but a guy like him—are we really going to just let him get in our way?"
"He won't," Black Zetsu said with confidence—though inwardly, he wasn't entirely sure. "He doesn't know our plans. He doesn't know your true identity. That's our advantage. As long as we don't provoke him too much, he'll remain in the dark. What you need to do is focus on mastering your powers. Grow stronger. As for Uchiha Kei…"
A cold gleam flashed in Black Zetsu's eyes.
"…once you're ready, he'll be nothing to worry about."
Obito fell silent. True—Kei likely didn't know who he was. Meanwhile, they were almost certain that the masked swordsman was Uchiha Kei. That was a massive strategic advantage.
Kei's motives were clear: he had shown up because of Rin. Nothing more.
With that, Obito pushed all thoughts of Kei from his mind. He had far too much to learn, and if Kei really was also a Mangekyō user—then yes, he was the perfect target to sharpen his blade against.
"Let him keep up his little act, then." Obito gave a cold snort. "That cowardly rat isn't even worth worrying about. I'll deal with him when the time comes."
"You might not even need to," Black Zetsu said suddenly.
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Because… his eyes won't last much longer."
---
Meanwhile, in Uchiha Madara's hidden base…
Uchiha Kei stood still for a long moment, finally sheathing his ninjatō with a slow exhale. "You might be a lunatic," he muttered under his breath, "but if you really push me, I will make you regret it."
This plan had come at a heavy cost. Kei knew from the beginning that his actions today would expose him. But to obtain what he needed, he had to take the risk.
He'd gone all in—and now the pieces were starting to fall into place.
Kei wasn't the gambling type. But after meticulous planning, he concluded that unless Obito was a complete fool—or Black Zetsu got reckless—they wouldn't out him.
Especially since during the fight, Kei had deliberately revealed just enough knowledge to suggest he knew Obito's secrets. A subtle warning.
Shaking his head, Kei stopped thinking about it. Obito might be insane, but there's a gap between insanity and idiocy.
Turning away, he pulled out a few blank scrolls and casually picked up Obito's severed left arm—the one that broke during Obito's initial retreat. A fine trophy. And not the only one.
While inspecting the Gedo Statue, Kei had also found half-finished White Zetsu specimens left hanging due to Obito's hasty escape.
"A hell of a haul today."
For once, Kei let himself smile. The price was high—but so were the rewards.
In addition to Obito's arm, he had acquired two White Zetsu bodies—containing cells from the First Hokage himself. To Kei, that was a treasure beyond measure.
The only issue was figuring out how to use them. That could wait until he was back in the village.
For now, Kei intended to burn the whole place down. Clean up the scene, leave no clues behind.
But just as he finished weaving his fire-style seals, he paused.
This was Madara's base.
He couldn't be sure, but if this was the cave Madara had hidden in after faking his death with Izanagi, it might still contain relics, secrets—even notes.
Madara might have destroyed everything… but what if he hadn't?
Greed is insatiable. And Uchiha Kei was no exception. If anything, his greed was worse than most.
Without that desire to live—to keep living—he wouldn't have come this far.
"…Guess I'll take a look."
He cancelled the jutsu and created several shadow clones.
"Search thoroughly. Books, scrolls, anything. We've got ten minutes."
"Yes, sir," the clones replied, then scattered across the cavern.
Thankfully, while the cave was deep, it didn't cover much ground. Kei was hopeful they'd find something—anything.
If they did, great. If not, well, no regrets.
He activated his Sharingan and began searching.
Time flew. Kei and his clones scoured the cave, but found nothing of value.
He sighed. As expected, luck had never been on his side. Better than a certain spearman's, maybe—but not by much.
"…Whatever. No point forcing it."
Kei formed seals. His chakra surged. The fire-style jutsu ignited:
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"
Two massive fire dragons roared from his mouth, lighting the entire cave like day. They rampaged, burning everything burnable, smashing everything breakable.
Kei turned to leave.
But just then, he noticed something.
A stone seat—Madara's usual resting spot—had exploded. And inside it… was a hidden compartment.
Something old and yellowed—like a book—was nestled within.
"…What's this?"
Kei blinked. Then a grin crept onto his face.
In a flash, he vanished and reappeared beside the stone remains, snatching the nearly-charred book.
Without even checking its contents, he stuffed it into his cloak.
Then, thinking quickly, he shredded a few scrolls and tossed the pieces into the stone seat's hollow.
He turned and left without looking back.
Excitement surged through him. Just what had Madara hidden in that book?
---
Meanwhile, in a forest clearing not far from the valley, Obito and Black Zetsu stared dumbfounded at the black smoke rising from the cave.
After a long pause, Black Zetsu finally mumbled, his voice trembling—
"…How dare he? Is he insane?!"