At this moment, the silent Monk Senku suddenly struck his khakkhara against the ground.
A massive formation instantly expanded, and a white figure was squeezed out from the earth in a flash.
"Ah-ya-ya-ya-ya, looks like I've been discovered."
Tobi appeared before everyone with an exaggerated tone.
Konan glanced at Zetsu (in black-and-white state), then looked again at Tobi, 'This voice should be one half of the old Zetsu's.'
"What do you want?", Konan stared coldly at Obito.
White Zetsu lying in ambush underground clearly had ulterior motives.
Obito indeed had ulterior motives. He wanted to stir up a little conflict, then make Konan and Monk Senku get covered in spores.
That way, he could later know Nagato's whereabouts.
But unexpectedly, he was discovered so directly.
This made Obito's fear of Monk Senku rise another level.
However, right now White Zetsu's spore ability had not yet been exposed.
Obito naturally wouldn't admit it.
"I only wanted to gather some information nearby. After all, this mission has attracted quite a few forces."
"Is that so?", A trace of mockery appeared on Konan's face, but she didn't expose him.
Although Konan very much wanted to kill Obito, his ability made it hard to stop him if he truly wanted to escape.
For now, she could only maintain this superficial cooperation while both sides secretly schemed.
Konan didn't know how the seal had been removed, and whether Zetsu knew was uncertain.
Obito also didn't know exactly how Nagato had managed to remove the seal.
Both sides were testing each other.
"I need to speak with Nagato," Obito found a good excuse.
Konan didn't take the bait, only said calmly,n"Talking to me is the same."
Zetsu (Black and White) suddenly spoke, "The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path has been recovering very slowly lately."
"If it doesn't get enough energy, our plan will be hard to carry out."
In truth, the Demonic Statue only needed energy when it was being used.
Back when Nagato first summoned the Demonic Statue, he was drained dry precisely because of this.
But later, Obito and Zetsu tricked Nagato, claiming the Demonic Statue needed constant energy for maintenance and recovery.
They made Nagato serve as a free energy pack, a blood bag.
As long as he stayed in a weakened state, he would never escape Obito's grasp.
But now Nagato had already learned the truth, so he had directly cut off all energy supply to the Demonic Statue.
Hearing this, Konan's eyes flashed with disgust.
She didn't answer Zetsu's words. Instead, her tone turned icy, "Finished talking? If you're done, then get lost."
Zetsu, who had lived for over a thousand years, only narrowed his eyes slightly at Konan's words, showing no anger.
On the contrary, he obediently returned to stand at Obito's side.
Obito's eyes flickered, then he asked, "So the next mission is to provoke conflict among the Five Great Nations?"
Konan said expressionlessly, "No need to provoke. They'll start fighting on their own."
"All we need to do is spread word everywhere about Akatsuki's completion of this mission."
"Stop following us. When I need you, I'll contact you."
After saying this, Konan turned and left.
Obito, Zetsu, and Tobi stayed where they were.
Tobi chuckled, "My, my, things seem to be getting interesting."
Zetsu said to Obito, "Nagato must have learned some information, that's why he stopped supplying energy to the Demonic Statue."
Obito's face turned gloomy, "Looks like Nagato has been planning for quite a while."
Zetsu drawled, "That was such a good chance just now. Why didn't you seize Konan?"
"As long as you had Konan, finding Nagato would be easy."
Obito shook his head, "I didn't have confidence. That Monk Senku gives me a very dangerous feeling."
"An expert in sealing techniques is indeed dangerous," Zetsu did not deny.
Ordinary people's sealing jutsu were just auxiliary, but specialists like that could easily trap them all.
"What? You giving up?", Zetsu asked.
Obito snorted, "How could I? But we need more manpower."
One-on-one was impossible. If there are thugs to do the work, why fight personally?
"Didn't you say before there's someone with a grudge against Konoha we could recruit? How strong is he?"
Zetsu thought for a moment, "This man is called Hiruko, someone from Orochimaru's generation, but without much talent."
"However, now he's developing a technique called Chimera Technique. Supposedly it can steal Kekkei Genkai."
Obito was startled, "Hm? Steal Kekkei Genkai!?"
"He's tested it?"
Zetsu nodded, "Of course he has. And his Chimera Technique has a high chance of success."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have made contact with him."
Obito didn't have many powerful fighters at hand, and they were short-handed at the moment.
"So he's worth investing in then?", Obito narrowed his eyes and asked.
Zetsu confirmed, "Very much so. If his Chimera Technique succeeds, you can even use it yourself."
"After all, Nagato's fighting strength isn't weak. You'll need more power to be sure."
Black Zetsu said in a persuasive tone.
Right now, Nagato's side not only had his heart curse removed, but also recruited a sealing master.
Add to that the Uchiha clan not being wiped out, and Obito's current strength was a bit low.
Since Nagato had slipped out of Zetsu's control, the only way to achieve his plan to revive his mother was to strengthen Obito, his pawn.
Obito thought for a moment. Indeed, they lacked top experts on their side.
The only strong one, Moryo, had yet to recover.
"Fine, then let's meet Hiruko first."
Having made up his mind, Obito prepared to examine the Chimera Technique.
Then he gave instructions, "Konan's current plan to develop Akatsuki is to make money through the Jinchuriki, right?"
"Spread the word on the black market, get them some jobs."
"Also collect more information on Senku. We'll likely face him in the future."
Zetsu replied, "Don't worry, I'll arrange it."
———
After Konan and Senku had walked some distance, Senku suddenly said, "They didn't follow."
Konan also breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had confidence in Rengoku, being captured before and causing Yahiko's death had left her with psychological scars.
Obito's abilities were strange. If Konan got caught again by accident, it would be disastrous.
"Should we go back directly?", Konan asked.
Senku considered, "You go back first alone. I'll walk around nearby, see if other forces try to approach me."
Konan didn't argue. Rengoku was much stronger than her.
"I understand. I'll go first."
As she spoke, huge white paper wings unfurled behind her. With a flap, she stirred up a gust of wind and flew away.
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