A dark, cavernous space.
In the gloom, a man with half his face scarred and his upper body ghostly pale slowly unwrapped the bandages covering his eye—revealing a blood-red Sharingan, its three tomoe spinning slowly.
"Obito, you don't have many Sharingan left. Try not to waste them," said a shadowy figure, half black, half white, voice as cold as the cave around them.
"I know."
Uchiha Obito stretched his neck, rolled his shoulders, and rose to his feet—then sank through the ceiling of the cave and emerged above ground.
His body, patched together with Hashirama cells, moved freely. No stiffness, no pain. It functioned perfectly.
Obito was… satisfied.
"Tell me what happened last night."
He looked toward the distant horizon. He'd been unconscious for nearly two days.
The only reason he'd even survived the trauma of losing both eyes and having half his body pulverized was because he hadn't been able to let go of Rin—her soul, trapped in a reanimated body, alone and vulnerable, possibly still in Danzo's hands.
That stubborn will to live had pulled him back.
At least there had been some benefits.
Danzo's destruction of his left side had incidentally removed the cursed seal Madara had embedded in his heart, freeing him from Madara's control.
Now, even if Madara were to be revived, he couldn't control Obito through the seal anymore.
Most importantly: Kamui was still intact.
"White Zetsu can't access Konoha's intel network anymore, so I only have a rough idea of what happened," Black Zetsu said, organizing its thoughts. "Last night, Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi clashed in a brutal battle. Sarutobi ended up crippled—limbs shattered. Danzo escaped using Flying Thunder God. And then… the Uchiha swooped in and reaped the rewards."
"In the second half of the night, Danzo came back, leading the Twelve Guardian Ninja from the Land of Fire, monks from the Fire Temple, and even a pseudo-jinchūriki host of the Nine-Tails. He tried to seize control again."
"But Uchiha Itachi used the Reanimation Jutsu to shut him down."
"That's the gist of it," Black Zetsu said.
"Oh—and both Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi have awakened the Mangekyō. Fugaku is likely to become the Fifth Hokage," he added.
"I figured as much."
Obito nodded. He'd already seen Fugaku's and Itachi's Mangekyō the night of the clan meeting, but hadn't mentioned it.
"There's more," Black Zetsu continued. "Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Tajima, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Naori, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Hyūga Hizashi… all of them have been resurrected through Reanimation Jutsu."
"I don't know what their endgame is."
"And I suspect Madara's under control as well, so I haven't dared to show myself. One misstep, and everything's over."
"I do know what they're planning," Obito said flatly.
Black Zetsu froze.
How could Obito know?
Hadn't he been unconscious for two whole days? Just surviving the Hashirama cell graft was a miracle in itself.
He'd replaced half his torso without rejection symptoms… retained Kamui even after losing his original eye… Was this guy even human anymore?
"Wait, it was that night…" Black Zetsu muttered. Obito had gone to the Uchiha clan meeting.
"Exactly," Obito confirmed. "That night, I snuck into the clan meeting. In the hidden chamber beneath the Naka Shrine, I saw it—the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Fugaku used his Mangekyō to fully decipher it."
"Itachi resurrected all those people because he's planning to gather the tailed beasts, unite the shinobi world, and execute the Eye of the Moon Plan."
Black Zetsu: "…"
Is the Uchiha Clan… always this efficient?
This blessing came so suddenly, Black Zetsu almost couldn't believe it.
He'd struggled alone for over a millennium, working in the shadows to bring salvation to his mother. And now? Two Mangekyō users just happened to read the altered tablet and started pushing the plan forward on their own.
It was almost too perfect.
Heaven's clearly on our side!
"…Zetsu, are you crying?" Obito looked at him strangely. He'd never seen White Zetsu in tears—usually the guy just cracked jokes.
Now, half the face was crying while the other half grinned wildly. The effect was… unsettling.
"I'm just moved," Black Zetsu muttered. "Never thought the Uchiha's goals would align with ours."
"Yeah." White Zetsu nodded along, then shot a resentful glance at Black Zetsu. If you want to cry, cry yourself. Why make me cry?
"Right—today, Itachi left Konoha with a bunch of kids escorting a group of prisoners to the Land of Fire. What do you think that's about?" Black Zetsu asked.
"Hmph. Isn't it obvious? They're using the prisoners as bait—trying to draw Danzo out," Obito said coldly.
Black Zetsu: "…"
Yeah, genius, I know that.
But the issue is—Danzo's no fool. This trap is so obvious, he'd have to be a total idiot to walk into it.
Black Zetsu was suddenly filled with regret.
I should've let this moron die the other night.
"Oh, by the way… I've got bad news," Black Zetsu said casually.
"…What is it?" Obito froze. Something felt… off.
"When Danzo fled, either in a rush or out of negligence, he left Rin behind in Root."
"Then Kushina found her—and broke the binding seal Danzo had used to control her."
"Now Rin's living peacefully in Konoha… with Kakashi.
Oh, and your left eye that you gave to him? Danzo took that too."
Obito: "…"
"What? Rin and… Kakashi?" Obito's voice cracked, his face contorting in disbelief and panic.
His chest tightened. The air turned cold. Everything froze.
The freshly implanted three-tomoe Sharingan in his eye socket began to stir—spinning, merging.
Black Zetsu narrowed his gaze.
Looks like another Mangekyō awakening is right around the corner.
"No. I won't allow it. We're going back to Konoha immediately! There's no way I'll let Rin and Kakashi live together like that!" Obito growled, every word laced with venom.
"And just how do you plan to go back?" Black Zetsu asked, half amused, half exasperated.
Obito blinked. Right.
What identity could he possibly use?
The last time anyone saw him, his right side had been crushed by a boulder. Then just last night, Danzo destroyed his left side with a Rasengan. Now his entire upper body was white and patched with Hashirama cells.
What would he even say?
His left eye had been given to Kakashi. But now he had two again. How would he explain that?
Damn it.
This is all Danzo's fault!
If Danzo hadn't reanimated Rin, none of this would've happened.
Obito glanced down at his pale white arm, then suddenly remembered—Danzo's right arm was also made of Hashirama cells. His right eye was also a Sharingan.
A chilling realization hit him.
Wait… if I put on a mask…
We'd be indistinguishable.
Danzo stole my eye. Framed for causing the Nine-Tails' attack.
So why not lean into it? Pretend to be Danzo, and make the whole damn world believe it?
If I get exposed… I can just pin it on him.
Obito's eyes lit up.
I'm a genius!
"If I can't return to Konoha as myself… I'll just impersonate Danzo and steal Rin back!" he declared with a wicked grin.
Black Zetsu: "…"
Goddamn. That's actually… kind of brilliant.
I don't even know what to say.