After informing Nagato's Pain about the situation, Zetsu successfully borrowed Kakuzu.
Then Zetsu hurried back to Kiri village without delay.
Zetsu felt like his Kagero Technique was about to burn out.
Nearly two weeks later, Zetsu finally returned to Kiri village and met with Obito Uchiha.
Obito Uchiha looked at the black-and-white-faced Zetsu, who seemed extremely exhausted. "What happened to you? You look really tired."
Zetsu grumbled in frustration. Can you blame me? I've been running nonstop for days.
After catching his breath, Zetsu said to Obito Uchiha, "He agreed. During your invasion of Konoha, he won't attack you."
Obito sounded surprised, "So he really agreed?"
Zetsu nodded, "We originally asked him to help you invade Konoha together, but he refused. But not bad either."
Obito agreed, "If Chinya doesn't attack me, my pressure will indeed be greatly reduced. But there must be a catch, right? Something pretty heavy?"
Zetsu replied, "The cost isn't too bad. He wants a good number of Chakra Black Receivers and ten White Zetsu bodies."
Obito reacted in shock at what Zetsu described as the price, "Is that all? I do have some Chakra Black Receivers left by Madara inside my Kamui space. As for White Zetsu bodies, those are also easy enough to arrange. But why would he want these things?"
At that moment, just as confused as current Obito, Zetsu explained, "Back then when I first heard what he wanted as compensation, I was also puzzled. However, if he requests such items, there's definitely something special he plans to use them for. Since we need cooperation from him now, better to just give him what he asks for.
Meanwhile, to avoid arousing suspicion from Konoha, we need to assign two opponents to fight against him. When I went to find Nagato, I already borrowed Kakuzu. For the second opponent, let's send Kisame Hoshigaki."
Obito narrowed his eyes slightly, "I've heard of Kakuzu before, though I don't know much about his actual strength. Still, he probably can't defeat Chinya. As for Kisame, he's absolutely no match for Chinya. Even combined, they'd still face serious risks taking on Chinya alone. Kisame works under me—I don't want him to get killed for nothing."
Zetsu reassured him, "Don't worry. Regarding this point, I've already reached an agreement with Chinya—he won't go for the kill."
Obito confirmed, "So what you're saying is, you've basically finalized everything with Chinya?"
Zetsu responded, "Yes, mostly settled. Afterward, you just need to meet him personally in Konoha, formalize this cooperation, and hand over his compensation."
After a brief pause, Obito asked, "Zetsu, tell me—are you saying our Akatsuki Organization might actually succeed in recruiting Chinya?"
This idea startled Zetsu, "That's absolutely impossible!"
Obito looked puzzled, "Why are you so sure it won't work? Chinya isn't particularly loyal to Konoha. Maybe there actually is a chance this could succeed."
"Obito, abandon this idea," Zetsu said seriously to Obito Uchiha. "You won't be able to control Chinya. He's extremely mysterious. Although he isn't loyal to Konoha, he's also firmly refused to attack it. He has his own agenda. Bringing him into the Akatsuki Organization is like carrying an explosive tag—it could blow up in our faces anytime."
Zetsu was genuinely worried that Obito might actually try to recruit Chinya into the Akatsuki.
Chinya's intentions were unclear and enigmatic. He also seemed to know far too much about their secrets.
If Obito truly attempted to recruit Chinya, Zetsu feared the man might very well accept.
Zetsu already couldn't figure out how to deal with Chinya now—how could things possibly go well if Chinya joined the Akatsuki Organization?
Obito looked puzzled. "Zetsu, are you especially against recruiting Chinya?"
Zetsu replied, "Of course I am. When I first met him, I nearly got killed by him. Obito, Chinya will never submit to anyone else. Recruiting him is like inviting a god into your house—you'll have no way of controlling him. Imagine that you recruit Chinya, yet he refuses all your orders. What can you do then?"
Obito hadn't realized how close Zetsu had come to death during their meeting—he assumed everything had gone smoothly.
After a moment's thought, Obito admitted that Zetsu had a point.
He probably wouldn't be able to handle Chinya after all.
Obito said, "Okay, forget it then. Now we should meet Chinya in person and finalize this matter. We only have slightly more than a month left anyway."
Zetsu sighed inwardly.
Another journey awaited—no rest at all.
A few days later,
Obito Uchiha and Zetsu arrived outside the Konoha Village.
As Obito was about to directly enter Konoha to find Chinya, Zetsu promptly stopped him.
Zetsu reminded him, "We can't go directly to him. The reason I almost got killed by him before was because I approached his house recklessly. Afterward, he warned me explicitly—if I ever approached his home again, he'd kill us outright."
Frowning, Obito asked, "If we can't approach him directly, how will he even know we're here?"
"No need to look for me—I'm right here."
Approaching from ahead of Obito Uchiha and Zetsu, Chinya walked toward them.
Zetsu gritted his teeth—had they really been detected that subtly?
Obito's mind churned with thoughts as well.
Chinya finally reached both Zetsu and Obito.
Smirking with a hint of mockery, Chinya said, "Uchiha Madara?"
In Madara's voice, Obito replied, "It is."
Chinya responded mockingly, "Now that's surprising. The legendary ninja who stood side by side with Hashirama Senju—Uchiha Madara—is still alive! What surprises me even more is that Uchiha Madara personally seeks my cooperation, requesting that I refrain from attacking you. That really shocked me."
Zetsu's heart beat anxiously—he truly feared that Chinya might suddenly break the unwritten rules and expose Obito's true identity immediately.
Zetsu worried that if Obito realized his identity wasn't a secret anymore, it might drastically affect his mindset.
Obito Uchiha replied calmly, "I never thought you, the hero of Konoha, would actually agree to my deal."
Chinya shrugged his hands. "I'm not some hero of Konoha; I'm merely a cooperating partner. And since you approached me with a deal offering exactly what I wanted, why wouldn't I accept? Enough chatter—did you bring it?"
Obito activated Kamui and, from within the Kamui space, released a pile of Chakra Black Receivers—along with ten tightly bound live White Zetsus.
"Will this be enough?"
"More or less."
Chakra Black Receivers couldn't be stored inside Sealing Scrolls.
Chinya summoned two large snakes, which respectively swallowed all the Black Receivers and White Zetsus into their stomachs. He then canceled the summoning jutsu and sent the snakes back to Ryuchi Cave.
Obito asked, "You've already got what I promised. The deal's done, right?"
Chinya confirmed, "Of course. The deal's done, and our partnership starts now."
As Obito prepared to vanish using Kamui alongside Zetsu, Chinya smiled and said, "I'd love a shot at fighting Madara Uchiha. I hope we get that chance next time."
Obito met Chinya's gaze and simply replied, "That day will come," before disappearing instantly.
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