Chapter 105: Madara's lies are exposed, and Obito is defeated
A few days later, in Amegakure, inside the perpetually gloomy tower where sunlight never reached, cold raindrops dripped steadily through the cracks in the steel.
Nagato's emaciated body was riddled with black rods, his Rinnegan gazing indifferently at the spiraling spatial ripple that had appeared out of thin air before him.
Obito, clad in a black cloak with red clouds, emerged from it.
"You've arrived." Nagato's voice was as calm as ever, devoid of any discernible emotion.
Konan, standing beside Nagato, also dressed in the Akatsuki cloak, her face cold and beautiful, stared at Obito with icy eyes.
"Uchiha Obito." Konan's voice rang out.
Obito's body trembled. An ominous premonition arose in his heart.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Don't understand?" Konan sneered, then flung several pieces of paper at Obito.
Obito raised his hand to catch them. They were several pieces of intelligence, from different sources.
"Konoha Bulletin: Uchiha's new clan head, Uchiha Akira, publicly tried the traitor Uchiha Itachi at Naka Shrine and exposed the shocking truth behind the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox incident!"
"Sunagakure Secret Report: The Uchiha Clan identifies the true culprit behind the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox incident as the Konoha hero who was supposed to be dead, Uchiha Obito!"
"Underground Exchange Urgent Bounty: The Uchiha Clan has staked its entire fortune, offering a 500 million ryo bounty for Uchiha Obito's head!"
The content of each piece of intelligence was largely similar.
Uchiha Akira! It was that bastard again! He had not only severely injured him but also destroyed his intended pawn, Uchiha Itachi. Now, he had even exposed his identity to the public!
Obito, at this moment, wished he could dismember Uchiha Akira immediately. Without the identity of Uchiha Madara, many plans would be shelved and disrupted.
"Just some baseless nonsense." Obito casually tossed the intelligence onto the ground, a hint of disdain in his tone.
"The Uchiha Clan, in order to clear their own suspicion, is throwing dirt on a dead man. This tactic is not clever."
"Dead man?" Konan's eyes grew sharper.
"That Uchiha Akira made it perfectly clear: You, Uchiha Obito, are not dead at all. He also said that you only have one Sharingan. The other one is on Kakashi Hatake's body."
Obito's body stiffened instantly.
"Nagato." Obito ignored Konan's questioning and turned his gaze to the true leader of the Akatsuki Organization, who had remained silent all this time.
"Do you also believe this kind of baseless provocation?"
Nagato's purple Rinnegan, filled with concentric ripples, finally showed a hint of fluctuation. He slowly raised his head.
"I only have one question for you. Who exactly are you?"
This question was more lethal than any accusation.
Obito fell silent. He knew that a simple denial would no longer gain trust. Uchiha Akira's knife had struck too deep, too accurately.
After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice returning to its original, Obito's own.
"I am indeed Uchiha Obito." He admitted it.
Konan's eyes instantly erupted with intense killing intent, and countless paper pieces danced around her, poised to strike.
"But... I am also the will of Uchiha Madara, his agent in this world. Madara entrusted his plan, his everything, to me. I inherit his will, to bring true, eternal peace to this world filled with war and suffering."
He cleverly tied his identity tightly to Madara's plan and the Akatsuki Organization's ultimate goal. He transformed himself from a "deceiver" into an "inheritor."
"As for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox incident..." Obito's tone became incredibly frank, even carrying a hint of a martyr's tragic solemnity.
"That was indeed my doing. But that was also an indispensable part of the plan. To retrieve the Nine-Tails, to make the world feel true pain, and thus move towards peace, sacrifice is inevitable. Even if the person sacrificed is my teacher." Uchiha Obito said slowly.
"Nagato, you should know best. Without experiencing pain, one cannot understand peace. Back then, didn't Yahiko's death also make you grow into the god you are now?"
He equated Yahiko's death with Minato Namikaze's death. Both were "necessary prices" paid for "peace."
Inside the tower, silence descended once more. The paper pieces around Konan slowly stilled. The intense emotional fluctuations in Nagato's Rinnegan also gradually subsided.
Obito's words, though a sophistry, precisely hit Nagato's twisted theory of peace, which he had always believed in. This was the truth Nagato had always believed in.
After a long while, Nagato slowly closed his eyes.
"This matter ends here. I don't want there to be a next time. Now, the most crucial thing is to retrieve the Tailed Beast."
Obito let out a long sigh of relief in his heart. He knew he had gambled correctly. He had expended enormous effort, finally managing to temporarily appease these 2 most crucial pawns.
"Naturally." Obito's voice regained that low, authoritative tone belonging to "Madara."
Uchiha Obito turned around, not saying another word. The surrounding space began to twist rapidly around him, forming a strange vortex. The next second, Obito's figure completely vanished before Nagato and Konan.
...
Kamui's Dimension.
Thud.
Obito slumped to the ground in a disheveled heap, as if all his strength had been drained. He raised his hand and fiercely tore off the new orange spiral mask from his face.
"Hmph... hmph..."
"Uchiha... Akira!"
All his plans. The identity of Uchiha Madara, which he had painstakingly cultivated for over a decade to intimidate the entire ninja world. The lie he used to manipulate Nagato, the Akatsuki Organization's strongest combatant. All of it was ruined by that bastard, that sudden upstart!
Utter defeat!
Obito's fist slammed heavily onto the cold ground, emitting a dull thud. Not only was he publicly executed and became a wanted criminal with a 500 million ryo bounty, what was even more ridiculous was that he had just had to humble himself and make excuses to his own pawns. Like a dog wagging its tail for scraps!
Humiliation. An unprecedented sense of humiliation.
"I won't let you get away with this... I will definitely make you pay the most painful price for everything you've done today!"
"Uchiha Akira!"
...
Inside the tower in Amegakure.
"Nagato."
"He was deceiving us from the very beginning. Not a single word he says can be trusted." Konan's voice was icy.
Nagato was silent for a while. He didn't answer immediately.
After a long time, "I know."
Konan's body trembled slightly.
"Then why..."
"Konan." Nagato interrupted her.
"Whether he is Uchiha Madara, or whether he is Uchiha Obito, does it make a difference?"
Nagato slowly raised his head, his Rinnegan seemingly able to see through all falsehoods.
"He needs my Rinnegan to complete his so-called Eye of the Moon Plan. And we also need his power, his intelligence, to help us capture the Tailed Beast. His identity is a lie. But he is also a useful tool. We are simply using each other."
With that, Nagato closed his eyes.
"Continue the plan. Let the world feel pain."
Cold words echoed within the tower.
Konan looked at Nagato's pale and emaciated face, and in the end, she could only suppress all her unease deep within her heart. She nodded, transforming into countless fluttering paper pieces, and quietly dispersed.
The tower returned to silence.