Chapter 138: Edogawa Jar's Deduction
"Due to Naruto's injuries, the plan to attack the Hidden Leaf has been postponed. For now, the two of you will temporarily team up with Tobi for this mission."
At the tallest building in the Hidden Rain Village—the true hideout of the Akatsuki's leaders—Tendō Pain looked at the Jar Merchant and Boruto as he spoke.
"Never thought I'd see the day I'd become a senior," Tobi said tearfully. "I... I'm just so moved."
As the three—Jar, Tobi, and Boruto—chatted like old friends and walked off, arms slung over each other's shoulders, Konan stood next to the emaciated, wheelchair-bound true Nagato and said worriedly, "Edogawa Jar and Edogawa Boruto—can we really trust those two?"
The details of the battle that took place in the Hidden Leaf Village that night had naturally been relayed back by Zetsu, who was in charge of reconnaissance.
"Hmph. No one can match these Sage Eyes. Don't worry, Konan. Our dream will come true." Nagato's voice was weak, and he gave off the scent of an old man—of someone on the brink of death.
Outside the Hidden Rain Village.
"You two really are something else," Tobi said as he walked ahead. "Especially you—such a young kid, and yet you managed to fight that famous Leaf jonin to a draw. Pretty impressive."
"Hahaha..." Boruto scratched his pineapple-like head sheepishly.
"Tobi, where are we headed now?" the Jar Merchant asked.
"Let me think..." Tobi tilted his head and counted on his fingers. "One-Tail... Two-Tails... Three-Tails... Four-Tails... Itachi and Kisame are out catching the Seven-Tails... Oh! That's right—only the Eight-Tails hasn't been captured yet. Our mission is to go after the Eight-Tails!"
"Huh? Just the three of us?" Boruto asked. Even he knew how powerful a Tailed Beast was.
"No helping it. The Akatsuki is seriously short-staffed now—most of us are already dead. Only the Leader, Konan, me, Naruto, Kisame, and Uchiha Itachi are left. Otherwise, the Akatsuki wouldn't have let the two of you join so easily."
Outside the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Can you tell us where the Eight-Tails is?" Tobi asked, staring at a Hidden Cloud shinobi they had just captured during patrol.
"Never! The Tsukiyo Clan would never betray our village!"
"Really now..." Tobi stared back at the Cloud ninja, his eyes revealing a Sharingan with three tomoe.
"Is that... the Sharingan?" Boruto asked in surprise, clearly unaware.
"Mm." The Jar Merchant nodded. "Actually, the clown act is just a cover. I, Edogawa Jar, already know his true identity—by the name of a great detective!"
After extracting the intel, Tobi killed the Cloud ninja cleanly and efficiently. Turning to the Jar Merchant, he dropped the goofy act and said coldly, "Then tell me, what's my real identity?"
"First, your Sharingan already gives away that you're a Uchiha. Second, from what I've gathered, there's only one Uchiha recently confirmed as missing or presumed dead: Uchiha Obito!"
"Uchiha Obito? He's long dead. There's even a grave for him in the Leaf Village cemetery," Tobi replied.
"No, that's not quite right. While there's a grave, Obito's body was never found. More importantly, you've only ever shown one Sharingan!"
"The Sharingan of the Uchiha only works when locking eyes with the enemy—yet you willingly handicap yourself by only exposing one. I believe it's because you have to."
"Because you only have one Sharingan. And if I'm not mistaken, the other one... is with Kakashi! Which means, there's only one answer!" Edogawa Jar pointed straight at Tobi and declared with full dramatic flair, "You are Uchiha Obito!"
Tobi's face darkened. He slowly clapped.
"Hey, Jar, the mood suddenly feels kind of off..." Boruto whispered nervously from beside him.
"You're right, Edogawa Jar. I am Uchiha Obito." Tobi slowly removed his mask. "Since you've already figured it out, there's no point in hiding anymore. Now I just want to know—what's your true reason for joining the Akatsuki?"
Nagato and Konan sought true peace for the ninja world. Naruto wanted revenge on the Leaf Village. Itachi was a double agent. Kisame was a loyal fan of Itachi. And Obito wanted to create a world where Rin still existed.
But these two newcomers to the Akatsuki seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Even Zetsu hadn't been able to uncover anything about them.
That's why Obito had no choice but to confront them directly.
"To help this kid grow stronger," the Jar Merchant said, pointing at Boruto.
"He already has enough strength to fight Kakashi evenly and he's still not satisfied? Greedy brat..." Obito turned to the Jar Merchant again. "Once the Akatsuki's plan succeeds, I can give you two a Tailed Beast."
"Tailed Beast?!" Boruto exclaimed in shock.
"Looks like you know what Tailed Beasts are. Saves me the trouble of explaining..." As he spoke, a dangerous aura suddenly surged from Obito. "But! If you betray the Akatsuki—I will not hesitate to take your lives!"
As if to prove he meant what he said, Obito's form vanished, reappearing behind the two. In each hand, he held a kunai, which he now pressed against the throats of the Jar Merchant and Boruto.
"So... the Akatsuki's true goal is to capture the Tailed Beasts? Obito, is that really the Akatsuki's goal, or just yours?" As Edogawa Jar finished speaking, the tension in the air ramped up again. Boruto could feel the kunai at his throat shifting ever so slightly.
"But it doesn't matter..." Jar's body suddenly flickered and disappeared—only to reappear behind Obito, holding a kunai to his neck.
The current situation looked something like this: Jar was holding a kunai to Obito's neck, Obito had a kunai to Boruto's neck, and Boruto was standing there frozen, utterly helpless.
"Flying Thunder God Seal!"
"Mm." The Jar Merchant nodded. "The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, left a Flying Thunder God mark on you. Which means, the one who killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife that night... was you, Obito."
"You're here to avenge them?"
"Of course not. I don't do thankless tasks," the Jar Merchant said flatly. "This is just a warning—just as you warned us not to betray the Akatsuki."
"If you dare deceive us—if we don't get our share of the Tailed Beasts—I'll kill you without mercy."
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