Chapter 140:
"How pathetic, Obito."
Obito sat on the ground, panting, and looked up at the approaching Jar Merchant.
"Edogawa Jar."
Although most of his chakra had been used up, he still had enough left to drag himself into the Kamui space.
Obito stared at the Jar Merchant with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"You were just wondering if I'd make a move on you here and snatch the Eight Tails, weren't you?" the Jar Merchant suddenly said.
"Aiya, how could I think that? I totally believe that Edogawa Jar isn't that kind of person," Obito suddenly switched to his Tobi persona, speaking playfully. "Right?"
In truth, the Jar Merchant had been frowning, weighing the possibility of snatching the Eight Tails right now. But as the saying goes: fortune favors the bold, not the timid.
The Jar Merchant's goal wasn't just the Tailed Beasts—what he truly valued were Nagato's Rinnegan eyes.
"True enough."
As the Jar Merchant spoke, the heavy tension in the air began to dissipate.
---
Obito's hidden base for the Ten Tails.
From the twisted space, Obito led the way out, followed by the Jar Merchant and Boruto. Obito casually tossed the unconscious and bound Killer Bee onto the ground.
"Looks like you've also brought back the Seven Tails," Obito said to Uchiha Itachi and Kisame, who were already waiting there. "Now, all that's left is the Nine Tails."
While the Akatsuki had indeed been pursuing Tailed Beasts under Obito's manipulation at first, things had changed with the arrival of Naruto, who was even more skilled at persuasion. Nagato, sensing his own life approaching its end, had begun to believe that the perfect Jinchūriki—Naruto—might truly bring peace to the ninja world. He had even resolved to pass on the Rinnegan to Naruto after his death.
Thus, the current Tailed Beast captures were actually being carried out in secret, without Nagato's knowledge.
As for why a known double agent like Uchiha Itachi was allowed to participate—aside from the current shortage of manpower—it also suggested that Obito was confident enough in his own power to keep things under control.
"Who are these two?" Uchiha Itachi asked, his gaze falling on the Jar Merchant and Boruto following behind Obito.
As a double agent embedded in Akatsuki, Itachi had always been gathering intel. But with the organization having already captured eight of the nine Tailed Beasts, the sudden appearance of two unfamiliar figures had completely disrupted his plans.
"Mr. Itachi." The Jar Merchant eagerly stepped forward, grabbing Itachi's hand. "Hello, hello, I've heard so much about you. I'm Edogawa Jar, and this is my nephew and assistant, Edogawa Boruto."
Itachi frowned slightly as the Mangekyō Sharingan spun into his eyes.
Genjutsu.
Though he cast a genjutsu using the Sharingan, the Jar Merchant showed no signs of falling into a trance.
"So genjutsu doesn't work…"
Itachi stared at the Jar Merchant with a heavy expression.
After all, the Jar Merchant was merely a puppet controlled by Shunhi. No matter how powerful Itachi's genjutsu was, it couldn't cross dimensions to affect Shunhi directly.
It was like a hacker—no matter how skilled they are, they can't physically attack you through the internet. At most, they can mess up your computer.
"Tobi, when are we moving on the Nine Tails?"
"Devoted Son of the Ninja World" asked impatiently.
"There's no rush," Obito replied. "Once Naruto and the Leaf Village are both weakened from fighting each other, that'll be the perfect time for us to strike and capture the Nine Tails."
---
The ninja world was like a huge dye vat—even someone as originally pure as Obito had been thoroughly tainted by now.
"Our actions have stirred up a response from the Hidden Cloud Village," said a White Zetsu as it poked its head out from underground. Since it appeared right beside Boruto, it gave him quite a scare.
"Huh?" Boruto squatted down in front of White Zetsu, poking its head with his finger. "What is this thing?"
"I'm not a thing!" White Zetsu immediately snapped back at him.
"..." Boruto stared at White Zetsu for a moment, then clapped his hands together. "It's a moron, isn't it?"
Considering White Zetsu had been created using Hashirama's cells, it was indeed a bit on the dim-witted side.
"White Zetsu, go mislead the Hidden Cloud's sensory unit," Obito ordered.
They absolutely couldn't let the Hidden Cloud catch wind of their current activities.
Obito didn't want their movements to alert Nagato.
After all, Nagato was currently grooming Naruto as his successor.
"Got it," White Zetsu replied before burrowing back underground.
---
Amegakure.
"Naruto, you're awake," Konan said as she saw Naruto open his eyes in bed.
"Konan-nee."
In less than two days, Naruto had fully recovered.
"I'm glad you're up," said Deva Path Pain as he walked over. "Now, we can begin preparing our revenge against the Leaf."
"Yeah." Naruto nodded firmly—he'd been waiting for this day far too long.
---
All members of the Akatsuki gathered.
"Next, we prepare to strike the Hidden Leaf Village," Deva Path Pain declared to the group.
At his sides stood his two strongest allies—Konan and Naruto.
"The Leaf has a protective barrier. But I was once part of the Anbu. I know the passphrase to bypass it," Uchiha Itachi said first.
The village's barrier had originally been created during its founding by the First Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito. Only Mito knew how to change the barrier's passcode. Given how vital it was, she never shared that knowledge.
For unknown reasons—perhaps due to old age or dementia—Mito never passed down the method for modifying the passphrase before her death. And with the annihilation of the Uzumaki Clan, the passphrase had never been changed.
By now, Itachi had come to understand the full picture. Pain wasn't the mastermind—Tobi was.
That was also the reason Itachi had continued to stay undercover, even assisting Tobi.
Because of Tobi's long-standing idiotic behavior, none of the Akatsuki members took him seriously. Even Itachi, who had once been wary of him, had gradually let his guard down.
This time, Itachi had decided to turn against them at the critical moment—allying with the Leaf to wipe out Akatsuki in one go.
Although the addition of two new members might affect his plan, the situation had already reached a point of no return.
Deva Path Pain nodded. "Akatsuki, full mobilization. Our target: the Hidden Leaf Village."
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