A special thank you to my patrons:
—Cain, Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, ZaberZ, Jose Sierra, Salim, Archer, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nithin Samuel, Soumya Ranjan Pathy, Bob, Little Sand, Angel Rodriguez.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Within a dark, cavernous space, a solitary figure could be vaguely discerned standing atop what appeared to be a colossal "statue."
The statue was immense, though the deep darkness made details difficult to see. Had Kagaya been present, he would have recognized it instantly—it was the empty shell of the Gedo Statue!
And the man standing upon his head was Obito.
Behind the spiraled mask, a faint, threatening crimson light flickered. Unlike Kagaya's dimmed Sharingan, this single eye of Obito's seemed to perpetually radiate an unsettling red glow, never fading.
Just a few days prior, Konan and the others had finally returned to the Akatsuki hideout. Obito and the rest had learned the details of the failed pursuit. Initially, Obito paid it little mind. A deserter—the Akatsuki had dealt with such things since its inception. In the organization's early days, members were killed by teammates, they deserted, they betrayed. There was nothing the Akatsuki hadn't experienced. So, failing to kill the target? It was of little consequence. Obito listened casually and thought no more of it.
But a sense of unease had taken root in Obito's mind since that day. A persistent feeling that Kagaya could not be left unchecked.
But why?
Obito couldn't understand. Kagaya was undeniably strong. He had defected; a token pursuit was standard procedure. No one would hold a grudge—Kagaya had deserted first, so he had no grounds to resent the Akatsuki for hunting him. But a relentless, dogged hunt? As if he had no temper of his own?!
This was precisely why the Akatsuki was lenient towards defectors. If their pursuit was measured, the target wouldn't be driven to desperate measures. But if they were overly aggressive... imagine Orochimaru and Kagaya uniting, constantly plotting the Akatsuki's downfall. Even if the organization survived, it would be severely crippled.
Thus, unless absolutely necessary, both Pain's and Obito's stance was the same: regarding deserters, kill if possible, let go if not. Under no circumstances should they be pushed to the brink.
Now, while Obito felt Kagaya shouldn't be left alive, he still refrained from acting for this very reason.
Lowering his head, Obito began to ponder. This feeling that Kagaya must be eliminated wasn't mere "intuition." He believed he was overlooking some detail, but his subconscious remembered, hence the warning.
Is there some irreconcilable enmity between Kagaya and me?
Looking down at the Gedo Statue's hands, where the Akatsuki members typically gathered for meetings, Obito recalled Kagaya's time in the organization. They seemed to have had no real conflict, did they?
The only incident was when he controlled the Fourth Mizukage. But Kagaya couldn't possibly know Obito was the mastermind behind that.
So, there appeared to be no insurmountable grudge between them. Perhaps he was just being overly tense?
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed.
Obito looked up. It was Itachi and Kisame, returning.
The crimson light behind the mask vanished instantly. The imposing figure of a moment ago transformed into a bumbling fool.
Obito leaped dramatically from the Gedo Statue's head.
Thud!
He landed face-first on the ground, stars dancing before his (masked) eyes.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Using his hands to push himself up, he looked at Itachi and Kisame. Even through the mask, one could almost see an expression of exaggerated excitement.
"Itachi-senpai! Kisame-senpai! Was the mission successful?!"
Itachi glanced at Obito. He knew Obito's true identity. But Obito had instructed him to maintain a certain attitude, so Itachi replied flatly,
"Tobi? The mission went as expected."
Kisame grinned, his shark-like teeth showing. He, too, knew Obito's identity.
Both Itachi and Kisame were aware. Yet Obito was forced to maintain this charade because he didn't want Itachi to know that Kisame knew his identity, and vice versa.
In Itachi's view, Kisame was unaware of "Tobi's" true identity.
In Kisame's view, Itachi was unaware of "Tobi's" true identity.
To maintain this delicate information imbalance, Obito had to put on this act for both of them.
Obito hopped and circled around Itachi and Kisame.
"Senpai! Senpai! Take me on the next mission! I may look like this, but I'm really strong, you know!"
Kisame couldn't help but grin again. He found it fascinating how the Uchiha Madara who could inspire fear in him privately could instantly transform into... this.
"Tobi, talk about that after you become a full-fledged member."
"What?!"
Obito threw his hands up in exaggerated shock.
"I'm not a full-fledged member yet? Oh... right. I'm not a full-fledged member yet..."
He let his arms drop, hanging his head. At this moment, Obito appeared utterly dejected.
Itachi gave Obito another peculiar look but said nothing, leading Kisame away to report to Pain.
Obito remained where he was, looking utterly crestfallen and miserable.
The moment Itachi and Kisame vanished from sight, Obito's head snapped up. The crimson light flared once more behind his mask.
He remembered!
"That one thing I did on a whim... it's become the very reason I must be Kagaya's enemy."
The moment he saw Itachi's Sharingan, it all came back.
How did Itachi awaken his Sharingan? Obito had personally killed Itachi's teammate, triggering the awakening.
And Kagaya had a similar experience.
Obito understood clearly. While Itachi and Kagaya shared many personality traits, there was one area where they were starkly different, even polar opposites.
Their sense of vengeance!
Itachi's desire for revenge was minimal. Even after Obito killed his teammate, even after Konoha forced him to slaughter his clan, Itachi harbored resentment but never sought retribution.
Kagaya was different. That guy absolutely believed in an eye for an eye, settling scores without a hint of ambiguity.
Konoha killed his parents, slaughtered his clan. He defected immediately, spent four years preparing, then struck back decisively. The Konoha elders? He left none alive. Danzō had an arm severed, a wrist cut off, his eyes gouged out, and just as he was about to die, Kagaya pierced his throat. A truly gruesome end.
Obito had every reason to believe Kagaya would kill him over those two kids!
Initially, Obito hadn't even considered this. The incident was far too trivial in his eyes—just two brats killed on a whim. He had nearly forgotten about it half a month after it happened, let alone now.
If not for seeing Itachi, Obito might never have remembered it.
Now, thinking back, those two brats were, to Obito, merely nameless casualties, truly insignificant.
But to Kagaya, they might have been precious companions.
A spiral vortex swirled into existence, engulfing Obito and whisking him away.
'In that case, I'll just have to kill you, Uchiha Kagaya.'
Waiting passively was not in Obito's nature.