"Wait, Uehara Naraku is still alive?"
Black Zetsu looked at Uchiha Obito with some incomprehension. What's going on with this guy? He couldn't even deal with a twelve-year-old brat?
Uchiha Obito shook his head and said, "That little brat Uehara can summon the Deva Path of Pain. I can't possibly face off against Pain head-on... What I'm about to say is the most troublesome thing!"
Uchiha Obito's expression turned unusually serious as he coldly scrutinized Zetsu and the surrounding White Zetsu clones, making them somewhat bewildered and confused.
"Someone leaked my information to Hatake Kakashi."
Uchiha Obito broke a big revelation as soon as he spoke, voicing his suspicion: "I suspect it was Orochimaru who leaked it, because he happened to be with Kakashi within the borders of the Land of Water."
White Zetsu immediately caught a key point: "Hatake Kakashi?"
Black Zetsu also caught another keyword: "Orochimaru?"
"That's right."
Uchiha Obito nodded seriously and said, "After all, Kakashi never showed any abnormal signs, perhaps it was Orochimaru who found some clues from certain channels and told Kakashi my intel.
If it weren't for Kakashi suddenly exposing my identity, I wouldn't have hurriedly tried to kill Uehara Naraku to silence him, only to be ambushed by that brat.
That brat Uehara summoned Pain and told him about it!
Unfortunately, I didn't even have time to prepare to communicate with Nagato before Nagato labeled me as Danzo's spy!"
At this point, Uchiha Obito even angrily smashed his fist beside him, still unable to figure out how things ended up like this!
Everything was clearly moving in a good direction. He was diligently trying to bring in reinforcements for the Akatsuki, but ended up being expelled from the organization.
It was…
Quite sudden.
But thinking from another angle, perhaps this isn't a bad thing either. At least Uchiha Obito now knows someone is already secretly monitoring his information. It's far better than being discovered after collecting all the Tailed Beasts in the future.
Orochimaru is unaware of the blame he's bearing.
It was also Orochimaru's first time learning the true identity of the mysterious masked man. He was already plotting in his mind, thinking of trading this information.
As for the trading partner, it would naturally be his close collaborator.
Inside Konoha Village.
Within the Root Base.
Due to Shimura Danzo's overly brutal and ruthless methods in dealing with the Uchiha Clan, his Root was disbanded by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and he himself was placed under confinement.
Even though Shimura Danzo was dissatisfied, he could do nothing about Sarutobi Hiruzen's resolute actions, so the old man could only hide here quietly, secretly contacting his old subordinates to gather intelligence, while cultivating the young ninja he had privately kept.
"Shin, be more serious!"
"Torune, well done."
"Sai, you've only just graduated this year; next year I'll find a way to arrange for you to participate in the Chunin Examination. You must work harder."
Shimura Danzo scrutinized the young ninja below him, evaluating their training as if he were genuinely a dedicated teacher nurturing the next generation.
Yet, these young ninja dared not look at him. Whenever Danzo's gaze landed on them, each one of them would involuntarily flinch.
These youngsters were deeply afraid of the old man before them.
A small white snake suddenly slithered out of a pipe, flicking its tongue as it crawled to Shimura Danzo's side, opening its mouth wide.
"Hmm? You all can leave now!"
Upon spotting the small snake, Shimura Danzo's expression turned stern, and he waved the young ninja away before retrieving a scroll from the snake's mouth.
This small white snake was Orochimaru's communication tool.
Ever since Orochimaru's defection, Shimura Danzo had maintained contact with him. He initially thought Orochimaru was making another unreasonable request, but unexpectedly Orochimaru only delivered some intel this time.
"Uchiha Obito is still alive..."
Shimura Danzo's eyes tightened sharply, fiercely staring at the intelligence scroll Orochimaru sent him, which contained information about the mysterious masked man.
Shimura Danzo was unaware that because of the mysterious masked man, both Pain and Uchiha Itachi had more reasons to blame him.
Now, Danzo just wanted to use this intel to maneuver and regain the power he lost from Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"Hiruzen, what our sensei said was true..."
Shimura Danzo slowly closed the scroll in his hand, tossing it into the brazier beside him, lightly murmuring as he continued, "The Uchiha Clan, they are inherently evil... Even the Fourth Hokage's disciple from back then can fall to darkness!"
Though he obtained information about Uchiha Obito, Shimura Danzo also needed to wait for an opportunity when Hatake Kakashi returned to the village to confront Sarutobi Hiruzen.
This opportunity isn't difficult.
On the other side.
Uehara Naraku was observing his system panel, deep in thought.
Main Quest: Fulfill the wish of the bookstand owner by becoming the greatest BOSS in the Ninja World, progress 3%, task completed.
As Uehara and his team left the Land of Water, and during their return to the Land of Rain, the main quest progress inexplicably advanced until it suddenly stopped at 3%.
According to Uehara's judgment, this progress might be linked to him exposing the identity of the mysterious masked man, as more and more people came to know the true identity of the mysterious masked man, yet overlooked him as the true mastermind.
Because there's a rather peculiar side quest.
Side Quest: Expose the true identity of the mysterious masked man in public, task completed, reward: Twisted Space skill.
Perhaps it was because Uehara Naraku initially revealed Obito's identity using Illusory Transformation and not by unveiling Obito's identity with his true face, or it might have been because Hatake Kakashi wasn't fully convinced back then.
Now, someone believes.
As for the skill reward, it made Uehara feel somewhat stifled.
Twisted Space: After a 0.5-second delay, it can release a twisted space in the target area that lasts for 3 seconds, isolating the area from the outside world. Anyone attempting to traverse the spatial barrier will be stunned, and can only escape using Space-Time Ninjutsu.
The duration and area of Twisted Space, as well as Chakra consumption, are related to the coefficient of Chakra consumption. Cooldown time is 15 seconds, with a minimum Chakra consumption of 100 points.
What's the use of this skill?
It's not even as powerful as Puppet Command: Shock Wave!
Unless the spatial barrier happens to control Uchiha Obito, it simply can't counter his Kamui Dojutsu, and even Flying Thunder God Jutsu could easily escape.
What's this skill for?
Is it supposed to serve as a spatial cage?
Maybe that's not bad either.
Though Twisted Space technically falls under Space Jutsu, it isn't specifically targeted at Space-Time Ninja. Using it against conventional ninja is practically unbeatable.
In the entire Ninja World, except for a few skilled in Space-Time Jutsu like Uchiha Obito, the Fourth Hokage, and Otsutsuki Kaguya, nearly every other ninja would be trapped within the Twisted Space.
It's somewhat like the Four Crimson Sun Array or the Four Violet Flame Array.
However, the strength of the spatial barrier far surpasses those barriers.
Hoshigaki Kisame's voice interrupted Uehara's thoughts: "Lord Uehara, we are close to the coast of the Land of Hot Water."
"Oh?"
Uehara Naraku lifted his head, looking as their ship approached the harbor of the most peaceful nation in the Ninja World and softly said, "After so much fighting, let's take a good rest here!"