"Heh! Namikaze Minato is the Nine-Tails jinchuriki now. A Nine-Tails jinchuriki who can use the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"Do you know what that means?"
When Obito had just awakened both Kamui abilities, he had indeed been full of confidence.
But after being taught a lesson by Namikaze Minato, he knew that even with both Kamui abilities, he still couldn't move freely in and out of Konoha.
Other people might not know how fast the Flying Thunder God Technique was, but how could Obito not know?
Of course, he wasn't saying this to show weakness. After all, he had only recently escaped from Namikaze Minato.
He was bringing it up now to raise the difficulty of the mission so he could negotiate with Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu snorted. He could more or less guess what Obito was planning.
But for the Tenseigan, even if he knew it was a trap, he still had to step into it.
His tone carried some irritation.
"You want conditions just for helping catch someone?"
Obito thought for a moment after hearing that, "Then help me find something."
Black Zetsu asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss."
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss?", Black Zetsu naturally knew what it was. He was even well aware of the disasters it had caused several times.
"What do you want it for?", Black Zetsu asked probingly.
Obito closed his eyes, various thoughts passing through his mind.
Then he opened them and said casually, "That box can grant my wish."
He didn't say what wish he wanted granted.
Black Zetsu knew that anyone who made a wish through the Box of Ultimate Bliss would become bound to it.
Their soul would be imprisoned inside forever.
Of course, Black Zetsu didn't know whether Obito knew the truth behind it, but he had no intention of reminding him.
"No problem. I'll just send more White Zetsu."
"Once my side is ready, we can start thinking about the jinchuriki."
"We'll have plenty of things to work together on in the future. Don't worry. As long as you help me catch the person, I'll take care of getting the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
Obito focused now. It seemed the method Black Zetsu mentioned was related to the Hyuga clan member they were going to capture today.
"Did you take Rasa away?", Black Zetsu suddenly asked.
Black Zetsu had quite a few White Zetsu spies in Sunagakure, so he naturally knew that Rasa had never returned to the village.
And since Obito had previously captured Rasa and forced him to attack Konoha, capturing him again was nothing unusual.
There was no reason not to answer this.
"Yeah. He's with me."
Obito didn't continue that topic. Right now, all of his attention was on the Tenseigan.
"In that case, we'll act together. You capture Hyuga Hinata, and I'll capture Hyuga Hanabi."
"Why those two?" Obito still asked.
Black Zetsu changed his explanation to fool Obito.
"They are both pure descendants of Otsutsuki Hamura. They're needed to activate something."
"Alright, I understand. Let's move now."
Obito acted as soon as he made up his mind and wanted to start immediately.
Black Zetsu refused, "We have to act at the same time. Even if my side fails, your side can still succeed."
"Fine. We'll do it together."
Obito didn't care much. Since Black Zetsu wanted it that way, he had nothing more to say.
This was just a transaction anyway. There was no need to put much thought into it.
———
[Forest of Death]
The sky was still gray. Dawn had not arrived yet.
Beside a small river covered in morning mist.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three kunai flew out in succession toward a venomous snake as thick as an arm.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Three crisp sounds rang out as the kunai struck the snake's head, seven-inch point, and body.
The snake was pinned firmly in place.
Hiroyuki walked up to the head, drew his blade, cut it off, and flicked the head away.
Even without its head, a venomous snake could still bite someone, so caution was necessary.
Moegi came over to Hiroyuki and was pleased to see the snake dealt with so cleanly.
"Looks like we can have snake soup this morning."
"We don't have a pot," Hiroyuki reminded her.
They were here for the exam, not an outdoor mission. Everything they had eaten yesterday had been roasted on sticks.
Moegi waved her hand and showed a playful smile, "Don't worry. I can make a wooden pot. Snake soup tastes great in it."
Hiroyuki was in a good mood when he heard that. They had eaten plenty of grilled fish yesterday, so a different flavor would be nice today.
"Alright, we'll do it your way. I'll handle the snake first. Go gather some more firewood. This snake is pretty big. We'll boil some and roast some."
"Okay, I'll go get Hanabi."
As she spoke, Moegi walked to the campfire and formed hand seals. A small tree grew beside the fire.
It quickly reached a height of about two meters. Normally, fresh wood like that wouldn't burn well as firewood.
But Moegi took out a kunai and chopped the little tree down in a couple of swings, then grabbed hold of it.
As the tree continued growing, it quickly withered and turned yellow.
After processing the wood in a few quick moves, she snapped it apart and threw it into the fire.
Then Moegi caused another small tree to grow. Once it reached about one meter tall, she cut off the top.
She placed her kunai inside and carved while continuing to make it grow.
The stump below gradually became larger and thicker. With Moegi making adjustments, a round wooden pot was finished before long.
Moegi clapped her hands and then went to the nearby tent to wake Hanabi, who had only gone to sleep that morning.
Hiroyuki picked up the snake's body, pinned it down with a kunai, and began skinning and gutting it. He cut it into several sections, skewered them on nearby branches, and took them to the river to wash.
They were treating the Chunin Exams like a picnic.
Still, while handling the snake, Hiroyuki remained alert to the surrounding area.
The place they had chosen was very good, located on the outer edge of the stream.
Most people had already moved farther inside, and there were no enemies around.
What Hiroyuki didn't know was that a White Zetsu had emerged halfway from the nearby forest, glanced at them, and then slipped back underground.
———
Not far away, Hinata and Naruto were resting against a tree.
"Mmm..."
Hinata opened her eyes and found herself lying in Naruto's arms.
Actually, they could have rested in the central tower, but she was worried about Hanabi, so she chose to stay here.
The weather in midsummer wasn't cold, and with their physical condition, getting sick wasn't a concern.
Besides, with Naruto beside her, Hinata always felt at ease.
Normally, they never had chances to be this close, especially since there were only the two of them here.
Things had gone very smoothly for Hinata and Naruto. Not long after entering the Ninja Academy, the clan head had already been having Naruto look after her every day and hold her hand daily.
Although Naruto was very slow when it came to these things, as he grew older, and with his mother's help, even Naruto eventually realized that Hinata had always liked him.
The two of them successfully became a couple.
Thinking about it, they also had to thank Rengoku. Otherwise, Hinata would have spent many more years in unrequited love before Naruto figured it out.