Chapter 555: History Has Changed Drastically
"What's so special about Uchiha Shisui?"
Ao casually glanced at his subordinate.
"Uchiha Shisui is the elite among Konoha's elite. And the squad he's leading should be an Uchiha unit. We..."
"What elite? The ones I fight are elites!"
"Everyone, listen up! Pair up in twos and stand back-to-back! Don't give Shisui of the Body Flicker a chance to attack your blind spots!"
With that order, Ao took the lead and charged straight toward Shisui.
"How strange... Ao-senpai is not only using a sword, but he's also making a completely different decision from what actually happened."
Chōjūrō frowned after seeing the scene.
He was certain now.
This wasn't some hidden story from history.
It was simply another possibility.
After all, one of the most famous things Ao had done in the real ninja world was leading his squad into Shisui of the Body Flicker, then wisely choosing to retreat.
That was precisely why the phrase "You may abandon the mission upon encountering him" had gradually become less prestigious.
It wasn't because Shisui had become weaker.
It was simply because more and more people started qualifying for that phrase, causing its value to drop.
"Stop talking and keep watching. I think I'm starting to understand what's going on."
Pakura motioned for Chōjūrō to be quiet.
Feeling embarrassed, Chōjūrō covered his mouth and silently continued watching.
"Ao-senpai! You charged in too fast! No one's there to support you!"
"I don't need support!"
Ao revealed his Byakugan.
The moment it opened...
It was a Main Branch Byakugan.
With its complete three hundred and sixty-degree field of vision, Ao naturally had no need for someone to guard his back.
Ao had made a decision that was completely opposite to the one he made in the real ninja world.
Obito, however, paid no attention to it.
The moment the battle broke out, he quietly wandered around the battlefield.
Originally, he planned to rely on his memories to locate Uchiha Madara, who should have been hiding somewhere near the battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure.
Unfortunately...
He failed.
Obito's memory wasn't that good.
When he escaped back then, he had been far too anxious to save Kakashi and Rin to pay attention to his surroundings.
Fortunately, Obito had another method.
He found an area close enough to the battlefield without being easily discovered.
Then he used the Earth Release that this Kakashi body was better at.
He caused the surrounding ground to tremble slightly before shouting,
"White Zetsu, get out here! I need to see Uchiha Madara!"
It was like Sun Wukong calling for the Earth God.
"Who are you?"
Not long afterward...
A white head emerged from between Obito's legs.
That's right.
It actually worked.
Obito had never paid much attention to Ao, so he naturally didn't know that Ao in the Engraved Tsukuyomi world was different from the real one.
He was simply making deductions based on what he knew about White Zetsu and Uchiha Madara.
In the real ninja world, White Zetsu often acted as a battlefield reporter and living surveillance camera, gathering intelligence.
So during a major battle between Konoha and Kirigakure, Madara would definitely send White Zetsu to spy on the battlefield.
As for how White Zetsu managed to hide from Ao's Byakugan...
Perhaps he had simply disguised himself as someone else and blended into the troops.
In any case… Obito successfully met White Zetsu.
"I want to work with him. I can help him collect the Tailed Beasts, monitor Nagato, and bring him back to life."
Obito got straight to the point and immediately offered Madara exactly what he wanted most.
In his previous life...
No, rather...
In the real world, Madara had found him.
This time...
It was his turn to find Madara.
As for whether saying all this outright would cause any problems...
Obito didn't think so.
After all, this was the Engraved Tsukuyomi world.
An illusion.
A fake world.
"What?!"
White Zetsu was astonished that the person before him knew all of this.
He was even more shocked that despite knowing everything, this person still wanted to meet Madara voluntarily.
After recovering from the shock, White Zetsu sent a signal to another White Zetsu before leading Obito to meet Madara.
As for whether Obito had some hidden scheme...
Or concealed strength that could threaten Madara...
That hardly mattered.
Because Obito had overlooked one crucial fact.
He wasn't Obito anymore.
He was Uchiha Madara.
Kakashi was Obito.
Kakashi was the successor Madara had taken a liking to—the kind-hearted young man who loved helping old people.
The most important point was that if this identity swap had happened in the real world...Nothing much would have changed.
Even if Obito lived as Kakashi, he wouldn't have suffered anything unusual.
But the problem was…
This was the Engraved Tsukuyomi world.
Here, Kakashi had been drugged by Obito and forced into a Soldier Boy-style "exchange" with an old granny.
Combined with everything else that had happened, Kakashi's spirit had completely collapsed.
He no longer had the courage to face the woman he had always admired...
Nohara Rin.
Meanwhile, in order to complete his third mission, Obito had to convince everyone that he was a righteous person.
Because of that, he constantly showed concern for Kakashi.
As time passed...
The mentally broken Kakashi gradually developed unusual feelings toward Obito.
Obito's concern for Kakashi, however, was only superficial.
Most of his attention remained focused on Rin.
As a result, he never noticed anything strange about Kakashi.
Instead...
The White Zetsu that Madara had sent to monitor Kakashi noticed the change.
In order to drive Kakashi into darkness, Madara had already planned out Obito's fate from the very beginning.
White Zetsu knew all about that plan.
What he hadn't expected...
Was for Obito to personally deliver himself to their doorstep.
"Uchiha Madara, I..."
"Be quiet for now. We can talk later."
"I'm waiting for someone."
Obito was brought to the familiar hideout.
Looking at the aged Madara sitting there with tubes connected to his back, he had barely begun to speak before Madara raised a hand and stopped him.
Obito frowned.
'Waiting for someone?'
'What does he mean?'
'Is he waiting for the White Zetsu that hasn't returned yet?'
'Or did Madara secretly dispatch another White Zetsu while I wasn't paying attention to investigate my background and see whether I'm a Konoha spy?'
Obito obediently waited.
After all...
If Madara didn't want to listen, anything he said would be pointless.
However...
When the person finally arrived...
It was completely beyond his expectations.
The one who returned...
Was Ao from the battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure.
"What?! That's impossible!"
"Ao-senpai could never be one of Uchiha Madara's people! He... he's absolutely loyal to Kirigakure!"
Seeing that scene on the screen, Chōjūrō couldn't help shouting again.
This time, however, no one blamed him.
Because the information revealed by the recording was simply too important.
"Don't panic. This is exactly what I was guessing earlier."
"The history inside this Engraved Tsukuyomi has probably changed drastically."
"The root cause is what Konohamaru explained during the introduction just now—the actions taken by the experimental subject, Obito."
"No matter what happens, the person Uchiha Madara wants is always that young Uchiha descendant."
"So the one he should be targeting is Kakashi."
"That Obito overlooked this point."
"At the same time, because of everything Obito has done, Madara's plan has also changed."
"For example, here."
"Madara recruited Ao and even had White Zetsu recover the lost Ninja Sword, Nuibari, and give it to him, increasing his strength."
"His goal was probably to make Kakashi experience despair for the first time..."
"Oh, sorry."
"In this world, it should actually be the second time."
"The first time was with the old granny."
"Sigh... honestly, if this were the real Kakashi, he'd probably have been enjoying himself already. None of this would've happened."
Pakura clicked her tongue and shrugged.
"Pakura, you're a Sunagakure ninja too. It was Rasa who betrayed you back then. It had nothing to do with this old woman."
"So don't go throwing dirty water on me. Kakashi and I are innocent."
Granny Chiyo protested unhappily.
She had only come over to enjoy the gossip.
She hadn't even said a single word earlier.
So why had she suddenly gotten dragged into this?
(End of this chapter)