Deep within the bowels of Konoha, at the Root base.
The sun never reached this place, and the air was thick with the musty scent of decay and the metallic tang of blood. Intricate underground corridors branched out like an ant colony, where countless shinobi in blank masks drifted through the shadows like ghosts.
Danzo Shimura walked toward his inner sanctum, his face dark as he leaned on his cane, step by step.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of the cane striking the floor echoed through the empty hall, a clear indication of its master's foul mood.
Upon entering his private chamber, Danzo sat heavily in the chair that symbolized his dark authority. His single exposed eye glinted with a sinister, flickering light. He suddenly swept his hand across the desk, violently knocking a stack of scrolls to the floor.
The clatter made the two Root shinobi kneeling on the ground flinch, their heads bowing even lower.
"Hiruzen... and Minato Namikaze..."
Danzo spat the names through gritted teeth. This time, he had lost completely.
He had thought this was a god-given opportunity. If Konoha fell into chaos, and Minato—the Hokage—either died in battle or failed his duty, Danzo would have had a thousand excuses to seize the center of power. More importantly, since the attacker possessed a Sharingan, it served as a perfect pretext to strike at the Uchiha Clan, even if the man wasn't one of them. He had even prepared to "recover" a few high-quality Sharingan during the chaos to bolster the power of his right arm.
But the result?
Not only did Minato Namikaze return unscathed, but he also suppressed the situation with lightning speed and decisive force. And Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old fossil, had stood before the Uchiha Compound like an old dog guarding its food, preventing Danzo from even setting foot inside.
"Lord Danzo."
A Root shinobi wearing a cat-patterned mask emerged from the ground like a shadow, kneeling on one knee. His voice was devoid of emotion. "The Anbu have suppressed all information regarding the attacker's identity. The Fourth Hokage has ordered that no one is to discuss the masked man's traits from last night. Any violators will be dealt with for inciting unrest."
"Suppressing information?"
Danzo let out a cold sneer, his fingers slowly tracing the handle of his cane. "Minato is still too young. This clumsy cover-up will only make the seeds of suspicion sprout faster."
He understood the human heart all too well. Fear needed an outlet; disaster needed a scapegoat. The shinobi naturally knew what happened that night, but the civilians were ignorant. With just a little push...
"Pass down my orders." Danzo's voice was low and gravelly, echoing in the chamber with a chilling malice.
"Mobilize the 'Root' members lurking in every corner of the village. There is no need for a grand display. Simply have them 'accidentally' leak some information in taverns, shelters, and hospitals. Say... that someone saw with their own eyes that the mysterious masked man who attacked Konoha had the Sharingan. Say that the reason the Police Force was late to the front lines last night was because the Uchiha Clan had received a secret order to retreat long ago."
The kneeling shinobi stiffened for a moment before bowing his head. "Understood."
"And one more thing." Danzo narrowed his eye, a cold light flashing within. "Spread the word that the Fourth Hokage is hiding the truth just to protect the Uchiha. I want the villagers to feel that their Hokage has been blinded by that cursed clan."
Since he couldn't take power by force, he would use the venom of public opinion to slowly corrode the Uchiha's foundations—and shake Minato's prestige in the process.
"Minato, you think you can protect them?" Danzo watched the flickering candlelight, a cruel arc forming on his lips. "When the malice of the entire village is pointed at that clan, I want to see if you, the Hokage, choose to stand with the villagers or sink with the Uchiha."
...
Outside Konoha, deep within the Death Forest.
Ancient trees reached for the sky, their massive canopies blotting out the heavens. Even during the day, the forest floor was dim and eerie. Beneath a massive withered tree, ripples suddenly appeared on the ground as if it were water.
A mass of pitch-black matter slowly rose from the earth. It was Black Zetsu. Its half-black, half-white body seemed somewhat stiff, and its golden pupils were filled with uncertainty.
Three days...
Black Zetsu's raspy voice rang out in the empty forest, tinged with a restlessness it couldn't hide. Ever since that night, when Obito and Minato Namikaze vanished together into the Kamui vortex, Obito had seemingly evaporated from the world for three whole days without a single word.
Black Zetsu knew Obito wasn't dead. As the "incarnation" of Madara's will, it had implanted a massive amount of White Zetsu cells into Obito. Those cells were both the material for repairing Obito's body and the perfect tool for monitoring him. It could clearly sense that the White Zetsu cells in Obito were still active, meaning the host was alive.
If he was alive, why hadn't he returned?
Black Zetsu looked toward Konoha. Reconstruction had already begun. Though ruins remained, the sense of order following the disaster made it feel extremely uncomfortable.
Minato Namikaze... the Yellow Flash...
Black Zetsu muttered to itself. That night, it had seen Minato return to Konoha unharmed, even possessing the energy to handle village affairs. This meant that in the battle within that other dimension, Obito had lost. And he had lost miserably.
Could he have been captured? The thought crossed Black Zetsu's mind, but it immediately dismissed it. No. If Obito had been taken alive, Konoha wouldn't be this peaceful. With Minato's methods, he would have followed the trail to wipe us out.
Then, the most likely scenario is...
Black Zetsu's gaze deepened. Obito was heavily injured and was forced to hide in the Kamui Space to recover. After all, while Space-Time Ninjutsu was tricky, one careless mistake against the speed of the Flying Thunder God would lead to a devastating blow.
It knew Obito too well. The brat had turned dark because of Rin's death, but he still possessed the characteristic pride and obsession of the Uchiha Clan in his very core. Before he fully recovered, he likely felt he didn't have the face to return and confront the will of "Madara."
What a troublesome pawn.
Black Zetsu merged into a tree trunk with dissatisfaction. If it wasn't for the sake of reviving Mother, such an unstable, half-finished product should have been discarded long ago.
It decided to wait two more days. If Obito didn't appear in two days, it would have to consider activating the backup plan. Nagato's Rinnegan was the core of the plan; while Obito was important, he was not irreplaceable.
Just as Black Zetsu prepared to submerge and continue its dormancy, it suddenly sensed something and snapped its head toward a nearby clearing. The space there began to twist in an eerie distortion.