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The sudden, eerie voice made Naruto jump so hard it was like someone had stuck a spring under him. He shot straight up from the toilet.
"Y-You—who are you?! What are you doing in my house?!"
Staring at the spiral-masked man who had just phased through the bathroom door as if it didn't even exist, Naruto shouted in alarm.
The bathroom wall rippled like the surface of water. Then a giant pitcher plant bud pushed its way out.
The plant split open down the middle, revealing a strange face—half black, half white.
The moment White Zetsu laid eyes on Naruto in all his very-much-in-the-middle-of-business glory, his eyes lit up like he'd just found buried treasure.
"Quick! Kid! Tell me—what does taking a dump feel like?!"
Naruto froze.
Then he looked down.
Oh no.
He was still in the bathroom. In the middle of it.
His face turned bright red as he yanked his pants up in a panic.
Obito reached out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him clean off the ground with one hand.
"Ghk—! Let go of me, you jerk!"
Naruto thrashed wildly, his short legs kicking with all their might, but they couldn't even reach his attacker.
The man in front of him gave off an instinctive, bone-deep sense of danger.
If he got taken away by this guy, nothing good was waiting for him. Nothing at all.
'Kurama! Kurama! Come out! There's a bad guy trying to grab me!'
Naruto screamed the Nine-Tails' name over and over in his head.
No response.
"Damn it… let me go!"
Bang!
Tired of the struggling, Obito chopped him sharply at the back of the neck. Naruto went limp instantly.
Obito turned his head toward Zetsu in the wall, voice cool and flat.
"You don't need to follow. I'm enough."
"This is the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Taking him without making a sound isn't exactly easy. I just came along in case something went wrong."
Black Zetsu's voice was hoarse as he added thoughtfully, "Still, I didn't expect there to be zero guards around him. That's… strange."
"Who knows what those idiots in Konoha were thinking," Obito scoffed. "Probably assumed no one would dare lay a finger on the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki inside the village. Pathetic."
"Want me to leave a clone behind? I can transform into Naruto and fool the Konoha ninja," White Zetsu offered.
"No need. Now that we have the jinchūriki, we can move straight to the next phase of the plan. No point in overcomplicating things."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kamui activated. Space twisted and warped around them. In an instant, Obito and Naruto vanished. Zetsu slowly sank back into the wall.
"This is the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki? That was fast."
Inside the Root headquarters, Danzo stared at the unconscious Naruto in Obito's hand, visibly surprised.
Hadn't he just left? It hadn't even been that long. Barely enough time to take a leak—and he'd already brought the Nine-Tails back?
Thud!
Obito tossed Naruto onto the floor without ceremony.
"Are you questioning me?" he asked coldly.
"No, no," Danzo replied at once. "I'm merely… impressed. This is the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Hiruzen values him greatly. There should have been tight security—at least five jōnin, maybe even an elite among them. Taking him without alerting anyone should have been extremely difficult."
"Hmph." Obito let out a disdainful snort. "Do you know who I am? I am Uchiha Madara. No matter how many insects gather, they're still insects. To me, they're all the same. One glance from me would be more than they could endure. Report back? They're not even worthy."
An overwhelming, kingly pressure seemed to radiate from him, as if the ninja of Konoha were nothing more than ants beneath his feet.
"As expected of Madara-sama. I'm in awe," Danzo said quickly, laying on the flattery.
"Actually, we came back so fast because there wasn't any security around him at all," White Zetsu chimed in cheerfully as he popped up from the ground. "None."
"Uh…"
Danzo could practically feel the grand, domineering aura around Obito deflate like a punctured balloon.
An awkward silence settled over the room.
Obito slowly turned his gaze toward White Zetsu, who was still grinning foolishly.
Maybe it was time to swap this one out.
Being dumb was one thing. Publicly undermining him was another.
Yes. When they got back, he'd definitely pick a more… functional White Zetsu.
White Zetsu suddenly shuddered, a chill running down his spine. He scratched his head, confused.
What was that?
He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? So why did it suddenly feel like someone wanted him dead?
Obito ignored him and walked over to Naruto. He crouched down and pressed a hand against the boy's stomach.
"I'll go have a word with the Nine-Tails first. If that beast is willing to cooperate, things will be much simpler."
He closed his eyes, letting his consciousness sink into Naruto's inner world.
A foreign presence slipped into the sealed space.
Within the dim water prison, the slumbering Nine-Tails opened its fierce, blood-red eyes.
"Who's there?!"
"Long time no see, Nine-Tails."
Obito stood outside the cage, looking in calmly.
"You!" the Nine-Tails snarled. "The one responsible for sealing me inside this brat!"
"ROAR—!"
Even through the iron bars, the beast's furious bellow shook the chamber.
It recognized him.
More precisely, it recognized that Mangekyō Sharingan.
That eye had once controlled it—forced it to rampage through Konoha until Minato sealed it inside Naruto.
Being manipulated like that had been humiliating.
It reminded the Nine-Tails of another time, long ago, when Uchiha Madara had treated it like a mere pet.
"Calm down," Obito said lightly. "I'm here to propose a partnership."
He met the Nine-Tails' gaze and continued, "I'll remove the seal and restore your freedom. In return, when the time comes, you help me deal with someone."
"Partnership?" The Nine-Tails shot him a sideways look and let out a mocking laugh. "Why bother with that? You could just control me again. Isn't that easier?"
"The opponent this time is troublesome," Obito replied evenly. "I don't want to waste chakra keeping you under control. Once it's over, you'll be free. The world outside is vast. I see no reason for you to refuse."
His tone was calm, but brimming with certainty. He clearly believed the Nine-Tails would agree.
He was wrong.
"Get lost," the Nine-Tails said lazily. "I'm perfectly comfortable here. Sleep whenever I want. Why would I go outside?"
It crossed its forepaws under its chin and closed its eyes, looking absurdly content.
Inside, however, it was sneering.
Go out there? With that lunatic Uchiha Akira roaming around? Was he trying to get it killed?
No thanks. Not happening.
"Don't misunderstand," Obito said, his voice lowering. "I'm serious about this."
"And so am I. I said I'm not going. Now scram. Stop disturbing my nap."
The Nine-Tails huffed, clearly dismissing him.
"You don't trust me," Obito concluded. "Fine. I'll prove my sincerity by breaking the seal first."
He stepped forward and placed a hand on the iron gate, channeling his chakra into the sealing formula.
'Huh? This seal… why is it so weak? It's practically nonexistent.'
The thought flashed through his mind the instant he made contact.
"Wait—"
The Nine-Tails barely got the word out before—
The gate swung open.
"There. The seal is broken," Obito said, spreading his hands at the entrance of the cage. "I told you, I'm sincere."
"I already said I'm not going," the Nine-Tails replied flatly. "Opening the door doesn't change anything."
The Nine-Tails shrank its massive body deeper into the farthest corner of the water prison.
The message was clear: I'm not leaving.
Obito blinked.
"???"
What the hell is wrong with this fox? Has being locked up for too long fried its brain?
It could walk out right now and regain its freedom, yet it wants to stay inside? Don't tell me it's grown attached to the cell after living here so long?
For once, Obito was completely dumbfounded.
"Nine-Tails, cut it out! Or did a donkey kick you in the head? You can leave, so why are you still hiding in there?!"
He sounded like a disappointed parent scolding a hopeless child.
You're the Nine-Tails!
For a second, he even wondered if this thing was a fake.
"Your head got kicked by a donkey!" the Nine-Tails roared back. "I said I'm staying right here. I am not going out!"
It shook its enormous head wildly and pressed its body even tighter against the wall of the water prison, like a cat refusing a bath.
Obito's patience snapped.
Before meeting the Nine-Tails, he'd imagined every possible outcome.The beast agreeing readily.Ignoring him.Exploding in rage.Pretending to agree and then launching a sneak attack.
But this?
This had never crossed his mind.
"Nine-Tails, what the hell are you thinking? Is freedom not good enough? Is the outside world not exciting enough for you?!"
He couldn't even stop himself from swearing. The fox's behavior was driving him insane.
The Nine-Tails slowly tilted its head up at a forty-five-degree angle… well, toward the ceiling of the water prison.
A complicated expression spread across its face. Three parts sorrow. Three parts pain. Three parts fury. One part regret.
"...Oh?" Obito raised a brow, suddenly intrigued. "Nine-Tails, just what did you go through to end up like this?"
The emotion on the beast's face didn't look fake.
He genuinely wanted to know why it was so desperate to stay locked up.
"Not long ago," the Nine-Tails began slowly, "a man with the Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan came here. He—"
"What?!" Obito's pupils shrank. "The Rinnegan? That's impossible! Are you sure you didn't see wrong?!"
That was absurd. Completely absurd.
Aside from Nagato, who else in the shinobi world could possibly possess the Rinnegan?!
"Hmph!" The Nine-Tails snorted. "When the Sage of Six Paths created me, you were probably still a pile of dirt. I spent years at his side. You think I'd mistake it? It was the Rinnegan. And not just that. It was a six-tomoe Rinnegan!"
Obito fell silent, the words echoing in his mind.
The Rinnegan. A six-tomoe Rinnegan.
So there really was someone else in the world who possessed it…
After a long moment, he drew in a slow breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Then what? What did he do to you?"
"Then…"
The Nine-Tails dragged the word out, closing its eyes as if gathering its emotions.
Behind his mask, Obito waited eagerly. He almost urged it to hurry up, but managed to hold himself back.
"Then…"
The Nine-Tails' eyes snapped open, killing intent flooding them.
"Then you can go to hell!"
Its lips curled into a triumphant grin.
In the blink of an eye, the massive beast surged forward. Its towering form swallowed Obito's vision as a brutal aura crashed down on him.
A claw flashed with cold light and came smashing toward his head.
"You dare control me?! Die!"
ROAR—
The scarlet arc of the claw slammed down.
Obito's attention had been fixed entirely on its story. He hadn't expected a sudden attack at all.
Caught off guard, he had no time to react. His body was instantly torn apart by the Nine-Tails' strike.
"Tch. Just a consciousness projection, not the real body," the Nine-Tails muttered as Obito's form slowly dissipated. "If it had been the real one…"
It snorted again.
"Still, blasting his consciousness apart should make him suffer for a while."
…
Outside.
Pfft—
A mouthful of blood surged up Obito's throat. He swallowed it back down by force.
His consciousness had been shattered. The backlash tore at his mind like countless blades slicing through his brain. The pain was blinding.
It felt like thousands of razors carving into his skull.
He wanted to scream. God, he wanted to scream.
But he couldn't.
He was in the Root organization's underground laboratory. Root.
Not only was Danzo here, but so were numerous Root members.
He was "Uchiha Madara."
He could not embarrass himself.
It was like being at the most solemn ceremony imaginable, then smashing your toe against something solid. The pain is unbearable. You want to clutch your foot and howl.
But you can't. You have to endure it with a straight face.
That was exactly what Obito was going through.
He needed to leave. Now.
Just as he prepared to activate Kamui and slip into his private dimension, Danzo Shimura stepped forward and asked respectfully,
"Lord Madara, did everything go smoothly?"
Obito inhaled slowly, steadying his voice so it wouldn't tremble.
"Very smoothly. The Nine-Tails has agreed to cooperate with us."
"As expected of you, Lord Madara. Even the Nine-Tails bows before you."
After delivering the flattery, Danzo continued,
"Since the Nine-Tails is settled, we can finalize the last details of the plan. The relevant personnel should already be waiting in the conference room. Let us proceed."
"No need. You can handle it yourselves."
"That won't do, Lord Madara. You are the initiator of this plan. Without you present, how could we proceed? Some details require your approval before we dare finalize them.
"I would not presume to make decisions lightly. If my recklessness were to cause the plan to fail, all our efforts would be wasted.
"So this meeting truly requires your presence."
Danzo bowed slightly and gestured ahead with polite insistence.
"This way, Lord Madara. The conference room is over here."
Obito didn't move.
He stared at the old man.
This fossil just rambled on and on… does he know I'm in agony and deliberately stalling?!
Damn it.
If I don't leave now, I really won't be able to hold it in.
Inside, Obito was roaring in frustration. Outwardly, he remained calm.
"Postpone the meeting for an hour. I have something urgent to deal with. I'll take my leave first."
He grabbed Naruto, activated Kamui, and space began to twist—
Smack!
A pale white hand shot out and grabbed his arm, interrupting the technique.
"Lord Madara, what urgent matter could you possibly have?
"Isn't the most urgent thing finishing the meeting and then dealing with Uchiha Akira?
"Danzo promised me that once this plan succeeds, he'll tell me what it feels like to take a dump!
"So let's hurry to the meeting and stop wasting time!"
White Zetsu clung to Obito's arm, giggling as he urged him forward.
Obito's head snapped toward the white half of Zetsu's face.
Through the single eyehole of his spiral mask, a bloodshot Sharingan stared back.
"..."
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