Chapter 67: Armed Neutrality!
Boom!
These two words completely shattered the last of Obito's psychological defenses.
He froze in place, staring at the back of the figure in the red-clouded black robe through his mask, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
That name... the name belonging to a "Dead Last"... at this moment, he felt as if he had reverted to the silly boy wearing goggles from years ago, being looked down upon by this man who seemed like a god or a demon.
Humiliation.
An unprecedented humiliation.
Outside the corridor.
Konan followed behind Yahiko, holding a summary of intelligence she had just recorded.
"Why didn't you kill him?" Konan asked in a low voice. "Although I couldn't see exactly what conspiracy he's hiding, his motives are impure. Keeping him around is a ticking time bomb."
"If we kill him, who will help us capture the Tailed Beasts?"
Yahiko walked onto the tower's terrace, letting the cold rain beat against his face, his gaze deep.
"The current Akatsuki needs a tool like him, someone driven mad by the loss of a loved one. Besides, an 'Uchiha Obito' whose real name and weakness we know is much easier to control than that charlatan claiming to be 'Madara'."
Konan nodded thoughtfully.
As they spoke, the ground in the corner of the terrace suddenly writhed.
A giant pitcher plant burst from the ground.
Black and White Zetsu.
However, at this moment, Zetsu no longer had his usual composure of a spectator; instead, he wore an extremely rare look of panic.
"Something big has happened! Those lunatics from Kumogakure have made their move!"
Black Zetsu's half-black face was contorted, his voice urgent and sharp: "They've launched a surprise attack on Konoha, and the fires of war have already been lit!"
Yahiko raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression remaining calm. "What does that have to do with us? Let the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning fight like dogs; it won't interfere with the Land of Rain."
"That's exactly the problem!"
White Zetsu took over, waving his arms exaggeratingly. "Because the Fourth Hokage died in battle, Orochimaru defected, and there are rumors that core secrets like the scroll of seals were taken by Orochimaru... in the eyes of other nations, Konoha is now a piece of fat meat without a fence!"
Zetsu looked up, his yellow eyes staring intently at Yahiko.
"Iwagakure and Sunagakure both want to take advantage of Konoha's weakness to get a piece of the pie."
"And according to the past practices of these rogue nations... if they want to attack the Land of Fire, they need to pass through, so—"
Zetsu pointed at the ground beneath his feet, his voice somber.
"The armies of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind have already finished assembling. They're planning to use the Land of Rain as a springboard and a main battlefield to attack Konoha once again!"
The half-black, half-white figure of Zetsu slowly sank into the ground, leaving only a warning echoing on the terrace.
"This time, it's no small matter. If we're not careful, the Land of Rain will soon revert to its former state—a muddy pit under the feet of the great nations."
The rain grew heavier, drumming against the outer walls of the steel tower with a dull sound.
Yahiko didn't show the panic Zetsu had expected. He turned and walked toward the massive map of the Ninja World in the meeting room, his red-clouded black robe tracing a sharp arc as he moved.
"Konan, notify everyone. We're having a meeting in ten minutes."
...Inside the meeting room, all core members of the Akatsuki were present.
The atmosphere was somewhat eerie.
Nagato sat in a specially made wheelchair, with the six paths of pain standing behind him like emotionless statues. Konan stood quietly by Yahiko's side, her expression cold. Kakuzu was clicking away on an abacus, calculating something, while Orochimaru stared at the newly recruited Biwa Jūzō with his golden snake eyes, seemingly wondering what interesting experiments he could perform with the kubikiribōchō.
Obito was the most uncomfortable.
At this moment, Obito was huddled at the far end of the conference table, not even daring to glance at Yahiko and Konan in the head seats. As soon as he closed his eyes, he could recall the socially devastating scene of having his secrets exposed and being read like an open book.
"Explain the situation," Yahiko tapped the table, signaling Zetsu to begin the report.
The pitcher plant emerged from the center of the table, and Black Zetsu's raspy voice rang out: "Those savages from the Hidden Cloud Village took advantage of the death of Konoha's Fourth Hokage and declared war on Konoha under a flimsy pretext."
"A very clichéd script," Sasori of the Red Sand snorted from within hiruko. "Great nations are always so boring."
"The interesting part comes later," White Zetsu chimed in with a grin. "Since Konoha just lost their Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru left, and they even lost the scroll of seals, they're in an unprecedented period of weakness. So—that old man Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, and Granny Chiyo of Sunagakure both think this is a great opportunity to carve up the Land of Fire."
Black Zetsu drew three lines on the map: "Kumogakure is pinning them down from the east. The Iwagakure army is heading south from the north, and the Sunagakure army is heading north from the south. To avoid a direct decisive battle on their own soil and risk a counterattack... the armies of these three nations are preparing to force their way through the Land of Rain."
"Pass through?"
Yahiko looked at the Land of Rain on the map, pinned down by three arrows, and let out a light chuckle.
"They call it 'passing through,' but they're actually treating us like their backyard and a dumping ground. When an army passes, supplies are looted, and civilians are conscripted. If war breaks out here, the Land of Rain will turn into scorched earth once again."
"So what do we do?" Although Biwa Jūzō had just been "corrected," the manic streak in his bones remained. "Boss, how about I take some people and cut them down? There might be a lot of them, but the kubikiribōchō won't dull once it's tasted blood."
"Stupid," Kakuzu flicked the abacus beads, his glowing green eyes full of calculation. "The combined allied forces of the three nations consist of at least ten thousand Ninjas. Fighting head-on would only bankrupt us. In my opinion, why not charge a toll? Ten thousand taels per person—that would be an astronomical sum."
Orochimaru licked his lips sinisterly. "I think this is a perfect opportunity to collect some corpses."
The meeting room erupted into an argument.
Yahiko hadn't said a word. He just stared quietly at the map, then picked up a pen.
Swish!
He drew a heavy circle around the border of the Land of Rain.
The bright red ink was as eye-catching as blood.
"No one is 'passing through' the Land of Rain," Yahiko's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the noisy meeting room. "From today on, the first step of the Akatsuki's plan will begin with Armed Neutrality."
He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the group of S-Rank Rogue Ninja who struck terror into the Ninja World.
"We won't favor any side, nor will we participate in their petty squabbles. But if even a single foot crosses this red line..."
The marker in Yahiko's hand snapped with a crisp crack.
"...then chop that leg off for me."
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