Nishitani Kenichirō was a veteran jōnin of Iwagakure, around forty years old. While his raw strength might not have been exceptional, his experience and seniority were beyond question.
In fact, he had been one of the key contributors to Iwagakure's successful breakthrough of Konoha's defenses.
It was his idea to recruit rogue shinobi from Kirigakure through the black market, making use of the Hiding in Mist Technique to evade Konoha's sensory units. Under the cover of that dense, chakra-laden fog, Iwagakure's forces had slipped past detection and launched a surprise assault on Konoha's camps.
The tactic had worked brilliantly.
In the early stages of the war, it gave Iwagakure a decisive advantage, catching Konoha completely off guard.
Later, when they discovered that the area around the Lake of Tranquility was being defended by Shunshin Shimizu and members of the Uchiha clan, Nishitani went even further. He persuaded more than half of the division commanders—and even the supreme commander, Kitsuchi—to prioritize a new objective:
Kill Shunshin Shimizu at all costs, and capture the Uchiha.
It just so happened that many within this army had participated in the previous mission to Takigakure. Once their hatred toward Shimizu was rekindled, it didn't take much for them to agree—temporarily setting aside the invasion of the Land of Fire in favor of this personal vendetta.
But no one had expected Shimizu to be so elusive.
Like a fish slipping through muddy water, he evaded every attempt to surround and trap him.
Time passed—one day, two days… then several more.
What had begun as a determined pursuit gradually turned into a fruitless chase, with Iwagakure's forces trailing behind him without achieving anything.
More and more people began to realize that continuing this pursuit would not accomplish their original goal. It was time to abandon the mission.
And yet, Nishitani Kenichirō refused to give up.
He argued relentlessly, always the loudest voice insisting that Shunshin Shimizu must be killed.
Even after learning that Iwagakure itself was on the brink of crisis, he remained just as adamant—believing this to be their last chance to corner and eliminate him.
That level of obsession stunned everyone.
Was the hatred really that deep?
Strictly speaking, Kuroishi—who had a life-and-death grudge against Shimizu—should have been the one who hated him most. Yet even he was surprised to find that Nishitani seemed to harbor an even more intense animosity.
Could it be that Nishitani also had some irreconcilable feud with Shunshin Shimizu?
But from what Kuroishi later learned, Nishitani had never even crossed paths with him before.
This hatred… felt unnatural. Almost stubborn to the point of obsession.
At first, Kuroishi assumed it was simply loyalty—that as a shinobi of Iwagakure, Nishitani took the village's enemies especially seriously. But as he dug deeper into the man's past, he uncovered two crucial pieces of information.
First, the very formation of this army—led by Kitsuchi—had been heavily pushed forward by Nishitani himself.
In other words, the reason all these participants of the Takigakure mission had been brought together again… was largely because of him.
Second, Nishitani had once been known as a reserved, steady, and dependable shinobi. Many who had worked with him in the past said the same thing—
He had changed.
His mindset had grown younger, more impulsive. He was more energetic, yes—but also more irritable… and more selfish.
What could have caused such a transformation?
Kuroishi had never intended to pry into someone else's past. But the way Nishitani now disregarded the safety of the village, acting purely on his personal emotions…
It clashed sharply with Kuroishi's own principles.
For a shinobi, the village should always come first.
And he wasn't the only one who felt this way—even Han shared the sentiment.
As a jinchūriki, Han had been shunned by his own village since childhood. Yet despite that, he had always remained devoted to it.
When the village faced a crisis, he did not hesitate. He set aside personal grudges—and even the glory of capturing the Uchiha—and chose to return and defend his home.
That was the choice a true shinobi of Iwagakure should make.
Nishitani… was being selfish.
—
Outside the temporary camp, in the darkness beyond the perimeter, Nishitani suddenly spoke into the empty night.
"No one's around. It's safe."
"Heh… you've had it rough."
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows—it was Black Zetsu.
With a tone laced in amusement, he said, "So, Nishitani Kenichirō… any progress to report today?"
Nishitani let out a long, frustrated sigh. "No one believes me anymore. No one speaks for me. They've even found a route that gets them back to Iwagakure in three days… everything's fallen apart."
"But just yesterday, you were saying they wouldn't make it back in time."
"How was I supposed to know a bridge would just appear out of nowhere—and a shortcut at that?" Nishitani snapped bitterly. "It's all that Kuroishi's fault. If I'd known, I never would've brought him into this."
"At the time, I was only thinking it would make it easier to persuade more people to go after that white-haired brat… but now it just feels like I picked up a rock only to smash my own foot."
Black Zetsu didn't seem surprised in the slightest. He spoke calmly, as if this outcome had long been expected. "So, all your efforts have gone to waste?"
"Pretty much."
"And yet the mission still has to be completed."
"Then you tell me—what am I supposed to do?" Nishitani snapped, shifting the blame without hesitation. "When you get down to it, this is your mistake. I told you from the start, if we had chosen Kitsuchi as the transformation target, I'd be the commander right now. Everything would be under my control. If I said we keep chasing the white-hair, then we'd chase him—end of story. Orders are orders."
He scoffed bitterly.
"If things had gone that way, it'd all be over by now. That white-haired bastard would already be a corpse."
"Heh… and who was it that complained Kitsuchi was too fat and ugly?" Black Zetsu shot back, his tone dripping with mockery. "And who was it that said Nishitani Kenichirō had that 'mature man charm' that suited someone's tastes?"
He paused deliberately.
"Well? What do you think, Tobi?"
"…."
Aesthetics are everything. A thing like you wouldn't understand a damn thing...
"Fine, whatever," Black Zetsu said flatly. "Figure out the rest of this mission yourself. I only care about the result." He paused briefly, then added with faint amusement, "As for Madara… you can explain things to him on your own."
At the mention of Madara, Tobi's composure instantly shattered.
"No, no, no—you've got to help me! Madara wants Sharingan—go find them for me!" he blurted out in a panic. "As for the white-hair… we'll just have to find another chance to deal with him later…"
He let out a long sigh, full of regret.
"What a waste… such a perfect chance to kill with a borrowed knife, and it just slipped away like that."
"When will I ever get an opportunity like this again…"
He looked up dramatically, practically wailing.
"Heavens, why is my luck always so terrible?! I even burned incense before heading out!"
Black Zetsu clearly had no patience left. "...I'm leaving."
But just as he was about to disappear, Tobi suddenly snapped his fingers, an idea striking him.
"Wait—I've got it!"
"Oh?" Black Zetsu turned back slightly. "What now?"
For once, Tobi's tone turned serious.
"Go get that blond kid—have him blow up the bridge. If the bridge is destroyed, Kitsuchi and the others won't be able to return. They'll have no choice but to stay and fight to the death."
In Tobi's mind, the plan unfolded perfectly.
On Shimizu's side, there were about four hundred men, and if Minato brought part of his forces as reinforcement… then in the chaos of a full-scale clash, Tobi could slip in unnoticed.
As long as his luck wasn't too terrible, once both sides were exhausted…
He could take out both the white-hair and the blond in one go.
A flawless plan.
Of course, there was one critical condition—the number of Konoha forces couldn't be too high, but it also couldn't be too low.
Too many, and it would turn into a complete encirclement of Iwagakure.
Too few, and they wouldn't put enough pressure on Iwa's forces—once they defeated the pursuing troops, they would simply find another route and continue retreating.
"Remember," Tobi emphasized, his tone unusually sharp, "just the blond—not Konoha. I don't want Konoha showing up with a full army and sweeping everything clean."
Black Zetsu shook his head.
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
Tobi's expression instantly turned horrified. "You're not helping me?!"
"Shimizu has already sent word to Konoha, requesting reinforcements."
Tobi exploded in frustration.
"That damned bastard—why is he so petty?!"
"It was just a few days of chasing him, and he's holding a grudge already? Now he's even thinking about retaliation?!"