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The clearing was a grisly mess. Crimson pools seeped into the earth between the scattered corpses of White Zetsu. Among them, two figures lay broken.
Tsunade. Nara Shikaku. Both too exhausted to move.
Footsteps crunched over frozen mud. Slow. Deliberate.
Obito Uchiha walked forward, his expression cold as the mountain air. He peeled off a glove black with dried blood. His hand closed around Tsunade's collar. Wrenched her up.
Her body hung limp for a second. Then her vision swam, blurred… then sharpened.
A face. Half twisted, half impassive. Scar tissue and cold, unfeeling eyes.
Her teeth ground together. "Uchiha… Obito!!!"
His voice was flat. "Tsunade. The Legendary Sannin. The Fifth Hokage of Konoha. In my eyes, you've combined two great failures into one. It proves it. Both titles… just more titles for failure. Just like the village you lead. The Land of Fire that wallows with it. And that pathetic system they copied—one nation, one village. The Five Great Shinobi Nations? Nothing but a collection of garbage. A pile of trash."
Tsunade glared. Hatred burned in her eyes, searing through the haze of pain.
"All we can do… is gather every ounce of our strength! And crush scum like you who think power is an excuse!! That's all…!!!"
Obito smiled. A thin, humorless curve of his lips. "Gather. Crush. Do as you please. I only want one thing. The whereabouts of the bodies of Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure."
Tsunade's heart lurched.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku… the Kumo masters who died with Great Uncle Tobirama. Their remains, along with his… yes, Konoha recovered them. But why? Why would he want them?
No. No matter the reason.
"Forget it," she spat, defiance stiffening her spine. "I'm not telling you anything."
The answer didn't surprise him.
"Fine. The Rinnegan's Human Path can extract the information from your mind in an instant. The cost… is your life."
His left hand came up. Settled over her crown. The tomoe in his left eye began to swirl.
"I see…"
The voice came from the side. Weak, but clear.
Obito's gaze flicked over. Nara Shikaku lay prone, his breath shallow. "What? You have something to say?"
"Obito," Shikaku said, each word measured. "You're the true leader behind Akatsuki. You've orchestrated their entire campaign to collect the Tailed Beasts. We know Akatsuki possesses a… vast demonic vessel. A container for sealing them. Correct?"
Obito didn't move. "So? That's hardly a secret now."
"Then it's not difficult to deduce. Akatsuki needs to insert all the Tailed Beasts into that vessel. To use its final product… for some purpose."
He didn't wait for confirmation or denial. He pushed forward, his mind racing even as his body failed.
"Let's assume the current vessel is 'X'. The final product is 'Y'. Your ultimate goal is 'Z'. 'Y' minus 'X'… equals the Tailed Beast components the vessel lacks. Knowing that premise… your current actions make sense. Coming here, personally, to ask the Hokage about two dead men's remains. You either want to visit their grave… or dig it up."
He paused, gathering a painful breath. "I think… a man of your stature, the secret master of Akatsuki, born of Konoha… doesn't have the sentiment for grave-visiting. Not for two men you've never met."
"You want to dig them up. Acquire their genetic material. For the Impure World Reincarnation. Am I right? Not long ago, Kakashi reported from the mission at Kannabi Bridge—the Scroll of Seals exchange. He said you made an appearance. You 'borrowed' the pages detailing Edo Tensei. All preparation… for this moment."
Obito's masked face remained still. "And? Can you keep going?"
"Of course." Shikaku's voice grew stronger, fueled by the thrill of the puzzle. "Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumo. Legends say they possessed the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. That they could harness the Nine-Tails' chakra without being its Jinchuriki. That they could wield Kumo's Sage Artifacts with that power."
"You want to resurrect them. Only three possible reasons."
"One: as direct combatants. But you possess 'X'. It's hard to imagine their power would interest you."
"Two: you want the Six Paths tools. But if that were the case, you'd just raid Kumo. With your space-time ninjutsu, taking them would be child's play. Why this convoluted, roundabout method?"
"So… reason two is also invalid."
He met Obito's eye. "Eliminate the impossible… and whatever remains, however improbable, is the truth. You're after the Nine-Tails chakra still lingering in Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
"Oh?" Obito's eyebrow lifted slightly behind his mask.
Shikaku barreled on. "Then why? Why go to such lengths? Why ignore the living, breathing Jinchuriki in favor of scraps of chakra clinging to old corpses?"
"You hit a wall. In your hunt for the Nine-Tails. Didn't you? After all… Naruto isn't the boy he used to be."
Obito's tone frosted over. "Think what you want."
Shikaku's mind clicked another piece into place. "That tone… So it wasn't Naruto who stopped you."
"Is your little deduction game over?"
"No." Shikaku's voice turned fierce, urgent. "Who stopped you doesn't matter! What matters is I understand now! It doesn't have to be 'Y' minus 'X'. Any chakra related to ('Y-X') can create the product 'Y'. But this inferior 'Y', this roundabout version… let's call it 'Y-minus'. Whether it's 'Y' or 'Y-minus', it can still achieve your goal 'Z'! Am I right?!!!"
He had never said the words 'Gedo Statue'. 'Tailed Beast'. 'Ten-Tails'. 'Infinite Tsukuyomi'. But with nothing but assumed concepts—X, Y, Z—and relentless logic… Nara Shikaku had carved his way to the heart of the truth.
Even Obito Uchiha felt a pang of profound respect.
"To pierce so close to reality with so few clues… Nara Shikaku. You truly deserve your title as the sharpest mind in the shinobi world."
That's all I need. Your recognition of my value.
A smile, calm and unshakeable, touched Shikaku's lips as he lay in the dirt.
"Obito… interested in a deal?"
Obito's focus narrowed. "A deal?"
"Are you really satisfied with 'Y-minus'… and not the real 'Y'?"
"..."
"I know… your resolve to achieve 'Z' makes you impatient. But if the variables are controllable… who wouldn't want perfection?"
He laid it bare. "To be blunt. I can get you the real 'Y'. With this." He tapped a trembling finger against his own temple. "With the mind I'm rather proud of."
Obito's gaze was dark, assessing. "And why should I trust you?"
"I'll show my sincerity." Shikaku's voice held no hesitation. "I'll submit to the control of your Sharingan. Willingly."
A flicker of deeper interest in those mismatched eyes. "Oh? To volunteer that… your condition must be to let the Hokage go."
"No." Shikaku shook his head, the movement small. "A man must know his own worth. I don't have that kind of bargaining power. Even if I convinced you, it would be your choice to act. If I threatened to kill myself… you'd just find another way to control me. So it's not a demand. Consider it… a request."
Obito's posture eased, just slightly. He regarded the fallen strategist with new eyes.
"A smart man. Speak, then."
Shikaku drew the deepest breath his bruised ribs would allow. And revealed the true purpose hidden beneath all his brilliant, desperate deduction.
—"All I ask… is that you spare the Hokage's life…!!!"
His voice, so full of sharp intellect moments before, was now raw. Humbled. A plea from the shadows for the light above.
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