The silent moonlight pierced through the thin mist and entered the room through a massive floor-to-ceiling window, casting its glow on an orange mask with black stripes, illuminating a pair of scarlet eyes.
Uchiha Obito's thin figure stood alone by the window, gazing out at Kirigakure through his single eye.
"The plan isn't going smoothly, is it?"
A voice from behind broke the silence.
Zetsu, resembling a pitcher plant, emerged from the ceiling, his black-and-white yin-yang face bathed in the cool moonlight.
"Just a minor hiccup," Obito replied without turning around. "Although it delayed things a bit, after killing a few disobedient ones, they've finally calmed down. The war... has begun."
He spoke lightly, but the situation was anything but simple.
Despite Kirigakure's power, it had suffered greatly—first during the Third Shinobi War when Konoha devastated them, and later when Obito controlled the Fourth Mizukage, plunging the village into the Bloody Mist era. The village had been bleeding slowly, with over thirty assassination attempts on the Mizukage!
Kirigakure was severely weakened—no exaggeration there.
And now, the Fourth Mizukage suddenly declared war on Konoha. Honestly, most of the village's shinobi were on the verge of collapse. If not for the Mizukage being a Jinchuriki, the ineffectiveness of using sheer numbers, and the restraints from elders and noble clans, Kirigakure might have fought among themselves before even confronting Konoha. Googlᴇ search Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Yet, when force doesn't work, deception does. The village's insincere cooperation had disgusted Obito, forcing him to engage in numerous overt and covert battles. Only after much effort did he barely achieve a fragile balance, gathering enough forces for the Fourth Mizukage to squander in the war.
To the elders and noble clans, the now-mad Fourth Mizukage was simply wasting Kirigakure's already thin resources.
"Obito, I'm sorry to interrupt your moment, but I have bad news," said Zetsu.
"Bad news?" Obito turned, his scarlet eye locking onto Zetsu.
"The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is dead," Black Zetsu rasped.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi... dead?" Obito repeated, frowning beneath his mask. This was undeniably bad news.
Some might see it as Konoha losing a great Hokage, but Obito had hoped Hiruzen would live longer. As long as Hiruzen lived, tensions between the Uchiha and Konoha would persist, and a divided Konoha was the best Konoha for Obito.
Hiruzen's death extinguished the flames of internal conflict in Konoha.
Now, no one would stand as firmly against the Uchiha as Hiruzen and Danzo had. Though new internal disputes might arise, Konoha could claim temporary unity, especially in the face of external war threats.
In fact, the external pressure might even accelerate the unification of Konoha's fractured factions.
This realization left Obito in a foul mood. How long had he been gone from Konoha, and Hiruzen was already dead? He had counted on the old Hokage to keep Konoha in turmoil!
"Not just Hiruzen," White Zetsu chimed in. "Danzo is dead too. According to Konoha's intelligence, it was the Mist's Juzo Biwa who assassinated Hiruzen."
"Juzo Biwa?" Obito narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"How could someone like Juzo kill Hiruzen?" Obito knew Juzo's abilities well. While strong, he was nowhere near a match for someone of Hiruzen's caliber.
"That's what Konoha's announcement says," White Zetsu continued. "I investigated, and Konoha isn't lying. Danzo was killed by a shinobi named Kakashi Hatake, and Hiruzen was genuinely killed by Juzo's blade. Juzo also died at Hiruzen's hands—it was a mutual death."
Obito trusted Zetsu's reconnaissance abilities, so he accepted this as the truth.
Hiruzen had indeed died at Juzo's hands. Although the details were unclear, the most important thing now was that this event made the war with Konoha even more challenging.
Not that Obito expected Kirigakure to win the war.
From the start, his true target had been Uchiha Sougen and the Uchiha clan itself. His goal was to destroy the Uchiha using either Kirigakure or Konoha's forces. The fewer Mangekyou Sharingan users, the better.
"In addition to the bad news, there's good news too!" Zetsu interrupted.
"Just say it," Obito snapped impatiently.
"The good news is that the leader of Konoha's forces this time is Uchiha Sougen." White Zetsu grinned. "What do you think, Obito? Isn't that great news? Sougen's on the front lines, and with some luck, you might get yourself another pair of Mangekyou Sharingan!"
Obito remained silent.
That *was* good news.
With Sougen on the front lines, it would be easier for Obito to make a move than if he were hiding in Konoha.
For now, Obito preferred not to reveal his identity, whether as himself or as Madara. Being exposed in Konoha, surrounded by old acquaintances and the Hyuga's Byakugan, would be risky. If his battle with Sougen dragged on, someone might uncover his true identity, which didn't align with his plans.
"Uchiha Sougen... at least it wasn't a complete waste. Even Kirigakure's useless forces can serve a purpose sometimes," Obito said, glancing at the Fourth Mizukage, who sat motionless in his chair like a lifeless puppet.
"Are you planning to send the Mizukage to the battlefield?" Black Zetsu rasped.
"That's right. Without the Mizukage, Kirigakure's forces are no match for Konoha. Even though I don't expect them to win, I need the battle to drag on long enough to deal with Sougen."
Obito turned his gaze from the Mizukage to the bright moon in the sky.
One day, he would create a world where Rin existed—a perfect world without conflict or pain, where everyone could live carefree lives in a paradise.