After delivering his message, Nagato's Pain successfully secured Kakuzu's assistance.
Zetsu then rushed back to Kirigakure without stopping.
He felt like his Mayfly Technique was being pushed to its limits.
After more than ten days of travel, Zetsu finally returned to Kirigakure and met with Uchiha Obito.
Obito looked at Zetsu's black and white face, noticing his exhausted appearance. "What's wrong with you? Why do you look so tired?"
Zetsu was speechless. Was Obito serious? He'd been traveling non-stop, either on the road or heading somewhere new.
After catching his breath, Zetsu reported to Uchiha Obito: "She agreed and will not interfere when you invade Konoha."
Uchiha Obito was surprised. "She really agreed?"
Zetsu nodded. "I initially asked her to help you invade Konoha, but she refused. Still, this is good enough."
Uchiha Obito agreed. "If Sora doesn't act against me, my situation will be much less pressured. What's the cost? I imagine it isn't small."
Zetsu replied: "The price is reasonable. She wants a sufficient amount of chakra receiver rods and ten White Zetsu bodies."
Uchiha Obito was surprised at hearing the price. "Is that all? I have some chakra rods that Madara left for me in my Kamui dimension. White Zetsu is also simple to provide, but what does she want these for?"
Zetsu was just as confused as Obito. "I was puzzled when I heard her demands, but since she wants these items, they must serve some special purpose. We need her cooperation now, so we should simply provide what she asks.
Also, to avoid arousing suspicion in Konoha, we need to arrange two opponents for her. I've already borrowed Kakuzu from Nagato, and Hoshigaki Kisame can be the second opponent."
Uchiha Obito's eyes narrowed. "Though I've heard of Kakuzu, I don't know much about his abilities, but he shouldn't be able to defeat Sora.
And Kisame is definitely not Sora's equal.
I doubt even the two of them combined could defeat her.
This is quite dangerous.
Kisame is my subordinate, and I don't want him sacrificed in such a meaningless way."
Zetsu explained: "Don't worry, Sora and I have reached an agreement on this point. She won't kill either of them."
Uchiha Obito confirmed: "So you and Sora have basically finalized the agreement, correct?"
Zetsu responded: "Yes, we've essentially reached an agreement. You should go to Konoha to meet with her, finalize the cooperation, and deliver the reward."
Uchiha Obito pondered for a moment before asking: "Zetsu, do you think our Akatsuki organization could successfully recruit Yahiko?"
Zetsu was shocked by this thought. "That's absolutely impossible!"
Obito appeared puzzled. "Why are you so certain it's impossible? Sora isn't loyal to Konoha. It might be possible."
Zetsu said to Obito seriously: "Obito, abandon this idea.
You cannot control Yahiko.
She is extremely mysterious, and although she isn't loyal to Konoha, she firmly refused to help invade it.
She has her own agenda.
Letting her join Akatsuki would be like planting an explosive tag that could detonate at any time and potentially harm us."
Zetsu was genuinely concerned that Obito had lost his mind if he was seriously considering recruiting Sora.
Her motives remained unknown and mysterious, and she seemed to know many of their secrets.
If Obito recruited Sora, Zetsu feared she might actually join—and he had no strategy for dealing with her. What would she do next if she became a member of Akatsuki?
Uchiha Obito asked curiously: "Zetsu, you seem to have strong reservations about Sora?"
Zetsu explained: "Of course I have reservations.
When I went to meet her, she nearly killed me from the start.
Obito, Sora will not submit to others.
Recruiting her would be like recruiting a master rather than a subordinate. Think about it—if you recruited Sora but she refused to follow your orders, what could you possibly do about it?"
Uchiha Obito hadn't expected that Zetsu was nearly killed during his meeting with Yahiko. He had assumed everything had gone smoothly.
After considering it, Obito realized that Zetsu's concerns made sense.
He truly might not be able to control Sora.
Uchiha Obito said: "Let's drop it for now. Let's go see Sora and settle this matter. We have just over a month left."
Zetsu sighed inwardly.
They were on the road again, without a moment's rest.
A few days later.
Uchiha Obito and Zetsu arrived outside Konoha.
Just as Obito was about to enter the village to find Sora, Zetsu quickly stopped him.
Zetsu warned: "You can't approach her directly. The reason she nearly killed me was because I rashly went near her house. She later warned me that if I approached her home carelessly again, she would kill me immediately."
Uchiha Obito frowned. "If we can't go to her directly, how will she know we're here?"
"No need to search. I'm already here."
Sora walked toward Uchiha Obito and Zetsu.
Zetsu clenched his teeth. Had they been discovered so easily?
Obito's heart was also racing.
Sora approached Zetsu and Uchiha Obito.
She looked at Obito with a half-smile. "Uchiha Madara?"
Uchiha Obito replied in Madara's voice: "It is I."
Sora spoke with a hint of amusement: "I'm truly surprised.
Uchiha Madara, known as a 'legendary shinobi' alongside Senju Hashirama, is still alive.
What surprises me even more is that Uchiha Madara has asked for my cooperation.
It's remarkable that you want me to simply not act against you."
Zetsu grew extremely worried. He feared that Sora might not keep her promise and would expose Obito's true identity.
He was concerned that if Obito realized his disguise wasn't secret, it might alter his mindset.
Uchiha Obito replied calmly: "I didn't expect that a hero of Konoha would agree to my proposal."
Sora spread her hands. "I'm no hero of Konoha, merely a partner to the village. If you can provide what I want in exchange for cooperation, why wouldn't I agree? Now, enough talk. Have you brought the items?"
Uchiha Obito activated Kamui and released a cluster of chakra receiver rods from his dimensional space, along with ten White Zetsu clones bound together.
"Is this sufficient?"
"This will do."
The chakra receiver rods couldn't be stored in a sealing scroll.
Sora summoned two large snakes that swallowed the chakra rods and White Zetsu clones respectively. She then canceled the summoning, sending the snakes back to Ryūchi Cave.
Uchiha Obito asked: "Now that you've received your payment, our deal is concluded, correct?"
Sora confirmed: "Of course. The deal is complete, and our agreement is in effect."
As Uchiha Obito activated Kamui and prepared to leave with Zetsu, Sora smiled and said: "I would genuinely enjoy testing my skills against Uchiha Madara. I hope we'll have that opportunity someday."
Uchiha Obito gave Sora a long look and replied, "There will be a chance," before disappearing.
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