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Obito stood upon the mountainside, his gaze lifted towards the peak, which pierced high into the clouds above. He had visited the Hidden Mist Village before, during the mission to capture Kabuto. But back then, this mountain had not drawn his attention in the slightest.
'Pain... No, Nagato was here.'
The Rinnegan had bestowed upon Nagato immense, godlike power. Obito had since reclaimed the Sharingan from Kakashi, but even with that, when facing Nagato, the best he could hope for was self-preservation. The notion of forcibly seizing the Rinnegan from Nagato was, for all practical purposes, impossible. And that was not even accounting for the fact that Konan was constantly at Nagato's side. To reclaim the Rinnegan, Obito would have to contend not only with Nagato but with Konan as well.
The death struggle between the Allied Shinobi Forces and the Akatsuki was precisely the opportunity Obito had been waiting for. Ideally, both sides would utterly annihilate each other. Even if one side ultimately emerged victorious, it would, at the very least, be a pyrrhic victory, leaving them severely weakened. Only then would he have a realistic chance of securing the Rinnegan.
Come to think of it, when Madara had originally entrusted the Rinnegan to Nagato, he probably never gave much thought to how he intended to reclaim it.
In the distant sky, a sphere was slowly rising. From Obito's vantage point, it appeared to be roughly the size of a clenched fist. But accounting for the considerable distance, its true dimensions must have been truly gargantuan.
"It seems the two sides have already clashed... No, to be more accurate, it's become a fight to the death..." Obito murmured to himself. He had been waiting for this chance for years—over a decade, in fact. And now, that opportunity was finally within reach. The restless stirring in his chest caused a subtle fluctuation in his otherwise controlled demeanor, reigniting a fire that had lain dormant for so many years.
Yet, Obito knew with cold, rational clarity that the time was still not right. If he wanted to obtain the Rinnegan from Nagato and Konan, he would have to exercise supreme patience and restraint. After all, Nagato now possessed the chakra of eight tailed beasts—a level of power that Obito, in his current state, simply could not hope to match.
This was what Obito believed, and it was also the course of action he adhered to. Just then, a low rumble reached his ears from the distance. Obito immediately spun around. In the direction of the floating sphere, a massive plume of dust and debris was rising into the sky, as though something had detonated with catastrophic force. Even standing on the mountainside, Obito could feel the faint trembling of the rock beneath his feet.
"The Almighty Push?!" Obito exclaimed, momentarily stunned. Then, after a brief pause, a note of uncertainty crept into his voice. "But this magnitude..."
The residual shockwave from the sudden blast of concussive force was so immense that even Obito could tell something was profoundly different. It resembled the Almighty Push, yet its power far exceeded that of a standard deployment of the technique. It was obvious that a monstrous volume of chakra had been expended.
"Could it be...?"
Obito's gaze snapped abruptly towards the mountain's summit. Unleashing a technique of such overwhelming, cataclysmic scale would demand a staggering, almost incomprehensible amount of chakra. And even for Nagato, a member of the Uzumaki clan, after consecutively executing multiple large-scale techniques, he must surely be approaching the absolute limits of his chakra reserves. He might very well be on the verge of complete exhaustion...
Suddenly, a white shape flickered at the edge of Obito's vision. He glanced sideways and saw it was a White Zetsu clone.
"What is it?" Obito demanded.
"Two developments have occurred. I thought it best to inform you of them in advance," the White Zetsu reported.
"Are they truly that important?" Obito asked, his eyes still fixed on the mountain peak. At such a critical juncture, the last thing he wanted was for unexpected variables to derail his carefully laid plans.
The White Zetsu turned to look back towards the floating sphere before speaking. "The Deva Path has fully engaged the Allied Shinobi Forces in open combat."
"I am already aware of that," Obito replied, mildly irritated. The Allied Forces had been locked in battle with the Six Paths of Pain for some time now.
"No, what I mean is that the majority of the Allied shinobi are now converging their assault specifically on the Deva Path," the White Zetsu clarified.
"What?!" Obito's attention snapped fully onto the White Zetsu. Seeing the grim, serious expression on the creature's face—clearly not jesting—he suddenly recalled the colossal Almighty Push from moments earlier. "I see... What is the status of the other Akatsuki members?"
"Deidara has already been killed. The reanimated jinchuriki likely won't hold out much longer either. After slaughtering the majority of the summoned beasts, most of the Allied shinobi have now shifted their focus entirely onto the Akatsuki's remaining fighters. The good news is that several of the Kage-level commanders have been imprisoned within that stone sphere by the Deva Path's Planetary Devastation. The bad news is that, aside from those few, the Allied Forces still have shinobi like Tsunade on their side. Pain's position is extremely precarious," the White Zetsu explained.
Obito took a moment to organize his racing thoughts. Then, a sudden realization struck him. "What about Itachi? Is he dead yet?"
"That brings me to the second development. He has captured the main body. He forced the main body to lead him towards you. The main body has been deliberately taking detours to buy time, but he won't be able to stall for much longer," the White Zetsu stated.
Obito's expression flickered. The words "Then let the main body die" nearly burst from his lips. His plan was the only thing that mattered. White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, even Madara Uchiha—none of them were truly important! In fact, once he had secured the Rinnegan, Zetsu would very likely become yet another adversary to be dealt with. But until that moment arrived, Zetsu still held value as a tool.
The cold, murderous gleam in Obito's eyes flashed and vanished in an instant. He turned without another word and began making his way towards the mountain's summit. The White Zetsu followed close behind.
"Will the Deva Path be killed?"
"Uncertain. But even if he survives, he will be utterly exhausted. Nagato will need time to recover. And our window is closing rapidly. If Itachi catches up to you, even if he cannot kill you outright, he will buy Nagato the precious time he needs."
"I know," Obito gritted his teeth, his voice low and seething.
This might very well be one of the few remaining opportunities he would ever have. He could not afford to squander it.
"Go and inform Kabuto. Have him release the Impure World Reanimation. Since the Akatsuki can no longer hold back the Allied Forces, there's no point in wasting any more of the jinchuriki's chakra."
The White Zetsu nodded and turned to leave. Obito, meanwhile, did not hesitate for a moment. He ascended the mountain path without pause, climbing steadily until he finally reached the summit. Aside from a relatively flat clearing of roughly ten or so square meters, the only other notable feature was a jagged spire of rock, standing six or seven meters tall.
"Nagato. Konan. Come out," Obito called towards the jagged rock.
There was no response.
Obito tilted his head, considering whether to simply use a technique to obliterate the rock. But just then, the stone began to dissolve into countless sheets of paper, which scattered and swirled away on the mountain wind.
"As expected," Obito remarked, watching the flurry of paper with no trace of surprise.
"You knew we were here?" Konan's voice emerged.
"Of course. After all, we have been together for over ten years now. We know each other quite well, wouldn't you agree?"
Obito was well aware of Konan's ability to create incredibly lifelike disguises using her paper techniques. Once she had revealed herself, Obito's gaze remained fixed upon her. But it did not take long for him to notice the anomaly—there was no sign of Nagato anywhere on the summit. Only he and Konan were present.
"Where is Nagato?" Obito asked.
"Why are you looking for him?" Konan countered.
Obito fell silent. A faint, creeping sense of unease began to coil in his gut.
"This battle is extraordinarily dangerous. I would never allow him to expose himself to unnecessary risk," Konan stated.
Obito's expression shifted subtly. "It seems you are even more cautious than you appear."
"Naturally. Otherwise, wouldn't Nagato be in grave danger right now?" A barely perceptible smile flickered across Konan's lips.
"Are you on guard against me?" Obito asked pointedly.
"No. I am on guard against anyone who might attempt to harm Nagato. It just so happens that, at this moment, that person is you."
"What makes you so certain that I intend to harm Nagato?"
"If you had no ill intentions towards Nagato, there would be no reason for you to seek him out at this precise moment. Pain is out there on the battlefield. If you needed something, couldn't you simply take it up with Pain?" Konan replied, her voice as cold and sharp as a blade.