Obito felt his scalp crawling. What was going on? Was his cover about to be blown?
Though he claimed to have abandoned human emotions, deep inside, he still hoped they would preserve a beautiful impression of "Obito."
All the evil stuff was done by "Tobi" or "Madara Uchiha." The person known as Obito had long ceased to exist!
Just as his mind was in chaos, he heard Seiki speak again, "Just hearing my voice caused so many shifts in your eyes. That complex emotion—no stranger could possibly display that!"
"So it was my eyes... Right, the senior was the one who founded the Psychology Club. My eye movements couldn't possibly escape his notice!" Realizing this, Obito forcefully calmed his mind, his eyes stopping from flickering. "Isn't it strange to remain calm in front of a monster like you?"
Yet Seiki let out a long sigh. "You really are someone I know. In fact, you must've been part of the Psychology Club once, right? Only they would know how to hide their gaze from me!"
Obito felt as if struck by lightning. Dammit! Those words earlier were definitely a deliberate test from the senior!
Indeed, compared to a true genius like the senior, even after being a shadowy manipulator for so many years, he was still far inferior in terms of mental strength and intelligence—completely at the senior's mercy!
"You... exactly who are you?"
Hearing the senior's challenge, Obito instinctively closed his eyes. He feared that if he kept staring, he'd spill his guts!
"Good thing I switched my Mangekyou back to the standard Three Tomoe pattern when exiting Intangibility. Otherwise, if the senior saw my Mangekyou pattern was the same as that bastard Kakashi's, I'd be exposed for sure!"
Seiki continued, "I know everyone who graduated from the Ninja Academy. Besides, I don't believe anyone can hide their strength from me. Therefore, you must be someone presumed dead or fallen in battle.
"Of course, I'm more inclined to think you're a comrade who 'died' during the war, since bodies are rarely intact after war, and those missing for a certain time get classified as KIA. Though there are quite a few such missing persons, this at least narrows it down..."
"Enough! Don't say anymore!" Obito roared. "I'm not Danzo Shimura... No, I have absolutely nothing to do with Danzo Shimura. Don't read too much into it, and I've never ordered anyone to gather anything about the Psychology Club!"
After speaking, he fled with Intangibility while keeping his eyes shut.
Seiki's expression turned peculiar. Had even Obito mastered the essential skill of passing the buck?
...
Obito, single-mindedly focused on escape, continuously used Intangibility until he barely managed to stop after returning to the Underground Base in Grass Country.
"Phew! Finally back... Wait, senior..."
Only at this point did he belatedly realize with alarm, "Crap! If the senior followed me here, wouldn't my base be exposed?"
Obito looked around warily while activating his Sensor.
After confirming Seiki hadn't followed, Obito felt slightly relieved but simultaneously his mood worsened significantly.
His Kamui mainly involves intangibility and teleportation. While he can also use it for travel, each teleportation only covers a few kilometers—this distance should still be within the sensing range of his senior.
Yet his senior didn't even bother to chase him, as if intentionally letting him escape!
"Could it be that Senior already guessed my identity?"
At this thought, Obito suddenly felt a terrifying sense of social humiliation, then angrily shook his head. "So what if he recognized me? Hmph! I'm already an emotionless—"
"Obito!"
"Ahhh!"
Hearing that voice and immediately panicking, Obito exclaimed in shock. Black Zetsu looked confused, asking, "What's wrong with you? What do you mean, 'emotionless'?"
Seeing that it was only Black Zetsu, Obito exhaled in relief, then said gloomily, "It's over. Senior seems to have recognized me!"
"What?" Black Zetsu sounded even more shocked than Obito. "How did that happen? How were you discovered?"
Obito's mind was a mess, and he didn't even notice Black Zetsu's strange reaction. He just spilled everything that had happened today.
After hearing Obito's story, Black Zetsu's expression darkened. "Damn it! Just a slight lapse and things turned out like this!"
Due to his Seiki Shimaseki phobia, unless absolutely necessary, he usually avoided entering Konoha.
Therefore, this time Black Zetsu hadn't accompanied Obito in person.
Obito looked at Black Zetsu hopefully, asking, "Black Zetsu, do you think Senior might mistake me for Danzo because of what I said at the end?"
"If your [Dojutsu] can lower the opponent's intelligence to your level, maybe it could work!" Black Zetsu inwardly scoffed as he said, "But after all, it's Seiki Shimaseki—the man who can see through deception. That's not going to happen!"
"I knew it would come to this!" Obito sighed, finally giving up completely and fiercely declaring, "So what if my identity's exposed? What the hell do I have to be scared of?"
"Wait! Absolutely not!" Black Zetsu's tone turned urgent. If Obito's identity was exposed, there was a good chance that Seiki Shimaseki would reveal Rin's survival.
If that happened, Obito might betray Akatsuki on the spot!
"Why not?" Obito asked puzzled. "Isn't it exactly what you wanted—to cut off my escape route?"
"Cut off your escape route?" Black Zetsu inwardly scoffed. If you knew Rin was still alive, even if you were hated and beaten by Konoha, you'd still crawl back on your knees like a lovesick dog!
Calmly collecting himself, Black Zetsu explained, "Before we kick off the Fourth Great Ninja War, your identity needs to stay under wraps!"
"Why?"
"First, our plan is to let White Zetsu rebel, shifting the blame onto Akatsuki and forcing them into war with the Five Great Hidden Villages. However, if your identity is exposed, people might mistakenly believe you are a Konoha spy infiltrating Akatsuki, diverting some attacks away from Akatsuki onto Konoha!"
"Second, we still need to present our 'solution' to Akatsuki. If your identity is revealed, your despicable acts—including the assassination of your teacher and even attempting to kill your mentor's wife while she was in labor—would also come to light. Even Akatsuki, being a group of criminals, would look down on you, let alone trust a despicable lowlife like yourself to offer any kind of solution!"
Obito's body trembled slightly. Assassinating Minato Namikaze, he could still justify it as seeking vengeance for Rin—getting back at her teacher for always arriving too late!
But Kushina had nothing to do with this, and she had always cared for and loved them, treating them truly as her own children!
Thinking of this, Obito's voice grew hoarse. "Yeah... someone like me, even rogue ninja would look down on me, wouldn't they?"
"Forget rogue ninja, even I look down on you!" Black Zetsu, the most devoted son in the history of shinobi no sekai, inwardly mocked.
Obito fell silent. "Then what should I do? Even if I don't reveal myself, my senior will still uncover the truth!"
"Then don't give him time to deal with you!" Black Zetsu firmly replied. "Launch the Great Ninja World War directly. Once things kick off, even if your identity gets out, it won't matter anymore!"
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