"Heh... heh... I actually won?" Obito gasped for breath, relieved to have survived the crisis. He couldn't help blushing slightly when recalling Black Zetsu's final roar.
He had indeed felt furious when hearing those words earlier, but his resistance had been almost ineffective—only when hearing that last sentence had he truly lost his mind to anger!
"Rin, thank you for saving me again!"
As he thought this, a sudden wave of pain surged through him.
Obito looked down at his abdomen. Thanks to the implanted Hashirama Cells, his self-healing was fast—already new tissue had begun forming over the hole there.
"Black Zetsu..." Obito's expression darkened slightly. After working together for eight years, it was inevitable he would feel something. Also, Madara had saved his life and guided him. Without that unexpected event, he hadn't planned on betraying Madara at all.
In a way, he'd betrayed three times—Konoha, Akatsuki, and Madara!
A three-time rogue ninja?
Obito shook his head, trying to shake off the chaos in his mind. Then he began thinking seriously, "Rin needs the Three-Tails' power to revive, but the Three-Tails was already handed over to Black Zetsu, who gave it to Yahiko for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's eye-opening experiment!"
"There are two ways to retrieve the Three-Tails. The first is through Akatsuki channels, but without Aizen appearing, it will be difficult to gain their trust! Still, maybe I can change my approach—use Aizen as a hostage in exchange for the Three-Tails!"
Thinking this, Obito felt even more headaches coming.
From a technical standpoint, he was the one who "captured" Aizen—but that guy was monstrous in strength. The moment he released him, he might just end up being captured himself!
Obito clenched his fists. "So... I really have no choice but to take the path Black Zetsu suggested? Return to Konoha, request my senior to capture Aizen, then use Aizen to exchange for the Three-Tails!"
If possible, he really didn't want to return to Konoha... or rather, he didn't have the face to go back!
Yet when it came to Rin's revival, no matter how embarrassing it was, he would accept it!
"Just feel sorry for Shisui!" Thinking about this clansman he had dragged into trouble, Obito's face turned slightly red. He had just convinced the guy to "betray" Konoha, and only a few days later, he himself was going back!
Wasn't this basically throwing someone into the lion's den?
"Sigh... No matter what, I must face it. I'll go tell Shisui now!" Obito covered his abdomen and solemnly walked toward the room where Shisui was resting.
However, Obito didn't realize that deep within his body, a drop of Black Sludge was lurking silently!
Black Sludge opened its tiny eyes and sneered, "After being tricked so many times, you still haven't learned—truly, you're amazing!"
Saying this, Black Zetsu sighed again, "If it wasn't necessary to avoid Seiki Shimaseki's attention, I wouldn't have done this either!"
He could take Obito's place, but couldn't truly imitate Obito's personality.
Facing ordinary people would be fine, but against Seiki Shimaseki, he had little confidence in maintaining his disguise without slipping up.
Therefore, letting Obito continue forward following his own "will" was the best choice!
"Enjoy your final moments!"
With a whisper, Black Zetsu transformed back into Black Sludge and fell silent once more.
At this moment, Shisui felt extremely uneasy.
"I might have been identified in the end. I hope I'm not bringing trouble to the clan. But since my undercover mission was assigned by Lord Seiki Shimaseki, he should explain things for me, right?"
Thinking about his undercover role, Shisui felt a wave of dejection.
He'd gone through all the trouble to infiltrate Akatsuki, only for the very person who recruited him to betray the whole operation. What kind of messed-up situation was this?
All he could do was hope they had a backup plan, maybe something like... temporarily disguising himself as Aizen to get through this?
Just then, the door pushed open.
A limping figure stumbled in.
Shisui was about to speak, but then he froze.
That huge hole in his stomach and he acted like nothing happened—was this performance art?
Obito had no idea how his younger clansman was secretly ridiculing him. He simply looked embarrassed. "Shisui, after serious consideration, I've decided to return to Konoha. Do you want to come back with me?"
Shisui stared at Obito speechlessly. He'd worked so hard to convince him to defect, and now he wanted to go back again?
Did this guy get hit in the head with a shovel?
But considering Obito's tendency to lash out at society, he could kind of understand someone acting this foolish.
"Good thing I only 'defected' on paper. Otherwise, I'd have been completely screwed by him!"
...
At the ongoing Kage Summit in the Land of Iron.
Hearing Seiki Shimaseki say his clone was already on the way to provide support, everyone felt slightly reassured and focused their criticism on one individual.
"Hokage-sama, don't you owe us a proper explanation?" Rasa coldly demanded.
"Associating with an evil organization like Akatsuki, I have every reason to believe you're no longer fit for this position!" Mei Terumi herself followed up.
Kitsuchi and A remained silent, but their icy gazes spoke volumes.
"What do you brats know? I endured humiliation for the peace of the shinobi world by cooperating with them!" Danzo snorted. "Besides, if I had truly been collaborating with them, I wouldn't have suffered that humiliation four years ago!"
Kitsuchi couldn't help but retort, "More like you were captured four years ago and were released only after bargaining through cooperation?"
Danzo disdainfully turned his head away. "Nonsense!"
As he spoke, he shot a quick glance toward where Seiki stood.
He clearly understood that the one who would ultimately decide his fate was Seiki Shimaseki himself. As long as Seiki didn't move against him, no one could strip him of his Hokage title!
Seeing Danzo look his way, Seiki's voice turned heavy. "For the honor of the Hokage title, resign peacefully."
Danzo's heart immediately went cold, but he still stubbornly persisted. "What nonsense? Why should I listen to you?"
"Withstand one of my Genjutsu, and if you can, I won't make any comments on this matter! Correspondingly, if you fail, you'll resign from your Hokage position voluntarily!"
The other four Kage turned sharply in shock. "Seiki, you..."
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Danzo quickly agreed. "Fine, you said it yourself!"
Seiki nodded. "I did say it!"
Danzo's confidence surged. "Then bring it on!"
Seiki Shimaseki began forming hand seals. One second, two seconds...
Seeing this, Danzō's forehead began to sweat involuntarily. If Seiki could even form hand seals — and ones this complex — just how horrifying must this genjutsu be?
Twenty seconds later, the genjutsu was finally completed.
Seiki Shimaseki exhaled a mouthful of stale air. "[Eternal Hell Samsara!]"
In the next moment, the scene before Danzō's eyes changed completely.
It was clearly the scene again of the Second Hokage delivering his final instructions.
"Heh, another illusion like the last one..." Danzō inwardly scoffed. Suddenly, the memories in his mind became blurry. "What's going on with me? Wasn't I at the Kage Summit?"
Hiruzen nudged him on the shoulder. "Danzō, what's wrong with you? Come back to your senses!"
Lifting his head, Danzō saw the Second and everyone else watching him, and he suddenly recalled. "Right, the Second was delivering his final words. How could I zone out?"
Feeling ashamed, Danzō quickly straightened his posture and focused his attention.
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