Kagami's words touched Samui's heart. A small, genuine smile graced her lips. "Thank you," she said, her voice soft. She hadn't expected him to be so considerate as to send his clones to protect her brother. Her opinion of this terrifying, handsome man rose considerably.
Kagami simply touched his nose, saying nothing more. His motives, after all, were not entirely pure. But he certainly wasn't going to reveal that and risk lowering her burgeoning affection.
His clone communicated with the others, and two of them silently detached from the group, speeding off to catch up with Atsui and the retreating Cloud shinobi. The remaining clones then exchanged glances, and without another word, turned to begin the journey back to Konoha with Samui in tow.
Not long after they departed, a strange, black-and-white figure slowly emerged from the ground. It was Black Zetsu. He stared in the direction Kagami's clones had gone, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and murderous intent.
A moment later, the space beside him twisted into a vortex, and the masked figure of Obito appeared.
"His strength... it has grown again," Obito said, his voice heavy as he looked at the grisly, scattered remains of the Eight-Tails. If he had once thought he stood a chance against Kagami, he now had to admit the truth: he was no match for him. He likely couldn't even defeat one of his clones. Kagami's growth had completely shattered his expectations. He worried, deeply, about what would happen if Kagami ever discovered their plan.
Black Zetsu stood beside him, silent, his own mind racing, trying to solve the problem of Kagami. If this Uchiha was not dealt with, his centuries-long plan to revive his mother would be jeopardized. He had no way of knowing, of course, that Kagami was already well aware of his plans and was, in his own strange way, looking forward to meeting him. Since he will become his stepdad.
After a long silence, Obito took a deep breath, his visible eye hardening with resolve. "For the sake of true peace, I will not let anyone stand in the way of the Infinite Tsukuyomi." He had made his decision. Once he had resurrected the Gedo Statue and become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, he would make Kagami pay. But before that, he needed to increase his own strength. He had to take back Kakashi's Sharingan. If he remained this weak, he couldn't guarantee he would be able to escape Kagami's grasp a second time. He felt a fleeting moment of gratitude that Kakashi had been away from the village on the night of the massacre. If he had been there, he would have been turned to paste along with Hiruzen, and Obito's eyes would have been lost forever.
At that moment, Black Zetsu offered a suggestion. "Obito, why don't we revive Lord Madara ahead of schedule? Only he can deal with a monster like Kagami." In his opinion, Obito was still far too weak, a pale imitation of the true Madara. If the real one were resurrected, they might stand a chance.
But Obito rejected the idea without a second thought. "No. The time is not yet right." In truth, he had no intention of ever resurrecting Madara. He wanted to become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki himself and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He knew Madara's true power, a force that likely surpassed even Kagami's, and he knew Madara had left a failsafe in his heart to control him. He would not resurrect the old monster unless he had absolutely no other choice.
To placate Black Zetsu, he added, "I already have a plan to deal with Uchiha Kagami. If it doesn't work, we can revive Madara then." He knew Black Zetsu was a product of Madara's will and was always on guard against him.
Black Zetsu saw through the lie but said nothing. Obito is no longer trustworthy, he thought. It seems I need to prepare a contingency plan. Though he was weaker than Obito, he was not without his own means. If Obito's plan failed, he would simply take control of him by force and resurrect Madara himself. The Infinite Tsukuyomi would not be denied.
Seeing Black Zetsu's silence, Obito dismissed it and walked forward, collecting the scattered flesh of the Eight-Tails. "With this chakra, it should be just enough to revive the Ten-Tails."
Then, he and Black Zetsu vanished.
After they were gone, the light around a nearby tree seemed to distort, and a figure appeared. It was another of Kagami's clones. Relying on the Nine-Tails' ability to sense malicious intent, his original clone had detected someone hiding in the shadows. He had secretly created another clone, using his Mangekyō to bend the light and conceal himself, waiting to see who it was. The result was as he expected: Black Zetsu and Obito.
"Black Zetsu, my good son," the clone chuckled, a wide, predatory grin on his face. "Hurry now, work hard. Collect the Tailed Beasts and revive your mother. I can't wait to meet her."
The clone then turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared. He had intentionally left the Eight-Tails' chakra behind, a calculated move to hasten Kaguya's revival. He had more than enough chakra from the Nine-Tails; the Eight-Tails was irrelevant.
With the clone's disappearance, Kagami, far away in Konoha, received the information. He felt the strain on his eyes and frowned, a wave of soreness washing over them. "It seems I need to find a way to upgrade to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan as soon as possible," he murmured.
Even though it was a clone using the Mangekyō, the negative effects were still fed back to his original body—an unfortunate side effect of the jutsu. He had only used his ocular abilities a few times, yet his vision had already deteriorated significantly. If he continued at this rate, he would soon be blind. He could use his reversal technique to regrow his eyes, but it couldn't restore his ocular power. The new eyes would be ordinary, useless.
He used the technique to ease the soreness, but his vision did not improve. He had expected this, but it was still frustrating. He had sent people to find Orochimaru, but there had been no news yet. Even if he couldn't find a way to evolve his eyes, he at least needed a way to replenish his ocular power. His awakened abilities were far too useful to lose.
And it wasn't just for himself. His future children would undoubtedly awaken their own Mangekyo, and a way to advance to the Eternal Mangekyo would be of immense benefit to the entire clan. Not every child would be born with a powerful template; for those who weren't, the power of the Sharingan would be a crucial asset. As a father, it was his duty to consider everything for his future children.
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