Black Zetsu's judgment wasn't wrong. It knew just how difficult it was to control the Ten-Tails.
However, once Black Zetsu pointed out that Obito Uchiha already had the means to revive the Ten-Tails, it became meaningless for Shirou Emiya's group to continue pursuing the Nine-Tails in Konoha.
After all, the Nine-Tails chakra within Kinkaku and Ginkaku's reanimated bodies was enough for Obito's purposes. Even if they captured Naruto Uzumaki, it wouldn't stop Obito.
"Kabuto!" Black Zetsu snapped, its expression tinged with anger. "Why didn't you tell us about Kinkaku and Ginkaku sooner?"
"Because at the time, I was only interested in the Kages," Kabuto explained with a casual smile. "I wasn't interested in their power, and Lord Orochimaru wasn't satisfied with the other bodies I'd found. As it happened, I could use their bodies to maintain Lord Orochimaru's trust in me."
He added, "I also didn't expect two seemingly unimportant people to have such an impact on Akatsuki's plans."
His logic was sound, and he seemed completely unbothered. Though Black Zetsu was furious, it couldn't find a real flaw in his reasoning. It had long known Kabuto wasn't fully loyal to the Akatsuki, so getting angry now was pointless.
"Let's go back." Shirou Emiya traced a finger through the air.
A pitch-black, swirling portal appeared before him. His wheelchair glided forward, and his figure slipped into the darkness of the space-time gate.
"Leaving already?" Deidara muttered unhappily, fiddling with the clay in his hands.
"Looks like something big happened," Sasori said, shaking his head. His puppet, Hiruko, followed Shirou straight into the portal. "Hurry up, Deidara."
"Yeah, yeah, Sasori-danna!" Deidara grumbled, but he followed Sasori's lead.
The other members of Akatsuki followed Shirou inside, disappearing quickly through the gate.
The oppressive pressure that had kept the Konoha ninjas on edge vanished the moment the Yomotsu Hirasaka gate disappeared.
"…"
The moment they were gone, Tsunade collapsed.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune cried, rushing forward to support her.
"I must be the most humiliated Hokage in Konoha's history," Tsunade said with a self-deprecating laugh, her eyes filled with pain as she glanced at the ruined village behind her. "The enemy destroyed the village, and as Hokage, I couldn't do anything…"
"This isn't your fault, Lady Tsunade," Shizune comforted her in a low voice. "The crisis is over for now. Should we let Sakura and the younger ninja return to the village?"
"…" Tsunade was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "Send some people to the border of the Rain Village. Find out what exactly happened within the Akatsuki…"
What had happened? Obito Uchiha had looted the entire Akatsuki hideout and even used the collaboration to toy with Konoha.
Kakashi Hatake brought back the body of Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, and reported everything directly to Tsunade, including Obito's theft of the tailed beasts and the true purpose of the Moon's Eye Plan.
"It's not just about turning them into weapons of war… It's about casting a jutsu called Infinite Tsukuyomi," Kakashi explained. "Supposedly, this jutsu will trap everyone in a dream world. Now that Obito has eight tailed beasts, his next step will probably be to capture the Nine-Tails from Naruto…"
"He doesn't even need Naruto's Nine-Tails," Tsunade said, shaking her head wearily. She combined what she learned from her conversation with Shirou with Kakashi's report. "Obito and Orochimaru already have Nine-Tails chakra. The Gold and Silver Brothers, who stole a portion of its chakra long ago, are in Orochimaru's hands. He can already revive the Ten-Tails…"
But what were they supposed to do? Even if they could stop Obito, could they stop Shirou Emiya and Madara Uchiha? Their terrifying power inspired both awe and hopelessness.
Tsunade sighed. She didn't know what lay ahead for the ninja world. The five great nations that once dominated the land now seemed powerless. All they could do was wait.
"We can't just do nothing!" the Fourth Raikage, who had been evacuated to Konoha as a guest, yelled at Tsunade. "We'd rather die in battle than sit here and do nothing!"
"But we've already lost a Kage," Tsunade countered, having already seen Gaara's body and arranged for its return to the Sand Village.
"Death isn't scary!" the Fourth Raikage shouted furiously. "You're too soft, Tsunade!"
"Death really isn't scary," Tsunade agreed, shaking her head.
She raised a more practical suggestion. "Let's set that aside for now and focus on gathering more information about the Akatsuki. Konoha has suffered, and surely the other villages won't think we've gotten off easy. Every village has had its interests harmed by the Akatsuki. We should unite as many as possible, pool our wisdom, and find a way forward."
She concluded, "In any case, no single village can fight the Akatsuki alone. No matter the outcome, let's at least share information."
With the Fourth Raikage here, the Cloud's position was clear. With the Sand as Konoha's long-standing ally, they could likely rally the strength of three villages. As for the Stone and the Mist… Tsunade could only hope they would see the bigger picture.
Right now, the entire ninja world was split into three camps: the Akatsuki, led by Shirou and Madara; the traitors, led by Obito Uchiha; and the five great nations, who were unfortunately the weakest of the three.
-----
Akatsuki Base
Shirou Emiya waited with the Akatsuki for a full day. Finally, a refreshed Madara Uchiha appeared.
He had just fought the reanimated First Hokage, Hashirama, again, thanks to Orochimaru. Even after hearing about Obito's betrayal, he had rushed back to the base. Strangely, he was still in a great mood.
This guy… was definitely a bit weird.
"I just finished suppressing Hashirama," was the first thing Madara said to Shirou.
He wasn't concerned about the crisis; instead, he was beaming about his battle. "As I thought, the only real fun in this world is fighting Hashirama!"
"…" Black Zetsu's face looked even darker.
Do something useful! What use is Hashirama now?
"…" Shirou Emiya gave a serious nod, as if agreeing that Madara's victory over Hashirama was praiseworthy.
"Alright. Let's discuss the real issue," Black Zetsu interjected grimly. "There's a problem with our plan. Obito Uchiha and Orochimaru have a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra. They can revive the Ten-Tails at any time. We must act quickly."
"What about Sasuke?" Madara frowned, looking around at the group. He seemed to notice that one person was missing—Sasuke Uchiha, the boy he had personally been mentoring.
"There's some trouble with Sasuke," a White Zetsu clone explained.
It recounted what had happened between Sasuke and Itachi, then offered a conclusion. "There may be more to Itachi Uchiha's destruction of his clan. Obito claims he knows the truth and took Sasuke away with him."
"That kid's going to be fooled," Madara scoffed. He didn't believe for a second that Obito would reveal the truth to Sasuke out of kindness, he suspected Obito was just trying to trick him.
"A mistake is a mistake," Shirou Emiya said, unconcerned about Obito's attempt to manipulate Sasuke. "Mistakes will eventually be corrected."
He was already prepared for any issues Sasuke might run into.
In truth, Obito wasn't really tricking him.
As someone who had witnessed the Uchiha clan massacre, what Obito said was, for the most part, the truth. Conveniently, Orochimaru could back up these facts with the former Hokages he had reanimated. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could act as a key witness.
To deal with Madara, Orochimaru had summoned four Hokages via Impure World Reincarnation, but he still couldn't stop him.
In the end, he had safely retreated with the reanimated Hokages to the Kamui dimension. Those witnesses from that era would become Obito's tools to convince Sasuke.
"Itachi always loved you," Obito said. "A conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's leaders brought things to the brink of a coup. The higher-ups gave Itachi a choice: kill the entire Uchiha clan, including your parents, and your younger brother would be allowed to survive as the sole exception."
Obito continued, "To make sure you lived… Itachi agreed."
"Third…" Sasuke unconsciously turned to the reanimated Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"…" Hashirama and the other Hokages also looked over.
"It's true," Hiruzen confirmed, unable to deny it. From a Hokage's perspective, he could not deny the sacrifice Itachi had made.
Hiruzen was there for everything. He knew all the details and truths, and he laid out the full story of the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.
This included the death of Shisui Uchiha.
It included Itachi's double life as a spy.
And it included the blood-soaked massacre that was Itachi's final mission.
"…"
At that moment, something inside Sasuke snapped.
For the past eight years, the sixteen-year-old's life had been consumed by revenge. The immense pain of his slaughtered clan had always weighed on him.
And yet, when the truth was finally revealed, the pressure didn't lift.
Instead, Sasuke felt an even heavier burden. He had only survived because his loving brother had shouldered the blame, killing their parents and their entire clan for his sake.
He himself… was the reason for the clan's massacre.
Sasuke sat on the steps of the Kamui dimension, tears streaming down his face. He no longer knew which direction his life should go.
"Sasuke, don't lose yourself over this," Obito's cold voice urged, confident he could win him over. "What you should do now is inherit Itachi's will. Madara Uchiha and Shirou Emiya… those two are always above it all. They'll never understand Itachi's love for you. They only want to use you to obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and awaken the Rinnegan, which is why they kept stirring up conflict between you and your brother."
"But the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan… Itachi always intended to leave it for you."
Obito pressed on. "Join me, Sasuke. Together, we can create a new world. A world where Itachi is still alive, a world where the Uchiha clan still exists. In that world, you will never have to look back on this past. You can finally live the life you truly want."