"When will Obito be able to get here?" Black Zetsu asked his other half.
Although he believed that "inviting" Orochimaru would not be difficult, he still had some self-awareness. Whether it was Black Zetsu or White Zetsu, neither of them had the slightest intention of personally dealing with a "dangerous person" like Uncle Snake.
Zetsu's entire body structure and the techniques he used were certainly strange and unique, but he was not the type suited for direct combat. In terms of pure fighting power, without any special measures, the black-and-white pair together would not be enough for Uncle Snake to toy with for three minutes.
Of course, not every Zetsu was like that. Among the White Zetsu, there were also individuals whose combat ability had been enhanced. They were simply extremely rare. For example… Tobi.
"Tobi has already gone to notify him. Judging from the mission Obito is currently carrying out and estimating his location… he should be able to arrive very soon. Until then, we'll continue monitoring the place," the main body of White Zetsu said.
Hidden outside Orochimaru's underground base, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu each used one eye to keep the place under tight watch.
Orochimaru was a master of hide-and-seek, but Zetsu was also the top dog of the reconnaissance world. If one really had to judge, perhaps the latter was "a cut above." Otherwise, this accidental discovery would not have happened.
This matter could only be blamed on Uncle Snake's pure bad luck. Hagoromo bore no responsibility whatsoever.
"Tobi, huh? He really is fast." Although Zetsu was praising him, when he mentioned Tobi, his face looked as if he were constipated… Tobi was the sort of individual one avoided troubling whenever possible. His personality was nothing like a mass-produced model.
Unfortunately, with Akatsuki's current combat strength, every available force had to be used.
Tobi was a special White Zetsu individual who had once been used by Obito as a kind of skin for a long period of time. To put it simply, he could be understood as an increased-capacity, extra-thick, overnight-use White Zetsu. His combat strength was not to be underestimated.
He was proficient in all five chakra natures: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. Under certain conditions, he could even go head-to-head with a shinobi on the level of the Third Hokage.
At the same time, this guy was proficient in Wood Release. If he had a more reliable core added to him, he could even use the Wood Human Technique… Unfortunately, most of the time, he was just an empty shell.
But creatures like White Zetsu had rather serious flaws. It was not that those flaws always showed themselves, but once Tobi's combat power went up, his IQ went down.
"For our next plan, Orochimaru is necessary, and Uchiha Sasuke is the same. Therefore, this time, we must proceed with caution…"
Before Black Zetsu could finish speaking, spiral-shaped ripples suddenly appeared in the space behind him. Immediately afterward, Uchiha Obito's figure emerged.
"But it seems your level of caution is rather limited…" he said.
"You got here this quickly…" White Zetsu said in surprise. Obito arriving so quickly was indeed a good thing for capturing Orochimaru, but for his original objective, it was precisely the opposite.
"Then… what happened with the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails?" he asked next.
"Kumogakure is extremely cautious. Perhaps because our previous operation in Kirigakure was too high-profile, the remaining villages have already become tense."
"Kumogakure had already made preparations in advance. I did not find either the Two-Tails or the Eight-Tails. The timing was indeed good, but the other side's vigilance was too high," Obito replied. Leaving aside whether or not he was truly frustrated at that moment, his tone revealed a considerable degree of disappointment.
"It seems we'll have to think of another way to deal with those two tailed beasts."
Obito had originally intended to take this opportunity to infiltrate Kumogakure and capture the two jinchūriki in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, reality was that forget capturing them—he did not even know where Kumogakure had hidden the two jinchūriki.
Although the recent Five Kage Summit had not caused an uproar throughout the entire shinobi world, its secrecy was not particularly high as far as Akatsuki was concerned. Or rather, a major event involving all Five Great Shinobi Villages could not possibly be hidden from White Zetsu's intelligence network.
The Kage leaving their villages meant opportunity for Akatsuki. Obito had originally planned to act while the Raikage was away from the village. However, Kumogakure was not stupid either. With Kirigakure serving as a warning, they had long since adjusted their countermeasures regarding their jinchūriki: hiding them in absolute secrecy.
Therefore, Obito returning empty-handed was entirely reasonable.
"In that case, the situation on Iwagakure's side probably won't be optimistic either," Black Zetsu immediately inferred.
"The situation with Iwagakure cannot be judged for now. In any case, set that aside for the moment. The most important thing right now is dealing with Orochimaru. Since they are necessities, we must succeed this time…"
"Orochimaru will be left to me. You two will be responsible for Uchiha Sasuke," Obito ordered.
Zetsu: "…"
"Is there a problem?"
"No way. We have to take action personally… What about Tobi? To be honest, I don't think I can beat the target." White Zetsu wilted. Although his words were somewhat exaggerated, it was true that he did not want to directly join the battle.
"No need to worry. Uchiha Sasuke himself is not a target who needs to be dealt with through combat. Words alone will be enough to change his position." Before Obito could say anything, Black Zetsu spoke first.
At this moment, he had already woven together several sets of Talk no Jutsu and was brimming with confidence, prepared to guide and persuade Sasuke.
And that was indeed the actual situation. As Black Zetsu said, Uchiha Sasuke was not difficult to deal with… as long as Itachi was used as bait, he would easily take the hook.
"Tobi has already taken action ahead of us. We can't delay either." As Obito spoke, he used Kamui and disappeared from the spot.
No matter what, Zetsu would naturally obey his orders.
"Hehe, after obtaining new eyes, he's already getting a little impatient, isn't he?" White Zetsu remarked emotionally, then sank into the ground as well.
The defensive barrier Orochimaru had set up was as good as useless before them.
At this moment, Akatsuki's side was actually moving in three directions with three people: Obito, Zetsu's main body, and Tobi. They happened to correspond to the three main targets inside the base: Orochimaru himself, Uchiha Sasuke, and, while they were at it, Kabuto Yakushi as well.
Of course, there were not only these three people inside the underground base, but everyone else was insignificant.
Inside the dim, long corridor, strange and bizarre patterns covered the walls above, below, to the left, and to the right. They displayed the unique aesthetic sense of Orochimaru, the owner of this place… Uncle Snake's sense of aesthetics was not quite the same as an ordinary person's.
In this dark, cold, and sealed underground environment, unusually clear footsteps came from afar, gradually drawing closer.
Kabuto Yakushi walked through the corridor carrying a tray covered with a white cloth. Beneath the cloth were probably all kinds of medicines stored in bottles and jars, because as Kabuto walked, the sound of glass bottles occasionally clinking against one another could be heard.
He was returning from Orochimaru's room to his own. Perhaps he had just finished performing breast aug—cough, flat-chest surgery for Uncle Snake.
However, Kabuto Yakushi did not seem to have noticed the approaching crisis.
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