Inside the tall tower of Agakure.
Sora, draped in a black robe with red clouds, stood to one side of the hall, his gaze sweeping over those present.
In the main seat was not the original Nagato in his wheelchair, but the Deva Path among the Six Paths of Pain—Yahiko.
’So the Six Paths of Pain have already been completed.’
Sora mused inwardly.
It seed Nagato was already beginning to invest himself in playing the role of "God."
Beside Deva Path, Konan stood silently.
On the other side, Kisa Hoshigaki, with a large sword resembling "Sahada" propped on his shoulder, grinned as he surveyed the center of the hall.
Obito, still wearing his orange vortex mask, leaned against the shadows in a corner, as if rging with the darkness.
In the center of the hall stood a red-haired youth wearing a ring bearing the character for "Jade" (玉).
No, to be precise, it was a puppet with the appearance of a youth.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
’I wonder how much of his collection he’s replenished since I snatched it last ti.’
Recalling his unexpected encounter with Sasori in the Land of Wind, Sora silently assessed Sasori’s strength in his heart.
"Everyone’s here."
Deva Path’s cold voice broke the silence.
His purple Rinnegan slowly swept across everyone present, finally landing on Sasori.
"This is Sasori of the Red Sand, a missing-nin from Sunagakure, officially joining the organization as of today."
Sasori lifted his eyes slightly, his scarlet pupils scanning the few people present.
"Pleasure to et you."
Kisa chuckled. "The genius puppeteer from Suna, huh? Heard you took out the Third Kazekage?"
Sasori didn’t answer, rely stating flatly, "That’s already in the past."
Deva Path continued, "The organization still lacks manpower, but we are now preliminarily capable of executing large-scale missions."
"Next, we need to accumulate funds and resources."
He looked toward Sora and Kisa.
"White Tiger, Kisa, the black market in the Land of Earth has posted three S-rank bounty missions, all targeting missing-nin of Kage or Quasi-Kage level."
"You two will partner up and complete these three missions."
As he spoke, Konan handed over three scrolls.
Sora took the scrolls and, without opening them imdiately, calmly asked, "Three S-rank missions, what’s the ti limit?"
"Within two months."
Deva Path’s Rinnegan focused on Sora.
"With your abilities, it should be more than enough."
’A test is coming.’
Sora understood clearly.
Nagato specifically assigned him and Kisa to such high-difficulty missions, partly because the Akatsuki truly needed funds.
On the other hand, he probably wanted to observe Sora’s true strength through combat, and incidentally infer his relationship with Azure Dragon.
"Understood."
Sora put away the scrolls, his voice still raspy.
"Any other requirents?"
"The mission targets must be killed. Bring back the bodies as intact as possible; the organization has research value."
Deva Path added, "Also, be careful not to expose the organization’s identity. Wearing the robes during action is sufficient; masks are optional."
"Got it."
Sora nodded.
Kisa was cracking his knuckles nearby. "Finally, so proper missions. Staying in the Land of Rain all day, my bones are getting rusty."
Deva Path then looked at Sasori.
"Sasori, you’ll act alone for now to familiarize yourself with the organization’s procedures. Missions will be assigned later."
Sasori gave a slight nod, offering no further words.
"eting adjourned."
Having said that, Deva Path turned and walked toward the shadows, with Konan following closely behind.
Sasori also headed out of the tower.
The hall was left with only Sora, Kisa, and Obito in the corner.
Obito erged from the shadows and approached Sora.
"White Tiger, complete the missions as soon as possible."
"The organization’s plan is about to begin."
Sora’s heart stirred, knowing that the "Nine-Tails Incident" was entering its countdown. Feigning confusion, he asked, "What plan?"
"You’ll know when the ti cos."
Obito didn’t reveal more, only saying aningfully, "It’s crucial for achieving our world of peace."
With that, his body began to spin and warp, rging into the Kamui space.
"Rember, as soon as possible."
With those final words, Obito completely disappeared.
Kisa walked over to Sora, grinning. "Madara is always so mysterious, but there’s no denying his strength is incredible."
Sora didn’t respond, turning to walk out of the hall. "Look over the mission scrolls and plan our route."
"Got it."
The two left the tower one after the other, stepping back into the endless curtain of rain.
...
Deep within the tower.
In a certain secret room.
Deva Path stood quietly by the window, his Rinnegan piercing through the rain to watch the departing figures of Sora and Kisa.
Konan materialized behind him, asking softly, "Nagato, do you think White Tiger and Azure Dragon are connected?"
"Uncertain."
Deva Path’s voice was utterly flat.
"Not that it matters, though. The organization only needs his power."
"If he can complete the missions perfectly and shows no signs of trouble, then he can be tentatively trusted."
"If he has problems..."
Deva Path didn’t finish, but the implication was clear.
Konan nodded, her paper wings gently unfolding behind her. "Should I monitor him secretly?"
"Not for now."
Deva Path looked back out the window.
"Let Madara’s people handle it. What we need to do now is continue searching for suitable mbers."
"Kakuzu is dead, but the shinobi world is vast; there are bound to be other strong individuals."
The rain continued to fall without pause.
...
Outside Agakure.
In a certain underground cavern.
Obito’s figure stepped out of a vortex.
From deep within the cave, a dark pitcher plant rose from the ground, and Zetsu, half-black and half-white, slowly erged.
"Madara, you’re here."
White Zetsu greeted him in his characteristically flippant tone, while Black Zetsu remained silent, rely fixing his yellow eyes on Obito.
Obito walked to the center of the cave and removed his mask, revealing his crimson Sharingan.
"How are the preparations for the plan coming along?"
Black Zetsu’s raspy voice sounded. "The arrangents in Konoha are complete. The Fourth Hokage’s guard assignnts, surveillance of the Uchiha clan grounds, the weaknesses of the Nine-Tails’ seal... all the intel has been gathered."
"And the timing?"
"Three months from now, on October Tenth."
Black Zetsu spoke slowly. "That’s the day of Kushina Uzumaki’s due date, when the Nine-Tails’ seal will be at its weakest. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to act."
A flicker of complexity passed through Obito’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by indifference as he muttered softly, "Namikaze Minato..."
White Zetsu asked curiously, "Madara, why do you have to kill the Fourth Hokage? He’s your teacher, isn’t he?"
Obito put his mask back on, his voice turning deep. "Precisely because he is my teacher, he has to die."
"Namikaze Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique is too troubleso. With him around, any action against Konoha would be severely restricted."
"And besides..."
He paused, then continued. "He’s too smart. If he lives, he’ll eventually see through my identity and the truth of the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"So, he must die during the Nine-Tails Incident."
Black Zetsu nodded, then asked, "And what about the Uchiha clan? You had specifically stoke the Konoha higher-ups’ suspicion of the Uchiha, even secretly pushing the radical faction within the clan—you want to..."
"Exterminate them."
Obito spat out two words, his tone icy. "The Uchiha clan must vanish from Konoha."
White Zetsu let out a "Wow." "Even your own clan? Madara, you’re truly ruthless."
"Clan?"
Obito laughed coldly. "I haven’t had a clan since the day I ’died’ at the Kannabi Bridge."
"The Uchiha clan possesses imnse potential; you’re well aware of the Sharingan’s power. If they reconcile with Konoha, or worse—fully align with Konoha—it would be a huge threat to our future plans."
"And moreover..."
A red glint flashed in his eye. "I need more Sharingan, especially Mangekyō."
"Exterminating the Uchiha not only eliminates a hidden danger but also adds plenty of materials to my collection."
Black Zetsu was silent for a mont, then slowly said, "Uchiha Shisui has already awakened his Mangekyō; his ability seems to be powerful genjutsu. Does he need special attention?"
"And also Uchiha Takumi."
"Shisui, Takumi..."
Obito recalled the images of both, nodding. "Those two are indeed troubleso, but no need to worry. I already have arrangents."
"On the night of the Nine-Tails Incident, soone will ’conveniently’ lure them away, preventing them from returning to Konoha in ti."
"By the ti they get back, everything will be over."
Black Zetsu looked at Obito, sighing inwardly with admiration.
Truly the one chosen by Uchiha Madara.
Ruthless enough. Absolute enough.
Kill his teacher, exterminate his clan, sacrifice everything for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
This kind of complete cold-bloodedness was exactly what was needed to execute the plan.
"Oh, right."
Obito suddenly asked, "What about White Tiger? Do you think he’s reliable?"
Black Zetsu pondered. "Seems fine so far. His strength is indeed considerable, and he appears to have no ulterior motives toward the organization."
"However..."
He paused. "Nagato’s side is probably testing him too. This mission in the Land of Earth is a trial."
"Doesn’t matter."
Obito said flatly. "As long as he can complete the mission, he has value."
"After the Nine-Tails Incident is over, I’ll assign him more ’work’."
White Zetsu interjected, "And what about Azure Dragon? He killed the Third Raikage; his strength is probably not much less than yours, Madara, right?"
ntioning Sora, the corner of Obito’s mouth twitched slightly. ’What does "not much less than mine" an? He’s way stronger than , alright.’
"Azure Dragon is indeed a variable."
"But for now, he’s busy managing Ryūgakure and shouldn’t interfere with Konoha matters in the short term."
"We’ll consider how to handle him after we complete the Nine-Tails Incident and officially launch the plan to collect the Tailed Beasts."
Black Zetsu nodded, then reminded him, "And that Vermilion Bird, his whereabouts are still a mystery. There’s very little intel on him in the bounty hunter circles."
"Keep looking."
Obito commanded. "For a strong individual of that level, it’s best to recruit him. If not, we must at least keep track of his movents."
"Understood."
Black and White Zetsu slowly sank into the ground and disappeared.
Only Obito remained in the cave.
He walked to the entrance, watching the drizzling rain outside. Images surfaced in his mind: Rin’s final monts, Kakashi kneeling before her grave, Minato Namikaze’s gentle smile...
"Everything will change."
Obito muttered to himself, a gleam of obsession flashing in his eyes.
"In this false world, only the Eye of the Moon can bring true peace."
"Sensei, I’m sorry."
"But I have to do this."
The rain fell harder and harder, as if playing a dirge for the bloody overture about to unfold.
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