That day, Kisame arrived at the agreed location without Killer Bee.
"…" Obito left without a word.
Late at night, in the Akatsuki hideout
In a dimly lit inner room, Sasuke sat in silence. He wore a black shirt, and white bandages covered his eyes.
He had transplanted Itachi's eyes to gain greater power.
"Hehehe… I can feel it… the power is surging. I'm getting stronger!"
As the candlelight flickered, Sasuke's crazed laughter echoed through the dark room.
In a corner, Karin sat curled up, hugging her knees.
She could feel the darkness in Sasuke's chakra growing deeper, and it made her body tremble.
In the outer room
Obito waited silently for news.
The air was heavy. The flickering candlelight reflected off his mask. Even through it, his tension was clear.
Finally, black and white leaves unfolded from the wall, Zetsu returned with bad news.
"Kisame has betrayed us. He's surrendered to Naruto. The Eight Tails has been rescued by the Kumo shinobi and is already heading back to the village."
In the dim light, the reflection on Obito's mask stretched long. His voice was low.
"The one least likely to betray… betrays. And submits to the one he's least likely to submit to."
"Only an Uchiha's eye could create something so absurd."
"As expected, Shisui's right eye was taken by Naruto."
"Once again, he got ahead of us."
Black Zetsu said, "What do we do now? We've suffered heavy losses and are in a completely passive position…"
White Zetsu replied, "Isn't Sasuke still on our side? He's transplanted Itachi's eyes his power will grow even stronger!"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "If only it were that simple…"
Obito said, "Sasuke is consumed by his desire for revenge against Konoha. He won't put our plan first. And with his new power, we can no longer control him like we did before."
White Zetsu thought for a moment and said, "What about that girl who likes him? Maybe we can use her to threaten Sasuke…"
Black Zetsu cut in, "You said yourself it's one-sided. With how cold he is now, he might even kill her without hesitation."
White Zetsu persisted, "Then what if she had a child with him? Even if Sasuke's cold-blooded, he wouldn't just watch his own child die, would he?"
"…" Black Zetsu was speechless.
"…Are you done?" Obito asked coldly.
White Zetsu scratched his head awkwardly. "Huh? I was just joking. You seemed tense, so I thought I'd lighten the mood. This kind of thing's more Ah Fei's style anyway…"
The brief exchange ended, and the room fell into silence again.
Obito lowered his gaze. "Ever since Naruto started acting strangely, we've been on the back foot. Project Tsuki no Me hasn't made any real progress in a long time…"
"Eight Tails, Nine Tails, the Rinnegan... Two of the three remaining pieces needed to revive the Ten Tails are now in Naruto's hands."
"He's even gained the dangerous eye technique, Kotoamatsukami."
"We have to shift our full attention to Naruto now. At the very least, no! We must take back the Eight Tails!"
White Zetsu spoke seriously, "But we've already failed twice trying to capture the Eight Tails. Even Kisame was involved. Who should we send this time? Should we try convincing Sasuke to finish the job? Or… find someone else?"
Snap!
Blood trickled from Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan through the hole in his mask as his power surged.
"I'll go myself," he said.
Then he stood up and walked out of the hideout, each step slow but filled with power.
Watching him leave, White Zetsu muttered, "I haven't sensed this kind of killing intent from Obito since the Mist Village massacre. He's really angry this time…"
Black Zetsu added quietly, "If it's like last time, he might kill the Eight Tails by accident. If that happens, all our plans will fall apart. Someone needs to watch him…"
Just then, a laid-back voice echoed through the room. A figure with a swirling face and white body appeared.
"Looks like a lot happened while I was gone…"
White Zetsu lit up. "Oh~ You're finally back, Tobi!"
Black Zetsu wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, you stink. Did you fall into a toilet? And... Did you hear what we were saying?"
"I heard he's going after the Eight Tails alone,"
Tobi replied. His usual goofy tone faded, replaced by a rare seriousness. "But he's in a bad mood… if he snaps, he might really kill it. That's why I'm going with him."
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
_________________
Noted : if you guys want read advance chapter, you can check at my P@treon : patreon.com/MoonEater18