The rain never stopped in Amegakure, and Obito had almost forgotten how much he hated that about the place.
Or to be exact, how much the original Obito hated that place, perhaps because it reminded him of losses and his change. Of course, rain itself was never an issue for someone who could pass through objects and teleport anywhere he wished to.
He walked through the corridors of the old base with the same unhurried gait "Madara" version Obito had always shown to the world after Obito Uchiha's official death took place, hands loose at his sides, single visible eye scanning the familiar architecture like a man returning home rather than a stranger stepping back into a life he'd mostly abandoned.
Same mask adorning his face, same clothes to remind him that he was now Obito Uchiha acting as Madara Uchiha. Not Kenjaku from some other world altogether.
He'd had to admit, though, that pretending to be someone else while he himself was in someone else's body was a bit too much, even for him.
Unfortunately, since he no longer had something as useful as Kamui with him, he had to either walk into the hidden base like an ordinary shinobi like everyone else or have Black Zetsu use his Mayfly technique and bring him in.
He went for the second approach since that was faster and saved him some face. It would be rather a downgrade if his impression of Obito Uchiha was correct. Obito with Kamui went wherever he wanted and whenever he wanted; none could stop him.
Acting the part of Madara Uchiha as he was, he acted a bit aloof and mostly above everyone else. If that same man suddenly had to wait in the waiting room for a meeting, what kind of aura loss would that be?
Nah, huh…
Kenjaku may be someone who was able to do almost anything for his plan, even turning into a woman and getting knocked up with a child, who, by the way, went on to be the strongest in the future, but that is beside the point. There was not really any limit to how far Kenjaku was ready to go for his plan.
However, an intentional loss of Aura when he could help it? No chance. One has to act cool, even if it meant losing.
"Madara."
As soon as they arrived, he heard a familiar voice calling out the disguise name he was playing today.
Turning his neck leisurely brought him face to face with a purple-haired woman who looked at him like she had seen a ghost.
She wore the Akatsuki uniform, and last he knew, there was only one woman in the entire Akatsuki organization. This was Konan.
Kenjaku could clearly see the shock she was trying to mask on her face. Konan was never very expressive to begin with, especially after Yahiko's death, so even this much expression on her face was a big deal.
"If it isn't Konan. I assume you have been doing well. How is Nagato, still tied to his chair?" Kenjaku almost effortlessly slipped into his role, asking questions which Obito might have asked, however, without any warmth or actual expectation of getting an answer. It was almost perfect, if not for the slightly fake, cheerily tone he added, reminiscent of his own style, which was completely missing in Obito's usual interpretation of Madara.
Obito was just cold and disinterested in its entirety.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, posture relaxed but keen eyes could easily see the stiffening under her cloak. "Why come after all this time?"
"Has it?" He said it flatly, without accepting her accusation at all, because that would have undermined the character he needed to maintain. "I've been occupied."
"Occupied," Konan repeated, and something in her tone made clear exactly how little weight that excuse carried anymore. "While Nagato ran this organization, trying to accomplish the Project Tsukuyomi all by himself. A plan which you suggested in the first place."
"And he seems to have managed well enough." Kenjaku shrugged. "And saying he did it alone is a little too much, don't you think? Give yourself some credit, Konan. I'm certain Nagato appreciates you being here by his side…"
"He has," she replied, no warmth in the words. "Which, once again, raises the question, why do you need to be here again after all this time?"
Kenjaku smiled, of course, that smile was never displayed since Obito's face was covered with the mask. So he just stared at her with his single Sharingan before asking.
"Is it you who wishes to know this, or Nagato?"
Konan narrowed her eyes at him, however, ultimately relented. The final decision again had to be Nagato's. Not hers.
She led him inward without further comment, and Obito filed the exchange away carefully. Even back then, this woman was cautious of Obito. Her loyalty to Nagato was a point of concern even back then.
However, at least she didn't openly question Obito. Today was different, and that difference clearly stemmed from Nagato's own attitude.
It was the highest building in the Hidden Rain base where Nagato resided. More of a necessity if he wished to control his Six Paths of Pain efficiently than a personal choice.
And this one little thing was his greatest advantage. He knew Pain's biggest secret.
As they entered the building and went up, Nagato's real body finally revealed itself, rings circling pale eyes with the same unreadable stillness they always carried. He was sitting in a metallic, sci-fi-looking chair with multiple black rods protruding out of his body. As if someone had imprisoned him in there with them on that chair.
Kenjaku knew better, of course.
"Madara."
Nagato's Rinnegan eyes narrowed, looking at the same masked man calling him Madara Uchiha after such a long time. Nagato, even before, never completely believed that Obito was Madara Uchiha, neither did he believe it now, no matter how mysterious he came out to be.
"What are you doing here? Especially after such a long time?" Nagato didn't beat around the bush. He straightforwardly asked, more like accused Obito.
"I've been researching," Obito said. "Preparations that required isolation. Nothing that concerns Akatsuki's current operations."
"Nothing that concerns us," Pain echoed, tone edged just enough to register as skepticism. "And yet you return the same week we lost two members and drew Kumo's attention onto this organization. Convenient timing."
"I return when I judge it necessary. After all, I was the one who suggested the Project Tsukuyomi in the first place, didn't I?" Kenjaku said while moving his eye back to Konan to throw her words back at her. The eye contact was only for a second or two, but the message went across clearly, and his eyes shifted back to Nagato again.
"That's always been your position." Pain's expression didn't shift, though something in the stillness sharpened. "Convenient, given how rarely 'necessary' seems to align with when Akatsuki actually needs manpower."
Obito let the insult pass without visible reaction, though privately he noted it — Nagato's patience for this arrangement had clearly worn thinner than expected.
No, to say that he wasn't showing any patience or attitude to talk sensibly towards him in the first place would be more ideal to express this situation.
Years of not showing up to remind him who was the boss had done exactly what Black Zetsu feared it might. The boy no longer feared Madara. Possibly never truly had. Fear might never have been among the emotions which Nagato had toward Madara Uchiha in the first place. What he might have had was caution and a hope to get the answer he was searching for.
"You extracted the One-Tail without consulting me," Obito said, shifting the conversation deliberately. "You sent two members after a jinchūriki on the battlefield with minimal preparation. Both are missing, presumed dead. You've drawn active investigation from at least one hidden village as a result. Explain the reasoning."
"The reasoning is that waiting accomplishes nothing," Pain said. "And I don't see the reason to tell my reasoning to a person who vanished for years on end like it was nothing and has nothing to say for himself."
"Moving forward recklessly isn't progress. It's exposure," Obito added, not even acknowledging the matter regarding his own absence.
"Exposure was inevitable eventually. We're gathering tailed beasts. That was always going to draw attention from someone." Pain's tone flattened further, cold and final. "What wasn't inevitable was doing it blind, without your input, because you weren't here to give any."
"You should have waited," Obito said simply.
"I've waited enough," Pain shot back.
The words landed exactly as intended — cold, deliberate, a quiet declaration that the balance of authority here had already shifted, regardless of what titles either of them still used toward each other.
"You forget who proposed this plan to begin with," Obito said, voice carrying just enough weight to remind rather than threaten outright.
"I haven't forgotten," Pain said. "But, don't forget that Akatsuki is not your organization. While I accepted your plan and your offer, how I go about accomplishing the plan is entirely on me."
Silence stretched between them, thick with everything neither was willing to state outright. Obito's expression remained composed, though beneath it, calculation sharpened toward something more decisive.
He already knew this was gonna happen, just had to give it a try just in case a miracle could take place, but clearly not. Diplomacy had run its course faster than even he'd expected — Nagato never trusted Obito's imitation of Madara Uchiha in the first place, and now was openly hostile towards him.
And that was fine. He wasn't here to play buddy-buddy either. He needed the Rinnegan. If persuasion wasn't going to deliver it, then force will. He just had to show it to Black Zetsu that he tried, which he accomplished.
He was still weighing the opening move — how quickly he could isolate Konan without triggering immediate retaliation, whether his borrowed Mangekyō alone would be enough if he caught him off guard or if he had to open his domain.
And then the entire problem with Nagato also possessing gravity-related powers, which might counter his domain's sure-hit if he used his gravity technique in his domain.
Any of his other techniques might not do since he didn't have any curse spirits to command here to use Geto Suguru's technique, nor was his own technique much useful in direct combat.
He just had to hope that the sure-hit nature of the technique and fast action took Nagato down. If not, then running away might be his only option after that.
Obito slowly raised both of his hands. He was slow and deliberate so that neither Pain nor Konan missed it, but exactly that was why neither of them immediately took action either. One has to say that Kenjaku was extremely proficient at playing psychological games.
And just as Obito thought that he had his chances, a sudden booming sound from outside halted not only him but everyone inside the room.
Pain's expression flickered, genuine surprise breaking through practiced stillness for the first time in the conversation. "What was that?"
Konan was already moving toward the nearest window, paper fragments swirling protectively around her even before she reached it. "The outer district," she said, voice tight. "Something hit the outer district."
Another blast followed, closer this time, rattling dust loose from the ceiling above them.
"We're under attack," Pain said, and for just a moment, something raw slipped through the otherwise unreadable composure — not fear exactly, but the sharp recalibration of someone realizing control had just been taken out of his hands entirely.
Obito's mind moved fast, weighing this sudden disruption against his own half-formed plan. Whoever had found their way into Amegakure's hidden base, whoever was bold — or powerful — enough to strike directly at Akatsuki's heart, had just changed the shape of everything.
"It seems," Obito said quietly, "we have more immediate concerns."
xXx
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