"Hehe, I didn't want to seize control of you quite this early, but you just couldn't resist looking for your own death."
Obito stared coldly at the hypnotized Kitsuchi before him. His exposed, blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan was filled with a chilling malice, his voice like shards of ice.
The Third Tsuchikage's willpower had been far more resilient than he had anticipated.
It had taken Obito an entire month of relentless mental assault and reinforcement to finally shatter Onoki's defenses and bring him fully under heel.
Obito had originally planned to rest for a few months before dealing with Kitsuchi.
After all, he had awakened the Mangekyō less than half a year ago. With his current Chakra levels, controlling too many high-level targets at once was a dangerous strain.
But he hadn't expected the man to walk right into his trap, acting as if he'd discovered something he shouldn't have.
"Ugh!"
Obito suddenly tore off his mask, his hand clutching his bleeding eye.
Thick, crimson blood seeped through his fingers, staining his hand in a gruesome display.
"So, controlling two Kage-level powerhouses simultaneously is still pushing my limits..."
"Fine. I'll just wipe his memory for now. I can finish the indoctrination later when I'm recovered."
"Hmph. Sunagakure emphasizes collectivism and unity above all else... I wonder how twisted this village will become once I'm done with its leaders? I can hardly wait to see it."
The corners of Obito's mouth curled into a dark, predatory smile.
He could already see the Hidden Stone Village descending into chaos and self-destruction under his invisible strings.
"Konoha, don't worry. Once I have the Stone in my pocket, you're next."
Kitsuchi, his eyes previously glazed and hollow, suddenly shuddered. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head with a violent jerk, before turning and speaking with a dull, submissive tone:
"Father, I'm leaving now."
"What's wrong? Why do you have that look on your face all of a sudden?"
In the Uchiha compound within Konoha.
Shuang Uchiha looked at the man before her. He had suddenly gone rigid, a look of blank surprise crossing his handsome features. Her mature, curvaceous face was filled with genuine concern.
Shuang leaned forward, reaching out with a slender, porcelain-white hand, intending to stroke his cheek with a tender touch.
Rasa blinked, the shock in his eyes slowly receding.
He shook his head and caught Shuang's hand mid-air, gripping it firmly.
"It's nothing," Rasa said flatly.
Shuang's stunning face remained clouded with worry. She stared at him for a long beat, as if trying to read the secrets behind his eyes.
Ultimately, she didn't push him. Instead, she let a mesmerizing smile bloom on her lips.
Rasa's reaction had been too sharp to be "nothing," but if he wanted to keep his secrets, she would let him.
Every man needed his own shadows.
Shuang gently pulled her hand back.
A melodious, sultry voice drifted from her crimson, pouty lips.
"If you ever need my help with anything... anything at all... you only have to ask."
Rasa nodded slightly.
He leaned back into the plush cushions of the sofa, letting out a long breath.
"Has Mikoto still not returned?"
Shuang pondered for a moment, her expression turning uncertain.
"She left for an A-rank mission three days ago. Based on the details, she's likely still in transit to the target area."
"Do you know the specifics of the mission?" Rasa pressed.
Shuang shook her head with a look of apology.
"I only know the rank. The village's protocols are strict, even between mother and daughter. I didn't want to overstep."
Rasa nodded and fell silent, his mind racing.
He had wanted to force the issue and have the mother and daughter "confront" their shared relationship with him today.
He could have simply activated the space-time anchor in Mikoto's dagger and dragged Shuang along for the ride.
But without knowing her mission parameters, it was too risky.
If she was in the middle of a high-stakes infiltration or a life-or-death battle, a sudden teleportation would be a disaster.
He wasn't willing to gamble her life for a bit of erotic drama.
Better to wait until she returned safely.
He looked up at the white ceiling, his eyes narrowed in thought.
Minutes ago, Rasa had felt the "backdoor" he had implanted in Kitsuchi's psyche vanish.
It was a contingency plan he'd set up six months ago when Kitsuchi's team had infiltrated the Land of Fire.
He had helped them sabotage Konoha, then hypnotized them to forget his involvement, but left a small mental anchor just in case.
Now, that anchor was gone.
There were only two possibilities.
First: Kitsuchi found the anchor and removed it. Highly unlikely. The man wasn't a mental specialist, and the anchor was buried too deep.
Second: Someone else had overwritten it with a more powerful Genjutsu.
Only someone with a Mangekyō Sharingan could do that.
Rasa's lips quirked. Is it you, Obito?
It seemed that despite the war ending differently, Obito had still survived and was now targeting the Stone Village.
A wicked idea began to form in Rasa's mind.
The people of Iwagakure were fanatically loyal to their village. Conquering them would be a headache of administrative nightmares.
But if Obito turned the village into a hellscape of fear and misery...
Then Rasa could swoop in at the perfect moment, playing the role of the grand savior who delivers them from darkness.
"Hehe..."
It was a long-term plan, but he had time. Obito wouldn't be able to break a village like the Stone in a week. It would take years of slow rot.
He turned his attention back to the beautiful woman sitting beside him.
"Later, you should go to the Third Hokage. Apply for permission to leave the village for a while."
"Just say I'm going with you. He won't dare to refuse."
Hidden Villages were, at their core, military outposts.
Civilians could come and go, but for a shinobi—especially one as powerful as Shuang—leaving without a mission was a breach of protocol.
However, with the war just ended and Orochimaru's defection shaking the village, the Leaf was on high alert.
Rules were being enforced with iron discipline.
"Alright, I'll submit the request today."
"But... where exactly are we going?" Shuang asked, her curiosity piqued.
"We're going to the Land of Hot Water. Specifically, the Hidden Steam Village."
"I want to see what this 'Jashin' really is."
Hearing Rasa's eager, almost hungry tone, the expression on Shuang Uchiha's face instantly froze.
The Steam Village was tiny, its shinobi barely numbering in the hundreds and possessing pathetic quality.
Even before she had awakened her Mangekyō, Shuang could have slaughtered them all single-handedly.
But there was something else there. Something ancient and terrifying.
Rasa chuckled at her rigid posture.
"Oh? In all the time I've known you, I think this is the first time I've seen you look truly scared."
As the most talented Uchiha of her generation, Shuang was usually the epitome of calm.
Even when cornered by a Jinchūriki and dozens of Root agents, she hadn't flinched.
Shuang took a deep breath, her massive, silk-bound breasts heaving with the effort.
It took a dozen breaths for the tension to drain from her face, but her eyes remained dark with a fear she couldn't fully suppress.
"Rasa... the 'Evil God' of that land is not something to be toyed with."
She lowered her head, the words coming out in a strained whisper.
"The Steam ninjas are trash, but the thing hidden behind them is a monster of pure darkness."
She squeezed her hands into fists, the memory clearly clawing at her.
"Years ago, I broke into their main altar. I thought it was all just a scam to fleece the locals."
A cold sweat broke out on her brow, her body beginning to tremble again.
"But when I reached the inner sanctum, I didn't see a god. I saw a massive shadow flicker in the distance. And in that split second, before I could even draw my sword, I was hit by an 'Evil Art'."
Shuang's voice broke, her composure finally shattering.
"Without any physical contact... from over a hundred meters away... she made me pregnant. I was a virgin, Rasa. It was a spontaneous, impossible pregnancy."
"If I hadn't been fast enough to flee, I would have been trapped there forever as a vessel!"
Rasa stared at the trembling woman.
He let out a soft sigh and pulled her into his arms, wrapping his strength around her. He stroked her back with a soothing, rhythmic motion.
"Back then, you were just a girl—a teenager who had just made Jonin."
"Now, you are many times more powerful. The girl who was defenseless doesn't exist anymore."
"Besides, I'll be right there with you."
Held firmly in his embrace, the warmth of his body began to steady her nerves.
After a long silence, she spoke into his chest, her voice muffled but clear.
"The logic holds... but I still feel like the 'Jashin' power operates on a logic completely outside of our Ninjutsu system."
Rasa continued to stroke her, his eyes shining with a predatory light.
"That's exactly why I have to see it for myself."
"A power that can create a pregnancy out of thin air? I need to know how she does it."
"By the way... how did you know the 'god' was a female?"
Shuang lifted her head, her gaze becoming fierce and possessive once more.
She reached down and pinched the soft flesh of Rasa's waist.
"Hmph. If I get hit by that art again—if my body is forced to violate the laws of nature for a second time—I won't have the face to live in this village anymore!"
"As for how I know she's a woman? I heard her voice once. It was... hauntingly beautiful."
Rasa laughed, ignoring the pinch as he squeezed her tighter.
"Don't worry. With me there, no one is getting pregnant unless I'm the one doing the planting."