"Shut up!"
Obito was beyond annoyed with Tobi, who kept boosting the enemy's morale while undermining his own plans. He frowned and growled irritably.
Even if Obito didn't want to admit it, his plan had completely failed.
It had failed miserably.
After staring at Ryūjin with eyes full of unwillingness, resentment, and fear, Obito didn't spare another word. Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the battlefield.
Obito chose not to use Kamui to escape because a tiny thread of hope still clung to him. From the beginning of this operation until now he had been using Transformation Jutsu, keeping his true face hidden. Nagato and the others should not know who he really was, right? The mysterious Uchiha who fought alongside Minato Namikaze could never be traced back to his real identity.
Obito clung stubbornly to that small chance, the last piece of luck he had left.
Watching Obito vanish, Ryūjin made no move to stop him.
With Kamui and Wood Release both at his disposal, Obito was far too dangerous to confront directly without exposing critical abilities like the Rinnegan.
Once Obito disappeared completely, the White Zetsu clones disguised as ninjas stopped trying to interfere with Nagato and the others and began to pull back as well.
In the blink of an eye, the wasteland that had once swarmed with combatants now held only Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan — along with a few others — and the bodies of those like Minato Namikaze who remained buried beneath the ground.
As for Yagura Karatachi, lying unconscious on the scorched earth?
Ryūjin had been so focused on everything else that, truthfully, he had overlooked him entirely.
"Sir, we truly owe you a great debt today. Otherwise, our Akatsuki might have been completely wiped out," Yahiko said sincerely, bowing before Ryūjin once Obito had fully retreated.
Ryūjin waved his hand casually, as if what he had done was nothing remarkable. "Don't mention it, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"May we ask your name, sir," Nagato asked respectfully, "so we may know who our benefactor is?"
"Uchiha Ryūjin," Ryūjin answered after a moment's thought.
Since his face had already been seen, and he was part of the Leaf Village's Police Force, telling them his identity would not change much. If they were truly curious, a little investigation would reveal everything.
Yahiko and the others had no idea Ryūjin already knew who they were. They stepped forward and introduced themselves one by one. After exchanging formal greetings, they were properly acquainted.
"By the way," Ryūjin asked thoughtfully, "do you know why the man impersonating a Leaf Village Anbu set this trap for you?"
"I do have a guess," Yahiko said in a serious tone, his eyes sharp with certainty. Nagato and Konan exchanged the same look of agreement.
"It was probably someone who calls himself Madara Uchiha," Yahiko explained. "About a year ago, this man suddenly appeared before Nagato, claiming to be Madara Uchiha, a guide for mastering the Rinnegan, and wanting to recruit him."
"But his beliefs are extreme and radical. We never trusted him, and we never gave him the opportunity to influence Nagato."
"I suspect this whole operation was his design. His real target was Nagato. If you had not intervened in time, Nagato would have become his puppet."
As Yahiko spoke, his certainty was clear. Obito's strategy had been strange right from the start. Controlling both the Hokage and the Mizukage in such a grand setup, just as a message to Nagato and the others? It didn't add up.
But once they connected the dots to Madara Uchiha's involvement, everything suddenly made sense. The logic fit neatly.
Ryūjin was amused by this. Obito's failure had, in fact, strengthened the Akatsuki's vigilance. From now on, scheming against Nagato and the others would be much harder.
However, Ryūjin did not reveal Obito's real identity. Who knew if other White Zetsu were still nearby? He had no interest in drawing Black Zetsu's attention by showing how much he already suspected.
"What do you plan to do next, Ryūjin?" Yahiko asked after a moment.
"I'll take the Hokage-sama back to the Leaf Village. What about you?" Ryūjin replied, straightforward as always.
Yahiko exchanged glances with Nagato and Konan. "We will return the Mizukage-sama to the Hidden Mist and inform them that he was under control."
Ryūjin nodded. The current Akatsuki still upheld justice, so acting honorably was expected. Besides, the Mizukage had originally attended the peace talks willingly, and such an incident occurring halfway meant they were obligated to return him safely.
With their plans decided, Yahiko and the others departed with the still unconscious Yagura Karatachi.
Ryūjin then approached Minato Namikaze's buried form.
"If I just dig you up normally," Ryūjin said to himself, "you would probably attack me without hesitation."
He looked at the other former Leaf Village Anbu and Police Force members scattered around, some knocked out, some worse. This was going to be complicated.
Minato opened his eyes, meeting Ryūjin's gaze with a cold, unwavering stare. Still under Obito's influence, he saw Ryūjin as an enemy. Taking him directly back to the Leaf Village in this state would be asking for trouble.
Ryūjin paused, considered the situation, and made a decision. His Sharingan eyes began to spin, activating Kotoamatsukami genjutsu.
In an instant, he altered Minato's memories. Not only did he dispel Minato's ongoing genjutsu, he rewrote the narrative of the entire battle.
In Minato's mind, the one who unravelled Obito's plans and repelled him was no longer Ryūjin. It was a mysterious shinobi who had appeared out of nowhere. And Ryūjin, like the other Anbu, had been under Obito's control, attacking the three leaders of Akatsuki before being defeated.
Satisfied with the memory alteration, Ryūjin carefully dug Minato Namikaze out from underground. Then, as planned, he lay still among the other felled Leaf ninjas, posing as another unconscious casualty.
Not long after, Minato regained consciousness. A chill ran up his spine as he recalled the recent events.
"Who was that person who could use Space-Time Ninjutsu? What was his goal?" Minato whispered to himself, a cold sweat forming.
As the Hokage of the Leaf Village, the thought that he might have become a pawn in someone else's plan sent a shudder through his spine.