In a dim underground chamber, a white-haired old man stared expressionlessly at the figure not far away—half of his body wrapped in white bandages, unconscious.
"This kid is quite suitable to be Madara-sama's pawn."
Beside him, the black-and-white Zetsu—the yin-yang being—looked at Madara with a flattering smile.
"Hmph."
Madara snorted coldly.
"What about that guy who nearly discovered this secret room earlier? Any news?"
Black Zetsu replied in a hoarse voice,
"That person should be the one who's been making waves recently—the Moon Sword Demon, Kokushibo."
"Kokushibo, huh."
Madara narrowed his eyes. "I told you to investigate him before. Did you find anything?"
Black Zetsu shook his head.
"That man is like someone who appeared out of thin air. As far as we know, the only person repeatedly connected to him is a kid named Uzumaki Akashō."
"Uzumaki clan?"
Madara pondered with a cold expression. "Is there no way to bring them into our plan?"
"You're making things difficult for me, Madara-sama."
Black Zetsu gave a bitter smile. "That Uzumaki Akashō sticks with Namikaze Minato all day. There's no chance to get close."
"Hmph. Useless."
Madara coughed, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"If my body weren't failing, what would a mere Kage-level amount to?"
"Yes, yes, Madara-sama is incredibly powerful. If you were in your prime, someone like Namikaze Minato would be nothing."
Black Zetsu immediately flattered him, though inwardly he complained—if you know your body's failing, maybe stop boasting so much, old man.
At that moment, a White Zetsu hurried in through the tunnel.
"Bad news, Madara-sama!"
Seeing his panicked expression, Madara frowned. "What has you so flustered?"
Panting, White Zetsu said, "Bertholdt Hoover and Neferpitou have joined the war between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Stone Village. Both sides have been utterly crushed! The Five-Tails jinchūriki, Han—both his arms were torn off alive by Neferpitou!"
"Neferpitou?"
Hearing an unfamiliar name, Madara's frown deepened.
"Who is that?"
"Another companion of Kokushibo? Another one appearing out of nowhere… It seems there really is a massive force behind them."
Black Zetsu muttered, unable to suppress his unease. As a monster who had lived for thousands of years, it made no sense that he had never heard even a trace of such a massive organization.
After all, the larger the force, the harder it should be to hide.
"And—and those two even announced their organization's name in front of the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Stone shinobi…"
"What?!"
Madara and Black Zetsu were both stunned. "They revealed their organization's name?"
"That doesn't make sense. If they intended to go public, why was there no information at all in the past few months?"
"Come to think of it, Kokushibo and the others disappeared for over half a year. Could it be that something happened within their organization during that time, and only now that things have stabilized, they've reappeared?"
Madara looked at Black Zetsu. "You mean… a split?"
"Possibly."
Black Zetsu turned to the White Zetsu and asked,
"What's the name of their organization?"
"Uh… I think it's called the Dark Council."
"Dark Council…"
Madara and Black Zetsu both fell into deep thought.
"This is a variable outside the plan. Black Zetsu, my time is running out. You'll need to make more preparations."
"Don't worry, Madara-sama. I won't let anyone interfere with our plan."
More precisely—my plan.
...
The midnight sky was filled with stars. Akashō, Kakashi, and Namikaze Minato sat cross-legged on the ground in a circle.
Akashō glanced at the two silent figures. After some rest, many details had begun to piece themselves together in his mind, and it made him feel that something about these people was… off.
They hadn't found Obito's body, yet none of them showed the slightest suspicion. Strictly speaking, that was the body of a fallen comrade. But after searching once and failing to find it, they simply stopped looking?
Akashō even began to wonder whether Obito's death had something to do with the three of them.
Considering the apparent rift between the Hidden Leaf Village's leadership and the Uchiha clan, the possibility only seemed more likely.
And earlier, when he appeared, neither Kakashi nor Nohara Rin found it strange that he emerged from where Obito's body had been buried. Even when the longsword created by his Blood Demon Art disappeared after he dismissed the Kokushibo template, they didn't find anything odd. As ninja, was their attention to detail really this weak?
Were they truly foolish—or just pretending?
Akashō narrowed his eyes. Better stay cautious.
Turning his head, he saw Nohara Rin not far away, hands clasped before her chest, gazing blankly at the starry sky as if praying for something.
Was she praying for Uchiha Obito?