On a mountain outside Konoha, Obito leaned against a tree trunk and gazed down at the village below.
Whoosh!
A few minutes later, his hand passed straight through the tree.
He reflected quietly: 'So that's it. The limit of Transparency Mode is five minutes, and if it's released at the critical threshold, another five minutes must pass before it can reset.'
Gurgle, gurgle! Spiral Zetsu emerged from the ground nearby.
"So you came all the way out here. Konoha seems to be in a bit of an uproar. The Third, the Fourth, and a large number of jonin have all assembled. Was that your doing?" Spiral Zetsu asked.
"Yeah. I went to grab a meal and took the chance to give Danzō a little warning." Obito said.
Spiral Zetsu stepped up beside Obito and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, gazing out at Konoha.
"Just a warning, and no outright kill. I'm guessing the conditions didn't allow for that." Spiral Zetsu said.
Obito nodded: "That's right. If I could, I'd rather have eliminated that cancer Danzō on the spot. But after tonight's business, he shouldn't dare make a move against the Nine-Tails for a good while."
"Sounds like you're still a bit unsatisfied." Spiral Zetsu said.
"Can't be helped. An organization like Konoha, one that cooperates with a major nation and has strong leadership, is nearly impossible to oppose through individual strength alone, unless one reaches the domain of the Six Paths." Obito said.
"The domain of the Six Paths. Are you not considering collecting the Tailed Beasts right away and becoming a Jinchūriki?" Spiral Zetsu turned to look at Obito.
Obito shook his head: "Madara turned Rin into the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, and Rin is dead now. The Three-Tails won't revive for another ten years. Even if I captured every other Tailed Beast right now, without the Three-Tails, the Ten-Tails cannot be formed, and without being the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, none of it would have any meaning."
He shifted his tone: "So I've decided to establish a ninja village. Nagato's Akatsuki will operate in the shadows, while my village will be active out in the open."
Obito's thinking at that moment was identical to Orochimaru's. In his day, Orochimaru built the Sound Ninja Village to destroy Konoha, and years later, using the Chūnin Exams as an opportunity, he allied with Sunagakure and dealt Konoha a devastating blow, though he still ended in failure.
Orochimaru's failure was not solely due to the Third Hokage sealing away his arms at the cost of his own life. The root cause was that the Sound Ninja Village he built was far too weak to play any meaningful role.
And the so-called alliance with Sunagakure was equally unreliable.
The ninja village Obito intended to build would be nothing like that feeble settlement. It would stand as a colossus equal to, and surpassing, the Five Great Nations and their Five Great Villages.
"Oh, now that's something! When do we start!" Spiral Zetsu, unusually, showed enthusiasm for something other than excrement.
"Once I obtain the true power of the First Hokage Hashirama, we start immediately." Obito declared with towering ambition.
"So, about half a month from now." Spiral Zetsu said.
"Let's go. Head back and get ready. Before I deliver the results to Orochimaru, there's still one place I need to go and one thing I need to take care of." Obito activated Kamui and departed together with Spiral Zetsu.
Back in the underground base, Obito changed into a fresh set of attire, precisely the armor Uchiha Madara had worn during the Warring States period, with the Uchiha war fan strapped across his back. Combined with his long hair, he looked very nearly like Madara himself, brought back to life.
It was not that he was deliberately imitating Madara. It was simply that for where he was headed next, this appearance would be advantageous.
"Do you need me to drape over you?" Spiral Zetsu asked.
"No. I'd rather experience the thrill of battle firsthand." Obito said.
Having Spiral Zetsu wrap around his body would certainly boost his defensive power and the potency of Wood Release, but it always gave Obito a sensation like scratching an itch through his boot, leaving him feeling unsatisfied when the battle ended before he was done.
As his ocular power continued to grow, he had become increasingly hungry for battle, craving the raw, unmediated experience of combat. This was the true instinct of the Uchiha.
"Well, fair enough." Spiral Zetsu took a black robe from nearby, pulled it on, and prepared to head out together with Obito.
"Where are you two going!" At that moment, Uzuki Yūki walked over.
"What, you want to come along?" Obito paused and turned to ask.
"..." Uzuki Yūki lowered her head, which was as good as a yes.
It turned out that the murderous intent Orochimaru had radiated the previous night had left a considerable shadow on her, and she would rather follow Obito than remain in the same lair as Orochimaru.
And Uzuki Yūki had not abandoned her intention to kill Obito and escape from his control. Staying close to his side would also let her learn more about his secrets and, more importantly, his weaknesses.
After a moment's consideration, Obito said: "Fine. But the journey is long, so you'd better go get ready."
"Can't we just go directly through your dōjutsu?" Uzuki Yūki asked, probing.
"That's somewhere I haven't marked with my dōjutsu." Obito said.
"I see." Uzuki Yūki mulled that over, then turned and walked back to her room to prepare.
"Are you sure that's fine? Letting a woman who wants to kill you in on the details of your dōjutsu." Spiral Zetsu said.
Obito had his own way of looking at it: "A truly powerful person never fears being known. True strength means that even when others know your every detail, they still cannot defeat you. That's the kind of powerful person I intend to become. Besides, I don't believe this girl will be my enemy in the future."
"I'll never understand you humans and all your tangled feelings. Give me excrement any day." Spiral Zetsu threw up his hands, then said in a serious tone: "But speaking of which, what exactly are you planning to do?"
Obito's gaze became deep and intent: "Bring back a pet."
"Oh? A summoning beast?"
"Not in the ordinary sense. Right now Kushina is pregnant, so the Nine-Tails is out of the question for the time being. That makes the Eight-Tails, second only to the Nine-Tails in power, the best option."
It turned out that Obito was planning to head to the Land of Lightning's Kumogakure and capture the Eight-Tails.
"Oh, so not as a Jinchūriki but as a summoning beast to command, the way Madara once drove the Nine-Tails. Since you're going to Kumogakure anyway, wouldn't it be better to grab the Two-Tails while you're at it? With your ocular power, simultaneously controlling two Tailed Beasts other than the Nine-Tails shouldn't be difficult at all." Spiral Zetsu asked offhandedly.
"That would break the balance of the Tailed Beasts, and war would erupt." Obito said, thinking it through carefully.
Indeed, for a long time now, the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations had maintained a balance of military power through the Tailed Beasts, preserving a tenuous peace.
The Land of Lightning controlled two Tailed Beasts. Losing one would not necessarily shatter the balance, but losing both at once would tip the scales of military power dangerously, and the Fourth Shinobi World War might very well break out ahead of schedule.
"Oh my, so you're the peace-loving type?" Spiral Zetsu said in surprise.
Obito shook his head: "No. I'm simply concerned that if war breaks out, more Jinchūriki will die. When a Jinchūriki dies, their Tailed Beast dies with them, and the greater the Tailed Beast's chakra, the longer its revival takes. If something unexpected happens, my plan could be delayed who knows how long."
Indeed, the Three-Tails, with the smallest chakra reserve among the Tailed Beasts, still required ten years to revive. The others ranged from over a decade to several decades, and the Nine-Tails, with its incomparably vast chakra, would take over a hundred years to revive.
Obito's eyes grew profound: "This false peace must be maintained until the moment my Rinnegan, Uchiha Raito's Rinnegan, formally awakens!"
On the other side of the wall, Uzuki Yūki had her ear pressed flat against the door, and by the time she was done listening, her back was drenched in a cold sweat.
The three of them set out on the journey to the Land of Lightning.
The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning did not share a border, and taking any route that wasn't a long detour meant passing through the Land of Water.
At this time, the Land of Water's Kirigakure was under the rule of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura and deep in its dark era of isolation. This was the infamous Blood Mist Village, where any foreign ninja who set foot in the Land of Water would be hunted relentlessly by Kirigakure's killers in a chase that was as good as a death sentence.
This road ahead would be riddled with deadly traps at every turn.
But that was precisely what Obito craved.
On the second night, at the border where the Land of Fire met the Land of Water, Obito stared into the ominous mist that swallowed everything ahead. Through the hollow sockets of his mask, his Sharingan glowed with a restless, eager light, and those eyes of his hungered for the battle to come.
"The Blood Mist Village of legend. Do not disappoint me."