The rai p harder, apanied by fshes of lightning and rolls of thunder. It fell like a deerfall, blown by the wind into mist and fog, with raindrops the size of marbles pelting down ohree of them.

  "Hey, Obito," Masashi wiped his fad urged, visibly annoyed, "Hurry up and use ah jutsu to shield us."

  Without replying, Obito performed the jutsu, raising ahen wall that bined inte dome, blog the rain from above.

  Then, he removed his mask.

  Though he had braced himself for it, Masashi had to admit the makeshift bio-tech did little for looks.

  "How'd you get like this?" Masashi asked, casting a skeptical gsu's way. "You did this, didn't you? Even got the patterns almht."

  "Without it, Obito would have died," Zetsu said in a somber tone. "You should be able to se; this body is far strohan if you trained yourself."

  "Maybe, but I only trust my own power," Masashi said dismissively, waving his hand and turning his gaze back to Obito.

  "Heh…" Obito scoffed, turning his head away.

  "Hmm?" Masashi's expression shifted. "What's this, craving sweets again?"

  Obito gred back at him. "Idiot! I'll kill you!"

  "Yeah, good luck with that," Masashi replied, wagging his middle finger. "We both have space-time jutsu; her of us is catg the other."

  "For now," Obito retorted. "You're seriously annoying."

  "Yrandmother didn't think so."

  "You didn't have to visit her."

  "She made good tea and cake. And someone had to che her after you abahe vilge."

  "I didn't abandon—"

  "No? What would you call it then?"

  "..." Obito fell silent, forced to cede.

  Back when he occasionally returo the vilge, he'd seen Masashi visiting his grandmother often, keeping her pany. When she passed, Masashi's family had hahe funeral.

  After he left, his grandmother had been alone.

  After a pause, he said, "Thank you for helping with her."

  "We were neighbors, and she was good to me."

  After this brief exge, the two retur at each other.

  Zetsu, watg from the side, grew impatient. Humans were always caught up in strarivialities.

  "Obito, you should get to the main point."

  "Call me that again, and I'll kill you!" Obito she response now sed nature.

  "…"

  "So, what's the main point?" Masashi asked.

  "Since you asked…"

  "Just say it in pin nguage. Have you been training for three years on how to be stubborn and talk like shit?"

  "I was just about to!" Obito said, frowning at Masashi's attitude. "Masashi, what do you think of this world?"

  "It's fine," Masashi replied seriously. "Earning money as a ninja is a breeze. And I like eating delicious food."

  Really, the sed time around was far better than the first. The founder of the one-try, one-vilge system may have taken a hands-off approach, but he truly did something great.

  "You always said emotions make weak ninja. Look at me now," Obito gestured to himself.

  "I said untrolled emotions make weak ninja. You've just sed oreme for another."

  "Tch... Still so shallow," Obito s him. "If money and foodd were all you cared about, you could leave Konoha and e with me."

  "Nope," Masashi refused without hesitation. "No tea, no deal. Konoha has the best sele and quality. I'm not going anywhere."

  "..."

  Zetsu couldn't uand. Couldn't a missing-nin buy tea?

  "Let's talk business. Why don't you e back to Konoha, Obito?" Masashi asked. "You don't seem like someone hiding in the shadows."

  "I 't go back," Obito's gaze turned dark. "Listen, Masashi. This world is built to create failures. Someday, you'll bee ooo. I'm doh it; with my grandmone, I don't o hold baymore."

  "Such a grim perspective doesn't sound like it came from you," Masashi said fidently. "You were always the optimistic idiot."

  "I was, and you told me to stop being so passionate. Isn't my ge now what we used to call a 'true ninja'?"

  "I'd give you a full score for reading prehension, but as I see it…" Masashi finally cut to the chase, "You met the real Madara, arained you into what you are now."

  Obito was briefly taken aback, but Masashi had already poio Zetsu. "So, what's that thing? Doesn't look human."

  "I am Madara-sama's will," Zetsu grinned. "Standing before you isn't your former rade, but Madara himself, and you could be, too."

  "Unless I bee Hokage, no one's using me as a vessel," Masashi replied with a wave of his hand. "You cim to be the head's will, but words aren't enough; I need proof."

  "Huh?"

  Zetsu uzzled. What was this guy trying to pull? Did he also want to be Hokage?

  "Tell me, what was Madara's first ent in the Flying Thunder God scroll?"

  "Is that all?" Zetsu's eyes swirled in thought. "Madara-sama said, 'This teique borrows from the Uzumaki 's knowledge; if you view the target as a sealed object, it's easier to uand.' Is that what you wanted?"

  "Oh?" Masashi stroked his . "Did you sneak into our archives to check that?"

  Zetsu suddenly felt Obito was far easier to deal with.

  "Enough games," Obito interrupted coldly, ending the exge between them. "Masashi, don't waste your life on meaningless pursuits. Join me, and I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha . Isn't that something you want?"

  "The vilge provides structure. You fuse restri with foundation," Masashi answered, then grinned. "Are you talking about the Rinnegan?"

  "You even know about the Rinnegan?" Obito now took his old neighbor seriously.

  Across the shinobi world, the Rinnegan, Sharingan, and Byakugan reigned as the three great dōjutsu. Even the Uchiha generally didn't question this belief.

  This firmed the Uchiha didn't realize the Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan. Without meeting Madara, Obito wouldn't have believed the Sharingan held such power.

  So, how did Masashi know?

  "Simple dedu. We Uchiha are the Sage of Six Paths' desdants. The Rinnegan was his power. Did you really think there was no e to the Sharingan?"

  "To i the Sage's eye yet think the Rinnegan has no e to the Sharingan—that's the real abnormality."

  "Is that all?" Zetsu suddenly spoke up.

  He could see that Masashi was not the kind of person to bee vinced of something based merely oion.

  "As expected of the one g to embody Madara's will, I'm certainly not relying on mere guesses," Masashi cast Zetsu a highly appreciative look. "With Madara's visual prowess, he definitely saw more in that stoablet."

  "How much did you see?" Zetsu raised his voice, and even Obito turo look.

  Over the past three years, Obito had e to know Madara's creation well. While he viewed Zetsu as nothing more than a tool, he reized the being's eerie stability—an almost plete absenotional fluctuation.

  In his uanding, Madara's cept of 'a will in physical form' transted simply: Even ih, I leave something to watch over you.

  He was too superficial. Obito urned ba his decisions.

  "Two opposing forces twist together to birth all things ience..."

  "I thought long and hard before I uood that line's meaning," Masashi, initially a bit awkward, began to get into character.

  "You... see that far?" Zetsu was genuinely shocked.

  He had certainly altered the inscription oablet, but its unique powers—being created by his mother with Yin-Yang Release—were not replicable. The ability to decipher the tablet's tents was directly tied to the viewer's mastery of Yin Release.

  For an Uchiha to see that lihey would least the Mangekyō Sharingan.

  But Masashi definitely didn't have the Mangekyō.

  "Yeah, it wasn't easy—stared at it all night until my eyes hurt," Masashi said with a sigh, watg Zetsu's rea carefully. Your shock is particurly eaining.

  He had indeed seen that phrase.

  The Uchiha's ocur power, derived from yin chakra, did not begin only at the Mangekyō level but existed at birth, though initially quite limited aricted to basic Sharingan abilities.

  At the Mangekyō level, this power could rival a person's chakra itself, awakening ueiques tied directly to the user's innermost desires, giving birth to the so-called Eye of Inner Refle.

  Although Masashi's visual power had not reached the Mangekyō level, it far exceeded the typical power of a three-tomoe Sharingan. I years, it seemed his Yang Release had ied with his Sharingan, sparking a sort of chemical rea.

  Zetsu was truly shocked.

  The st time he had felt this surprised was when he found out that Madara had survived his battle with Hashirama and even mao bite a k of flesh off him.

  It wasn't easy to startle him.

  Could this guy really have ma?

  Zetsu uood better than ahat the current Uchiha 's Mangekyō Sharingan was inplete. The liwo opposing forces twist together to birth all things ience," was left unaltered, though the text was ged.

  A good lie was 90% truth. Whesu modified the tablet's tent, it left most of the essential parts intact.

  It seems I might have uimated him.

  Masashi was likely to bee the sed Indra rather than aobirama.

  His potential is eveer than Madara's…

  Though doubt remained, Zetsu decided to try implementing a bold new idea.

  Whether it was Madara or Obito, Zetsu couldn't trol them directly; he could only influehem through careful manipution—mostly truth, with just enough lies mixed in.

  But he was still prudent to have a backup psu didn't want to wait ahousand years.

  Deg to proceed, he put on a show.

  "You mentiohe Eternal Mangekyō, so it's clear you know its secret, but that's still not the truth."

  "Oh?" Let's see what bait you're .

  "From the beginniernity never existed. The Mangekyō Sharingan had no such weakness. Indra's inal Mangekyō could summon the Perfect Susanht away."

  "The Perfect Susanoo..."

  This teique harhe power of Yin Release's 'creation from nothing' to its fullest, extending the user's physical form.

  "Exactly, and there's Izanagi, as well. The Sharingan is an imperfect eye, which is why it es one's visual power."

  "So, how does one make it perfect?" Masashi's gaze was fixed osu.

  "That's precisely the serious matter we o discuss." Zetsu turo Obito. "Madara-sama, what do you think?"

  Being a maniputor, he knew o steal the spotlight. A pawn's sense of trol depended on their belief that they were the master.

  Each reination of Indra and Asura thought this way.

  Obito thought this way.

  It would treat Masashi simirly.

  Zetsu was he master; he was simply a diligent servant for each of his masters, answering questions and unveiling truths.

  And all of this was to restreato the world once again.

  Zetsu's deference pleased Obito. He cast a gnce of approval, as if to say, "You're a useful tool," then looked at Masashi.

  "You like deals, so let's make one," he spoke evenly. "If you want the power over all things, you must help me obtain what I seek."

  "Let's hear it." The real game begins.

  "I want the ails."

  "What?" Masashi feigned perfect shock. "But she is already... married?"

  Obito froze, then his fury fred.

  Across from him, Masashi muttered nonsense about staying out of his teacher's marriage.

  "I want the ails itself, not its jinchūriki!" Obito shook with rage. "What's wrong with your mind?"

  "Ah, why didn't you say that from the start? You really don't pn ourning, do you?" Masashi's smile faded, his expression turning serious. "Hokage is Hokage, Konoha is Konoha. I am an Uchiha, so I care not for these things. But you—do you pn tainst your teacher?"

  "This is a necessary sacrifice," Obito said coldly. "It's the fate of the Uzumaki."

  Another red-haired youth appeared in his mind. A member of the Uzumaki who had received Madara's eyes was already well along the path Obito had set.

  Everything was going as pnned, with the Gedo Statue successfully summoned. Yahiko's idealistic methods held . In a rotten world like this, they could only fail.

  That Ame and Konoha would target Akatsuki proved as much.

  Only the Eye of the Moon could bring ao this.

  "Is that so..." Masashi didn't push the point further—he was only skilled at persuasion through physical means.

  "We are both Uchiha, so let's settle this in the Uchiha way. The current Fourth Hokage is favorable to the Uchiha. In the short term, I ot side with you against him."

  "Then I'll take that as an agreement to the deal." Obito gnced outside; the rain was almost over. "The Hokage is the Hokage. Sooner or ter, he will turn on the Uchiha."

  "If that's the dire things go, of course, we'll make the first move," Masashi had no objes there. He fully trusted the current Hokage, after all. "But if you act prematurely, I will stop you."

  "No problem. We'll settle it then." Obito was fident.

  With the terms set, the two Uchiha left, each heading their separate ways.