That day, Kisame failed to appear at the agreed meeting point with Killer Bee.

  Without a word, Tobi left.

  ---

  Late at night, in the Akatsuki hideout.

  In the dimly lit inner chamber, Sasuke sat bck, his eyes ed in white bandages.

  To gaier ocur power, he had transpachi’s eyes.

  “Heh… Heh heh… I feel it… This power surging within me. I’m getting stronger!”

  With the flickering dlelight casting shadows across the room, Sasuke’s itent maniacal ughter echoed in the dark chamber.

  In the er, Karin hugged her kightly to her chest. Her senses were overwhelmed by the increasingly dark chakra emanating from Sasuke, making her body tremble untrolbly.

  ---

  Ier chamber.

  Tobi sat silently, waiting for updates.

  The oppressive atmosphere, flickering dlelight, and the tension radiating from behind his mask all hi his growing agitation.

  *Rustle, rustle, rustle.* Finally, aloe-like leaves sprouted from the wall as Zetsu reappeared, bringing a string of bad news.

  “Kisame has betrayed us. He’s defected to Naruto. The Eight-Tails has been recimed by Kumo and is now on its way back to the vilge.”

  Uhe dlelight, the shadows cast by Tobi’s mask stretched long. His low voice broke the silence.

  “The perso likely to betray us… has betrayed us. And he’s defected to the perso likely to gain his allegiance.”

  “This absurd situation could only be achieved by ohing—an Uchiha ocur teique. Specifically, *that* person’s ocur teique.”

  “Shisui’s right eye… Naruto must have gotten his hands on it.”

  “Once again, he’s beaten us to the punch.”

  Bck Zetsu spoke up, his voice grave. “What now? We’ve suffered unpreted losses and are in an unpretedly passive position.”

  White Zetsu chimed in optimistically, “We still have Sasuke, don’t we? He’s already transpachi’s eyes and is about to gain eveer ocur power!”

  Bck Zetsu retorted, “If only it were that simple.”

  Tobi interjected, his tone measured. “Sasuke now only cares about his revenge against Konoha. He won’t prioritize our pns. And with his new ocur power, it’ll be even harder to manipute him as we did before.”

  White Zetsu, ever the simpleton, suggested, “Well, isn’t there that girl who has a crush on him? We could use her to pressure Sasuke.”

  Bck Zetsu tered, “You just said it’s a one-sided crush. And with Sasuke’s current cold-bloodedness, he might kill her instead.”

  White Zetsu, uerred, added, “The’s have her bear Sasuke’s child. We could use the child to trol him. Even if Sasuke is cold-blooded, he wouldn’t abandon his own flesh and bloht?”

  Bck Zetsu eechless.

  “Are you doobi’s voice was icy.

  White Zetsu scratched his head awkwardly. “Ah, e on, I was just joking! You seemed so upset, I thought I’d try to lighten the mood. Besides, isn’t this the kind of thing Deidara would say?”

  After the brief and awkward exge, the oppressive atmosphere returned.

  Tobi’s gaze darkened. “Ever sinaruto began ag abnormally, we’ve been forced into a reactive position at every turn. The Moon’s Eye Pn hasn’t seen any substantial progress in a long time.”

  “The Eight-Tails, the ails, and the Rinnegan—three key elements for reviving the Ten-Tails—two of them are now in Naruto’s hands.”

  “And he’s obtained *Kotoamatsukami*, that dangerous ocur teique.”

  “To deal with Naruto in his current state, at the very least—no, it’s imperative that we secure the Eight-Tails for ourselves.”

  White Zetsu’s tourned serious. “But we’ve already failed twi our attempts to capture the Eight-Tails. We even lost Kisame. Who do we send this time? Should we try to vince Sasuke to up the mess? Or should we find someone else?”

  *k!*

  Through the spiral hole in Tobi’s mask, his Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan glowed ominously, blood vessels brang out like cracks.

  “I’ll go myself.”

  He stood, his movements slow but deliberate, and began walking toward the exit of the hideout.

  Watg his retreating figure, White Zetsu muttered, “Sihat battle with the Kirigakure ninja, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt such a chilling killing i from Tobi. Looks like he’s really furious this time.”

  Bck Zetsu spoke in a low voice, “If it’s like that time, he might actally kill the Eight-Tails. If that happens, all our efforts will be for nothing. Someone o keep an eye on him.”

  “Looks like a lot happened while I was gone.” A zy voice suddenly interrupted. The speaker’s white body and spiraled face were unmistakable.

  White Zetsu perked up. “Oh~ you’re finally back, Tobi! Or should I say… Obito?”

  Bck Zetsu wrinkled his nose. “You reek. Did you just crawl out of some sewer? Anyway, did you hear what we were talking about?”

  “Yeah, I heard it all. He’s pnning to go after the Eight-Tails alone. But given his current mood, he might lose trol and kill the Eight-Tails.” The spiral-faced man’s usual carefree demeanor shifted to something more serious. “So, I’ll go with him.”

  Annouhe neter update is here! Additionally, the advanced chapters of this book are now avaible on Patreon, This el is expected to feature 15 books, with each book receiving an additional 3-5 early chapters updated weekly. It will always maintain a signifit lead along with extra side stories. Feel free to visit, and happy reading, everyone!

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