Chapter 412: Chapter – 406 Laying Low
"Do not question me Black Zetsu… Project Tsuki no Me will be completed no matter what it takes." Obito said decisively.
"Really?" After a pause, Black Zetsu sneered, "But the way you are right now, you don't seem to be able to do anything, even the likes of Homusubi managed to kill you, how do you plan on continuing from here on?
All we have managed to do is capture a single Bijuu, and the whole shinobi world is already aware of Akatsuki's intentions.… What do you plan to do from here on out? Fire Great Shinobi Villages, and Amatsukami… how do you plan to oppose them all with that meager strength of yours? Even those without Space-Time Jutsu managed to kill you… to me, you look nothing more than a pathetic loser."
Drip…
The gloomy cave fell into silence, and only the faint sound of water dripping could be heard.
It is not the first time that Black Zetsu and Obito have discussed this topic. Since Akatsuki's defeat in the Summit War, Black Zetsu has repeatedly brought out this topic.
Black Zetsu couldn't understand the reason behind Obito's hesitation. In Black Zetsu's view, anything that is useful and will benefit them should be taken without any hesitation, whether it belongs to them or not, and here they are talking about something that is already Obito's, so why the hesitation?
No to mention Black Zetsu, even the relatively simple-minded White Zetsu doesn't understand what's stopping Obito from taking back something that is already Obito's.
Questioned by both Black and White Zetsu, Obito was silent, he couldn't bring himself to say it, after all, that thing no longer belongs to him.
It was his last gift to Kakashi, at the same time, it also carries the hope that Obito no longer has from this world.
If it is really taken back, then even the last bits of Uchiha Obito who once dreamt of becoming the Hokage would completely disappear.
Aside from his intention of not wanting to face Kakashi, Obito does not want to personally bury the last bit of his innocence himself.
But Black Zetsu does not care about Obito's intentions, nor does he care about Obito's emotions.
At the moment, when he saw the leader of Amatsukami, and the kind of powers the leader of Amatsukami has, Black Zetsu felt unprecedented crises.
Being a product of Otsutsuki Kaguya's will, Black Zetsu obviously realizes that the kind of powers the leader of Amatsukami was using are similar to that of Hagoromo and Hamura. There are various theories in his mind about the possible identity of Yama, and if any of them are correct then he is going to have serious trouble reviving Kaguya from here on out.
Therefore, he has spared no effort in increasing Akatsuki's strength to further his plans.
And increasing Obito's strength is also one of them, after all, there has to be a counter of Nagato, because Nagato is just a puppet necessary to bring Madara back to life at the right opportunity.
Zetsu has to consider the possibility that Madara might not be revived with how things are turning out, so it is necessary for him to increase Obito's strength to ensure that Project Tsuki no Me is completed, whether through Madara or through Obito, it must be completed.
After all, Nagato's intentions are to suppress the shinobi world with force, and bring peace using Pain, he has no knowledge of what the Project Tsuki no Me truly entails, and Zetsu is quite sure that Nagato would not support the idea as well. But Obito's goal is Project Tsuki no Me, so Obito is a good alternative, but the alternative has to be strong too, otherwise, the strength of revived Kaguya would be very weak.
Therefore, Obito's strength must be increased for the grand scheme of things.
Seeing Obito's silence, Black Zetsu said, "If you do not want to take it back yourself, why not use other Akatsuki members… if you want, we can use Tobi Sr. too…"
"It's my business, I will take care of it myself you do not need to intervene." - Obito said coldly, then asked, "Is there any news about Shinno???"
"I have had my clones track his whereabouts, although I did not find any information that would directly point to Shinno, however, I did manage to get a hold of one of Shinno's former subordinates, he used to be a shinobi of the Land of Sky and was quite a close aide to Shinno, but for some reason, he betrayed the Land of Sky and even quit his life as a Shinobi. Perhaps because he had some conflicts with Shinno's methods. Anyway, after I obtain all the information from him about Shinno, I was able to find the location where his base should have been…" Black Zetsu said.
Obito raised his eyes brow, "Was there…? Does that mean it's no longer there? What do you mean?"
Black Zetsu said, "I am not too sure either, it seemed that Shinno had his subordinates turn an old ruined temple into some kind of air fortress which is probably the place he is hiding in."
Obito said, "If he is really in an air fortress, tracking him would be almost impossible."
Zetsu nodded, "Yes, I couldn't find anything else that would give me any more information about his whereabouts, moreover, since he has betrayed us, he hasn't made any more public appearances."
Obito had a thoughtful look on his face, and questioned, "So what is your input in this?"
Black Zetsu said, "If I have to think, then I would say he is probably already dead."
"That does make sense, with his character, I don't think he is the type who would remain silent for such a long time, and it can only be Amatsukami who could have killed him so silently." Concluded Obito, and thought, 'It's also possible that Amatsukami's hideout is somewhere in the sky, this would also explain why all our search to locate Amatsukami's hideout has turned into vain.' After reaching this conclusion, Obito made sure that he would try to find a method to carry out aerial investigation no matter how incredibly hard it may be.
Next, Obito asked, "Is there any information about Orochimaru's whereabouts?"
"I do have some leads that might possibly lead to Orochimaru, but I am not so sure." – Zetsu replied.
Obito asked again, "Where is he?"
White Zetsu said, "If the information is correct then he should be somewhere in the Land of Rice Fields... oh sorry, now it is called the Land of Sound. The country has been renamed into the Land of Sound some time ago."
"Land of Sound?" – Obito repeated.
Zetsu nodded, "Yes, there are rumors about a new shinobi village coming into existence in the Land of Sound. They call themselves Otogakure."
"Otogakure huh? Does this have anything to do with Orochimaru, is there any connection between them?" – Obito asked.
Zetsu said with a sigh, "As I mentioned, I am not so sure. But what do you want with him?"
Obito thought a little, "Let the new recruits go after him, and see how that turns out. Each of the four of them has quite the potential, it would also allow me to test their abilities and figure out on what level they truly stand and plan out my further strategy."
Zetsu nodded, then asked, "Do you also want to send Tobi Senior?"
Obito shook his head, then said, "Not him, I don't want to reveal his existence right now, he will be one of the trump cards... Let Biwa Juzo go with them, it would be a reunion for the Kirigakure Shinobi."
Zetsu nodded, "But will they be able to kill Orochimaru?"
Obito sighed, "Hard to say, even I am not sure if Killing Orochimaru is even possible or not, let's just use him for testing out the four of them, then we can have Nagato deal with Orochimaru."
Zetsu then said, "And what do you plan to do with Kirigakure now?"
Obito said, "The fact that Yagura was being controlled by me has already been revealed to the high level of Kirigakure, and Amatsukami so it's pointless to take control of Kirigakure again. The Sanbi sealed inside him is important, but I suppose that can wait for now. When the other villages hear news about this, it will cause an uproar and complicate things a little bit, but I suppose it changes nothing in the end anyway. Let Akatsuki lay low for a while until everyone has recovered."
Four Kage have already become prey to Akatsuki. Both Sandaime and Yondaime Kazekage were killed by Sasori, Yondaime Hokage died because of Akatsuki, and Yondaime Mizukage became a puppet in Akatsuki's hands, with this it is natural that the Kage will become incredibly vigilant and more aggressive to hunt down Akatsuki, so it is better that Akatsuki lay low for a while, until everyone has recovered to their full strength.
Zetsu nodded, and with everything discussed both Zetsu and Obito left the Land of Water and went into the direction of the Land of waves.
.
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Read up to Chapter - 661 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations
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Chapter 413: Chapter – 407 Abnormality
A few nights later in Kirigakure.
"You… plop…"
Was all this particular Kirigakure Anbu managed to say before his consciousness became dull and he fell asleep on the floor, Snore...
After taking care of the Anbu, Itachi withdrew his gaze and said to the person who came from the other side of the passage "The guard in this passage has been taken care of Tsukihi-san."
"Hmm, the one on my side has also been resolved. Let's move forward," said Tsukihi, then together with Itachi she started to go deeper inside the Mizukage Building.
As both Itachi and Tsukihi walked side by side, Itachi suddenly said, "The security here is a bit abnormal."
Tsukihi, knew but asked Itachi nonetheless, "Why do you think so Itachi-kun?"
Itachi said, "The number of guards is very low, moreover, their strength is also not nearly enough for the job."
Tsukihi nodded with a thoughtful expression, "That is true I suppose. The level of security is indeed quite low, it's almost as if someone is inviting us inside…"
The level of security in the Mizukage Building is indeed abnormal. After sneaking inside the Mizukage Building, Tsukihi and Itachi have only encountered about 6 guards up to now, and their strength was only at the level of an elite Genin…
Such a low level of combat force is being used to protect the Kage of a great shinobi village, not to mention a shinobi village that has just gone through a civil war 3 days ago… it's obvious that the situation is a bit abnormal, and Tsukihi does not deny this.
Itachi said, "Do you think this is a trap Tsukihi-san?"
Tsukihi shook her head, "It's possible, but I don't think that's the case. I am more inclined to believe in the other possibility."
"The other one? Meaning Kirigakure higher-ups are pressuring Mizukage-sama to abdicate as early as possible?" – Itachi asked with a thoughtful expression.
Tsukihi nodded, "Probably one of the many means Kirigakure elders are using to pressure Karatachi Yagura, into abdicating as soon as possible. Following his confession, Yagura's political power has been taken away completely, and Yagura did not pose any resistance to it… but no one in Kirigakure has enough strength to match up to Yagura, as such no one can openly ask him to quit the position of Mizukage, so these are just roundabout methods they are using."
After the events following Kirigakure's civil war, Kirigakure's senior management has been doing everything in their power to force Yagura's abdication as early as possible, all the blame for the Civil War was also transferred to Yagura's head by secretly manipulating information.
The fact that Mizukage became a puppet in the hands of Akatsuki for over a year is only known to a few people, which only includes the Kirigakure higher-ups and a few elite Jonin.
None of the other shinobi or civilians in Kirigakure, nor any other shinobi villages are aware of this information, yet.
So putting the blame for everything on Yagura's head has been very easy. Moreover, there has been no statement from Yagura himself to deny the blame, perhaps because Yagura does feel guilty about what all happened to Kirigakure, after all, in a way, it was partly his fault, so the accusations against him are not wrong either.
Overall, public opinion has completely shifted in Yagura's favor, and people are demanding that he abdicates the position of Mizukage as early as possible.
Such things are happening even after Yagura has already stated that he will abdicate from the position of Mizukage, but it seems that few people who lust for power can't wait anymore, or perhaps they are skeptical about Yagura's words.
After all, this is Kirigakure, and Kirigakure's Kage is not selected by the public or the elders of the village, according to the rules and traditions, the strongest shinobi of the village becomes the Mizukage, regardless of their age.
This is also the reason why Zabuza dared to launch a Coup d'état. He knew that, if he proves to be the strongest shinobi in Kirigakure by killing Karatachi Yagura then everyone, even the elders will have to accept him as the Mizukage, although he failed to become the Mizukage, the rules still remain the same.
Therefore, even if Yagura has lost his reputation, his strength is still the strongest in Kirigakure, so anyone weaker than him can not force him to abdicate upfront, as such they are using these indirect underhanded methods, and exploiting the guilt in Yagura's heart.
Tsukihi does not know how Yagura died in the canon, but suicide is also one of the many possible causes of his death, similar to how Hatake Sakumo killed himself, it is possible that Yagura also killed himself.
And if Yagura were to die, then without a doubt Terumi Mei will become the next Mizukage. Itachi and Tsukihi have already reached the conclusion that Mei's strength does not meet their requirement for the next Mizukage, and since Zabuza was also a disappointment, so Yagura is the best choice.
The fact that Yagura hates Akatsuki helps a lot, and this hatred in Yagura's heart can be exploited, so overall, Yagura can be a good pawn, as such Tsukihi does not want this good pawn to die, at least not before he has proven useful to her, therefore, she and Itachi are here. To make sure that Yagura remains the Mizukage, and at the same time becomes a loyal subordinate of Amatsukami similar to Pakura, the Godaime Kazekage.
Itachi said with a sad expression, "No matter which village, there are always people who struggle for power and forget the sight of what's truly important, and what truly matters."
"This is the kind of world we live in. And this can not be changed, people will always struggle for such petty things, war may stop, peace may come or it may not come, but these basic desires and faults within a human's heart will never change, and these qualities and differences give rise to conflicts… so in a way, it wouldn't be wrong to say that peace will never come… and if you want to accomplish your dream of ending all wars, then you have a very long road ahead of you… Just being the strongest won't help you in this…" Tsukihi said.
Itachi had a thoughtful expression on his face as he pondered over Tsukihi's words.
Tsukihi did not disturb him, and the two continued to silently walk further inside.
The reason for bringing Itachi is fairly obvious, Tsukihi wants to subdue Yagura without causing much of a ruckus
In the blink of an eye, the two of them arrived on the first underground floor of the Mizukage Building.
Along the way, they only encountered two more guards, both of whom were easily taken care of by the two of them, and after extracting information about Yagura's position from one of the guards, Tsukihi and Itachi proceeded.
…
Somewhere on the underground floor.
Yagura rubbed the corner of his eye as he tried to make out anything that would give him some lead for the information he has been trying to figure out.
The young adult's face shows clear signs of fatigue and emptiness.
Physical fatigue because of tirelessly working for the past few days is another thing, Yagura is more fatigued because of the pressure from the elders.
After heaving a sigh, Yagura pondered over his deduction.
Just when he thought that he has reached a conclusion, his mind suddenly shifted, and a bad premonition surged in his heart.
Yagura immediately leaned against the wall adjacent to the door of this room to hide and then used and then tried listening to the sound of silent footsteps.
.
.
Read up to Chapter - 662 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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