Chapter 393: Chapter 393: Obito’s Scheme
Takumi still kept his face cold, but his aura had retracted slightly.
At that moment, Ryota spoke up: "Brother... let me give it a try."
"Ryota!" Takumi looked at his younger brother.
"I’m fine."
Ryota forced a faint smile: "Captain Shisui risked his life to protect me, I can’t let his death be in vain."
"And also... I want to know exactly who it was that tampered with me."
Takumi looked at his brother’s determined gaze and finally sighed.
"...Fine."
He turned to Fugaku, his tone cold: "But I have conditions."
"Name them."
"First, the strongest member of the Yamanaka clan must perform the technique personally, to ensure absolute safety."
"Second, it must be conducted under the full supervision of the medical team; if any abnormality occurs, stop immediately."
"Third..."
The pattern of his Mangekyō emerged in Takumi’s eyes, three curved blades slowly rotating:
"If my brother suffers any permanent damage because of this..."
"I will make everyone pay."
His terrifying dōjutsu erupted once more; this time even Fugaku felt a pang of fear.
...
Meanwhile.
Outside Konoha Village.
Two figures appeared silently on the branch of a giant tree.
They were Obito and Zetsu.
"Three and a half years."
Obito gazed at Konoha Village in the distance, his voice low: "From the time of the Uchiha coup’s success until now, three and a half years, we’ve been laying the groundwork in the shadows."
Black Zetsu let out a hoarse laugh:
"The effect is good. The number of Uchiha who can now fight as ninjas is less than fifty."
"And moreover... their aggressive external policies have allowed them to accumulate enough resentment within the village."
White Zetsu tilted his head, adding in a flippant tone:
"I’ve done the statistics, you know. In these three years, the mortality rate for missions performed by the Uchiha is more than three times higher than for other clans. Although a part was our doing, most of it... really was their own fault."
Obito nodded.
This was precisely the first step of his plan—to intensify the conflict between the Uchiha and the entire village.
After Uchiha Fugaku came to power, in order to consolidate his authority, he acted extremely aggressively externally.
Any provocation against Konoha, the Uchiha would counterattack immediately, and their methods were ruthless.
This did indeed deter external enemies, but it also caused heavy casualties among Uchiha ninjas.
More critically, the Uchiha had never held power before. After turning the tables and becoming the rulers, they transferred large numbers of clan members into important departments like the Anbu and the Administrative Department, squeezing out the space for other clans.
Although they had also co-opted some ninja clans, the effect was mediocre.
Obito analyzed coldly:
"The Hyūga clan appears to have been won over, but in reality, it’s only because Uchiha Fugaku secretly promised to help Hyūga Hiashi change the Main House and Branch House system. However, aside from Hyūga Hiashi, the other Main House members of the Hyūga don’t think that way at all."
"As for the three Ino–Shika–Chō clans, their submission is merely superficial. Akimichi Torifu sits in his advisory position, but he’s just observing the situation. Once an opportunity arises, they could defect at any moment."
Upon hearing this, Black Zetsu said sinisterly:
"Needless to say about the other small clans. The power of formerly large clans like Sarutobi and Shimura has been drastically reduced. Families like Utatane and Mitokado can’t even get a sip of the soup."
"The resentment accumulated over three years is nearly at its breaking point."
A cold smile curled beneath Obito’s mask.
This was his second step—to guide the various clans of Konoha into forming a "consensus" to join hands and eliminate the Uchiha.
The Uchiha’s illegitimate rise to power was a fact known to everyone.
Sarutobi Hiruzen abdicated for no apparent reason, spending his days growing vegetables and flowers in the clan’s compound, having completely lost interest in power—
Anyone who wasn’t an idiot could guess the Uchiha used some kind of method.
But no one dared to question it openly.
Because the Uchiha now possessed three pairs of Mangekyō; their strength was too great. Furthermore, the two masked men, "Whirlpool" and "Crescent Moon," who appeared on the night of the Nine-Tails incident, were also highly likely to be hidden cards of the Uchiha.
That made five pairs of Mangekyō!
But what if... problems emerged from within the Uchiha themselves?
What if Uchiha Takumi and "Whirlpool" defected?
Obito had White Zetsu tamper with Uchiha Ryota’s memories.
First, to prevent Uchiha Ryota from remembering the features and information of the Akatsuki members.
Second, this blank spot in his memory would become a seed of suspicion.
White Zetsu said cheerfully:
"How could a jōnin possibly lose their memory? Someone must have tampered with him! And those capable of tampering with memories are either the Yamanaka clan or the Sharingan!"
"Did one Uchiha act against another? Or is some external force setting things up?"
"Once a chain of suspicion forms, it won’t stop."
Obito nodded.
This was precisely the effect he wanted.
The blank spot in Uchiha Ryota’s memory would make Konoha’s higher-ups wonder—is someone trying to hide something?
Did Ryota see something he shouldn’t have?
Is there... a traitor within the Uchiha?
And tonight, he was going to pour another bucket of oil on this fire.
A cold light flashed in Obito’s eyes:
"The Yamanaka clan wants to probe Uchiha Ryota’s brain; this is the perfect opportunity."
"If a strong member of the Yamanaka clan dies during the probing process..."
Black Zetsu understood his meaning:
"Then everyone will suspect Uchiha Takumi—because he opposed the probing and has the ability to kill a Yamanaka strongman."
Obito looked towards Konoha, his gaze profound.
Uchiha Takumi was a Mangekyō-level combatant. If he left Konoha, a gap would appear in the Uchiha’s defenses.
Moreover, Takumi’s ’defection’ would become the fuse—
Other clans would think, if even a Mangekyō-level strongman from the Uchiha has defected, isn’t there really something wrong with this clan?
When the time comes, with a little nudge from them in the shadows... a ’consensus’ for the night of the massacre would naturally form.
Black Zetsu pondered for a moment, then asked:
"What about Takumi himself? How do you plan to handle him?"
Obito sneered:
"Takumi’s dōjutsu power is almost exhausted—that’s what he said himself. But Mangekyō abilities are bizarre and varied; you can’t fully trust it."
"However, with his younger brother Ryota involved, I’m not afraid he won’t comply."
"If we can capture him alive, that’s best; his Sharingan still has value. If not... we’ll just kill him directly."
Hearing this, both White and Black Zetsu chuckled.
Obito glanced at the sky.
The moon was already high; time was about right.
"Over at the Konoha Anbu, the Yamanaka clan should be ready by now."
He turned to look at Zetsu:
"White Zetsu, you monitor the Hokage’s office. Report any unusual movements to me immediately."
"Black Zetsu, you stand by underground, responsible for support and erasing traces."
Zetsu’s body split apart; the black and white halves each nodded, then merged into the tree trunk and the ground.
Obito stood alone on the branch, the Mangekyō in his right eye slowly rotating.
"Rin... wait a little longer."
He murmured to himself:
"Wait until the Uchiha are destroyed, until the Nine-Tails is in hand, until the Eye of the Moon Plan is complete..."
"You will be reborn in a world without war, without pain."
