Orochimaru and Hiruko exchanged glances.
"You think he actually has a plan?"
"Of course." Orochimaru smirked. "Uchiha Obito is full of surprises. He's got more than a few aces up his sleeve."
One man taking on half the shinobi world—there's no way he doesn't have something up his sleeve.
Besides, he had originally planned to capture that kid in Konoha to modify White Zetsu. But as it turned out, there was already a sample even closer to Hashirama's cells.
That made White Zetsu even stronger.
Where the hell did he even get something like that?
A hundred thousand White Zetsu?
Not to mention… he also seemed to know about Uchiha Madara. And the Rinnegan.
If nothing else, that proved this guy was hiding something big.
Orochimaru left.
As he watched him go, Hiruko fell into thought.
Everyone had their own agenda. And of course, so did he.
He wasn't about to give away years of research for free just to prove himself.
But more than that… his own safety was the priority.
Obito had space-time ninjutsu, meaning he could come and go as he pleased.
Orochimaru wasn't even there in person; he was just a substitute for the Impure World Reincarnation.
That left only him physically present.
Damn.
Was he going to have to use a shadow clone?
...
[Buzz!]
With the distortion of space, Obito appeared in a secret room.
Black Zetsu slowly emerged from the ground.
"Can you find Uchiha Madara?"
"Yes." Zetsu answered without hesitation.
His current identity is a creature created by Madara, so he can contact his creator naturally.
"I need to see him."
"You sure?" Zetsu asked, his tone… amused.
He knew Obito had been going out of his way to avoid Madara lately.
What was even stranger was that after being revived, Madara didn't seem in any hurry to execute the Moon's Eye Plan. Even his whereabouts were unclear.
Obito shot Zetsu with a cold look but said nothing.
"Alright then." Zetsu chuckled. "I'll let Madara know. But aren't you worried about Orochimaru? He's still useful for now."
"No need to worry," Obito replied flatly. "Orochimaru wouldn't dare try to track Uchiha Madara. He knows Madara could trace it back to him."
If a summoner died, Edo Tensei would automatically be undone.
For an ordinary person, anyway.
But Madara was anything but ordinary.
And Orochimaru was nothing if not cautious. There was no way he'd risk it.
With that, Zetsu's body twisted, extending a hand into the ground. He pressed it against a tree root, sending out the message.
Information surged forward at an incredible speed.
No one knew how much time had passed when, atop a steep cliff, Uchiha Madara sat in silence.
Beside him, White Zetsu stood motionless.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, White Zetsu's expression shifted.
Without turning, Madara asked, "What is it?"
"Obito wants to see you."
"Oh?" Madara finally turned, his reanimated face showing a trace of amusement. "That brat finally dares to face me?"
"The way things are going on the battlefield, it's not looking good for him. He's losing control of the bigger picture."
"That was inevitable."
Madara remained composed.
Uchiha Fūnan wielded the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and Sage Arts.
With those two powers combined, even Madara himself wasn't entirely confident he could take him down.
Obito's Mangekyō wasn't even complete.
Even after being modified with Hashirama's cells and obtaining the Rinnegan, he still wasn't a match for Uchiha Fūnan.
And more importantly, Fūnan had taken control of all nine Tailed Beasts.
Madara suddenly asked, "Do we have a lock on the Tailed Beasts' locations?"
"The Nine-Tails is missing."
"What?" A sharp glint flashed through Madara's eyes.
Zetsu explained, "The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki and an Uchiha kid were summoned by Fūnan one day. Since then, we've lost all traces of them."
"What about your spores? Didn't you plant one on the Jinchūriki?"
"I did, but… the Nine-Tails' chakra—"
Its destructive force was overwhelming. Forget the spores—it could burn through entire people.
"Find them." Madara's voice turned cold. "And do it fast."
"Understood."
Madara lifted his head, his expression unreadable.
After his revival, he encountered someone unexpected—Uchiha Fūnan.
And now, Obito wanted to break free from his grasp.
Interesting.
Madara found himself entertained.
He decided to join in.
After all, he still held the cards.
He knew the whereabouts of the Tailed Beasts, which meant he could take them back whenever he wanted and proceed with the Moon's Eye Plan.
No need to rush.
For now, he'd observe. Watch how things played out. Add a little excitement to his otherwise dull existence.
He wanted to see what Uchiha Fūnan was plotting, how far he could push, and what he was truly capable of.
As for Obito… he was nothing more than a convenient pawn to stir up trouble for Fūnan.
"Let's go. Time to meet that brat and see just how much he's grown."
Madara slowly rose to his feet.
…
Jiraiya let out a long, defeated sigh as he watched Naruto train like his life depended on it.
"Boss, can we please eat something normal for once?" His voice was filled with despair as he stared at the so-called 'meal' in front of him.
Bugs.
Brightly colored. Wriggling. And supposedly delicious.
He was sure Naruto was working this hard just to avoid having to eat this nightmare of a feast.
On top of that, if he could master Sage Mode sooner, he'd gain control over the Nine-Tails' chakra faster—which meant he could get out of here sooner.
Yes! That had to be his real motivation.
Fukasaku rolled his eyes and completely ignored Jiraiya's whining.
How could humans not appreciate such a delicacy?
So picky.
If it weren't for Uchiha Fūnan—that relentless Hokage—he wouldn't have even considered allowing this many humans to train at Mount Myōboku.
Fukasaku glanced over at the other side of the training ground.
A boy was silently perfecting his skills there.
Uchiha Sasuke.
He and Naruto had both been brought here by Jiraiya.
One on the left, one on the right—training in silence.
As for Mount Myōboku's rules…
Well, after Jiraiya had a friendly spar with Fūnan and ended up bedridden, receiving medical treatment from Tsunade while swearing on his life—
What rules?
Rules were made by people. And if people could set them, people could change them.
Even if the ones who made them weren't people, but toads.
And as for what happened inside Mount Myōboku…
Jiraiya had thrown himself at Fukasaku and Shima feet, wailing like a child.
After being thoroughly annoyed, the two sages finally gave in.
After all, it was just two kids. Sure, they were a bit special, but…
Bending the rules just this once wouldn't hurt.
The Great Toad Sage, as always, remained indifferent to these matters.
"Jiraiya-sama!"
A small toad, Kosuke, hopped forward.
"What is it?" Jiraiya straightened up, sensing something serious.
"It's an order from the Hokage." Kosuke gave Jiraiya a look of pity. "He's extremely dissatisfied with your progress. He wants you to pick up the pace—there's still a lot to do. If you don't hurry, he'll personally train with you. Three times a day. Plus a late-night sparring session as a midnight snack."
Jiraiya nearly collapsed on the spot. "Boss! Big Sis!" He turned to the two Toad Sages, looking utterly pitiful. "Help me! I'm begging you! Please, please help me!"
Fukasaku twitched slightly at the sight of Jiraiya's teary-eyed pleading.
"Is that really necessary?" he sighed. "That Hokage of yours may be ruthless, but he wouldn't actually kill you, would he?"
He knew enough about that Hokage to be sure.
Yeah, he was domineering. But he treated his own people well. Jiraiya had fought alongside him for years—there was no way he'd actually kill him.
Jiraiya sniffled. "No, he won't kill me. But he'll castrate me! Or worse, put me under a genjutsu and make me... do things with a bunch of men! He already tested it out last time he gave me a warning!"
Tears and snot threatened to pour out. "If it comes to that, I'd rather be dead!"
Seeing that Fukasaku remained completely unmoved, Jiraiya let out a loud wail.
"Boss, you can't just leave me to die! I... I'm still a virgin! I don't wanna go out like this!"
Yeah, sure you are.
Fukasaku and Shima stared at him, deadpan.
This guy? A virgin? The man who wrote those books?
Who was he trying to fool?
Even the toads wouldn't buy that.
"Alright, alright, we'll speed things up," Fukasaku said with an exhausted sigh.
"Besides, those two kids are giving it their all. We can't just sit around doing nothing. And with how bad things are outside, Mount Myōboku can't exactly jump into the war."
He glanced over at Naruto and Sasuke, a flicker of admiration in his gaze.
Those two were like twin stars.
On their own, they might not seem that special.
But together? They pushed each other.
Their rivalry wasn't just one plus one equals two.
It multiplied. Over and over again.
"Thanks, Boss!" Jiraiya sniffed loudly and sucked his snot back in.
Fukasaku, mid-bite into his last few mouthfuls of food: "..."
Shima: "..."
Good guy, even the bug-eating toad said she couldn't accept it.
"Get out. Right now."
"Huh? Boss, what's wrong?"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
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