Not long after—
The emergency council meeting in the Hokage Building came to a close.
Following tense debate and political maneuvering, Danzo successfully seized the temporary authority of the Hokage — just as Kai had anticipated.
It wasn't the full title. Danzo wasn't officially named Hokage. But during the "medical leave" of the Fourth Hokage, he now had the authority to operate from the Hokage's office — overseeing government affairs, controlling high-level missions, and managing Konoha's intelligence and external affairs.
And as expected, that shift sparked discontent among the other elders.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were clearly displeased.
They were of the same generation. Why should Danzo — the shadow dweller, the man who always moved from the dark — be the one to inherit temporary control?
If anyone was to act as stand-in for the Hokage, it should've been Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
But the former Third Hokage had remained silent.
Danzo, of course, took this as a sign of Sarutobi's declining will — that grief from losing his wife, Biwako, had dulled his ambition.
What Danzo didn't know…
Was that Sarutobi had been personally scolded the night before by the reappearedSecond Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Tobirama's words had shaken him to his core — enough that he no longer wanted to cling to power. If anything, he feared Tobirama might return again and see him propping up a broken system with a puppet in the Hokage seat.
So Sarutobi stayed quiet.
And Danzo — blind in one eye but bloated with ambition — walked directly into Kai's trap.
Danzo's first official order?
Increase surveillance on the Uchiha clan.
He immediately mobilized more Root operatives to monitor the Uchiha district. Every Uchiha shinobi was now forbidden from leaving the compound without direct approval from Danzo himself.
No Uchiha could take on missions or leave the village without clearance.
The decree was sharp and oppressive — and deliberately so.
Of course, it triggered a backlash.
Uchiha Fugaku, as clan head, personally visited Danzo under the guise of seeking explanation and clarity.
But Danzo brushed him off easily. "It's for security. The village is still recovering. We can't afford any more… surprises."
The intent was clear.
The Nine-Tails had just attacked, and rumors were already circulating about its connection to the Sharingan.
If the Uchiha stepped out of line now, Danzo would not hesitate to exploit the public's fear.
But Fugaku didn't lose his temper.
He endured.
As clan leader, he held back the radicals in the Uchiha and enforced calm.
After all, he had already reached a secret agreement with the Fourth Hokage.
So the more Danzo pressed now, the more he dug his own grave.
Fugaku would endure.
Let them become bold. Let them overstep their boundaries.
In time, all debts would be repaid... with interest.
Elsewhere—
Far from the walls of Konoha, in the snow-covered region of the Land of Iron, beneath the silent peaks of the Mountain Cemetery…
Deep underground, hidden in a forgotten base carved out by Uchiha Madara decades ago, a figure stumbled through the shadows.
Obito had returned.
Wounded, bruised, and bleeding. But still alive.
His plan to tear Konoha apart had failed.
And as soon as he stepped into the light, two voices greeted him.
One cheerful. One hollow.
"Yo, yo~ Welcome back, Obito!" White Zetsu jeered. "Did the great Uchiha Madara lose to his old teacher?"
"Or did you underestimate him again?" added Black Zetsu, voice low and cold.
"Shut up!" Obito snapped. "Get me a new arm!"
He collapsed into a chair, panting heavily.
Though he barked, his tone was sharp with frustration, not just at them, but at himself.
He had failed.
And worse, he had underestimated Minato again.
Still, Black Zetsu didn't stop. "You didn't expose your identity, did you?"
"No." Obito smirked behind his mask. "Not a chance. With the state I was in, even Minato wouldn't recognize me."
Unfortunately…
He didn't know that Kai had already begun to piece together the truth.
As White Zetsu retrieved a preserved limb and began fusing it to Obito's shoulder with living tissue, he muttered snarkly:
"Heh… the big, bad Madara gets whipped by his sensei. Bet you didn't see that coming!"
"Enough," Obito growled. "I was caught off-guard. I didn't think he could use Rasengan and Flying Thunder God simultaneously."
"A mistake like that in battle costs more than just pride," Black Zetsu warned darkly. "You carry Madara's legacy. You can't afford another failure."
Obito didn't respond right away.
But the shame sat heavy in his gut.
"I won't fail again," he said at last. "Next time, I'll finish it."
Black Zetsu leaned forward slightly. "And what about Minato and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki? Are they alive?"
"I don't know. I retreated before I could confirm anything."
But White Zetsu grinned.
"I do."
Obito's eye narrowed. "You've been watching?"
"Of course. I left a clone near Konoha," White Zetsu said proudly. "Here's the report: The Nine-Tails has been sealed again. Minato… is alive. Barely. They say he's handed over power to Danzo."
Obito paused.
"He really stepped back?"
"Could be a bluff," Black Zetsu murmured.
"It's possible," Obito admitted. "But… considering how much chakra he used, and the fact that Kushina isn't a perfect Jinchūriki, they probably paid a high price to reseal the Nine-Tails."
"They might both be seriously injured."
"Or dead," Black Zetsu added.
Obito glanced down at his newly grafted arm, flexing it.
"If the Nine-Tails is back inside Kushina, does that mean she's still alive?"
"She should be," Black Zetsu confirmed. "As long as the seal was completed in time, the Jinchūriki can survive."
White Zetsu snorted.
"Then you really didn't accomplish anything, Obito. Didn't even kill one of them."
Obito's fist clenched. "I'll kill you first if you keep talking."
Black Zetsu changed the subject.
"What's next?"
Obito's voice was low now. Focused.
"As long as Minato and Kushina live, Akatsuki will never grow. We won't be able to collect the tailed beasts."
"Madara told you that, didn't he?" Black Zetsu said.
"Yes."
Obito stood up slowly.
"Then we test the situation. We push the Hidden Cloud into attacking."
White Zetsu blinked. "You want to provoke a war already?"
"If the Fourth Hokage doesn't reappear… we move again. And this time, I'll finish it properly."
Black Zetsu stared at him.
"You're prepared to trigger another war?"
"I don't care what it takes. I'll see this plan through. A new world — a perfect one where Rin lives — can't begin until the old world burns."
White Zetsu laughed, clapping his hands.
"Crazy Obito! Starting another war just to see if your sensei is really injured! You're insane!"
Obito ignored him.
He had already made up his mind.
Black Zetsu stepped forward.
"Should I contact Nagato?"
"Not yet," Obito replied. "First, get me intel on the Hidden Cloud's border movements."
"Also…"
He turned, pulling off part of his robe and pointing to his back.
"Tear it out."
"…What?" White Zetsu asked.
"The skin where Minato placed his Flying Thunder God mark," Obito said. "Rip it off."
"You're serious?"
"Do it."
He couldn't take chances.
The last fight proved that.
If Minato was alive, then Obito couldn't afford to carry that mark — not when it could mean instant death in a flash of golden light.
White Zetsu did as instructed.
The pain was sharp — blinding, but Obito didn't flinch. He bit down hard, blood running down his back as the marked flesh was torn free.
But compared to losing Rin…
This pain was nothing.