Chapter 125: He Get Anxious?
The atmosphere in the laboratory fell into an eerie silence.
All eyes focused on Obito Uchiha, who had been watching the drama unfold like a spectator.
Nagato turned his head, his gaze fixed on Obito Uchiha with a strange intensity.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that whether or not he obtained Hashirama's cells no longer mattered.
Compared to the slight improvement Wood Release would bring, he now wanted to understand 'Uchiha Madara's' identity even more.
If Nagato had turned his gaze towards Black and White Zetsu, he might have gotten his answer.
Black and White Zetsu's expressions were quite different.
Black Zetsu was expressionless, his eyes fixed on Izayoi's playful smile, not revealing what he was thinking.
White Zetsu, on the other hand, looked utterly astonished, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if he hadn't expected anyone besides them to know Obito Uchiha's true identity.
Only Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, who didn't know Obito Uchiha was playing the role of 'Uchiha Madara', looked at Obito Uchiha in surprise.
The former even exclaimed, "Besides Sasuke-kun and Uchiha Itachi, there's actually another living Uchiha in the ninja world? Does that mean that space-time ninjutsu just now is a unique dojutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Obito Uchiha didn't speak, as he hadn't yet recovered from his shock.
If anyone present had the ability to sense emotions, they would have noticed Obito Uchiha's current emotions fluctuating wildly, his mind in complete disarray.
Fortunately, he was wearing a mask, otherwise his current expression would have completely dispelled Nagato's apprehension and might even have earned his contempt.
Seeing that Obito Uchiha didn't speak, Nagato's suspicion towards him deepened, and he couldn't help but ask, "Madara, what's going on? Who is Uchiha Obito?"
Seeing this scene, Black Zetsu couldn't help but curse inwardly.
You idiot, how can you be thrown into disarray just by having your real name called out? Aren't you practically admitting it now?
Where did the psychological warfare you used during the Nine-Tails attack and when manipulating Kirigakure go?
"Nani, Uchiha Madara?!"
Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi were both startled by Nagato's address of Obito Uchiha, subconsciously taking a few steps back. The former said in disbelief, "Wasn't that harbinger of chaos killed by the First Hokage in the Valley of the End battle?"
After speaking, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi couldn't help but look at Izayoi, very curious as to why Izayoi called the other person Uchiha Obito.
Obito Uchiha finally came back to his senses, then used Uchiha Madara's voice to praise, "Not only did you sense the Hashirama cells in my body, but you also discovered my Sharingan? As expected of a Senju descendant who awakened orthodox Wood Release, truly outstanding... reminds me of young Hashirama."
He acted as if he hadn't heard the name Uchiha Obito, nor did he emphasize his identity as Uchiha Madara, but his words left much to the imagination.
Clap clap clap...
Just as Nagato and Orochimaru were being fooled, Izayoi suddenly clapped his hands forcefully.
"Good acting!"
Izayoi's hands crackled with blue-white arcs of lightning as he gave Obito Uchiha a thumbs-up, praising, "Kakashi would watch this and wouldn't be able to resist using Chidori to pierce Nohara Rin's heart, giving you a bigger thumbs-up than this!"
Boom—
These words were like the fuse igniting a bomb. Obito Uchiha, who had just calmed down, instantly had the image of Hatake Kakashi piercing Nohara Rin's heart flash through his mind.
Just like when he had witnessed that scene with his own eyes, his two-tomoe Sharingan evolving into the Mangekyo Sharingan on the spot, a torrent of chakra erupted from Obito Uchiha's body almost uncontrollably.
Seeing this scene, Black Zetsu couldn't help but cover his face, thinking that everything was over.
Nagato's lips curled up slightly, as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart, a sense of relief washing over him.
Whether he could obtain Hashirama's cells today no longer mattered.
He had already gained the greatest reward, his inner turmoil completely gone.
At this moment, in Nagato's eyes, Obito Uchiha directly transformed from a 'harbinger of chaos' who had lived for nearly a century, once on par with the God of Shinobi, and even survived decades after the God of Shinobi's death, into a 'cowardly rat' who only knew how to play tricks and didn't dare to reveal his true identity.
Although he didn't know where this guy had obtained the Six Paths Techniques and Yin-Yang Release, the only thing worth being wary of about him was his intangible space-time ability.
The real enemy was the mastermind behind the scenes who had bestowed upon him the Six Paths Techniques and Yin-Yang Release.
That person might be the real Uchiha Madara, or perhaps a descendant of the Sage of the Six Paths, but in any case, he must be the true wielder of the Rinnegan.
Both Obito Uchiha and Black and White Zetsu were pawns of that person behind the scenes.
Having one more mysterious enemy didn't faze Nagato in the slightest.
Because he was very certain that the mysterious guy was already dead.
The reason these two guys came to him wasn't just for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path; it was very likely for... the Rinne Rebirth!
That person behind the scenes wanted to use him to live a second life!
There must be a contingency plan left by that person on his body, either inside him or within the Rinnegan.
Once that contingency plan was triggered, he would be forced to use the Rinne Rebirth to revive that person behind the scenes.
However, Nagato had already recovered to his full strength, yet these two guys still hadn't made a move.
Combining this with the revival conditions of the Rinne Rebirth, which required seeing the appearance of the deceased's corpse clearly in order to summon their soul back, Nagato had already guessed that this contingency plan needed a key to activate.
This key was in the hands of Obito Uchiha or Black and White Zetsu.
Thinking of this, Nagato couldn't wait to immediately tear off the mask of pretense and take the opportunity to kill Black and White Zetsu and Obito Uchiha.
But the rationality in his heart made him suppress this thought.
The person behind the scenes could send two pawns to approach him, so there might be a third pawn hidden in the shadows.
If he couldn't find the contingency plan left by that person, he would still be a pawn on the chessboard.
Tearing off the mask of pretense now would only be a premature move, putting himself in a completely passive position.
For Konan, for Yahiko's dream, he had to remain calm.
"See? Didn't he get anxious?"
Izayoi made a 'look at this' gesture, pointing at the emotionally broken Obito Uchiha and smiling at Orochimaru.
"Omoishiroi..."
Orochimaru also looked at Obito Uchiha with great interest, smiling, "I remember now, Minato had three disciples. Besides Kakashi, there was another Uchiha member who died in the Great Ninja War, and whose body wasn't recovered. So it was you."
"Not only that, but Kakashi's Sharingan was also given to him by that Uchiha member before he died," Kabuto Yakushi observed Obito Uchiha's mask, smiling as he echoed, "Kakashi's Sharingan is his left eye, and this person's mask only has an eyehole for his right eye, it matches perfectly."
Obito, you've become a clown!
Looking at Obito Uchiha being watched and scrutinized like a monkey, White Zetsu's eyes held a hint of pity.
The exposure of his identity would leave him with no place to stand in Akatsuki.
Nagato and Uchiha Itachi would no longer fear him.
Even if Nagato didn't expel them from Akatsuki, Obito Uchiha would no longer have any initiative in front of Nagato in the future.
If this news spread, his martyr title in Konoha would also be revoked.
If people guessed that he was behind the Nine-Tails attack, they might even dig up his grave.
Besides Hatake Kakashi, no one would care about him anymore.
Black Zetsu didn't speak but secretly watched Nagato, hesitating whether to use Mind Body Possession on him. But sensing something, his powerful senses made him quickly dismiss the idea and continue to hide.
And Obito Uchiha, whose weak spot had been touched and his composure broken, suddenly calmed down.
He didn't attack Izayoi, after all, it was just a Wood Clone.
Realizing that his identity had been exposed, he no longer hid it and instead asked, "How did you find out? And why are you so certain?"
This was Obito Uchiha's biggest doubt.
Logically speaking, they shouldn't be people from the same era.
When Obito Uchiha caused the Nine-Tails attack, Izayoi was just a baby. Even his closest teacher didn't know his true identity. How did Izayoi know?
And he was so confident that he was Uchiha Obito!
"Because I'm not blind."
To this, Izayoi looked at Obito Uchiha as if he were an idiot, retorting, "When I was in the ninja academy, you would occasionally come to Konoha to wander around. Every year on November 15th, you would go to the cemetery to pay respects to someone named Nohara Rin, and your mask only shows your right eyehole. Such obvious features, as long as you're not an idiot and investigate the relationship between Nohara Rin and Kakashi, you can guess your identity, right?"
"..."
Obito Uchiha fell silent again.
This idiot!
Black Zetsu cursed inwardly again. How could he leave such obvious flaws?
Nagato and Orochimaru completely confirmed Obito Uchiha's identity.
"To be able to discover these things at that age without me noticing, it seems your Wood Release awakened very early. Truly remarkable," Obito Uchiha couldn't help but praise, accepting this reality.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi stood behind Izayoi, their expressions solemn as they looked at Nagato and the others.
However, Nagato ignored them and instead asked Obito Uchiha, "Is there anything you want to say?"
"I will give you an explanation. First, capture these guys and get what you want," Obito Uchiha said, then used his Mangekyo Sharingan's Genjutsu to control Orochimaru.
Before he could make his next move, Izayoi smiled slightly and uttered the name of a jutsu that made their expressions slightly change.
"Wood Release... Nativity of a World of Trees!"
A rumbling sound echoed, and the entire laboratory and underground base shook violently.
Then, towering tree roots, each requiring more than ten people to encircle and resembling ancient trees hundreds of years old, rapidly tore through the ground and burst forth.
In an instant, the underground base was submerged by a green tidal wave.
Even the four Pain bodies maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation on the surface were affected.
Before long, towering trees that had already grown branches and leaves surged out, shattering the earth.
The Pain bodies, with branches growing from under their feet, had to interrupt the barrier and teleport away to avoid being entangled and bound by the branches and wooden vines.
The Land of Rice Fields had many plains, and Orochimaru's underground base happened to be built beneath a grassland.
From a distance on the grassland, one could see green giant pythons, resembling Tailed Beasts, surging out from the ground, straightening their bodies to form mountain peaks.
The violent earthquake even affected the entire plain.
When everything calmed down, the once boundless grassland had inexplicably gained an oasis.
If one didn't know better, they would have thought that was the great forest of the Land of Fire.
In the forest, Nagato, who had never been to Konoha's Forest of Death, looked at the towering trees resembling small mountains and couldn't help but exclaim, "Such powerful Yang Release chakra! To have this level of chakra at this age, it seems this clan member is the same as me."
On the treetop of a certain towering tree, the figures of Black and White Zetsu emerged.
Sensing the chakra contained within this forest, White Zetsu couldn't help but marvel, "With such Wood Release, if Tobi hadn't borrowed the leader's Yang Release chakra, he probably wouldn't be anywhere near as good!"
Black Zetsu didn't speak, but his mood plummeted.
His current thoughts were the same as Chiyo of Sunagakure's: how had the ninja world become so unfamiliar in just a few months?
He had originally thought that Otsutsuki Toneri, like Nagato, was a transplant of the Sage's Eyes.
But he discovered that the other party was a true awakener like Uchiha Madara.
Having never seen Otsutsuki Hamura use the power of the Tenseigan, Black Zetsu didn't know what abilities the Tenseigan possessed.
However, the other party also had attraction and repulsion, and this evolution might be the equivalent of the Rinnegan's Six Paths Techniques.
What about next time?
If it could still evolve, wouldn't his Tenseigan awaken unique dojutsu like Uchiha Madara's?
At that time, Nagato would definitely not be a match.
That was fine, Black Zetsu could still use Otsutsuki Toneri to weaken Nagato's strength, or have Obito Uchiha use Kamui to save the day.
Since the Tenseigan couldn't summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, as long as the Rinnegan was still there, Black Zetsu wouldn't panic.
Once the Three-Tails was resurrected and the Tailed Beast plan began, he only needed one chance to resurrect Uchiha Madara.
Nagato becoming stronger and reaching a stalemate with Otsutsuki Toneri was actually a good thing.
But now, another Izayoi had emerged, awakening orthodox Wood Release, possessing not only Hashirama Senju's Kekkei Genkai but also Tobirama Senju's ninjutsu talent and intellect.
Judging from his discovery of Obito Uchiha's identity, he likely also awakened the Uzumaki clan's bloodline and unique abilities, just like Nagato.
If he hadn't failed to sense Asura's chakra on him, Black Zetsu would have truly suspected that Izayoi was the reincarnation of Asura in this generation.
Nagato at his peak, Otsutsuki Toneri with evolved Sage's Eyes, Izayoi with orthodox Wood Release, and Obito Uchiha whose identity had been exposed...
The current Black Zetsu only felt that the rhythm had slipped out of his control.
Fortunately, Uchiha Madara's corpse was in his hands, and he had also used the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, White Zetsu cells, and the Hashirama cells in the corpse to restore it to its golden age.
As long as he could control Nagato, he could use the Rinne Rebirth to resurrect him.
With the abilities of Wood Release + Sharingan + Rinnegan, and being in his golden age, Uchiha Madara was an existence that neither Otsutsuki Toneri nor Izayoi could compare to.
But recalling the chakra he had sensed from Nagato earlier, realizing that he was wary of him, Black Zetsu thought to himself, "I still need to prepare a backup plan."
But now, Obito Uchiha's matter was even more important.
Even though Black Zetsu was a product of Yin-Yang Release, he now only felt a headache.
Losing the initiative didn't matter; Black Zetsu was also sick of Obito Uchiha.
He was now worried that Obito Uchiha would be expelled from Akatsuki, which would make things even more passive.
That idiot!
Black Zetsu cursed inwardly, then used Mayfly Technique to sink down, going to meet up with Obito Uchiha and Nagato.
(End of this chapter)
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