Chapter 384: The Final Trace

Chapter 384: Chapter 384: The Final Trace

"I’ve never given up on the dream in my heart!"

Obito’s answer was firm and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"Is that so...?" After a pause, Black Zetsu sneered. "But the way you are now, you certainly don’t look like someone willing to throw everything away for his dream! Though I suppose that’s understandable. After running into an opponent as troublesome as Kamigami, it’s only natural that you’d start shrinking back. Besides, you were a complete and utter failure to begin with..."

Obito glared at Zetsu and opened his mouth, but even after a long while, he couldn’t get a single word out.

Drip...

The gloomy cave fell into an eerie silence. Only the occasional sound of water dripping from the ceiling echoed faintly through the darkness.

This wasn’t the first time Black Zetsu and Obito had discussed this subject.

After Kamigami’s leader launched his surprise attack on Nagato, Black Zetsu had already brought it up with Obito of his own accord.

Black Zetsu couldn’t understand why Obito, who had long since severed himself from his past, was being so indecisive about this matter.

As far as Black Zetsu was concerned, that thing had originally belonged to Obito in the first place. And even if it hadn’t, as long as it was useful to him, Obito should seize it without the slightest hesitation!

And it wasn’t just the scheming Black Zetsu who thought this way. Even the comparatively simple-minded White Zetsu couldn’t understand why Obito was struggling with the decision so much.

Looking at Zetsu, whose confusion was written plainly across his face, Obito found himself unable to voice the explanation.

That eye was the gift he had given Kakashi.

At the same time, it was also the final trace proving that the innocent "Obito" of the past had ever existed.

Once he took that eye back, the "Obito" who had once innocently dreamed of becoming Hokage would disappear completely!

Therefore, Obito’s hesitation wasn’t simply because he didn’t want to face Kakashi. More than anything, he didn’t want to personally bury the person he had once been.

But Black Zetsu didn’t care about Obito’s feelings, nor did he care about that final shred of attachment Obito still held toward his former self.

From the moment Kamigami’s leader appeared, Black Zetsu had felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

As the "third son" of Kaguya ōtsutsuki, Black Zetsu could clearly sense that Kamigami’s leader, while in Tenseigan Chakra Mode, possessed power similar to that of his two elder brothers.

It was a power that was in no way inferior to the Rinnegan.

Meanwhile, Nagato, the nominal leader of Akatsuki, was not actually the one who would carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Nagato’s ideology was merely to gather the Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, and use the Ten-Tails’ power—capable of destroying an entire nation in a single strike—to intimidate the shinobi world, maintaining peace through boundless fear.

Therefore, as far as Black Zetsu was concerned, Obito—the one who truly believed in the Eye of the Moon Plan—was the real key!

"If you don’t want to do it yourself, I can help you."

After a long silence, Black Zetsu spoke in a sinister voice.

"I’ll handle my own affairs!"

After a pause, Obito asked coldly, "Have you made any progress with the investigation?"

The joint surprise attack on Amegakure by Konohagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure had taught Akatsuki a major lesson. Because of that, after the battle, Obito had specifically ordered Zetsu to investigate the matter.

Akatsuki’s control over Amegakure had been practically airtight.

Moreover, on the surface, they still had the reputation of "Demigod" Hanzo shielding the village. As a result, after the war, the Five Great Shinobi Villages and Amegakure had essentially stayed out of each other’s affairs.

No one would casually provoke Amegakure while it supposedly still had the "Demigod" Hanzo presiding over it.

Because of this, Obito suspected that the information revealing Akatsuki’s headquarters to be in Amegakure had most likely been deliberately leaked by either Orochimaru or Shinno, the two traitors who had defected from the organization.

"Yeah. There’s been some new progress in the investigation."

Zetsu knew that Obito was deliberately changing the subject, but investigating the intelligence leak was also a matter concerning the organization’s very survival, so he answered him properly.

Obito asked, "What did you find?"

Zetsu slowly explained, "One of my clones discovered one of Shinno’s subordinates in an underground casino in the Land of Fire. After some interrogation, the guy revealed something interesting. As soon as Shinno defected, Kamigami set their sights on him. The one who went after him was none other than Homura—the one you just fought."

"Homura..." Obito pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "There’s no way Shinno was a match for Homura. He’s probably already fallen into Kamigami’s hands. The intelligence must have leaked through him."

Zetsu nodded.

After learning this information, he had reached the same conclusion as Obito.

"No wonder Kamigami also intervened in the three Great Shinobi Villages’ surprise attack against us. It looks like the entire operation was secretly orchestrated by Kamigami from behind the scenes!"

At this thought, Obito’s expression darkened.

From his perspective, the three Great Shinobi Villages’ surprise attack against Akatsuki had merely been a carefully planned case of Kamigami using someone else’s blade to do their killing.

Both the three Great Shinobi Villages and Akatsuki had been thoroughly played by Kamigami.

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Obito asked, "Can you find out who passed the intelligence to the three Great Shinobi Villages?"

If Kamigami wanted to use others to do their dirty work, they not only needed to pass Akatsuki’s intelligence to the three Great Shinobi Villages, but also needed to gain the trust of those villages’ upper leadership.

Therefore, as long as they followed this thread, it shouldn’t be difficult to uncover traces of Kamigami.

Zetsu shook his head and spread his hands. "We can’t find that person!"

Obito frowned. "What!?"

Zetsu explained, "According to what we’ve managed to uncover so far, this surprise attack was initiated by Konoha’s Third Hokage, and the level of secrecy was extremely high. Even Konoha’s advisory elders only learned about it afterward. As for who provided the Third Hokage with the intelligence, I’m afraid only a handful of high-ranking figures—the Third Hokage, Fourth Raikage, Fourth Kazekage, and a few others—would know."

Obito ordered, "We have to find that person!"

Zetsu looked troubled. "Now that our manipulation of the Fourth Mizukage has been exposed, it’ll be difficult to make a move against any of the Kage again!"

No fool could ever become a Kage.

The fact that Akatsuki had manipulated the Fourth Mizukage would inevitably spread throughout the shinobi world very soon. Once that happened, everyone would come to an even deeper realization: even Kage-level shinobi could not guarantee their own safety against Akatsuki through personal strength alone.

Therefore, after this incident, the Kage of the various Great Shinobi Villages would undoubtedly place far greater importance on their own security.

Obito also knew that investigating this matter would be difficult, so he said, "Keep investigating. An opportunity will come eventually."

Zetsu could only nod.

As though suddenly remembering something, Obito added, "Orochimaru is another loose end. We need to eliminate him as soon as possible."

"I do have information on Orochimaru’s whereabouts, but..."

Although Akatsuki had seemingly suffered no casualties in the previous battle and had withdrawn from the battlefield with their dignity intact, the reality was quite different.

Their leader, Nagato, had been severely injured and crippled, forcing him to transplant First Hokage cells. Sasori had lost quite a few puppets, greatly diminishing his combat strength. Kakuzu had lost four hearts in succession. Jūzō Biwa had also suffered serious injuries. And Hiruko, after going head-to-head with the Fourth Raikage, had suffered backlash from his Chimera Buds and still hadn’t fully recovered.

The only ones who had come out of the battle relatively unscathed were Konan and Shinichi...