Chapter 536: Two Informants

Chapter 536: Chapter 536: Two Informants

Beneath his spiral mask, the corners of Obito’s mouth curled upward slightly. "That’s right. Information on Homura in exchange for your little brother’s life. That’s the deal I want to make with you!"

"Fine!"

Itachi stared at Obito and nodded without much hesitation.

Itachi had no idea why this mysterious Akatsuki member had suddenly approached him, but that didn’t stop him from taking the opportunity to keep the other party occupied and temporarily ensure Sasuke’s safety.

"I’ll come find you again..."

Leaving those words behind, Obito withdrew into a distorted vortex and disappeared without a trace.

A moment later, Obito appeared in a secluded grove outside Konoha.

Just then, Zetsu emerged from underground and remarked, seemingly to himself, "It looks like Konoha installed a new sensory barrier during this reconstruction. I can’t come and go as freely as I used to."

As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha had always been protected by a sensory barrier.

However, because the previous sensory barrier had been operating for so long, its frequency had become widely known. This was why, in the original timeline, rogue shinobi like Orochimaru and Itachi could easily bypass the Barrier Team’s detection and enter or leave Konoha at will.

This time, however, the village had suffered a devastating catastrophe, and most of the sensory barrier covering the entire village had been destroyed along with it.

Rather than painstakingly inspecting and repairing the damaged barrier section by section, it made more sense to construct an entirely new one.

Thus, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the village’s reconstruction, Konoha had designed a completely new sensory barrier system.

Obito chuckled. "Don’t worry. That won’t be a problem for much longer."

Zetsu looked at Obito and said, "Looks like things went pretty smoothly for you this time!"

"Mm. I’ve recruited two informants in Konoha. One is a Konoha ANBU, and the other is a member of the Uchiha clan." Obito smiled and continued, "They should be able to dig up some information that interests me."

Zetsu asked doubtfully, "Can they be trusted?"

Hearing this, Obito recalled his recent encounters with Kagami and Itachi.

Kagami’s anger when he was threatened, his delight upon hearing that the Caged Bird could be removed, and the worried expression on Itachi’s face when Sasuke was mentioned...

Scene after scene flashed through Obito’s mind like a revolving lantern.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Obito said indifferently, "They’re just two mediocre fools shackled by their pointless bonds. They won’t be able to stir up any trouble."

Zetsu laughed. "Hopefully, your informants can help us gather some intelligence on Kamigami."

Obito changed the subject. "Any news from Orochimaru? We need to get the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki into our hands as soon as possible. We can’t afford any more delays."

Zetsu shrugged helplessly. "Orochimaru is very cautious. I’m afraid it’ll take some more time to find him."

Obito knew perfectly well how cunning Orochimaru was, so he instructed, "Keep contacting Orochimaru’s side under the pretext of exchanging hostages. As long as he still has his sights set on Sasuke, he’ll eventually slip up."

Zetsu agreed. "All right."

After pondering for a moment, Obito added, "Select another clone and assign it specifically to serve as the liaison for the two informants I recruited today!"

...

Inside the village.

After Obito left, Itachi quickly found Shisui and told him about Akatsuki’s approach. The two then headed straight to Hyuga Kagami’s house.

They weren’t particularly worried about Obito monitoring them. As long as they remained fully vigilant, even with Kamui, it would be difficult for Obito to approach them without their knowledge.

Seeing Shisui and Itachi arrive together, Kagami smiled and welcomed them inside.

Once they were seated, Kagami asked Itachi, "If I’m not mistaken, Akatsuki has approached you too, hasn’t it?"

Since Obito could use Neji to threaten Kagami, he would naturally use Sasuke, who was currently in their hands, to threaten Itachi as well. This was entirely predictable and wasn’t difficult to deduce.

Itachi was somewhat surprised. "Senpai, how did you know?"

Kagami chuckled casually. "Because they approached me too."

"I see!" After a brief pause, Itachi continued, "The one who approached me was that Akatsuki member wearing the spiral mask. Since he remained intangible the entire time, I couldn’t find an opportunity to attack, so I had no choice but to pretend to agree to his demands for the time being. He wants me to investigate Kamigami’s Homura and gather intelligence for him."

Shisui, who was sitting beside him, asked, "Senpai, don’t tell me they approached you to gather intelligence on Kamigami as well?"

Kagami nodded while leisurely sipping his tea.

Obito had undoubtedly approached Kagami because of his status as an ANBU.

However, in reality, only a handful of people, including Kagami, the Third Hokage, and Utatane Koharu, knew that Konoha had no formal written cooperation agreement with Kamigami whatsoever.

All that existed was a rescue commission agreed upon verbally.

Consequently, Konoha knew little more about Kamigami than Akatsuki did. Trying to gather intelligence on Kamigami through Konoha was fundamentally a futile endeavor.

Shisui and Itachi exchanged glances, both utterly speechless.

The informants Akatsuki had recruited to gather intelligence on Kamigami were actually all members of Kamigami!

One of them was even Kamigami’s leader himself!

The sheer absurdity of the situation left the two of them not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Itachi then asked, "Senpai, what should we do next?"

Setting down his teacup, Kagami slowly replied, "This is actually a good opportunity for us. They want intelligence on Kamigami, so we can use this channel to feed them whatever information we want them to know."

Shisui added, "We can also set up an ambush!"

Kagami nodded.

Obito had suffered quite a few losses at Kamigami’s hands. During their initial contacts, he would undoubtedly be extremely cautious, perhaps even using intermediaries to communicate with them.

However, once he confirmed that Kagami and Itachi posed no threat, he would inevitably lower his guard.

When that time came, Kagami could lay an inescapable trap and eliminate him with ease.

Thinking of this, Kagami glanced at Itachi.

At present, the Totsuka Blade in Itachi’s possession was the most effective means of countering Obito.

After Itachi and Shisui obtained the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, Kagami had questioned them in detail about the origins of these two divine artifacts.

Upon learning that the two artifacts truly existed in a spiritual form and were bound to their wielders’ spirit bodies, Kagami had felt rather regretful.

At the same time, this finally helped him understand why, in the original timeline, the dying Itachi had entrusted everything to his younger brother Sasuke, even leaving him his own Mangekyo Sharingan, yet had never passed down the immensely powerful Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror.

It turned out that Itachi hadn’t been unwilling to give them to Sasuke.

Rather, the two divine artifacts were bound to Itachi’s spirit body. Only when his spirit body was completely annihilated could the artifacts change owners.

But by the time Itachi’s spirit body was utterly destroyed, he would no longer have the ability to entrust the two artifacts to Sasuke.

His only option would be to follow the same method through which he had obtained them: leave behind a trial for future generations and let them test their luck to see whether they could subdue the artifacts.

And there was no way Itachi would allow Sasuke to take such a risk.

After all, without the dojutsu Tsukuyomi, the chances of subduing the Totsuka Blade were extremely low, even for someone possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan...