Chapter 550: Uchiha Obito Suspected of Being Kamigami’s Homura

Chapter 550: Chapter 550: Uchiha Obito Suspected of Being Kamigami’s Homura

Inside the Akatsuki base.

Zetsu handed Obito the two intelligence scrolls his clones had brought back from Konoha and said with a smile, "These are the reports sent by the informants you planted in Konoha."

Obito casually asked, "Did everything go smoothly?"

He wasn’t particularly worried about Kagami, but for some reason, he felt that Itachi was difficult to read. Perhaps it was because Itachi had been far too composed during their previous meeting.

Zetsu replied, "Very smoothly. Both of your informants arrived at their designated contact locations shortly after receiving the messages. They came alone, and neither had anyone suspicious following them."

Obito nodded in satisfaction.

He then opened the intelligence scroll sent by Kagami. After glancing over the information recorded inside, his expression grew solemn.

Zetsu hurriedly asked, "What does it say?"

Obito replied gravely, "According to my informant, Konoha and Kamigami are suspected of having signed several agreements. Not long ago, Kamigami’s female ’Homura’ even appeared in the village and held a lengthy discussion with the Third Hokage inside the Hokage’s office."

Hearing this, Zetsu also furrowed his brow. "I never expected Kamigami and Konoha to have established such close ties. Looks like we’ll have to be even more cautious when operating in Konoha from now on!"

Obito nodded slightly.

In the past, even when the Fourth Hokage was still alive, Obito had regarded Konoha as his own backyard, a place he could enter and leave whenever he pleased.

However, after receiving this intelligence from Kagami, he silently raised Konoha’s danger level by another notch.

After all, since Kamigami’s Homura dared to appear openly in Konoha, he could no longer rule out the possibility that Kamigami had established a secret contact point somewhere within the village.

And if he were to encounter members of Kamigami while completely off guard, particularly Yama, Homura, or Furin, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Zetsu asked again, "Did your informant manage to uncover any detailed information about Kamigami?"

Obito shook his head. "He said Kamigami only deals directly with the Third Hokage. As for everyone else in the village, even the ANBU aren’t qualified to inquire about anything related to Kamigami."

Zetsu was somewhat skeptical. "Can we trust what he says?"

Obito waved the intelligence scroll in his hand, a mocking expression on his face. "Do you know what he wrote at the end of the scroll? Not only did he demand that I immediately release that child from the Hyuga branch family, but he also insisted that I honor my promise and provide him with a method to remove the ’Caged Bird Cursed Seal.’ Hmph! Do you think a greedy fool like that would dare lie to me?"

Zetsu chuckled. "Looks like you’ve found his weakness."

"Being a member of the Hyuga branch family really is rather pitiful." After a brief sigh, Obito continued, "But I certainly don’t have the time or energy to decipher some ’Caged Bird’ seal."

Ever since awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan, Obito had long since stopped regarding the Byakugan as anything noteworthy. Naturally, he had little motivation to decipher the Caged Bird seal.

Zetsu said, "Since we’ve already got him under our control, why not simply force him to steal information about Kamigami directly from the Third Hokage? After all, now that we have evidence of his collusion with the enemy, there’s no turning back for him. He probably wouldn’t dare refuse our demands."

Obito nodded as he opened the second intelligence scroll.

However, as the scroll unfurled, his expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

Zetsu remembered that this scroll had been sent by Itachi. Seeing Obito’s expression, he asked, "Has he uncovered the identity of Kamigami’s Homura?"

With a dark expression, Obito tossed the scroll to Zetsu.

Zetsu unfurled the scroll and took a look, only to discover that the words ’Uchiha Obito Suspected of Being Kamigami’s Homura’ were written prominently across it.

Obito exclaimed in exasperation, "He couldn’t find Homura, but he sure as hell managed to find me!"

...

Ryuchi Cave.

Ichikishimahime smiled as she patted Naruto on the head and praised him. "Naruto, you’re learning so quickly!"

"Really?"

Naruto, whose face was covered in snake-scale patterns, looked pleasantly surprised.

Ichikishimahime counted on her fingers before saying, "That’s right! Of everyone I’ve ever instructed, you’re the fastest to learn senjutsu."

"Hahaha!"

Naruto, who rarely received praise from others, immediately burst into carefree laughter.

As a member of the Uzumaki clan who also carried the reincarnated chakra of Otsutsuki Asura, Naruto possessed an exceptionally unique constitution. He was naturally gifted at absorbing and utilizing natural energy.

Furthermore, his mind was simple and pure. He carried neither psychological burdens nor any complicated ambitions or wicked thoughts. His state of mind was therefore exceptionally compatible with natural energy.

In this regard, he even surpassed his counterpart from the original timeline.

In the original timeline, when Naruto traveled to Mount Myoboku to learn senjutsu, he had been driven by his personal desire to become stronger, defeat Akatsuki, and bring Sasuke back.

Moreover, he knew that failure in senjutsu training would turn him into an unconscious stone statue, so he naturally carried a certain psychological burden.

At present, however, although Naruto was still very young, he was pure and innocent. He didn’t even know what consequences awaited him if he failed his senjutsu training.

As a result, his carefree attitude made him even more compatible with nature.

His training progressed at an astonishing pace, leaving even Ichikishimahime, the beautiful snake woman responsible for instructing him, utterly amazed.

One had to understand that although Ichikishimahime had instructed many shinobi who ventured into Ryuchi Cave, not a single one had ever truly mastered Ryuchi Cave’s senjutsu under her guidance.

Without exception, every shinobi she had instructed had ended up as an unconscious stone statue.

That was why she was so certain that Naruto was the fastest learner of senjutsu she had ever taught.

Seeing that Naruto’s eyes had also transformed into snake-like vertical pupils, Ichikishimahime said, "All right, you’ve entered Sage Mode now. Go over there and test it out!"

"I’m ready already?"

Naruto, who had been sitting motionless for several hours absorbing natural energy, immediately sprang to his feet.

Ichikishimahime pointed toward a distant stone wall and said, "Try throwing a punch at that wall!"

Naruto approached the wall with some skepticism and reached out to touch it. Discovering that it was made of extremely hard rock, he hesitated.

"Big Sis, this rock is really hard! If I punch it, my fist will probably be swollen for days!"

"Hehehe..."

Ichikishimahime covered her mouth and giggled before giving Naruto an encouraging look, signaling that he had nothing to fear.

Seeing this, Naruto could only close his eyes, steel himself, and throw a punch at the solid stone wall.

BOOOOM!

In an instant, the entire cavern shook violently, accompanied by a deafening rumble!

With his eyes still tightly shut, Naruto looked completely bewildered and cried out, "Huh?! What’s happening? Is there an earthquake?"

Not far away, Ichikishimahime smiled and asked, "Naruto, is your fist swollen?"

Only then did Naruto snap back to his senses. He stared blankly at his fist and discovered that the hand he had used to punch the stone wall was completely unharmed.

He then raised his head and looked at the wall, only to discover that, at some point, a massive hole had appeared in the solid rock right in front of him...