Naruto: Starting from the time when the Six Paths of Pain was Kira Yoshikage

Chapter 87 Obito, you've grown taller!

The rain in Amegakure continued as incessantly as ever, fine droplets tapping against the mottled stone walls. It remained the secret base where Obito, Nagato, and Konan had reached an agreement, now serving as their regular meeting place.

As soon as the appointed time arrived, Obito and Zetsu appeared together.

He was dressed in a black bodysuit, and the white tiger-striped mask on his face looked particularly eerie in the dim light. Zetsu followed quietly behind Obito like a silent shadow, only his black and white face occasionally turning to observe the surrounding movements.

However, as time ticked by, Nagato and Konan still hadn't appeared.

Obito leaned against the cold stone pillar, his fingers tapping impatiently against his arm. He was calculating Kushina's due date, a crucial part of his plan, where every second counted.

"What's going on? What's Nagato up to?" Obito's voice came through the mask, carrying the aged and hoarse voice unique to Madara Uchiha, but it couldn't hide the anxiety in it. At this point, he had been able to imitate Madara's voice pretty well.

Zetsu simply shook his head silently, his black and white face revealing no emotion. Since Nagato had seen through his disguise, he hadn't been able to infiltrate Nagato's circle for a long time, and naturally had no way of knowing the other's whereabouts.

A full hour had passed when, just as Obito turned to leave, he heard the sound of a wheelchair rolling in the distance. He turned sharply and saw Konan pushing Nagato slowly towards them. Nagato was still as thin as ever, with long, grayish-red hair hanging over his shoulders, and his Rinnegan gleaming mysteriously in the rain.

"Nagato, you're late." Obito's tone was clearly displeased.

Nagato showed no remorse, but rather a calm and composed demeanor: "I was delayed because I had to deal with some matters in the village."

At this point, he deliberately looked up at Obito's mask, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the disguise and see the face behind it: "You... won't mind, will you?"

Obito snorted coldly, his brows furrowing tightly beneath his mask.

His mind was completely focused on Konoha's plans, and he had no intention of dealing with Nagato here, since wasting even a minute could lead to new variables.

"Speak, what do you want from me?" Obito's tone carried a hint of command.

He found Nagato's "playing house" game in Amegakure extremely boring.

What good is it for a small village to develop further? In the face of absolute power, it's nothing more than an ant that can be crushed at will. After all, Obito inherited not only Madara Uchiha's legacy—the ninjutsu, secret techniques, weapons, and the fusion technology of Hashirama's cells—but also the control over countless White Zetsu.

Let alone 100,000 White Zetsu, even a few thousand White Zetsu would be enough to easily overthrow a small ninja village.

Although ordinary White Zetsu are weak and were merely cannon fodder in the Fourth Shinobi World War, they are still genuine Chunin in strength. Moreover, they possess transformation techniques that cannot be seen through except by sensory ninjas, as well as special Wood Release ninjutsu.

Having inherited these things, Obito indeed looked down on Nagato's Amegakure.

Nagato spoke slowly, as if nothing around him could affect his rhythm: "I think we don't need to rush..."

"Nagato!" Obito interrupted, his tone sharp and impatient. "I'll be quite busy for a while, so don't contact me unless it's something important..."

But before he could finish speaking, Nagato casually interrupted him with, "Because we're going to Konoha?"

"?!?"

Obito froze on the spot, his pupils, exposed outside the mask, suddenly contracted, his eyes filled with shock.

Nagato, seeing Obito's shocked expression, remained expressionless, yet his Rinnegan seemed to see right through people. He seemed to have anticipated Obito's reaction, adding calmly, "Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha, her due date is approaching, isn't it?"

Obito's body trembled slightly, his heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and his breathing became rapid.

If he had just suspected that Nagato was bluffing him, he was now certain that Nagato knew about his plan.

This is such a secret... I haven't told anyone... No one should know except myself and Zetsu... But how did Nagato find out?

Could it be an absolute death? No, that's not right!

He will never betray me until Madara is resurrected...

It was all created by Madara, and his loyalty to Madara is ingrained in his bones. Now that he is Madara's "representative," there is absolutely no reason for him to betray him.

If it's not Jue... then who could it be?

Obito's brain raced, countless thoughts swirling in his mind, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out the source of Nagato's information.

He even conceived the absurd idea that Nagato's Rinnegan possessed some special ability, allowing him to see into other people's thoughts.

After all, Obito had never possessed such a high-level item as the Rinnegan, and he could only learn about its specific abilities from the few words Madara had spoken before his death.

Obito was unsure how much of Nagato knew about his plans and was secretly considering how to broach the subject. Nagato, however, simply sat calmly in his wheelchair, quietly watching Obito as if the man before him were nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, neither speaking first. Time ticked by, each second feeling like an eternity. Obito could even hear his own heavy breathing and the frantic pounding of his heart.

The air seemed to solidify into a heavy block of lead, making it hard to breathe.

Finally, Obito couldn't help but break the silence first: "Are you planning to take action against Konoha?"

"For Danzo?...I can help you..."

After much thought, Obito could only come to this conclusion—Nagato's target was Danzo of Konoha.

He was discovered by Nagato by accident while infiltrating Konoha.

The reason is understandable: Nagato recently killed Hanzo, which shows that Nagato is a vengeful person and has no patience whatsoever.

So, besides Hanzo, Nagato's second enemy was Danzo of Konoha.

At this point, the only one paying so much attention to Konoha is Nagato... and Nagato's purpose in paying attention to Konoha is undoubtedly revenge.

If Nagato's target is only Danzo, then he could go along with it and help him out, as long as it doesn't affect his own plans. Anyway, that old man Danzo isn't a good person, so it's no loss if he dies.

Unfortunately, Obito was completely wrong, and very wrong at that. Nagato would indeed go after Danzo, but not now.

"Destroy Root while the Nine-Tails is in chaos, then kill Danzo... This won't give you any sense of revenge; instead, it will just give the other party a hero's title for nothing."

Danzo? A hero? Does he even deserve that title?

The key point is that doing this is to help Konoha remove a malignant tumor, and Nagato would never do something so thankless.

Just as Obito thought he had guessed Nagato's thoughts and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Nagato, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. However, his first words made Obito break out in a cold sweat.

"You've grown taller, Madara (Ban)."