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Chapter 84: Danzō: I Will Be the Sixth Hokage!
Black Zetsu stared at Obito with a sinister look. Ideally, transplanting both would be best, maximizing his power and giving him a better chance against the White Tiger. But it worried that this guy's body wouldn't be able to withstand the terrifying drain from two Rinnegan.
Pop! Obito Uchiha pried open the test tube stopper, took out one Rinnegan, and said indifferently: "One Rinnegan is enough. Kamui's intangibility is very useful; I can't give it up."
Since he had made his decision, Black Zetsu didn't try to persuade him further. As long as he transplanted the Rinnegan, it was fine. One or two, either could be used to unleash the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. It stepped forward and said, "Lord Madara, let me help you."
"No need!" Obito Uchiha waved his hand, refusing. He then removed his mask, revealing the pale white eyeball in his left eye socket. This had originally been a three-tomoe Sharingan. After using Izanagi, the Sharingan was completely destroyed.
With a squelch, Obito Uchiha's movements were swift. Gritting his teeth, he gouged the eyeball out. He then stuffed the Rinnegan into the bloody socket. His left hand glowed with a green light as he used the simple medical ninjutsu he had mastered to activate the life force and healing properties of his Wood Release cells, quickly connecting the meridians and blood vessels in the eye socket to the Rinnegan. The instant the connection was made, the purple eyeball suddenly rolled. The pupil centered itself in the socket, glowing with a faint purple fluorescence. The eye was cold and indifferent, as if it contained endless terror.
"Ahhh...!" Obito Uchiha suddenly let out a wretched scream. His face contorted in pain, and his body trembled uncontrollably. A large amount of chakra, and even life force, surged from his entire body into his left eye socket, where it was devoured by the Rinnegan. It was like a bottomless pit, showing no sign of stopping. The Rinnegan had been removed from Nagato for some time. Although it had been nourished with Hashirama's cells, its internal vitality was still decreasing. Now, re-entering a human body, it instinctively drew a large amount of life force and chakra to restore its former power. Moreover, this wasn't Obito Uchiha's original Rinnegan. He had to grit his teeth and endure the excruciating pain and burden caused by the forced transplant.
After a long while, Obito Uchiha climbed up from the ground, drenched in sweat. He looked exhausted and listless, having consumed a great deal of energy. He let out a long breath: "Huu... it's finally done." His face showed lingering fear and apprehension. He had genuinely been worried that he would be drained dry by the Rinnegan. If it weren't for the Hashirama cells in his body providing life force and chakra, he simply couldn't have borne the cost. No wonder Madara Uchiha had specifically sought out Nagato to host his Rinnegan. Besides the powerful life force of the Uzumaki clan, which could withstand it, an ordinary person would probably be sucked dry in an instant.
"So this is the Rinnegan... It truly is powerful." Obito Uchiha could sense the immense power within the eye, a power far greater and more terrifying than that of the Mangekyō Sharingan. With an eye like this, it was no wonder Nagato had called himself a god and referred to it as the eye of God.
Black Zetsu examined him for a moment. Finding no problems, it was quite satisfied. They were another step closer to the plan's success. It "concernedly" asked, "Lord Madara, how do you feel? Is everything normal?"
Obito Uchiha's confidence returned. He said in a deep voice, "Very good! If I were to fight the White Tiger again now, she definitely wouldn't be able to escape!"
Black Zetsu scoffed inwardly. To prevent him from getting carried away, it reminded him, "The power of the Rinnegan is too immense. To avoid placing an even greater burden on your body, it would be best to create the Six Paths of Pain to share the load."
Obito Uchiha thought for a moment and nodded. "We'll use the corpses of those Jinchūriki. I'm sure the Six Paths of Pain we create will be stronger than the previous Pains."
...
Konoha, Root Base.
Danzō coldly examined the intelligence that had just arrived in his hand: [Large battle erupted in the Land of Birds, suspected Akatsuki internal conflict.]
The commotion from the battle between Konan, Sasuke, Obito, and the others was so massive that it could be seen from a great distance. Not long after they left, a Root ninja responsible for intelligence gathering had arrived at the scene. This Root ninja had been drawn over by the huge disturbance halfway through the battle and had simply watched from a hidden spot far away. After the battle ended, he transmitted what he had seen and the results of his on-site investigation back to Root via a Summoning Technique.
Danzō quickly flipped through the intelligence. When he saw the words "purple chakra giant," the pupil of his exposed left eye immediately contracted. A greedy glint appeared in his eyes. "Susanoo... Sasuke, is it?"
"I didn't expect this brat to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as well. Itachi, it seems your younger brother is quite talented. I misjudged him."
Sasuke's performance at the Ninja Academy hadn't been outstanding. Although he was always first in his class, he was far inferior to Itachi and Shisui. Danzō had thought Sasuke would, at most, awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan; he never expected him to have the aptitude for the Mangekyō Sharingan.
If only I had known. Back then, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi had tried to stop him, he would have forcibly recruited Sasuke into Root. Then, once he awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, he would have done just as he did with Shisui: kill him and take his eye.
"Sasuke, your Mangekyō Sharingan can only belong to me!" At that moment, Danzō felt an intense desire to possess it and was determined to get it. "Such power is fit only for me."
He suppressed his impatience and asked coldly, "How is Tsunade?"
A man with golden hair, Fū Yamanaka, emerged from the darkness and knelt. "Lord Danzō, Tsunade is still unconscious. Naruto, Kakashi, Might Guy, and other jonin are taking turns guarding her."
"Hmph!!" A flash of anger appeared in Danzō's eyes. "They're guarding against me!! Why would a mere unconscious person need the protection of the most elite jonin? Does Konoha really need to worry about someone harming the Fifth Hokage?"
Fū Yamanaka lowered his head. Even though his emotions had long been numbed and cold due to his Root training, a strange feeling still arose in his heart. Lord Danzō, have you forgotten? You previously ordered your subordinates to kill the unconscious Tsunade the moment they had the chance...
"How are the contacts with the other jonin and their clans? Do they support me becoming Hokage?"
"Nearly half of them support you. But the clans led by the Ino-Shika-Chō, as well as the other commoner jonin, are all making excuses, saying they'll discuss it after Tsunade wakes up."
Wakes up? If the Fifth Hokage wakes up, how can I still become the Sixth Hokage??
Danzō's eyes turned cold. "Have them initiate a jonin vote. Now that the village has been destroyed and we have a great enemy at our gates, someone must step forward to take charge of the entire village. Rebuilding the village, gathering intelligence, and deterring other ninja villages... all of these tasks require me."
"At this stage, besides myself, who else in Konoha is qualified to serve as Hokage?"
"Yes. I will arrange for them to launch the jonin vote immediately." As soon as he finished speaking, Fū Yamanaka vanished in a flash to carry out the order.
Danzō touched the Mangekyō Sharingan under his right eye's bandage. "Hiruzen, look at what Konoha has become under your disciple's leadership. Only by becoming Hokage can I lead Konoha to greater strength! I am destined to be the Sixth Hokage! Everything is for Konoha!"
...
High altitude.
Beside the giant cloud, Kameda, Ryūzetsu, and Honoka hovered with their flight devices, looking anxiously toward the Land of Birds. Honoka floated restlessly, saying with worry, "Uncle Kameda, why hasn't Lady Konan returned yet? Should we fly to the Land of Birds and check?"
"No!" The usually amiable Kameda resolutely refused. "Lady Konan told us to wait here. Without her orders, we cannot go anywhere!"
Ryūzetsu also tentatively suggested, "Just taking a look shouldn't be a problem, right...?"
Kameda shook his head seriously. "No means no. The enemy Lady Konan is fighting is very powerful and also has the ability to fly. If we go and are captured by the enemy, we will only cause trouble for Lady Konan."
Before Honoka could retort, her eyes narrowed, and she looked behind Kameda. A black dot had appeared on the horizon, flying rapidly toward them.