It still couldn't change Obito's nature. If it happened again, he would make the same choice.
In the next room over…
Seated high above like a withered piece of dead wood, Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes.
At that moment, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu stood before him.
The White Zetsu clone that had been staying by Uchiha Obito's side was only a duplicate. This one was the real White Zetsu.
In truth, White Zetsu had a hundred thousand clones in total. The sheer number of them was terrifying.
"Madara-sama."
As soon as they saw Madara's gaze slowly turn toward them, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu responded in unison.
"Hm." Madara's voice was calm and heavy. "How is Obito?"
Right now, what Madara cared about most was Obito's condition.
As time passed, Madara could clearly feel his own body worsening. He probably did not have much time left.
But before that happened…
His plan had to succeed.
"He has recovered very well," Black Zetsu replied. "The only issue is his Sharingan. Both eyes are still only at the two-tomoe stage."
If they wanted to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan, a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan was far from enough.
Madara, however, did not seem bothered. Instead, he nodded with satisfaction.
"To awaken both eyes and reach the two-tomoe stage immediately… that is already impressive enough."
Uchiha Obito's Sharingan reaching the two-tomoe stage so quickly truly proved that he was a rare genius.
"What's more…" Madara's lips curled slightly. "The next step will be enough to make him awaken the Mangekyō."
Thinking of the plan he had already prepared for Obito, Madara smiled with complete confidence.
Didn't Obito carry love in his heart?
Then he would use that love…
to completely force open Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Good."
Putting those thoughts aside, Madara looked toward Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
"From now on, keep a closer eye on Rin Nohara. The plan can begin."
"Yes, Madara-sama," Black Zetsu answered seriously.
Even Madara did not notice the faint trace of urgency that flashed through Black Zetsu's eyes.
A plan prepared over a thousand years was finally moving onto the right track.
Wait for me, Mother…
I will definitely rescue you.
And yet, right in the middle of that solemn atmosphere, White Zetsu suddenly spoke up in an unusually serious tone.
"I don't think that's appropriate."
"...Huh?"
Madara and Black Zetsu both froze.
If anyone else had said that, perhaps they would not have cared.
But the one who had spoken was actually White Zetsu.
That alone was enough to make both Madara and Black Zetsu stare at him strangely.
Since when did White Zetsu concern himself with serious matters?
It sounded more like a joke than anything else.
"Why do you think it's inappropriate?" Madara still asked, calming himself down because the matter was related to his plan.
Even Black Zetsu, surprisingly, did not hit White Zetsu this time. He simply turned to look at him seriously.
Under those gazes, White Zetsu's expression became unusually grave.
"Madara-sama, why do we have to choose Rin Nohara?"
"What are you trying to say?"
White Zetsu raised a finger and spoke with complete seriousness.
"What if Uchiha Obito actually likes Kakashi Hatake?"
"...?"
It was such an absurd sentence that, for a moment, neither Madara nor Black Zetsu even knew how to respond.
It sounded ridiculous.
And yet somehow…
it was so logically delivered that it became hard to refute on the spot.
The two of them, who had originally been listening seriously, now both wore dark expressions.
If White Zetsu had truly discovered some flaw in the plan, they would not have minded hearing him out.
But now it seemed he was just spewing nonsense.
Madara and Black Zetsu exchanged a glance.
As expected, believing that idiot White Zetsu was a mistake.
But White Zetsu either failed to notice their expressions or simply did not care, because he continued his analysis with the same solemn face.
"Think about it. Obito doesn't have his "manhood" right now, so in that situation, there's no way for him to spend all his time with Rin."
"…"
It sounded weirdly reasonable.
"So the one he values most right now can only be Kakashi Hatake! That means Obito must like Kakashi!"
"Enough!"
Black Zetsu finally snapped and cut him off.
Damn it, the more White Zetsu talked, the more convincing it started to sound.
If he kept going, even Black Zetsu felt like he might actually start believing it.
"What? Am I wrong?" White Zetsu asked innocently.
His expression looked genuinely puzzled.
Madara and Black Zetsu, however, were both completely speechless.
The worst part was that there really was no obvious flaw in White Zetsu's line of thought.
That alone made it even more infuriating.
"Fine," Madara said with a wave of his hand, clearly unwilling to keep arguing about something this absurd. "Then kill Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara both."
Whether Obito liked Kakashi or Rin did not actually matter.
When the time came, if both of them died, the result would be the same.
"I'll leave that matter to you."
"Understood, Madara-sama."
Now that the plan had only just begun moving forward, Black Zetsu was still dutifully playing the role Madara expected of him.
He nodded seriously, ready to leave and carry out the task.
But White Zetsu clearly still wanted to continue.
"Wait, Madara-sama, I really think what I said makes sense! At least hear me out—"
"Shut up!"
Black Zetsu finally lost patience and barked at him directly.
Without caring at all about White Zetsu's protests, he immediately used the Mayfly Technique and dragged White Zetsu down into the earth with him.
Madara did not care.
He merely turned his head slightly and glanced toward the next room, where Obito was still training with all his effort.
Then he slowly closed his eyes again.
His life force was fading lower and lower.
At this point, Uchiha Madara no longer wanted to waste even the smallest bit of it.
…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Early that morning, the courtyard of Shiki's house rang with the sharp resonance of metal striking metal.
This was Shiki taking advantage of Kushina not having arrived yet to put Kakashi Hatake through sword training.
Shiki could already feel it.
His compatibility with the Golden Lion template was only a tiny step away from reaching one hundred percent.
"Shiki-sensei… is this kind of training really useful?"
Beside Shiki, Kakashi Hatake held a finely crafted ninja blade of his own and repeatedly slashed at an iron stake as he spoke.
After all, Kakashi had trained in kenjutsu under his father, Konoha's White Fang, ever since he was young.
This kind of repetitive sword-swinging practice was something Kakashi had been doing since childhood.
Whether it was useful or not, how could he possibly not know?
Shiki continued chopping at the iron stake at a steady rhythm. Only after hearing Kakashi's question did he respond, not even bothering to turn his head.
"Are you questioning your teacher?"
"I-I wouldn't dare."
How could Kakashi Hatake possibly dare question the Golden Lion Shiki, the man now known as the strongest swordsman in the ninja world?
After lowering his head, Kakashi returned to swinging his blade in silence.
While continuing to slash the iron stake, Shiki spoke calmly.
"Swordsmanship is actually very simple. In the end, it all comes down to one thing—cutting."
"There's no need for so many flashy tricks or complicated forms."
"For a swordsman, the strongest weapon is always a straightforward blade."
Now that Shiki had already stepped into the realm of a true master swordsman, his understanding of the blade naturally far surpassed that of ordinary people.
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