Deidara, Sasori of the Red Sand, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Konan all went on high alert at once.
They were all S-rank missing-nin, yet when it came to Pain's Rinnegan abilities—Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in—they had no way to defend against them.
And yet this white-haired man who had suddenly infiltrated their base moved like a ghost. Pain's attacks didn't affect him in the slightest.
"Who is that?!" someone shouted.
Compared to Pain and Konan, the one who truly couldn't stay calm upon seeing the white-haired Obito was Black Zetsu. He could clearly sense the power of the Ōtsutsuki clan coming from him.
That intangibility just now had to be Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan ability.
But even if Black Zetsu were beaten to death, he never would have imagined that everything he was seeing was happening to Ōtsutsuki Obito.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Had Obito already succeeded in casting Infinite Tsukuyomi?!
No. That was absolutely impossible.
No one could activate Infinite Tsukuyomi without all the Tailed Beasts and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. And there was no way he himself wouldn't have sensed it at all.
Adult Obito Uchiha, who still hadn't figured out how to explain things to Nagato, simply stayed hidden behind the rock, letting his parallel-world self take the brunt of it.
Ōtsutsuki Obito: "..."
"Madara, I want an explanation."
For Pain to speak like that meant he was truly angry. Calling out one of Obito's identities within Akatsuki made that much clear.
And using the name "Madara" instead of "Tobi" left the missing-nin present, who only knew of the reserve member Tobi, completely confused.
Among them, the only one who had heard the name "Madara" and could connect it to the legendary Madara Uchiha was Kakuzu, who had lived nearly a century and shared an era with the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha.
Ōtsutsuki Obito scratched his head.
He had no interest in dealing with Nagato's problems. As far as he was concerned, once he dragged Black Zetsu off to meet Kaguya, the mission would be done.
So…
He did something he had once seen in recorded images, something Edo Tensei Hashirama Senju had done to Edo Tensei Madara Uchiha.
He raised a finger high-profile style and pointed it straight at Pain.
"You're up later."
"..."
Seeing the leader's expression turn so foul it looked like corpse oil might drip from his face, Deidara decided that, given his age, this really wasn't the moment to butt in.
Luckily, Ōtsutsuki Obito added an explanation.
"I've got business with Black Zetsu first."
Black Zetsu was even angrier than Pain on the inside. This situation, completely outside his control, left him extremely passive.
A plan that had taken over a thousand years to lay couldn't be allowed to fail because of that brat Obito.
He had no idea how much Obito Uchiha actually knew, so he continued to pose as Madara Uchiha's will and questioned him about what had happened.
Since Pain had already called out the name "Madara," there was no need to keep hiding.
He turned to the white-haired Obito and demanded, "Madara, what exactly happened?"
At the same time, he secretly dispatched White Zetsu to investigate Konoha. Something this big couldn't have happened without him knowing about it.
More importantly, if Obito Uchiha had obtained the power of the Ōtsutsuki, then what about Mother? What about the plan to revive her?!
Ōtsutsuki Obito, having long since grown used to dealing with a world that already had one Kaguya and two Black Zetsus, was thoroughly familiar with this crafty, endlessly talkative thing.
So he deliberately refused to play along and said bluntly, "Cut the nonsense. I'm taking you to see Kaguya."
That single sentence instantly shattered Black Zetsu's composure.
"What?!"
"How do you know that name?!"
Hearing Mother's name, and thinking of how Obito had gained Ōtsutsuki power, Black Zetsu could no longer maintain his usual taciturn act in front of Akatsuki and Obito.
Believing Obito had obtained Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's power through some unknown method, Black Zetsu was both furious and panicked. His noisy, childish, never-grown-up side was laid completely bare in front of everyone in Akatsuki.
"You disgusting insect! What did you do to Mother?!"
"Why do you have the power of the Ōtsutsuki clan?!"
"You're nothing but a pitiful pawn I used! What right do you have to possess the noble bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki clan?!
Uchiha—Obito Uchiha—!!!"
"Damn it!"
As the saying goes, dogs that bark the loudest don't bite.
Black Zetsu cursed fiercely, yet stayed rooted in place in his massive aloe-like form, the symbiotic state he shared with White Zetsu, not daring to take even a single step closer to the white-haired ANBU Obito.
Naturally, Obito wasn't about to let Black Zetsu keep screaming at him. He opened a Yomotsu Hirasaka beneath Black Zetsu's feet and sent him straight off to another world, where he could have a nice long talk with the other two Black Zetsus and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Only then did Ōtsutsuki Obito remember that after coming here, he still hadn't greeted his… caretaker—
No, damn it.
He still hadn't said hello to that Kakashi guy.
Ōtsutsuki Obito waved toward the adult Obito Uchiha still hiding behind the rock.
"I'm heading back too. I was suddenly summoned by a mission scroll, and I haven't even said hello to Minato-sensei, Kakashi, or Rin yet."
"Hey!!"
"Don't worry. I'll be back in at most half an hour."
The ANBU uniform was light and flexible, allowing complete freedom of movement. Ōtsutsuki Obito opened a Yomotsu Hirasaka behind him and fell backward into it with an effortless, stylish motion.
That left the Adult Obito who was supposed to deal with the aftermath completely stunned.
He crept out from behind the rock step by step, moving like a crab.
The awkward Adult Obito: "..."
Pain, whose true body was Nagato and who was already so angry he was coughing, stared at him with his Rinnegan.
Deidara: ...
Sasori: ...
Hidan: ...
Kakuzu: ...
Konan: ...
He looked at the familiar faces of Akatsuki, while the members of Akatsuki stared back at him just as blankly.
After a long while, Hidan finally turned to Pain and spoke up.
"Leader, shouldn't we maybe take our organization's security a bit more seriously?"
Coming from Hidan—the most carefree and shameless member of the group—the remark was nothing short of an insult.
Obito raised both hands over his head. "If I say I'm just grabbing something and leaving, do I still have time?"
"What do you think?"
Konan was clearly furious as well. She had long believed that Madara wasn't trustworthy.
If this had been not too long ago, Obito would have thought that although Konan was strong, she didn't pose much of a threat to him…
But ever since he found out she had been secretly stockpiling explosive tags specifically to kill him…
"Uh… this is kind of…"
"Hard to explain in just a few words?"
Adult Obito wanted to give up right then and there, but who knew if the moment he left, Nagato wouldn't immediately order an attack on Konoha?
Damn it!
How did he forget that today was the organization's regular meeting day?!
And the version of himself from the other world had exposed his identity without hesitation and then bailed, leaving him behind. Wasn't that a bit too heartless?!
He hadn't even figured out how to explain any of this to Nagato and Konan yet!
Neither Ōtsutsuki Obito nor Adult Obito had used Madara Uchiha's voice, and with Black Zetsu calling him Obito Uchiha outright, Konan and Pain instantly realized that this man hadn't even told them his real identity.
Deidara stared at Obito Uchiha, feeling that the voice sounded strangely familiar.
After thinking for a long time, he finally pointed straight at his nose.
"Ah! You're that guy—Tobi!!"
Obito: ...
Heavens above, he hadn't even had time to put his mask on.
"I'm totally confused," Hidan said, scratching his head. "Why do you have so many names? One moment you're Obito, the next you're Tobi, and then the leader says you're Madara?"
Kakuzu lifted an arm and stopped Hidan.
Looking at Obito, he said, "If you're talking about Madara Uchiha, he should've died over fifty years ago."
"Madara Uchiha?!"
Sasori had heard that name before. The legendary man of the previous era, the only one who could go head-to-head with the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
Obito felt like his head was about to split in two.
Was he really supposed to announce at Akatsuki's meeting that the Eye of the Moon Plan was fake, that the project was cancelled, and that everyone should go their separate ways and maybe meet again if fate allowed?
Damn it!
If only he'd prepared an extra Sharingan in his left eye back then, he could've used Izanagi now!
"Um…"
Carefully choosing his words, he looked at Pain and said, "How about we put this on hold for a bit?"
"..."
Did you really think the meeting was proceeding normally right now?
Uh…
The awkward silence was so thick you could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with your toes.
"Actually…"
Adult Obito was desperately brainstorming ways to stall for time, hoping to drag things out until his other self from the parallel world came back.
"Actually?"
Deidara's curiosity got the better of him. After all, he was still young, only three or four years older than Naruto and the others. Watching the stammering 'Tobi,' he had a strong feeling there was a massive piece of gossip coming.
"Actually, Kisame, Itachi, and I, after being worn down by long-term missions and exhausted both physically and mentally, have grown sick of war and the entire ninja system. We're currently recuperating at a guesthouse run by Hatake jōnin in Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village!"
Yes.
That one.
The missing-nin guesthouse.