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Chapter 14: Obito's Test, the Land of Water Trap!
Konoha's sudden increase in alert level—with massively boosted patrols—undoubtedly posed an obstacle to Obito's plan to attack the village.
"Konan is steady and cautious; she wouldn't act recklessly."
"It must be that kid Oborotsuki causing trouble!"
Obito's eyes flickered as the realization hit.
A swirling space portal opened once more, and he vanished.
By the time Obito returned to Akatsuki headquarters, Konan, Oborotsuki, and the others had just arrived back as well.
As usual, Pain's Deva Path and Konan went together to meet "Uchiha Madara," personally reporting the mission details.
Inside the sealed chamber, after listening to Konan's full account, Obito's gaze darkened.
"That kid single-handedly killed so many ANBU?"
It finally clicked—why Konoha had suddenly raised its alert status and assigned extra ANBU to guard the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
At the same time, he felt genuine surprise.
When had Oborotsuki become this strong?
"I never expected his power to grow so fast in such a short time…"
"But with him stirring things up like this, it's going to complicate my plan."
Obito thought coldly, anger gradually rising.
He had spent a long time preparing this operation to weaken Konoha.
Nothing could go wrong at this critical juncture!
Even more importantly, Oborotsuki's rapid growth now made Obito wary.
"Whether the kid has ulterior motives or not, anyone from Kirigakure's famous clans deserves to die."
"And now he dares interfere with my plan… hmph."
A new scheme formed in Obito's mind.
Recently, the newly appointed daimyō of the Land of Water had been strongly opposing the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's Bloody Mist policy.
He had even threatened to cut military funding to Kirigakure.
That meddlesome daimyō had become a major obstacle to weakening Kiri's forces.
Obito had already planned to eliminate him soon.
Since Oborotsuki was originally from Kirigakure in the Land of Water, this mission was perfect for him.
The assignment would serve two purposes: test Oborotsuki's loyalty to Akatsuki and further gauge his true strength.
If the kid truly had hidden intentions and joined Akatsuki with ulterior motives…
This operation would surely expose him.
And even if it didn't reveal anything, Obito still had one final step.
No matter what—this time, he would let Oborotsuki "return to his roots."
With that thought, Uchiha Obito raised his head, looked at Konan and Deva Path, and slowly produced a mission scroll.
…
After resting at Akatsuki headquarters for about a day, Konan and Oborotsuki set out once again.
Throughout the journey, Oborotsuki clearly sensed Konan had grown much quieter.
Perhaps she was worried about the strange changes in her body, feeling confused and uneasy.
"Konan-senpai, you still haven't told me what this mission is."
Oborotsuki carried the Decapitation Greatsword over one shoulder, glancing sideways at her.
"We're going to the Land of Water—to assassinate the daimyō."
"Kill the Land of Water daimyō?"
Oborotsuki's eyes flickered.
The daimyō of this era wasn't mentioned much in the original story.
But since it was an Akatsuki mission, it was either for a massive bounty… or to remove an obstacle for the organization's larger plan.
"That's a high-profile target. How much is the bounty?"
Oborotsuki asked casually, probing.
"Sixty-five million ryō."
"The daimyō's guards will be exceptionally strong."
"We need a detailed battle plan, Oborotsuki."
Konan stopped walking and turned to face him.
Oborotsuki already had other thoughts brewing, though he kept them hidden.
"Alright. Tell me your plan first."
He simply sat cross-legged on the spot.
In his mind, this was almost certainly Obito's doing.
He knew Obito was controlling the Fourth Mizukage Yagura with genjutsu and using him to enforce the Bloody Mist policy—purging bloodline clans.
Assigning him and Konan to assassinate the daimyō now… it was hard not to connect the dots.
"Is this because the daimyō is blocking Obito's plans?"
"Or is he testing me at the same time…?"
Oborotsuki felt his recent performance had been quite impressive.
Pain's Deva Path could see it clearly, and Konan's favor toward him grew daily.
Yet no one had mentioned making him a core member.
The only explanation: Obito was pulling strings behind the scenes.
In other words—he had never trusted Oborotsuki.
In that instant, multiple possibilities flashed through Oborotsuki's mind.
He decided to play along and see what game Obito was really playing.
…
After discussing the battle plan with Konan—Oborotsuki on offense, Konan providing support—they smoothly infiltrated the Land of Water and reached the capital where the daimyō resided.
After two days of scouting and reconnaissance, they found the perfect opportunity and assassinated the daimyō with surprising ease.
The entire operation went almost too smoothly.
"It feels like we overestimated the daimyō's defenses, Konan-senpai."
On the retreat, Oborotsuki carefully reviewed every detail and grew more convinced something was off.
Normally, a country's daimyō would be guarded by several powerful ninjas.
Like the Twelve Guardian Ninja protecting the Fire Daimyō.
But the Land of Water daimyō only had a handful of mediocre samurai—no real elite fighters.
Not a single ninja in sight.
This was far too abnormal.
"Focus on moving quickly, Oborotsuki."
Konan had also noticed the strangeness but said nothing more.
In truth, she knew exactly what was happening.
She had come to Kirigakure alongside "Uchiha Madara" and Pain.
She knew the Fourth Mizukage Yagura was under genjutsu control, plunging the village into chaos with the Bloody Mist.
Afterward, Oborotsuki—originally from Kirigakure—had been recruited as a suitable new member.
And from the moment Oborotsuki joined Akatsuki, "Uchiha Madara" had never fully trusted him.
Simply because he came from the Hōzuki clan—one of the countless persecuted families under the Bloody Mist.
Konan even knew "Madara" had been looking for chances to test Oborotsuki.
This mission was no exception.
What she didn't know was that the so-called "Uchiha Madara" was actually Uchiha Obito.
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