WEEKLY POWER GOALS šš„ 30ā2ch | 60ā5ch | 100ā8ch | 200ā15ch | 400ā25chā° Resets Monday!
--------------------
They returned from the dimension of swirling darkness to the underground lair.
Suigetsu's right eye, Juugo's left eyeāboth now gleamed with the three-tomoe pattern of the Sharingan.
New eyes. New sensations.
Juugo pressed a hand to his temple. "My mindā¦ it's truly quiet. Unprecedentedly so. You weren't lying. The Sharingan does suppress the Curse Mark's influence."
Suigetsu blinked rapidly, his gaze darting around the cavern. "And the visionā¦ it's incredibly sharp. I can see every speck of dust floating in the air, every tiny shift. In a fight, this would be an insane advantage! Hey, have you Uchiha always had theseā¦ cheater eyes?"
To Obito, their awe was a little excessive. But it was understandable. The power of the Uchihaā¦ you had to possess it to truly feel that innate superiority.
It was the same reason Orochimaru, in a past life, had been so utterly obsessed.
Obito pressed his advantage. "The Sharingan has a higher form. The MangekyÅ. It requires specific conditions to awaken. Slim chances, admittedly. But if you do unlock itā¦ I have further gifts in store."
Suigetsu's eyes widened. "Wait, you meanā¦"
Obito's voice hardened, a balance of carrot and stick. "Serve me faithfully, and you will be rewarded beyond measure. Betray meā¦ and you could flee to the ends of the earth. You would never escape my grasp."
Suigetsu scratched his head, his tone shifting to a hesitant, wheedling pitch. "Thatā¦ brings me to a small request. A tiny one. Could youā¦ indulge me?"
"Speak."
"I want a proper ninja sword. One thatā¦ suits me."
Obito looked down at him, a silent, masked judgment. "A sword is simple. Define 'suits me.'"
Suigetsu ventured, "Uhā¦ something likeā¦ the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen member, Zabuza Momochi's Executioner's Blade? Would that be okay?"
A soft, derisive chuckle escaped Obito. "The Executioner's Blade? Is that the limit of your ambition?"
Suigetsu's face lit up. "Thenā¦ Samehada! Could I have Samehada!!!"
Obito's gaze darkened behind the mask. "Kisame Hoshigaki is also my subordinate. I could take you to him. You canā¦ discuss it with him directly."
The image of facing the monster of the Hidden Mist flashed in the young Suigetsu's mind. He instantly deflated. "ā¦The Executioner's Blade is fine. I remember Zabuza was killed by Sasuke Uchiha. That blade should still be in the Land of Waves. Should we go retrieve it?"
Obito paused. "Wait."
Shwoop!
He vanished into the vortex spiraling from his right eye.
The moment he was gone, Suigetsu slumped into a stone chair. All trace of his earlier sycophancy vanished, replaced by a sharp seriousness. "Juugo. You saw it. That ability. He comes and goes as he pleases. We probably really can't escape him."
Juugo kept his hand over his new left eye. "If his gift proves I can truly control my bloodlustā¦ staying with him is acceptable. He also promised not to force me to fight Orochimaru. That is enough for Kimimaro's sake."
Suigetsu snorted. "You're easy to please, aren't you?"
"What about you?"
A cold smirk twisted Suigetsu's lips. "I'm not someone to be used so easily. He said Orochimaru killed three Akatsuki members, yet he took us in. If you think about it properly, it's obvious heā"
His Sharingan-enhanced peripheral vision caught it thenāa pale, indistinct shape coalescing on the far wall. His voice instantly boomed, cutting off his own sentence. "āit's obvious he's showing us incredible mercy by sparing us and entrusting us with such important roles!!! If we don't swear to repay him with our lives, what kind of men are we!!!"
The white Zetsu spore on the wall twitched. Huh. This one knows his place. Maybe I won't file a report just yetā¦
Shwoop!
Obito returned moments later. But he did not carry Suigetsu's coveted Executioner's Blade.
He carried a massive scroll.
"This," Obito intoned, letting it thud onto the ground, "is the Ninja Sword Summoning Scroll once used by your brother, HÅzuki Mangetsu. Of the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen's blades, aside from the Executioner's Blade, Samehada, Hiramekarei, and Kibaā¦ the other three are contained within this scroll."
Suigetsu froze.
His brother, Mangetsuā¦ a second-generation Mist Swordsman. The second wielder of the twin blades Hiramekarei. A prodigy who could master any of the Seven Swords. After his comrades fell, he had used this very scroll to collect their blades, to summon and wield them at will.
"That'sā¦ my brother's scrollā¦"
Shock gave way to a torrent of questions raging in Suigetsu's mind.
How? After my brother diedā¦ Hiramekarei was reclaimed by the Mist. This scroll disappeared. It should be gone. How? Where did this guy find it?!
Thud. Obito kicked the scroll closer to Suigetsu's feet. "It's yours."
Suigetsu knelt. His hands trembled as he reached out, his fingers brushing the aged parchment. He lifted it, cradling the scroll to his chest.
Obito loomed over him. "Any otherā¦ requests?"
Head bowed, holding the scroll tight, Suigetsu's voice was a carefully neutral monotone. "Noā¦"
"Good. I have shown my sincerity. Nowā¦ you show me yours."
Suigetsu looked up. His face was a mask of fanatical devotion. "I would walk through fire for you, my lord!!! How should I address you, my lord!!!"
Behind the mask, Obito allowed himself a satisfied smile.
"In front of the Akatsuki membersā¦ call me Tobi."
Suigetsu caught the implication. "Andā¦ in private?"
"Call me Madara."
The name 'Madara' meant little to Suigetsu, just a distant legend. He set the scroll aside carefully and dropped to one knee. "Understood, Lord Madara. From today on, I am your faithful follower!"
Obito's gaze shifted to Juugo.
Juugo stood. He offered the masked man a deep, respectful bow.
"Now," Obito said, his voice echoing in the chamber. "I will take you to meet the leader of Akatsuki. He will test you, as is our custom. Do not disappoint me."
Shwoop!
A vortex engulfed Juugo and Suigetsu, sucking them into the Kamui dimension. A moment later, Obito himself dissolved into the swirling darkness.
The Village Hidden in the Rain.
Cold, relentless rain fell from a bruised sky, pattering against the maze of rust-colored pipes and stark, metallic towers. The entire village was a monument to industrial gloom, dominated by the solemn, glaring statues that watched over the drenched streets. The air was thick with damp, with oppression, with a silence that felt like a held breath.
In the highest tower, Pain, the Deva Path, stood immobile. Konan was a silent, paper-white presence beside him.
Zetsu had just delivered the news. Kakuzu and Hidan were dead.
And the second, more devastating blow: the vast fortune Akatsuki had painstakingly accumulated over more than a decadeāall under Kakuzu's miserly guardāwas now in Orochimaru's hands.
Their funding operation had collapsed. Which meant the planāhis plan, Nagato's grand ambition to use the Tailed Beasts as weapons to create a superpower that would lord over the Five Great Nations, to force a peace born of overwhelming fearāwas now in ruins.
'Conquering the Five Nations.' That had always been Nagato's dream. A dream he pursued even in defiance of 'Madara's' Eye of the Moon Plan.
One could only imagine Nagato's mood.
The face of the Deva Path, crafted from Yahiko's body, showed nothing. No anger. No despair. Only the cold, divine detachment of a god.
BOOMā¦ CRACKLEā¦ ROARā¦
But outside, the sky over Amegakure answered. Thunder bellowed across the heavens, a ceaseless, furious roar that shook the very towers. The rain fell harder, sharper, like needles.
Pain and Konan stood in silence. They knew.
A guest was coming.
Shwoop.
A strange, spiraling darkness tore open the air in the center of the high tower.
--------------------
[FULL STORY ACCESS]
š Why wait? Unlock (120+ Chapters) ahead of the public release!
Join Binge Ink on Patreon to access the full archive and read until the very last page today.
āØ Support the author:Patreon.com/BingeInk