Chapter 113 (Patreon)

“Phew…”

Sasuke exhaled sharply.

The Fourth Raikage had shattered Susanoo with a single punch. Having narrowly avoided taking the blow directly, Sasuke immediately leapt backward, putting as much distance between them as possible.

“Die!”

Consumed by rage, the Fourth Raikage shot toward Sasuke like a bolt of lightning.

His speed was terrifying.

Even though Sasuke had already opened a considerable distance between them, his feet had yet to touch the ground before the Raikage appeared directly in front of him.

“Amaterasu!”

Blood immediately streamed from Sasuke’s eye.

Black flames erupted across the remains of his shattered Susanoo, wrapping the skeletal defense in an ominous layer of fire.

The Fourth Raikage abruptly stopped.

His fist, which had been moments away from crashing down on Sasuke, froze in midair.

Once the two of them landed, Sasuke’s breathing had already become ragged.

Susanoo was still far too taxing for him.

He had not even reached a complete form yet. All he could manifest was a skeletal frame, but even that caused every cell in his body to scream in pain.

And now, after using Amaterasu once again, the burden on his body and eyes had grown even heavier.

Originally, Sasuke had intended to cast Amaterasu directly onto the Fourth Raikage.

However, the overwhelming sense of danger he felt at that moment forced him to abandon the idea and use the black flames defensively instead.

Watching from above, Obito narrowed his visible eye slightly.

“So Amaterasu can be used like that…”

The black flames that would continue burning until their target was reduced to ash were not something anyone could afford to underestimate.

The last time Obito had been caught by Amaterasu himself, he had only escaped the situation through his own means.

Until now, he had mainly regarded Amaterasu as an offensive Mangekyō Sharingan technique.

Using it to reinforce Susanoo as a defensive measure was something he had not expected.

Yet the effect was undeniably impressive.

Susanoo was already an extraordinarily powerful defense.

Covering that defense in Amaterasu made approaching Sasuke directly incredibly dangerous, especially for opponents who relied primarily on close-range physical attacks.

But then—

“Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!”

BOOM!

Just when everyone thought the Fourth Raikage had been forced to reconsider his attack because of Amaterasu, his furious roar echoed through the hall.

Sasuke’s eyes widened.

The Fourth Raikage charged straight through without hesitation and swung his arm down like a blade.

The tremendous force smashed through Sasuke’s already damaged Susanoo and struck him head-on.

“Gah!”

Blood burst from Sasuke’s mouth.

It felt as though his entire face had been crushed by the impact as his body was sent flying backward.

But the Fourth Raikage had no intention of stopping there.

Even though his left arm had already been engulfed by Amaterasu’s black flames, he immediately pursued Sasuke.

“Guillotine Drop!”

The Raikage launched himself high into the air.

His right leg rose overhead before coming crashing down toward the falling Sasuke with enough force to crush him completely.

He was actually willing to sacrifice an arm—and potentially even a leg—if it meant killing Sasuke Uchiha.

“This is bad! Stop him!”

None of the Five Kage had expected the Raikage to lose himself to anger to this extent.

The instant he leapt into the air, someone shouted for him to stop.

BOOM!

Fortunately, Gaara reacted immediately.

With a sweep of his hand, a mass of sand surged forward and intercepted the Fourth Raikage’s descending kick before it could reach Sasuke.

At almost the exact same moment, Obito disappeared from atop the pillar.

Space distorted.

His figure reappeared beside the badly injured Sasuke.

Before anyone could intervene, Sasuke was sucked into Kamui’s alternate dimension.

Obito then turned toward Karin.

“You’re going in too. Treat Sasuke.”

The space around Karin twisted as well, and she disappeared into Kamui’s dimension.

Just like that, the battle caused by Sasuke Uchiha finally came to an end.

“Bastard! Die!”

The Fourth Raikage, however, had no intention of letting Obito leave so easily.

He threw a furious punch at him.

But both his fist and his entire body passed straight through Obito as though he were nothing more than an illusion.

Obito did not even bother retaliating.

He simply ignored the Fourth Raikage and leapt back onto the pillar above them.

Looking down at everyone gathered below, he spoke in an almost helpless tone.

“Well… I originally intended to make use of Sasuke Uchiha and have him take a few of you hostage.”

He paused.

“But apparently, I was expecting too much.”

“Take hostages?”

Mei Terumī frowned slightly.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Obito gave a casual shrug.

“My battle with Hashirama Senju left me gravely wounded. Even now, I have yet to regain my former strength.”

He spread his hands slightly.

“To put it simply, what you see before you is little more than a shell of what I once was. That is why I require Sasuke Uchiha’s power.”

So that was his explanation?

Ōnoki stared at him, his expression becoming more serious.

Gaara spoke next.

“Then is that why you have been collecting the Tailed Beasts? To restore your own power?”

“You could say that.”

Obito nodded.

“But that is not the entire reason.”

His tone gradually changed.

“The true purpose of the Akatsuki is something far greater.”

He looked across the Five Kage.

“I came here to tell you about the Eye of the Moon Plan.”

“The Eye of the Moon Plan?”

Several expressions immediately changed.

“What is that?”

“Heh…”

Obito gave a quiet laugh.

“Explaining everything from the beginning would take quite some time.”

He raised one finger.

“So I’ll give you the important part first. Once you hear it, I’m sure all five of you will understand.”

His visible Sharingan swept across the room.

“All shall become one with me.”

The atmosphere instantly grew heavier.

“The Nine Tailed Beasts will be reunited as one.”

Obito smiled faintly.

“And I will become the jinchūriki of that ultimate being.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the expressions of everyone present changed.

Ōnoki stared at him in disbelief.

“What nonsense are you talking about?! There is no human alive who could serve as the vessel for all nine Tailed Beasts!”

“There is.”

Obito answered without hesitation.

“The Uchiha clan possesses a stone tablet that has been passed down for generations. Even now, it remains hidden beneath Konoha.”

He paused briefly.

“Written upon that tablet are secrets left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.”

Several people immediately stiffened.

“You may find it difficult to believe, but the Sage of Six Paths truly existed.”

Obito continued calmly.

“And the secrets he left behind are real.”

His words echoed through the summit hall.

“The nine Tailed Beasts were not always separate beings.”

“They were once a single entity.”

“The Ten-Tails.”

The Five Kage listened in silence.

“When the Ten-Tails’ husk absorbs the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, the Ten-Tails will be resurrected.”

Obito slowly straightened.

“And the person who takes the Ten-Tails into himself will become its jinchūriki.”

He looked down at them.

“As for the vessel required to revive the Ten-Tails…”

“I have already found it.”

By now, the purpose behind the Akatsuki’s relentless pursuit of the Tailed Beasts was becoming clear.

Ōnoki’s face darkened.

“You intend to become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki?”

“That’s right.”

Obito answered plainly.

“The first jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails was the Sage of Six Paths himself.”

He paused.

“And what separates me from reaching that same state are only the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails.”

The Fourth Raikage’s expression changed instantly.

“What the hell are you saying?”

Obito turned his gaze toward him.

“You still haven’t realized it?”

His voice remained perfectly calm.

“Your younger brother, Killer B—the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki—was never captured.”

The Fourth Raikage froze.

“He is still somewhere out there in the shinobi world.”

“What?!”

The Raikage’s eyes bulged.

“B, you bastard!”

His furious roar shook the room.

The revelation only poured more fuel onto the Fourth Raikage’s already blazing temper.

He had believed that his younger brother had been captured by the Akatsuki and might already be dead.

That rage had nearly cost him an arm and a leg during his battle with Sasuke.

Yet that idiot was apparently still alive somewhere.

At that moment, the Fourth Raikage wanted nothing more than to find Killer B immediately and make his foolish younger brother experience the full force of his brotherly love.

But beneath all that anger, the relief on his face was impossible to completely hide.

“Don’t celebrate too soon, Fourth Raikage.”

Obito seemed to see straight through him.

“There is something else you should know.”

His gaze slowly moved across the gathering.

“The nine Tailed Beasts are merely fragments of the Ten-Tails, separated from it long ago by the Sage of Six Paths.”

His voice remained calm despite the unbelievable nature of what he was saying.

“If I am to become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki, then the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails are indispensable.”

Obito spread his arms slightly.

“And once I become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki, I will use the moon itself to cast a genjutsu upon every human being in the world.”

His Sharingan gleamed.

“That jutsu is called…”

“Infinite Tsukuyomi.”

“I will place all humanity beneath a single genjutsu.”

“A world where there are no boundaries between people.”

“No conflict.”

“No war.”

“No suffering born from people opposing one another.”

Obito’s voice carried through the hall.

“Everyone will live within the same illusion.”

He slowly lowered his hand.

“That is the Eye of the Moon Plan.”

For a brief moment, no one spoke.

Then outrage erupted throughout the summit hall.

“What kind of insanity is that?!”

“You expect us to hand the entire world over to someone like you?!”

The Five Kage naturally had no intention of accepting such an absurd plan.

Obito, however, did not appear surprised in the slightest.

“So…”

His voice became colder.

“Prepare for war.”

Everyone went still.

“The Fourth Great Ninja War will decide the fate of the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails.”

Space began twisting around Obito’s body.

“The next time we meet…”

His figure gradually disappeared into the distortion.

“…it will be on the battlefield.”

The spiral tightened around him.

“Until then.”

WHOOSH!

Obito vanished.

Almost simultaneously, Suigetsu and Jūgo disappeared as well.

Yet no one paid much attention to their departure.

Their minds were occupied by something far more serious.

Just as the Hokage had warned them, the man claiming the name Uchiha Madara was still alive.

And he had been preparing something far greater than any of them had imagined.

A monstrous plan that would place the entire shinobi world beneath his control.

The Eye of the Moon Plan.