Huong——
A whirlpool appeared at the White Zetsu base, and Uchiha Obito, who had escaped from Konoha, emerged.
Seeing Uchiha Obito return, Zetsu, with his black and white face, stepped forward and said,
"It looks like you caused quite a scene in Konoha!"
Numerous White Zetsu clones were lurking around Konoha. Through them, he had learned that there had been a major disturbance in the village.
"You underestimated Uchiha Fugaku!"
Uchiha Obito's expression was grim beneath his mask.
Ever since awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he had been nearly invincible against many forces. The last time he had suffered a setback was against the Fourth Hokage.
"It seems you've taken a hit!"
There was surprise in Zetsu's voice.
He knew Uchiha Fugaku must be strong—after all, he had killed Uchiha Shisui.
But Obito's Kamui was an almost unbreakable space-time ability, and he hadn't believed that Uchiha Obito would suffer any losses.
Yet the reality was the opposite—Uchiha Obito had been bested by Uchiha Fugaku.
"He has mastered an incredibly powerful ocular genjutsu that transfers damage inflicted in the illusion to the real body."
Uchiha Obito said in a deep voice.
"A genjutsu that transfers illusionary damage to the real body? That's a terrifying technique!"
Zetsu commented.
If injuries sustained within the illusion were transferred to reality, then death in the illusion meant death in real life.
Such a technique was extremely dangerous.
"Moreover, his genjutsu is overwhelmingly powerful. Even with my Mangekyō Sharingan, I couldn't escape."
Uchiha Obito added, his voice grave.
"Even you, with your Mangekyō Sharingan, couldn't break free?"
Zetsu was stunned.
The Mangekyō Sharingan had immense genjutsu prowess, as well as the ability to dispel illusions. Yet, even with its power, Uchiha Obito had been unable to break free from Uchiha Fugaku's illusion.
That alone showed how formidable it was.
"How did you escape? Did you use Izanagi?"
"Yes. To be precise, I died in the illusion, and the Izanagi in my left eye activated automatically."
Uchiha Obito removed his spiral mask, revealing his left eye, which had turned white after the use of Izanagi.
"Impossible! How could he kill you when you can become intangible?"
Zetsu was shocked.
"In that illusion, he could use forbidden techniques without consequence."
"I was unable to escape and was attacked for five minutes straight. When my intangibility finally wore off, I was killed."
Obito's face was dark with frustration.
"Then, he placed me under the illusion again, but I managed to escape by repeatedly using Izanagi's resurrection. That's how I got away."
"If even your Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't counter his genjutsu, that's not normal."
Zetsu suddenly frowned and speculated.
"Could his eyes be the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"No, his eyes have a single pattern. It's unlikely that he possesses the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
Obito shook his head.
"However, it's possible he has the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, like me, and may never go blind."
"Never going blind and possessing such powerful genjutsu that even you can't escape... Uchiha Fugaku is extremely dangerous."
Zetsu said solemnly.
"Indeed, he's incredibly dangerous. Once caught in his illusion, even a Kage-level ninja would struggle to break free."
"Among the Akatsuki, perhaps only Nagato, with his Rinnegan, could resist it."
Obito frowned.
Nagato's Rinnegan was fundamentally superior to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although Nagato had not awakened the full power of the Rinnegan, even using only 20-30% of its potential, it should be enough to counter Uchiha Fugaku's illusion.
"Warn the other members of the Akatsuki—if they encounter Uchiha Fugaku, they must immediately abandon their mission and retreat."
"I'll inform them, but I doubt they'll listen."
Zetsu nodded but sounded helpless.
If even Obito couldn't handle Fugaku, it would be extremely dangerous for any other Akatsuki member.
The best response was to abandon the mission and retreat.
However, the members of Akatsuki were all rogue ninjas, each overly confident in their abilities. Not all of them would heed the warning.
"If they don't listen, they can't blame anyone when they die."
Obito said coldly.
To him, Akatsuki members were merely tools for his plan, and their lives were expendable.
"That would be troublesome for me. I spent a lot of effort gathering these people."
Zetsu sighed.
"With the current number of Akatsuki members, capturing the Tailed Beasts will be difficult. We need more members. Do you have any candidates?"
Obito asked.
"There are two targets: a ninja named Shennong and a Konoha rogue ninja named Beiluhu."
White Zetsu answered.
"How strong are they?"
Obito asked.
"It's difficult to judge Shennong's exact strength, but he's at least at the high jonin level, possibly near Kage-level."
"Beiluhu, on the other hand, has definitely reached Kage-level and is even stronger than the average Kage."
Zetsu explained.
"Not bad. If we can recruit them, Akatsuki's overall strength will increase significantly."
Obito nodded.
"I need to remain in Kirigakure for now. You handle Akatsuki."
Buzz——
A pitch-black vortex appeared, and Uchiha Obito disappeared into it.
After he left, Black Zetsu muttered to himself.
"A monster like Uchiha Fugaku has appeared... but no one will stop the final plan."
…
Meanwhile, Konoha was still immersed in the excitement of "Uchiha Fugaku defeating the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja."
At that moment, a squad of Anbu returned to Konoha.
Three Anbu members made up the team, led by a short, boyish figure wearing a cat-faced mask.
Indeed, the leader was just a boy—Uchiha Itachi, returning from a mission.
"Father has the Mangekyō Sharingan... and he defeated the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja..."
On his way to the Hokage Building, Uchiha Itachi overheard this news multiple times.
He was utterly shocked.
His father was so powerful that not only had he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, but he had also defeated the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai user, who had long troubled Konoha?
(End of this chapter)