The two figures who had just left turned back briefly, glancing at the Hyuga clan's compound.
"Who on earth stole the Hyuga clan's money!!!" came the furious roar of Hyuga Hiashi, echoing through the air.
Upon hearing the outburst, the two simply smirked and continued on their way, clearly pleased with the chaos they'd left behind.
But instead of leaving Konoha Village, they headed in a new direction—towards the tribal lands of the Ino-Shika-Chō clans.
"Obito-kun, now that everyone in Konoha is focused on the Hyuga clan's situation, let's take advantage of the distraction and make even more money," said Black Zetsu, his tone filled with excitement.
"Alright," Obito replied, trailing silently behind him.
Compared to the Hyuga clan, the defense mechanisms of the Ino–Shika–Chō families were significantly weaker. After all, while powerful, these clans were considered more conventional and didn't possess unique bloodline techniques like the Byakugan.
With Obito's Kamui ability, their thieving efficiency skyrocketed. Within a single night, the duo managed to raid more than half the wealthy clans in Konoha.
As the sky began to lighten with the coming dawn, they decided to retreat and resume operations the following night.
Back at their temporary hideout, Obito opened his Kamui space and poured out the night's loot. A staggering mountain of cash lay before them.
Seeing the massive haul, Obito was momentarily tempted. He thought about betraying Black Zetsu and keeping all the money for himself. After all, he was the stronger of the two. While Black Zetsu possessed strange, elusive abilities and was hard to kill, he wasn't a real fighter.
With Kamui, Obito could easily escape with everything.
But he hesitated.
Obito reminded himself of the bigger goal: reviving his teacher. For that, he still needed Black Zetsu's help—especially to find the vault and manage the larger plan. He couldn't afford to lose long-term success for short-term gain.
So, he restrained himself and turned to the task at hand.
The two began counting their spoils, a process that stretched from morning until the sun had dipped back below the horizon.
"Hahaha! I didn't expect we'd make three billion ryo in a single night!" Black Zetsu laughed with glee, almost delirious with joy.
Obito's eyes widened in disbelief.
He knew they had stolen a lot, but this number stunned him.
Three billion in one night.
Which meant 1.5 billion for him.
It was clear now—teaming up with Black Zetsu had been the right decision.
At this rate, he'd have the money needed to resurrect his teacher sooner than expected.
Black Zetsu, too, was beside himself with excitement. Before Obito had joined, he could only steal a few hundred million on a good night. And that was when there were no patrols to worry about. As Konoha tightened its defenses, he sometimes made just a few million.
He was incredibly thankful that he had brought Obito into the operation. With his help, their progress had skyrocketed.
If this momentum continued, it wouldn't be long before they could destroy the moon and resurrect their mother, Kaguya.
With such thoughts fueling him, Black Zetsu's exhaustion melted away.
"Obito-kun, let's divide the money and move on to the next target!" Black Zetsu said energetically.
"Alright," Obito replied, absorbing his 1.5 billion into his Kamui space.
Black Zetsu watched with envy. Space-time ninjutsu really had its perks. While Obito could stash all his wealth safely away, he constantly worried about hiding his cut from being discovered.
Suddenly, a group of White Zetsu clones popped up from underground.
"Master Zetsu," one of them asked innocently, "do you know what it feels like to have a bowel movement?"
Veins popped on Black Zetsu's forehead.
"I don't know! Now get moving and transport the money to the base!" he barked, clearly irritated.
"But I just wanted to know what defecation feels like…" Ah Fei said dejectedly.
"Move it!!" Black Zetsu roared.
Startled, Ah Fei quickly ordered the other White Zetsu to begin transferring the money.
Once his portion of the money was securely moved, Black Zetsu turned to Obito with a sly smile. "Obito-kun, ready for tonight's operation?"
Obito nodded silently, then reached for the signature yellow spiral mask of the Uzumaki clan and placed it over his face.
Without another word, the two returned to the shadows of the night, sneaking back into Konoha.
Their target tonight: the Uchiha clan.
One of the most powerful and feared clans in Konoha, the Uchiha had long held a complicated relationship with the village leadership.
"I didn't realize the Uchiha had been pushed so far to the outskirts," Obito murmured to himself as they approached the district.
The reason they had skipped the Uchiha compound the previous night was due to its remote location. But tonight, it was their main objective.
Inside the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Fugaku was growing increasingly uneasy. News of widespread theft across the village had reached him. Property from many clans had vanished overnight.
Worried, he rushed to the clan's vault and opened the heavy doors.
Inside, everything was still intact.
He exhaled with relief—but he didn't let his guard down.
Taking extra precautions, he decided to stay inside the vault itself overnight. He wasn't about to give anyone the chance to steal the Uchiha clan's wealth.
Meanwhile, Obito and Black Zetsu were hidden nearby, observing everything from the shadows.
They had planned to raid the Uchiha's treasure, but Fugaku's drastic defense measures complicated things.
"Obito-kun, what do we do now?" Black Zetsu asked, starting to reconsider the plan.
Obito didn't respond immediately. He remained silent, his eyes fixed on the vault.
Then he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
A woman carrying a lunch box.
It was Uchiha Mikoto—Fugaku's wife.
She had come to bring her husband dinner.
Obito's eyes lit up. This was their chance.
He decided to wait for the moment Fugaku stepped outside.
Soon enough, Mikoto arrived at the vault door and knocked gently.
"Fugaku-kun, come out and eat," she called softly.
Fugaku opened the door and smiled as he stepped out.
"What delicious food did you bring tonight?" he asked warmly.
"All your favorites," Mikoto replied with a sweet smile.
"Mikoto, you're always so good to me."
"How could I not be?" she answered with a playful laugh.
As the couple flirted outside, Obito and Zetsu glanced at each other, then silently slipped into the vault.
When they entered, both froze in shock.
The vault was far beyond anything they had seen before.
Stacks upon stacks of cash piled like mountains, almost reaching the ceiling. The wealth of the Uchiha clan dwarfed that of even the Hyuga.
"No wonder Fugaku was guarding this place himself…" Obito whispered in awe.
Wasting no time, he began transferring the money into Kamui space.
But the volume was so enormous that even with Kamui, it took a significant amount of time to transport it all.
Finally, after much effort, the vault was empty.
Obito and Black Zetsu looked at each other, grinning with satisfaction.
Without delay, they vanished from the village once more, disappearing into the night with a fortune in their possession.
Later, after finishing his meal, Uchiha Fugaku returned to the vault.
He unlocked the door, pushed it open—and stood frozen in place.
The vault was empty.
All the money had disappeared.
And all it took… was the time it took to eat dinner.