Chapter 54: Never Mind, Kisame Is Still Willing to Be My Spy!
Within Akatsuki's cave.
Pain, atop the Gedo Statue, looked down at the entering Uchiha Itachi and said gravely, "Uchiha Itachi, you were brought in by Afei. You should know Afei's true identity, right?"
Pain didn't hide anything from Uchiha Itachi, or rather, he didn't care about Itachi's thoughts, because in the face of true strength, there was no need for tricks.
Uchiha Itachi's expression didn't change, but inside, monstrous waves were already churning. Combining this with his earlier conversation with Konan, he had already guessed what Pain was about to say.
The mysterious masked man had always claimed to be Uchiha Madara, but Pain and Konan now seemed to have found some evidence, discovering the masked man was Uchiha Obito!
"He deceived me, claiming to be Uchiha Madara."
Pain looked at Uchiha Itachi and continued gravely, "In reality, his true identity is Uchiha Obito, a spy sent by Konoha's Shimura Danzō..."
"..."
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi fell silent.
Various past experiences surfaced before Uchiha Itachi's eyes. He began to reverse-analyze Uchiha Obito's true identity based on what Pain said.
The first time he met the mysterious masked man, the masked man killed his teammates, inducing him to awaken the Sharingan;
Later, when Uchiha Itachi grew older, the masked man was willing to cooperate with him to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan and guided him to join Akatsuki.
The mysterious masked man clearly knew he was the Third Hokage's spy, yet still told him his plans and was willing to continue cooperating with him.
Every step Uchiha Itachi saw the mysterious masked man take revealed a strong dark style, which precisely resembled Shimura Danzō's handiwork!
Besides Shimura Danzō, who else would want to annihilate the Uchiha clan?
After completing the reverse analysis, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help feeling greatly panicked inside!
If they could truly confirm the mysterious masked man wasn't Uchiha Madara, and was indeed Uchiha Obito, then he was almost 100% Danzō's subordinate!
Because Uchiha Obito had a good reputation in Konoha, had no other relatives besides a grandmother, and didn't have a particularly strong presence;
Obito couldn't possibly have subjectively done so many dark deeds; he could only have been directed and controlled by Danzō!
This was logical and reasonable.
Not many Uchiha clan members entered the ANBU. Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were both assigned under Danzō. So Danzō having another ninja named Uchiha Obito under his command was perfectly normal.
Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly. He hadn't expected that every step he took now was under Shimura Danzō's arrangement. That guy Danzō really was like a lingering ghost.
"Uchiha Obito is Danzō's spy."
A Yin-Yang Release black rod floated out from Pain's hand. He watched the young man below, "Uchiha Itachi, what about your true identity? You, who killed all the Uchiha clansmen of Konoha, wouldn't also be a spy, right?"
Uchiha Itachi looked up at Pain and gently shook his head, "I was just looking for a place to belong. He claimed to be Uchiha Madara and deceived me too... Since I now know he is a spy sent by Konoha to monitor me, I will kill him next time."
Uchiha Itachi didn't reveal the truth that he and Uchiha Obito had cooperated to destroy the Uchiha clan.
Once he said it, it might clear the suspicion from Obito, and more likely, implicate himself.
The current Uchiha Itachi didn't want to be used by Danzō, nor did he want to be in peril himself!
As for Uchiha Obito, the next time they met, Uchiha Itachi would definitely find a way to deal with him. He couldn't tolerate Danzō still monitoring him!
"Very good."
Pain nodded, looked towards Konan beside him, "Konan, next is to probe Zetsu's mouth, test out its true identity. If any problems arise, kill it immediately!"
Zetsu was Akatsuki's intelligence personnel.
Because Zetsu had always provided Akatsuki with much intelligence, Pain didn't really want to kill Zetsu directly. Instead, he wanted to try and ascertain Zetsu's identity, find out if it was a spy or someone deceived by Uchiha Obito.
When Zetsu received the news, both Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were half-facedly bewildered. They couldn't figure out how Obito's identity had been detected.
And why say Obito was Danzō's spy?
Who else but Uchiha Obito contacted Yahiko first back then? And just after Yahiko rejected them, Yahiko was immediately killed by Shimura Danzō and Hanzō of the Salamander...
Whether from the timing or the motive, it indeed seemed very reasonable.
After Konan and Pain's simple reasoning, if Zetsu hadn't clearly known the truth, they might have believed it too!
White Zetsu felt somewhat melancholic, "Although it's just Nagato and Konan's speculation, it sounds quite conclusive. If we argue, it will attract Nagato's suspicion..."
"Mm."
Black Zetsu's mentality was good; he was still thinking of remedies, "In short, stabilize Nagato and Konan, ensure they don't become suspicious of the Tailed Beast collection plan."
"Then shall we go see Obito to discuss countermeasures?"
White Zetsu said in a small voice, "Just now, Obito returned to our secret base and had a White Zetsu clone help him re-transplant a three-tomoe Sharingan..."
"What happened?"
Black Zetsu asked somewhat doubtfully, "Did he use Izanagi? There's actually someone who could force Obito, possessing the Space-Time Mangekyō Sharingan, to use Izanagi?"
"It was Uehara Naraka."
White Zetsu's half-face showed complicated confusion, "Obito's explanation was that he was too careless, ambushed by Uehara Naraka with exploding tags, and had no choice but to use Izanagi to escape... And he's very anxious to see us now."
"..."
Black Zetsu's mood wasn't good either.
Didn't Uchiha Obito say he was going to manipulate Uehara Naraka? Did he end up getting overturned by that twelve-year-old kid?
As expected, apart from Uchiha Madara, the other Uchihas are all trash!
Zetsu's secret base.
This place was once Uchiha Madara's hiding place in his later years, still inhabited by a few White Zetsus guarding it.
With the help of a White Zetsu clone, Uchiha Obito transplanted a three-tomoe Sharingan. He had already taken off the mask on his face.
From today onwards, there was no need for him to swagger and bluff using Madara's identity anymore.
Zetsu's figure emerged from the ground.
Black Zetsu looked at him sinisterly and said, "Obito, because you refused to listen to our advice back then, Nagato has now determined you are a spy sent by Danzō."
White Zetsu gently reproached, "And this matter has implicated us too. To regain Nagato's trust, we now have to go to the trouble of helping him collect intelligence on Hanzō of the Salamander."
"Is there no way to salvage this?"
Uchiha Obito's brow furrowed tightly. This news was somewhat bad for him; being unable to control Akatsuki's actions in real-time was somewhat disadvantageous.
"At least not right now."
Black Zetsu shook his head and said gravely, "Nagato has already determined your identity now. We can only wait until his anger dissipates in the future, then slowly clear your suspicion."
White Zetsu softly proposed his suggestion, "We must find a way to quickly insert new personnel into Akatsuki to prevent Akatsuki's actions from getting out of control... Also, monitor Uchiha Itachi, who just joined Akatsuki not long ago."
"That's not a problem."
Uchiha Obito's brow relaxed, and he smiled, "While that kid Uehara wasn't paying attention, I secretly communicated with Kisame. He still believes in the Eye of the Moon Plan and will continue to act as the spy I planted in Akatsuki, helping me monitor Uchiha Itachi."
(End of Chapter)
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