Chapter 146: Obito’s Identity Exposed, Jiraiya’s Discovery
Swish, swish, swish…
Within a dimly lit space, seven vivid beams of colored light flashed, swiftly forming seven distinct thought-forms—each possessing a unique physique and appearance.
"Uchiha Itachi is dead. He was killed by his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke."
Before Deidara could liven up the atmosphere, Tendō Pain spoke bluntly:
"I've summoned you all to redistribute the teams."
"What? Uchiha Itachi died?!"
The first to react was surprisingly Deidara, who yelled,
"Didn't everyone say his kid brother was just some brat who hadn't even awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan yet? With the level of genjutsu that guy had, how could he possibly lose?"
Though Deidara loved mocking Itachi on the surface, the truth was—aside from Sasori—Itachi was the Akatsuki member Deidara respected the most. Back when Itachi recruited him, Itachi overwhelmed him in an instant, descending like a deity. For the sake of rectifying his "humiliation" and earning Itachi's recognition of his art, Deidara had even trained one of his eyes specifically to nullify genjutsu.
But now, before Deidara could wash away that old shame, Uchiha Itachi was already dead—and at the hands of his younger brother, no less. It was no wonder Deidara blew a fuse.
At the same time, Uchiha Sasuke became Deidara's new target. If Sasuke defeated Itachi, that meant he surpassed Itachi—so if Deidara could beat Sasuke, he could surpass Itachi as well, thus redeeming himself from the past.
Tendō Pain, unaware of Deidara's inner thoughts, continued calmly,
"It's true—Zetsu witnessed Itachi die at Sasuke's hand. Then, both Sasuke and Itachi's body were taken by Konoha's Wood-Style user. They're presumably on their way back to Konoha now."
"Two of our pairs have lost a member, so we need to reshuffle the teams."
"My combo with Byakko remains the same. Hiruko ('Hundred Faces') stays with Tobi. Zetsu operates solo as always. So Deidara, you'll pair with Kisame and continue targeting the Four-Tails and Five-Tails."
As though recalling something, Tendō Pain added slowly,
"If I remember right, Deidara, you're the Third Tsuchikage's disciple, and both the Four-Tails Jinchūriki and the Five-Tails Jinchūriki hail from Iwagakure. If you can't bring yourself to go after them, I can assign you a different mission."
"No need. I'm not close with Rōshi or Han."
Deidara refused with a proud toss of his head.
"I'll handle them," Kisame Hoshigaki said with a grin. "Magma Release and Boil Release—both are perfect matchups for my Water Release. Deidara, don't steal my fun."
When Kisame spoke, however, he cast a glance not at Deidara but at Obito, who stood beside Hiruko ("Hundred Faces").
"Since Kisame's asked, I'll let you have 'em… hmph!"
Deidara gave a curt nod, glad Kisame had given him a step down. He wore a proud look.
This time around, Obito (disguised as Tobi) did not banter with him. After Uchiha Itachi's death, he no longer needed to conceal himself. Pain, Konan, and Black & White Zetsu already knew his identity; Hiruko was half allied with him as well. Only Itachi might have leaked intel to Konoha if Obito had shown his true colors. If news spread of "Uchiha Madara still alive," it would cause massive turmoil in the Five Great Nations and impede the Tailed Beast capture plan. Therefore, Obito had kept up the Tobi act all this time. Now that Itachi was gone, there was little reason to hide.
He still didn't reveal himself to Deidara though. Deidara was too childish—who knew if he might accidentally blab?
In fact, a couple of days ago, Obito had already confided in a disheartened Kisame. At present, only Deidara was the "outsider" in the Akatsuki.
"Our ranks grow thinner; sealing the Tailed Beasts will only get slower. We need to speed things up."
Tendō Pain turned his gaze to Hiruko and Obito.
"Tobi, you're the only one in the group with mastery of space–time ninjutsu. That means you and Hiruko will once again be collecting the Three-Tails next."
"Understood."
Obito nodded, and for once, his voice was no longer playful, nor were his motions exaggerated. If one could sense emotions, it would be obvious Obito was in a complicated state. Hearing "Three-Tails" reminded him of old memories. Even after controlling the Fourth Mizukage and plunging Kirigakure into chaos—turning it into the infamous "Bloody Mist Village" and reducing its might to roughly that of Sunagakure—Obito's hatred had never eased. If Mei Terumī and Ao hadn't intervened, he would have left the Mist Village in even worse straits.
Meanwhile, Deidara was lost in his own thoughts, failing to notice Obito's shift in demeanor. Otherwise, he might've tried to console his "junior teammate."
"That's all—dismissed."
Trusting in Obito and Hiruko's strength, Tendō Pain ended the meeting. One by one, the seven thought-forms vanished.
A Few Days Later – Somewhere in the Rain Country, Beneath Pouring Rain
A swirling vortex of warped space spiraled into view. Obito emerged from it. A short while later, Hiruko rose up from the ground using his "Mimic" technique.
Swoosh—
The pair stood in the downpour for quite some time. Then came the shriek of something cutting through the air, reaching their ears at last.
An orange-haired woman in a black coat with multiple piercings across her face appeared in front of them. She was the Animal Path of Pain's Six Paths.
"Summoning Technique!"
As soon as Animal Path arrived, she formed hand seals, billowing out a large cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the colossal Gedo Statue stood upon that clearing. With a "poof," Animal Path disappeared.
Boom—
With the Gedo Statue summoned, Obito activated his Kamui dimension and hurled the unconscious Three-Tails, Isobu, out from within. If someone pried Isobu's eyelids open, they'd find a three-tomoe Sharingan in its pupils. Indeed, Obito had subdued it with the Sharingan. He hadn't even needed to use the Mangekyō—he'd simply found the Three-Tails and instantly overwhelmed it. Having half his body composed of Hashirama cells gave him virtually unlimited use of Kamui's intangibility and extraordinary ocular power, letting him dominate Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki at will. Back in Year 48 of Konoha's calendar, he already had enough power to seize full control of the Nine-Tails, let alone now.
With Orochimaru's subordinate Guren dead (in her failed attempt to restore Orochimaru's arms), Orochimaru himself forced to flee, and Sasuke having returned to Konoha seeking vengeance, there had been no interference for Hiruko and Obito in seizing the Three-Tails.
Swish, swish, swish…
As Isobu tumbled onto the ground, one after another the Akatsuki thought-forms appeared atop the Gedo Statue's fingers.
"Man, the rain's intense! Are we in the Rain Country?"
Deidara remarked as soon as he showed up. "Why choose a place like this to do the sealing? Couldn't we just find a cave?"
"Shut it, Deidara," White Zetsu retorted. "We're all just thought-forms; we don't care about the rain. Hiruko and Tobi haven't complained, have they?"
"A cave big enough to hold the entire Three-Tails is hard to find. Sealing it out in the open is not exactly safe, either. We're shorthanded now, so sealing could take five whole days and nights," Tendō Pain explained. "That's why I told Tobi to bring the Three-Tails here for sealing. In future missions, you'll also bring all captured Tailed Beasts here. That way, if anything happens, I can support you immediately. We won't have another accident like Sasori's."
"The main issue last time was the mishap during the capture of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki."
Obito chimed in as well:
"Konoha's Wood-Style user has an enormous sensing range. Neither Hiruko nor I could react in time. If we hadn't escaped so quickly, we might've been detained by that Wood-Style ninja."
"Huh… Tobi, why's your voice different now?"
At last Deidara realized Obito wasn't acting goofy or speaking in a silly tone. "You're not being your usual self."
"This is how I really am," Obito said flatly. "What you saw before was the real 'Tobi.'"
What's that supposed to mean…?"
Deidara couldn't wrap his head around it. If Hidan were still alive, he too might have tilted his head in confusion, a big question mark floating above.
"Quit your yapping and get started," Tendō Pain ordered, cutting them off. Then he looked at Hiruko and Obito. "This location is quite secure. Do you want to move somewhere out of the rain and seal via thought-form?"
"No need. This little rain is nothing," Obito said, shaking his head. "I have to stay here to keep the Three-Tails under control."
"We won't freeze to death, so hurry up," Hiruko urged.
"Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!"
All seven of them shouted in unison as the Gedo Statue spewed forth seven streams of chakra dragons, engulfing the comatose Three-Tails. Unlike a Jinchūriki who might remain conscious, screaming or skin peeling off, Isobu didn't move an inch—thanks to its Sharingan subjugation. Still, the translucent chakra dragons siphoned a torrent of azure energy from its body, confirming the Tailed Beast's power was indeed being drained into the Gedo Statue. As more chakra was drawn out, Isobu's massive body slowly shrank. Periodically, it would visibly shrink another size. After five days and nights, the Three-Tails would vanish completely from this world.
...
On the Third Day of Sealing
En route back to Konoha—having heard about the annihilation of the four great clans and Root—Jiraiya passed through the Rain Country. Suddenly, he turned his gaze in a particular direction, face stricken with shock.
"Such intense chakra… This is… a Tailed Beast?"
His face darkened. "No, it's weaker than a typical Tailed Beast. Yet it's still diminishing. But who else, besides a Jinchūriki or a Tailed Beast, or maybe Yagyu, would have such a massive pool of chakra?"
"What on earth is happening?"
Unable to figure it out, Jiraiya resolved to investigate. Being one of the legendary Sannin with abundant battle experience, he didn't rush in blindly. As he drew closer, he sensed not only the colossal Tailed Beast–level chakra, but also another even more gargantuan presence—one that kept growing stronger, as though devouring the Tailed Beast's power. In addition, there were two more chakra signatures as formidable as his, or greater, along with several weaker ones.
The nearer he got, the more solemn Jiraiya's expression became. Although he stood at the pinnacle of ninja might, his heart quivered with rare apprehension.
Since when did such forces gather in this tiny Rain Country?
Having used a stealth technique, Jiraiya concealed himself within a small frog. Yet he couldn't bring himself to leave. Nor did he dare approach further. So he opted to send a Shadow Clone using a Transformation Technique, hiding it inside the frog to snoop around.
Soon, the frog reached a cliff face, mouth agape to reveal an eyeball that peered down at a rain-shrouded clearing. Despite the drumming rain and hazy visibility, the moment Jiraiya's vantage point locked onto the scene below, one of the thought-forms snapped its gaze upward.
Swish—squelch!
In an instant, a sharp black rod of unknown origin pierced the frog, simultaneously skewering Jiraiya's clone within. The pouring rain and roaring wind masked the attack; no one else noticed. Five days of continuous sealing had left the Akatsuki members exhausted, including Hiruko and Obito, who had been standing in the rain for three days. Trusting Pain's leadership, neither maintained any high-alert sensing. They simply focused on the sealing. Pain, serving as the leader, had diligently prevented any outside interference.
But the abrupt detection of unfamiliar chakra put Nagato on edge. He decided to dispatch more Pain bodies to secure the perimeter. Meanwhile, far away, Jiraiya received the intel from his destroyed Shadow Clone—its final glimpse had revealed:
"The Rinnegan…!"
His eyes widened in disbelief. "This can't be… The Akatsuki has someone with the Rinnegan?!"
The clone hadn't managed to glimpse the Gedo Statue or other Akatsuki members, but it had clearly seen Tendō Pain—the Rinnegan was unmistakable. Jiraiya knew those eyes only too well.
"Could it be… Nagato is still alive?"
He murmured to himself,
"Or did the one who killed Yahiko and the others seize Nagato's Rinnegan?"
"What on earth happened in Amegakure?"
Heart pounding, Jiraiya glanced in the direction of the Rain Village. He silently made a decision.
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[In case you don't know yet, I'm also publishing a bleach fanfic and a cyberpunk fanfic, go to my profile and take a look, I think you might like it.]