Intern Tobi? Obito, the Actor!
Kuzo was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't expected to see him appear this early.
The mysterious masked man—
The true mastermind behind Akatsuki.
As soon as Kuzo noticed him, the masked man also turned his gaze toward Kuzo.
But the next moment—
He suddenly jumped high into the air, rushing straight toward Kuzo.
At the same time, he started shouting dramatically, making a huge scene.
"Wow!"
"Is this Senior Kuzo, the one who took down Sasori of the Red Sand?!"
"I didn't expect him to be so young! Damn! I'm so jealous—getting to be a full member at such a young age!"
He flailed his arms and shouted excitedly, causing quite a commotion.
However, in the distance, Pain and Konan remained indifferent, as if they were already used to this kind of behavior.
After a moment, Pain looked at Kuzo and spoke calmly.
"You're here, Kuzo."
"Let me introduce him—"
"His name is Tobi. He is an intern at Akatsuki. He will also be your temporary partner for this mission."
"He will assist you in successfully completing this task."
"...Huh?"
Kuzo raised an eyebrow, sensing something off.
"What's going on? You're assigning me an intern as a partner?"
As soon as he said this, Tobi dramatically collapsed to his knees, clenching his fists as if in despair.
"Wow! Senior Kuzo, don't say that!"
"I may be just an intern now, but I'll definitely become a full member in the future! I'm really strong!"
To emphasize his words, he struck a ridiculous pose, waving a kunai in a theatrical manner.
Watching his exaggerated performance, Kuzo didn't react at all.
In fact, he almost laughed.
Appearances could be deceiving.
Chakra signatures could be hidden.
But Reiatsu perception never lied.
With his heightened spiritual awareness, Kuzo could clearly sense it—
Underneath that orange mask, there were two souls.
One was dominant, while the other existed in a weaker, dependent state.
Even so, Kuzo could detect it with certainty.
Which meant—
The person under that mask wasn't just White Zetsu's clone, nor was he simply Uchiha Obito.
He was a fusion of both.
In other words, at this moment, two people were sharing the same body and identity—
A fool on the surface.
A schemer in the shadows.
Understanding this, Kuzo's mind stirred slightly.
So, Uchiha Obito had chosen to appear in this state?
Going on a mission with him?
It was clear—
This was an opportunity for Obito to personally observe him, to gather information.
Within seconds, Kuzo had already pieced everything together.
Meanwhile, Pain continued speaking.
"This mission is a bit special."
"Your target is Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, a man known throughout the ninja world."
"Facing someone as cunning as him, it would be unwise to go alone."
"Tobi has knowledge regarding his whereabouts."
"You only need to follow his lead to find Orochimaru."
"If possible, try to uncover why he's gathering information on Akatsuki—and what his true objective is."
"As for how to handle him, that will be up to you and Tobi to decide."
Pain delivered his orders in an emotionless tone.
Then, without waiting for Kuzo's response, he turned away.
"Let's go, Konan."
"We'll leave the rest to them."
"…Understood."
Konan glanced at Kuzo one last time before following Pain out of the stone chamber.
And just like that, only Kuzo and Afei remained in the cave.
After hearing the mission details, Kuzo couldn't help but feel a slight headache.
Fighting Orochimaru wasn't an issue.
After all, he had a system task requiring him to defeat three Kage-level opponents. This was a great opportunity to check one off the list.
The real problem was—
This ridiculous actor beside him.
Just as Kuzo was thinking about how to deal with him—
Suddenly—
Tobi sneakily moved closer, lowering his voice as if sharing some great secret.
"Hey, Senior Kuzo…"
"I heard from Master Pain…"
"In addition to that sword, you have a mysterious eye technique that lets you cast powerful spells without hand signs?"
"Is that true?"
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