Chapter 198: Request and Doubt
Upon hearing that he was actually concerned about how the villagers perceived him, Uchiha Dali couldn't help but smile.
"This kind of thing is easy to resolve. Right now, I just need your stance."
"As long as you explain clearly that you were deceived and that's why you went down this path of no return, I believe everyone will understand and forgive you."
The reason Uchiha Dali dared to make such a promise was because, even though the other party had caused the death of Namikaze Minato's wife still hadn't delivered a killing blow to Uchiha Obito.
The same went for Kakashi.
With those two around, as long as they personally explained things to the villagers, it wouldn't be impossible for Uchiha Obito to remain in Konoha.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Obito fell silent once again.
He raised his head and looked at Uchiha Dali, his eyes serious. "I have one final request and one last question."
"Go ahead."
"My request is that you provide further proof that Black Zetsu is a problem. I still carry a strong unwillingness to believe it—unless I see it with my own eyes..."
"Don't worry—you will."
Uchiha Dali replied with full confidence.
Even though he was currently in the Kamui dimension, the shadow clone he had left behind had already begun tracking Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
Although there wasn't yet a direct link between the main body and the shadow clone, Uchiha Dali was ninety percent certain that Black Zetsu was now targeting Uzumaki Nagato.
The reason was simple.
Seven of the Nine Tailed Beasts had already fallen into his hands.
Of the remaining two, the Three-Tails had been sealed by the Akatsuki, and the location of the Seven-Tails was still unknown.
Under such circumstances, for Black Zetsu to gather all nine beasts and resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, he would have to declare war against Uchiha Dali and the entire Allied Ninja Kingdom behind him.
But did he have the strength to do that?
Of course not.
None of the Akatsuki members did—including Uzumaki Nagato.
So if Black Zetsu still wanted to carry out his plan, he had only one option left: to summon the already-dead Uchiha Madara back in advance.
And to do that, he would have to find Uzumaki Nagato and use the power of the Rinnegan to resurrect Madara.
Uchiha Obito couldn't possibly think that far ahead, but seeing how confident Uchiha Dali was, he once again revealed a look of doubt.
He was intensely curious, but now that Uchiha Dali had agreed to his request, he set it aside for now.
"My question is: why are you forgiving me?"
"Answer from your own personal standpoint—what do you want from me?"
Uchiha Obito asked his final question.
That Minato and Kakashi were willing to let him go was easy to understand.
The former was his mentor—gentle, mild-tempered, immensely capable, and someone who rarely got angry. That gentleness was one of the reasons Kushina had loved him.
As for Kakashi, he was Obito's best friend and rival. Despite the fact that most people in the village disliked the Uchiha, Kakashi had been the only one willing to befriend him.
Though they often bickered, they shared a deep bond.
But Uchiha Dali was different.
Though they were both from the Uchiha clan, there was no emotional connection between them. In fact, they rarely saw each other.
Even when they occasionally ran into each other at clan gatherings, it was no more than exchanging a greeting—nothing more.
He couldn't understand why someone like Uchiha Dali would be willing to forgive a "rogue ninja" like him.
"I want to win the hearts of the Uchiha clan—to unite everyone and form a stronger sense of family. That's the first reason."
Uchiha Dali grew serious as he spoke.
His words were novel and made Obito listen intently.
"The second reason is that I want to create a truly peaceful world—a fully unified ninja world. Peace isn't built through killing, but through saving others. And even you are someone worth saving."
"…If I hadn't agreed to your request earlier, would you really have killed me?"
"I would have."
"Because I will never allow anyone who disrupts peace to exist. If you can't accept my vision of a unified ninja world, then you stand against me—and whether it's you or anyone else, the outcome is the same."
Uchiha Dali's reply was firm and unyielding.
Obito's body trembled slightly at those words.
In that moment, all his doubts were answered.
And he had received Uchiha Dali's promise—to expose the truth and awaken his clouded heart with undeniable, visible proof.
There was nothing more to ask.
"…I understand."
Obito relaxed completely, letting go of all resistance in his heart.
At that moment, Uchiha Dali said, "In that case, let's go enjoy the show."
With that, he activated the advanced Flying Thunder God technique and disappeared from the spot with Obito.
…
On a mountain outside Kumogakure.
Thanks to Konan's Paper Jutsu transformation, the hiding place disguised as a towering tree was currently housing Uzumaki Nagato, who let out a violent cough.
Konan immediately looked at him with concern. "Are you okay, Nagato?"
He waved a hand, signaling that he was fine, and then looked toward the entrance.
There, a figure slowly emerged from the ground—it was the fused Zetsu, half-white and half-black.
Seeing that it was Zetsu, both Nagato and Konan let out a breath of relief.
"Was your side of the battle successful?" Nagato asked casually.
In truth, the moment Killer Bee showed up in Kumogakure and Uchiha Dali appeared, he already knew the answer.
But he still held onto a sliver of hope.
A hope for a miracle.
"Uchiha Dali rescued the Eight-Tails and then attacked us—he even saved the Two-Tails Jinchūriki we had already captured."
Black Zetsu spoke as he walked toward them.
As a core member of the Akatsuki, Nagato had no reason to be on guard around him.
The same went for Konan.
The two of them allowed the fused Zetsu to approach without suspicion.
"So that means Konoha has now secured seven Tailed Beasts…"
Konan muttered, frowning.
"Six," Nagato corrected. "The Eight-Tails is still here, fighting Pain."
Right now, both the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki were already cornered.
As long as no one intervened, he was confident he could take them both down.
"There's one more piece of bad news."
Black Zetsu spoke again.
Both of them turned to look at him.
Neither noticed that, at this very moment, part of Black Zetsu's body had already fused into the earth through his foot—silently creeping beneath Nagato's feet.
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