The three, Kabuto, Hidan, and the White Snake Sage, knew full well.
If Obito came seeking them out, he definitely wasn't up to anything good. He was probably here to use them as tools.
But the three of them also understood one absolute truth,
"As long as I'm shameless enough, no one can take advantage of me."
If Obito wanted to use them, then he'd have to help them grow stronger first.
And once they grew stronger, they'd be the ones using him.
As for what happened afterward, whether they tossed Obito aside like a crumpled tissue under a teenager's bed, or whether both sides genuinely cooperated, that decision would be entirely in their hands.
After all, they shared one common enemy.
Ryosuke.
Standing off to the side, Zetsu watched both parties, each with their own schemes, shake hands in cooperation and sighed helplessly.
His name might be "Zetsu," but when the four of them gathered together, that was what "absolute despair" really looked like.
The White Snake Sage was old.
Kabuto was weak.
Obito was sick.
Hidan was mutilated.
Add in Orochimaru, who was currently being incubated and cultivated in a nutrient tank, they'd practically assembled the legendary set, Old, Weak, Sick, Crippled, and Pregnant.
Was this lineup really planning to march up to Ryosuke and pick a fight?
Zetsu once again found himself missing Uchiha Madara.
While Zetsu was quietly lamenting his life choices, the four others had begun wandering around the base. Kabuto spoke bluntly about their plan.
"We have two projects."
"The first plan is for me to master the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave and, with the help of the White Snake Sage No.1, become a Snake Sage myself. After that, we'll search for the remains of powerful shinobi from past generations, and use Edo Tensei to reincarnate them, thereby increasing our fighting force."
Obito didn't know much about Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts, but Edo Tensei, he knew.
Uchiha Madara had once told him stories about the First and Second Hokage.
When he mentioned the First Hokage, Madara had called him a stubborn block of wood. When he spoke of the Second, he called him the sinister Senju.
Among them, Edo Tensei was one of the "evil jutsu" invented by Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage.
"I remember this technique has limits on how many reincarnations can be controlled, and it weakens their power quite a bit," Obito said.
The White Snake Sage nodded. "That's exactly the problem we're trying to solve."
"The limit on numbers."
"The limit on strength."
"If we can overcome both, then every powerful shinobi who has ever died in the ninja world can return to the living and become a pawn in our hands."
Although the White Snake Sage had lost its thousand-year cultivation, the memories from those years remained.
And back when it was still alive, it had possessed enough power to see everything happening across the shinobi world without ever leaving its cave.
That meant it knew exactly when each great shinobi had died and where they were buried. It even knew,
Uchiha Obito's true identity.
But it didn't expose him.
Why would it?
A fool had come knocking on their door, ready to deliver money, resources, and free labor to the frail "Cursed God White Snake." The more of those, the better.
Kabuto continued, "Our idea is to grant the reincarnated some degree of free will, let them act independently. As for how far that freedom should go, and what limits to set... I'm still considering it."
"I've drafted three laws so far."
"First Law, Reincarnated shinobi may not harm members of the Cursed God White Snake, nor may they stand by and watch when members are in danger."
"Second Law, Reincarnated shinobi must obey the commands of organization members, unless those commands contradict the First Law."
"Third Law, As long as the first two laws are not violated, reincarnated shinobi must prioritize their own safety and prevent themselves from being sealed away."
Obito thought it over.
A bit crude, yes, but those three rules laid the foundation for the logic of their movements. Everything else could be refined later.
He asked again, "What about your second plan?"
"The second plan is..."
Kabuto pointed toward Hidan sitting in his wheelchair.
"To restore his body. Once Hidan regains a physical form and can perform the Jashin ritual again, we can move forward with the next phase."
"We'll release swarms of mosquitoes and bats to secretly draw blood from nobles, officials, and shinobi across nations, using their lives as leverage to make them serve us."
Two plans.
One manipulating the dead.
The other manipulating the living.
If they combined the forces of both the living and the dead and still couldn't defeat Ryosuke, then fine, they'd admit defeat.
But before giving up, they would give it one last try.
After Kabuto finished explaining, all three turned toward Obito. Their gazes said it all, we've laid everything out. So what are you bringing to the table?
Technology?
Manpower?
Funds?
Their looks couldn't have been more obvious.
They were all adults here. You couldn't just waltz into an alliance shouting, "We share the same dream!" and expect to be accepted for free.
Obito pondered for a moment and said, "I can help you locate the corpses."
Whether it was Obito's intangibility or Zetsu's insect-like underground movement, both were perfect for finding buried remains.
For Edo Tensei, even a fragment of tissue was enough to summon a soul.
"As for restoring Hidan's body," Obito asked, "how far has your research come?"
Kabuto walked to a nearby wall, activated a mechanism on the control panel, and a section of the wall slid open, revealing a glass cylinder.
Inside was a small, palm-sized lump of flesh-colored clay, slowly rolling and squirming.
This was a small quantity of Earth Essence, extracted and refined from the power of the land itself, using the White Snake Sage's knowledge.
They called it "Meat Mud."
Kabuto said, "It can merge with any living tissue, regenerating limbs and organs, though the extraction process is extremely slow."
Obito thought for a moment and turned to Zetsu.
White Zetsu stretched out his hand, and small spores began growing from his palm.
"These can also serve as partial replacements for flesh," he said.
The White Snake Sage leaned closer, examining the spores carefully.
"They carry the scent of grass and plants."
The Meat Mud was more effective, but slower.
Zetsu's spores were weaker, but much faster.
The group exchanged glances.
Maybe, if they combined the Meat Mud with the spores…
Could they make Hidan stand up again within a day or two?
The two sides had only just formed their alliance, and already progress was visible. The tension and mutual suspicion between them began to ease slightly. Everyone's faces looked a little brighter.
Especially Hidan, his personality was simple, unable to hide emotions. If he still had a mouth, he'd be grinning ear to ear. Even without one, his eyes curved happily.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions thundered above them, shockwaves rippling through the air, rapidly approaching.
Obito's eyes widened. He instantly threw everyone around him into the Kamui space, then phased his own body out completely.
A heartbeat later, the entire underground base was engulfed in fire and violent shockwaves.
A few seconds later, Obito reappeared at the center of the smoking crater and released the others.
Kabuto and the White Snake Sage stared at the wreckage, their teeth grinding audibly.
Every test sample, every scrap of research data,
All of it had taken countless sleepless nights to produce.
Now, gone.
Hidan's eyes turned blood red. He wanted to scream, but with no mouth, he could only use the voice device, forcing out words one by one.
He first looked at the spores, now burning away in the fire, and shouted, "Grass!"
Then he turned to the shattered glass tank, watching the Meat Mud spill out and sink back into the earth, "Mud!"
Finally, he jerked his head upward toward the edge of the crater.
"Horse!"
A tall, elegant puppet horse stepped to the edge of the pit.
Sasori sat astride it, lifting his straw hat slightly, his cold gaze locking onto Obito.
"Found you."
"Coward."
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