Of course, Nagato had another plan in mind.
"Once I have fully mastered the power of God, we will begin recruiting members to collect the Tailed Beasts of this world. Then, we will revive the Ten-Tails. It possesses power far beyond anything else in this world; legends say that only the Sage of Six Paths himself could contend with it."
"There will be no issues with our plan to bring peace to the shinobi world."
Konan naturally believed him.
Once Nagato mastered the strength of the Six Paths of Pain, they would go to the Leaf Village to collect the Nine-Tails. Facing that Uchiha Ryōsuke should be effortless then.
Her heart eased slightly, though Nagato still needed time to fully synchronize with the Six Paths of Pain.
Once mastered, the Akatsuki would begin their true initiative: gathering the nine Great Tailed Beasts to resurrect the Ten-Tails.
They would then use it to intimidate the entire shinobi world. Whoever dared to start a war would be obliterated by the Ten-Tails.
This was the ultimate purpose behind the creation of the Akatsuki.
In the Mountains' Graveyard to the north, Obito had also received word from the Leaf Village.
The news hadn't naturally reached such a remote place; it had been gathered by Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu constantly dispatched White Zetsu to gather intelligence across the shinobi world, and this time, he had brought back a report of immense importance.
Obito's expression was grim as he cursed inwardly. 'That damn brat... to think he's actually this powerful.'
He hadn't forgotten how he was nearly kicked to death because of his own carelessness back then. If not for the White Zetsu material repairing his body, he might have died on the spot. Even if he had managed to slip into the Kamui dimension, he would have only been lingering on the brink of death.
That guy would definitely become an obstacle to the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan—to creating a world where he could be with Rin.
Even Black Zetsu felt a flicker of alarm.
After opening the Eight Inner Gates, Uchiha Ryōsuke was capable of taking on an entire village single-handedly, even when his opponents included top-tier combatants like the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, and the Fourth Raikage.
Now, he had even killed Danzō and forced the Third Hokage to commit suicide in the Leaf Village, firmly placing the entire village under the control of the Uchiha Clan.
Such a person was an absolute threat to his goal of reviving his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
He was beginning to slightly regret choosing Obito to execute the later stages of Uchiha Madara's plan. While Obito was competent, he only possessed one Mangekyō Sharingan. His combat power wasn't truly at the peak; it was only that unique Kamui dimension that gave him such high survivability.
If Obito could get his hands on the other Mangekyō Sharingan, he would reach his "Perfect Form." Only then could Obito truly stand among the absolute elite of the shinobi world.
Unable to help himself, Black Zetsu suggested, "Obito, facing such a powerful enemy, if you want to carry out Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi, you must seize back the left eye currently in Kakashi's possession. Only then will you have a chance against that guy."
Obito shot him a cold look. "Call me Madara."
Black Zetsu was speechless. There were only two of them here; what secret was there left to keep? However, he didn't feel like arguing with Obito.
"Madara, if you don't take back your left eye, I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed if you go to the Leaf Village to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, given Uchiha Ryōsuke's current strength."
Black Zetsu was confident in his assessment. Uchiha Ryōsuke had already reached a level of power that transcended the normal scales of the shinobi world. It would likely take the real Uchiha Madara being alive to successfully seize the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki now.
Because of this, there was an alternative plan: controlling Nagato to use the Rinnegan to revive Madara. He wasn't sure how far Nagato had developed his mastery over the Rinnegan's abilities yet.
That kind of power to bring back the dead wasn't something that could be used casually; the Rinnegan had to be developed to its limit. Furthermore, the caster would die as a result.
Nagato was undoubtedly a very useful pawn. At the very least, he was easier to use than Uchiha Madara. If Madara were resurrected, he would be difficult to manipulate.
Hearing Black Zetsu's words, Obito was internally unwilling. Kakashi was his only remaining friend in this world, even if their paths had diverged completely.
"It's not necessary."
Black Zetsu sneered inwardly. It seemed Obito still clung to a shred of humanity. When he had controlled the Nine-Tails to attack the Leaf years ago, he hadn't shown a hint of hesitation against his own teacher and his teacher's wife.
The original plan back then was merely to capture the Nine-Tails, but Obito had suddenly changed the plan and forced the Nine-Tails to attack the Leaf Village. Black Zetsu needed an Obito who was void of humanity, not one who still had a heart.
He continued, "He's the one who killed Rin. Even after that, you refuse to move against him?"
Obito didn't look at him, but his gaze narrowed.
He hated Kakashi deeply, but the reason for his hatred wasn't that Kakashi had killed Rin—it was that Kakashi had failed to protect her. At the time, Rin had been manipulated, with the Three-Tails sealed inside her. She had sacrificed herself to protect the Leaf Village.
'She was such a kind soul... a person like her deserves a perfect world.'
And that was the world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Obito spoke slowly, "There's no need. Even without the power of the other Mangekyō Sharingan, no one can stop me from creating Rin's world. Once I cultivate one hundred thousand White Zetsu, no matter how strong Uchiha Ryōsuke is, he won't be able to stand against them."
Black Zetsu stopped trying to persuade him, knowing it was useless. Members of the Uchiha Clan were notoriously stubborn.
The information he received said that Uchiha Ryōsuke had defeated the elites of the Cloud Village, not the entire village's population of shinobi. Even if he had defeated all their ninja, the Cloud Village only had a few tens of thousands of shinobi.
He had one hundred thousand White Zetsu at his disposal.
These were one hundred thousand soldiers who were completely obedient and unafraid of death. With those numbers, they could bury Uchiha Ryōsuke under a mountain of corpses.
A few days later, Tsunade arrived at the main gate of the Leaf Village, accompanied by Shizune.
Tsunade felt a wave of complicated emotions. It had been many years since she was last here. She had been wandering abroad all this time, trying to soothe the pain in her heart. The deaths of her younger brother, Senju Nawaki, and Dan Katō had left her tormented.
Returning to the village would only bring back those old memories. However, this time, she had no choice but to return.
When the gate guards saw Tsunade, they were visibly excited. Lady Tsunade was a hero of the Second Great Ninja War, a powerhouse among the Sannin, the Princess of the Village, and the sole remaining heir of the Senju Clan.
"Lady Tsunade, welcome back to the village!"
Tsunade looked at the familiar Leaf flak jackets. "It's been a long time. What's the situation in the village right now?"
The guards' eyes dimmed. They were supporters of the Third Hokage. But now the Third Hokage had been killed—and even worse, he had committed those terrible acts.
One of the Jōnin guards said helplessly, "The situation in the village isn't good. There are only four days left until the Clan Head Council holds the election for the Fifth Hokage. By then, I'm afraid that despicable Uchiha Clan will take power."
He was a loyalist to the Third Hokage. Even though the Hokage had done things that violated the village's laws, he felt that the Third Hokage must have had his reasons. He didn't believe the Uchiha Clan taking over would be any better than the Third's rule.
Tsunade frowned slightly upon hearing this. The Uchiha Clan was actually going to take power?
That clan wasn't like her Senju Clan; they didn't value peace and stability in the same way, nor were they as moderate. The Uchiha preferred aggression and expansion, and they were prone to using force to make others submit. Their mindset was often very extreme.
She wasn't sure if their rise would be a blessing or a curse. Ignoring that for a moment, she asked, "Has the Third Hokage been buried?"
The Jōnin guard replied, "The Ino-Shika-Chō clans and the Inuzuka Clan handled it. He was laid to rest in the cemetery."
Tsunade remarked with a hint of admiration, "Those four clans had the courage to bury the Third Hokage right in front of the Uchiha. That's quite impressive."
The fact that those four clans were willing to go that far meant the old man hadn't treated them well in vain.
However, the guard spoke with disdain. "Those families betrayed the Third Hokage long ago while he was still alive and joined the Military Police Force. They have no sense of loyalty or righteousness to speak of."