"Though I don't know who you really are, you're definitely not Madara." Since the other party had already pointed the spear at him, Musashi had to speak.
His first sentence made Obito's heart jolt.
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Obito forced himself to stay calm and feigned interest.
"Because you're too weak. Your space–time ninjutsu is indeed impressive, but as the current head of the Uchiha clan, I know quite a bit. Your strength isn't worthy of calling yourself Madara."
"Though I don't condone Uchiha Madara's actions, I have to admit his power could rival the First Hokage. You, on the other hand, are just someone with decent space–time ninjutsu. I'd long heard that at some point a man suddenly appeared in the shinobi world claiming to be Uchiha Madara, and this person possessed a Sharingan. So I looked into it—every Uchiha who awakened the eye and left records behind, or whose death wasn't fully confirmed."
"Care to guess what I found?" Musashi paused deliberately to pull everyone's attention back.
Most present had heard the legends of Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage. The Third Tsuchikage, in particular, best understood Madara's terror—or rather, aside from Musashi, he was the only one here who knew this "Madara" was fake.
"In all the records, only two people fit: Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Obito."
"So you're Obito, aren't you?"
"Tsk, tsk. Interesting—very interesting. And if I am, so what? If I'm not, then what? Heh. Uchiha Musashi, you're an amusing man. I now declare: the Fourth Great Ninja War begins!" Even exposed in public, Obito kept his composure. He was only using Madara's name to sow chaos, and no one here would show mercy—or flee—just because he wasn't truly Madara.
"Good luck—and don't die too soon! Hahahaha!" As suddenly as he'd come, Obito departed just as decisively.
He came softly, and left softly, with a wave of his sleeve, not taking a single cloud—the very picture of Obito.
With a Mangekyō Sharingan space–time technique, no one present had a way to stop him. If Obito truly intended to run, even the Flying Thunder God couldn't enter Kamui's space.
Obito's swaggering exit left a deep impression on the five Kage.
Real or not, everyone present had gone all out and still couldn't stop him. Someone brazen enough to do this before the five Kage—the leaders of the five strongest shinobi villages—and to declare war on them all? He was the first.
The shinobi world was about to fall into chaos. The enemy had already captured eight tailed beasts. Even Killer B, the so-called most perfect jinchuriki, had been taken.
It was unbelievable.
The thought of facing eight tailed beasts at once gave the Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Kazekage a headache. They were strong and didn't fear a tailed beast one-on-one, but that didn't mean they could withstand an assault by eight.
The only consolation was that the Nine-Tails remained in Konoha's hands.
As the culprit who unleashed the Nine-Tails over a decade ago, Obito certainly knew Naruto was the jinchuriki.
Yet for some reason he hadn't struck directly at Naruto. Obito was a contradictory man—his mind hard to read. Still, a shinobi world war? That suited me fine. I wonder if Orochi-Kabuto will make an appearance.
A hundred thousand White Zetsu—what a big move. Uchiha Musashi stared pensively at the spot where Obito had vanished.
"I don't care if he's Uchiha Obito or Uchiha Madara. Either way, that guy came from Konoha, didn't he? He's one of your Uchiha, isn't he? Who knows whether Konoha and the Uchiha are colluding with him! So Konoha must answer for this!" The Raikage's patience had reached its limit—his younger brother had been taken, his life or death unknown, and now this farce.
He was a hair's breadth from jabbing a finger in Musashi's face. After all, whether Uchiha Madara or Uchiha Obito, they were Uchiha.
"Oh? And how, exactly, does Lord Raikage want me to answer for it? Ridiculous. Your Kumo took losses—did Konoha not? Our village is still under reconstruction. What, do you think Konoha is easy to push around? Hmph. Remember the little trick you pulled to steal our Byakugan back then? I'm not the Third—don't expect me to be so accommodating. If it's war you want, then war it is. Before dealing with outside enemies, I'll settle things with Kumo—then move on Akatsuki." Uchiha Musashi leveled his demon blade at the blustering Raikage. He had no fondness for the man—from any angle.
He was one of Meruem's clones and had inherited most of Meruem's temper. "Enduring for the greater good"? Impossible. Musashi was also a Chimera Ant at heart.
So the Five Kage Summit featured two Kage who belonged to other forces. Two Kage under someone else's control—what a farce.
"I think we're all here to negotiate. We've all heard what that unknown man said. It's a declaration of war from Akatsuki. There's no need to fall to infighting now. This may be exactly what the enemy wants. I hope everyone can calm down and talk." Seeing two villages' Kage about to throw down, Mifune stepped in again to mediate.
"Lord Raikage, please think of the bigger picture. Don't be so impulsive, or we'll make the enemy laugh. Konoha would never collude with Akatsuki. Everyone saw the attack on Konoha. That the village is still under reconstruction is a fact."
"Hmph." The Raikage hadn't expected Musashi's reaction to be so fierce. He snorted, displeased, but said no more. Impulsive as he was, he wasn't a fool.
"And Lord Hokage—whether Uchiha Madara, the man you call Obito, or Konoha's S-ranked rogue Uchiha Itachi, they all hail from Konoha—and the Uchiha. To avoid suspicion, I suggest Konoha not contend for supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces. If not that, then let Konoha serve as the coalition's chief strategist," Mifune said. Though it sounded fair, Mifune didn't truly trust Konoha—or the Uchiha.
Akatsuki's members were from Konoha—and all Uchiha? One Uchiha Madara had already caused a storm. Now another, Uchiha Obito, had popped up—someone no one had even heard of. And there was that extremely dangerous S-rank rogue, Uchiha Itachi. If you claimed the Uchiha had no connection at all—who would believe it?
Would you? Whether you do or not, Mifune didn't want to.
The Raikage would certainly back Mifune. The Tsuchikage was an old fox—one less rival, especially from Konoha, was to his liking. The Kazekage Gaara, though silent, probably felt the same. As for the Mizukage Pitou—everyone ignored her opinion. She understood, but she was here to play.
"Tsk, tsk. Hypocrites," Musashi said with open contempt.
"Since you don't want Konoha to lead the coalition, pick someone else. I'm curious whom you'll choose. The young Kazekage? The aging Tsuchikage? The hotheaded Raikage? Or the newly minted Mizukage?"
"But don't forget—the Nine-Tails is still ours."
Everyone else thick-skinnedly pretended not to hear. Of course they knew the Nine-Tails was Konoha's. If not for that, they might have flipped the table already.
"In Lord Hokage's view, who should serve as commander?"
"Seniority? Age? None of that is a basis for this. If you want the top seat, you need real ability. This is the shinobi world—let strength speak. If you want to be leader, you need the skill for it. If the commander gets assassinated, we'll have disgraced all five villages." Musashi said, not without malice. If the five Kage fought, he was confident he'd be the last one standing.
Unfortunately, he couldn't enter the running—Pitou hadn't recovered, and he couldn't have Youpi fight in her stead. Gaara was capable, but no match for the Raikage. The Tsuchikage's Dust Release packed a punch, but with his age, how long could he endure a pitched battle?
Still, Musashi didn't intend to let the Raikage take the commander's seat so cheaply. He said it just to make everyone uncomfortable.
Win or lose, they'd all have a thorn in their hearts.
"Lord Hokage has a point," Mifune mused. "What say you all?"
"Fine." "No objections." "Let's do it."
(End of Chapter)
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