Hearing this, Makoto was somewhat surprised. He raised an eyebrow and asked:
"You don't want to stay longer in the present world with this body?"
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, although there were dead like the successive Kage who asked the younger generation to kill them quickly so they could return to the Pure Land, there were also many dead who wanted to stay in the present world with their Edo Tensei bodies to seek a second life. Although the Edo Tensei body had many limitations, the temptation of living again was still very strong.
Izumi shook her head.
"There's nothing left for me in this world."
Hearing her daughter's words, Hazuki's eyes reddened. Her lips quivered a few times, then she said to Makoto:
"Please allow us, mother and daughter, to leave now."
Her voice carried a tired, resigned plea.
Before Makoto could say anything—
Megumi nodded.
She formed hand seals again and clapped her hands together.
"Release."
Izumi's body began to turn into fine particles of dust, starting from her feet, slowly drifting away.
Just before disappearing, she looked at Itachi one last time.
It was a look of utter despair.
Then—
She was gone.
Her mother was gone too.
Two specks of soul light rose from the dust, drifted slowly towards the sky, and finally merged into that vast blueness.
After doing all this, Megumi seemed to realize something and said to Makoto apologetically:
"I'm sorry, Makoto... I didn't wait for your permission."
Makoto raised a hand and stroked Megumi's back. "It's no big deal."
Then, Makoto looked at Tekka and the other Uchiha hawks. "What about you? Are you leaving?"
Tekka, Inabi, Yashiro and others exchanged glances.
Then, Tekka stepped forward and knelt on one knee.
"Makoto-sama—"
"We must see with our own eyes that all our enemies are dead before we can rest in peace."
"Until then, we are willing to go through fire and water for you."
When he said 'enemies', his gaze swept over Itachi, then looked towards the Torture and Interrogation's building where Obito had been held.
Makoto asked: "Not killing Itachi?"
Tekka and the others showed cruel smiles.
Inabi pointed at the now utterly dejected Itachi, a trace of glee at the corner of his mouth.
"Making him live with guilt is the greatest punishment for him."
Makoto shrugged, 'Fine, whatever makes you happy.'
Just then, Fugaku and Mikoto stepped forward.
Their Edo Tensei faces showed little expression, but their eyes were full of exhaustion.
Fugaku looked at Makoto, silent for a long time.
Finally, he didn't plead for Itachi.
"Please let us leave."
"At this point, we have no shame to say anything more."
Mikoto walked up to Sasuke, stretched out her grayish-white hands, and cupped her youngest son's face.
"Sasuke..."
"Take care of yourself."
Tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes again.
"Mom..."
Mikoto smiled softly, her eyes full of motherly love.
Fugaku also walked over, his rough hand patting Sasuke's shoulder.
"You've grown into an excellent Ninja. Impressive. You truly are my child."
This was the words Sasuke had always wanted to hear from his father's mouth.
Then, they looked at Itachi.
There was too much in that glance that was unclear and unspeakable.
"Release."
Kato Megumi formed the hand seal.
Fugaku and Mikoto's bodies turned to dust, drifting away in the wind.
Two specks of soul light rose into the sky.
Like Izumi and her mother, they disappeared into that vast blueness.
Sasuke stood there, tears long since blurring his vision.
Makoto watched all this, was silent for a moment, then turned.
"Let's go back."
Makoto waved casually and walked towards the government palace on the back mountain.
His women followed behind him.
The onlookers in the square gradually dispersed.
…
Elsewhere in the world.
Land of Rain.
Amegakure.
Top floor of the high tower, in a dimly lit meeting room.
The core members of the Akatsuki, except for the captured Itachi and Obito, were all gathered here.
Konan stood beside Deva Path Pain, her gaze warily fixed on the door.
Creak—
The door was pushed open.
A man without a mask walked in.
His right eye socket was an empty hole, his left eye an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
The scar on half of his face, crushed by a boulder, was hideous and terrifying.
Uchiha Obito.
Behind him, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu followed on either side.
Smack.
Pain pressed his palm on the table and looked down at Obito.
"Uchiha Obito, you really led us around by the nose before."
Obito remained silent, offering no rebuttal.
A glimmer of killing intent flashed in Pain's Rinnegan.
Thinking about how he had been fooled by this guy, being the 'leader' of the Akatsuki but completely used, was truly unpleasant.
Nagato was so angry he wanted to use a Super Shinra Tensei to grind this bastard into mincemeat.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was stretched to its limit.
Just then, Black Zetsu spoke proactively.
"Although Obito deceived you before, both sides have the same goal… collecting the Tailed Beasts."
"Moreover, now that Itachi has fallen, we can't afford to lose any more combat power."
White Zetsu also chimed in:
"Yeah, yeah, the situation in Konoha is much more complicated than we imagined. Nishikawa Makoto and his women... are not easy to deal with."
White Zetsu vividly described the power in Konoha Village, exaggerating as much as he could, though the reality wasn't far off.
Hearing these descriptions, the expressions of the Akatsuki's members became grim.
Damn, if this wasn't coming from Zetsu, they'd never believe it.
Nagato was silent for a long time.
Finally, a hint of barely perceptible wariness flashed in Deva Path's Rinnegan.
"Alright... we'll let him live for now."
Konan was still somewhat angry.
She looked at Obito, now missing his right eye, and said coldly:
"He doesn't even have a Mangekyo Sharingan. What contribution can he make to the organization?"
White Zetsu tried to dissuade her:
"Don't underestimate Obito. He has transplanted Hashirama's cells, and even possesses Wood Release."
"You know Wood Release can be used to suppress Tailed Beasts, right?"
Only then did Konan reluctantly agree to let Obito off.
At that moment, Kakuzu couldn't help but speak up.
He yawned, his tone full of impatience:
"Can we adjourn?"
His time was money, and every minute wasted in meetings was a betrayal of money.
Whether the masked man was Uchiha Madara or Uchiha Obito, he didn't care. As long as he got paid.
Pain glanced at Kakuzu, saying nothing.
Black Zetsu took over the conversation:
"We still need to replenish our combat strength right now."
His tone became serious.
"Originally, our target when we went to Konoha was Uchiha Sasuke. Although we didn't succeed this time, we can't give up."
Hidan yawned and stretched.
"I have no interest in missions like tricking kids. If you want to go, go yourselves."
Kakuzu also expressed disinterest.
White Zetsu said:
"Better leave it to me and Black Zetsu. There are many Sensor-type experts in Konoha Village now. If others go, they'll be discovered immediately."
Pain nodded.
"Adjourned."
The members left one after another.
Deidara and Sasori were the first to walk out, and Kakuzu dragged Hidan along behind them.
Konan glanced at Obito with a hint of disgust in her eyes, then turned and followed Pain out of the meeting room.
Soon, only Zetsu and Obito remained in the large room.
White Zetsu leaned against the wall, complaining casually:
"Rescuing you took a hell of a lot of effort, Obito. Good thing everyone's attention in Konoha was on Itachi at the time."
Obito didn't respond.
His left eye narrowed slightly, deep in thought.
Black Zetsu added:
"Fortunately, we still have some Sharingan in stock, but using them to fight Tailed Beasts is impossible. You'll just have to provide support for Sasuke from now on."
Obito breathed heavily, his disfigured face shrouded in gloom.
Obito was silent for a long time.
Then, he spoke.
"No."
White Zetsu blinked: "Huh?"
Obito looked up, that Three-Tomoe Sharingan flashing dangerously.
"I must get new eyes."
His voice was low and firm, carrying an almost paranoid madness.
"To gain the power to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
White Zetsu frowned, his tone somewhat reluctant.
"That won't work, right? All the powerful eyes are with Nishikawa Makoto now. The Kamui Sharingan was taken by that woman, Itachi's eyes were stolen too..."
White Zetsu was still counting on his fingers when Obito's next words made his expression change.
"I will take Nagato's eyes."
"The Rinnegan."
As soon as he said this—
White Zetsu's pupils shrank sharply in shock.
"What did you say?!"
White Zetsu almost jumped up.
Black Zetsu was also so surprised that his beady eyes widened to their limits… but deep within those eyes, a barely detectable... smile flashed by.
'Good.'
'Everything is going according to plan.'
'I was waiting for you to say that.'
The corner of Black Zetsu's mouth curled up one pixel, then quickly returned to that shocked expression.
"Obito... have you lost your mind? Nagato is not an easy opponent."
White Zetsu was still trying to persuade him earnestly: "Besides, the Rinnegan was transplanted into him when he was a child. Even if you steal it, you might not be able to unleash its power. And the Rinnegan was transplanted to Nagato specifically to use the Rinne Rebirth Technique..."
"Shut up."
Obito coldly interrupted White Zetsu.
He turned and walked towards the door.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan reflected the drizzling rain outside the high tower of Amegakure.
"I will obtain the Rinnegan."
"And I will complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"No one… can stop me."