The next day Uchiha Yuan also learned about the upheaval in Kirigakure. Although the intel made no mention of the Yuki clan, Yuan was still uneasy. Qing was a crucial piece on the board for him.
Thus he decided to visit Kirigakure and see the situation for himself.
Intending to go and return quickly, he skipped asking leave from Namikaze Minato and directly summoned Lightning, flying toward the Land of Water.
The moment he entered the country, Yuan sensed White Zetsu clones underground—quite a few of them.
"Looks like the whole Land of Water, not just the village, is already under Obito's control," he thought.
Obito, for his part, soon received word that Uchiha Yuan had appeared in the Land of Water.
"Obito, what should we do?" White Zetsu asked.
"Yuan's awakened the Mangekyō as well. I'll go probe him and see if I can figure out the ability of his other eye."With that, Obito's figure vanished.
As Yuan hurried toward Kirigakure he suddenly halted.After so long relying on teleportation, his sense for space had become extremely sharp.
He turned to his right. In the next instant the air warped and Obito slowly emerged.
The very moment Obito appeared, Yuan teleported in, slashing straight at the mask.
Yuan's teleportation was now not only faster; it had also made up for his earlier lack of striking speed.
Crack!—caught completely unprepared, Obito had no time to react. A split opened across the mask, his face was cut, and had he not immediately phased he would likely have lost his head on the spot.
Since awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, this was the first time Obito had come so close to death; cold sweat seeped from his brow.
But he quickly steadied himself and, voice lowered, said, "Was that a space-time technique just now? Kid, you really are a surprise."
"Kid? Don't tell me you're about to claim you're Uchiha Madara?" Yuan asked, expression odd.
"Indeed, I am Uchiha—"
"Stop! You do know I've met Madara, right?"
Obito froze; that he truly didn't know—Black Zetsu had never mentioned it!
"You must be the stand-in he lined up before dying. Looks like you've awakened the Mangekyō too. How about taking off that mask? Maybe we even know each other!"
Obito snorted. Yuan felt space ripple again, and a spiral of flame burst from nothingness, blasting toward him.
Yuan didn't even try to dodge. An ethereal blue skeleton rose around him, blocking the attack.
"Susanoo!" Obito's face darkened at the sight.
With one Mangekyō residing in Kakashi, Obito had no way to manifest Susanoo himself.
"Where's your Susanoo? Let's see it! Since awakening my own Mangekyō I haven't met a second person who could use the technique."
"The Mangekyō's eye power is finite. Aren't you afraid of going blind, throwing Susanoo around like that?" Obito retorted.
"Afraid? Hardly. I made a deal with Madara and found a cure for Mangekyō blindness—my eyes won't go dark."
Obito fell silent; he realized he had little leverage against Yuan.
The teleportation carried clear spatial ripples—evidently another space-time ninjutsu. With that plus Susanoo's defense, Yuan stood almost invincible. To test the power of Yuan's Mangekyō he would need to reveal a trump card, and he had no wish to expose it here.
With that, Obito decided to break off, turning to leave.
Sensing the spatial ripple, Yuan smiled faintly."So the disturbance in Kirigakure is your work, right? You used the Mangekyō to control the Fourth Mizukage?"
Obito said nothing; his form vanished completely.
Yuan was unconcerned and continued toward the village.
The whole way he left the underground White Zetsu clones untouched, letting them report his movements to Obito.
When Obito learned Yuan was still heading for Kirigakure, his face grew grim.
He had only one choice—order the village shinobi to intercept Yuan or not.
If they attacked, Yuan would likely retreat, but doing so would tacitly admit the Mizukage was under his control, and Yuan could still find a way to warn the village.Remember, there was a Byakugan-user in Kirigakure, capable of seeing chakra flow in the body; once that happened the Fourth's manipulation would be exposed.
Yet if no one tried to stop Yuan and he reached the Mizukage, the genjutsu control would still come to light.
Grinding his teeth, Obito decided to command Yagura to dispatch troops and intercept.
Just then a message came from White Zetsu: "Obito, Yuan hasn't entered the village—he stopped."
"Stopped? Where?"
"A few kilometers outside the gate. He's also wiped out all my nearby clones."
"Obito, Yuan's probably trying to contact some high-ranking official in Kiri, tell him the Fourth is being controlled, and have that official expose it," Black Zetsu said.
"Should we release the control on the Fourth? That way Yuan's warning is useless," White Zetsu suggested.
"No. If we lift the control, Yagura will definitely report everything to the higher-ups," Black Zetsu objected at once.
"Not necessarily," White Zetsu replied. "Last time Madara controlled Yagura; when Madara died, Yagura must have broken free, yet he said nothing and covered it up. A Kage who was controlled and even slaughtered two of his own great clans—if that gets out, how does Kirigakure keep its standing?
I think this time he'll keep silent too."
After a brief silence, Obito decided that if Yuan really managed to draw out a Kiri high-up, they would do as White Zetsu proposed.After all, even doing nothing left a high chance the control would be exposed; it wasn't much of a gamble. And if Yagura did speak out, the result was no worse than now.
(To Be Continued...)