novelnext Chapter 218 Karin: You know the truth in your heart!
Chapter 218 Karin: You know the truth in your heart!
Chapter 218 Karin: You know the truth in your heart!
Naruto woke up from his sleep, opened his blurry eyes, and felt refreshed and comfortable.
"Ha~~"
He stretched in bed, the details of his dream from the previous night still vivid in his mind, filling him with warmth.
However, a dream is just a dream. No matter how real and beautiful the process may be, you still have to face reality when you wake up.
Thinking of this, Naruto felt a little disappointed, and the corners of his mouth that had just turned up drooped slightly.
Even so, being able to reunite with his mother again, even if only in a dream, was enough to make Naruto incredibly happy.
He shook his head violently, throwing the lingering melancholy aside, and leaped out of bed.
After a quick wash, Naruto hummed a little tune as he quickly changed into his orange jacket and pants.
Just thinking about the delicious breakfast that Xiang had already prepared downstairs made his stomach rumble.
Naruto patted his stomach and grinned, "Hehe, more food to come!"
After saying that, he ran down the stairs and rushed eagerly towards the living room.
As soon as Naruto stepped into the living room on the first floor, he smelled an enticing aroma of food.
But the next second, he noticed that Xiang came out of the kitchen with two breakfasts, but her face was not her usual sunny and cheerful smile. Instead, she had a stern face and looked sullen.
Naruto blinked, somewhat surprised, and greeted, "Good morning, smells good!"
He had expected Xiang to respond with a smile as usual, but to his surprise, Xiang's pretty face showed no smile at all when she saw him. Instead, she suddenly snorted.
The girl's wine-red eyes glanced at Naruto from behind her glasses, giving him a wide, disapproving look.
Immediately afterward, before Naruto could even react, Kaori quickly walked to the dining table and placed a plate of fried eggs on it.
With a soft thud, the plate slammed heavily onto the table.
Naruto was startled by the crisp sound and then realized that Xiang had placed one plate in front of his usual seat, while the other plate was placed opposite him.
Naruto glanced at the breakfast on the table, then looked up at Xiang, who had a stern face, and was completely baffled.
He scratched his messy blond hair and asked cautiously, "Xiang...Xiang? What's wrong with you? Why are you so irritable first thing in the morning?"
To everyone's surprise, Xiang wasn't amused at all. Instead, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes widened: "Hmph! You know perfectly well what's going on!"
She huffed and puffed, offering no explanation, before turning and hurrying back to the kitchen.
The figure looked quite annoyed, even the long, bright red hair draped behind him seemed to be on fire.
"I know it in my heart?" Naruto stared blankly as Kaori disappeared through the kitchen doorway.
What do you mean, "clear about what"?
A string of question marks immediately popped into his head.
A moment later, he walked to the dining table with a bitter face and sat down, pouting and saying with a wronged expression, "Sigh, what did I do to offend her?!"
Soon, the kitchen was filled with the loud clattering of pots and pans, a sound several times louder than when washing dishes.
You could tell that the girl in the kitchen was venting her anger on the innocent kitchen utensils.
Upon hearing this, Naruto instinctively shrank his neck.
He moved quietly, afraid of accidentally offending Xiang again.
Despite this, Naruto was still full of questions, and he really couldn't figure out what he had done to offend Xiang.
We were chatting and laughing during dinner last night. Could it be that I woke up late?
Naruto ate while thinking rapidly, becoming more and more confused.
The fried eggs that were usually fragrant and delicious seemed to taste bland in his mouth at this moment.
In the forest outside Konoha Village.
Uchiha Itachi slowly opened his eyes, looked up at the direction of Konoha Village, and a thoughtful light flashed in his eyes.
Last night, his meeting with Jiraiya went very smoothly.
After a moment's thought, he decided to summon another crow to sneak into the village and gather intelligence, in order to ensure the plan would go perfectly.
Of course, it would be even better if we could accidentally find Sasuke's location.
However, just as he was about to form hand seals, a wave of chakra suddenly emanated from the Akatsuki ring on his finger.
Itachi paused slightly, then solemnly channeled his chakra into his ring. A moment later, the surrounding scenery changed dramatically: the lush forest was gone, replaced by a dark and cold cave, filled with a musty smell that seemed to have been sealed away for many years.
Itachi's gaze sharpened as he spotted a hazy figure standing not far ahead.
Needless to say, Itachi immediately recognized that this was an illusion projected by Pain, the leader of Akatsuki.
Pain slowly opened his Rinnegan, staring blankly at Itachi, and said emotionlessly, "Have you made contact with Jiraiya?"
Itachi bowed his head and replied, "Yes. Konoha has already begun investigating Madara Uchiha. Last night, Jiraiya came to exchange information with me."
Payne nodded slightly upon hearing this: "Very good. Then, from now on, you will cooperate with Jiraiya's actions as planned."
"Understood." Itachi nodded solemnly.
Payne's tone suddenly turned serious, and he warned in a deep voice, "Also, remember not to reveal your true stance in front of Kisame!"
Itachi's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he respectfully replied, "Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Payne's phantom image slowly faded away and eventually disappeared without a trace.
Itachi pondered quietly for a few seconds before straightening up.
What exactly is Payne's intention?
Is he genuinely trying to eliminate the masked man with Konoha's help, or does he have ulterior motives?
Itachi had no idea.
However, at least for now, both sides share the same goal.
Meanwhile, it was already broad daylight in Konoha Village.
On the roof of the Hokage Building.
Kakashi sat leaning against the edge of the roof, holding "Icha Icha Paradise" in one hand, his silver hair swaying gently in front of his forehead.
Suddenly, Kakashi's ears twitched, and he keenly sensed an unusual airflow fluctuation behind him.
The next moment, a figure landed silently on the roof tiles behind him.
Kakashi put away the book in the blink of an eye, and his entire body disappeared from the spot, instantly appearing two meters in front of the newcomer.
The one who came was none other than Zilai.
But Jiraiya was not his usual carefree smile at this moment; his face was full of seriousness.
Upon seeing this, Kakashi quickly stepped forward to inquire, "Lord Jiraiya, is it not going well with Itachi Uchiha?"
Jiraiya shook his head upon hearing this and sighed, "No, it's going very smoothly. It's just that there was indeed another perpetrator in that tragedy five years ago."
Kakashi's pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this, and he repeated in a low voice, "As expected, there's another person—"
Jiraiya took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Obito Uchiha!"
"Obito?!" Kakashi was shocked, his expression suddenly changing drastically.
He stared wide-eyed at Jiraiya in disbelief, as if he doubted that he had heard correctly.
After a long silence, he managed to squeeze out a strained voice: "Are you—sure?"
Jiraiya nodded: "Absolutely true!"
Like a thunderclap exploding in his mind, Kakashi stood frozen in place, speechless for a moment, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
He never expected that Obito would be involved in another bloody incident.
Jiraiya looked at the dazed Kakashi before him, overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
He sighed silently and didn't make a sound to disturb them.
After a long silence, Jiraiya changed the subject: "However, the information Itachi provided said that he only ever interacted with Obito in disguise. He never met the real Madara Uchiha."
"Kakashi, how's your investigation going?"
Kakashi forced himself to stay alert and reported, "I spent the entire night investigating the documents left behind by the Uchiha clan—most of the scrolls were destroyed or taken away on that very night."
"The remaining records are mostly about family history and basic Fire Release techniques and eye techniques. As for information about Madara Uchiha himself, almost none of it has been preserved; it was clearly intentionally erased."
Jiraiya nodded slightly upon hearing this: "It seems that to find out the truth, we still need to find Obito."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully, "But—how do we find him? That guy's space-time ninjutsu is unpredictable and elusive; it's too difficult to catch him."
Kakashi fell silent upon hearing this.
Jiraiya sighed and said softly, "I understand how you feel. When Orochimaru defected, I was also restless and anxious, wishing I could bring him back to Konoha with my own hands."
He patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
However, when I think of the blood debts that Obito carries on his shoulders...
Jiraiya couldn't help but shake his head.
For the first time ever, he felt a sense of relief. After all, Orochimaru was still much better than Obito.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi nodded slowly and said in a low voice.
After the initial shock, he finally calmed down a bit.
For a moment, both of them fell into deep thought.
After a brief silence, Kakashi suddenly raised his head and said, "Lord Jiraiya, perhaps I have a way to find Obito."
Jiraiya was taken aback upon hearing this: "Oh? What method?"
Kakashi slowly raised his right hand, touching his left eye which was covered by his headband, and said in a deep voice, "With this eye, I think I can find Obito."
1 II
Rain-Hidden Village.
In the dimly lit room, a figure lay supine on the bed.
Obito looked tired, his brows furrowed, and his face full of irritation.
He covered his face with his hands and muttered to himself, humming something unintelligible.
Last night, he had clearly made ample preparations and tinkered with things all night.
He tried everything he could—adjusting his breathing rate and chakra fluctuations, eating sleep-inducing foods—but the results were frustrating.
He failed to enter the dream space.
"Damn it—" Obito muttered in a low voice, his fist slamming heavily on the mattress beside him, his teeth clenched, his heart filled with resentment.
Just as Obito was feeling troubled, a soft sound came from the door.
"Come in!" Obito took a deep breath, barely suppressing his annoyance, and impatiently called out towards the door.
As he spoke, he rolled out of bed and casually put on his coat.
With a creak, the door was pushed open from the outside.
Black Zetsu walked in.
"The Three-Tails of the Land of Water has shown unusual signs."
"You can handle those miscellaneous tasks yourself."
Before Black Zetsu could finish speaking, Obito impatiently raised his hand to interrupt him.
He exuded a cold aura and said absentmindedly, "I'm going to train now. If needed, have Kisame and Itachi assist you."
Before Black Zetsu could respond, the tomoe in Obito's eyes suddenly began to spin.
Immediately afterwards, a distorted ripple spread through the air, gradually engulfing his body.
A moment later, Obito's figure vanished completely without a trace. The whole process was clean and efficient, leaving not even a trace behind.
Looking at the spot where Obito had disappeared, the smile on Kuro's face instantly froze: "Going to train again?!"
"He cultivates during the day and falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow at night—does this guy even have a plan in mind?"
Black Zetsu felt a surge of anger with nowhere to vent it.
They said to ask Itachi and Kisame for help whenever needed.
He had told Obito about it two days ago.
Itachi and Kisame were sent to Konoha by Pain.
It seems Obito didn't take it to heart at all!
Obito didn't take the organization's plan to heart at all; all his attention was drawn to that inexplicable dream!
Black Zetsu muttered under his breath, "Useless piece of trash, more trouble than it's worth!!"
Madara Uchiha is dead, and his carefully chosen successor, Obito Uchiha, had performed reasonably well in the previous operations.
Both actions significantly weakened Miyo's strength, laying a solid foundation for seizing the Nine-Tails.
But who would have thought that recently, Obito's attitude has completely changed, turning him into a shut-in who spends his days training and sleeping at night, and is just going through the motions with the "Eye of the Moon" project.
This can't go on!
Black Zetsu was secretly anxious. If the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan was delayed, all his years of planning would be in vain.
Ban is already dead. Does he have to find another Indra to reincarnate and start over?
Black Zetsu took two steps with a grim face, then suddenly his pupils contracted as if he remembered something: "Wait, perhaps there's another way!"
The scene that had occurred in Konoha not long ago quickly flashed through his mind.
During the Chunin Exams in Konoha, he lurked in the shadows and witnessed Orochimaru use the forbidden technique, Impure World Reincarnation.
At that time, facing the siege of the Konoha ninja, Orochimaru summoned the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, who had died many years ago!
At that moment, Black Zetsu had some inspiration.
But I haven't figured it out yet.
However, now that Obito has completely given up, Black Zetsu has figured it out, and his eyes suddenly light up: "If Hashirama Senju could be summoned by Edo Tensei, there's no reason Madara Uchiha couldn't be!"
Yes, since Obito is already useless, we can't count on him anymore.
Why not bring back the real Bans one by one to take charge of the overall situation?
Black Zetsu thought about it more and more and it seemed feasible, and a sinister smile slowly spread across his lips.
Orochimaru—
"That guy is an ambitious madman. As long as you use the right methods, cooperating with him is incredibly easy."
He muttered to himself from the dark side.
Orochimaru is willing to do anything crazy in his pursuit of forbidden techniques and power.
There is a chance to revive the legendary Uchiha Madara.
That guy will probably be eager to agree.
With this in mind, Black Zetsu didn't linger any longer.
He let out two eerie laughs, his body slowly sinking, as if he had turned into a pool of black mud and melted into the hard ground.