Chapter 295: The Plot Behind the Plot Behind the Plot
There was something strange about this world.
Older brothers and sisters always seemed to carry a special, heavy kind of love for their younger siblings.
Even when they weren't Uchiha.
As a child, Gaara had been a hot-tempered problem kid who constantly threatened to kill his older brother and sister.
But as he grew older—and especially after getting thoroughly beaten down in Konoha—his personality gradually changed. The fear Temari and Kankurō had buried deep inside their hearts disappeared, and they began carefully looking after their pitiful little brother instead.
In a sense, Kankurō and Temari had done a far better job than Rasa ever had as a father.
They truly embodied the saying: the eldest brother is like a father, the eldest sister like a mother.
So after seeing Temari fully recover under Makoto's treatment, Kankurō pleaded, "Makoto-sama, please restore my body as well. I have to rescue Gaara as soon as possible. There's no time left."
"I agree," Temari said. "I'm going too."
Watching his eldest son and daughter care so deeply for their younger brother, Rasa found himself overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.
Embarrassment.
Relief.
And guilt toward his late wife and brother-in-law.
But there was no helping it.
As the Kazekage, the entire Hidden Sand rested on his shoulders. He couldn't afford to think like a father.
Makoto casually removed the weakness from Kankurō's body before reminding them, "Even if your stamina is restored, your bodies are still fragile after such serious injuries. You should be resting."
Chiyo chuckled.
"Bring them along. I'll protect them. I may look like I'm one foot in the grave, but I can still fight just fine. Hahaha."
The older she got, the more mischievous she became.
Her favorite pastime these days was pretending to die just to scare her younger brother.
Being the younger sibling in the shinobi world really was rough.
What could Makoto even say?
The siblings were desperate to save their little brother, while Granny Chiyo probably wanted to personally put down her grandson, whose twisted sense of filial devotion had gone far beyond redemption, and give the village an explanation.
If this had happened in Konoha, the Will of Fire would've already burst out of someone's head like a glowing halo.
"Then it's settled," Rasa said. "Makoto-dono, Chiyo-sama, I'll leave Gaara to you. My apologies, but I can't accompany you."
Without its jinchūriki, and with the threat of the Akatsuki—possibly under Ōnoki's control—still looming, Sunagakure was in an extremely dangerous position.
As Kazekage, he had to remain behind and protect the village.
Kankurō and Temari were already used to their father's decisions.
Chiyo didn't object either.
"Fourth Kazekage... you've got it rough. Stay here and watch over the village. Sunagakure can't afford any more turmoil."
"We'll do everything we can," Makoto replied. "Kazekage-dono, we'll need something to track Gaara with. Preferably something carrying his recent scent."
"I've got something."
Kankurō quickly searched through the puppet parts the Sunagakure ANBU had recovered and pulled out a Hidden Sand forehead protector.
It was the one he had managed to tear off Gaara with his puppet at the very last moment.
"Excellent."
Makoto handed it over.
"It's up to you now, Kiba."
"Leave it to me, Makoto-sensei! I guarantee I'll find him!"
"Woof!"
Akamaru barked confidently.
Even if he couldn't, it wouldn't be a disaster.
Shino still possessed a secret trump card—the Tiny Fragrance Bugs, whose sense of smell surpassed Akamaru's by several hundred times.
Unfortunately, they were both extraordinarily rare and single-use insects.
As long as Akamaru could do the job, there was no reason to waste them.
Not long afterward, the group departed Sunagakure and headed east in search of the abducted Gaara.
...
Elsewhere, inside another cave in the Land of Rivers...
The enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stood there, terrifying yet majestic.
Eight figures created by the Phantom Lantern Body Technique stood atop its ten raised fingers.
Only Sasori and Deidara were physically present.
Unlike before, one of the organization's members was missing.
Tobi—Obito—had disappeared.
In his place stood an unfamiliar man.
His appearance couldn't be made out through the Phantom Lantern Body Technique, but his silhouette revealed a man with waist-length hair and a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan bearing an unfamiliar pattern.
All ten simultaneously formed hand seals and activated Fūinjutsu: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals, continuously extracting the One-Tail's chakra from Gaara and channeling it into the mouth of the Demonic Statue.
Of the statue's nine tightly shut eyes, one had now opened completely.
Floating in midair, Gaara finally lost the last trace of the One-Tail's chakra.
With nothing left supporting him, his body dropped heavily onto the ground.
He was already dead.
No one paid him any attention.
The Deva Path found the situation rather strange.
According to his calculations, sealing the first tailed beast should have taken the longest—at least three full days and nights.
Instead...
It had been completed in less than half a day.
His gaze shifted toward the organization's newest member.
The problem clearly lay with this reincarnated Uchiha Madara brought back through the Impure World Reincarnation.
Even stranger, Nagato—standing behind the Deva Path—had the inexplicable feeling that he and Madara shared some kind of connection.
He couldn't explain it.
Nor did he have any proof.
That's right.
This newly arrived Uchiha...
Was none other than the legendary King of Dance himself—
Uchiha Madara.
Now that Obito's deception had unraveled, everyone he had fooled knew that "Madara" had never been him. The real Madara had died long ago and now existed only through the Impure World Reincarnation.
Even so, some of them still didn't know Obito's true identity.
Pain gave Madara one last glance before setting aside his doubts.
Everything was for the sake of the plan.
After all, he was a god.
He feared no challenge—not even one of the two legendary titans of the shinobi world, Uchiha Madara.
"Zetsu," Pain asked, "what's the situation in Sunagakure?"
White Zetsu replied, "After Gaara was captured, Sunagakure sent a request for reinforcements to Konoha. Unfortunately, my clones can't get close enough to infiltrate Konoha, so I don't know what's happened since."
"Our plan worked perfectly," Sasori said. "Sunagakure couldn't cure my specially formulated mixed poison, so they had no choice but to ask Konoha for help. And just as expected, Higashino Makoto is leading the team. By now, they should already be on their way to search for the One-Tail's jinchūriki."
"I see." Pain nodded. "The timing couldn't be better. Continue with the plan."
"Kakuzu knows Takigakure well, so he'll go with Hidan to capture the Seven Tails."
"Konan and I will deal with the Six Tails that's still roaming free outside Kirigakure."
"As for everyone else, assist Tobi and Madara in capturing the remaining tailed beasts."
"We must finish everything within three days."
"Any objections?"
No one spoke.
Even the legendary Uchiha Madara remained utterly silent, standing there like a wooden statue—as though he were nothing more than a puppet under someone else's control.
The resident troublemaker, Deidara, suddenly spoke up.
"Leader, why don't Sasori and I stay behind and test Konoha's shinobi? That guy absolutely has to witness my art. Hmm!"
"Deidara," Pain replied calmly, "once the plan is complete, you can blow up whoever you want. But until then, I expect you not to create unnecessary complications. Understood?"
"Tch... what a drag. Hmm!"
After a moment's thought, Pain added, "You can leave behind a Shapeshifting Technique clone. A clone created from one of White Zetsu's split bodies can still wield about sixty percent of your strength."
"Since you're so eager to test them, coordinate with Orochimaru and Kisame."
"Probe Konoha's capabilities."
"Happy now?"
Deidara wasn't satisfied.
A clone couldn't fully express the true brilliance of his art.
Still, he had no choice but to agree.
Pain's reasoning was simple.
If Konoha failed to live up to expectations, he would alter the plan and gather all of the Akatsuki's strength to seize the Nine Tails immediately.
Having the complete Nine Tails was obviously better than making do with only part of its chakra.
...
At a hidden base somewhere in the Land of Grass...
Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, Madara, and Orochimaru simultaneously ended the Phantom Lantern Body Technique.
Poor Obito had been waiting off to the side the entire time, looking like an abandoned housewife with nothing to do.
Madara immediately dropped the lifeless, puppet-like act.
His eyes radiated authority and overwhelming confidence.
There wasn't the slightest sign that anyone controlled him.
"I never imagined that after Hashirama and me, someone who surpassed ordinary shinobi would appear in this world."
"Is that brat Higashino Makoto really that powerful?"
"So powerful that you had to awaken me ahead of schedule?"
"Yes, Madara-sama," Black Zetsu answered. "Higashino Makoto has become the greatest obstacle to our plans. To ensure your strategy isn't disrupted, we had no choice but to revise our original arrangements."
"Heh."
"I'd really like to meet this youngster myself."
"I wonder how much of Hashirama's greatness he actually possesses."
Black Zetsu hurriedly stopped him.
"Madara-sama, please think of the bigger picture. If you truly wish to fight, Pain can prepare a Shapeshifting Technique clone for you."
Madara snorted.
"What's the point of something that can't even use my full strength?"
"Forget it."
"We'll carry out the plan first."
"When I face that brat, it'll be at my absolute strongest."
"I'll make sure he learns his lesson."
"Not just anyone can be called the God of Shinobi like Hashirama."
"And having a little strength doesn't mean you can change the shinobi world."
Black Zetsu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had genuinely been afraid Madara would act on impulse and test Makoto's strength right then and there.
He didn't particularly care whether Madara would win or lose.
What mattered was that nothing could interfere with his plan to revive Mother.
Obito remained silent.
It was precisely because everyone had seen how powerless he had become that Zetsu and Orochimaru had joined forces behind his back and resurrected Madara through the Impure World Reincarnation.
His position had become incredibly awkward.
He had been reduced to little more than everyone's personal fast-travel service.
Still...
Obito didn't care.
As long as the Eye of the Moon Plan succeeded and created a world where Rin could live safely, nothing else mattered.
Orochimaru's gaze drifted back and forth between Madara and Obito, an inscrutable smile playing across his lips.
Madara had naturally been resurrected under Black Zetsu's guidance.
The moment he appeared, he broke free of Orochimaru's control.
That much wasn't surprising.
But Orochimaru had just noticed something far more interesting.
At first, he had assumed Pain was the true leader of the Akatsuki.
Then he discovered that the real masterminds were Zetsu and Obito, disguised as Madara.
Now the genuine Madara had appeared...
...which meant Obito had been nothing more than a pawn all along.
Indeed, neither Zetsu nor Madara made the slightest effort to hide Obito's identity in front of him.
They addressed him by name without hesitation.
But Orochimaru no longer cared who Obito really was.
What interested him now was something else.
Was there someone else standing behind Madara as well?
After all...
If there were already three layers of disguises...
Why couldn't there be a fourth?
The thought fascinated Orochimaru.