"Aren't we leaving yet? You've already seen the wild..."
"Shut up!"
The plant-like figure's white half laughed and wanted to continue talking, but the black half suddenly shouted at him in a low voice.
This strange plant-like being had two different consciousnesses in one body!
The black half looked toward where Shihouin Naraku and Hatake Kakashi were hiding and said in a gloomy voice: "According to our intelligence analysis, the next Fifth Hokage will likely be one of those two."
"Obito, we can handle this secretly..."
"No need! Kakashi is a loser! He never gets anything done. He's completely useless!"
The mysterious masked man, Uchiha Obito, looked at Hatake Kakashi with disdain and snorted.
"It doesn't matter! There's no need to do anything extra. That fool Kakashi will mess everything up on his own. If he becomes Hokage, Konoha will be doomed sooner or later."
Every word Uchiha Obito spoke was aimed at Kakashi. From a certain perspective, this fixation could almost be considered a form of concern.
Zetsu looked at Uchiha Obito, who was cursing Hatake Kakashi while still staring at him and was speechless.
"We've recently found some traces of Orochimaru, but that snake hides very well. Should we continue searching? Or should we leave his whereabouts to Pain?"
Hearing this serious matter, Uchiha Obito reluctantly turned his attention away from Kakashi. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then shook it. "Not for now. Orochimaru is still useful. When he loses his value, I'll kill him myself!"
"Hehehe... Although we didn't find that disgusting snake," Zetsu's white half said with a smile, "we discovered his men discussing something with people from Sunagakure. We don't know the specific details, but their target is Konoha."
Uchiha Obito smiled disdainfully. He looked down on the weak Sunagakure and said dismissively: "Those fools from Sunagakure actually believed Orochimaru..."
"Don't worry about it. Although Sunagakure is weak, if they join forces with Orochimaru, Konoha, which has been at peace for too long and has lost its vigilance, will suffer heavy losses. This is good for us!"
"Zetsu, wait until Orochimaru and Sunagakure's plan is complete before telling Uchiha Itachi this information."
"Hehehe... what are you planning?"
White Zetsu's laughter echoed, but Uchiha Obito ignored it. The distorted space reappeared, and before disappearing, he glanced at Hatake Kakashi and left with a final remark.
"This fake world will be destroyed by these idiots sooner or later!"
Like a plant sinking into soil, Zetsu slowly descended into the ground and vanished.
"Hmm?"
Shihouin Naraku suddenly raised his head and looked around, his gaze finally settling on the Academy rooftop.
"Was it my imagination? Why did I feel a sense of malice just now..."
With a quick movement, Naraku jumped up and landed on the rooftop, looking around with a frown.
But the place seemed no different from before, with no strange traces to be found.
"What's wrong?"
Hatake Kakashi, awakened by Shihouin Naraku's actions, followed him and looked at the rooftop with surprise.
Shihouin Naraku shook his head and said uncertainly: "I thought I felt a malicious presence here just now, but I don't see anything..."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and the hidden Anbu team appeared behind him.
"Conduct a thorough search centred around the Academy. See if you can find anything unusual."
"Yes, sir!"
No one took this matter lightly when it concerned the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
However, after a complete search, the well-trained Anbu found no strange traces or anything suspicious.
"Was it really my imagination?"
Shihouin Naraku listened to the report from the Anbu operatives and wondered if his earlier feelings had been wrong. After all, it wasn't easy to come and go freely in a place like Konohagakure...
Wait!
Shihouin Naraku suddenly remembered that there were indeed people who could move freely in and out of Konoha.
Uchiha Obito was one of them!
He could actually do this kind of thing.
Could he have been here just now?
However, Shihouin Naraku suppressed his doubts, waved his hand to dismiss the Anbu members, and continued to hide in the shadows with Hatake Kakashi.
"Hey, is the sparring match over?"
"Who won, Naruto or Sasuke?"
Shihouin Naraku looked toward the training ground, where Uzumaki Naruto was jumping and yelling.
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
Hatake Kakashi had seen the result of the sparring match and answered directly: "Uchiha Sasuke found Naruto's weakness and defeated him in the end."
"That's to be expected."
The tree-climbing training had only been going on for a few days, and Naruto's current progress was already impressive. It would be unrealistic for him to catch up to Uchiha Sasuke so quickly.
After losing to Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto was clearly unhappy. After school, he went to the forest behind the mountain in a dejected mood.
However, his depression didn't last long. Uzumaki Naruto soon regained his spirit and continued practising his tree-walking with full energy.
"Watch him for a while... I have something to do!"
Shihouin Naraku whispered, then hurried away without waiting for Hatake Kakashi's reply.
Hatake Kakashi frowned as he watched Shihouin Naraku leave, feeling that something was off. He had noticed that the other man had been acting strangely since earlier.
Shihouin Naraku moved quickly and arrived at Konoha's memorial stone in a flash. This was also where the village's cemetery was located.
He walked in slowly and soon came to a particular grave.
"It's as I thought—Uchiha Obito!"
In front of the tombstone lay a bunch of beautiful, eye-catching flowers that appeared to have been placed there recently.
On the tombstone was a photo of a beautiful young woman: Nohara Rin!
A former teammate of Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi, she had voluntarily died by Kakashi's Chidori to protect Konoha.
Shihouin Naraku looked around and found a bunch of discarded flowers on the ground not far away.
"Tsk... He threw away the flowers that Kakashi brought for Nohara Rin and put his own instead. Obito is really petty."
Having confirmed his suspicion, Shihouin Naraku turned and left. He had no intention of telling anyone else about this.
Because Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi had an agreement that as long as Itachi was alive, they would not harm Uchiha Sasuke or attack Konohagakure. There was no need to worry about anything for now.
Besides, Uchiha Obito relied on his Mangekyō Sharingan ability "Kamui" to appear and disappear without a trace, so under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible to catch him.
Shihouin Naraku soon returned to the forest behind the mountain, where he immediately spotted Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Uzumaki Naruto had been truly happy during this period. Not only did he have someone to accompany him every day, but he could also eat delicious food. Compared to his past life, he was living in a dream.
After working as a bodyguard with Hatake Kakashi for a few days, Shihouin Naraku finally found Sarutobi Hiruzen and told him what was on his mind.
"I want to be the head of the medical department!"
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