Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 104: The Hokage’s Unwavering Decision

Land of Rain.

Akatsuki's base.

When Shigen returned to the Akatsuki base with Anko Mitarashi, she had already feigned loyalty in order to get close enough to assassinate Orochimaru.

To her, this was a rare opportunity.

Leaving Konoha temporarily didn't matter—so long as she could kill the traitorous teacher who had abandoned her, she would finally be free of the humiliation she had carried for so long!

Anko's eyes burned with determination, and the sweet yet dangerous smile on her face made it clear just how badly she wanted to kill Orochimaru.

She was a troublesome woman.

But ultimately, she was only Orochimaru's problem.

"I'll have you monitor Orochimaru."

Shigen's orders were simple and blunt, with no regard for how much trouble Anko might cause Orochimaru in the future. "The rest is up to you."

"Don't worry."

"I will kill him for sure!"

Anko narrowed her eyes.

It seemed she genuinely believed she could assassinate Orochimaru.

Of course—

That illusion peaked the moment she finally saw Orochimaru again.

When Shigen brought Anko before him, Orochimaru's expression was far from pleasant. His face darkened, his gaze sinking so deep it looked as if it could drip poison.

"No need for introductions, I assume?"

Shigen observed the reunion between teacher and student, speaking softly. "Orochimaru, our future ally for obtaining intelligence on Konoha. Anko Mitarashi, the one who will represent both me and Akatsuki in monitoring Orochimaru."

"It's been a long time, Orochimaru... sensei."

Upon seeing Orochimaru, Anko licked her lips in an imitation of his mannerisms. The thought of him selling out Konoha filled her with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Sensei, why do you look so unhappy to see me?"

"Idiot..."

Orochimaru grit his teeth, filled with frustration.

What the hell?!

That old man, the Third Hokage, couldn't even protect a single shinobi?

His contingency plan in Konoha—his means of resurrection—had been exposed by Akatsuki this quickly? And worse, Shigen had already taken Anko back with him!

This fool, Anko...

Had she really gone mad in her desire to kill her former teacher? She actually chose to join forces with Shigen and Akatsuki, which made Orochimaru curse her inwardly!

Moreover—

If Anko had been found out by Shigen...

That meant Shigen now held his trump card for resurrection in his grasp.

Orochimaru was at his mercy, seemingly forced to serve him.

Looks like...

He would need to prepare more contingency plans.

"Well then..."

Orochimaru sighed inwardly but had no choice but to comply with their prior agreement. He spoke in a low voice. "As per our deal, I will find a way to re-establish contact with Danzo Shimura and obtain the information you require from him..."

"Any contact with Danzo must be under Akatsuki's surveillance."

Shigen interrupted, making it clear he had no intention of trusting Orochimaru completely. "Until I can fully trust you, all of your actions will be monitored. In return, I will provide you with the necessary support."

"You're certainly cautious..."

Orochimaru let out a helpless chuckle.

Fine.

None of this mattered.

As long as he could survive this ordeal, he would create even more curse-marked resurrection methods. Eventually, he would find a way to escape Akatsuki's grasp.

"Once I contact Danzo..."

"His subordinates will undoubtedly assess my current situation."

"I cannot stay in Akatsuki's base..."

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed as he casually suggested his own plan to Shigen. "Otherwise, it may raise Danzo's suspicions..."

"You want to return to your own base?"

Shigen showed no opposition to Orochimaru's request.

"I just need to continue some of my own research..."

Orochimaru nodded, smiling. "I'm sure even you, Lord Shigen, understand the impact of scientific advancements on medical ninjutsu. Perhaps we can collaborate..."

"If the opportunity arises, I'll research with you."

Shigen casually agreed, neither rejecting nor approving of Orochimaru's proposal. "I no longer place blind faith in medical ninjutsu. My techniques can heal any physical ailment in the human body—but they cannot mend the fractures of the human soul."

"..."

Orochimaru was slightly surprised.

He could tell Shigen was speaking the truth.

And yet, hearing those words carried a certain melancholic undertone. If that old friend of his—Tsunade, still traveling the world—knew about this, she would probably be heartbroken.

Just as Shigen was making arrangements for Orochimaru's relocation, Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi returned to Akatsuki after completing their mission to intercept the Konoha squad.

But Obito's expression was unpleasant.

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, who had been monitoring the battle, also returned, reporting everything that had transpired to Shigen—while inevitably sneering at Obito.

Just as Shigen had expected, Obito had exposed his true identity to Kakashi. However, the mission assigned by the shinobi system had yet to be fully completed.

That was to be expected.

After all, an SSSSS-ranked mission was the highest difficulty in the system.

The rewards for such a mission were substantial. But for now, merely having Kakashi and his team learn Obito's identity wasn't enough to trigger the system's conditions.

Still—

It didn't really matter.

If Kakashi's squad reported Obito's survival to Konoha and nothing major came of it, Shigen was prepared to execute the next phase of his plan—staging an event that would make Obito's name truly infamous across the shinobi world.

A cataclysmic event that would shake the entire world...

That way, everyone would know Uchiha Obito.

No longer would he be the unknown masked man lurking in the shadows.

All shinobi across the world would know his name.

"I heard..."

"Kakashi has already discovered your identity."

Shigen made no effort to soften his words, as he had no need to concern himself with Obito's feelings.

"Hmph..."

"It doesn't matter if he knows."

Obito clenched his fists and continued indifferently, "Kakashi is nothing but a failure—he could never threaten us..."

"..."

Itachi glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

If Obito had truly been able to defeat Kakashi and Guy with ease back on the battlefield, then maybe Itachi would have acknowledged his confidence.

But—

The fight hadn't exactly gone smoothly for him.

Where was this confidence coming from?

"You have a point."

"But Kakashi represents Konoha."

"Konoha has had its eyes on Akatsuki for some time. However, as far as I've heard, the only one in Konoha who was ever truly aware of Akatsuki's existence was Danzo Shimura."

Shigen spoke calmly, leading into his true intentions.

"I had originally planned to use Orochimaru's connections to Danzo to eliminate him—a problem that should have been dealt with long ago. But now, with you exposing yourself to Kakashi, even if we remove Danzo, Konoha's curiosity toward us won't change."

"..."

Obito's expression darkened.

This bastard...

Was he trying to pin the blame on him again?

And yet, there was no way for Obito to shake it off. He hadn't even realized Shigen had been plotting to use Orochimaru to get rid of Danzo until just now.

"So what do you suggest?"

Obito couldn't figure it out and, still irritated, snorted. "I should have just killed that worthless Kakashi!"

"..."

Itachi's eyes flickered.

Now was not the time for empty bravado.

Did Obito really think he could have taken out Kakashi's squad?

"You say that..."

"But your performance on the battlefield was far from convincing."

Black Zetsu smirked in mockery. It had witnessed Obito's lackluster fight firsthand. "Honestly, we might have been better off having Lord Shigen handle Kakashi's squad himself."

"The plan was for you to clean up loose ends,"

Black Zetsu continued to taunt Obito, seemingly forgetting its original role in the mission. "Yet instead, you ended up exposing even more weaknesses to Konoha's forces."

"Black Zetsu!"

Obito's fury ignited as he glared at the shadowy figure.

He was already seething from his confrontation with Kakashi, and now he had to endure ridicule from the one entity he despised most?

"Enough."

"Let's not waste time arguing about the past."

Shigen cut in, halting the impending conflict. His deathly still eyes flickered slightly as he spoke in a firm tone. "Right now, our priority is how to handle the problems we've been left with."

"If Obito were to die..."

Black Zetsu slyly suggested, its voice laced with hidden intent.

"..."

Obito refused to even acknowledge the remark.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea."

A sudden thought struck Black Zetsu—not about killing Obito, but about fabricating his death.

"I recall that the Uchiha clan possesses a forbidden technique called Izanagi. By using the Transcription Seal, Izanagi's activation can be pre-set, similar to how Madara and Hashirama's final battle played out..."

At that time—

Madara had nearly succeeded.

If, after activating Izanagi, he had chosen not to provoke Shigen, he could have completely faked his death and escaped unnoticed.

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"There's no need for that."

Obito coldly interrupted Black Zetsu's musings. He refused to flee like a stray dog. Instead, he simply stated, "If Konoha dares to interfere with our plans, I will eliminate whoever gets in our way."

"Oh?"

Black Zetsu chuckled softly, clearly unconvinced.

"Given your performance in battle, that's hardly reassuring..."

"You little—!"

"Am I wrong?"

"You—!"

"Such a useless failure..."

"Enough."

"That's enough."

Shigen suddenly put an end to their argument once more. His eerie, lifeless gaze shimmered briefly as he spoke. "Black Zetsu, White Zetsu—continue scouting for potential recruits and tracking the jinchūriki across the shinobi world."

"Understood."

Black Zetsu immediately complied.

"Obito."

"You and Itachi will monitor Orochimaru."

Shigen turned to Obito, handing him yet another difficult task without hesitation. "Though Anko has agreed to infiltrate on our behalf, her temperament makes it unlikely that she will uncover anything useful..."

"Got it."

Obito responded with arrogance, as if the task were beneath him.

"..."

Itachi lowered his head slightly.

This arrangement suited his own goals perfectly.

With that, the room emptied.

Shigen was now alone.

His shinobi system had experienced a temporary malfunction, forcing him to hastily dispatch Black Zetsu and Obito.

This disturbance...

Meant something was happening in Konoha.

—

Konoha Village.

Hokage's Office.

Kakashi stood before the desk.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held his pipe in his mouth, his aged face clouded with worry. He had just finished listening to Kakashi's report on Uchiha Obito's survival.

Unlike Kakashi, who was still processing the emotional weight of seeing his former comrade alive, Hiruzen had gained a far broader perspective from this intelligence.

"So, in other words..."

"Uchiha Obito did not die during the Third Shinobi War. He faked his death and left the village, keeping his identity hidden behind a mask all this time. He has also awakened a space-time Mangekyō Sharingan..."

Hiruzen let out a deep sigh as he recalled the information Itachi had previously reported after the Uchiha Massacre.

"And when you encountered him, he was with Uchiha Itachi, preventing you from recovering Anko..."

"Yes."

Kakashi could not deny it.

Everyone present had witnessed it. There was no way to hide the truth.

Yet Kakashi still tried to argue his case to the Hokage. "This is all my fault. Obito saw Rin die by my hand... That's why he never returned to the village..."

"Kakashi, this isn't your fault."

Hiruzen shook his head with a sigh. "Obito has chosen the wrong path. This was never your burden to bear—don't let it weigh on you."

Seeing the lingering confusion in Kakashi's expression, Hiruzen had no choice but to make his stance clear.

"Kakashi, I must issue an S-rank rogue ninja order for Uchiha Obito."

"Lord Third...!"

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.

"Kakashi, I will not change my decision."

Hiruzen raised his arm, gazing at the seal imprinted on it. His thoughts drifted back eight years into the past.

The power of the Curse Mark Shigen had left him had been invaluable during the Nine-Tails' attack.

It had allowed him to assist in sealing the beast, witness the final moments of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, and learn part of the truth behind the calamity.

Eight years ago—

A masked man, possessing space-time abilities, had orchestrated the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha.

That single event had plunged the village into a long era of hardship and vulnerability.

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