Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

Somewhere in the forests of the Land of Fire

After walking for a while, Kuroto stopped, and spoke to no one in particular, “Alright, why don’t you come out?”

Just as Kuroto spoke, on a tree branch not far away, a blurry figure appeared. The person casually sat on the tree branch, and with his hand resting on one of his knees, he spoke in a deep voice, “Hyuga Kuroto, we meet again…”

Undoubtedly, this person is none other than Obito wearing the traditional Akatsuki Cloak and a mask pretending to be ‘Madara.’

Looking at Obito, Kuroto clicked his tongue as he thought to himself, ‘Tch, just a Wood clone, huh? Guess he doesn’t want to risk it.’

The land of Fire is a restricted zone for the current Akatsuki Organization, and Konoha is naturally more so. The members of the Akatsuki don’t dare come close to Konoha unless and until the entire organization is on the move. The exact terms of the agreement between Amatsukami and Konoha are unknown to them, so they try to avoid this place for fear of ambush and unexpected encounters with Amatsukami members.

Unlike other members of the Akatsuki, Obito is not that worried since he can escape using Kamui, but even then, he does not come forward in person, rather, sent a Wood Clone out, while the original is hiding inside the Kamui dimension, and observing the exchange.

Understanding Obito’s thought process, Kuroto was a bit annoyed, and questioned, “What do you want?”

Rather than directly answering Kuroto’s question, Obito observed Kuroto’s temperament, and commented in an amused voice, “After becoming the Godaime Hokage, the aura has undergone significant change, huh? No, longer as cowardly and submissive as it used to be…”

Kuroto spoke in a cold voice, “Since you can notice such a thing, then you must also understand that I won’t be cooperating with you anymore… it’s pointless, there’s nothing you can offer me anymore that I cannot obtain as Konoha’s Hokage, so I don’t see any reason to betray the village to a bunch of terrorists.”

“Hahahah…” Obito chuckled in amusement, “Hokage?” and added, “What I see before me is just a poor bird trapped in a cage… it doesn’t matter if the cage is made up of iron, or gold, a cage is, after all, a cage…” he continued after a pause, “Certainly you have become the Hokage, but ultimately, you are only a member of the branch family bound by the ‘Caged Bird’ whose sole purpose is to serve the main family, that will never change…”

A visible trace of hatred and resentment appeared in Kuroto’s eyes as he spoke, “It has nothing to do with you…”

Obito shrugged, “Perhaps…” and added in a bewitching tone, “But… the conditions I spoke the last time are still the same. Akatsuki can help you get rid of the shackles of the Caged Bird that restrains you, in exchange, you just have to give us what we want…”

Kuroto shook his head, “How do I trust your words?”

Obito smiled, ‘caught you,’ and spoke, “Hyuga Aoki… how do you think he escaped the ‘Caged Bird’?”

At the mention of Aoki’s name, Kuroto blinked in surprise, and snorted, “But isn’t he dead already? Killed by the leader of Amatsukami!”

Although the ‘death’ of Aoki is still a secret for most Hyuga Clansmen, Kuroto is the Hokage, naturally, he knows the truth, after all, Kakashi was there in person when ‘Ōtsutsuki Toneri’ made that declaration, and Kakashi would naturally pass that information to the Hokage and the elders of Konoha.

Obito also understood this, and didn’t try to hide this information, “That is certainly the case, he was an arrogant fool, he was unaware of his limits,” he sighed in pity, then added, “But… the fact that he broke free of the ‘Caged Bird’ is undeniable… How do you think he managed that?”

“You mean to say?” asked Kuroto with widened eyes.

Obito looked at Kuroto with a scrutinizing expression. There is something that Obito is also curious about. He was wondering why the Hyuga Clan is still searching for Aoki, and why there is still such a high bounty on his head. If Kuroto knows that piece of information pertaining to Aoki’s death, the entire Hyuga Clan should be aware of it as well, but they don’t seem to know this piece of information.

‘Come to think about it, there was some discourse between the main family of the Hyuga Clan and the Hokage Faction some time ago, is it because of that?’ thought Obito. Another reason that came to his mind was, ‘Or maybe it’s to restrain the main family of the Clan… if the main family still fears the possibility of Aoki still being alive and being a threat to them, they will definitely restrain themselves…’

“Maybe it’s a combination of both… The Hokage Faction wants to restrain the main family of the Hyuga Clan using the threat of Aoki, which is probably why they haven’t been informed…” mumbled Obito to himself, then shrugged, ‘Well, it doesn’t really matter…’ and spoke to Kuroto, “I think you are smart enough, so I don’t think I need to answer that question, you should be able to draw the right conclusion…”

Although Kuroto showed a bit of eagerness on the surface, internally, he knew that Obito was speaking nonsense. Aoki obviously did not tell the Akatsuki Organization anything related to the Caged Bird, Kuroto is certain about it because he has read all of Aoki’s memories. Besides, even if he had told that stuff to Akatsuki, it would have been impossible for them to liberate without the Giant Tenseigan of the Hyuga Clan, after all, that thing is the core of the Caged Bird, and that tressure is already in his hand, if he wants, he can instantly liberate all the members of the branch family.

Obito obviously didn’t know all these things. He felt that his bait enticed Kuroto, and spoke, “As for how we did it, that is something you will only learn if you are useful to the Akatsuki Organization, for now, you only need to know that we have the power to free you from that prison which binds you into servitude for the rest of your pathetic life.”

Kuroto’s expression became solemn, and after some ‘visible’ hesitation, he asked, “What do you want me to do?” and immediately added, “If it’s related to the matter of Jinchuriki, then I can’t do anything about it… I cannot bring the Jinchuriki out of the village, that will put my position in danger… unlike Aoki, I do not have any intention of defecting Konoha.”

Obito nodded, and said, “You don’t need to bring the Jinchuriki out of the village…”

Kuroto frowned, and asked, “Does that mean the Akatsuki is going to once again take action against Konoha?” and said while shaking his head, “I can’t accept that, it will sow seeds of dissatisfaction among the people with me as the Hokage…”

‘Greedy for the political power that comes with the position of Hokage, huh? But it makes sense… for a member of the branch family of the Hyuga Clan, such a thing is almost unattainable, obviously, he doesn’t want to do anything that would affect his position,’ thought Obito as he shook his head in pity and disappointment. Then after a moment of silence, he said, “Relax, we have no interest in destroying Konoha anymore, so you don’t have to worry about your position as the Hokage being at risk… our purpose is only the Jinchuriki… as long as you make things convenient for us, I can promise that Konoha will not be harmed…”

Kuroto hesitated, “Well…” and spoke, “If it’s just Jinchuriki… then… I guess…”

Obito added, “In fact, what you would be doing is for the safety of the village.”

Kuroto frowned, and questioned, “What do you mean?”

Obito answered, “See it this way, if you don’t give us the Jinchuriki easily, we will fight to the bitter end, and the entire Konohagakure will get destroyed once again… it will continue to happen time and time again. Certainly, Amatsukami can come to your rescue, but how many times? There will be a time when even Amatsukami will be caught off guard… and at that time, Konoha will be completely destroyed… you should know that we have this power, Iwagakure is the prime example… but… if you hand us the Jinchuriki, Konoha will remain as is, and we would no longer bother this village…”

Kuroto took a deep breath, obviously, Obito was indirectly threatening Kuroto with the safety of the village, as well as enticing him with a way to keep the village safe, and obviously, Kuroto bit the bait, “Alright, as long as the village is untouched, and if you help me deal with this damn Caged Bird, I can cooperate with you to some extent.”

“Wise decision,” said Obito, and spoke, “Alright, you need to remain a sleeper agent and continue with your daily life, once things on our end are ready, I will give you the signal and at that time, all you have to do is sacrifice the Jinchuriki for the safety of the village…”

Kuroto hesitated, and asked another question, “And what if Amatsukami interferes?”

Obito answered and smiled, “You needn’t be concerned with them, all you have to focus on is doing your part right.”

Leaving these words, Obito did not bother anymore and disappeared using Kamui.