Naruto: The Clanless Prince

The war had entered its later stage. After Sora rested for three days, he and Kakashi left Konoha and headed to Rain Shinobi Village for their mission.

During this time, Sora continued to observe the movements of Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito through the snakes hidden in the underground tunnels.

After a while, feeling somewhat better, Uchiha Obito began a grueling rehabilitation program.

After taking a nap, Obito saw two White Zetsu standing beside his bed, while Uchiha Madara remained sitting motionless on his seat.

Seeing Obito wake up, the two White Zetsu greeted him: "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Obito struggled to sit up from the bed. "Terrible, of course. How much time has passed since I came here? I feel like I've been here forever."

"You don't have to pay rent, so don't worry."

"We who were born from the Gedo Statue don't need to eat anyway. We don't need money for food, and we don't need toilets because we don't need to... you know."

White Zetsu's words should have been amusing, but Obito couldn't laugh at all. "But that doesn't mean you can compare me to you! Only the right half of my body has this strange thing attached to it!"

Obito touched the right side of his body, sounding very unhappy.

"Thanks to it, you were able to survive without eating or drinking. I think you should consider yourself lucky."

"That's right, I don't want to be compared with you. Yours is an artificial body without emotions, and we are artificial humans with emotions. We also know better jokes than you, have a richer vocabulary, and have smarter minds! Although we can't... you know~"

Obito scolded them, clearly dissatisfied: "Shut up! How are you more advanced than me?!"

The two White Zetsu gave Obito a thumbs up simultaneously.

"Us!"

"It's happening!"

"We spy on you!"

Obito said angrily: "You're both saying the same thing at the same time! It's so irritating!"

One White Zetsu explained to Obito: "The reason we're here helping you recover is because Madara ordered us to help you heal to the point where he can use you before he wakes up."

Obito made a dismissive sound. "I'll let you two puppets who can only talk and spy on me do whatever you want, but all I want to do is leave! I must escape from this place and find Rin and Kakashi!"

Obito asked, "Where can I get out?"

"If you can't get out, there is no exit."

"After Madara ordered us to move you here, we blocked the entrance with a huge rock."

Obito's eyes widened. "What?! It's blocked?!"

"By the way, when you kept shouting 'Rin Rin Rin' in your sleep, were you trying to go outside to pick up bells?"

Obito's face suddenly turned red.

The other White Zetsu continued: "Occasionally mixed with 'idiot idiot idiot', and there was also 'idiot Kakashi'."

"Yes, he shouted like that occasionally."

"What does 'idiot Kakashi' mean?"

"I don't know, just ask him directly."

Obito felt even more embarrassed. Had he really said such things?

One White Zetsu raised his hand. "Um, can I ask a question?"

Obito replied impatiently: "What?"

"The urge to... I mean, what does it feel like to use the bathroom? Give me an example."

Obito said angrily: "Isn't the idiot Kakashi your concern? Why are you so obsessed with bathroom stuff?"

"Are you really that angry? Then I'll ask you about Rin and the idiot Kakashi later."

Obito pointed at the White Zetsu who had only half a face and said unhappily: "Especially this circle-headed one who looks like what he's so curious about—I hate you!"

Obito asked the other White Zetsu: "Speaking of which, where did the other white guys go?"

"They went outside to collect information."

Obito asked in surprise: "What? You can go outside?"

"Because we can move through the soil."

Obito was immediately discouraged. "What the hell... Locking me up in a place like this, listening to you say incomprehensible things..."

The circle-headed White Zetsu stood at attention, walked toward Obito, saluted, and apologized: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked nonsense to you!"

Obito roared: "That's not what I meant! I'm talking about what Madara said about cutting off cause and effect..."

The White Zetsu with half a face explained: "Ah, Madara is too old-fashioned and doesn't know how to communicate with children. In simple terms, he wants to abandon the troubles of the real world and escape to a happy dream."

Obito asked in confusion: "Dream?"

"Because it's a dream, everything can be whatever you want. Even bringing back the dead can be done."

"In other words, use genjutsu to create a huge dream world! Then let everyone enter that world! Or... more accurately, force everyone to enter it—for life!"

Obito felt like he was listening to a fairy tale. "Use genjutsu? That's stupid. I don't understand it at all!"

"With Madara's strength, he can do anything, but he's too weak now and can't do much. That's why some preparations need to be made."

"Really? Not interested. I don't care about these things. I must get out! Go to Rin and Kakashi. I have to get this body mobile again!" Obito got out of bed and started his rehabilitation exercises.

...

Sora deactivated the visual sharing and breathed a sigh of relief.

White Zetsu had begun to plant the idea of Project Tsuki no Me in Uchiha Obito's mind.

Although Obito was dismissive now, when Nohara Rin died, he would become the most loyal defender of the Moon's Eye Plan.

The end point of the Third Ninja World War would be the Battle of Kikyo Mountain.

The current war situation had stabilized, and continuing it would yield no results.

The Battle of Kikyo Mountain was an invasion launched by the Cloud Shinobi Village of the Lightning Country and the Sunagakure of the Wind Country against the Konoha Shinobi Village of the Fire Country.

Although Cloud Shinobi Village had announced its withdrawal from the war, war made people foolish and untrustworthy.

Now Cloud Shinobi Village had suffered the greatest losses among the villages. As a militaristic village led by the newly appointed Fourth Raikage A, it would be strange if they could simply accept this defeat.

Cloud Shinobi Village naturally hoped to gain some advantages in this war and compensate for their losses.

The Cloud Shinobi Village's greatest hatred, besides Konoha which had caused them heavy casualties, was for Iwagakure, who had killed their Third Raikage.

Unfortunately, Iwagakure was currently the strongest among the five major ninja villages. Even if they joined forces with Sunagakure to confront Iwagakure, there would be no favorable outcome.

Kirigakure was now like a rabid dog—there was no need to provoke it. So Konoha remained the best target.

Sunagakure directed its aggression toward Konoha because the Third Kazekage had disappeared without explanation.

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