Chapter 51 Obito: Exactly Who Leaked the Secret

In the deep, dense forest, towering ancient trees grew layer upon layer, blocking out the light so thoroughly that only tiny, scattered spots of the midday sun managed to reach the ground.

Swish~ Swish~ Swish~~~

A single figure leapt continuously through the canopy.

'Uchiha Madara'—no, Uchiha Obito was currently hurrying along his way.

This region lacked even a single Kamui chakra marker, making it impossible for him to utilize his Kamui dimension for rapid travel; he was forced to advance entirely on foot.

Obito could not help but suspect whether this fake 'Uchiha Madara' possessed some kind of space-time ninjutsu.

That individual would shift locations at regular intervals, and the distances covered were immense, compelling Obito to constantly alter his destination. In fact, he had spent the past few days entirely on the road.

"Ha... Damned fake 'Uchiha Madara'! When I catch you, I'll tear you to pieces!" Uchiha Obito cursed viciously.

"Obito... Obito!"

"Who's there?" Uchiha Obito halted, turning to see Zetsu catching up from behind.

The moment he saw Zetsu, Obito's expression darkened instantly: "I've told you before, Zetsu, use my professional title during work hours."

To blatantly address him as Obito—if anyone else were to discover this...

"But... Obito, it can't be hidden anymore...... The entire ninja world already knows that you, Uchiha Obito, have been impersonating 'Uchiha Madara', and the shinobi world is now aware of all the things you've done in the past."

"Huh?" Amidst a momentary flash of astonishment, Obito saw the newspaper Zetsu was handing over.

It was the *Shinobi World Daily*.

The front-page headline read: 「The Most Evil Man in the Shinobi World—Uchiha Obito」

The two full-color, high-definition photographs printed above pierced deeply into Obito's eyes!

Damn it...... Who?

Who on earth had leaked the secret?

Regardless of who it was, the truth could no longer be undone!

The nerve in Obito's right eye, hidden beneath his mask, twitched neurotically. Pressing his palm against the spiral-patterned mask, his knuckles let out a cracking sound.

The words "Manipulation of the Nine-Tails" and "The Uchiha Clan Massacre" printed on the newspaper were twisted by the Kamui dimension into a blood-red vortex.

"Ha... Bastards... Even rats have learned to carry the truth and run wild through the streets."

Obito suddenly let out a low chuckle.

"Shut up... All of you, shut up! Heroes, demons—those who discuss such things are merely refuse chewed up and spit out by fate!"

Abruptly, he tore off his mask and hurled it into the void, but gravity pulled it down to the forest floor, where it shattered into pieces.

Scattered spots of light illuminated his face, revealing a terrifying network of cracks spreading from the Hashirama cells on the right side of his face, consuming half of his visage.

At that moment, he suddenly thought of a departed friend.

"Kakashi, are you trembling right now as you touch that Sharingan?"

"Heh...... The Eye of the Moon Plan doesn't require the understanding of mere ants. Once the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi consumes this filthy world... true peace will be achieved forever."

"Rin, just wait a little longer... Soon, I will create a world where no one ever has to read a newspaper again."

Meanwhile.

The Land of Rain.

Rain fell throughout the night—no, it poured day and night without a single moment of cessation.

It was a mystery whence this tiny nation derived such an endless volume of water; perhaps this was the very reason the major three nations so frequently waged wars across its territory.

Within a specialized chamber.

Konan was holding up a newspaper for Nagato to read.

Nagato's Rinnegan bulged as if they might burst from his sockets. Veins throbbed fiercely on his temples, and the more he read, the more agitated he became!

"U! CHI! HA! O! BI! TO!"

A roar erupted from the depths of his throat.

"Hah... Hah..."

Having barely uttered the curse, Nagato was forced to take heavy, ragged breaths, clearly infuriated to the extreme!

"Nagato... Don't let it anger you too much, mind your health," Konan comforted him gently.

She had never truly approved of that masked 'Uchiha Madara' to begin with; now that the mask had been stripped away to reveal the hidden rat crouching behind it, this development was for the best.

Though they had been deceived all these years without their own knowledge, uncovering that fraudulent 'Uchiha Madara' could at least be considered waking up from a delusion.

"Where is Zetsu?" Nagato asked, recalling the entity that had always accompanied that 'Uchiha Madara'.

"Not found."

"Heh!" Nagato understood. While a shred of doubt regarding the truth of the news had lingered in his rational mind moments ago, he could now confirm it. Moreover, there was a high probability that Zetsu was cut from the same cloth as Uchiha Obito.

Ah!

Deceived once again; they had been deceived once more!

Nagato recalled the previous deception—how their Akatsuki organization had been manipulated, leading directly to Yahiko's death and the near-total annihilation of the group.

That kind of pain penetrated straight to the bone!

Ever since then, he, Nagato, despised being deceived above all else, especially being utilized as a mere chess piece.

He had never expected—truly never expected.

U! CHI! HA! O! BI! TO!

Heh, a rat hiding behind a mask, utilizing Uchiha Madara's legendary name to hoodwink them.

They could only blame themselves for being driven to a dead end back then, leaving them with no choice but to swallow his lies.

However.

"The Tailed Beast Collection Plan must still proceed! This time, we shall take full command!" After sinking into a deep, silent contemplation, Nagato issued his final directive.

Konan gasped aloud: "Nagato! You don't mean..."

"No."

Nagato understood Konan's apprehension, but—

"Even without Uchiha Madara—no, even without Uchiha Obito, this endeavor must still be carried out."

"This world is beyond saving. Only through suffering can humanity be made to realize the true value of peace, and only thus can true peace be birthed."

"Konan, our Akatsuki can no longer turn back. This is our path!"

......

Simultaneously, the Land of Water.

Hidden Mist Village, nestled deep within the mountains, was shrouded year-round in a milky-white fog, leaving even its general silhouette blurred and indistinct.

At this moment, inside a towering structure.

"Elder Yuan~ Elder Yuan~"

A voice echoed from afar, drawing closer as the door was pushed open with a crash.

"Please look at the newspaper, you must look at this quickly, what are we going to do?!" The newcomer wore an expression of intense anxiety, as if struck by a matter of utmost urgency.

Elder Yuan tremblingly accepted the paper and unfolded it to inspect it.

It was the *Land of Water Observer*, and its contents were largely identical to the *Shinobi World Daily*.

The section regarding Uchiha Obito remained the front-page headline, detailing his committed crimes with vivid clarity.

However, as the all-weather partner of Zabuza, this particular newspaper focused its spotlight on why Zabuza had attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage.

The article elaborated at length on how Zabuza had discovered that the Fourth Mizukage was being manipulated, subsequently launching an assassination attempt to rescue the Hidden Mist Village, only to be branded a rogue ninja due to his youth and insufficient strength.

"Ah!~"

Upon reading this, Elder Yuan let out a heavy, aged sigh. That the Fourth Mizukage had indeed been controlled was something they had long suspected, but the identity of the culprit had remained unknown.

Now, it appeared highly probable that the newspaper reports were true. He had heard tales of the Mangekyo Sharingan before, and following the Nine-Tails' attack in Konoha, almost the entire ninja world was aware that the Sharingan possessed the ability to control a Jinchuriki. The atmosphere in Hidden Mist had grown profoundly bizarre ever since the Fourth's reign, yet no one had dared to imagine that a village's revered Kage could be controlled by an outsider, directly instigating the Blood Mist era and robbing the village of an entire generation of shinobi.

Not only that, but the village had suffered the loss of numerous elite bloodline shinobi, and even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had defected one after another.

This was a matter Hidden Mist had desperately sought to conceal, but now, courtesy of the newspapers, their shame had been broadcast to the entire world.

Fortunately, Elder Yuan was of advanced years and well-weathered by hardship, preventing this revelation from triggering a sudden heart attack.

Even so, as he stared at the paper, his perpetually narrowed eyes widened to an astonishing degree.

"Zabuza, is it."

Elder Yuan retained a memory of the child who had slain his peers during the graduation exams, and he re-examined the newspaper's description of him.

"A pity."

He sighed softly and issued an order: "Contact the publisher of this newspaper and issue a comprehensive bounty on Uchiha Obito. Oh, and are there previous editions available? I'd like to see them."

A pre-prepared newspaper was promptly handed over.

It was still the *Land of Water Observer*, and its front-page headline blared: 「The Hero of the Land of Waves—Momochi Zabuza!」

At that exact same moment.

Konoha, the Hokage's Office.

Reviewing the *Shinobi World Daily* submitted by the ANBU, along with an accompanying thick stack of intelligence files—comprising comprehensive Hidden Mist intel, collected dossiers on Uchiha Obito, and analytical reports from various other sources, culminating in the Intelligence Division's conclusion of a 92% accuracy rate—Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeply.

Uchiha Obito? It seemed there genuinely was no corpse recovered for that individual.

He appeared to have been Minato's student...

"Where is Kakashi?"

The ANBU operative kneeling below immediately replied: "He is currently leading Team 7 on a mission."

"Mm."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, recalling that he had personally assigned them that mission. After a brief moment of reflection, he reasoned that the Nine-Tails' attack was a matter long since known across the ninja world; Konoha had no shame left to lose.

True or false, this individual must be found dead or alive, with Konoha ultimately verifying the authenticity of the claims.

"Issue a bounty! Contact the *Shinobi World Daily*, issue a worldwide wanted order for: Uchiha Obito!"

In one final simultaneous instance.

At a certain Exchange House.

Kakuzu, who had just collected a bounty, stared blankly at the wanted poster, his eyes glowing green with avarice.

So many zeros—just how much was this?

250 million ryo?