Who is the enemy, and who is the friend

Sensing that Obito was showing signs of anger, White Zetsu let out a muffled chuckle and promptly shut his mouth. Black Zetsu, however, remained entirely silent, a faint, eerie light flashing in the depths of its eyes.

Izanagi has the power to reverse reality, restoring the user's physical state to the exact moment the dōjutsu was activated.

This meant that if Obito used this technique, what would be restored was not merely his pierced heart, but also the curse seal Madara had left embedded within it.

Whether through a lack of reaction or by deliberate design, Obito had now broken free from the control measures left behind by Uchiha Madara.

Of course, this was merely what Obito believed.

Black Zetsu glanced at the flowing substance formed by White Zetsu, its eyes narrowing slightly.

In truth, whether it was Madara or Obito, Black Zetsu cared not a whit, so long as the Eye of the Moon Plan could be carried out. Yet for some time now, Obito's enthusiasm had seemed somewhat lacking, while he busied himself stirring up trouble all across the ninja world.

Tch... Let us observe his actions now that he had 'shaken off' his shackles.

Black Zetsu wore a blank expression, appearing utterly oblivious and dull-witted. By contrast, its other half, White Zetsu, was far more lively.

Seeing Obito rise from the white fluid, White Zetsu asked in confusion, "Your injuries haven't fully healed yet. Where are you going?"

Obito glanced at Zetsu and said, "I am going to Konoha once more."

Although Zetsu's intelligence-gathering capability was peerless in the ninja world, it was limited by its own strength and could only rely on the five senses to glean the most superficial pieces of information.

When it came to tightly guarded conspiracies, however, it fell woefully short, requiring Obito to gather intelligence in person.

The events that had transpired in Konoha, concerning Orochimaru and the Kumogakure delegation, might seem reasonably coherent to outsiders, but Obito thought otherwise.

When he had controlled Gloomtooth, he had abducted only Hinata; he had certainly never encountered any member of the branch family named Hyuga Neji.

White Zetsu exclaimed in alarm, "Aren't you afraid this is a trap set by Orochimaru to lure you in?"

Having just suffered a crushing defeat at Konoha, he was now rushing right back into the lion's den. Was this to be called supreme bravery or sheer recklessness?

Until it figured out the true extent of Orochimaru's sensory range, White Zetsu had assumed Obito would give him a wide berth.

"That is utterly impossible," Obito stated decisively.

"Even if Orochimaru cannot confirm whether I am dead, he will certainly believe that I have sustained severe injuries."

And that was speaking with high regard for Orochimaru's caution. Generally speaking, when an ordinary ninja impaled an enemy's heart, they could be one hundred percent certain of the opponent's demise.

Before Orochimaru could realize he was still alive, this intervening period presented an optimal window of opportunity, because the opponent would be entirely devoid of vigilance.

"Then I wish you luck," White Zetsu said, before sinking down into the earth. Silencing witnesses was something ordinary White Zetsu clones could not handle; it required his personal touch to ensure not a single trace was left behind.

Obito retrieved a mask and a cloak from a scroll, putting them on as the tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, his body vanishing into a twisting vortex.

Within the subterranean stone cave, silence descended once more, leaving it entirely vacant.

***

Land of Lightning, Village Hidden in the Clouds, the Raikage's Conference Room.

"News has just reached us that Telui has gone missing."

The Fourth Raikage swept his gaze around the room, speaking in a deep, booming voice, "Just as we were debating whether Konoha's warning was true or false."

The meeting chamber fell momentarily silent before erupting into an uproar.

Yugito, who had experienced numerous great battles and harbored a deep-seated prejudice against Konoha, spoke immediately, "This is most likely a conspiracy by Konoha. They wish to avoid shouldering the consequences of 'Gloomtooth's' death, so they are trying every means to slander our village."

Such a sentiment was hardly unreasonable, especially since Orochimaru had come for peace talks while acting with a double face.

On the surface, he clamored that the Kumogakure delegation had coveted dōjutsu bloodlines and destroyed his disciple's Byakugan, yet behind the scenes, Konoha had dispatched a confidential letter claiming that Gloomtooth had been manipulated by genjutsu and that the escalation of events was the result of outside instigation.

Kumogakure naturally lacked trust in Konoha; by comparison, they placed greater faith in the reports sent back by their own peace negotiation team.

And those reports stated that 'Gloomtooth,' knowing that signing a peace treaty under Konoha's coercion would deal a devastating blow to the village, had chosen self-sacrifice, using his own life to spare the village from loss.

Leaving aside how 'Gloomtooth' had managed to pull it off, there was no doubt he had performed admirably, backing Konoha into an unfavorable position.

Several hardliner shinobi nodded along, chiming in agreement that Telui's disappearance was deeply suspicious and likely a maneuver by Konoha to reverse the tide.

The Fourth Raikage waved his hand, quelling the clamor in the conference room. He turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man sitting silently on his right and said in a grave tone, "What is your view on this matter?"

Tutai pressed a hand against the eyepatch over his left eye and said in a low voice, "I believe what Konoha claims may very well not be a deception."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was startled. Their eyes flickered with uncertainty, yet no one dared to offer a rash rebuttal.

Tutai was the Raikage's right-hand man, renowned for his tactical mind. Having already served as advisor to two generations of Raikage, he rarely spoke lightly, but when he did, no one dared ignore him.

Even the Fourth Raikage frowned. "What evidence do you have?"

"Evidence I cannot provide, but if Konoha possessed the ability to make one of our village elders disappear so effortlessly, they could easily have engineered a far greater advantage," Tutai swept his gaze across the gathering, "rather than ending up covered in mud as they are now."

"Do you truly believe Gloomtooth was controlled by genjutsu?" Yugito furrowed her delicate brows, sounding somewhat indignant. "If we accept Konoha's version of events, wouldn't Gloomtooth have died in vain?"

"I did not say that. We currently lack sufficient information to jump to such a conclusion," Tutai shook his head. "Whether Gloomtooth was controlled, or whether he was dealing with others while in Konoha for the sake of Kumogakure... there are numerous possibilities. But without a doubt, a third party outside of both Konoha and Kumogakure must be involved in this."

"Because based on Gloomtooth's abilities alone, it is impossible for him to infiltrate a guarded noble ninja clan without raising a whisper—especially the Hyuga clan, a dōjutsu-wielding clan specializing in sensory perception."

"Could he do it? He could not. Gloomtooth does not possess that capability!"

The people present looked at each other, exchanging glances in silence, forced to admit that Tutai's reasoning made perfect sense.

Not just Gloomtooth—invading the Hyuga clan without a sound was a feat; searching the entire Hidden Cloud Village, they could find no such ninja capable of it.

"However," Tutai's tone suddenly shifted, "the truth of the matter is actually irrelevant. As things stand, the current situation is favorable to our village. Whether or not we acknowledge what Konoha says depends entirely on who our enemy is at this moment. Is it Konoha? Or is it that mysterious third party?"

"This..." Yugito wore a thoughtful expression. According to Tutai, Telui's disappearance was likely the work of a third party silencing him. Naturally, they were filled with fury over this, but looking at the present situation, Kumogakure's primary enemy had never changed.

The Fourth Raikage closed his eyes in deep contemplation. After a long moment, he opened them, his voice cold and resolute, "This time, Konoha's peace negotiation delegation is personally led by Orochimaru, and the location for the talks is not the Land of Hot Water or the Land of Frost, but Kumogakure itself."

"Putting aside this third-party faction for now, we shall mobilize the village's full strength to take this opportunity to eliminate Orochimaru, removing this thorn in Kumogakure's side once and for all."