Chapter 126: See? He's Panicking Now, Isn't He?

Chapter 126: See? He's Panicking Now, Isn't He?

The laboratory's atmosphere had plunged into an eerie silence.

All eyes now fixed on Obito Uchiha, who'd been casually watching the drama unfold like a spectator at a baseball game just moments ago.

Nagato turned his head slowly, fixing Obito with a piercing stare. In this moment, he suddenly realized the Hashirama cells no longer mattered. Compared to the marginal boost Wood Release could offer, he now desperately wanted to uncover the truth about this 'Uchiha Madara's' identity.

If Nagato had turned toward White Zetsu instead, he might have found his answer.

White Zetsu's expression was... complicated.

Black Zetsu remained impassive, his gaze locked onto Izayoi's smirking face with inscrutable thoughts swirling behind his eyes.

White Zetsu himself looked utterly stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief. He clearly hadn't expected anyone outside their inner circle to know Obito's true identity.

The only ones truly unaware of Obito's Madara charade - Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi - stared at him in genuine shock.

Orochimaru even voiced his amazement: "Besides Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, there's another living Uchiha in the Ninja World? So that Space-Time Ninjutsu technique was the Mangekyō Sharingan's exclusive ocular ability?"

Obito stayed silent, still reeling from the sudden exposure.

Had anyone present possessed emotional perception abilities, they'd have sensed the storm raging within him - his heart pounding like a war drum.

Thankfully for him, his mask concealed his face. Otherwise, his expression would've completely shattered Nagato's remaining respect, leaving only contempt in its wake.

Seeing Obito's silence, Nagato's suspicions deepened. "Madara, what's going on? Who is this Obito Uchiha?"

Black Zetsu inwardly cursed at the unfolding disaster.

You idiot! Just having your name revealed and you lose your composure? Don't you realize you're confirming everything? Where's that psychological fortitude you showed manipulating the Nine-Tails and playing mind games with the Mist Village?

"Nani? Uchiha Madara?!"

Orochimaru and Kabuto both recoiled at Nagato's words. Orochimaru continued, "The Ninja World's Asura who supposedly died in the Valley of the End battle when the First Hokage killed him?"

They both instinctively turned to study Izayoi, wondering why he'd addressed Obito by his real name.

Obito finally regained his composure, slipping back into Madara's persona. "Not only did you sense the Hashirama cells within me, but you even detected my Sharingan? Impressive. You truly live up to your reputation as a legitimate Wood Release inheritor - just like the young Hashirama I remember."

He clapped slowly, the sound echoing through the lab like thunder.

"Bravo! What an act!"

Izayoi's hands crackled with blue-white electricity as he gave Obito a thumbs-up. "Even Kakashi Hatake would give you two thumbs up for making him stab Rin Nohara's heart with Chidori!"

Boom!

Like lighting a fuse, Izayoi's words detonated in Obito's mind. The memory of watching Rin die - the very moment his two-tomoe Sharingan evolved into Mangekyō - surged forth. Chakra erupted from his body like a volcano, completely beyond his control.

White Zetsu instinctively covered his face, knowing all was lost.

Nagato's lips curled upward, as if a massive weight had lifted from his shoulders. Whether he obtained the Hashirama cells today suddenly seemed irrelevant. He'd gained something far more valuable - liberation from his deepest fear.

In Nagato's eyes, Obito had transformed from a near-century-old Ninja World Asura who'd once rivaled the Shinobi God himself (and somehow survived decades after that god's death) into a cowardly pretender hiding behind illusions.

While he couldn't explain how Obito obtained the Six Paths Technique and Yin-Yang Release, the only real threat remaining was his space-time phasing ability.

The true enemy was whoever had bestowed these powers upon him - perhaps the real Uchiha Madara, or possibly a descendant of the Six Paths Sage. Whoever it was, they must possess the Rinnegan.

Both Obito and White Zetsu were merely pawns in this shadowy figure's game.

Another mysterious enemy? Nagato felt no fear.

He was certain this hidden adversary was already dead.

The fact these two had approached him wasn't just about the Ten-Tails' statue - it was almost certainly about the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu.

His mysterious enemy intended to use him for reincarnation.

There must be some hidden mechanism within him - either in his body or embedded in his Rinnegan.

Once triggered, he'd be forced to perform the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to resurrect his puppet master.

But Nagato had regained his full strength, and these two still hadn't made their move. Combining this with the Rinne Rebirth's requirement to see the corpse's appearance to summon its soul, Nagato deduced the hidden mechanism required a key.

That key must be in either Obito's or White Zetsu's possession.

For a moment, Nagato wanted to tear off the mask and kill them both.

But reason held him back.

If the shadowy figure could send two pawns, there might be a third hidden somewhere.

Until he uncovered this hidden mechanism, he'd remain a mere chess piece.

Confronting them now would only alert his enemy and leave him at a complete disadvantage.

For Konan's sake, for Yahiko's dream, he needed to stay calm.

"See?" Izayoi grinned, gesturing toward the completely rattled Obito. "Told you he'd crack!"

"Oh my goodness..." Orochimaru studied Obito with renewed interest. "Now I remember - Minato had three apprentices. Besides Kakashi Hatake, there was another Uchiha who died during the Ninja World War. His body was never recovered. So it was you all along?"

"Not just that", Kabuto added, eyeing Obito's mask. "Kakashi's Sharingan was gifted to him by that Uchiha before his death. Kakashi's left eye has the Sharingan, and this mask only has an opening for the right eye. It matches perfectly."

Obito Uchiha, the man who once manipulated the Nine-Tails and controlled the Akatsuki, now stood exposed like a circus monkey - White Zetsu's gaze softened with pity.

This revelation would leave him without a place in Akatsuki.

Neither Nagato nor Itachi Uchiha would fear him anymore.

Even if Nagato didn't expel them, Obito would lose all leverage in their relationship.

If this news spread, his martyr status in Hidden Leaf would vanish.

And if people discovered he'd orchestrated the Nine-Tails' attack... well, let's just say grave robbing might become a popular hobby.

No one except Kakashi Hatake still cared about him anymore.

Black Zetsu remained silent, secretly observing Nagato while hesitating whether to use Mind-Body Switch Technique on him.

But sensing something unusual, he quickly abandoned the idea and retreated deeper into hiding.

Meanwhile, Obito Uchiha—who had just been provoked into losing his composure—suddenly calmed down.

He didn’t attack Izayoi, recognizing it as merely a Wood Release Clone.

Realizing his identity had been exposed, Obito dropped his pretense and asked directly, “How did you figure it out? And why are you so certain?”

This was the question burning in Obito’s mind.

Logically, they shouldn’t have even existed in the same era.

When Obito orchestrated the Nine-Tails’ Attack, Izayoi had still been an infant. Even his closest mentor hadn’t recognized his true identity—how had Izayoi done it?

And with such confidence too, openly declaring he was Obito Uchiha!

“Because I’m not blind,” Izayoi retorted, staring at Obito like he was an idiot. “Back when I attended the Ninja Academy, you’d occasionally wander around Hidden Leaf Village. Every November 15th, you’d visit Rin Nohara’s grave. With your mask covering everything except your right eye, those obvious clues—anyone who investigated Rin Nohara’s relationship with Kakashi Hatake could’ve figured it out.”

Obito fell silent again.

What an idiot!

Black Zetsu cursed inwardly. Leaving behind such an obvious weakness.

Nagato and Orochimaru now had no doubts about Obito’s identity.

“That early mastery of Wood Release without my detection… truly impressive,” Obito admitted, reluctantly accepting the reality.

The atmosphere turned tense instantly.

Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi positioned themselves behind Izayoi, eyes locked warily on Nagato’s group.

But Nagato ignored them, asking Obito directly, “Any last words?”

“I’ll explain later. Let’s deal with these pests first and get what you want,” Obito replied, activating his Mangekyō Sharingan’s genjutsu to paralyze Orochimaru.

Before he could act further, Izayoi smiled faintly and uttered a technique name that made their expressions shift.

“Wood Release… Tree Encampment Ascension!”

A thunderous roar shook the underground laboratory violently.

Thick roots as wide as ancient trees erupted from the earth, tearing through the ground.

In moments, the subterranean base was swallowed by a sea of green.

Even the Four Paths of Pain maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation aboveground felt the tremors.

Soon, colossal trees burst upward, shattering concrete and soil.

The Pain bodies standing on unstable ground had no choice but to abandon their barrier and Body Flicker away, dodging the relentless wooden tendrils.

Orochimaru’s underground facility had been built beneath a grassland plain in Rice Country.

From a distance, the plain now resembled a tidal wave of green serpents—like Tailed Beasts rising from the earth—to form new mountainous peaks.

The tremors rippled across the entire region.

When the chaos settled, the once-endless grassland had become a sprawling oasis.

Unfamiliar with Hidden Leaf’s Forest of Death, Nagato stared at the colossal trees towering like hills and murmured in awe, “Such immense Yang Release chakra… At this age, this level of power rivals my own.”

On a treetop, White Zetsu emerged, sensing the forest’s energy.

“Incredible,” he muttered. “Even without borrowing the leader’s Yang Release chakra, Obito couldn’t match this.”

Black Zetsu remained silent, his mood sinking.

His thoughts mirrored Sunagakure’s Chiyo: How had the ninja world become so alien in just months?

He’d assumed Shinkurō Ōtsutsuki was merely another Rinnegan transplant like Nagato.

But now it seemed he was a true inheritor, like Uchiha Madara himself.

Without witnessing Hamura Ōtsutsuki’s Rinnegan abilities, Black Zetsu couldn’t gauge its full potential.

But gravitational techniques and repulsive forces? This evolution might rival the Six Paths Techniques.

And what about next time?

If Shinkurō could evolve further, would his Rinnegan develop unique ocular powers like Uchiha Madara’s?

Then Nagato wouldn’t stand a chance.

That alone wouldn’t panic Black Zetsu—he could still use Shinkurō to weaken Nagato or have Obito escape with Kamui.

The Rinnegan couldn’t summon the Ten-Tails’ Statue, so he still held the upper hand.

Once the Three-Tails revived and the Tailed Beast Plan resumed, he just needed one opportunity to resurrect Uchiha Madara.

Nagato growing stronger while locked in stalemate with Shinkurō was even beneficial.

But now Izayoi had emerged—a true Wood Release inheritor.

Possessing Hashirama’s bloodline, Tobirama’s ninja talent, and likely Uzumaki clan abilities too, judging by how he’d uncovered Obito’s identity.

If Black Zetsu hadn’t sensed Asura Ōtsutsuki’s chakra in him, he’d suspect Izayoi was Asura’s reincarnation.

At full power, Nagato, evolved Shinkurō, and Wood Release Izayoi—plus exposed Obito…

Black Zetsu felt the game slipping from his grasp.

Thankfully, Madara’s corpse remained in his possession. Using the Ten-Tails’ Statue and White Zetsu cells, he’d restored Madara’s body to its prime.

With Rinne Rebirth, he could revive Nagato whenever needed.

A Madara at his peak, wielding Wood Release, Sharingan, and Rinnegan, would dwarf both Shinkurō and Izayoi.

But recalling Nagato’s recent chakra signature—and his apparent vigilance—Black Zetsu grimaced. I’ll need a contingency plan.

Still, Obito’s situation demanded priority.

Even as a Yin-Yang Release hybrid, Black Zetsu felt a headache coming on.

Losing control didn’t bother him—he’d grown tired of Obito’s antics.

His real fear was Obito getting expelled from Akatsuki, leaving him even more vulnerable.

What an idiot!

Cursing inwardly, Black Zetsu activated Mayfly Technique and sank underground to rejoin Obito and Nagato.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end