Naruto: Starting with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline

Chapter 98: Who Would Trade Reality for an Illusion?

"Can't sleep?"

Late at night, in a quiet valley of the Land of Waterfalls, the Konoha group had set up camp for the night. Kakashi was quietly reading his novel when he saw Kitagawa Gen walking out of his tent. Curious, he called out.

"It's not time for your watch yet. You could've just used a Shadow Clone, you know."

"You're not sleeping either, Kakashi-sensei," Gen replied with a chuckle as he sat down beside him. "Besides, you don't even know how to use Shadow Clone, right?"

Kakashi shrugged. He wasn't about to admit he was using the moonlight to keep reading his book. Knowing Gen, he suspected the kid was up to something again—especially considering this was someone who once used a Shadow Clone just to escape responsibility.

"You're not planning to sneak into Takigakure, are you?"

"You really know me too well, Kakashi-sensei."

Gen didn't bother denying it. He nodded seriously.

"Takigakure is just too mysterious. From the intel I've studied, it doesn't seem like much. But that guy from the Akatsuki who came from there? He was way too strong. I want to investigate."

"You're going in alone?"

"Of course. Trust my skills. Getting in and out won't be a problem—I won't get caught."

His tone was full of confidence, and Kakashi had to admit, if there was one thing Gen excelled at, it was infiltration and escape. He was annoyingly good at it. Considering how mysterious Takigakure was, scouting it out beforehand wasn't a bad idea.

"Then go ahead."

Before Kakashi could finish, a familiar voice chimed in from behind.

"You're not sleeping either, Jiraiya-sama?"

Kakashi turned to see Jiraiya yawning as he strolled out of the camp.

"This place is boring as hell. And when have I ever gone to bed early?" Jiraiya plopped down next to them with a grin.

"If you're going, go ahead. The Fourth Raikage still has the Flying Thunder God mark on him, so we're good. Just don't make a scene or get spotted, got it?"

"No worries."

Gen smiled, then raised a single hand and quickly performed a Transformation Jutsu.

"How about this?"

"..."

Jiraiya's face twitched. Kakashi stared, the book in his hands forgotten.

Gen had transformed into none other than the masked Uchiha Obito.

Even knowing it was just a disguise, this was... a bit much.

"You cut the hair short?"

Kakashi suddenly asked, noticing the difference.

"Helps with identification," Gen replied naturally. "We keep running into this guy on missions. What if someone mistakes me for him?"

At this point, Obito still had long hair like Madara. No one really knew when he had cut it, but Gen had clearly planned ahead. He knew the Akatsuki would show up again soon.

"Well then, I'm off."

Gen waved, and the next moment—poof—he vanished into thin air.

"What a jinx... Kakashi, your teaching methods are seriously questionable," Jiraiya muttered, shaking his head.

Kakashi immediately protested. "Jiraiya-sama, you were the one who corrupted him! I never took him to a hot springs brothel!"

"Oh? Then how come the first time I met him, he was already scheming to scam that rich merchant from the Land of Waves?"

"..."

"And wasn't it him who conned Naruto out of his allowance and tricked the Third Hokage into paying for him?"

"..."

"Also, just now—"

"Stop! The problem is with Konoha's education system, not me!"

---

Meanwhile, on the other side of Takigakure…

Under the moonlight, Uchiha Obito stood near a waterfall, watching the landscape silently.

"How's the setup going?"

"We're almost done. Everything's in place," Zetsu said quietly from beside him, also gazing at the distant falls.

"You planning to go in?"

"Yeah. Better to assess the situation in advance. Even if the Seven-Tails isn't that impressive, it's still a tailed beast."

Obito wasn't trying to hide his intentions. Sneaking into a village was child's play for him.

"We don't know how long Nagato will take, but we can't delay gathering intel on the tailed beasts. I'm not risking our entire operation just because we lacked information."

"Agreed," Zetsu nodded. Things were already complicated enough.

They still hadn't figured out what exactly was going on with Kitagawa Gen, and that unsettled him deeply. More than anyone, Zetsu just wanted this mess resolved quickly.

"Alright. I'll go check things out. Keep tracking Kakashi and the others."

"No problem. White Zetsu's been monitoring them, but he can't get too close. That bunch is really sharp."

"I know. I'm heading out."

Obito's body twisted and phased out of sight in an instant.

"Damn hassle. Let's hope nothing goes wrong this time…"

Black Zetsu watched as Uchiha Obito vanished and couldn't help shaking his head. Deep down, he still felt an ominous unease.

After all, nothing good ever happened when that Kitagawa Gen guy was involved!

---

"Takigakure, huh?"

Inside Takigakure, as the air twisted with spatial distortion, Obito materialized from the shadows.

Looking down at the village below, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The place was even more rundown than he'd imagined. But on second thought, that wasn't surprising.

After all, the Land of the Waterfalls was a minor nation. Even though Takigakure possessed a Tailed Beast, it never developed into a major ninja village.

Surrounded by two superpowers—Konoha and Iwagakure—their mission income was siphoned away, and to top it off, their shinobi forces had been decimated once by Kakuzu.

At this point, all the village had left to show was that so-called "Hero Water"… and the Seven-Tails.

"Still, thanks to the Seven-Tails, the Great Ninja Wars never really touched them."

The Seven-Tails wasn't exactly powerful, but it was still a Tailed Beast. Who in their right mind would want to deal with a rampaging Bijuu?

"First things first, I'll locate the Jinchūriki and assess the situation."

With that thought, Obito's figure flickered as he turned into an intangible blur, heading toward Fū's location.

He had already investigated the village beforehand, so he had a general idea of where Fū would be.

---

"Wait a minute… Something's not right."

As he drew closer, a strange feeling crept over him.

"Why is it so quiet? Where are the ANBU guards?"

Obito frowned. Takigakure might be a mess, and its shinobi might be few, but surely they wouldn't leave their Jinchūriki completely unguarded?

When he found an unconscious ANBU slumped in a corner, his expression instantly changed.

"What the hell? Has something happened in Takigakure? Or is someone else targeting the Tailed Beast too?"

With a growing sense of dread, Obito accelerated and raced toward Fū's residence.

But the moment he used Kamui to phase into the room—he froze.

There, standing inside the room... was himself.

Staring in shock, Obito watched as the other "Obito" turned his head, alerted by the spatial distortion.

For a moment, the two identically dressed figures—same cloak, same mask—stood dumbfounded, locked in an awkward silence.

---

"Nagato, is sending just one Path really enough?"

In a forested area outside Takigakure, inside a hollowed-out tree, Konan looked at Nagato with concern.

"This time, we're facing Jiraiya-sensei, and he's not alone. One Path might not be—"

"Now's not the time to reveal everything," Nagato cut her off, shaking his head. "And maintaining control over all six Paths isn't as easy as it looks."

The Gedo Statue drained too much of his power. Until it was fully prepared, he couldn't afford to spread himself thin.

"With the Deva Path alone, it should be enough. Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong."

Nagato had full faith in the Deva Path's strength. Truthfully, if Yahiko's body could handle more power, he wouldn't have bothered with multiple bodies.

Ever since Yahiko died, the ideals they shared had started fading. Now, all he wanted was for Yahiko to see—to witness the creation of the peace they dreamed of.

In Nagato's heart, Yahiko was still the true leader of Akatsuki.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow—"

He hadn't even finished speaking when a massive surge of chakra erupted in the distance.

BOOM—!!

The shockwave rocked the forest. Both Nagato and Konan stiffened, and Nagato immediately seized control of the Deva Path.

"What the hell is going on?"

Itachi and Kisame came running too, clearly unaware of the situation.

"Did that brat blow his cover already? Is he actually fighting?"

---

Back on the other side, Jiraiya and Kakashi—still waiting for Kitagawa Gen to return—widened their eyes in alarm as the chakra explosion rippled through the night.

Even Tsunade, awakened by the blast, stormed out of her tent in frustration.

Sensing the scale of the chakra from afar, everyone's heart sank.

Something major had happened.

Without another word, they rushed toward Takigakure.

---

Inside the village, Kitagawa Gen and Obito were already fighting.

"You bastard! How dare you impersonate me?!"

Obito was practically fuming. He had only come here to investigate—and ended up running into this guy.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Kitagawa Gen was disguised as him… and had clearly done something involving the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki.

Rage was one thing—but now unease started gnawing at him too.

Had his identity been compromised? Was this guy also targeting the Tailed Beast?

---

"Relax. Even if I tried, I could never impersonate you convincingly."

Standing atop a rooftop, Kitagawa Gen looked down at Obito. He was calm, almost sympathetic.

After a pause, he sighed.

"I genuinely admire you, you know."

"???"

"Because no matter how hard I try, I can't use genjutsu on myself to escape reality. I can't pretend the dead are still alive and convince myself it's all real."

"…"

"Seriously—who in their right mind would choose illusion over reality? But you… you're a true hero."

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"