"Are you planning to continue with the Eye of the Moon Plan, using the Infinite Tsukuyomi to plunge the entire world into an illusion, or do you want to be the Obito Uchiha you used to be?" Nagasawa asked Obito.
Obito stared directly at Nagasawa, not avoiding his gaze, and replied, "It seems I'm not that smart in your eyes. After learning the truth, I can't just continue going down a path that has already been proven wrong."
"Indeed," Nagasawa nodded, acknowledging that Obito was indeed not that smart.
"Although I'd like to say I want to go back to being my old self, I can't just pretend nothing happened," Obito said, looking down at his hands. Due to being beaten by Nagasawa, they were covered in dust and dirt.
But in Obito's eyes, there was not only dust and dirt but also blood that couldn't be washed away.
He had killed so many people, and there was no turning back.
Although it might sound hypocritical for a Shinobi whose life was always accompanied by killing, Obito killed not enemies or wandering rogue Shinobis but many unrelated people.
To make Nagato despair and show him how brutal this world was, Obito killed all the members of the Akatsuki.
To weaken Konoha, he also killed several Shinobi that guarded Kushina.
He had done too many wrong things that he could not go back to being who he was just because he wanted to.
If he had the Rinnegan like his future self, he would make the same choice: resurrect the innocent people he had killed.
Even though it wouldn't erase all the crimes he committed and wouldn't eliminate the hatred of those he killed, it would reduce his guilt slightly.
But he knew that was impossible.
He didn't have the Rinnegan now, so he couldn't use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, and even if he could, it wasn't as simple as resurrecting anyone he wanted.
"I want to do something for those who died. I want to protect the Konoha that once brought a smile to Rin's face," Obito said firmly.
Nagasawa smiled and relaxed his clenching fist. It seemed that Obito did have some enlightenment.
"What do you plan to do for them?" Nagasawa asked.
"If they have surviving elders in their families, I'll do my best to support them. If they have young children, I'll help raise them," Obito said in a resolute tone.
This was his atonement and, at the same time, his own salvation.
If he could laugh off everything he had done before and pretended it never happened, he wouldn't be Obito Uchiha.
"That sounds like a challenging task. Just gathering information on those people will be difficult, not to mention they're not all in one place," Nagasawa remarked.
"I will manage. Shadow Clone Jutsu was invented for this purpose, wasn't it?" Obito replied confidently.
He was no longer the incompetent Obito back then. The only benefit of this disastrous experience was that it had made him mature and become more powerful.
Now he could do many things he couldn't do before, although he would prefer to live an ordinary life like he used to.
However, since he couldn't change the reality, he would make good use of the power he had learned from Madara.
Nagasawa patted Obito's shoulder and encouraged him, "Well done. You've shown me your determination. Before you proceed with those actions, tell me about your plan."
Although according to the original story, it would be a while before Obito and Akatsuki stirred up trouble, things had fundamentally changed with Nagasawa around. Following the original plot was no longer possible.
To play it safe, Nagasawa wanted to know the current situation and avoid any unexpected mishaps.
Currently, he was stronger than Obito in his Six Paths Mode, making him a novice at the Six Paths level. If Kaguya suddenly appeared, things could get tricky. He couldn't just ask the old man Sage of the Six Paths to give him Yin and Yang Power to seal Kaguya.
"Leaving the Eye of the Moon Plan aside, Akatsuki organization is still accumulating strength. They shouldn't initiate the Tailed Beast capture operation within the next eight years," Obito honestly replied.
"I was also planning to instigate a war between Konoha and Kirigakure. It can prevent the Five Kage Summit and wear down the strength of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. At the same time, I can capture Hyuga Clan Shinobi during the war."
Nagasawa raised an eyebrow. "Capture a Hyuga Clan Shinobi? Why would you do that?"
It wasn't like Obito to be interested in the Byakugan; after all, he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, not the Tenseigan. Moreover, with Konoha's barrier, obtaining the Byakugan wasn't that simple.
This was an action not present in the original story, and it caught Nagasawa's attention.
"Because of you," Obito thought for a moment and then explained.
"Me?"
"Yes," Obito nodded.
Having learned the truth about everything, Obito couldn't naively believe that his entry into that ancient ruin was just luck. There was no other possibility; it had to be Black Zetsu's scheme to enhance his strength to deal with the ridiculously powerful Nagasawa.
So, in a way, it made sense.
"Akatsuki has a member named Hiruko. He is a Missing-nin from Konoha. You should know about him, right?" Obito asked.
Nagasawa nodded. "Sort of."
Hiruko was from the movie, and there was almost no interaction between him and Nagasawa.
"He has a secret technique called the Chimera Technique, which allows you to take in others' Kekkei Genkai. Probably inspired by this technique, Zetsu arranged for me to enter an ancient ruin, learn about Kaguya's existence, and create a plan to absorb the bloodlines of all Kaguya's descendants, thereby reviving the Kaguya bloodline."
Nagasawa was astonished. Black Zetsu's creativity knew no bounds, using the Chimera Technique to create such a plan. Upon reflection, it did seem feasible.
After all, with Obito as an Uchiha that had Mangekyō Sharingan and Hashirama cells. If he got a compatible Hyūga and Uzumaki, it might succeed.
"Sure enough, outstanding people can easily influence others even if they don't do anything." Nagasawa remarked.
Because of him, not only Hiruko joined Akatsuki, Obito Otsutsuki was also nearly emerge.
Apart from the Nine Tails' attack, he barely had any contact with Obito and the others, but even so, the plot involving Obito and Akatsuki had changed significantly.
"Indeed, you are too strong. With you around, it's challenging to start a war or succeed in the Tailed Beast capture plan. Right now, you are the person Zetsu wants to eliminate the most," Obito reminded.
However, he didn't believe that Zetsu had the strength to deal with Nagasawa. On top of that, Nagasawa knew far more than Zetsu could imagine.
If it weren't for Zetsu's cautious nature, Nagasawa would have caught him long ago.
"Have you absorbed the Uzumaki Shinobi then?" Nagasawa thought for a moment and asked since Obito only mentioned the Hyuga Shinobi.
Obito shook his head, saying, "I captured her. Originally, I planned to absorb her too, so I just kept her locked in Kirigakure."
Obito felt fortunate for his decision. Though it was mostly coincidental, it had avoided taking the life of an innocent person. Thinking of Honoka's pleading, Obito couldn't help but feel guilty.
That girl seemed to like money. Maybe he should give her a compensation of twenty million ryo for mental distress.
"Lead the way; I'll go meet that person. It's a harsh life for an Uzumaki nowadays," Nagasawa said, patting Obito's shoulder with a bit of force.
Obito adjusted his slightly distorted face. Nagasawa's strength was overwhelming, and the pat on the shoulder was quite powerful. Together, they headed towards the underground basement where Honoka was kept.
With their skills, they easily avoided detection. If Obito still had his Mangekyō Sharingan, it would have been even more convenient, as he could have used Kamui to enter directly.
To prevent Honoka from escaping, he had set up seal on the basement door. To open it, one had to break the seal first.
He couldn't afford to redo the Tag every time he came, that would be too troublesome.
For precaution, Obito had placed Honoka's underground chamber in a secluded small forest near a large mountain.
Obito made hand seals to move the stones covering the entrance. A grey stairwell was revealed.
In truth, Obito had never taken this path before. Usually, he just used Kamui to enter directly.
To avoid Honoka escaping, he had set up a seal on the door. To open it, the seal had to be destroyed.
This basement wasn't deep, and soon they arrived at the door. The black iron door had mysterious patterns painted on it.
Obito made hand seals, causing the patterns on the black door to glow before disappearing.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As soon as the seals vanished, a loud explosion echoed in their ears.
Nagasawa looked at Obito with some confusion. He wouldn't have guessed that inside was an Uzumaki Shinobi and thought there was some fierce beast locked up.
Obito's expression turned somewhat awkward. "She's pretty resilient. Whenever she gets a chance, she tries to find a way to escape. Right now, she's probably using something to hit the door."
Without the protection of the seal, even an iron door couldn't withstand the assault of a Shinobi.
Soon after, a loud crash sounded, and the iron door was forcibly knocked open, revealing a red-haired woman.
"Yay! I actually broke it!" Honoka, who had been pounding on the door, was ecstatic to finally break through the iron door.
'I've been working day and night, and I finally succeeded in breaking this iron door!' Honoka was so excited.
Although the masked man hadn't done anything strange to her and provided her with good food and drink, Honoka understood the dark side of the Shinobi world from her parents' explanations from a young age. She was certain that the masked man had some ulterior motive, and the reason they hadn't made any move yet was simply because the timing wasn't right.
So, she had been trying her best to escape. Banging on the door had become her daily routine, especially since Obito rarely visited.
However, when Honoka saw a familiar figure among the two figures when the door opened, she froze.
No doubt, that person with half of his face destroyed was undoubtedly the masked villain. Even though he wasn't wearing a mask now, that figure, along with the familiar black cloak, convinced Honoka that this was the cruel masked man who had confined her underground.
"Ah, no wonder he wears a mask. His face got injured. But wait, now is not the time to think about this!" Honoka panicked.
She hid the iron chair she had grabbed behind her and forced a somewhat strained smile on her face. "What a coincidence! I didn't expect the door to be so weak today. I just touched it, and it opened by itself."
Unfortunately, the girl's physique belonged to the slender type, so the chair wasn't even hidden.
"Did you do something to her? Why is she so afraid of you?" Nagasawa asked Obito with a strange look as he glanced at the trembling Honoka.
"Nothing, I just brought her here. I never did anything to." Obito quickly responded.
His heart belonged to Rin forever, and he would never engage in such actions.
"You're free now. You can go wherever you want. As compensation, I'll give you twenty million ryo for mental distress," Obito told Honoka.
"Twenty million ryo?" Honoka's eyes widened. It wasn't a small amount. With that much money, there would be no need for her to work forever.
"I don't need the money. Just let me go," Honoka said weakly, suddenly thinking of something. Before, she thought Obito was interested in her Sealing Technique and proposed to work for him for free as long as she got food. However, her offer was ruthlessly rejected.
Although money was good and all, she wanted to live freely. She was just a 17-year old girl, after all
"You don't need to be afraid. This is not a trap. That guy has changed now. You can accept it with peace of mind," Nagasawa said, smiling at Honoka.
Hearing Nagasawa's words, Honoka looked at Obito expectantly.
Obito nodded.
'Hooray! I'm free! I don't have to work anymore!' Honoka cheered deep down. If it weren't for the fact that Obito was present, she might have jumped with joy.
"How about coming with me to Konoha? An Uzumaki must have it rough nowadays. We currently have two members of the Uzumaki Clan in Konoha, both leading good lives. One of them is even the current Hokage's wife," Nagasawa invited Honoka.