Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

How could someone suddenly disappear?

What on earth is going on here?

Immediately,

He noticed that Chihaya was unharmed, not because Chihaya had recovered her chakra, but because a pale-colored, monstrous creature with a single horn on its head, wings on its back, four legs, and two tails caught Chihaya as she fell through the air.

There was another figure on the back of the strange, unrecognizable monster.

It was a man wearing a pure white mask with a large 'beast' character on his forehead.

Shisui deactivated Susanoo and used the Flying Thunder God Technique, instantly appearing on the back of the monster. Uchiha Chihaya's ninja tool pouch still contained his 'coordinates'.

"Zong Xian?"

He asked tentatively.

After all, although their chakra auras look exactly the same, their physiques are quite different.

"This is an alter ego of mine."

Zongxian's animal-path clone immediately gave an explanation.

"I know you have many questions, Shisui, but now is not the time to discuss them. The battle is not over yet; in fact, the real battle is just beginning. I will explain everything clearly after it's over." After hastily finishing these words, the Animal Path clone slumped down.

The consciousness that was originally controlling this body broke away.

Shisui, who was left behind in a state of confusion, was scratching his head in frustration, Chihaya Uchiha was still trying to calm the disordered chakra in his body, and Amegakure was suddenly quiet except for the noisy sound of rain.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The story takes us back to the time when Obito Uchiha was talking to the paper butterfly.

As Obito Uchiha was pondering whether his arrival was unnecessary, the paper butterfly fluttering in the air suddenly became chaotic for a moment. The next second, the wall from which the paper butterfly had flown split open again, but unlike the small crack before, this time the crack was quite large.

Payne, large enough to disappear from the ground, emerged from it.

"Obito Uchiha, you idiot, what are you doing here?"

Payne's face remained as cold as ever, but anyone with eyes could see the rage emanating from him.

"Payne, do you know what you're saying?"

Beneath the orange-red swirling mask,

Obito Uchiha frowned, a surge of anger rising within him.

Even though he wasn't the real Uchiha Madara, he had still helped Nagato a lot. Couldn't he at least be addressed by his normal name, let alone given a respectful title? How dare Nagato call him an idiot? Had Nagato lost his mind?

but,

Put yourself in someone else's shoes.

Obito Uchiha himself didn't like having his movements constantly monitored. His abrupt arrival at Nagato's top-secret hideout was certainly not something to be liked. So, suppressing his anger, he said, "I know you don't like having your whereabouts known, but some things can't be said..."

"What? You still don't know?"

Pain stared at Obito Uchiha in astonishment.

That damned mask obscured Obito Uchiha's face and expression, but a lot of information could be gleaned from his tone of voice. It seemed that Obito Uchiha genuinely didn't know.

"Don't know what?"

A hint of confusion appeared in Obito Uchiha's single eye.

Wasn't he angry because someone had discovered his hiding place? Then why was he being so rude? And wasn't Pain fighting Uchiha Mugen? Why was he here? A bunch of questions were crammed into his mind, making him feel like his brain was about to explode.

"The Uchiha Mugen who fought me was also just a clone, a clone just like me."

Seeing that Obito Uchiha, that idiot, seemed to really know nothing, Pain didn't keep him in suspense and just told him directly.

There was no need to cover it up at this point, or rather, there was no need to cover it up from the beginning. It's just that at the time he didn't feel he needed to contact Uchiha Obito and Zetsu to explain anything. Even now he still thinks so. If it weren't for Uchiha Obito appearing here and revealing his hiding place...

He wouldn't specifically inform Obito and Zetsu about these things.

"A clone?"

This truth,

For Obito Uchiha, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

It was a clone?

"How could it be a clone? He clearly used the power of the Deva Path and the Animal Path!" Obito Uchiha instinctively wanted to deny the truth of this information.

"The Human Path has failed to extract Uchiha Munen's soul."

Pain stared coldly at Obito Uchiha.

"Human Path... failed to extract the soul?" Obito Uchiha stared wide-eyed in astonishment. Although he had never personally controlled the Rinnegan, he was familiar with its many abilities thanks to the knowledge imparted by Madara Uchiha. That's why he mistakenly believed that Sogen's Deva Path clone was the real Sogen after seeing it use the Deva Path's abilities and then summon the Three-Tails.

Because he knew that the six clones of the Rinnegan could only use their own abilities.

"It's not because they both have the Rinnegan that they can't extract souls. Although I don't know if I can extract the soul of another Rinnegan user, the reason why the Human Path failed to extract souls before was not because of Uchiha Sogen's Rinnegan, but because the body above didn't have a soul at all, only consciousness and thoughts."

Just like Payne himself.

Nagato's consciousness and thoughts resided in the Deva Path clone created from Yahiko's corpse, and the god named 'Pain' who ruled Amegakure appeared. However, this body had no soul; only Pain's consciousness and thoughts drove the actions of this long-dead body.

"damn it!"

Obito Uchiha cursed.

He himself did not witness the Human Path's failure. He learned from Black Zetsu's account that the Human Path's attempt to ambush Uchiha Mugen failed, and that Uchiha Mugen crushed his body, but this also successfully exposed the existence of the Rinnegan.

He was so engrossed in the matter of the Rinnegan that he didn't inquire further about the reasons for the Human Path's failure.

As for Black Zetsu...

He knew that the Human Path had failed to extract Uchiha Sogen's soul, but he directly attributed the failure to the fact that Uchiha Sogen had also awakened the Rinnegan. He failed to consider the possibility that this Uchiha Sogen was just a clone. Later, when the Three-Tails was summoned, he became even more certain that it was Sogen's true form.

Even if Obito Uchiha were present...

To be honest, it's also possible that they wouldn't have made the connection to Sogen's clone. After all, whether the power of the Human Path can be applied to another Rinnegan user is a question that even Madara Uchiha didn't understand. He didn't know why the Human Path failed, so naturally he couldn't realize that it was just a clone of Sogen like Nagato did right away.

then,

That's how the current situation came about.

Obito Uchiha finally understood why Nagato was so angry that he spoke so rudely.

because,

Since the Uchiha Mugen on the ground is just a clone?

Then,

Where is Uchiha Sogen's true form?

Is it possible that Uchiha Mugen's true form is hidden behind him?

His arrival might have helped Uchiha Sogen find Nagato's true identity.

No, it wasn't just Uchiha Sogen; who knows what was lurking in that boundless darkness behind him? Of course, he might be worrying unnecessarily, since he had been concealing his presence with White Zetsu the whole way, so logically no one should be able to track him down.

only--

No matter how small the possibility,

We must not let our guard down as long as there is even the slightest possibility.

This is why Nagato hastily stopped eliminating Uchiha Chihaya on the ground and summoned Pain and his Animal Path and Naraka Path clones back to his side. After all, his main body was not mobile enough, and frankly speaking, he might not be stronger than Pain and the other six Paths clones in battle!

[Chapter 390: The Meeting Between Sogen and Nagato]

The boundless darkness seemed to conceal countless ghosts, yet it also appeared to be empty and devoid of anything.

"It shouldn't be that coincidental."

Obito Uchiha forced himself to speak.

“I didn’t notice anyone following me on my way here, and I don’t think anyone could detect my whereabouts. You should know that, Payne.” The White Zetsu on his body was still maintaining the Ephemeral Technique to conceal his presence.

If you close your eyes and cover your ears, you really can't sense Obito Uchiha's presence at all.

I hope it is as you say.

In response to Obito Uchiha's explanation,

Payne did not hurl any more insults.

His previous impulsiveness was partly due to Obito Uchiha's arrival, and partly due to the anger caused by failing to kill Chihaya Uchiha and instead losing his Preta Path and Asura Path clones. He vented all his anger on Obito Uchiha.

then,

I calmed down.

indeed,

As Obito Uchiha explained, although the true body of Sogen Uchiha and many of his clones are currently missing, tracking Obito Uchiha to this place is only the worst-case scenario and may not actually happen.

Now it seems...

It seems I was overthinking it?

The animal and hell realms also emerged from the cracked wall, their three pairs of eyes scrutinizing the boundless darkness around them. If it weren't for the concern that making too much noise might inadvertently point people in the right direction, he would have loved to use firepower to sweep the area clean and see if any monstrous demons or monsters were hiding nearby.

After all, it's really a bit... unrealistic to expect to glean anything from just looking at it like this.

wrong!

Enemy!

A silent, deadly attack came from the darkness.

The Hell Path and Animal Path were both affected, their bodies turning into cold, hard stone at a visible speed. Only Pain, the special Deva Path, managed to unleash the ultimate technique, 'Shinra Tensei,' to repel the eye power that was trying to turn him into stone as well.

beside,

Obito Uchiha was naturally within the attack range as well, but his luck was as good as ever. At this moment, he was wearing a 'White Zetsu', which was turned into a cold stone by the sudden power of the eye, and he himself instantly hid in the Kamui dimension.

Even the paper butterflies flying in the air turned into hard stones and fell to the ground, smashing to pieces.

"Uchiha Mugen!!!"

Payne's eyes widened in anger.