"By the way, stop calling me Shiki-sama. Just call me Shiki."
Shiki still was not used to being addressed with such a formal honorific.
"Okay!"
Shion nodded happily.
In her eyes, dropping the honorific meant the distance between them had grown smaller. Just thinking about that made her even happier.
Shiki did not think too deeply about it. Following the route marked on the map, he continued toward the land where Mōryō was sealed.
Along the way, he could clearly sense it.
That strange black-and-white chakra signature had been following behind them the entire time.
They really don't know when to give up.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu's concealment technique was indeed bizarre. Even the Nine-Tails could not detect anything unusual from them.
But Shiki was different.
After awakening Observation Haki at such a high level, he could clearly sense their presence.
Because of him, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu obviously did not dare to act openly. Even so, they still continued trailing behind them, clearly waiting for an opening to snatch Rin Nohara away.
A faint smile appeared on Shiki's face.
He deliberately slowed his pace slightly, keeping the situation stable.
As long as Rin remained within his range, the moment anything happened, he could step in and save her instantly.
Shiki's actions did not draw any suspicion from Kushina or the others.
But to the Black and White Zetsu following behind, the situation looked very different.
"You think this Shiki guy already knows our target is Rin Nohara?"
White Zetsu narrowed his eyes as he stared ahead.
Since even White Zetsu could see it, Black Zetsu naturally saw it too.
"Damn it… what the hell is going on?"
Black Zetsu understood the situation very clearly.
If he made a move now, Shiki would react instantly and stop him.
Obito had not yet been fully drawn into their plans, and Rin was the key to making that happen. Exposing Madara's name to the shinobi world too soon would only create unnecessary problems, so Black Zetsu had no intention of letting his own existence or involvement come to light at this stage.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Black Zetsu's face darkened more and more.
Rin Nohara was the most important piece in the next phase of the plan.
He could not simply give up on her.
But at the same time, he also knew very well that snatching Rin away from Shiki by force was basically impossible.
Compared to Black Zetsu's frustration, White Zetsu still looked as carefree as ever.
"By the way, Black Zetsu… did you notice something?"
"Hm?"
Normally, Black Zetsu would not even bother listening to White Zetsu.
But now, with no better options, he was willing to hear him out.
Unbelievable. Am I really desperate enough to hope White Zetsu comes up with something useful?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, White Zetsu's next words made Black Zetsu freeze.
"Even though Shiki is protecting Rin really carefully… he doesn't seem to care nearly as much about Kakashi."
"…!"
Black Zetsu's eyes widened.
After White Zetsu pointed it out, he immediately realized it too.
Rin had clearly been kept under tight protection this whole time.
But Kakashi Hatake was different.
He had practically been left exposed, constantly moving near the most dangerous edge of the battlefield.
"This…"
Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment, and White Zetsu continued speaking.
"If we can't grab Rin, then we grab Kakashi first. We can still afford one failure right now. If Kakashi's death isn't enough to make Obito awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, then we can still use Rin afterward."
White Zetsu spoke with complete confidence, as though he had just made a brilliant deduction.
Black Zetsu went quiet.
"…."
He had to admit, the logic actually made sense.
There was nothing obviously wrong with it.
If anyone else had suggested it, Black Zetsu would have accepted it immediately.
But because it came from White Zetsu, the whole thing somehow felt deeply unsettling.
He looked at him suspiciously.
"You're not really White Zetsu, are you?"
"Huh?"
White Zetsu blinked blankly, looking completely confused.
"There's no way someone with your brain could come up with something like that."
Black Zetsu's tone was firm.
White Zetsu scratched his head.
"So… are you praising me?"
Black Zetsu stared at him for a long moment, then let out a tired sigh and shook his head.
"Forget it. It's nothing."
That vacant expression on White Zetsu's face was as stupid as ever.
Still, Black Zetsu had to admit that White Zetsu's idea was not wrong.
Just like he said, they still had room for error.
Even if Kakashi's death turned out to be useless, they could still look for another chance to seize Rin later.
Right now, taking Rin from Shiki's side was impossible.
Compared to returning empty-handed, capturing Kakashi first was at least better than nothing.
With that thought, Black Zetsu continued following behind Shiki and the others, waiting for an opportunity.
Naturally, Shiki had no idea what kind of scheme Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were discussing behind the scenes.
After all, no matter how sharp his Observation Haki was, he could not keep it active at full strength every second without pause.
And just as Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were making their plans, Shiki and the others had already arrived at the place where Mōryō was sealed.
"So this is where Mōryō is sealed…"
After arriving, Shion, who had been standing beside Shiki, was gently set down on the ground.
"Thank you, Shi—"
She had almost called him "Shiki-sama" again, but then remembered what he had said earlier on the way here.
So she quickly changed it.
"Thank you, Shiki-san."
After noticing that Shiki had no intention of correcting her, Shion's smile immediately brightened.
"Hmph."
Kushina looked a little dissatisfied.
What a sly little girl.
Kushina was already certain that once Shion grew up, she would become even more naughty than she was now.
Still, this was hardly the time to dwell on something like that.
Her expression soon turned serious as she looked toward the sealed land ahead.
Because part of the seal had already been damaged, Mōryō's chakra had begun leaking out into the surroundings.
The place where Shiki and the others were standing was only the outer edge of the sealed land.
Even here, there was already a stone statue shaped like a human standing nearby.
"What a creepy chakra… It feels even more sinister than the Nine-Tails."
With the Uzumaki clan's natural sensing ability, Kushina could clearly feel Mōryō's chakra spreading through the air around them.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
The instant Kushina said that, the Nine-Tails sealed inside her erupted with an angry roar.
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