That sudden oppressive feeling,
Disappeared just as strangely, with absolutely no unusual activity...
"..."
After pondering for a moment,
He slowly calmed his mind,
Then decided to go ask Nagato and Konan.
After all, during this time, they should have been staying in Amegakure.
Logically, if there was any movement from Kyo's side, those two should know something about it.
Thinking this,
He raised his step and walked upward.
However,
When he reached the top,
And saw Konan and Pain, who were also frozen, he couldn't help but be stunned.
What's going on...?
It seems they don't know either...?
And just as he was puzzled,
Konan and Pain naturally also noticed the masked man appearing over here.
With a stir in their hearts, the two immediately turned and looked over.
Then,
Pain spoke in his usual indifferent tone:
"You're back, Madara?"
"..."
As his words fell,
They interrupted the masked man Obito's train of thought.
He also looked towards the two, but did not respond to Pain's words. Instead, he spoke in a deep voice:
"What was that oppressiveness just now...?"
"What is that guy Kyo doing again?"
"...?"
At these words,
Pain and Konan's gazes shifted simultaneously.
They didn't expect this Uchiha Madara to already know... that it was caused by Kyo?
Thinking this,
Konan suddenly shook her head, lowered her eyes and said:
"Not sure."
"However, just now Kyo reported the mission intelligence to us here and then directly left."
"About a minute after he left... this oppressiveness directly appeared."
"...Hmm?"
Hearing this, the masked man narrowed his gaze and said in a deep voice:
"This means..."
"He deliberately released this pressure after leaving...?"
Pain shook his head slightly and said indifferently:
"This possibility can't be ruled out."
"But, since this oppressiveness didn't cause any sudden changes and just disappeared..."
"It could also be just a coincidental event."
Pain said calmly.
In fact,
This was also the conclusion he and Konan had reached after unifying their opinions just now.
After all, apart from this oppressiveness being somewhat special,
Nothing else had happened inside or outside Amegakure.
However,
Hearing this deduction,
Beneath the mask, Obito's eye narrowed, and then he said in a deep voice:
"No,"
"Absolutely impossible."
"Based on my understanding of Kyo's personality."
"This guy..."
"Never casually reveals his power to the outside."
"Since it appeared, there must be some reason unknown to us...!"
Having said this, Obito fixed his gaze on Pain and Konan, and said solemnly:
"Pain,"
"He should still be in Amegakure now."
"Contact him to come over... and ask him about the reason."
"And, since he's back, Deidara should have been successfully recruited, right?"
"Call them all over."
The masked man instructed in a low voice.
"...Hmm?"
However, at these words,
Pain and Konan were simultaneously slightly stunned, momentarily speechless.
"?"
The masked man naturally noticed their strangeness and immediately spoke:
"Is something wrong?"
"..."
As his words fell,
After a moment of silence, Pain slightly raised his eyes and said:
"In fact..."
"Currently, only Kyo has returned."
"He just recently completed the recruitment of Deidara."
"But now, Zetsu and Deidara are still in the Land of Earth. Barring any accidents, they probably won't arrive in Amegakure until tomorrow."
"Hmm???"
At these words, the masked man was momentarily stunned.
Wait!
What...?!
Just recently completed the recruitment?!
Zetsu and Deidara are still in the Land of Earth, yet Kyo came back alone directly?!?!
How the hell... did he do that???!
If he didn't move using the Mayfly Technique like Zetsu, or a Space-Time Ninjutsu like Kamui...
How did that guy get back so fast?!
Realizing this,
Obito's Sharingan emitted a glimmer of apprehension, and he said in a deep voice:
"What's going on...?"
"How did that guy get back so fast?!"
As his words fell,
Konan immediately said calmly:
"Not sure."
"However, probably some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu."
"...???"
At these words,
In an instant, the masked man's expression changed drastically!
What?!
Space-Time Ninjutsu?!
This...!?
Among the strange techniques that guy masters... there's also the extremely rare Space-Time Ninjutsu???!
This completely unheard-of intelligence,
In an instant, completely refreshed the masked man's previous understanding of Kyo!
A few years ago,
He had used White Zetsu to monitor Kyo for a very long time!
But, he had never witnessed him using any similar techniques!!
Thinking this,
The masked man's expression darkened slightly, looking into the unknown distance, and said:
"Hmph... it seems,"
"This Dojutsu user Kyo of ours has really been hiding a lot from us for a long time..."
The masked man said in a low voice, his gaze grim.
The Akatsuki had always been just a tool for him to realize the "Eye of the Moon Plan".
For this, whether it was Nagato or Konan, Kisame or Itachi, they should all become tools to realize this plan.
And the masked man from the very beginning,
Had hoped to completely master everything about them.
But now...
He suddenly discovered that this guy Kyo was increasingly becoming an uncontrollable variable!
The mysterious True Eye of the King, the unpredictable strange blade, and countless hidden abilities...
All made this man,
A variable that could very likely obstruct the Eye of the Moon Plan!
This kind of existence...
Must be dealt with!
And the method of dealing with him,
In fact,
The masked man had already implemented it on other Akatsuki's members.
There were only three types --
First, was to completely master all his intelligence, thereby utilizing him to the maximum extent, just like treating Itachi.
Second, was to make him willingly become a tool by darkening him, just like treating Nagato.
And the third...
Was the real 'deal with'.
However,
Unless it was the final resort, Obito naturally wouldn't choose this method.
He wasn't stupid either,
Choosing to go to war with Kyo would only cause internal friction within Akatsuki, and might even further delay the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Therefore,
Naturally, the first and second options should be prioritized.
Thinking this far,
The masked man raised his eyes, indifferently looked at Pain ahead, and said in a low voice:
"Pain,"
"Call Kyo over,"
"Now, I can't help but become even more curious... about the reason he released that oppressiveness just now."
"..."
As his words fell, Pain slightly raised his eyes and said indifferently:
"Understood."
Saying this, he prepared to raise his hand and begin forming seals.
However,
The moment he raised his hand,
Suddenly,
A calm voice came directly from behind him.
"No need."
"Am I not here?"
"--!?"
As the words fell, in an instant, complete silence fell over the scene!
Almost instantly,
The masked man and Pain simultaneously changed expression dramatically, quickly looking in that direction!
They saw that, unbeknownst to them,
Kyo was already standing there...!
At this moment,
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a slight smile on his face, looking at them leisurely.
!!?
Seeing this scene,
The masked man's pupils suddenly contracted sharply!
Whoa!!
When the hell... did he get here?!
No... impossible...!!
This speed...
What's going on...?!?!
Completely... didn't see clearly...
It was as if... he had directly appeared there...!!
The masked man was instantly frozen.
And Pain and Konan beside him naturally also had their gazes freeze simultaneously!
They completely didn't expect...
Kyo, who had just left not long ago, had returned.
And this entrance method... was eerily terrifying!
Even more crucial was,
The timing of his arrival... was too coincidental, right?!
Right at this moment?!
At this moment,
No one could have imagined,
At this time when the masked man appeared as Madara, Kyo... would suddenly intrude!!
In an instant,
The entire tall tower fell silent!
However,
Just a moment later,
Kyo leisurely raised an eyebrow, looked at the masked man, and chuckled:
"Yo,"
"Haven't seen you for a while."
"Trainee Tobi, how did you manage to become like the leader of Akatsuki?"
"Actually giving orders to Pain?"
"How unexpected."
"Could it be..."
"That you, this trainee, are the real leader of Akatsuki?"
"--!!?"