Originally, Shinji speculated that Kurenai Yuhi might have suddenly had a lapse in judgment, actively requesting Tsunade to assign her as a spy to monitor him.
And Tsunade, being a woman herself, after analyzing the pros and cons, might also have had a lapse in judgment, agreeing to this request from Kurenai, a woman with whom she had shared past experiences.
However, during the reminiscing that night, Shinji discovered that wasn't quite the case. This woman's thinking was even more stubborn than he had imagined!
Kurenai had indeed thought it through carefully and then made a request to Tsunade to serve as a monitor beside someone as dangerous as Shinji. However, Tsunade, after serious consideration, refused her, citing the extreme danger.
And then, Kurenai just took advantage of a mission to the Land of Hot Water to come over on her own accord.
???
Shinji was baffled. Kurenai's thought process was definitely beyond a man's understanding.
He could understand Tsunade's refusal. After all, to send a woman to someone like himself, who had displayed such dangerous behavior, was essentially the same as giving her away for free—refusing made sense.
But what about Kurenai, who was willingly practicing naval drills on this boat?
"Wait... an equivalent exchange—from now on, you are not to harm any Konoha shinobi..."
Hearing Kurenai's stammering, Shinji finally understood. This woman carried a sense of righteousness! She was sacrificing herself after realizing how dangerous he was to the ninja world!
Selfless, putting the village above all else!
Shinji was deeply moved, so much so that he clenched his fist, and his eyes moistened. He couldn't find words to express his admiration, so he could only honor her noble will through his actions.
"Wh-why... why did you stop?"
"No, I thought you just came to reminisce. But now it seems that's not the case, so..."
Shinji didn't finish his sentence, but instead scratched his head and smiled naively.
At the same time, Kurenai realized something, and she turned back, staring at Shinji in disbelief.
Did this bastard really think she was here to give herself away for free? What does he mean by reminiscing? Isn't reminiscing supposed to be two old friends chatting over tea or something? How could this situation be called reminiscing?
"Forget it. If it's not reminiscing in a... 'physical' sense, then there's no need for this. Besides... I hate forced exchanges."
Seeing Shinji's direct and sincere eyes, Kurenai bit her lip hard, using all her strength to suppress the impulse to slap him, as well as the urge to cry from the frustration.
He's just too infuriating! Why is this man so hateful? And what is the point of what she's doing now?
Aside from releasing some unspoken pressure, what was the meaning of all this?
Before getting up, Shinji seemed to think of something suddenly, lowered his head close to Kurenai's ear, and smirked as he whispered a reminder: "You've never really understood what kind of person I am. At any time, the only person who can propose a deal is me..."
Hearing this, Kurenai suddenly regretted it, and Tsunade's words or rather, her warning when she refused Kurenai's request to monitor Shinji, echoed in her mind.
"Don't underestimate that man, and don't judge him with common sense. Just as animals have a way of thinking different from humans, he has his own way of thinking.
What we see as evil is the force behind everything he does. I've thought about monitoring him, but it wouldn't work.
Even if you stay by his side, you won't change his mind, nor stop his actions. Don't let Konoha lose an excellent genjutsu user because of this!"
I... I should have listened to Lady Tsunade.
"I wish you a pleasant stay. Now, please leave my room."
Clap! Kurenai grabbed Shinji's wrist.
"Don't..."
"Don't what?"
"Don't... don't..."
Kurenai bit her lip, the shame making it impossible for her to say those embarrassing words, and eventually, she used the exact words Shinji had just said.
"Don't... stop reminiscing..."
...
While Shinji and Kurenai continued their 'reminiscing,' Tobi, who hadn't shown up for several days and was absent even when new recruits joined the Akatsuki, finally appeared in the Land of Water!
By the way, Tobi hadn't been hiding during the past few days but was recuperating, adjusting to an eye transplant.
Terumi Mei, a woman who eventually became the Mizukage in the original series, was no weakling.
Though their battle wasn't as dramatic as Konan's six billion paper bombs in the original story, she still figured out that Tobi had to become tangible when sucking people into his dimension, which gave her a chance to deliver a brutal attack!
Lava Release, Boil Release, and fifteen hundred explosive tags—achieving almost the same effect as Konan's six billion paper bombs!
One eye (Izanagi) and a half-crippled body!
No matter what, in terms of efficiency, this was a clear win for Terumi Mei! Back to the topic, during his recovery, Tobi wasn't just idling. He carefully studied Shinji's file submitted by White Zetsu and Black Zetsu and reconsidered his plans to solve the overcrowding problem in Kirigakure.
For the former, Tobi, after trying to identify Angolamanue's (Shinji's) weakness, eventually gave up—it was even more hopeless than he had imagined! For the latter, after serious consideration, Tobi devised a quick and efficient plan to solve Kirigakure's population problem.
After all, as he was secretly also the Fourth Mizukage, he rushed to the Land of Water as soon as he was healed, but who would have thought...
He would run into Kakashi!
Seeing Kakashi, filthy, with an urgent tone, repeatedly calling his name, Tobi wanted to curse. Didn't Kakashi leave after finding nothing in the Land of Water last time? Did he just fake his departure? Had Kakashi been hiding in the Land of Water all this time, lying in ambush? And what about Zetsu? What were they even doing? Couldn't they find this out? Did they want to get fired?
"Obito! I know it's you! Otherwise, you wouldn't have held back last time! Come back to Konoha with me! No matter what you've done, I will stay by your side to atone with you!"
Seeing Kakashi, still trying to persuade him, convinced that he was Obito, Tobi quickly came up with an idea and coldly replied: "Hmph! I don't understand what you're talking about, but since we've run into each other, you can die here, Konoha shinobi!"
With that, Tobi clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Hell's Chaos!"
Instantly, several thorn-covered trees sprouted from the ground around Kakashi, growing rapidly upwards in spirals!
Surrounded and faced with the imminent threat, Kakashi wasn't overly panicked. He activated his Raikiri, slicing an opening, and charged out.
Wood Release?
Kakashi was puzzled. How could this person use Wood Release? He had been teammates with Obito for so long, and Obito never used such techniques! Kakashi's mind raced. He knew about Wood Release—it was a unique kekkei genkai of the First Hokage that couldn't be inherited!
It could suppress the Nine-Tails!
Currently, in the village, only Tenzo in the ANBU knew Wood Release, and according to Tsunade, he was an experimental subject who survived after receiving First Hokage's cells.
"Did you use that Wood Release to control the Nine-Tails during that night's attack on Konoha, Obito?"
What the hell?! Tobi wanted to yell. He had revealed the Wood Release specifically to deny that he was Obito, but why was Kakashi so convinced it was him? "Wood Release is a kekkei genkai unique to the First Hokage that wasn't even inherited by his descendants. Since you can use it, that means you... also received cells from the First Hokage, right?"
Hearing this, Tobi had to admit, Kakashi was still as sharp as ever.
"So, are you working for Danzo too?"
Tobi was confused. What was Kakashi talking about? How did he end up linking him to Danzo? Why did Kakashi think he was related to Danzo? It couldn't be farther from the truth!
What Tobi didn't know was that Kakashi had investigated Tenzo, the ANBU who suddenly appeared with Wood Release, and during the investigation, Tsunade herself had told Kakashi the origins of Tenzo's Wood Release.
Cells from Hashirama, human experimentation, Orochimaru, and Danzo! "Hmph, nonsense!"
"Don't pretend to be ignorant! Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, told me everything about Danzo's actions!"
Kakashi shouted, then calmly analyzed, "He once secretly cooperated with Orochimaru on human experimentation, and after Lord Fourth's sacrifice, sent people to assassinate Lady Tsunade to prevent her from returning to become Hokage.
"From the looks of it now, what happened to Lord Fourth must have been his orders, carried out by you—a man who was supposed to be dead. He could both eliminate Lord Fourth and replace the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
"So you survived the battle and were saved by Danzo's Root, then received First Hokage's cells like Tenzo, and became a Wood Release user. "Isn't that right, Obito? I don't know what lies Danzo used to manipulate you, but he's just using you for his ambition to become Hokage!
"Come back with me to Konoha! It's not too late! I will stand by you when we face Lady Tsunade! It's not too late to realize the truth!"
What the heck?! Tobi was completely stunned. Kakashi's logic actually made sense! He couldn't find a flaw, and it could even be extended further!
For instance, why would he target the younger generation in Konoha for no reason? It was all to weaken the Hokage faction and help Danzo rise to power! Damn, this logic... there really wasn't anything wrong with it!