Obito's arrogance made Black Zetsu furrow his brow involuntarily.
However, what the kid said was true—Byakuya was indeed not Obito's match. The combination of Wood Release and Mangekyo Sharingan elevated Obito's strength significantly. Coupled with his mysterious and unpredictable Kamui, his power had reached the level of a Kage.
This was also one of the reasons why Uchiha Madara chose Obito as his successor.
For Uchiha shinobi, once they awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, it was natural to ascend to the level of Kage, even if Obito a few months ago was not as strong as an average Jounin.
However, for a task that required considerable time to execute, temporary strength was not the most critical factor.
Although Byakuya didn't possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, he could harness Nagato's power.
After spending two days traveling from Konoha, Obito and Black Zetsu arrived in the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain was constantly rainy, with a pervasive musty smell in the air. Obito glanced at Black Zetsu beside him—clearly, the environment here couldn't compare to the Fire Country.
Could the ninja village born here really realize the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan?
Obito was skeptical.
However, as the two ventured deeper into the heart of the Land of Rain, the road suddenly widened, and ahead, a group of ninjas was even building bridges and repairing roads.
The ninja's method of road repair was simple: they first used Earth Release to swiftly pave the ground, followed by Fire Release to quickly solidify it.
From the perspective of ninjutsu principles, it wasn't complicated, but seeing ninjas actively engaged in road construction impressed Obito.
In Konoha, only Genin would undertake such basic ninjutsu tasks. The ninjas here should have the strength equivalent to Chuunin or above.
Witnessing this scene, Obito's expectations for Amegakure grew.
Before long, Obito and Black Zetsu arrived at the center of Amegakure—Amegakure Tower. Using Kamui to pass through the barrier, they entered the interior of the village.
Although Amegakure still couldn't rival Konoha, it had surpassed most ninja villages in the world.
Obito turned to Black Zetsu and asked, "Black Zetsu, where is Byakuya?"
Instead of answering the question, Black Zetsu led Obito to the heart of Amegakure—the Amegakure Tower.
They waited patiently nearby. After some time, a teenager dressed in a Haori of Flames burst out of the Amegakure Tower, looking furious, and rushed towards the outskirts of the village.
Obito recognized the identity of the teenager—it was none other than Byakuya, whom he was looking for.
But why was Byakuya leaving Amegakure Tower in anger? Did the upper echelons of Amegakure not get along?
Seemingly understanding Obito's thoughts, Black Zetsu hurriedly explained, "Byakuya and Yahiko have disagreements on certain principles, so they often argue."
Thinking for a moment, Obito recalled Kakashi, who had different beliefs from his own.
Obito immediately shook his head. That worthless guy wasn't worth his concern at all. Instead of overthinking, it was better to go and show Byakuya who was in charge.
With that thought, a vortex appeared next to Obito, and he swiftly chased after Byakuya in the direction he had departed.
---
Walking along the main street of Amegakure, Byakuya smiled and greeted the villagers, recalling the discussions from the meeting just now.
His outward fury was all an act; inside, he was calm as a capybara in onsen.
During the recent Amegakure meeting, he and Yahiko were discussing the village's future development.
They had no disagreements about whether the Land of Rain should open its markets or remain isolationist. Both chose to open the markets.
The reasons were straightforward. While isolationism could protect the Land of Rain, it was limited in scope.
The country's territory was too small to develop chakra industries or have sufficient market demand to absorb production capacity. Opening the markets was necessary to convert technology into economic and military advantages.
Secondly, in terms of diplomacy, Yahiko advocated for peaceful interactions with the Five Great Nations and invited foreign ninja for mutual exchanges, which also posed no significant issue.
However, they had a significant dispute regarding military affairs. Yahiko believed that maintaining the current number of ninja in Amegakure was sufficient, whereas Byakuya proposed expanding the military.
Byakuya suggested expanding Amegakure's ninja forces to five thousand, while the Akatsuki organization covertly recruited elite members to conduct secret operations in various countries.
As a result, the two had a heated argument and exchanged accusations.
Leaving the core area of Amegakure and arriving at the Akatsuki base, Byakuya suddenly glanced backward and said coldly, "Come out. Stop following me."
Obito emerged from the vortex that had been trailing behind Byakuya, looking intrigued as he fixed his gaze on Byakuya.
He thought Byakuya hadn't noticed, but it turned out Byakuya's sensory abilities were even stronger than he had imagined, which surprised him slightly.
However, this didn't stop him from asserting his dominance over Byakuya.
Approaching Byakuya step by step, Obito, wearing a tiger-striped mask, seemed eerie like a ghost, moving without making a sound.
Once he was close enough to Byakuya, Obito extended his palm, and sharp wooden spikes cut through the air.
Byakuya leaned slightly to the side, easily evading the Wood Style: Wood Spike technique, and in one smooth motion, he hurled a kunai.
The kunai pierced through Obito's body and struck a tree behind him.
Observing this, Byakuya narrowed his eyes slightly.
With his tiger-striped mask and the Mangekyo Sharingan combined with Wood Style, he didn't need to think twice to deduce that the attacker was indeed Obito Uchiha. Only Obito liked to conceal his identity.
Since Obito enjoyed hiding his identity, Byakuya decided to indulge him in a little play.
In addition, he wanted to see how much progress Obito had made since acquiring the Mangekyo Sharingan half a year ago and whether he was qualified to join the Akatsuki organization.
With that thought in mind, Byakuya blurred and reappeared behind Obito in the next moment, swinging his short sword to strike.
Against intangibility, the attack undoubtedly failed. Byakuya's face showed a hint of surprise, then he turned serious and said, "Who are you exactly? What kind of strange ability is this?"
Hearing this, Obito felt satisfied.
Closing the distance quickly, Obito immediately dispelled his intangibility and reached out to grab Byakuya, intending to end this skirmish.
However, the moment Obito dispelled his intangibility, the Byakuya in front of him transformed into a paper clone, triggering a small-scale explosion.
In the flickering flames, Obito struggled to re-engage his intangibility, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
As the smoke cleared, Obito, looking worse for wear, was about to continue his attack when Byakuya lowered his short sword and frowned, gazing at the ground.
"Black Zetsu, your new recruit doesn't seem that impressive. Attacking me as the leader is one thing, but failing to see through a simple paper clone? It's a bit unreliable to consider him joining our plans."
Hearing this, Black Zetsu emerged from the ground and said, "Byakuya, not everyone is like you. 'Madara' has been doing quite well. His ability with the Kamui is very helpful for our future plans. He could be a valuable asset to you in the future."