Appreciation

Kabuto

"You declared a ninja war? I thought the plan was to go on with things quietly?" Zetsu said as I looked into the mirror, inspecting my freshly operated Rinnegan. I turned to Zetsu, the disbelief showcased on his face.

"Plans changed, plus...the 5 Kage were all planning to overturn ours by hiding away the Jinhuriki..which they already have.." I simply stated my reasons, hoping Zetsu would further understand. "I sent Kisame to get them...he's our most reliable member right now," I said as observed the Rinnegan, the new look feeling a little foreign to me.

"Correction Obito, he's the only member alive currently...the others are dead..."

"We can't recruit anyone now can we?" I said to Zetsu, who now is looking at me expressionlessly. Zetsu sighed but realized there's nothing he could do anyway, so he decided to just rely everything on me. I put down the mirror and walked towards the old Gedo statue that Madara had left me. I traced my fingers on the cracks of the statue, soon this will be the embodiment of the ten tails.

"You know, you really do seem different after Deidara's death," Zetsu said after a while, I stopped my traces and tilted my head back, letting out a sigh. "It's like I say every time.."

"You loved Deidara, didn't you?"

"It's none of your business.." I said to Zetsu as I stood up, walking towards the door. My emotions get jumbled up every time Deidara is mentioned, in a sense, there's nothing I hate more than to have his name said when I'm around. I've been trying hard to not have flashes of memories when it comes to Deidara, but it is simply impossible.

My hand traces back onto my neck, feeling the necklace's pendant as my hand reaches to grip it. How I wish I could just spend one more day with him, one more waking moment, just to try and make it everlasting.

"Obito..." Zetsu said, approaching as he suddenly came out of the wall, catching me by surprise. I lifted my chin up at him, gesturing him to continue on. "There's someone here to see you.."

"Someone knows where our hideout is?" I questioned Zetsu who just shrugged. I walked towards the exit, grabbing my mask and putting it on. "Get ready to dispose of a body.." I yelled back at Zetsu as I walked out, now ready to meet whoever it is that is there. Its bad news if this person knows where the location of our hideout is, this could ruin a whole lot more. Its most likely this person is not walking away from here alive.

As I walked out, I hopped onto the grass on the land. I walked towards the forest opening, i can slightly make out a figure sitting down on a rock. As I walked towards the figure, the figure looked up and smiled at me. He wore glasses, big round ones, behind those glasses showcased a face with white skin, snake eyes with purple inner corners, along with scales on the skin. Orochimaru? No, it can't be, Sasuke killed him already. Furthermore, he has white hair, not long and black like Orochimaru.

"Who are you?" I asked as I grabbed the gunbai, ready to reflect any attack that is brought on. The figure smirked and looked at me, then he calmly introduced himself. "I'm Kabuto..I was Lord Orochimaru's subordinate ". I was expecting subordinates of Orochimaru to come and get Sasuke as revenge for killing their master, that's why I kept him alive. But I never expected someone to come along looking like an exact replica of him.

I looked behind and noticed a woman, now this concerned me even more. It seems like he's not the only one who knows of this hideout. "Don't worry, this woman is harmless...shes passed out anyway.." Kabuto said as he noticed me examine her from a distance. "You resemble Orochimaru..." I said as my grip on my gunbai tightened. He nodded and gave me an evil smile. "I took some of Lord Orochimaru's blood in injected them into myself, now I'm much more of a snake than a human..."

"What do you want?" I asked as I pointed my gunbai at him, hoping he'll back off and realize I'm not trying to be acquaintances.

Suddenly a big snake came out from behind him, wrapping itself around the woman, slowly lifting her up. The snake tilted her head up, showing both sides of her mouth dripping with blood. I looked at her headband, seems like she's a hidden leaf ninja. "She seems to still be alive..." I said as I watched her mouth slightly move. "We can't kill her yet"

"No, finish her off now, she knows the location of the hideout and its entrance..in fact, even you know...I have to kill you both" I said as I looked at Kabuto, who now is smirking. "I have a proposition...in my trade, I want Sasuke Uchiha..." Kabuto said as he stood up calmly, raising his hands up defensively. "I don't want to hear it.." I said as I pointed my gunbai at him, ready to attack.

"Ever heard of the reanimation Jutsu?"

I froze, looking at Kabuto, who is now looking at me seriously. I lowered my gunbai down, as I continue to observe him. "The forbidden Jutsu?" I asked, feeling intrigued. Kabuto nodded and continued on...

"Created by Tobirama Senju, but was declared as a Forbidden Jutsu. Lord Orochimaru found the hidden scrolls decades ago and we've both been working to improve its use, however, I have nearly perfected it now..." Kabuto said as he looks down and pushed his glasses back onto his eyes, still smirking, slightly displaying that he is proud of the achievement.

I stood there, quiet. Reanimation. A forbidden Jutsu that he has almost perfected. This Jutsu is definitely against the laws of human nature but this might be helpful for the war.

"Would you like an army filled with outstanding shinobi? All the way from Lord Orochimaru's subordinates who had died for him to the deceased Kages..."

Even Kages? This could bring us great benefit and overturn the war. This could change the whole game. One of the most talented shinobis, so skilled that they earned the title Kage. "I can prepare you an army of dead shinobi who won't die, the war is automatically a win for you already..." Kabuto said as he looked at me, i stood there lost in my thoughts, deciding whether this is the right move. Can I even be able to trust him? I do not know myself.

"Intrigued?" Kabuto asked, smiling at me.

His sneaky smile looked up creepily upon me as if he knows what I'm thinking. No, this creep just looks confident. A trade for Sasuke, to be fair I won't need him after this, the trade could work.

"What if we worked together?"