Chapter 34 – The Mystery of Tobi
Shukuba Town is near; a pleasure district full of Inns, restaurants, bars, and brothels. Not only it's a perfect rest spot for travelers, but also in distance of Konoha, which is convenient for me at the moment. The sun was about to set, the sky turned orange. The dense trees blocked most of the sunlight, leaving narrow spaces to see the open sky. Two crows flew into view and disappeared above the trees. I was really tired, so I relieved my bag off my shoulders and sat down against a tree. I didn't summon Yonakamaru for the reason of exposing my whereabouts to the Akatsuki, in the worst scenario.
Birds' chirping and moderate wind breezes has made the surrounding forest livelier. But mixed among nature's sounds was another one that couldn't be identified; a subtle swarming sound that I had trouble to locate. The sound seemed to be nearer and less subtle by each second. A small area of tall grass from a few feet away budged. My eyes fixed to that spot; something slowly emerged from the ground. All I did was resting and the unexpected sight of this new entity made the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
A giant venus fly trap-like plant surfaced from the grassland. I could hear my heart beat pounding inside my chest. My intense focus on the up coming threat unconsciously slowed down my breathing. The plant widely opened, exposing menacing spikes. But the most harrowing thing about it was that a person was hidden inside, but only from the head to its lower chest. The rest of its body might be buried under the ground.
"Hellooooo~~!" The thing cried out
I gasped
"I found you~!" The face grinned behind those spikes
The humanoid inside the plant had white skin on one side and complete blackness on the other side. It had pale green hair and golden eyes.
"Let's contact Tobi." A rough and dark voice said, totally different from the earlier one
"I just sent out the signal~! He's coming anytime~!" The old voice was back
"That Tobi!" Oh no I'll be tracked down if I don't get away!
I got on my feet and grabbed my bag to run. Just when I turned my back to the plant monster, I came face to face with Tobi, who blocked my path. My body halted, sweat ran down my face. Again, how did this guy managed to appear out of nowhere? I couldn't even sense his presence!
"Tobi.. What business do you have with me..?" My voice showed no signs of nervousness or fear
"You are really something.. Running away right under Deidara's nose." Tobi's voice completely changed, it was mature and serious. The old Tobi in the hideout was no more.
The plant monster whined: "I had to follow you for 4 days until that troublesome white haired Ninja completely departed from you~! It's so tiring!"
"Stop whining about useless stuff." Warned the rougher voice
Why is that plant talking and answering to himself? As if it has two personalities. Dusk dimmed the forest, taking away the little light it had.
"It doesn't matter now.. You won't be able to escape again." In darkness, a gleaming eye shone behind the mask, a Sharingan.
"You have Sharingan?!" I was taken aback. Uchiha Itachi should be the only remaining Uchiha beside his younger brother.
"Just who are you?"
"I am... Uchiha Madara."