Chapter 100 Make 0 disappear

Obito was silent. He carefully read all the symbols and professional terms on the note that he could understand, trying to find any trace of error. He was always good at discovering patterns, even manipulating them, but he didn't find any problems in the report.

"'Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how implausible, must be the truth.'" Obito muttered to himself, his mind racing with thoughts as he tried to find the answer from the clues.

What is going on? Is Madara hiding something from him? Or is Black Zetsu doing something behind Madara's back?

"Where did you learn this theory?" A Fei suddenly asked, bringing Obito back from his thoughts.

Rin always called Obito's way of thinking "daydreaming", and Obito didn't refute it. In fact, he did think so.

"This is what my master always said before, teaching us to break the fixed mindset." Obito explained, he looked up at Afei, biting his lip in thought. "How much do you know about the tree that supports the Outer Path Demon Statue?"

Ah Fei blinked.

"It came from a clone Madara created from the cells of the First Hokage."

"anything else?"

Ah Fei touched his chin and tried hard to recall.

"I just know it keeps the golem...calm."

"Calm? How do you mean calm?"

"I think their chakras are similar enough to resonate and keep the golem's chakra stable. Shiro might know more than me. I haven't been connected to the hive mind in a long time."

Obito tilted his head and put down the test report in his hand.

"Why do you think this is?"

"If you let me guess..." Afei paused, and Obito nodded encouragingly, motioning for him to continue.

"First of all, I am not very interested in hive consciousness. I am more independent than Bai and other Zetsu. I don't know why. Secondly, it may be because I have been with you for a long time."

Obito raised his head, his attention completely drawn to him.

"Why do I?"

"In my perception, you shine brighter than any other existence. Normally, for most Zetsu, the most dazzling existences are the Outer Path Demon Statue and the Black Zetsu. But for me, and Shiro, your brilliance far exceeds theirs. Haven't I said that before?"

Obito smiled awkwardly, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. It sounded like a compliment, and Obito wasn't used to being complimented like that.

"No, you never said that before."

Ah Fei shrugged.

"In short, being with you for a long time seems to have strengthened my sense of independence. I guess Bai doesn't have a similar experience because he, as the information center, often has to leave your side."

Obito swallowed.

"So, in theory, if you wanted to hide something from the hive mind, you could do it?"

Ah Fei sat up straight, looked into Obito's eyes, and said seriously:

"I can certainly keep it a secret if I'm careful."

"Then can you tell me about the Outer Golem? Not its purpose, but its nature? I know they don't let you reveal anything about the Golem."

"It's more like an order, forbidding us to talk about it." Ah Fei whispered, with a barely perceptible hint of fear in his tone.

He lowered his voice, as if he was afraid that the walls would eavesdrop, even though Madara and Black Zetsu were not at the base at the moment. "I'm not really sure, actually. I only have a vague impression."

"What kind of impression is it?" Obito also lowered his voice, as if he was sharing some secret with Afei.

"A woman? Maybe a girl, too. White hair, eyes... and that tree."

"Tree? What tree?"

"A huge tree, as old as the earth, with thick, dense bark that shone with a black glow, leaves that shone like gems, and fruit, I think it was fruit. That's all I can remember, all from before Kaguya created Shiro and me, from the ancient darkness."

Obito chewed on what Afei said. "You mean, the Wood Release Chakra and the Outer Path Statue's Chakra may come from the same place?"

A Fei shook his head. "Maybe, but if that's the case, why didn't Kaguya tell Madara?"

"That cunning guy has been hiding secrets from Madara from the very beginning." Obito said disapprovingly.

Ah Fei repeated "sly fellow" in a low voice, and then said, "How do you know?"

Obito scratched his scarred cheek sheepishly.

"Because I'm also a good liar. Once you learn how to deceive others, it's easy to tell if others are lying too."

"That... does explain some things." Ah Fei whispered. "You're very good at playing dumb. Sometimes it's really confusing."

"I just like to keep my cards hidden," Obito said vaguely.

"So... for example, you've never revealed your cards?"

"Only once," Obito admitted. "A long time ago, with a conceited, yet incredibly perceptive jerk. Instead of showing my cards, I just threw them out there."

He said to Ah Fei with a wry smile, then changed the subject and tapped the test report in his hand to draw Ah Fei's attention back. "In short, the data in this report is too exaggerated, and I don't want that black guy to know. Can you help me change the results?" He handed the report to Ah Fei.

Jue snorted and took the report.

"I can make one of the 'zeros' disappear." He thought for a moment and said, "There's a small problem with the machine's recording module, which is easy to fix. However, I need you to do another test."

Obito snorted and said with a smile.

"You've been a real help!"

"Obito." Obito was about to slide into the resonance basin, but when he heard Afei calling him, he stopped and looked up at the other person.

Ah Fei rarely called him by his name, and his tone was serious, which was totally inconsistent with his usually cheerful personality.

"what happened?"

Ah Fei was silent for a while, and Obito waited patiently. He knew that Ah Fei was organizing his words. Finally, Ah Fei spoke:

"You know I'm always on your side, right?"

Obito was stunned for a moment.

"Of course I know."

"I don't think you really understand what I mean." Fei retorted. "I am on your side first, and so is Shiro. Although Kaguya still has a certain control over us, it is not something we cannot get rid of. If you want to leave here and give up everything here, we will follow you."

Obito's eyes suddenly moistened, and he turned his head away so that A Fei wouldn't see his tears. They never lied, they didn't have to do that, it wasn't their procedure, so every word A Fei said was true.

Obito calmed himself down, he wasn't very good at dealing with emotions like trust, acceptance or loyalty as he had almost no experience in this area.

"Thank you," he said finally, knowing that whether Ah Fei had been human or not, he would understand what he meant.