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...
When the ripples of space-time reappeared, Uchiha Obito's battered figure emerged beneath the Konoha Memorial Monument.
Staggering, he followed the route in his memory and found a certain grave.
"Rin..."
Gazing at the young girl's photo attached to the tombstone-and beside Rin's tombstone, there was another engraved with his own name...
Obito felt a moment of daze.
He had deliberately left a mark at the Konoha Memorial Monument so that when his longing became unbearable, he could sneak back to take a look.
Even though he was seriously injured, even if he was being hunted by all of Konoha, for Obito, nothing was more important than secretly coming to see Rin one more time.
He had left ten Kamui coordinates around the Konoha forest area. As long as he teleported to any of these spots, once Kamui's cooldown ended, he could teleport to even more distant places.
No matter how Konoha's ninjas searched, they couldn't capture him.
The Konoha Memorial Monument was far from the Hokage Rock, far from where he planned to unleash the "Nine-Tails' Attack." He would release the Nine-Tails beneath the Hokage Rock, destroying Konoha under the gaze of the Fourth Hokage... But here, Rin would not be disturbed.
Obito's hand gently touched Rin Nohara's portrait:
"I no longer care about this world filled with despair."
"Rin, wait for me. Soon, I will create a world with only you-a world of absolute peace..."
"Black Elbow: Death Star!"
Just as Obito was immersed in his sorrow, a Black Flash like a meteor crossed the space-time distance and appeared before him.
Obito only saw a Black Flash flash before his eyes, and a heavy elbow strike smashed into his mask. His body flew backward, crashing into the trunk of an ancient tree in Konoha.
"Ugh-"
Cracks appeared on the hard mask, and through the gaps, one could glimpse the ravine-like wrinkles on half of Obito's face.
White blood slowly oozed from the corner of his mouth.
"Damn it! Gojo Kaigetsu, you..."
"Black Elbow!"
Obito was about to utter some harsh words, but Gojo Kaigetsu didn't play by any rules. Without a word, he launched another lethal elbow strike toward Obito's forehead.
'He didn't recognize me at all...'
'His earlier performance in the house was all an act. That kunai throwing was just a ruse. If I get hit by that taijutsu technique a few more times head-on, it could really kill me.'
The black flash, shining alongside the Yellow Flash, made Obito extremely wary.
He didn't have time to think further and quickly activated Kamui to make his body intangible, narrowly avoiding Gojo Kaigetsu's elbow strike.
After a brief exchange, Obito shook his dizzy head, pushed off with his feet, and put some safe distance between himself and Gojo Kaigetsu.
"Tsk~ Your eyes are really useful."
"Obitoo~"
Gojo Kaigetsu straightened up, marveling at the scary abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even at such close range, even after taking a Rasengan and being seriously injured, Obito could still activate intangibility to avoid his fatal strike.
And this was just with a single Kamui.
If he were to retrieve the eye from Kakashi... This guy is scary and must not be allowed to live.
"Obito-!"
Uchiha Obito's body stiffened abruptly. He subconsciously raised his hand to his mask, realizing that although it had cracks, it was still firmly on his face.
He had deliberately altered his voice; his height had increased dramatically compared to a year ago. His body was wrapped in bandages, his face covered by a mask, and the ninjutsu he used had nothing to do with Konoha...
At most, the Sharingan was recognized, but that could only confirm he was from the Uchiha clan. In Konoha's records, Uchiha Obito was a deceased 14-year-old.
Even so, Gojo Kaigetsu recognized him?
That's how Obito was.
When people couldn't see his true face, he believed he held no place in their hearts, so he could sever his past bonds without hesitation.
But being casually called by his real name like this, Obito began to panic. He had gone to great lengths to disguise himself just to hide his identity.
It was like a child arguing with someone online and suddenly being tracked down in real life.
Obito subconsciously retorted, "Heh... Obito? Who's that?"
"Stop pretending, Uchiha Obito. It's just you and me here; your little disguise isn't enough in front of me."
Whether or not he could take down Uchiha Obito today, planting a seed of fear in his heart would be good.
'Gojo Kaigetsu... He discovered my identity! How did he do it?!'
"How... did you know?" Obito dropped his voice disguise but didn't remove his mask. His words were filled with apprehension.
He realized he couldn't understand Gojo Kaigetsu anymore.
Before setting out, Black Zetsu had emphasized that Gojo Kaigetsu was hiding his strength. Initially, Obito didn't care, but now... it seemed he was hiding far too much.
"How did I know? Well, that's part of my personal intelligence network, Obito. It's a secret I can't share."
Gojo Kaigetsu shook his head:
"Uchiha Obito, now I give you two choices."
"Either, as Obito whose name is carved on the tombstone, you peacefully die here, becoming a wandering soul in the ninja world. Or, you can be killed as the Akatsuki's 'Uchiha Madara' or 'Tobi.'"
"The Choice Is Yours."
Gojo Kaigetsu directly revealed his trump card, shocking Obito immensely.
He couldn't accept the dangerous Uchiha Obito into the village at this stage. Who knows when he might be influenced by Black Zetsu again to take revenge on Konoha.
Even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance, Gojo Kaigetsu wouldn't accept it.
People with serious criminal records couldn't receive his forgiveness even after serving their sentences.
Once a severe threat to Konoha, always a severe threat to Konoha.
Unless they waited for Naruto to be born and fully master the Talk-no-Jutsu to thoroughly change him.
He didn't attempt to persuade Uchiha Obito, who had gone to extremes, to turn back. Except for someone like Naruto who mastered Talk-no-Jutsu, people cannot change another's will through words.
And Obito's reaction didn't exceed Gojo Kaigetsu's expectations.
Obito wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said disdainfully, "Kill me? With just you?"
Gojo Kaigetsu spread his hands; hearing this expected answer meant there was nothing to discuss.
He said unhurriedly, "Uchiha Obito, actually, you've known all along that the one who killed Rin Nohara wasn't Kakashi. You never hated him for piercing Rin's heart with his own hand."
Obito was stunned, not understanding why Gojo Kaigetsu suddenly brought this up. His voice was low and resentful: "You, what do you know!?"
"You never hated Kakashi for killing Rin; you always knew Kakashi couldn't kill her. You just hate him for standing by and not saving her..."
"You loathe the decaying system of the ninja world and the villages. You hate this rotten world that forced Kakashi to kill Rin~"
"The one at fault isn't Kakashi; it's this ninja world. So you followed Uchiha Madara's orders, wanting to personally destroy this decaying world and create a world where 'heroes won't stand at graves weeping in guilt'..."
Gojo Kaigetsu showed no mercy, directly dissecting Obito's complex and twisted psyche.
Like a sulking child, wanting to sever his past bonds to prove his maturity but unable to truly harden his heart to do it. So he targeted peripheral figures like him and the Minato couple, whose bonds were weaker.
Really, did he have to be so hypocritical? If he had the guts, he should have killed Kakashi first! Gojo Kaigetsu hated two kinds of people most in his life: those who are hypocritical and those who don't let him be hypocritical.
"Bastard, stop talking!" Obito clenched his fists, his voice trembling slightly.
Gojo Kaigetsu knew that Obito realized he knew everything. Not only the superficial disguise but even his psychological defenses were useless in front of him.
He even knew about his collaboration with Uchiha Madara... Why? How much did he know? How deep was his intelligence network?
Had his long-term plans been as transparent as child's play in Gojo Kaigetsu's eyes?!
An absurd feeling grew in Obito's heart.
He always wanted to kill his childish and weak past self. But now, even after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he was still as fragile as a child before this former mentor.
Not worth mentioning.
Gojo Kaigetsu shook his head again, "Your thinking is too extreme now; I don't feel like reasoning with you. You're not worthy of it."
"What I said above is just what you already know. There are some things you don't know. Do you want to hear them?"
Things he doesn't know?
"What?" Obito subconsciously asked.
Gojo Kaigetsu raised his thumb and pointed at his own heart: "How did Rin Nohara die back then? Uchiha Madara placed a seal on her heart and implanted the Three-Tails in her body."
"Because of the seal, Rin couldn't end her own life. She could only find Kakashi to kill her, to avoid being used to destroy Konoha..."
"Kid, did you know this?"
Did he know?
Obito was momentarily lost.
His instincts told him that this was likely true.
This kind of thing-Uchiha Madara could do it, Rin could do it, Kakashi could do it. Only this way could explain why Kakashi would kill Rin with his own hands...
But Obito didn't want to believe it was true.
If all this was true, then he had been a clown all along, acting out a ridiculous performance as a pawn in a predetermined script.
Revenge was fake, hatred was fake, ideals were fake. The plan to create a new world for Rin fundamentally lost its reason...
At this moment, Obito's ninja way... collapsed.
He roared frantically, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"You bastard, what do you know?! Don't think you can trick me with this!"
"Die, die!"
Obito ignored the strain on his Mangekyō and activated Kamui again. His heavily injured body once again burst forth with astonishing speed, rushing toward Gojo Kaigetsu.
He raised his palm, aiming straight for Gojo Kaigetsu's head.
Kamui: Full Release!
As long as he touched him, he would absorb Gojo Kaigetsu into the Kamui dimension to starve to death! Or directly dismember him!
Uchiha Obito thought madly.
If he couldn't solve the problem of his ninja way collapsing, then he would eliminate the person who caused it.
As long as Gojo Kaigetsu died, the turmoil in his heart would calm down!
Gojo Kaigetsu seemed to be scared stiff, standing there dazedly. But just as Obito was about to touch him-
"Genjutsu: Infinite Void!"
"Ninja Art: Purple!"
Gojo Kaigetsu flicked his finger; the two opposing space-time techniques, "Blue" and "Red," combined, forming an energy wave that tore through space-time and shot straight out.
Without deviation, aiming directly at Obito's heart.
Uchiha Obito had been guarding against any hidden ninjutsu that Gojo Kaigetsu might not have used yet.
Having learned from his previous mistake, he feared that Gojo Kaigetsu might throw a shuriken to summon Minato again. Therefore, even though he intended to kill, he was always prepared to activate Kamui's intangibility to avoid any potential deadly ninjutsu.
But...
He still underestimated Gojo Kaigetsu.
As everyone knows, "Infinite Void" is a mechanic-type genjutsu. Although its parameters don't reach the limit, with this mechanism, even an Ōtsutsuki alien would be momentarily stunned.
When chakra, infused with this mechanism, transformed into genjutsu and hit Obito's brain, everything changed.
In Obito's eyes, countless repetitive images were forced upon him-
Scenes of Rin being killed by Kakashi.
The Sharingan is an eye that embodies emotions. The Mangekyō Sharingan is the ultimate manifestation of those emotions.
After seeing those countless repeating death scenes, Obito's despair and anger erupted again. His ocular power surged uncontrollably, injecting new strength into his frail body.
But he was momentarily distracted.
Although it was only an instant, and he used intangibility in time upon regaining clarity to avoid most of "Purple's" damage, his left chest still showed a small, smooth circular hole.
His heart was pierced-!
Their figures crossed, standing back to back like a classic samurai duel.
Blood uncontrollably flowed from the corner of Obito's mouth.
An appalling hole appeared where his heart was.
Uchiha Obito was completely defeated!
There was no time to think about his ninja way being overturned. If he didn't go back to find White Zetsu for treatment... he would die!
The severe pain from his chest reminded Obito that his life was nearing its end. Although he could use his right eye as the price to activate Izanagi to avoid this death, but...
If he lost this eye, he'd be like a stray dog; anyone could come and kick him. He couldn't possibly go to Kakashi and ask for his left eye back, could he?
He'd be nothing.
"Cough cough cough-"
Obito coughed up mouthfuls of white blood, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the black flash rushing toward him.
Under the stimulation of "Infinite Void," his ocular power's limit and current amount were both enhanced, preventing him from facing a situation where he couldn't use Kamui due to depletion.
Obito didn't dare delay any longer. He immediately activated Kamui again, selecting the nearest coordinate to teleport to.
And what greeted him was-
"Enemy spotted!"
"Chidori!"
"Enemy spotted!"
"Susanoo... Hmm? He escaped?"
"Intruder, where are you running?!"
"Rasengan!"
...
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