Chapter 288: Come at Me Together
Naruto's words exploded in Obito's mind like a clap of thunder.
An unprecedented sense of losing control instantly submerged him.
The identity he had meticulously constructed for over a decade, the name 'Uchiha Madara' he bore, and even the Eye of the Moon Plan he viewed as salvation...
All his core secrets were being casually spoken by the opponent as if they were common knowledge.
Without a word, Obito didn't even try to argue or question further; only one thought remained in his mind:
Run!
He had to leave this place immediately!
His intelligence was completely leaked. The opponent's level of understanding regarding him had reached an inconceivable degree. Continuing to linger would not only fail to test the opponent but might instead trap him in unknown danger!
He needed time to digest this shocking turn of events; he needed to re-evaluate everything!
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
He roared frantically in his heart, his face beneath the mask twisting with extreme shock, anger, and a trace of unspeakable panic.
How could the opponent know all of his information?
When did Hidden Leaf Village's intelligence capabilities become so terrifying? Or... was there a mole? Zetsu? No, impossible... then who exactly was it?!
Obito almost instinctively prepared to activate Kamui to suck himself into the alternate dimension and escape.
However, just an instant before his Chakra surged and Kamui was about to activate, Naruto's voice drifted down from above again, carrying a hint of playfulness and total control:
"It seems... I really guessed right."
Naruto let out a light chuckle, but that laughter sounded exceptionally harsh in Obito's ears.
"You are Uchiha Obito. And..."
Naruto paused intentionally, as if enjoying Obito's momentary stiffness, before dropping another bombshell:
"You've also read the contents on the stone tablet in the Uchiha Shrine."
"!"
Obito's movement to activate Kamui abruptly stalled.
The opponent even knew about that?
The stone tablet of the Uchiha Shrine recorded the secrets of the Six Paths Sage and the truth of the Infinite Tsukuyomi; only a Sharingan at the Mangekyo level or higher could decipher parts of it.
No, the normal reaction for someone who knew his information would be to attack him to avenge their parents.
Obito snapped his head up, his right eye "staring" intently at Naruto in the air, trying to discern something from the other's expression.
"Are you... bluffing me?"
He began to suspect that Naruto's precise intelligence from before was also based on some kind of reasoning and guesswork, which was then confirmed through his own reactions.
The smile on Naruto's face deepened slightly, carrying a composure that suggested 'you finally figured it out.'
"What else?"
Naruto asked back, his tone relaxed.
"How could an Uchiha with only a right eye just appear out of thin air in the Ninja World?"
He extended a finger, pointing at the only exposed part of the right eye on Obito's mask:
"The only person I can think of who fits the criteria is you, Uchiha Obito.
Because your left eye was transplanted by you to Kakashi Hatake back then, and it's still with him to this day.
Therefore, you naturally only have the right eye left."
Even before the clan massacre, one-eyed Uchihas were very rare.
Hidden Leaf Village had records that Uchihas who lost their eyes died without exception. Before they died, they would either destroy their own Sharingan on the battlefield or ask a comrade to help destroy an eye that had been taken by the enemy.
Given the Uchiha's immense strength and 'mad dog' fighting style, the only eye that had ever strayed outside was Kakashi's current left eye.
Next, Naruto continued his reasoning, connecting the clues:
"I guess the trigger for your Mangekyo Sharingan awakening... must have been witnessing Rin Nohara's death firsthand after the Kannabi Bridge mission?
Extreme grief and loss are indeed the most common ways to awaken the Mangekyo."
Obito remained silent, his lips beneath the mask turning pale from being pursed so tightly.
This was a logical deduction, even if it touched his sore spot.
Then, Naruto threw out the final piece of the logical loop:
"And once you awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and possessed sufficient Dōjutsu power...
You were able to clearly see the deeper, originally blurred contents on that stone tablet passed down through generations in the Uchiha Shrine.
I imagine the 'Eye of the Moon Plan' you later came to believe in so firmly had its initial source and theoretical basis largely from the records on that stone tablet, or...
The person who saved you back at Kannabi Bridge was Uchiha Madara, right?"
The Uchiha War Fan was the symbol of the Clan Chief, and the last person to hold it was indeed Uchiha Madara.
However, Obito believed Naruto was bluffing him again, so he did not answer Naruto's question.
"It seems..."
Obito's voice came through the mask, low and cold, carrying a decisiveness that cut through all hesitation.
He had to try and kill them!
"Today, I cannot let you live."
The moment the words fell, he raised his left hand, grabbed the edge of the Tiger-patterned mask on his face, and then removed it.
The mask was taken off and casually tossed into the dark forest below.
The moonlight clearly illuminated this face, which had been hidden in the shadows for many years, for the first time.
The right half of his face was intact, the skin a healthy color, and that right eye was currently flashing with a cold and resolute light.
However, the left half of his face presented a startling sight!
Large patches of skin showed abnormal folds, like scar tissue healed after severe burns, yet with a certain unnatural, ring-like texture resembling tree rings or whirlpools.
These textures extended all the way around the left eye. Where the left eye should have been, there was now only a sunken cavity wrapped in ring-shaped scars, appearing eerie and hideous.
This was the mark left after half his body was crushed by rocks during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and subsequently repaired and reconstructed by Uchiha Madara using First Hokage cells and White Zetsu body tissue. it was a permanent brand where his power and pain intertwined.
Having completely revealed his true face, Obito was visibly much more relaxed.
He used his left hand to pull back the hood of the black robe he had been wearing, revealing a head of slightly messy black hair.
His right hand gripped the long handle of the Uchiha War Fan even more tightly.
His gaze swept over Naruto and Uchiha Hikari, lingering for a moment on Hikari in particular.
Naruto's words just now reminded him—the reason the opponent could "know" about the Eye of the Moon Plan was likely because this Uchiha woman beside him had awakened the Mangekyo, seen the contents of the stone tablet, and told Naruto.
"Since you know about the Eye of the Moon Plan."
Obito's voice regained its calm, yet it was more dangerous than before.
"Then that means the Uchiha beside you has at least awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."
His gaze locked onto Hikari, a scrutinizing look flashing in his right eye.
Although Mangekyo abilities were varied and strange, they weren't without duplicates.
It seemed one of the opponent's Dōjutsu was Amaterasu; so what would the other one be?
"However..." Obito shook his head slightly, suppressing those useless emotions, "it doesn't matter anymore."
Today, here, anyone who knows the secret, no matter who they are, must disappear!
He spoke no more, pushing his entire body's Chakra to the limit as the Dōjutsu power of Kamui spun rapidly in his right eye.
At the same time, he gripped the War Fan tightly, assuming a combat stance for going all out.
Finally, he raised his head, his gaze piercing toward Naruto and Hikari in the air like a sharp sword, issuing a cold declaration filled with Battle Intent:
"The two of you, come at me together!"