Over a hundred Rain shinobi stood outside the Uchiha shrine.
Under the gaze of dozens of scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan, even seasoned killers felt a chill crawl up their spines.
It was night.
Darkness concealed the Uchiha figures so thoroughly that if one didn't look carefully, all they would see were pairs of red eyes floating in the black—
Like ghosts watching trespassers.
A cold wind swept past the shrine eaves, howling softly.
The Rain ninja gripped their weapons tightly.
Yet no one dared take the first step.
Those eyes seemed capable of piercing straight through the soul.
Fugaku vs. the Masked Man
Seated cross-legged at the shrine entrance, Fugaku slowly opened his eyes.
They were not three-tomoe Sharingan.
They were Mangekyō.
A small table sat beside him, with a teapot and cups arranged neatly.
"Space-time ninjutsu…" Fugaku said calmly.
"No wonder you could infiltrate Konoha without a sound."
"So Wen Lan was right."
"There truly is a traitor among the Uchiha."
Ahead of the Rain formation, space twisted into a spiraling vortex.
A masked man emerged.
Orange mask. Black patterns. Shackles around his wrists. A long chain hanging between his hands.
Through the eyehole—
A three-tomoe Sharingan gleamed eerily.
"Traitor?" Obito sneered.
"To me, you Uchiha who live peacefully in Konoha are the real traitors."
"Who are you?" Fugaku asked coldly.
"Me?" The masked man laughed softly.
"My name… is Uchiha Madara."
Fugaku's pupils contracted.
His Mangekyō spun instantly.
Obito's eye flicked away at once.
He had once believed himself invincible.
Until Wen Lan.
His weakness was clear—
Genjutsu.
If Fugaku's Mangekyō specialized in illusion, direct eye contact could cost him everything.
"Madara?" Fugaku smirked.
"Our ancestor would never avert his gaze like a coward."
"You are not Uchiha Madara."
"Try me," Obito replied—and lunged forward.
That movement was the signal.
The previously hesitant Rain ninja suddenly lost the light in their eyes.
Like puppets.
They charged.
The Uchiha countered at once.
Steel flashed. Blood sprayed. Fire and explosions tore the silence apart.
Testing Kamui
Fugaku leapt forward, forming seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball roared toward Obito—
And passed straight through him.
The flames slammed into Rain shinobi behind him, incinerating several instantly.
"Phased through… no. Space-time displacement."
Fugaku narrowed his eyes.
He hurled shuriken and kunai, forming a chaotic, intersecting web midair.
Every blade passed through Obito's body harmlessly.
In the next instant, Obito appeared directly before him.
Fugaku thrust a kunai at his head—
It phased through.
Obito's form blurred past him.
The chain snapped tight around Fugaku's waist.
Damn it!
But in the next heartbeat—
A pitch-black chakra skeleton erupted outward.
The chain strained violently under the expanding force, screeching against the chakra construct but not snapping.
The skeletal arm smashed down at Obito—
And passed through empty air.
Obito phased again.
Information Is Everything
"Now I see," Fugaku said quietly.
"When you attack, you become solid."
"When you phase, everything touching you phases as well."
"This isn't a normal ninjutsu."
"It's your Mangekyō ability."
In shinobi warfare—
Information outweighed chakra.
Know the enemy's technique, and you control the battlefield.
Obito chuckled.
"Impressive analysis, Clan Head."
"But what will you do about it?"
"Can you counter it?"
"Counter?" Fugaku murmured.
"Unnecessary."
The black skeletal Susanoo tightened and crossed its arms, chakra surging.
"Your ocular power is finite."
"If I exhaust your eyesight, your Mangekyō will fail."
True.
Mangekyō drained vision.
Overuse meant blindness.
But Obito possessed Hashirama's cells.
His recovery far exceeded normal limits.
Fugaku unleashed relentless attacks.
Each miss cost him chakra.
But that was the point.
He was bait.
Force Obito to keep phasing.
Force him to reveal timing.
Force him—
To draw Minato.
Because Obito's true objective was not Fugaku.
It was Kushina.
If Minato appeared, Obito could track the direction of teleportation.
Locate the hidden delivery site.
But—
The next moment shattered that calculation.
The Countertrap
A streak of golden light shot from inside the shrine.
A three-pronged kunai pierced through Obito's head.
He clearly saw the Flying Thunder God formula engraved on it.
Inside the shrine?!
No—that can't be right. There's no presence there!
He spun around—
And saw them.
At the shrine entrance stood four figures:
Minato.
Wen Lan.
Jiraiya.
Orochimaru.
Between them, on the small tea table—
Behind the teapot—
Rested another Flying Thunder God kunai.
Hidden by angle.
Hidden by calm.
Damn it.
I was played.
Obito's heart sank.
Space twisted violently around him as Kamui activated at full force.
The battlefield—
Had just changed.
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