Obito's chest swelled, and a massive fireball came roaring out.
Kakashi slammed both palms on the ground.
With a great rumble, a towering earth wall erupted from the ground, adorned with several lifelike dog heads.
Boom!
The earth wall shattered on impact, sending chunks of dirt and dust flying everywhere. But Kakashi was already gone.
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Obito's mouth. He casually flung a black receiver in his hand, aiming it squarely at a piece of rubble sent flying from the Earth Flow Wall.
Bang!
The rock instantly transformed back into Kakashi, who kicked the black receiver, sending it spinning off to the side.
Rumble...!
The ground beneath Obito's feet suddenly exploded as another Kakashi burst forth.
Obito's expression hardened. He formed another black receiver in his hand and lunged forward.
Poof! The Kakashi suddenly erupted in a flash of lightning.
Another Lightning Clone!
Sizzling sounds filled the air as Obito was instantly paralyzed.
The Kakashi in the distance was the real one. Lightning crackled to life in his hand. Raikiri!
Cloaked in lightning, Kakashi charged toward Obito.
Obito watched him with cold eyes. The light in his Mangekyo Sharingan flickered, and he vanished into the Kamui dimension.
The moment Obito appeared before the Memorial Stone, he shifted slightly, and the vortex opened once more.
Returning to the Kamui dimension, Obito reappeared behind Kakashi.
Kakashi's Raikiri struck the spot where Obito had just been, hitting nothing but air. He stumbled forward from the momentum.
Obito, standing behind him, had lost the mood to play around. He brought his hands together in a seal, and in an instant, countless twisted tree roots erupted from the earth.
The ground rumbled incessantly as the branches grew into giant trees, coiling toward Kakashi.
In a flash, Kakashi was ensnared by the branches.
He struggled with all his might, only to find himself bound tightly. No matter how much force he used, the trees wouldn't budge.
"Are you attacking Konoha again?" Kakashi asked.
"You should worry about yourself before you worry about the village."
With that, Obito flexed his wrist and reached for Kakashi's left eye.
My eye. I have waited for it for far too long.
Sensing his enemy's gaze fixed on his Sharingan, Kakashi poured all his remaining chakra into it.
A ripple of power emanated from the Sharingan, striking directly at Obito's mind.
Obito's senses distorted for a moment before his own Mangekyo Sharingan suppressed the effect.
"Oh? Still trying to use genjutsu?"
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
Kakashi felt his Sharingan throb intensely, creating a strange sense of resonance with the right eye Obito had exposed.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Kakashi's mind!
"That eye is Obito's!" Kakashi roared in fury, struggling madly.
The branches creaked and groaned under his violent movements.
Obito's hand, reaching for Kakashi, paused. He watched Kakashi's frantic state.
"How did you know?" he asked coldly.
Kakashi's struggles were futile. Panting heavily, he stared at Obito, wishing he could cut him into a thousand pieces. Instead of answering, Kakashi shot back a question of his own. "Where did you get Obito's eye?!"
"What did you do to Obito's body?!"
Obito stood up. "Was Obito really that important to you?" His tone was chillingly detached.
Kakashi heaved for breath. "You will never understand how important Obito was to me."
Hearing this, Obito slowly straightened his back and clutched his right eye.
"Hahaha… Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA…!"
His laughter grew increasingly manic, filled with pain, despair, and rage.
Obito ripped off his mask.
"Kakashi! If I was so important to you, then why did you break your promise to me!?"
Kakashi froze, his mind roaring as if struck by lightning.
That wrinkled face, that familiar yet alien half-profile.
"No... no!"
"No!! Impossible!!"
"How can you be Obito!?" Kakashi's emotions surged, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Why can't it be me!?" Obito snarled.
Kakashi's mind went blank, and then an even more horrifying guess surfaced. "The Nine-Tails attack... that was you!?"
"Hahaha…" Seeing Kakashi's stunned expression, Obito felt a perverse sense of pleasure.
"So what if it was!? Wasn't sensei supposed to be so great? The fastest shinobi in the world, yet he couldn't save Rin! He couldn't even protect the village!"
Obito laughed wildly.
"Impossible! Impossible!"
"This has to be a genjutsu!!!" Unwilling to accept reality, Kakashi desperately pushed his Sharingan to its limits, forcing it to spin wildly.
However, the scene around him remained unchanged.
"Agh…"
Kakashi cried out in pain and passed out.
Huff… Huff… Huff…
Staring at the unconscious Kakashi, it took Obito a long time to calm his turbulent emotions.
Zetsu poked his head out from the side. "You just revealed your identity like that?"
Obito reached down and, without hesitation, plunged his fingers into Kakashi's eye socket, plucking out his left eye.
"It doesn't matter anymore. The Uchiha Madara identity is no longer usable. Who I am makes no difference. As long as I have both of my Sharingan, hiding my identity is no longer important."
Zetsu watched the entire exchange.
Perhaps...
Maybe...
Was it possible he just couldn't hold it in any longer?
Come to think of it, Kawasaki had known about the Nine-Tails' rampage in advance. And Obito's Uchiha Madara disguise had been exposed on the spot. It seemed Obito couldn't use that identity anymore. Zetsu shrugged mentally. Let Obito do as he pleased.
Obito then gouged out his own previously blind eye, tossing it carelessly onto the ground.
He took his original left eye and pressed it directly into the empty socket.
Squish!
Blood immediately trickled down from the corner of his eye.
Thanks to the Hashirama cells, the optic nerves reconnected rapidly. Obito slowly opened his left eye.
Zetsu, standing nearby, asked, "So? How long until you awaken the Mangekyo?"
Because Obito's right eye was already a Mangekyo, awakening the Mangekyo in his left eye would only take a short time.
The tomoe in Obito's left eye began to transform, the three commas slowly spinning. They gradually morphed into the triangular, hooked pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"It's already a Mangekyo," Obito said, a strange mix of emotions in his voice that Zetsu couldn't quite decipher.
"I didn't expect Kakashi's side to have already awakened it."
Obito opened both eyes wide and spread his arms. "It's true. Seeing with two eyes is so much clearer than with one. My visual prowess is also steadily increasing."
"Just as Madara said, the true power of the Sharingan can only be unleashed when you have both eyes!"
The abilities of his left eye gradually surfaced in his mind. This eye also wielded Kamui, but with a different focus.
His left eye could distort, tear apart, or transport anything within his line of sight to the Kamui dimension without physical contact.
He could now use his Kamui ability from a distance.
Furthermore, with both eyes combined, the duration of his intangibility had been extended. Obito could now remain phased for over ten minutes.
Compared to before, this was a massive leap in power.
Feeling his dojutsu steadily growing stronger, a smile crept onto Obito's lips. "Now, then…"
With both Mangekyo Sharingan active at once, the two dojutsu combined to unlock the third power, a power known as a god's strength…
"Susanoo!"
A colossal amount of chakra coalesced and took form as a bluish-cyan Susanoo burst forth from the ground.
Boom!
The Susanoo manifested, starting from its skeletal frame.
Flesh and muscle grew over the bones, followed by a suit of armor.
He had managed to manifest the third stage on his very first attempt!
It stood a hundred meters tall!
"Hahaha… Hahahaha…" This time, Obito's laughter was unrestrained.
It was a laugh of pure joy. He finally had his own Susanoo.
A few moments later.
Huff... huff...
Obito's chakra reserves weren't abundant to begin with, and now, having pushed his Susanoo to its limits, he quickly found himself running low.
The bluish-cyan Susanoo dissipated into the air. Feeling the growth in his visual prowess, Obito was confident that his future Susanoo would be even stronger.
He had never consumed much power using Kamui before, but now that he had the Susanoo, he realized just how much dojutsu it required.
The exhilaration of summoning it was now replaced by a dull ache in both his eyes.
Zetsu watched Obito's massive Susanoo with a cold gaze, unable to be sure if this was Obito's limit. If it was, he could still be controlled.
If not, things could become troublesome.
Zetsu kicked the unconscious Kakashi.
"What do we do with him? Kill him?"
Obito's gaze fell upon Kakashi, cold and unforgiving.
"Kakashi broke his promise. Just killing him would be too easy."
"I want him to live eternally in pain. I want him to witness the destruction of the shinobi world with his own eyes! I want him to spend the rest of his life in regret!"
"Hahaha, hahahaha, hahahahahaha…"
Zetsu watched Obito's twisted, laughing face and felt a shiver run down his spine.
Do all Uchiha look this warped when they laugh?
...
A vortex appeared in front of the Memorial Stone.
Obito emerged, dragging Kakashi with him, and stood before his own grave.
The speed of entering and exiting the Kamui dimension was much faster now.
Obito touched his left eye. Having two eyes was indeed a world of difference from having just one.
Seeing no one around, Obito dropped Kakashi on the ground.
He gave his own and Rin's graves one last look.
Then he vanished.
...
At the Konoha Memorial Stone.
Kakashi lay on the cold ground.
Fortunately, the memorial was a place people came to pay their respects every day.
Before long, a villager visiting the grave of a loved one discovered the unconscious Kakashi.
As Konoha's top Jonin, Kakashi was recognized by most, and he was quickly rushed to the Konoha Hospital.
The Third Hokage arrived as soon as he received the news.
"What's Kakashi's condition? Why is he injured?"
The doctor in charge of Kakashi's treatment replied, "He shows signs of a battle, and his Sharingan has been gouged out."
The Third Hokage's heart tightened. Kakashi's Sharingan had been acquired from the Uchiha clan at a great cost.
Who could have attacked Kakashi?
Moreover, as an elite Jonin, how could he have been taken down without even sending a distress signal?
The Third Hokage's face grew grave. "When will he wake up?"
The doctor shook his head. "Kakashi has suffered a severe mental shock, likely from a powerful genjutsu. It will be at least three days before he regains consciousness."
"Were there any signs of a struggle?"
A theory was already forming in the Third Hokage's mind.
A nearby Anbu member quickly answered, "We found no signs of a fight. Kakashi was already seriously injured when he was discovered."
Space-time ninjutsu?
The experienced Third Hokage instantly concluded that only a space-time ninjutsu could have created such a situation.
His first thought was whether Kakashi's attacker was the same person who had previously attacked Naruto.
The identity of the jinchuriki's assailant was still unknown, and now someone else had been attacked right here in Konoha.
The Third Hokage felt a headache coming on. "Can we keep this under wraps?"
The Anbu member replied in a low voice, "Lord Hokage, Kakashi was found by an ordinary villager. Civilians lack a sense of secrecy, so the news has already leaked."
The Hokage closed his eyes and waved a hand, dismissing the Anbu.
...
The Hidden Cloud Village.
Located in the Land of Lightning, it was one of the five great hidden villages, boasting a unique geography.
All its buildings were constructed on mountaintops that pierced the clouds, making them appear as if they were floating. The village was perpetually shrouded in mist.
The resounding crash of thunder was a common sound here.
Most of the villagers had darker skin tones and excelled in kenjutsu and Lightning Style, with Nintaijutsu being a popular fighting style.
The Cloud's military strength had always been among the best in the shinobi world, and their technology, mostly applied to warfare research, was highly advanced.
Unlike other nations where the Daimyo and the village were separate, the Land of Lightning's Daimyo resided within the Hidden Cloud Village and frequently discussed major policies with the Raikage.
As a village that rose through military might, its power was matched only by its ambition.
During the Third Great Ninja War, the Cloud fought both Konoha and the Hidden Stone. In the later stages, their conflict with Konoha dragged on for well over a decade.
In the end, it was only thanks to the Land of Fire's vast territory and abundant resources that Konoha was able to force the Cloud to sue for peace.
Even so, the Cloud remained persistent, orchestrating the attempted kidnapping of Hinata.
Although things got messy due to Kawasaki's interference back then, the Hidden Cloud Village didn't actually suffer any major losses.
Ever since that incident with the Hyuga clan, the Cloud had been secretly building its strength. Killer Bee, in particular, had been training several times harder.
It was all for the sake of reclaiming their pride and washing away their past humiliation.
The Raikage's office building in the Cloud was arguably the most impressive and grand among the five great villages. Built into the side of a mountain, its height was unmatched by any other village.
Its peak, constantly wreathed in clouds and mist, was a truly breathtaking sight, appearing to pierce the heavens from a distance.
The current Raikage, Ay, was listening to a report.
The person delivering the report was a beautiful and aloof woman with fair skin, short blonde hair, and a curvaceous figure.
Her physique could easily rival Tsunade's. She was Samui.
"We've received another message from our secret asset in the Land of Fire."
Ay looked up, his brows furrowed, a hint of impatience on his stern face.
"The Fire asset again? Let's hear it."
Samui spoke in a calm tone. "The Uchiha clan was attacked. The clan head, Fugaku, was seriously injured."
Ay tapped his thick fingers on the desk.
This asset in the Land of Fire had been established during the previous Raikage's time, making it a very old connection.
The informant had consistently provided intelligence that gave the Cloud an advantage over Konoha on the battlefield and simplified their infiltration efforts.
The information was always accurate, and the Cloud trusted this source implicitly, despite never having met them face-to-face and the high price they paid.
However, the Cloud had suffered a major loss during the last incident involving the Hyuga.
Even with the patrol routes of the Hyuga main family, the Cloud's plan went completely awry.
Their agents infiltrated at the scheduled time, but a certain Uchiha Kawasaki appeared out of nowhere and threw their entire operation into chaos.
Kawasaki hadn't hesitated to act.
Even more ridiculously, the Cloud had lost the fight.
Killer Bee, the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, was taken down in a single move, pinned to the ground like an insect, unable to move.
Uchiha Kawasaki, a wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan, became famous throughout the shinobi world overnight.
And Killer Bee had become his stepping stone.
Bee's injuries were a minor issue; the real problem was the failure of the Cloud's political maneuvering.
They lost their leverage in the post-conflict negotiations and suffered significant material losses.
The Cloud's pride had taken a massive hit. Their scheme had backfired, and they had been beaten for their troubles.
So, upon hearing that there was news from that same asset, Ay's first reaction was a mix of anger and annoyance.
"What about our own intelligence?"
Samui nodded. "We just received it today. The Uchiha clan was indeed attacked last week."
"Furthermore, Uchiha Fugaku hasn't been seen in public since the attack. It's highly likely he was injured."
"The latest news is that a day ago, Kakashi Hatake was attacked within the village, and his Sharingan was stolen."
"Hmm?" Ay sat up straight.
It was normal for the five great villages to have spies in each other's territories. With so many people, it was impossible to vet everyone.
Of course, anyone aspiring to a high-ranking position would undergo a thorough background check.
Ordinary spies could usually only gather publicly known information, which could sometimes be useful when combined with other intelligence.
But today's news was surprising. Kakashi had been attacked inside his own village and had his Sharingan stolen.
This carried a lot of weight.
To attack an elite Jonin within the village, the culprit either had to be intimately familiar with Konoha's defense layout or possess a space-time ninjutsu.
Or both.
Kakashi's Sharingan was even more famous than those of the Uchiha clan.
In recent years, Kakashi had been far more active than the Uchiha.
Ever since Itachi had left with his clansmen for the Hidden Sound Village, the missions they accepted almost always avoided the Land of Fire.
The Uchiha who remained in Konoha rarely even went on missions.
Kakashi, with his sharp mind and formidable skills, had become one of the Third Hokage's most capable subordinates.
To think he would suffer such a devastating blow.
"Lord Raikage, what are your plans?" Samui asked, seeing Ay lost in thought.
The Land of Lightning had developed well in recent years. It was time to make a move.
Ay thought for a moment, his mind drifting back to Uchiha Kawasaki. "First, find out Uchiha Kawasaki's whereabouts."
"Everything else can wait."