Chapter 183: The True Culprit Is Right Here!
On the main battlefield of Kirigakure, the forces from the other four ninja villages were still holding their ground.
But by now, the fighting had essentially ended.
Only scattered skirmishes remained.
Before leaving earlier, Oborotsuki had unleashed one devastating wide-area slash that had injured countless powerful shinobi from all four invading villages.
At this moment, every single person—including the Kage themselves—still had his final warning echoing in their minds:
If they didn't stop and continued to provoke Kirigakure without knowing their place, he would no longer hold back!
"Lord Third, how are you feeling? Any better?"
Shisui stayed protectively beside Hiruzen Sarutobi. Seeing the old Hokage finally regain consciousness, he asked with concern.
The captain of the medical ninja unit bowed his head apologetically to everyone:
"I'm very sorry… I've done everything I could."
"Lord Third's injuries are quite severe. He's not fit for combat or strenuous activity for the foreseeable future."
"If only Lady Tsunade were here…"
At the mention of Tsunade, the medical captain couldn't help sighing with longing.
The medical prowess of one of the Legendary Sannin was unparalleled in the ninja world.
If she had been present, many more comrades on today's battlefield wouldn't have had to suffer so much pain.
Shisui, Itachi, Kakashi, and the others nearby heard every word clearly.
All around them came the groans and cries of wounded shinobi—some from their own villages, some from the other three.
Their expressions grew heavy, their moods somber.
At that moment, Hiruzen spoke:
"Hōzuki Oborotsuki… I never imagined Kirigakure would produce such a heaven-defying genius!"
"In my opinion, his strength may not quite reach the level of the First Hokage… but the gap is negligible…"
"Especially when he… cough cough…"
Before he could finish, Hiruzen broke into violent coughing.
"Lord Third, please take care of yourself. Don't speak anymore!"
The medical captain hurriedly reminded him.
Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes and weakly waved his hand:
"Enough… Today we likely cannot threaten Kirigakure anymore."
"If we continue fighting, it will only end in mutual destruction…"
Hiruzen had intended to order Konoha's forces to withdraw temporarily—to avoid further devastating losses that neither he nor the village could bear.
But right after he spoke, a sudden commotion erupted around them.
Everyone looked up in confusion, their expressions turning wary and puzzled.
They saw Oborotsuki descending from the sky—dragging a bound, barely conscious figure with him.
Facing the eyes of thousands, Oborotsuki casually tossed the restrained Obito to the ground and spoke:
"This guy is the real culprit you've been looking for."
His gaze swept toward Hiruzen, Rasa, and the others.
Sunagakure and Konoha had both believed he was the one who used the Sharingan to control Shukaku and the Nine-Tails to attack their villages.
Now Oborotsuki had brought the true mastermind right in front of them.
The ninja from those two villages were visibly shaken. One by one, they began scrutinizing Obito with doubt and disbelief.
Obito deliberately kept his face down so no one could see his features clearly.
But suddenly a figure appeared in front of him.
"What's with this guy lying face-down?! You didn't just grab some random person to use as a scapegoat, did you?!"
The rough voice could only belong to the Fourth Raikage.
Though he had been beaten half to death earlier, his tough constitution and Lightning Release Armor had absorbed most of the damage.
After emergency treatment from medical ninja, he was already able to move again.
He grabbed Obito by the hair and forcibly lifted his face.
The moment he saw it clearly, the Fourth Raikage's gaze darkened. Shock and uncertainty flickered in his eyes.
Because the man in his grip undeniably had two Sharingan!
However, the two eyes were different.
The left was a standard three-tomoe Sharingan.
The right was a bizarre three-scythe pattern.
This form of Sharingan was something the Fourth Raikage had never seen before.
But earlier he had witnessed two people with unusual Sharingan—though not exactly the same, both differed from the normal tomoe pattern.
"You…"
The Fourth Raikage stared at Obito's eyes in shock.
But in that instant he suddenly felt dizzy—his whole body nearly collapsed.
"Tch…
So he even restricted the chakra flow in my body…"
Obito had intended to use genjutsu on the Fourth Raikage—control this big brute to attack the others—so he could escape in the chaos.
But halfway through casting the illusion, his chakra ran dry.
At this moment, the other ninja also clearly saw Obito's face—and his two Sharingan.
Rasa of Sunagakure, his aide Maki, Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha, Shisui, Itachi, Kakashi, and everyone else—all showed stunned expressions the moment they saw the eyes.
"That's… a Mangekyō!"
Itachi was the first to frown, staring at Obito in disbelief.
"He looks… so familiar…"
Shisui also hesitated, staring intently at Obito.
They had originally believed the culprit was Oborotsuki.
Now suddenly another non-Konoha Uchiha had appeared—someone with Sharingan, and even a Mangekyō.
In an instant, the situation became far more complicated. The truth seemed shrouded in even greater mystery.
"He…"
Kakashi's body trembled slightly. His pupils flickered nonstop as he stared fixedly at Obito.
"He… could it be… he's…"
Clearly, Kakashi had recognized that the right eye in front of him was almost identical to his own left eye.
No—not almost. They were exactly the same—same rank, same pattern, same everything!
And while Kakashi had the left eye, this man had the right!
There was only one possible explanation…
"Kakashi, what did you notice?"
Hiruzen saw Kakashi's reaction and immediately looked toward him, asking.
Hearing the Hokage's voice, Kakashi finally snapped back to reality. He took a deep breath.
"Lord Third… I need to confirm something personally…"
With that, Kakashi leaped forward and quickly arrived in front of Obito.
At close range, Kakashi noticed even more details—enough to instantly recognize this as the comrade he had once trained and missioned with side by side.
There was no mistake.
This was Uchiha Obito—the one who should have died long ago!
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