Hey everyone! Sorry if this chapter feels short—I'm prepping the next one and might upload it tonight. Planning to continue Obito's disappearance flashback. Don't forget to follow me on Patreon to chat!
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Flashback – Three Years Earlier
The underground air hung thick and heavy.
Obito emerged from the shadows of a cavern lined with metal plates and twisting pipes that pulsed like veins. A massive chakra-sealed door hissed shut behind him. Before him stood Jigen, arms crossed, as if he'd known Obito would come.
"You've arrived," Jigen said without turning. "I knew the promise of power would bring you."
Obito remained silent. His Sharingan glowed faintly beneath his cracked mask. The hum of machinery sent chills down his spine—not from the sound, but from what he sensed behind the walls.
Jigen finally turned, that sinister half-smile curling on his lips.
"Welcome to Kara."
The Lab
Amado was mid-experiment when Obito entered. He didn't look up from his monitors.
"Another interesting subject," he muttered, scribbling notes. "Here to observe, or will you contribute?"
"That depends," Obito replied, eyeing the tubes where two boys floated in induced comas.
One had his face covered in sensors. His body already bore black markings: Kawaki.
"What are you doing to them?" Obito's voice was ice.
"Advancing human evolution," Amado said flatly. "Kawaki and Code are our next keys. With luck, one will become the perfect vessel for a god's soul."
Obito's discomfort was palpable. Gods—that word dredged up dark memories. Madara. Kaguya. Zetsu.
Then, Code's eyes snapped open. The whites of his pupils were unnatural, but the boy could barely focus.
"Who... are you?"
Obito stepped closer.
"Someone who didn't have a choice," he murmured.
Weeks Later
Obito played the obedient pawn. Jigen treated him as a fool, never sharing crucial intel. Only after a joint assassination mission with Delta and Koji Kashin did he begin earning his place.
Delta despised him.
"You're obsolete," she spat one day after decapitating a Kara traitor with a single kick. "What's your worth if you can't even regenerate like me?"
Obito ignored her.
Koji, however, watched him with quiet intrigue—like he recognized him.
"You have the eyes of a dead man," Koji remarked as they sheltered from an artificial chakra storm.
"And you act like someone you're not," Obito shot back, sharp as a kunai.
Neither spoke of it again.
The Truth
One night, as Amado analyzed Karma implant data, Obito cornered him.
"You know Isshiki plans to use Kawaki as his vessel."
Amado lit a cigarette, indifferent.
"I do. And you can't stop it."
Obito slammed him against a console.
"Then why help him?!"
Amado laughed bitterly.
"Because we're all just pieces, Uchiha. Even you. You thought you were the player? You've always been the board."
Obito released him, but his eyes burned.
«I'll learn their plan,» he vowed. «Then burn them from within.»
Weeks later, Jigen summoned him to the central chamber. The sealed coffin housing Isshiki lay slightly ajar.
"You're ready for the truth," Jigen intoned, his voice deepening—possessed.
Jigen's body twitched. For a moment, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki emerged—a figure wreathed in cosmic patterns, one eye radiating overwhelming power. An invisible force crushed Obito to his knees.
"You wish to know me, Uchiha?" Isshiki's voice vibrated like dimensional thunder. "I am evolution's peak. What Madara dreamed of being... and what you failed to mimic."
Obito trembled but resisted. Not this time...
Isshiki smiled.
"Join me... and watch everything burn—including that hollow peace you cherish."
Head bowed, Obito gave no reply.
But that night, he began planning his escape.
And Kawaki, still sleeping in his pod, became the key to the future.