Blood spilled freely, dripping from Obito's fingertips amid screams.
He stared at the ruined half of an eyeball in his palm—unable to tell if what churned in his chest was fury or shock.
At the moment of success, Nagato had turned his head. Just slightly. But that tiny shift had changed everything.
Not only had Obito failed to take both of Nagato's Rinnegan eyes—he hadn't even gotten a complete one. The eye he did manage to rip out was mangled, damaged beyond use. A useless piece of flesh.
"This bastard... he'd rather destroy the Rinnegan than let me have it?" Obito's anger surged like a tidal wave.
Before he could recover, an immense force slammed into him, sending him flying into the wreckage of the collapsed black spire. A jagged steel beam pierced clean through his chest, blood splattering across the debris.
And then—he was grabbed.
A powerful hand closed around his throat, ripping him free from the impalement. Nagato's furious voice roared in his ears.
"After doing something like this... how do you want to die?"
Obito's eyes snapped open. His mask was shattered, and blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as Nagato's grip tightened. His throat cracked under the pressure, and one of Nagato's eyes—closed and bleeding—leaked a crimson tear.
They were so close that Obito couldn't escape with Kamui. At this range, no technique would save him.
But then—he smiled.
Nagato's eyes widened as the Obito he held began to blur, fading from reality. His hands grasped only air.
"That wasn't Kamui..." Nagato muttered.
A few meters away, Obito reappeared—unharmed, smirking, his wounds completely healed. But one of his eyes had gone milky white, devoid of any light.
Nagato's expression darkened. He understood now.
Izanagi.
The ultimate Uchiha technique. A forbidden power that could rewrite reality itself. For a short period of time, the caster could negate their own death and choose which events would become real.
Obito had counted on this. From goading Nagato, to taking the injury, to feinting an escape—he had manipulated every moment, waiting for the right time to activate Izanagi.
He had even planned ahead—replacing Kakashi's Sharingan with one from Madara's private collection.
Everything had gone exactly according to his plan.
Except...
He looked down at the half-eye in his hand.
Still just a ruined, dead piece of flesh.
"Why...?"
His gaze flicked between the eye and Nagato, confusion growing.
Izanagi had clearly worked—his body was fully restored. So why hadn't he taken both Rinnegan? Why was the one he did take still destroyed?
All the pain, all the deception, and now—his bond with Nagato shattered, years of manipulation undone—and this was all he had to show for it?
Across from him, Nagato was breathing heavily, glaring. One eye gone, the other burning with rage and grim satisfaction.
"Looks like you didn't get what you wanted, Obito," he said coldly. "The more you rely on lies and tricks, the more you'll suffer in the end. You did this to yourself."
There was more than just fury in his voice. It was strategy.
Nagato understood how dangerous Obito was. If he wanted to defeat him, he had to provoke him, draw him in, create openings. He hadn't even expelled the black matter still controlling parts of his body—on purpose.
But perhaps this unexpected failure had rattled Obito more than he thought.
Without a word, Obito vanished from the sky above Yuyin.
Nagato immediately spread his chakra, scanning for Obito's signature. He sensed it—briefly—but it faded quickly, growing more distant until it disappeared entirely.
"He's really gone..."
Nagato was filled with frustration and exhaustion. Too much had happened in too short a time.
Konan flew to his side, eyes wide with worry as she saw the damage to his right eye. A mix of guilt and fury flashed across her face.
"Obito did this, didn't he? I swear, I'll kill him!"
"We'll talk later," Nagato said, shaking his head. "Take me to Kabuto. My eye needs treatment."
"…Yes. Your recovery comes first," Konan said, forcing down her anger.
---
Deep underground, Black Zetsu's usually calm expression was marred with rare frustration.
Obito didn't know why Izanagi had failed to give him the Rinnegan. But Black Zetsu, armed with memories of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself, had a few ideas.
The Sharingan's abilities—ultimately—stemmed from spiritual power. Yin Release. Reality distortion.
But even Izanagi had limits. The Rinnegan, when whole, was on a different level entirely. Its power couldn't be simply "restored" with a twist of the Sharingan's will.
A damaged Rinnegan was just that—damaged. A dead organ. Not like Hashirama's cells, which retained vitality and potential.
Even a Mangekyō Sharingan might fail to regenerate such a thing.
Obito could heal his body—but the Rinnegan he stole remained nothing more than rotting flesh.
"Useless..." Black Zetsu muttered.
Everything was falling apart. Their thousand-year plan was in jeopardy. With only one Rinnegan left, the Eye of the Moon Project might be doomed.
He needed a new strategy. Fast.
Nagato would now doubt everything Obito had told him. And once he started questioning, the truth behind the Uchiha Stone Tablet would become critical.
It had to be altered again—immediately.
That meant entering Konoha.
Into the Uchiha District.
Orochimaru's turf.
"Can he catch me...?" Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes.
For thousands of years, only Hashirama and Madara had stood above the rest. But now, Orochimaru—just a mortal—had grown to rival even the Rinnegan's influence.
What would happen next, even Black Zetsu couldn't predict.
But one thing was certain.
The plan had to accelerate.
Still, even he wasn't foolish enough to act rashly. Orochimaru doesn't always stay in Konoha. There might be a better opening...
Black Zetsu sank into the earth.
Time to visit Obito.
He couldn't afford to lose another piece.
---
Rain Village. Deep beneath the Black Tower.
Kabuto watched Nagato's unconscious body float inside the nutrient tank. Nearby, a smaller pod held the ruined Rinnegan—just a bloody hemisphere.
The greatest eye in the ninja world… reduced to this.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, inspecting it.
There was no chakra flow. The organ was inactive. Unlike Hashirama's cells, it showed no signs of regeneration.
"Pity," Kabuto muttered. "This eye is beyond repair."
Konan stood nearby, fists clenched. After a long silence, she finally spoke. "I see…"
Kabuto glanced at her. "Shouldn't you check outside? I heard there was quite a commotion."
"As long as Nagato is safe, nothing else matters." Konan replied coldly.
She regretted what had happened, but she wouldn't let herself make the same mistake again. Even if she couldn't have stopped Obito, she should have been there.
"I'll stay with him," she added. "Until he wakes."
"Fair enough," Kabuto said. "He wasn't physically injured—but his chakra is a mess. It might take a while to recover."
Suddenly, Hiruko stepped forward.
"Give me that Rinnegan fragment. I may be able to restore it."
Konan frowned. "Are you serious?"
"Don't underestimate me." Hiruko smirked. "It's nearly impossible to repair what's there—but if I revert the cells to an embryonic state, I could cultivate a new one. A fresh eye. Maybe even a new body."
Konan blinked. The terminology was beyond her, and she looked to Kabuto for clarification.
Despite his distrust of Obito, Kabuto had remained loyal—perhaps even helpful. He nodded thoughtfully.
"Hiruko's idea could work. It's difficult, but not impossible. Orochimaru hasn't cracked it yet… and I certainly haven't."
Hiruko scoffed. "Orochimaru overcomplicates everything. My methods are better."
Despite his arrogance, he still spoke cautiously. He wasn't about to insult Orochimaru too openly.
"With enough funding," he added, "I'm 80% sure I could grow a new body using this fragment."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses again. "Wouldn't it be easier to extract low-differentiation cells from Nagato himself?"
"Maybe," Hiruko said. "But the cells from this Rinnegan are unique. If we want to restore its power, we need it, not just Nagato's DNA."
Konan hesitated, torn.
On one hand, she wanted Nagato to regain his full strength. On the other, the idea of growing artificial bodies—or copies of Nagato—deeply unsettled her.
"Would they be... alive?" she asked. "Could you end up creating multiple Nagatos?"
"They'd be mindless," Kabuto answered. "Empty husks. Even the Rinnegan—without Nagato's soul—would be powerless in another's body."
Konan nodded slowly.
"Alright. Go ahead."
_____________________
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