Hearing Andrew's voice, Obito's expression darkened beneath his mask. Before he could speak, the surrounding Konoha shinobi had already begun whispering.
They had finally realized something.
"That's right... Uchiha Madara has always been an overwhelming force in the ninja world—but when has he ever hidden his face?"
How could a man like Madara Uchiha, a symbol of war and domination, stoop to cloaking his identity?
With power rivaling the First Hokage, he wouldn't need a Nine-Tails rampage just to destroy the village.
"Tch," Obito let out a cold snort, no longer bothering to insist that he was Madara. A space-time vortex began to swirl in his right eye—he had failed to reclaim Kakashi's eye, and the opportunity had slipped away.
There was no point in staying any longer.
"Trying to flee? Not this time."
Andrew's eyes locked onto Obito. In the past, he might've needed to gamble everything on using his Time Stop ability to challenge Kamui. But with his new Mangekyō Sharingan, the equation had changed.
Unlike the dualistic abilities of Uchiha Kamasu's Mangekyō, Andrew's twin dojutsu unleashed pure supernatural power.
"Jianyu Thunder Punishment!"
His right eye surged with power, a sphere of crackling lightning forming in his pupil. Obito, fully aware of how deadly Mangekyō techniques could be, immediately aborted the transition to Kamui space and instead shifted his body into full intangibility.
If he couldn't be hit, he couldn't be hurt—no matter how powerful the technique.
A smirk curved at the edge of Obito's lips. He admitted that Andrew's raw strength surpassed his own, but Andrew would never land a decisive blow.
So he thought.
Until—his body suddenly trembled.
A foreign sensation surged through his right side—a creeping sense of impending doom.
"What… this feeling… Impossible!"
Panic overtook him. He stared ahead as a trickle of blood streamed from Andrew's eye—and then the world lit up with blinding thunder.
An overwhelming thunderstorm burst from the void, striking Obito dead-on.
The blast echoed down Konoha's Sixth Street, shaking the earth with its roar. Civilians scrambled to shelter. The Third Hokage, who had been watching from a distance, instinctively ordered all nearby shinobi to fall back.
This quick decision spared the lives of countless shinobi.
He had been concerned that two Susanoo might clash in the heart of the village, and had cleared the area just in case. Now he realized that decision had saved Konoha's remaining combat power.
But even so—a large portion of Sixth Street had been reduced to carbonized rubble.
The Third's eyes twitched as he surveyed the scorched aftermath.
Had he not created space for Andrew and the masked man to fight, the village's defenses might've collapsed altogether.
"What kind of terrifying technique was that?"
Feeling the burning sting in his right eye, Andrew finally closed his Sharingan. His eyes hadn't fully merged into Eternal Mangekyō yet. Without that stability, continued use came with a heavy price.
"Lord Hokage," Andrew turned and said with grim clarity, "the Uchiha clan has nothing to apologize for. We owe nothing to Konoha. The Nine-Tails rebellion had nothing to do with us."
"That man may have a Sharingan, but he is not one of us. We do not recognize him as Uchiha."
"I hope some people will stop using their biases to condemn us."
His tone left no room for argument. He hadn't unmasked the man, but anyone with eyes and reason could now piece the truth together.
And if they couldn't?
Then they weren't worth convincing.
"Some people can never be woken up—because they're pretending to sleep," he said coldly.
The Third Hokage took a long breath. "I understand… I'll clear your clan's name."
"There's no need," Andrew replied calmly. "We didn't do anything wrong, so what's the point in a 'clearance'? Just know the truth in your heart."
He paused and added, "Also—a word of warning. That man isn't dead. He's come to Konoha twice now. He has a purpose. You'd better start thinking about what he's after."
Andrew briefly glanced at Kakashi, covering his right eye with one hand.
In a blink, he vanished.
He knew what Obito was capable of.
The eye Obito revealed was Kamui—but the one he hid was another Sharingan.
Taught by Madara himself, it was inconceivable that Obito wouldn't know of Izanami. Danzo had used the forbidden Uchiha technique three times to trigger the Four Symbol Seal—how could someone of Obito's lineage not exploit the same?
Especially since Uchiha Madara had a stockpile of Sharingan at his disposal.
The Third Hokage clenched his jaw. Between the unsolved Wood Style anomaly and this new crisis, Konoha was buckling under pressure.
The village was running out of skilled shinobi.
Only Jiraiya remained among the original Sannin. Tsunade had not returned, and clearly did not intend to involve herself.
One of the two strongest clans, Uchiha, was drifting further from the village. Hyuga, restrained by its rigid branch-main family system, was barely under Konoha's control anymore.
Despite the chaos, Hyuga's only contribution had been two Byakugan sent from the Police Department—a far cry from full participation.
"Clean up the area," the Third muttered. "Notify the medical corps."
He turned away slowly, his regret heavy.
Perhaps… he shouldn't have returned to the Hokage's office.
In the swirling void of Kamui space, reality shimmered and twisted. Obito's form gradually materialized at the edge of a decaying platform.
"A dojutsu that bypasses spatial boundaries… that's terrifying…"
His body trembled slightly. For the first time since unlocking his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had felt true fear.
Had it not been for Izanami, he would be standing before the Sage of Six Paths right now.
A voice slithered up from the shadows.
"Kamui was neutralized… Andrew's eye technique poses a grave threat," said Black Zetsu, emerging from the stone.
He had been watching from within the Kamui dimension and had seen the storm firsthand.
The lightning didn't just appear—it erupted from the void itself, engulfing matter even in the alternate space.
Chunks of Kamui's sub-dimension had been completely destroyed.
"That thunder… erased part of this world," Zetsu said with awe.
Obito's gaze hardened. "He's a threat that can't be ignored."
Kamui had always been his ultimate defense—even Minato-sensei had only managed to fight him during its early stage.
But Andrew's lightning tore through Kamui as if it were nothing.
"Next time, I'll use double Kamui," he muttered, removing his mask.
Reaching into Black Zetsu's inventory, he removed the ruined eye and replaced it with another Sharingan.
Zetsu hesitated. "Killing Andrew won't be easy. His Mangekyō abilities appear to amplify everything—taijutsu, ninjutsu, even genjutsu. Add that to his Susanoo and he's already at the Kage level, if not higher."
"A direct attack won't work—and sheer numbers won't bring him down."
Zetsu's tone was grim. He had worked too long preparing for Kaguya's return—he couldn't let this one man derail the entire plan.
Obito's tone was merciless. "We'll find a way."
"Sharingan's true strength is only realized when its wielder uses both eyes."
This time, he wouldn't underestimate Andrew again.
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