Obito released his intangibility and lunged straight at Kaito.
Kaito gave a faint smile, then drove his leg hard into Obito's stomach, sending him flying.
The terrifying force nearly knocked Obito unconscious on the spot. If not for the support of Hashirama's cells, that single blow would have ended the fight already.
Staggering, Obito pushed himself up from the ground and once again activated intangibility, finally allowing him a small sense of relief.
Thinking back to just now, his heart was still pounding in fear. His physical strength was far from weak—yet in front of Kaito, he had been utterly crushed!
What on earth had Kaito been doing all these years? How had he become so powerful?
Kaito looked at Obito with a half-smile and said,
"Couldn't hold back after all? The Uchiha Madara I know wouldn't lose his composure over a woman's gravestone."
Obito was silent for a while before he finally spoke,
"How did you learn my identity?"
"Heh. That's hardly the only thing I know."
"What else do you know!?"
"Hm... let's see. For example, the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
"What!?"
Underneath his mask, Obito's expression twisted into sheer terror. This was his greatest secret—how could Kaito possibly know?!
Suddenly, as if realizing something, he shouted at Kaito,
"Could it be... your Mangekyō Sharingan awakened some kind of ability to see the future!?"
The Infinite Tsukuyomi was known only to him, Madara, and Zetsu. No one else could possibly know. To Obito, the only explanation was that Kaito's Mangekyō had the power of foresight.
Kaito paused, secretly impressed with Obito's wild reasoning—because, in truth, it wasn't such a bad explanation.
Some fanfics even described Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō as the ability to foresee the future—he saw what was coming and went willingly to his death.
But Obito could never have imagined that Kaito was actually a traveler from Earth.
Kaito shook his head with a soft laugh, then opened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
The moment Obito saw it, he immediately concluded it must be the legendary Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. The chakra pulsing from it was far beyond what an ordinary Mangekyō could produce.
But when he thought about Kaito's supposed "eye ability," Obito's expression hardened.
"What else did you see?"
"I saw you reunited with Rin."
Obito's eyes narrowed. Did that mean... he died?
He couldn't believe Kaito completely, yet part of him desperately hoped it was true. Even if it was only in death, as long as he could be with Rin, he would die without regrets.
He shook his head. The afterlife still felt too far away, too unreal. Only by casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi and creating a world where Rin existed could he truly find peace.
And now Kaito, who knew his secret, had become the biggest obstacle. Obito had no choice—he had to deal with him.
His gaze hardened. After one last look at Kaito, his body was drawn into the Kamui space.
Kaito stood calmly with arms crossed. Suddenly, space twisted behind him and Obito emerged, pressing a hand on his shoulder.
"Got you!"
The space warped again, pulling Kaito inside.
Kaito entered Kamui's dimension. Looking around, he saw only a dim world, a few jagged rock-like outcroppings scattered about—and nothing else.
So this was Kakashi and Obito's little "couple's space." Except, of course, Kakashi couldn't send himself here.
Usually, once Obito dragged an enemy into Kamui, he would follow in himself. One-on-one, almost no one could beat him.
If the enemy proved too troublesome, he used the simplest method—lock them inside and let them waste away.
And Kaito definitely belonged in the "troublesome" category. That was why Obito had chosen to trap him here first, planning to wait until he was exhausted before stepping in to finish him.
After all, Kaito had Eternal Mangekyō eyes—perhaps even a foresight ability! If Obito could take one of those eyes and use it for himself, to glimpse the future... he was practically drooling at the thought!
But the last thing Kaito feared was a battle of attrition.
With his current body, even if Obito grew old and died, Kaito would not be worn down.
Besides, entering Kamui had been Kaito's plan all along.
What he wanted... was the coordinates of Kamui's dimension.
After taking in the scenery for a moment, Kaito activated the Rinnegan and unleashed Yomotsu Hirasaka.
A black void opened beneath his feet. He stepped forward and vanished into it.
...
Outside Kamui, Obito was still congratulating himself on how easily he had "taken care" of Kaito. But before he could enjoy his victory, Kaito's voice sounded behind him,
"Yo. You're still here?"
"What!?"
Obito whipped around, only to see Kaito's smiling face—and those Rinnegan, shining with twelve tomoe.
No time to wonder how he had escaped—Obito instantly turned intangible.
Kaito just chuckled. A small black hole formed in front of him. He drove his fist into it.
"Ugh!"
Obito let out a muffled grunt, his body bending over like a shrimp. He staggered back, clutching his torso—clearly injured.
Lifting his head with difficulty, he stared at Kaito in disbelief.
"Impossible... You awakened the Rinnegan!?"
Kaito didn't answer. He just kept punching into the black hole again and again. Before long, Obito was on the ground, unable to rise.
He had no choice but to release Kamui, his body fully exposed before Kaito.
Kaito walked slowly up to him, crouched down, and removed his mask.
Obito didn't resist. He just let Kaito take it off, then suddenly began to laugh.
"Hahaha! I can't believe it. You really have those eyes... Then I suppose I didn't lose unfairly!"
He could still use Izanagi once more, but that would only delay the inevitable. With Kamui broken and facing a pair of Rinnegan, all his fighting spirit was gone.
As he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes. He turned his gaze toward Rin's grave, filled with longing.
"What a pity, Rin... I couldn't finish our plan. In the end, I really was just a loser..."
Then, glaring at Kaito, he shouted,
"Well!? What are you waiting for!? Kill me already!"
Kaito shook his head.
"Dying won't be that easy. Before that, there are a few people you still need to meet."
"Who? Kakashi? Hmph. That useless man. I've got nothing to say to him."
"Heh. He's not the only one."
Before Obito could reply, Kaito opened a Gate space and tossed him inside.