Chapter 247 — Pain's Assault (Final Part)
"Lady Tsunade! Someone has infiltrated the Hidden Leaf Village!" an Anbu member reported frantically.
"How many?" Tsunade asked, her brows drawing together.
"One person," the Anbu replied quickly.
"Begin a full-scale search immediately!" she ordered, her voice sharp with urgency.
She rubbed her temples, frustration clouding her expression.
"Damn it… where did that man go… Hatake Yusuke…" she muttered irritably.
Tsunade had no ability to use Observation Haki; that type of Haki was fundamentally different from Armament Haki—something that could not be learned so easily.
…
Elsewhere, Yusuke stood before a masked figure.
"Oh? So it's you…" Yusuke said with a faint, mocking smile.
"Hatake Yusuke, I've come this time to propose a collaboration," said the masked figure—Uchiha Obito.
"Collaboration? I don't work with people like you. And honestly, I'm not interested in you at all. One last warning—don't even think about bothering me. If you do, you'll die."
Yusuke's tone was light, but razor-sharp.
Behind the mask, Obito's expression tightened.
Ever since he inherited the name of Uchiha Madara and walked among the shadows of the shinobi world, no one had ever dared underestimate him.
But before Yusuke—his former companion, the one who once understood him most—Obito felt nothing but rage.
Damn… as always, I can never see eye to eye with this man… Obito cursed internally.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving," Yusuke said calmly.
"Hatake Yusuke, what exactly are you after?" Obito asked coldly. His voice carried a mixture of anger and confusion.
Once, Yusuke had been the person he trusted the most—someone who shared his ideals.
But now, he felt like a stranger, an unpredictable enigma.
"After? I'm not after anything," Yusuke replied plainly.
"Hmph. So you already know who I am, don't you?" Obito's narrowed eyes glinted. Though phrased as a question, there was certainty in his tone.
Slowly, he removed his mask.
The face long hidden finally came into view.
"You…?" Yusuke widened his eyes in feigned surprise.
"Don't pretend," Obito snapped, irritation dripping from his voice.
But Yusuke simply chuckled.
"Hahahaha, it really has been a long time. I honestly didn't expect it to be you."
His cheerful expression made it clear—his earlier surprise had been entirely an act.
For a moment, Obito wondered if he had misread Yusuke's reaction, but he quickly realized—
He was being mocked.
Obito glared fiercely.
"Fine. Of course I've known it was you from the beginning. Otherwise, do you really think you could have escaped my grasp so many times?" Yusuke said, tone flat.
"Since when did you know?" Obito asked.
"From the very beginning," Yusuke answered casually. He knew exactly what Obito wanted to hear.
"Why me?" Obito asked quietly, his voice trembling.
"Don't look at me like that. Who it was never mattered to me. You know I don't care about things like that."
Yusuke's tone was cold—calm, detached, emotionless.
"That's not enough. When did you start working with Madara?" Obito pressed.
"Working together? I wouldn't call it that. Besides, at the time, Uchiha Madara wasn't even worthy of standing at my level."
Yusuke's voice remained light, but the firmness behind his words was absolute.
"I just want to know one thing, Yusuke… why? Why didn't you save me? You could have saved Rin, couldn't you?! Tell me!" Obito shouted, his voice cracking with fury and grief.
Yusuke looked at him calmly.
"I'm not a god. There are things in this world even I cannot change."
"Hahaha! Don't joke with me, Yusuke!" Obito yelled hysterically. "Do you take me for a fool? That naive Obito is dead! I am now the man feared by the entire shinobi world—Uchiha Madara!"
He growled.
"You can't lie to me. At the Kannabi Bridge—you would never have let Kakashi risk his life like that! You knew Madara needed me! You knew Rin would die by Kakashi's hand!"
Obito screamed until his voice nearly broke. His breath heaved, anger choking him.
Yusuke simply stepped forward, his expression unreadable, stopping beside him.
"Was that my fault?" Yusuke said, voice cold as steel.
Obito's entire body froze.
"Who was at her side back then, Obito? Who was the one fighting with her?" Yusuke asked, each word cutting deeper.
"Failure and suffering in this world are nothing more than the result of one's own inadequacy. If you must blame something… blame your weakness."
His voice sharpened—utterly unlike his usual relaxed demeanor.
Obito lowered his head, shoulders trembling.
"Yes… back then, I was too weak. That's why I needed power. I will create a world where Rin still lives!"
Obito's eyes blazed again—filled with resolve, hatred, and obsession.
Yusuke smiled faintly. "Suit yourself."
"You won't stop me?" Obito asked, stunned.
"I never intended to stop any of you in the first place," Yusuke said calmly.
"Why?" Obito asked again—his voice now barely holding together. He had run out of questions, yet still wanted answers.
"Because this world is boring. Don't you think so?" Yusuke replied before turning away, walking off without a single glance back.
…
Soon after Yusuke left, a white creature with a spiral-patterned face emerged from the ground.
"Truly terrifying, isn't he?" White Zetsu snickered. "How can a human be that strong… even scarier than Madara himself? Are you sure he's even human?"
Obito let out a heavy breath.
"He wasn't lying. When I was about to use the Heaven's Lock Box earlier… I felt it—if I truly activated it, I would die instantly."
He stared at the empty space before him.
"It was instinct. I knew I must never fight him."
"Hahaha, yeah… he's terrifying. But hey, he still poops, right? So he's human too, isn't he?" Zetsu joked foolishly.
"Contact Kabuto. Tell him to prepare the Gold-Silver Brothers, and also the incomplete Jinchūriki from the Land of Fire," Obito ordered, ignoring Zetsu's nonsense.
"Huh? What for?" Zetsu asked curiously.
"Before the Ten-Tails is revived, I don't want to face Yusuke directly. But… even an incomplete Nine-Tails Jinchūriki should be enough to stall him."
"Alright, I'll tell Kabuto right away!" White Zetsu replied before sinking back into the ground.
Once he was gone, Obito collapsed to the earth. His breath trembled, his face pale.
"Damn… I nearly died back there…" he muttered.
Such was Obito's judgment of Hatake Yusuke—the man who dared to instill fear in him for the first time.
…
Meanwhile, Yusuke had returned to the outskirts of Konoha.
But the sight before him made his expression harden—the village buildings lay in ruins.
"Shizune-senpai!" a panicked scream echoed in the distance.
Using Observation Haki, Yusuke instantly located the source.
He opened his blindfold—his vision piercing through the world—and saw Shizune's soul being extracted by the Human Path of Pain.
In a flash, Yusuke shot forward, appearing right beside them.
"You… can die now."
With a single strike, Yusuke freed Shizune and unleashed an eruption of infinite energy—Unlimited Burst.
The Human Path's body exploded into fragments instantly.
"You—take Shizune to Tsunade!" Yusuke ordered sharply at Ino and her comrades.
Ino stared in shock.
"So strong… and so cool…" she whispered in awe.
With one attack, Yusuke had erased the Pain who had devastated half of Konoha.
And with his blindfold removed—for the first time—Ino truly saw his real face without glasses.
Cold. Sharp. But radiating an overwhelming sense of calm power.
"Yes, Yusuke-sensei!" Ino replied quickly, hoisting Shizune up and running toward the Hokage's office.
Yusuke floated into the air, surveying the area.
"That's… Yusuke-nii?" Nawaki asked, staring up with admiration.
Hearing his voice, Yusuke turned slightly, offering a faint smile.
"Good. You've improved. Life-and-death battles are the best way to grow."
Then his expression hardened as he gazed at Konoha's destruction.
"Alright… looks like I need to clean up what's left."
He brought his hands together—and vanished instantly.
Yusuke reappeared at the battlefield just as Choza and Choji were about to be killed by the Asura Path.
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