Boruto-era, Konoha streets.
Kakashi pushed Might Guy's wheelchair, eyes lifting to the sky-screen with a sigh and a smile.
"Guy, that kick of yours… I still feel it in my bones."
"Hahaha! Kakashi, that kick was originally meant for you…" Guy threw a thumbs-up, teeth gleaming.
Kakashi shivered. Night Guy's power? Yeah—he remembered. Too well.
Around them, passersby stared, whispering: why does the Sixth Hokage show such respect to a man in a chair?
(Answer: because the man in the chair once kicked through reality.)
[Senju Tobirama: "Wait… I've got an idea."]
[Hashirama: "Tobirama? What now?"]
[Tobirama: "Obito still has Madara's Rinnegan, and he's in Kamui space…"]
[Uchiha Sasuke: "So if Sakura destroys Obito's Rinnegan, Madara's power takes a nosedive, right?"]
Silence. Then a wave of excitement across the chat.
Madara's face? Instantly stormy.
As Lu Xun once wrote: people do not share each other's joys and sorrows… and Madara was not amused.
[Madara: "Obito, you can't. That's despicable!"]
[Obito: "Heh."]
[Black Zetsu: "Lord Madara, trust me—I'll fix this!!!"]
Obito poured the tailed-beast chakra, plus the scraps of Six Paths power left in him, into Naruto.
Naruto crawled back from the brink.
(Thanks to the editor's cut, he then "mysteriously" vanished from Kamui space.)
Obito turned to Sakura.
"Please. Destroy my eye."
If the Rinnegan goes, Madara's board tilts. The Allied Shinobi Forces suddenly have a real shot.
Sakura hesitated—hands shaking. She was still a girl beneath the headband; hesitation was human.
Obito talked her through the fear.
Sakura lifted the kunai.
Just as the blade neared—
Madara crashed into Kamui space, hurling Truth-Seeking Orbs at her.
Obito had no choice—Kamui-warped Sakura out at the last instant.
The entire audience fell quiet.
[Itachi: "…We're serious about this?"]
[Kisame: "She's a kunoichi, but… fear is human."]
[Deidara: "Then how'd she graduate?"]
[Kakashi: "Not the point. If Madara invaded Kamui, he probably ripped my Sharingan."]
[Might Guy: "What's happening outside?"]
[Nagato: "My junior won't die… right?"]
Nagato clenched a fist. With White Zetsu cells, he no longer looked skeletal; even with one Rinnegan he now stood at high-Kage level.
"Please be safe, Naruto…"
"Relax," Konan said, though her own eyes were tight.
[Naruto: "I won't fall until I become Hokage! Dattebayo!"]
[Minato: "Hahaha, that's exactly like Kushina."]
[Kushina: "For real?"]
Madara seized Obito by the throat, eyes narrowing.
"I branded your heart with a curse. How did you remove it?"
Obito's voice was thin. Kakashi's Chidori had pierced his heart; the curse broke with it.
That was how he clawed free of Madara's leash.
Madara sneered—then finally laid out the plan from the very beginning.
Obito's face drained.
He understood. At last.
Rin's death.
Her choice to be pierced by Kakashi's Chidori to prevent being used.
All predicted. All arranged.
Madara had counted the ripple effect, knowing Rin's death would hollow Obito's heart and twist his love into darkness.
Even Minato's late arrival? Sabotaged by shinobi under Madara's control.
Obito's shoulders shook.
He had blamed his teacher.
He had murdered Minato and Kushina in his rage.
All along, he had been dancing in Madara's palm—a tool, a chess piece with someone else's name.
On the screen, Madara taunted him, savoring the pain.
Across the ninja world, people ground their teeth.
If hate could kill, the sky-screen would have shattered.
[Hashirama: "Madara, you said you loved—… were you lying to me too?"]
[Madara: "When did I ever—?!"]
[Tobirama: "Brother, please be serious. I told you not to hang out with him."]
[Izuna: "Watch your mouth, mutt."]
[Tobirama: "What's wrong, Izuna? (sticker.jpg)"]
[Izuna: "Y-You—!"]
If Izuna had known: had Tobirama died instead, the entire world might have gone with him.
Madara's voice dropped, cold and instructional:
"To control a heart, exploit its shadow."
"Why me…" Obito rasped, chest clenched.
"Because you loved the world too much," Madara said, almost gently. "When that much love falls, it becomes the deepest hate."
Then he wrenched out the Rinnegan.
Half the viewers grabbed at their own eyes on reflex. The other half silently saluted Obito's endurance.
[Itachi: "One who toys with hearts will be toyed with in turn, Madara."]
[Madara: "I stand at the summit of the Six Paths. Who dares?"]
[Tobirama: "I curse you to have your heart ripped out."]
[Madara: "Childish."]
[Izuna: "My brother is not an idiot and will not be heart-stabbed, thanks."]
Obito finally saw the whole labyrinth and the thread that led him in.
He was furious, yes—but more than that, broken.
If he'd never met Madara…
Would he already be Hokage?
(Up next: Obito vs. Kaguya—yes, we're going there. Pace might feel slow; author's juggling real life. Thanks for sticking around.)
Madara's fingers tightened around the stolen eye, chakra boiling.
Obito swayed, a ruined socket and a ruined heart, then—quietly—took a step forward.
"Madara… the next move is mine."
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/MugiwaraTL