Madara was right—this was all fake.
In this world, wherever there is light, there must be shadow.
If there are winners, there must be losers.
The real world should be a world of peace—
a world of love—
a world with only victors!
Only in that world would he still be a member of their three-man squad.
Only in that world would Rin smile at him gently and say she'd be watching him.
Only that kind of world was the real world.
This world…
"I will never accept it!"
The rage of being forgotten, and the grief of believing Nohara Rin had died—
made the three tomoe in Obito's eyes pause for the briefest instant, then spin together even faster.
Those were… what kind of eyes?!
Mangekyō Sharingan!
A sickle-and-pinwheel pattern bloomed in his pupils. A cold, ominous ocular power—almost like a tangible shockwave—exploded outward from Obito!
Kakashi, standing closest, took the brunt of it. His Sharingan throbbed with stabbing pain, resonating violently, while his brain felt like it had been smashed by a hammer. He let out a muffled groan.
His two-tomoe eye surged into three—then transformed into the Mangekyō pattern as well.
And then, on the spot, Kakashi blacked out from chakra exhaustion.
Watching from afar, Uchiha Madara's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"Finally… it's bloomed. What will your dōjutsu be, Obito?"
On the battlefield, Obito didn't even realize what had happened to him.
He only felt that the world had changed.
Colors looked sharper.
Sounds were clearer.
But none of it mattered.
With his single eye blazing, Obito glared at Kiyohara.
It was him.
He was the one who'd stabbed Rin.
"You… should… die!"
Boom!
The ground under Obito exploded as he launched forward, a blur wrapped in violent chakra and razor-sharp killing intent—straight at Kiyohara!
And at that moment, Kiyohara had just finished the most critical step.
"So fast—this is the boost from awakening the Mangekyō?"
Kiyohara's Sharingan caught Obito's movement path, and his body retreated on instinct.
Obito was in a triple-stacked state: Hashirama cells + Mangekyō Sharingan + Spiral Zetsu possession—buffed to the ceiling.
Kiyohara hugged Rin, dodged Obito's punch, and reappeared atop the treetops.
Obito swung his right hand. Dozens of sharp wooden spikes squeezed out of his palm and fired in a storm toward Kiyohara!
Kiyohara kept "Hemostasis" pressed to Rin's wound with his left hand. His right hand spread open, and black sand-iron instantly formed a thick shield in front of them.
Pup pup pup pup!
The sand-iron shield shook violently under the barrage, pocking with dents. A few of the sharpest spikes even pierced through—but were stopped by Kiyohara's Steel Release.
"His fusion's deep… he already has Wood Release."
Kiyohara watched Obito.
No question: after receiving Hashirama cells, Obito had become one of the rare Uchiha capable of using Wood Release.
Kiyohara honestly couldn't understand why Madara had been so confident.
Konoha had run countless human experiments trying to replicate Hashirama's Wood Release—every one of them ended in death, until the program was forcibly halted.
Even later, when Orochimaru secretly experimented with Danzō using older data, out of fifty infants only one survived: "Kinoe" (Tenzo / Yamato).
And Yamato's Wood Release was nowhere near Obito's.
Madara had stitched half of Hashirama's cells into Obito right away—what if it hadn't taken?
Kiyohara pulled out shuriken linked with wire and threw them—
but they passed through Obito's body as if hitting an illusion.
"So it's still… Kamui?"
Kiyohara frowned.
In Obito's mind, Kiyohara had "killed" Rin—yet it was still Kamui?
Was he trying to escape this cruel world?
Or was Obito destined to have Kamui as long as he lived?
Kiyohara remembered the original line: even Madara had remarked it was like the rock had "passed through him."
How much of that was true versus psychological manipulation—Kiyohara couldn't say.
Kiyohara yanked the wires tight. Under moonlight, they flashed with cold light, crisscrossing into a net in Obito's path.
When Kamui "phased" him out, he couldn't interact with the outside world.
"Duration's five minutes—no, not yet. He's still unskilled."
Kiyohara kept moving with Rin in his arms, watching Obito's berserk patterns.
Every Uchiha needed time to adapt to a new dōjutsu. The more proficient they got, the stronger it became.
"Obito, don't lose your head—be careful," Spiral Zetsu urged.
But Obito, flooded with emotion, couldn't hear anything.
He followed instinct and spammed Wood Release.
Several massive trees—thick enough for adults to wrap their arms around—erupted from him, spiraling upward like a drill as they smashed toward Kiyohara.
Mist shinobi who couldn't dodge in time were shredded and killed by the attack.
Later, this would be called…
Wood Release: Revolt of Hell!
"This world is fake!"
Obito roared, formed seals, and spat out a massive fireball.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Kiyohara's Sharingan tracked the fireball's approach. In his palm, he condensed a spindle-shaped sand-iron projectile.
Shk!
A black streak shot through the fireball, pierced Obito's body—and a bloom of blood appeared on Obito's right arm.
"Enough, Obito. You still can't control your ability," Spiral Zetsu said.
Obito was Madara's crucial chess piece—he couldn't be lost.
And more importantly, Zetsu could sense people closing in.
Konoha reinforcements.
The commotion was too big not to draw attention.
Madara's plan had already succeeded—Obito didn't need to stay here anymore.
"Knew it. Fresh Mangekyō—he's clumsy with it."
Kiyohara watched Obito and got a read.
He raised his hand; the electromagnetic projectile crackled in his grip.
Obito could feel danger from it now. After being hit once, he'd grown cautious.
He kept healing as he advanced, Wood Release flaring again—
giant tree-trunk serpents lunged at Kiyohara.
Kiyohara formed seals and threw wind blades, slicing trunks cleanly in half.
Using that opening, Obito reached him.
To land a physical hit, Obito forcibly deactivated Kamui and threw a punch.
Kiyohara's hand darkened—Steel Release coating it.
He caught Obito's furious punch easily.
BAM.
A dull impact.
A normal shinobi would have had their arm blown apart.
But Kiyohara's Steel Release stopped it cold.
Every time he used Steel Release, he layered Earth Release: Earth Spear over it as camouflage.
His palm was unbreakable.
Obito tried to pull back—but Kiyohara seized his hand in a vice grip, then squeezed.
Obito's right hand deformed, then tore off.
"Gah!"
Even though it was Spiral Zetsu's arm, Obito still felt the pain.
He staggered back.
At the same time, silhouettes with Konoha headbands appeared on branches and in grass.
"Reinforcements?"
Obito's severed hand visibly regenerated—Spiral Zetsu's body was abnormal, more like a single layer of flesh without normal organs or bones.
"That hurts, Obito," Spiral Zetsu complained.
Obito didn't respond. He just stared at Kiyohara—
and at the figure Kiyohara was holding.
Then, to Obito's shock, that figure—eyes closed—shifted, stood up… and opened her arms.
A tiny but unmistakable protective stance.
She placed herself between Kiyohara and Obito.
"Don't hurt… Kiyohara… kun…"
Her voice was broken, but the resolve in it was unmistakably her own.
Obito's Mangekyō pattern—those spinning sickle pinwheels—jammed like gears seized mid-turn.
The red glare faded.
He stared blankly at Rin.
She was alive.
She was… protecting the person who had "stabbed" her.
Her eyes held unfamiliarity toward Obito—wariness, even.
And toward the man behind her… worry and trust.
Why?
Why was Rin alive?
Why… was she protecting Kiyohara?
Wasn't he the one who… came to save her…?
Obito's brain completely crashed.
He opened his mouth—wanted to shout, to ask her name, to demand answers—
but only a hollow, meaningless rasp came out.
He looked at Rin's pale face, the blood at her chest, the way she guarded Kiyohara—
then at his own half-human, half-monster body, at his earlier frenzy, at his killing intent—
and a cold truth stabbed him:
In Rin's eyes… he was the "monster hurting comrades."
Just like when she kicked him away at first.
Just like when she hit him during her rampage.
Never recognized.
Never changed.
Uchiha Obito had already died.
What remained was a pitiful creature that shouldn't exist.
Kiyohara quietly watched Obito.
He was probably the only one here who knew who Obito was.
Should he reveal it?
He immediately killed that thought.
Madara was still watching. That would be suicide.
Madara wanted to sever Obito's bonds and drown him in darkness.
If Kiyohara revealed his identity, Obito might rebuild those bonds.
And even if Kiyohara tried—would anyone believe it? How would he prove it?
Even Kakashi and Minato hadn't recognized him in direct conflict.
Only when Obito finally unmasked himself in the original story did they know.
Without ripping off Obito's mask and peeling him out of Spiral Zetsu's body, no one would believe Kiyohara.
No evidence.
"You don't need to do something that's all effort and no reward," Uchiha Kiyohara's spirit said as it appeared.
He could tell what Kiyohara was thinking.
Even though Obito was "clan," he and Kiyohara were effectively outsiders from different timelines.
No real family attachment.
"You showed Sharingan. Madara will pay attention to you now. If Obito comes back, you might become the backup."
His tone carried a heavy sadness as he laid out the worst case.
Kiyohara fell silent.
He was right.
"Hah… hahah…"
Obito suddenly laughed low.
He looked at Rin one last time—like he wanted to carve her into his soul—
then he looked at no one.
Space rippled in a swirling vortex, and his body was sucked in.
Kiyohara threw a shuriken—
too late.
The vortex closed.
Obito vanished into warped space, leaving only wreckage and blood behind.
"Kiyohara—are you alright?!"
Yūhi Kurenai and the others arrived, worried.
"I'm fine. You should check Kakashi."
Kiyohara pointed at Kakashi, still unconscious.
"What the hell happened here…?"
Might Guy stared around. The area was littered with torn tree trunks and shredded bodies.
"We ran into a freak who could control trees," Kiyohara said.
That was the only explanation he could give.
Rin nodded weakly beside him, confirming it.
They fed Kakashi water and carried him back. Only after a while did Kakashi wake from exhaustion.
"I…?"
He seemed to want to ask something—but seeing Rin and Kiyohara near him, he swallowed the words.
"That freak… really did resemble Obito, in a way."
Kakashi muttered. Not in appearance—but in reckless stubbornness.
"Impossible, Kakashi. It can't be Obito. Obito died under that boulder."
Rin cut him off.
People don't come back from death—that was Rin's simple belief.
The others nodded too.
Even if it somehow were Obito, attacking comrades would brand him a rogue ninja.
And anyway—how could a tall, dark, spiral-faced, long-haired, strange-voiced creature be the bright boy who once shouted about becoming Hokage?
There was no resemblance anyone could accept.
"You're right, Rin."
Kakashi nodded. Comparing that monster to Obito would insult Obito's memory.
Kiyohara listened from behind without speaking.
He thought of the three deaths of a person:
The heart stops.
Then you die in the web of society.
Then you're forgotten.
Obito had already been pushed into the second.
If he had to put it bluntly, Obito was a man who'd already had his "death certificate" written.
"By the way, Kiyohara—what's up with your eyes?"
During a lull, Kakashi's mind cleared enough to notice.
They made their way back to camp, surrounded by vigilant Konoha shinobi.
"Let's talk after we get back," Kiyohara said.
Awakening Sharingan had pros and cons.
…
Back at camp, Rin was immediately placed under isolation.
A sealing team examined the seal on her body.
Minato arrived as soon as he heard.
"Sorry, Kakashi. I came too late."
Minato looked genuinely apologetic.
Without Kiyohara, Kakashi and Rin might have died.
And Mist implanting the Three-Tails into Rin was a massive incident.
Minato was sure Konoha's leadership was already panicking and drafting countermeasures.
"It's fine."
Kakashi shook his head.
It had been dangerous—but as long as Rin was alive, it was enough.
Minato comforted Kakashi a little more, then turned to Kiyohara.
He'd already heard about Kiyohara's Sharingan from Kakashi and Rin.
For now it was being kept quiet, but soon the higher-ups—and the Uchiha clan—would summon him.
"Kiyohara-kun…"
Minato looked like he wanted to say more.
Kiyohara spoke first:
"Without the Hokage, there wouldn't be the me you see now."
He stated his political position outright.
Minato's expression softened.
It wasn't unheard of for an Uchiha to stand firmly with the village—Uchiha Kagami had even served as the Second Hokage's guard.
If Kagami had stepped forward at the right time, he might even have been considered for Hokage.
"Let's find somewhere to talk," Minato said.
Kiyohara nodded.
…
Far away, at the Graveyard of the Mountains, Madara withdrew his gaze and tapped the armrest.
"One eye… a space-time dōjutsu. Excellent. The process was messy, but the result is acceptable."
His gaze seemed to pierce stone and fall on the boy still treating Rin.
"Kiyohara… hidden Uchiha blood, impressive medical ninjutsu, multiple chakra natures, and Magnet Release…"
White Zetsu squirmed beside him.
"Madara-sama, should I contact him? Or investigate his background?"
Madara fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"No need. The piece has already moved. The curtain on the stage has only just risen."
If Obito's Mangekyō had turned out useless, Madara might have activated a backup plan.
But Obito's power exceeded expectations—it was a rare space-time dōjutsu.
Using that dōjutsu to replace "Madara's" identity and move through the shinobi world…
couldn't be more perfect.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!