Even after being humiliated like that by Namikaze Kirito, Uchiha Obito still didn't want to make a move in front of Rin.
He was afraid she might get caught in it.
Once a fight broke out, Senju Hashirama's Wood Style wouldn't care who was standing where. It would tear through everything in its path.
Even the thought of Rin getting hurt—even just a strand of her hair—made his chest tighten.
And yet, the Rin standing before him now had already been twisted into something shaped by Namikaze Kirito.
"Namikaze Kirito…" Obito said, forcing the words out through clenched teeth. "Name your condition. What will it take for you to let her go?"
At this point, he had no other choice.
So he tried a different approach.
He was certain Kirito had a reason for doing all this. And if there was a reason, then there was something to negotiate. No matter the cost… even if he had to hand over the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path itself, Rin had to be set free.
That was the thought running through his head when he said it.
But what came back was not an answer.
To Obito's frustration—to his growing despair—Namikaze Kirito didn't respond at all. His long fingers still traced Rin's cheek as if Obito's words meant nothing.
"Obito," Kirito said at last, calm and almost amused, "Rin is free. I was never forcing her to stay. If she wants to go with you, I won't stop her."
The moment those words fell, Rin reacted before Obito could.
She panicked.
Her hands immediately reached up and grabbed Kirito's arm, her voice trembling with urgency.
"Master… did I do something wrong? Please… don't abandon me."
"Rin, wake up!"
Obito nearly roared it.
His teeth were clenched so hard it felt like they might crack. Looking at Rin—looking at what she had become because of a few simple words from Namikaze Kirito—was almost more than he could bear.
But she didn't even look at him.
Her bright eyes stayed fixed on Kirito alone.
Seeing that, Kirito let her cling to his hand and spoke in the same gentle tone.
"Rin, why would I abandon you? As long as you choose to stay, I won't cast you aside."
"Ah…"
Rin let out a small, relieved breath, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Thank you… my lord."
Then she turned and looked at Obito.
And the softness in her face disappeared.
"Obito, don't speak to my lord like that again. Even if it's you… I won't let it slide."
She lifted her chin slightly, eyes sharp.
"And don't look down on medical ninja."
Obito stared at her.
For a moment, he felt ridiculous.
No—
more than ridiculous.
He felt empty.
Like everything holding him up had suddenly cracked all at once.
What was the point of everything he had done?
What meaning had his existence ever had?
Was there even any meaning left in the Eye of the Moon Plan?
He had told himself he wanted to create a world where Rin could exist.
But Rin was standing right in front of him now.
And all he could do was watch as she leaned toward Namikaze Kirito.
The irony of it was almost cruel.
Was this punishment?
Retribution for everything he had done?
For all the innocent people he had killed?
Obito's thoughts spiraled.
Rin.
Kakashi.
Minato and Kushina.
The jinchūriki whose lives had been destroyed by his hands.
One face after another flashed through his mind.
Had he really… been wrong all along?
Namikaze Kirito noticed the change in his expression immediately.
The dimness in Obito's eyes.
The way his gaze started to drift.
And he wasn't satisfied.
This wasn't enough.
Not yet.
Obito hadn't truly broken.
So Kirito stepped forward again, closing the distance between them. Rin followed without hesitation.
Then he spoke in a voice so low that only the three of them could hear.
"Obito… the real Rin is standing right here in front of you."
His eyes stayed on Obito's face.
"But before long, she'll be mine completely."
He leaned in just slightly, his voice calm, deliberate, merciless.
"Tonight, I'll make her my woman. I'll give her everything she's been longing for."
As he said that, his gaze shifted toward Rin.
And he made no attempt to hide those words from her.
He let her hear every single one of them.
Yet Rin showed no resistance.
None at all.
If anything, the light in her eyes only deepened.
Her cheeks flushed all the way to her ears, pink spreading rapidly across her face.
To become the woman of someone who stood at the very top… someone who would one day rule the world…
Just imagining it made her heart race.
What was there to resist?
What was there to fear?
At that thought, Rin's face burned even hotter, as if it might melt from the heat.
Obito saw all of it.
He heard Kirito's words.
He saw Rin's expression.
That shy, expectant look on the face of the girl he had loved for so long—a look he had never once seen turned toward him.
And in that instant, everything inside him snapped.
Any trace of composure vanished.
"Damn you, Namikaze Kirito!"
Obito's voice exploded out of him.
"That's not Rin! It can't be Rin! The real Rin would never look like that!"
Then, like someone desperately trying to stitch his own mind back together, he latched onto the only explanation he could bear.
"I get it now… I get it! This is what you wanted, isn't it?! You're trying to provoke me! You want me to give up on the plan!"
His breathing turned ragged, his voice growing harsher with every word.
"I'm telling you right now, Namikaze Kirito—don't even think about it!"
His Sharingan trembled inside the mask.
"I will bring true peace to the ninja world. I'll drag everyone into the real dream!"
His voice shook.
"I'll create a world where Rin truly exists."
Then he stared straight at the girl beside Kirito.
"Not… that fake standing next to you."
Namikaze Kirito only chuckled.
His goal had been achieved.
Beside him, Nohara Rin held tightly to his arm and looked at Obito with cold indifference.
Even if he had once been her comrade, it meant nothing now.
Anyone who disrespected her lord was unforgivable.
That look in her eyes—
that complete lack of hesitation—
became the final blow.
Obito stared at her for a long moment.
Then he slowly turned his gaze back to Kirito.
"The Fifth Great Ninja War begins now, Namikaze Kirito."
His voice had gone low again, but the madness inside it was unmistakable.
"You're strong. Strong enough that no one can ignore you."
A pause.
"But trying to unify the ninja world…"
His visible eye narrowed with bitter hatred.
"That will be the worst decision you ever make."
His voice dropped even further.
"Soon enough… I'll destroy everything you have."
Then he looked at Rin one last time.
"The ninja world was never something you could own."
His voice sharpened.
"And neither is Rin."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he vanished.
Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama disappeared with him.
Namikaze Kirito made no move to stop them.
The Ten-Tails would appear eventually.
That much was inevitable.
And if the ones lurking in the shadows of the ninja world truly intended to act, then they would do so on the day the Ten-Tails returned.
That was precisely why Kirito had allowed the Akatsuki to continue moving this far.
Otherwise, he could have wiped them out long ago—back when they first began capturing the tailed beasts.
Far away, inside a cave hidden in the Land of Earth—
Obito's real body jolted awake.
The moment his eyes snapped open, blood burst from his mouth.
With the mask still covering most of his face, his expression couldn't be seen clearly.
But the eye exposed through the opening was bloodshot, filled with fury so intense it was almost tangible.
"Namikaze Kirito…"
His voice came out low and hoarse.
"One day… I'll make you pay for this."
Nearby, Sarutobi Asuma watched him in silence, confusion written across his face.
Through Senju Hashirama's perspective, he had seen everything that happened between Obito and Namikaze Kirito.
He had heard the entire exchange.
And only now did he realize the truth.
The masked man he had always assumed was Uchiha Madara…
was actually Obito.
That same Uchiha Obito from his generation. The dead-last of the clan.
And of course, he had also heard what was said about Nohara Rin.
For some reason, Asuma found himself feeling a trace of sympathy.
After all…
in a way, their situations weren't so different.
He had spent half his life loving Kurenai Yuhi.
And now she too had become Namikaze Kirito's woman.
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