Obito Uchiha lowered his shoulders, his head bowed, his face hidden in shadow. Yet, from the darkness, a chilling laugh echoed.
"Heh... so it's true. Last time, Naruto said you were residing within the Nine-Tails chakra inside him. I thought it was just a lie he made up to shake me."
Obito clenched his fist and raised his wrinkled face, his Sharingan glistening with a wet red glow. "Sensei's wife, do you hate me?"
Kushina Uzumaki didn't answer directly. Her voice was low and steady. "You did all of this... because of Rin, didn't you? And then you blamed Minato for not arriving in time back then. But actually—"
Obito interrupted her, his voice sharp and bitter. "I know what happened to Rin wasn't Sensei's fault! The fault lies in this world—a world filled with conflict, hatred, and lies!"
"I want to sever the roots of all this causality!"
Kushina's eyes narrowed as she questioned sharply, "So, that's why you orchestrated the Nine-Tails attack sixteen years ago?"
Obito raised his hand, his tone calm yet resolute. "Sensei's wife, I never intended to harm you back then. It's just that I needed the Nine-Tails, and it just so happened to be inside you. And it just so happened that the seal on a female jinchūriki becomes extraordinarily weak during childbirth. I had no choice but to make you a sacrifice."
"As for Sensei Minato... he just happened to be your husband, the Hokage of Konoha. From his position and beliefs, he had no choice but to oppose me. And I, too, had no choice but to eliminate him."
Kushina's expression darkened. Her voice trembled slightly. "No choice, huh?"
Obito's smile twisted into something sickly, almost deranged. "Yes, no choice at all. At its core, wasn't you becoming the Nine-Tails jinchūriki also out of necessity? It was Konoha, this shinobi world, that forced it upon you! They never considered your own will. And all these so-called necessities eventually led to the slaughter between us, teacher and student. It's this absurd and ridiculous shinobi world—it's a curse! That's why I must end it!"
Kushina pressed further, her voice cutting through the tension. "And after that? After you took the Nine-Tails from me? Why didn't you just leave to prepare your Eye of the Moon Plan? Why did you head straight to Konoha and unleash the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc?"
For a moment, Obito was silent.
Using Naruto's hand, Kushina pointed at Obito's face, her voice piercing. "Deep down, you still harbor hatred, don't you? That's why you seized the Nine-Tails during my childbirth and attacked Konoha, hoping to lure other villages to take advantage of the chaos and reignite the flames of war. It was your way of venting your hatred!"
Obito remained speechless.
Kushina lowered Naruto's hand and said solemnly, "At least at that moment, you weren't a dreamer pursuing your ideals. You were merely a pure avenger."
Obito responded bitterly but resolutely, "Sensei's wife, I never realized before—you're even better at lecturing than Sensei Minato. But whether I'm a dreamer or an avenger, it doesn't change my resolve to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan!"
Kushina, sorrowful yet sincere, said, "I'm ashamed to admit it, but Minato and I were too shallow. If we had seen through the mask to your true identity back then, perhaps things wouldn't have come to this. But even if it's too late, as your teacher's wife, I hope you can stop. If not for anything else, think of Rin! Would she want to see the results of what you're doing now?"
At that, Obito Uchiha closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Naruto's consciousness, occupying Obito's Kamui Sharingan, was relentlessly pursuing Madara Uchiha!
Madara dodged and counterattacked, his Susanoo hurling Yasaka Magatama. However, the projectiles passed straight through Naruto's Kamui Magatama.
"So that's it. This is Obito's artifact. Before hitting its target, it can phase through other objects, making it impossible to intercept."
"Once hit, the target is transported to Obito's dimension. The best countermeasure is to use space-time ninjutsu to escape the battlefield directly. But Naruto, having already encountered this technique before, used two methods to counter it in a single move. Clearly, he's faced this before and prepared thoroughly."
Madara pondered, "Well, I'm an Edo Tensei body. The consequences of being hit by the magatama would just mean being transported to Obito's dimension. Since Obito is my ally, it wouldn't matter. But—"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
At that moment, a white spiritual form emerged from the spinning black magatama, transforming into Naruto's upper body. In a mocking tone, it said, "Let me guess what you're thinking. If you're transported to the dimension, whether or not you're let out depends entirely on Obito's mood. And your pride won't allow that, right?"
"Naruto," Madara growled coldly, "probing my thoughts is both foolish and dangerous."
Slash! Madara's cold voice rang out as Susanoo's blade swept backward.
"!?" Naruto's spirit hastily retreated into the magatama.
Madara, running and glancing back at Naruto encased in red chakra in the distance, mused, "Hmm? The Nine-Tails chakra suddenly turned red. That's clearly not Naruto's. So, there's another spirit residing within him? That explains why he dared to use Mind Body Switch Technique in a one-on-two situation."
Madara grew impatient. "But that's still not Naruto himself controlling the body. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—what is that brat Obito waiting for?!"
Obito Uchiha, opening his eyes with cold determination, declared, "Whether or not this is what Rin would want doesn't matter. What matters is that in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Rin's tragedy will never happen again. That's enough."
Swoosh!
He lunged forward, reaching for Naruto!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
But four red chakra arms emerged from Naruto's red chakra cloak, grabbing forward!
Obito narrowed his eyes. "You know I have to materialize to touch you? Fine."
Susanoo activated, blocking the chakra arms. The Sword of Nunoboko materialized, thrusting forward with immense force!
Swoosh!
But a red flash—Naruto vanished to another location!
"Using the Body Flicker Technique to evade the Sword of Nunoboko at close range... The speed of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode is truly astonishing. But I won't give you a second chance!"
Zzz!
Obito's right eye focused on Naruto's previous position.
Yomotsu Hirasaka!
Whoosh!
The white vortex spun.
Naruto, within the Kamui Magatama, observed. "That's Yomotsu Hirasaka. The time has come."
Whoosh!
Kushina and Naruto were pulled back to the original position!
Almost simultaneously, the Mind Body Switch Technique was released, and Naruto's consciousness returned to his body!
Boom!
The Sword of Nunoboko pierced the ground, unleashing a vortex of divine power that swallowed up vast chunks of earth and stone!
Obito, watching Naruto escape to the distance using the Flying Thunder God Technique, remarked coldly, "What a troublesome opponent."
Kushina apologized, "Naruto, I'm sorry. I couldn't persuade Obito."
Naruto reassured her, "It's okay. Changing someone isn't something that happens overnight. I believe this conversation has at least planted a seed in his heart!"
Boom!
Madara landed beside Obito, his voice icy. "You were too slow, Obito. You wasted a perfect opportunity."
Obito glanced sideways. "If you'd intentionally let yourself be hit by the magatama, I could've used Kamui to transport you directly to the target. With both of us attacking together, there'd be no chance of escape. Or is your so-called pride too fragile for that?"
"Hmph." Madara snorted coldly. "Very well. What's done is done. Arguing now is meaningless. Let's get serious—take out the scroll!"
Swoosh!
Without another word, Obito retrieved a massive scroll from his dimension!
Rustle!
Madara unfurled the scroll and pressed his hand against it.
Summoning Jutsu!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
White smoke billowed as colossal figures appeared, lining up across the battlefield!
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you serious?!"
Even Naruto was stunned by the overwhelming sight.
Madara stood tall. "These are the 108 wooden giants I prepared in advance and sealed within this scroll!"
After the initial shock, Naruto regained his optimism. "Stop trying to scare me! Edo Tensei bodies don't run out of chakra, but their chakra capacity doesn't increase either. You can't control that many wooden giants!"
"Oh, really?" Madara's lips curled into a smirk.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
A tree branch emerged from Obito's right shoulder, connecting to Madara's chest and the face of Hashirama Senju!
"Now, Obito and I are synchronized in chakra. And then—"
Madara raised two fingers.
Snap! Snap! Snap! Black rods of Six Paths Technique sprouted from the backs of the 108 wooden giants!
Obito formed a hand seal and said gravely, "Now, I can transfer the chakra of the Gedo Statue from my dimension to the wooden giants for control!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The eyes of the wooden giants lit up with golden light, all of them fully activated!
Cold sweat dripped down Naruto's face as he clenched his fists. "This... is no joke!"
The two titans of the Uchiha clan revealed their true power.
"This is the Outer Path: 108 Wooden Giants Formation. Prepare yourself, Naruto Uzumaki!!!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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