[Chapter Size: 2300 Words.]
Konoha, 44.
...
...
Obito was already at the training field when Naruto and Yamato arrived.
As soon as he saw him, Naruto smiled. "How are you? You got here earlier than the others. I saw you went to have breakfast at my parents' house..." Naruto said.
He had eaten his meal with Minato at the other residence.
Yamato went to warm up, while Naruto joined Obito. Feeling confident, Obito ended up telling him the story of what had happened with Shukaku as well.
Naruto was quite surprised.
"You know, in my world, Shukaku used to be a huge problem. He was used to attack the Village once, and I had to fight him."
Obito raised an eyebrow, curious to hear more about that attack. So Naruto began recounting Orochimaru's invasion of the Hidden Leaf Village.
He told him everything that had happened and then explained how Gaara had eventually become friends with Shukaku.
Obito was fascinated by the story. He had never had a conversation like that with Naruto.
He also never imagined that, years earlier in Naruto's world, Naruto could have already been such a hero while still being only twelve or thirteen years old, just a little older than he was now.
"Damn... I can't lose to you, Naruto," Obito said after he finished the story.
Naruto simply smiled. "Well, just look at yourself. You're only ten years old, you've met Shukaku, and you've even talked to him. Gaara once told me that before he was captured by the Akatsuki, he and Shukaku had reached a mutual understanding and got along well with each other."
"Even though Gaara's seal was still very strong, full of chains and other sealing formulas, Shukaku no longer bothered him, didn't whisper in his ear all the time, and didn't keep him from sleeping anymore. Gaara stopped being so stressed and certainly became a better person."
"It's obvious that he thinks very highly of you," Obito commented.
The boy wore a smile full of admiration as he looked at Naruto. That Naruto had truly become friends with a Kazekage.
That was incredible in Obito's eyes. If he had admired Naruto before, that admiration had now grown even stronger.
"Ah, come on... I just did what anyone would have done. I simply helped a friend. Don't make it sound like that," Naruto replied awkwardly.
Obito was about to insist, but was interrupted when Rin and Kakashi finally approached them.
"Good morning!" Rin said cheerfully.
Kakashi simply waved in silence.
"Hello, you two." Naruto said with a smile as he greeted them.
Obito gave the two of them a friendly smile. He was feeling much better now. He no longer carried that dejected expression because of his feelings for Rin.
"Hello."
He had simply accepted that some things were the way they were.
Naruto noticed that and gave a small smile. He stood up, as he had been sitting beside Obito listening to his story.
"Well, I'm going to warm up a bit. Have a good training session, everyone." Naruto said in a friendly tone before walking over to Yamato and beginning his warm-up.
"Kakashi, you're late..." Obito teased.
"I'm right on time," Kakashi replied in a dissatisfied tone as he approached.
"So, what were you guys talking about?" Rin asked curiously as she looked at Naruto's back.
"Just a few things. Did you know Naruto was a hero in his world?" Obito said excitedly, clearly speaking highly of his friend. "When the Village was attacked by Orochimaru in their world, Naruto fought the One-Tail all by himself. He summoned the same toads that Sensei and Jiraiya-sama can summon and faced a Tailed Beast when he was only twelve years old. Incredible, isn't it?"
Obito's words surprised Kakashi and Rin, who turned to look at the blond, already sparring with Yamato as part of a warm-up. The two exchanged blows worthy of elite jōnin.
"How was your day?" Rin asked. Even though she was still impressed, she wanted to talk to Obito.
"Well... you know how it is... I spent it dealing with some issues in the clan. Nothing you need to worry about. But I made the most of my day," Obito replied.
He wasn't lying. Even so, Rin realized he was hiding some things.
Still, she didn't ask. Even so, she couldn't help feeling a little hurt that he wasn't being as honest as he used to be. She could feel the change in him.
"I saw you with Hanabi-sama's three Uzumaki girls," Kakashi commented.
Rin immediately turned to Obito in surprise. "Really? You were with them?" she asked curiously.
"Ah, we ran into each other around lunchtime. They wanted to see the village, so we went to eat at Ichiraku Ramen," Obito explained.
"I see. Well... I spent the day with my friends. It had been a while since we'd all gotten together," Rin began.
Obito, however, didn't seem very enthusiastic about listening to her. He had also passed by them and overheard some of the girls' conversations, but honestly, he was no longer interested in such trivial matters.
Not when he had to deal with a war that was drawing near. Not when he had to face an Uchiha Clan that now saw him as a treasure they didn't want to let slip away. Not when he was still trying to better understand his new friend, the Bijū he had met the night before.
Honestly, that kind of conversation no longer appealed to him.
Even so, he continued listening to Rin. She, in turn, seemed a little lost as she noticed the distant look in Obito's eyes.
He realized he was hurting her somehow. But things shouldn't continue the way they had before.
Even Kakashi, who was normally indifferent to everyday conversations, looked at Obito with some surprise.
"Obito... did something happen?" Rin asked. In the end, she didn't even get to finish everything she had wanted to say.
Obito blinked a few times and looked back at her. "No. I saw that you went out with your friends."
"But you're not even listening to me..." Rin murmured, lowering her head.
"Sorry. I'm just dealing with some things, Rin. Serious things," he finally replied.
"You know you can talk to me," she said, still looking down.
"These are serious matters. Things I have to deal with on my own," Obito said in a serious tone.
Rin looked even more hurt.
Obito didn't want to see her like that either. So he turned to Kakashi.
"Hey, how about a warm-up?" he asked.
Kakashi looked at Rin for a moment, realizing that Obito was simply looking for an excuse to end that conversation.
In the end, he merely nodded. The two of them soon walked toward the training field.
"It's been a while since we fought, Obito," Kakashi recalled.
Obito gave a small smile. "That's true."
Now he seemed much more at ease. Without the pressure of seeing Rin hurt beside him, he returned to the place where he truly felt comfortable.
The battlefield.
Ever since he had started training on the other continent, taking part in special training sessions, and stopped constantly fighting Kakashi and Rin to instead fight Naruto, Minato, or Kushina, he had grown accustomed to an entirely different level of intensity.
That was truly violent.
That was truly explosive.
He could only survive that relentless barrage of attacks thanks to his intangibility.
Even so, feeling all that destruction around him, knowing that any strike could be fatal, awakened an adrenaline rush that no one else could provide.
Could Kakashi bring that same intensity to this fight?
"I saw you going to train with Guy yesterday. So I hope you take this seriously," Obito said provocatively.
Kakashi merely smirked, not even taking a fighting stance. He knew Obito had become incredibly powerful and would certainly give him trouble. Even so, he remained arrogant enough to believe he was still the stronger one.
Rin continued watching the two of them.
"Let's begin, Obito." Kakashi finally assumed his stance.
Obito waited only a second.
Then he vanished.
His speed caught Kakashi completely off guard. By the time he realized it, Obito was already in front of him, unleashing a rapid series of strikes.
Kakashi barely had time to react. He immediately regretted not taking the fight more seriously from the very beginning.
He was forced to retreat as Obito's taijutsu relentlessly pressured him. Suddenly, sparks began crackling all over Kakashi's body.
An intense burst of lightning erupted around him. Obito immediately halted his offensive.
Kakashi realized he would remain at a disadvantage if he relied solely on hand-to-hand combat. Obito's body had become monstrously stronger than before.
His blows were heavy. On top of that, he had already gained the advantage by launching a surprise attack. Taking that combination of strikes head-on would not have been pleasant.
That was why he chose to resort to his Chidori Current.
"That's a good jutsu," Obito commented with a calm smile. Though impressed, he knew Kakashi hadn't had that jutsu a month ago.
Kakashi nodded and took his position. The next instant, he vanished. Obito's eyes widened.
When Kakashi reappeared, he was already right in front of Obito.
"That technique!" the young Uchiha exclaimed in surprise.
It was Sensei's technique, a taijutsu technique—Soru, the very same one Guy was also learning.
Obito barely managed to evade it. He activated his Sharingan at the very last instant. Even after avoiding Kakashi's first strike, he was met with a kick as Kakashi spun his body and delivered the blow.
Obito crossed his arms in front of his chest to block the attack.
"If that's how it is..." Obito said.
Immediately, Kakashi's eyes widened as he looked into Obito's Sharingan. He was caught completely off guard.
The next instant, he found himself trapped in a genjutsu.
"Damn..." Kakashi muttered as the entire reality around him began to change. His body suddenly felt heavy, and his vision distorted for a brief moment.
Quickly, relying on his willpower, he concentrated his chakra. He knew he only had a few seconds before Obito struck him.
He managed to bring his hands together and release an intense burst of chakra, breaking the genjutsu. Reality immediately returned to normal.
When he could see the training field again, Obito was already high above him, ready to drive a kick into his chest.
Kakashi raised his hands and unleashed a massive explosion of lightning around himself, creating a much larger area of impact than before in an attempt to repel Obito.
Obito's eyes widened, yet he did not retreat.
Kakashi was completely stunned. The lightning simply passed through Obito's body without affecting him.
Something else had also changed in Obito's red eyes. They were different. Kakashi's eyes widened even further.
He had no time to react. Just as Obito's kick seemed about to hit him, the boy simply passed through his body as though he were a ghost.
"What?!" Rin let out a startled cry from the side.
Obito completely phased through Kakashi before landing several meters behind him.
'Damn... I couldn't kick him. Otherwise, I would've been struck by the lightning as well,' Obito thought as he turned back toward Kakashi.
The boy was still surrounded by lightning, staring at Obito in complete disbelief.
"What was that?" Kakashi asked.
Obito blinked at him before giving a small smile. "Ah... They're just a few abilities I've learned." His Mangekyō Sharingan remained activated.
Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. Under Rin and Kakashi's astonished gazes, Obito activated the power of his left eye.
A spatial vortex appeared in front of Kakashi. All the electricity surrounding him began to be drawn into that hole in space.
Kakashi could only watch in complete shock as every bolt of lightning vanished until there was absolutely nothing left.
A moment later, the vortex disappeared as well.
Kakashi looked back at Obito, still unable to believe what he had just witnessed. It wasn't as though Obito could hide those abilities for very long.
After all, they were a team. Knowing each other's new abilities was necessary.
"As you can see... I can absorb jutsu too," Obito declared with a confident smile.
In truth, he wasn't absorbing the jutsu into himself. He was simply storing it in another dimension.
"What...?" The words escaped Kakashi's mouth in complete disbelief. He simply couldn't believe that Obito now possessed abilities like those.
At the same time, Obito activated his right eye. A small spatial vortex appeared in front of him.
The next instant, something was expelled from the dimension and fell directly onto the ground.
As soon as it touched the earth, an enormous amount of sand began spreading rapidly at high speed.
Kakashi barely had time to react. The sand reached his feet in an instant. Moments later, a gigantic clawed hand of yellow sand, covered with blue stripes, emerged from the ground and completely seized his body, lifting him into the air.
It was one of the jutsu Obito had received from Shukaku the previous night. While they had been talking, the Bijū had also shown him some of its techniques.
Since he already considered Shukaku a friend, Obito had no problem accepting that gift. He still had several more of those techniques stored within his dimension, ready to be used whenever necessary.
He then calmly walked forward.
He placed one hand on Kakashi's shoulder, who remained trapped in Shukaku's enormous sand hand.
"Looks like I won," he declared with a smile.
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