A week passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, no more bizarre deaths occurred in the village, and Obito seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Under Hiruzen's command, all available ninjas were on three shifts daily, patrolling non-stop inside and outside the village. They hoped to find some trace of a spy or murderer. Even so, they couldn't find a single clue.
This made Hiruzen furious during meetings, stating that no matter the cost, this audacious intruder must be captured.
When Hiruzen lost his temper, those below him worked even harder. They were half-dead with exhaustion every day.
Kakashi didn't even have time to read his picture books.
At night, Satoshi ate a flatbread and carried a small jug of sake to a path outside the village. This place was usually deserted, but now it was also part of the patrol area.
Satoshi casually inspected his assigned area, then found a secluded corner to rest.
The temperature was already a bit low, and the wind was blowing at night.
Satoshi tightened his clothes, thinking he needed to apply for some winter clothing.
He found a sheltered corner and looked at the moon, muttering to himself, "Who exactly wants to frame the Uchiha?"
"Although the method isn't clever, even a child with an IQ above two could see through it, but this guy is far too brazen."
"However, now that Kakashi-senpai's Anbu squad has joined in, I'm sure the culprit will be found soon."
"After all, Kakashi-senpai is a hero from the Third Great Ninja War and received the best gift from the Uchiha clan."
"Dealing with such a foolish intruder should be a piece of cake."
Zetsu had been secretly observing Satoshi and naturally conveyed these words to Obito.
When Obito heard the news from Zetsu, he instantly flew into a rage.
"Saying my methods aren't clever? That damn Uchiha brat, no one in the entire Ninja World has ever dared to speak to me like that."
"What battle hero Kakashi? He's just a good-for-nothing who couldn't even protect Rin."
"Fine. If that's the case, then I'll go for the Jinchuriki and see if Kakashi can protect him in time."
Zetsu felt like crying. It seemed his partner was acting foolish again.
"It's not time to approach the Jinchuriki yet, our plan..."
"Shut up, there's a new plan now!"
Obito completely ignored Zetsu. His figure slowly vanished, then reappeared at Naruto's doorstep.
Normally, there would be a few Anbu keeping an eye on Naruto's house. But today, they were temporarily reassigned to other missions, creating a vulnerability for Naruto.
"Jinchuriki, we meet again."
The last time they met, Obito killed his teacher, Minato, and almost killed Naruto, thereby completely embarking on the path of no return to overthrow the Ninja World.
He hadn't expected to meet Naruto again so soon.
"Even if I can't kill the Jinchuriki today, I want the entire village to know how useless Kakashi is. He can't even protect his teacher's son."
The moment Obito pushed open the door, his pupils suddenly constricted.
Satoshi was sitting at the dining table, slowly chewing his flatbread.
"Murderer, I finally found you."
Moonlight streamed in, bringing a glimmer of light to the dim room.
Obito looked at Satoshi's delicate face, then scanned the gleaming blade on the table. He didn't understand how Satoshi could have kept up with him.
Obito completely failed to notice a mark carved in a corner of the room. It looked like a combination of the Senju and Uchiha clan crests.
"How are you here?"
The answer to Obito's question was a sharp kunai. It fiercely stabbed towards his chest.
As a swirl flashed, Satoshi watched as the kunai passed through Obito's body, sparking against the wall.
Satoshi made a timely expression of surprise. "You've mastered some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
Obito also looked at Satoshi with surprise. This brat was even smarter than he had imagined.
With just one glance, he saw through his ocular jutsu.
The last opponent so clever was his teacher, Minato.
At this moment, Satoshi swung his blade. The instant the blade touched Obito's throat, Obito's body was swallowed by a spatial vortex.
When Obito reappeared, he was already in the secluded back mountains.
Plan failed, retreat.
But then, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Where are you going?"
When Satoshi's clear, cold voice sounded from behind, the muscles under Obito's black robe instantly tensed.
Damn it, how did this brat find me?
Before he could speak, Satoshi had already thrown a strangely shaped kunai.
"Tch, this boring trick again."
Obito watched as Satoshi approached at an extremely fast speed.
As the kunai once again passed through his ethereal body, Obito's right hand reached for Satoshi's chest.
As long as he touched him, he would win...
"No, where is he?!"
His palm only passed through Satoshi's afterimage.
[Passive Activated: When fighting an Uchiha, your various abilities will be enhanced.]
A powerful Chakra suddenly erupted from Satoshi's body.
He appeared out of thin air at the kunai's location.
"This is Flying Thunder God — Second Step."
His right hand gathered violent Chakra.
Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!
Satoshi condensed a water vortex, then furiously compressed it into a water spear, fiercely thrusting it towards Obito's back.
Boom!
The moment the water spear touched Obito's body, it transformed into a huge water tornado.
Countless high-pressure water blades were mixed within, savagely cutting at Obito's flesh.
Obito felt his black robe being torn, and a dense stinging sensation came from his skin.
"Cough... Cough!"
After the water dragon dissipated, Obito crawled out of the ruins.
"How do you know the Fourth Hokage's techniques? Who exactly are you?!"
Satoshi didn't answer Obito's question, pointing the tip of his blade at his right eye.
"Sharingan, you are a member of the Uchiha clan."
"It is said that during Nine-Tails's rampage back then, it was an Uchiha who caused Nine-Tails to go out of control."
"But on that night, all the clansmen were under the control of clan head Fugaku, so it's obvious that you are the culprit who caused Nine-Tails's rampage."
Obito gasped.
Setting aside the fact that Satoshi had deciphered his ocular jutsu in one encounter, how did he manage to deduce the events of that year so easily?
Such terrifying intelligence, it was not inferior to his own.
"You really are clever."
Obito put away his chain. He wanted to have a good talk with this clever brat.
"Satoshi, you are very clever, but you are also very foolish. You don't even know that this world you love is false, and all of this is meaningless."
Such a chuunibyou statement, Satoshi didn't quite know how to respond.
So he countered, "You seem to not only hate Konoha, but you also have no hope for this world."
Obito slowly nodded. "Indeed."
"So you killed Torune, attempting to frame the Uchiha?"
Only then did Obito shake his head. "I have no interest in those foolish Uchiha, except for one interesting little guy, and the other is you."
He was about to say more when he heard approaching footsteps.
Chidori!
Lightning passed through the vortex. Kakashi's signature technique had no effect on Obito.
Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan ocular jutsu possessed the ability to phase through objects, allowing him to evade any attack and remain undefeated in battle.
He lowered his voice. "Useless Kakashi, you, like your teacher, are always one step too late."