"Obito—are you okay?!"
Rin Nohara's voice shook with panic.
Obito coughed twice, blood splattering from his lips. He forced himself upright anyway.
"I'm fine… I haven't surpassed Kakashi yet… how could I die here so easily?"
He was still trying to act tough.
But the blood pouring from his mouth—and the way his chest had caved in—made it obvious how severe his injuries were.
Rin's hands lit with a soft green glow as she pressed and probed carefully around his ribs and sternum. Obito felt warmth flow through him, and the burning pain in his chest cooled into something bearable.
"Obito, Rin…!"
A roar erupted from behind them.
"It looks like today is the day… I truly live out my nindō!"
Obito's eyes trembled.
He knew what the Eight Gates could do—and what they cost.
He didn't know that opening the final Gate meant certain death, but he did know one thing: every Gate you opened wrecked your body worse than the last.
Guy usually opened only the first three in battle. After that, he'd be exhausted—but not permanently harmed.
If he kept going… the consequences were anyone's guess.
Obito wanted to stop him.
But he looked at the enemy in front of them and could only force out a bitter smile.
Eight Iwa shinobi had charged into the cave.
Every one of them was at least special jōnin level.
And the two leading them—
even the weaker one was an elite jōnin.
Two jōnin squads working together.
If Kakashi didn't return, Obito and the others were dead.
Even if Kakashi did return—
it would still be a brutal fight.
A cold voice rang out:
"You're not going anywhere."
"Be good and follow me to hell."
Obito's body was already trembling.
He'd been running for over ten kilometers with broken ribs and damaged organs.
If his Sharingan hadn't evolved repeatedly—boosting his physique and chakra a little each time—he would've collapsed long ago.
Rin's healing had eased the worst of it, but Obito knew the truth.
Future side effects? That's something only people with a future get to worry about.
Right now, the only thing that mattered was surviving now.
…But Rin was here.
And behind them, Guy's shout shook the cave, followed by the deafening sounds of combat.
Guy had bet his life.
The Iwa shinobi could only dodge and scatter.
With the Sixth Gate open, Guy's destructive power in the short term was no weaker than an elite jōnin fighting to the death.
His fists whipped through the air so fast the pressure detonated. Compressed air blasted out like cannon fire, dragging streaks of white brilliance behind it—like the sunrise exploding across the horizon.
Obito coughed again, spitting out clots of blood.
"I… feel a lot better now, Rin…"
"We have to keep moving. If we find Kakashi, we'll be safe."
Rin had been assigned to Kakashi's team for more than emotional reasons—her talent was real. At this point, her medical ninjutsu skill didn't lose to medical jōnin.
Before Obito could answer, Guy roared—
"Take this! The final bloom of my youth—Morning Peacock!"
Obito's hands clenched.
Nails dug into his palm.
How could he leave his teammate behind?
But then his gaze flicked to Rin.
…and everything in him broke into one desperate decision.
I can't. I can't fight beside you to the end, Guy. I have to protect Rin.
Only Rin—only Rin cannot die!
Tears and snot smeared across his face as he grabbed Rin's wrist and dragged her out of the cave.
The instant they burst through the enemy line—
Obito's Sharingan tomoe split again.
His eyes became a full Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Now—go! While there's an opening!"
Behind them, Guy didn't hesitate. He forced the Eight Gates open to the Sixth Gate in one breath.
"Eight Gates—Sixth Gate, Gate of Joy—OPEN!"
His chakra exploded outward. His hair lifted. His skin flushed blood-red under the strain.
Obito and Rin fled.
They ran.
They ran until the world spun.
After more than ten kilometers, Obito finally couldn't hold it.
He sprayed a mouthful of blood and nearly blacked out.
Rin caught him immediately.
"Obito! You're badly hurt—let me treat you properly before we keep running!"
Obito coughed, forced out another breath, and spoke like he was trying to convince his own body to keep moving.
"I can't… not now…"
"In this situation… even if I hate admitting it…"
"I need Kakashi. If we reach him, we live."
And then—
A cold laugh drifted from behind them.
Obito's face went white.
He turned—
and saw the Iwa squad leader from earlier, staring at him with a cruel grin.
Before Obito could react, the man blurred forward.
A kunai stabbed straight toward Obito's chest.
Obito tried to dodge—
but the moment he forced his body to move, his chest spasmed with agony. His legs almost buckled.
…It's over.
Obito shut his eyes.
Then he felt someone yank him hard from behind—his body lifted, weightless for a moment, like he'd been thrown into the sky.
He snapped his eyes open.
He'd been pulled out of the kill zone.
He turned his head—
and saw the person he'd been praying for.
"Kakashi!"
The grief and relief in Obito's voice collided into something raw.
"You idiot… you finally came!"
"Why are you so late?! Guy—Guy already…!"
"Sorry, Obito."
Kakashi's voice was calm, clipped.
"But now isn't the time. Save Rin first."
Rin—!
Obito's mind froze for half a second.
Right—Rin had been with him.
Kakashi had pulled him away…
which meant Rin—
Obito spun around.
And saw it.
The Iwa jōnin had Rin by the hair, forcing her head back. His eyes were vicious with satisfaction.
He smiled at them like he'd already won.
"Pretty dangerous just now."
"So you're Hatake Kakashi—the famous Konoha prodigy."
"With that speed… I'm not sure I could beat you."
"Konoha really does keep producing monsters like you."
He yanked Rin's hair harder.
Rin's face twisted in pain. She tried not to scream, but a muffled sound still escaped her throat.
Then the man drew a kunai and pressed it to her neck.
He tilted his head, amused.
"Hey, you two."
"This girl is your teammate, right? Looks like she's important."
Obito surged forward, fury exploding out of him.
"You—! Don't touch Rin! If you want something, come at me!"
Kakashi snapped a hand onto Obito's shoulder.
"Obito—don't!"
Too late.
The Iwa jōnin's expression turned sharp.
Pshhk.
The kunai stabbed into Rin's collarbone.
Rin went death-pale. She bit her lip hard enough to bleed, refusing to cry out.
Obito started shaking.
"Stop… stop it… don't hurt her!"
The Iwa jōnin chuckled.
"That depends on you."
"You want her alive?"
"Then you two fight each other."
"Kill your teammate."
"If one of you dies… I'll let the girl go."
Obito's pupils contracted violently.
He turned, terrified, to Kakashi.
Kill Kakashi?
If we fight… I die. Not him.
But—
If my life can buy Rin's… then that's fine.
He drew his kunai slowly.
His gaze was pained—and strangely relieved—as he looked at Kakashi.
"Sorry… Kakashi."
"At least… I won't be trouble anymore."
And then Obito charged.
No technique. No form.
Just raw panic and desperation.
His kunai plunged forward—
Pshhk.
Straight into Kakashi's heart.
Obito's mind shattered.
"W-What…?! Kakashi…!"
"Why didn't you dodge?!"
"Kakashi!!"
Kakashi's face remained cold.
But the black mask was soaked through with blood.
His voice reached Obito's ears—quiet, fading.
"Idiot…"
"I'm the captain…"
"If someone has to die…"
"It won't be you…"
His words thinned into silence.
Kakashi's eyes slid shut.
Obito's whole body trembled.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun faster—faster—until the tomoe began to distort, twisting toward something sharper.
But then—
a strange sense of wrongness rose in his mind.
Like the world had cracked down the middle.
The grief and rage didn't reach the true limit.
The spinning slowed.
The change stalled.
Thump.
Something fell.
Obito turned stiffly, numb—
and saw Rin's head on the ground.
"Rin…"
A scream of laughter followed.
"Hahaha!"
"What a moron."
"You believed the enemy's promise?"
"Why would I let any of you live?"
"Especially now that the White Fang brat is dead."
"No one left to scare me."
He lifted his kunai again, grin widening.
"Now it's your turn, kid. Go join them."
Rin's eyes were open.
Full of pain.
Full of sorrow.
As if she couldn't rest even in death.
That sight detonated everything inside Obito.
The last layer of that "split" sensation was crushed beneath pure despair.
He screamed—like his soul was being torn out through his throat.
And his Sharingan finally completed its transformation.
The three tomoe twisted into a new pattern—
sharp, curved, like a spinning blade.
A Mangekyō shape.
A Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Still needed Rin to die to awaken it, huh…"
Inside a tree hollow nearby, Uchiha Feiyu watched the moment with open disdain.
Of course, the reason it required Rin's death this time was because it all happened inside genjutsu.
Feiyu's Five Senses Control was nearly perfect—its illusion was almost indistinguishable from reality.
But almost was still not truly real.
If it had been reality…
Obito likely would've awakened the Mangekyō the moment he "killed" Kakashi.
Feiyu's eyes narrowed.
"But the pattern matches."
"Same as the Kamui eye."
"Which means the ability should be the same too."
Some fans argued Mangekyō abilities were "born from the user's wish."
Feiyu didn't buy it.
No official proof. Too many contradictions.
Sasuke's Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi didn't neatly translate into "wishes" at all.
Feiyu believed the Mangekyō ability was tied to bloodline fate—something intrinsic, not something you could rewrite with circumstance.
And Obito's eye pattern confirmed it.
Feiyu glanced sideways.
Kakashi was nearby.
At the moment Obito awakened the Mangekyō, Feiyu had extended genjutsu over Kakashi, Rin, and Guy as well—
so none of them would witness Obito's new eyes.
Feiyu's lips curved.
"If that's the case…"
"I can swap Obito's eyes, and no one will even notice."
He moved instantly.
No hesitation.
Feiyu reached out—
and dug Obito's eyes out cleanly, placing them into a glass tube filled with preserving solution.
Then he summoned a white snake.
The snake spat out another tube.
Inside were a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Back when Feiyu had wiped out Root, he'd collected several Three-Tomoe eyes.
Now they finally had a use.
He removed the spare eyes from the tube and implanted them into Obito's sockets.
Then he used medical ninjutsu to close and heal the tissue.
A moment later, Feiyu wiped the blood from around Obito's eyes.
"Good thing my eyes are Eternal Mangekyō."
"Otherwise, Five Senses Control wouldn't be able to hold down a newly-awakened Mangekyō user."
And because Five Senses Control included touch, Obito hadn't felt pain during the eye removal.
If it had been an ordinary illusion, the moment the "eye gouging" began, the genjutsu would've shattered.
Feiyu checked once, twice.
No issues.
Then he lifted his fingers—
and released all the genjutsu at once.
Kakashi, Rin, and Guy had only been briefly "stalled" by illusion.
But Obito—
Obito had experienced the entire nightmare from start to finish.
He jolted, shouting, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan snapping wide.
He looked around—
and the feral expression that had been on his face a second ago…
turned strangely blank.
Almost… cute.
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