The next morning.
Mikoto stirred faintly, her body heavy and unresponsive. A dull ache throbbed in every muscle, her lower half especially numb.
She turned her head slowly, the morning light spilling across the sheets.
Empty.
Obito was gone.
Her eyes lingered on the vacant space beside her, the pillow and sheets still bearing the faint warmth and scent he had left behind.
For a long moment, she simply stared. Her mind refused to form a thought, drifting in blank silence as the events of the night clawed faintly at the edges of memory.
Finally, she forced herself to move.
"Haah…"
Her voice came out cracked and hoarse. She dragged herself up from the ruined bed, her legs wobbling beneath her. Each step was stiff, unsteady—her body limping in a way that betrayed the merciless use she had endured.
She shuffled toward the bathroom.
Click.
The door closed behind her, the sound echoing in the still house. Soon, the steady stream of water splashing against tile filled the silence.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
And beneath it—soft, muffled sobs.
Her body trembled under the spray, hot water running down her skin, mixing with the tears she couldn't hold back any longer.
...
Far away, high above the snowy cliffs, Obito stood quietly, his cloak rustling in the cold mountain wind.
The white expanse of the Land of Snow stretched endlessly beneath him, the peaks glittering beneath the pale morning sun. The chill bit into the air, but his gaze remained fixed and unwavering.
His hair shifted with the wind as his Sharingan glowed faintly behind the mask.
"That day…" he murmured. "It's coming closer and closer."
A shadow flickered across his thoughts.
Back then, he wished he had been braver. That he had swallowed not only Madara's body… but his soul as well.
But even then, he knew it would never have been a perfect devour.
To achieve the complete absorption, all the conditions had to align. And when Madara died, his eyes were still in Nagato's possession.
No matter how powerful his ability was, restrictions remained. Subtle, but there all the same.
"…Tch."
A weary sigh escaped him, his breath misting in the icy air.
"It seems I can only take the short end of the deal… Still, it should be enough."
Obito's eyes narrowed slightly.
The space around him twisted.
Shuuu
And with a flicker of Kamui, his form vanished into the void.
There was still one more chess piece he needed. One essential for the plan.
--
The Land of Fire.
Inside a bustling gambling house, the air was thick with smoke, cheap perfume, and the clatter of dice. Patrons shouted over one another as coins and ryo bills exchanged hands across the tables.
At one corner, a few drunk gamblers leaned in, their voices rising above the din.
"Hey, have you heard about the 'Legendary Jack'?" one man said, slamming his cup on the table.
"Legendary Jack? What the hell is that supposed to be?" another asked, frowning.
"Ehh… I only know the Legendary Sucker, hahaha!" a third man burst out, earning a round of laughter from his buddies.
"No, no—you idiots. It's not that. 'Legendary Jack' is the nickname for the guy they call the Legendary Jackpot."
"Jackpot…? Wait—you mean the guy who wins every gamble?"
"Nani?! Every? Oi, don't mess around. That's impossible."
"Yeah, he's gotta be cheating!"
"Baka!" one of them barked, nearly tipping his chair. "The casino owners have checked him again and again, but they've never found anything suspicious!"
"Tch, doesn't that just mean he's really good at cheating?"
"What the hell do you know?!"
The group's voices rose loudly as their argument heated up, drawing the attention of nearby tables.
--
On the other side of the street, in another gambling house
The atmosphere was completely different.
Silence.
All eyes were fixed on a single man sitting calmly at the dice table. The tension in the air was so thick that even the dealers held their breath.
Clatter… roll… stop.
The dice froze.
"..."
"W–won…" one gambler whispered, his throat dry.
"He won again…"
"The Legendary Jackpot is real!!!" another man cried out, breaking the silence as the crowd erupted.
"Arghhh! I don't accept it! You must be cheating!" The man sitting opposite suddenly slammed the table and stood up, pointing a trembling finger toward the calm figure.
Obito raised his head lazily, his voice calm yet carrying through the room.
"Stop yelling so loudly… you're disturbing me. I'm thinking here."
The gamblers fell quiet.
So this was him. The Legendary Jackpot everyone was whispering about.
Obito sighed helplessly. Although this had been his intention from the start, hearing the nickname still made him cringe inside. It felt way too chuunibyou… but at the same time, it had a nice ring to it. So, he let it be.
"Kimokara, Nakishi!" the furious man barked suddenly.
Two rough-looking companions stepped forward Kimokara, a tall man with crooked teeth, and Nakishi, a shorter one with a ridiculous mustache that barely clung to his lip. Both cracked their knuckles as they moved to flank Obito.
The sight only made Obito exhale in mild exasperation. He'd been in this situation more times than he could count.
Still, his eyes narrowed slightly, and behind the mask his lips curved into a grin.
Finally took the bait, huh…? he thought, not about the gamblers, but about someone else entirely.
Slowly, he stood from his chair, brushing the dice from the table as if to follow them outside.
But before he could take a step, a proud, haughty voice cut through the air.
"Hey, wait… I want to play a game with him."
The entire gambling house froze. Heads turned toward the entrance.
There, framed in the doorway, stood a blonde woman with a commanding presence, her arms crossed and her gaze fixed on Obito. Beside her trailed a black-haired woman, her expression helpless as though she had already given up trying to stop her companion.
The room buzzed with shock when they saw her.
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